Elon Musk
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Elon Musk has revealed that he “hates” being the boss of Tesla.
"I rather hate it and I would much prefer to spend my time on design and engineering," he told a US court.
According to Reuters, Mr Musk also said he has tried "very hard not to be the CEO of Tesla, but I have to frankly or Tesla is going to die”.
The billionaire founder is currently in the midst of a trial where he has been accused of pressuring the firm’s board members into a $2.6bn (£1.9bn) deal to buy a solar panel firm.
In the case, which dates back to 2016, shareholders allege the company’s assets were depleted on the all-stock deal with SolarCity, which - they say - was running out of funds.
Mr Musk said he didn’t believe SolarCity was “financially troubled,” adding: “in order to have a compelling product, you really needed to have a tightly integrated solar and battery solution.
“And we could not create a well integrated product if SolarCity was a separate company.”
When the deal took place, Mr Musk owned a 22 per cent stake in both Tesla and the solar panel company, which was founded by his cousins, Lyndon and Peter Rive.
"Since it was a stock-for-stock transaction and I owned almost exactly the same percentage of both there was no financial gain," he said.
He also denied putting pressure on board members, saying that the deal was part of a "master plan" to create affordable vehicles with green power supplies.
Shareholders bringing the case against the entrepreneur have asked the court that he repay Tesla the $2.6bn in full, which would make it one of the largest ever judgements against an individual.
Forbes magazine has estimated that Mr Musk is worth roughly $163 billion.
The trial is expected to last about two weeks.
