Elon Musk cursed a JPMorgan executive years ago, but the cold war with Jamie Dimon may be thawing
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon have not had a good relationship in recent years, but that appears to be changing, according to the newspaper. Wall Street Journal.
Any improvement in their relationship could clear the way for the largest bank by market capitalization to do more business with billionaire Musk or his group of companies, including SpaceX and social media platforms X. Meanwhile, Musk can tap into JPMorgan’s deep supply of capital and services.
But the clash between the business giants is said to have come to a head around 2016. That’s when JPMorgan rejected Musk’s request for the bank to underwrite Tesla’s electric vehicle lease, citing due to uncertainty about how to price batteries, WSJ speak.
Sources said Musk called the bank, shouted at the head of the consumer bank at the time, and threatened to pull out of Tesla’s commercial banking business. WSJ, with one quote, Musk ended his sentence with “F— you.” That angered Dimon, who told Musk that JPMorgan would not be bullied, the report said.
A JPMorgan spokesman declined to comment Luck. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The relationship worsened when JPMorgan sued Tesla in 2021, claiming it was owed money for a transaction the bank helped arrange in 2014. Tesla objected and the lawsuits are ongoing.
But WSJ points to signs of a thaw: In November, Dimon called Musk a “remarkable human being” who is making “incredible contributions to humanity.” In January, Musk praised Dimon in a tweet after the banker said Donald Trump was right about the economy, immigration and China.
And in March, Musk appeared at a JPMorgan tech event in a Montana resort and talked with Dimon on stage for an hour, then stopped by Dimon’s room, where they talked for another hour. Then, sources said WSJ that Dimon decided JPMorgan could try doing business with Musk again.
Meanwhile, Musk is looking for more allies on Wall Street and the capital markets.
He is trying to win shareholder support for his historic campaign. compensation package of 47 billion USD from Tesla, the company has received intense criticism.
Elsewhere, Musk’s AI company, xAI, is looking for investors and raised 6 billion USD in a venture capital round last month brought The startup, which is not yet a year old, already has capital of 18 billion USD.
