Musk pumps $1bn into Skydance, the company that owns CNN

Elon Musk has made a $1 billion investment in Skydance, the company that owns CNN, according to Semafor.

On October 6, Paramount closed the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, becoming the combined entity Skydance.

“We are building a true product and tech team,” David Ellison told CNBC earlier this month.

“We are a big believer that artificial intelligence is a tool for artists, not the other way around.”

Skydance is led and controlled by the Ellison family, who are friends of President Trump.

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The financial injection comes as the company looks to cut costs following Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which closed on October 6, with the combined entity named Skydance. Co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz are now tasked with merging Paramount and Warner Bros.’ film studios, as well as streaming platforms Paramount+ and HBO Max, alongside a host of corporate functions supporting the company’s TV networks and two news divisions.

Skydance has said it expects $6 billion in cost savings over three years, though it carries a debt burden of nearly $80 billion.

Musk’s investment is reportedly part of a wider push by Skydance to raise equity funding, according to Semafor, which first reported the development.

Representatives for Musk and Skydance did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and shares of Skydance were down about 1% on Thursday.

Ellison’s father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, has a history with Musk, having invested $1 billion in his 2022 acquisition of Twitter, now X, and previously served on Tesla’s board after investing in the company in 2018.

The elder Ellison also personally guaranteed more than $40 billion in equity financing for Paramount’s takeover of WBD.