Tesla directors in the spotlight as Elon Musk asks for more control. Are they up to the fight?

The man in charge of Tesla (<a href=«https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/TSLA?p=TSLA&.tsrc=» https: data-i13n=«cpos:1;pos:1» data-ylk=«elm:context_link;itc:0;pos:1;sec:donut-hole;cpos:1;»>TSLA

) wants even more control of the company — and CEO Elon Musk is putting public pressure on the company's board of directors to acquire it. 

Musk warned earlier this week that for him to steer the all-electric carmaker to become a global leader in artificial intelligence and robotics, he'd need even greater sway over the company's decisions.

«He does have bargaining power in the sense that there is only one Elon Musk,» said David Kass, a professor of finance at the University of Maryland. «It looks like a negotiation.»

In a post on X, the social platform he owns, Musk said, «I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having 25% voting control. Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned.» Otherwise, he said, «I would prefer to build products outside of Tesla.»

Musk once held more than 20% of Tesla shares but sold a significant chunk to help finance his purchase of what was then Twitter. He currently holds a nearly 13% stake as the carmaker's largest shareholder.

A threat? A negotiation? Both? No matter. Musk's latest salvo has, at the least, placed a harsh spotlight on ongoing governance issues at Tesla and the singular influence he holds over the company. 

Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.

His latest demands, along with a recent Wall Street Journal report revealing some insiders' concerns about his alleged illicit drug use, raise further questions about whether the board is too cozy with the company's headstrong executive. Musk criticized the Journal's report and said he had not failed recent random drug tests, without explicitly denying the details of the article. 

«Whatever I'm doing, I should obviously keep doing it,» he posted on X last week, boasting of his business successes. 

Musk's public complaints about control and compensation are notable due to the magnitude of his current CEO performance package, which has elevated him to the rarified status of the world's richest person. Set in 2018, Musk's pay package has