Elon Musk Reportedly Puts $1 Billion Behind Skydance’s TV Empire

Elon Musk reportedly invested about $1 billion in David Ellison’s Skydance, a media company whose reach now spans BET, CBS, HBO and CNN.

The money would tie the X owner’s fortunes more closely to television, Semafor reported on October 22, citing people familiar with the matter.

It said the deal came together around the time other investors put in equity. Musk and Paramount did not immediately respond to Semafor’s requests for comment.

Skydance is no longer just the company behind the Paramount deal. It completed its purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery on October 6. That brought CBS, CNN, HBO, BET, MTV and two major film studios into one group.

For viewers, consolidation means more familiar brands with fewer separate owners behind them.

The company’s closing announcement said the Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners together held all its voting shares.

The deal also brought in $47 billion through Class B stock, which lacks voting rights. Semafor did not disclose Musk’s investment vehicle, ownership percentage or any board seat, veto or other special rights.

A financial stake can give an investor a reason to seek influence. It does not, on its own, grant control of news coverage, casting or broadcast licenses.

Musk already has a much more direct link to a major platform.

He bought Twitter for $44 billion in 2022 and renamed it X. His ownership of that platform has already put him at the center of fights over speech and moderation.

In January 2024, Musk called DEI “just another word for racism,” The Guardian reported. DEI means diversity, equity and inclusion.

The Guardian also reported that Musk blamed a “woke mind virus” while discussing his transgender daughter Vivian Wilson’s transition in a 2024 interview.

Musk has also weighed in on casting. AllHipHop reported in February that he criticized Christopher Nolan after a post objected to Lupita Nyong’o playing Helen of Troy in “The Odyssey.”

The TV company’s own stance matters more than guessing what Musk might demand. Before its 2025 merger with Paramount, Skydance promised to eliminate Paramount’s DEI programs and not create its own.

The Associated Press reported that FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez criticized the approval process for weakening efforts to fight discrimination and widen opportunity.

For Black workers and other groups seeking fair access, the stakes include jobs, promotion and support for their work. Those are issues to track, not harms this investment has been shown to cause.

A separate business idea is also in the mix.

Cable billionaire John Malone suggested that SpaceX and Skydance could strike an $8 billion to $10 billion investment and global distribution deal, TheWrap reported. That could bring Starlink, Musk’s satellite internet service, into the business of getting Hollywood programming to viewers.

Skydance has said it plans to combine its streaming services over time and seek at least $6 billion in annual cost savings within three years. Those are company goals, not guaranteed results.