Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla Motors, brushed aside criticisms of corporate over-reach and conflicts of interest yesterday on Monday as he unveiled an agreement to pay $2.6bn in stock for SolarCity, the solar power company where he is also chairman.
The electric car and space entrepreneur drew criticism when he first publicly proposed a deal in June, including from Wall Street analysts who have usually been among the biggest boosters of his hugely ambitious ventures.
The attempt to create what Mr Musk described as the first vertically-integrated sustainable energy conglomerate has drawn widespread scepticism. Analysts continued to question yesterday wether the deal would distract Tesla at one of the most important moments in its history, as it tries to overcome a spate of production problems and massively increase its car production.