Tesla’s recent regulatory filings have revealed that 20 of its employees have been temporarily assigned to a secret SpaceX project before the private space venture’s high-profile NASA Crew Dragon launch. The filings provide a glimpse at the cross-pollination of talent between the two Elon Musk-led companies, with both Tesla and SpaceX working together towards a unified goal.
The temporary assignment of the Tesla employees was disclosed as part of a filing intended to announce the date and agenda of Tesla’s 2020 Shareholders’ Meeting, which is scheduled to be held this coming July. The filing itself only provided very few details about the work being conducted by the Tesla employees, though the document stated that the initiative was a related party transaction.
The documents also disclosed that SpaceX would be paying Tesla an estimated $0.1 million or $100,000 for the work of its employees. That being said, it has not been disclosed exactly how long the contract between the two companies would last.
Tesla (TSLA) 2020 Stockholders Meeting: Paid Ads Vs Informational Campaigns https://t.co/lmw0oZ1AoB pic.twitter.com/CbYPzDRM9d
— Tesmanian.com (@Tesmanian_com) May 29, 2020
In a way, some cross-pollination of talent makes sense for Tesla and SpaceX, considering that the two companies share Elon Musk as their CEO. The two companies also share a number of board members, including entrepreneur Kimbal Musk, investor Antonio Gracias, and venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson. It should be noted that Jurvetson has stated that he will be leaving Tesla’s board but will be remaining at SpaceX’s board of directors.
Signs that the two Elon Musk-led companies are sharing technologies have been teased in the past. Tesla Energy, for example, was used as backup power while SpaceX was building Starship Mark 1. Tesla battery packs and motors were also spotted being used in Starship’s construction. Interestingly enough, Tesla also revealed that it was using its machining facilities to make tools for SpaceX.
Tesla’s 2020 Shareholders’ Meeting will be focused on several topics, though it also involves stockholders voting on seven key proposals. Among these is the tricky topic of Tesla and paid advertisements, a suggestion that the company is urging its shareholders to vote against.
