Elon Musk has invested roughly $1 billion in Skydance, the media company formed after Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, CNBC reported Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
The investment, first reported by Semafor, provides a financial boost as the newly combined company seeks to cut costs and support its stock price amid a heavy debt load. Paramount completed its roughly $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on October 6, renaming the entity Skydance. Co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz are integrating two major film studios, the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming platforms, a portfolio of television networks (including CBS, CNN, and others), and supporting corporate functions.
Skydance has outlined plans for about $6 billion in cost savings over three years, while carrying a debt burden of nearly $80 billion. Musk’s commitment is part of a broader equity-raising effort; other investors, including board member Laurene Powell Jobs, also made equity investments around the same time. Representatives for Musk and Skydance did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and shares of Skydance were down about 1% following the reports.
The move deepens Musk’s longstanding ties to the Ellison family. David Ellison’s father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, invested $1 billion to help fund Musk’s 2022 acquisition of Twitter (now X), previously invested in Tesla, and served on Tesla’s board. Musk has publicly praised the Ellisons and Skydance. The investment has fueled speculation about potential further collaboration, including between Skydance and Musk’s SpaceX Starlink satellite network, after media executive John Malone suggested larger cross-investments or content distribution deals could follow.