• Elon Musk’s vision to usher in a utopia powered by Tesla robotaxis and the company’s humanoid robot, Optimus, will likely take significant cash. Tesla spent $6.3 billion in capex during the second half of last year, but the gross value of the company’s relevant assets only increased by $4.9 billion. Those numbers should tally for domestic companies without any major asset sales or impairments, but other factors could be at play for Tesla. 

Tesla is making big bets on AI, but investors might have a reason to question where the money is going. If left unexplained, a $1.4 billion discrepancy between the firm’s capital expenditures and the valuation of the assets that cash was spent on, first reported by the Financial Times, could spark concerns about internal controls at Elon Musk’s electric vehicle giant.

Several accounting experts, however, say there are plausible justifications for the variance that might not show up on Tesla’s financial statements. You would expect the relevant numbers to add up for a domestic company with no big asset sales or impairments, said Tim Morrison, an accounting professor at Notre Dame and former audit partner at Ernst & Young. Tesla, of course, sells cars around the world and has factories on three continents. PwC has audited Tesla’s financial statements since 2005.

“If they had the numbers incorrect, then that would be a red flag related to controls,” said Morrison, who worked primarily with multinational manufacturing companies and led internal inspections to assess audit quality at EY.

This isn’t the first time Tesla’s accounting practices have been questioned, noted Garrett Nelson, a vice president and senior equity analyst at CFRA Research.

“We’ll have to see whether PwC or the company provide clarification,” he wrote in an email to Fortune.

Tesla and the Big Four firm did not respond to a request from Fortune for comment.

Tesla shares have lost roughly half their value since their post-election high near the $490 mark in December. The company has shed nearly $750 billion in market cap amid plummeting sales and fears Musk’s work with President Donald Trump’s White House is damaging the brand and distracting him from his role as CEO of Tesla.

The stock rallied Friday, though, after Musk held an emergency all-hands meeting with employees. Bullish investors believe Tesla will be much more than an EV and battery storage company, citing Musk’s vision of using AI to usher in a utopia powered by Tesla robotaxis and the company’s humanoid robot, Optimus.  

Executing that plan will presumably require significant investment. On the company’s latest earnings call in January, CFO Vaibhav Taneja said Tesla’s $11.3 billion in annual capex—up $2.4 billion from 2023—should remain flat this year. The company’s cumulative AI-related spend, he noted, had just surpassed the $5 billion mark.

“Capex efficiency is something we are extremely focused on,” Taneja said. “While we have invested in AI-related initiatives, we have done so in a very targeted manner to utilize the spend to get immediate benefits.”

Accounting for a $1.4 billion mystery

That spending shows up on the annual statement of cash flows as purchases of property, plant, and equipment, or PP&E. In the second half of last year, that amount grew by $6.3 billion, the same value for capex that Tesla reported in its slide deck for investors.

But the gross value of the company’s PP&E, or its worth before accounting for depreciation, only increased $4.9 billion in that span. Again, for a domestic company, you would expect those numbers to tally.

There’s no evidence any PP&E was sold, Morrison confirmed, and the company did not recognize any impairments to its “long-lived assets,” which Tesla expects to use for more than one year.

Foreign currency changes, however, can throw everything off. If the euro weakens relative to the dollar like it did during the period in question, Morrison explained, assets at the company’s facilities in Germany are marked down.

“You’re not going to see [it] anywhere else on the financial statements,” he said.

While the Financial Times said foreign exchange appeared “unlikely to explain the gap,” citing that four-fifths of Tesla’s long-lived assets are in the U.S., Morrison said it could still explain a significant chunk.

“Foreign currency can do lots of weird things,” he said, “and it’s really hard to fully track that.”

Finally, he also noted Tesla could have gotten rid of assets that had reached the end of their useful lives, in which case it would make sense if they are no longer on the books.

“If the fully depreciated asset is disposed of, the asset’s value and accumulated depreciation will be written off from the balance sheet,” according to an explanation from the Corporate Finance Institute.

In short, it may not be time for investors to sound an alarm about Tesla’s capex just yet. As the Financial Times noted, it may seem odd Tesla felt the need to raise $3.9 billion in new debt last year, given the company is sitting on a $36.5 billion cash pile and doesn’t pay a dividend. Still, that sort of behavior may be reasonable for a company banking on future growth, Morrison said.

Despite the stock’s recent decline, Tesla shares still trade at roughly 90 times the company’s projected earnings for the next 12 months, according to S&P Cap IQ estimates. To put it mildly, bulls better believe Musk’s investments will pay off in a big way.   

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

• It’s not just Gen Z and millennials on TikTok who are raving about the 5-to-9 after their 9-to-5. Black Eyed Peas’ Will.i.am is also a fan of the productivity hack—he says it’s the secret to getting his creative juices flowing, as well as ditching work-life balance.

Will.i.am is busy. When he’s not writing hit songs like “OMG” for Usher, he’s looking for the next big pop star on The Voice U.K., or running his new AI company, FYI. So how exactly does he balance it all? 

The Grammy award-winning artist-turned-tech entrepreneur revealed to Fortune that he maxes out the 5-to-9 after the daily grind of his 9-to-5—and he advises Gen Z to forget about work-life balance if they want to emulate his success.

“If you’re trying to build something that doesn’t exist, it’s about dream-reality balance,” he says. “Work-life balance means that you’re working for somebody else’s dream. You just have a job supporting somebody else’s dream, and you want to balance your work and your life.”

“But if it’s dream-reality balance, then it’s not work. It’s a dream that you’re trying to put into reality, and you’re ignoring your current reality.”

For example, after working on his tech venture from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Will.i.am says that he goes back to work on his creative business until 9 p.m. But before his AI company was a reality, his day was flipped. He’d work on music first before dipping into his tech side hustle well into the evening. 

It’s why he advises young people to reframe how they think of their time off work and their current 9-to-5 reality.

“I’m not really paying attention to this reality,” he explains. “I’m trying to bring that one [a new business venture or idea] here and focusing on how do I get people who believe in this dream to help me materialize it? So for that, you have to make some type of sacrifice to bring this thing that doesn’t exist here.”

“From that perspective, work-life balance is not for the architects that are pulling visions into reality. Those words don’t compute to the mindset of the materializers.”

Will.i.am doesn’t even take time out for his birthday—and goes to work in China on Boxing day

Of course, many young people already put in hours to their side hustles and personal development after work. Millions of Gen Zers and millennials are tuning into people’s 5-to-9 evening routines on TikTok. 

But Will.i.am says chipping away at your dream when most people are off work extends to weekends, birthdays, and holidays.

“I didn’t party; I was always a square meaning, ‘You work too much, man, let’s go out.’ Like what? Go out. I don’t want to go out. I just always worked,” the rapper says. “It’s your birthday what are you gonna do? Work. You ain’t gonna celebrate?”

The multimillionaire says he’s always saved the celebrating for the stage, where he can finally enjoy the fruits of his labor.

“There’s nothing that’s ever gonna feel that glorious than when you’re actually at a festival. But how do you get to headline a festival? You’ve got to work. My friends would go out and party, hanging out with chicks, doing drugs, drinking. I was just in the studio working, writing songs.”

To this day, he says that he hasn’t gone out and celebrated a birthday—including his most recent one, which was just last week on March 15.

“Like on Christmas for the past 12 years: I could celebrate Christmas with my family, and then on the 26th, I fly to China because that’s dreamer maker heaven. Anything you want to make is there.”

Will.i.am was speaking to Fortune in Rome for the rollout of Raidio.FYI radios in Mercedes-Benz cars.

Will.i.am’s daily work routine

7 a.m.: Will.i.am is not a part of the CEO-approved 5 a.m. club. Instead, he told Fortune he wakes up at around 7 a.m.—and he sticks to this routine whether he’s living in LA or London. 

8 a.m.: “I walk, do my calls, and get to work,” he says, with the aim to start work at 9a.m. 

9 a.m.-5 p.m.: “I get a lot done from nine to 12, do my little lunch, then back to work at one, finish at five, and that’s all my tech, like entrepreneurial activities.

5-9 p.m.: “The night hours are creativity,” he says, adding that specifically between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. is when he gets the best ideas. “That’s the juicy bits, (when) I’m freaking soaking in emotion, to where I just rinse it out in the phone.” 

9 p.m. onwards: When Will.i.am was in his late 20s, he says going to sleep at 4 a.m. (and waking up at noon) was the norm. But now, at 50 and balancing both his tech and music ventures, he starts unwinding for bed after 9 p.m. and is asleep by 11 p.m. 

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

• Ever wondered what it’d be like to win millions in a MrBeast competition? Jeff Allen did exactly that. He reveals exclusively to Fortune what it’s like winning $10 million—the largest prize fund ever awarded for a competitive reality TV show—how he’s investing the cash, and why he’s not going to let it put a pin in his career.

When MrBeast—whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson—put out a calling last year for 1,000 contestants for a new reality competition show, Jeff Allen was skeptical. Allen had just lost his job, and he was dealing with the realities of having a son with a rare brain disease. But, he decided to take a leap of faith and made it on the show as contestant number 831. 

After weeks of filming that took him to Las Vegas, Panama, and Toronto, he was crowned victory and left $10 million richer, the largest sum ever awarded in a competitive reality TV show—but the adjustment hasn’t been as easy as he expected.

“It’s a blessing to win $10 million and have 10 million eyes from all over the world on you and hear about my son’s rare brain disease,” Allen tells Fortune. “But also it’s a little daunting.”

While during Beast Games, Allen had to deal with pulling a monster truck, finding a golden ticket, and opening mystery briefcases, he’s now fighting new challenges—like figuring out what to do with his newfound millionaire status and how to stretch it as far as possible to find a cure for his son’s disease.

In it for the platform—not the money

Allen’s youngest son, Lucas, was born with a rare genetic disorder called creatine transporter deficiency (CTD), which has caused a deficit in his brain development. According to the Association for Creatine Deficiencies (ACD), an estimated 35,000 individuals have the condition. Allen has made it his life’s mission to bring awareness to CTD—and one day help find a cure for it. 

That’s why during the countless times Allen had the opportunity to take one of the game’s bribes—even $1 million—to leave the game, he stayed. During each episode of Beast Games, a portion of the original 1,000 contestants were eliminated or left with a bribe, with only six remaining by the 10th and final part.

However, Allen says he was never in it for the money. By episode eight, Allen was spotlighted, and he shared Lucas’s story with the world. By episode 10, it was hard to not root for Allen, knowing what he hoped to do with the money.

“My ultimate aim for joining Beast Games was to have a platform to talk about my son—Lucas’s rare brain disease,” he tells Fortune, adding that it wasn’t until episode 10 that he realized he could even take home the life-changing amount of cash. 

“I realized, wait, I’m this far, I can also win this thing,” he says. “I got the best of both worlds, and it’s crazy to even think back to it.”

In total, Beast Games won 44 Guinness World Records while recording, including the largest physical cash prize on set.

After recording for the show wrapped up in the fall, Allen and his family had to stay quiet about his victory, but it didn’t stop him from raising awareness for CTD. He recently spent 18 days rucking across California. He hiked 365 miles in total, with weights on his back, and raised over $140,000 for the ACD. As a volunteer board member of the organization, he hopes the whole world will soon know about the disease.

“Our aim as parent advocates is to find solutions for our kiddos and to help families who aren’t even who aren’t even formed yet, to be able to avoid struggling and suffering the way our families do today,” he says.

Heidi Wallis, executive director of the ACD, says Allen has “jolted” the organization’s parent-powered movement. During the week of the Beast Games finale, the ACD website experienced 100 times the usual traffic. Weeks later, website visits are still 10 times higher than usual.

“Together, we are creating a future where every child with CTD can be diagnosed promptly and treated effectively. Thanks to this elevated awareness, more families have found support — and hope for a cure,” Wallis says.

Allen hopes to raise $40 to $50 million for the organization to hopefully fund a clinical trial and find a cure. 

So, what do you do with a cool $10 million?

At the start of Beast Games, the grand prize was only set to be $5 million, but a plot twist in the final episode caused the pot to double to $10 million. Allen says that only after the show was released was he wired the money.

Immediately, Allen moved a majority of his money into a high-yield U.S. treasuries cash reserve, and his financial advisor at Arta Finance, Emmy Sakulrompochai, helped him set up an estate plan that included a special needs trust to ensure his son has long-term financial support.

Allen also donated $200,000 to charity to help fund research for CTD, with plans to make a larger donation later this year. 

“His goals are pretty clear, that he wants to stand up all his money,” Sakulrompochai tells Fortune. “He wants to be able to grow and invest that over time so that he could create impact as much as possible within the research.”

She adds that for anyone who encounters a new large sum of money, it’s critical to think about long-term goals before spending it. Otherwise, you might run into major tax issues later or simply end up losing it all like some lottery winners. Allen may owe the government $2.5 million due to income taxes, but by investing the money in the meantime, he may be able to lessen the burden. 

And despite the challenges that come with being a millionaire and internet sensation, Allen says he isn’t going to let it all put a permanent damper on his career.

“I do have an appetite for business,” Allen says. “I love the sales and operations side of it. Right now, I haven’t dove back into anything quickly, but it’ll be hard to keep me away for a long time.”

“At the end of the day, it’s good problems to have,” he adds. “Overall, I’m happy and I’m blessed.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com