Tesla CEO Elon Musk and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon have not been on good terms in recent years, but that appears to be changing, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Any improvement in their relationship could pave the way for the largest bank by market capitalization to do more business with billionaire Musk or his constellation of companies, which also includes SpaceX and social media platform X. Meanwhile, Musk could benefit from JPMorgan’s large offer. capital and services.
But the clash between the business giants is said to have become very intense around 2016. At the time, JPMorgan rejected Musk’s request for the bank to enter into lease contracts for Tesla’s electric cars, citing uncertainty about the value of the batteries, the WJ said.
Musk called the bank, yelled at the head of consumer banking at the time and threatened to pull Tesla’s commercial banking operations, sources told the newspaper. WJ, with one person saying Musk ended his rant with “F— you.” That angered Dimon, who told Musk that JPMorgan would not be bullied, the report said.
A JPMorgan spokesperson declined to comment Fortune. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Relations soured, with JPMorgan suing Tesla in 2021, claiming it was owed money for a transaction the bank helped arrange in 2014. Tesla has filed a counterclaim and the lawsuits are still ongoing.
But the WJ pointed to signs of a thaw: In November, Dimon called Musk a “brilliant human being” who is making “incredible contributions to humanity.” In January, Musk complimented Dimon in a tweet after the bank boss said Donald Trump was right about the economy, immigration and China.
And in March, Musk appeared at a JPMorgan technology event at a Montana resort and spoke with Dimon on stage for an hour, then stopped by Dimon’s suite where they spoke for another hour. Sources later told the newspaper WJ that Dimon decided JPMorgan could try to do business with Musk again.
Meanwhile, Musk is looking for more allies on Wall Street and in the capital markets.
He is trying to win shareholder support for his historic $47 billion compensation package from Tesla, which has drawn heavy criticism.
Elsewhere, Musk’s AI company xAI is looking for investors and last month raised $6 billion in a venture capital round, bringing the less-than-year-old startup to $18 billion.
