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Showing posts with label Elon Musk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elon Musk. Show all posts
Wednesday
Tuesday
Barbarians at the gate - How America mortgaged its future on the altar of MAGA
The administration of Donald J. Trump has predicated its policies on ‘cleaning the swamp’.
Here are the facts:
1) 8 of Trump’s cabinet picks donated almost half-a-billion dollars to his (Trump’s) re-election campaign. While the influence of large campaign donors on policy making is a recurring concern across administrations, the scale of these donations with regard to the incoming Trump administration, raises valid concerns about cronyism and how these relationships might shape policymaking.
2) Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)
The establishment of the DOGE with figures like Elon Musk (and Vivek Ramaswamy at the onset), underscores broader concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Tesla’s historical receipt of government funds to innovate in clean energy contrasts with any policy that undermines competitors like Rivian. Canceling Biden-era funding for Rivian, as Ramaswamy had intimated, could:
•Stifle competition in the EV market, undermining innovation.
•Harm Georgia’s economy if the promised 8,000 jobs fail to materialize.
•Reinforce perceptions of favoritism, potentially benefiting Tesla.
3) Regulation Rollbacks
A loosening of regulatory oversight, particularly in critical sectors like healthcare and aviation, could indeed have far-reaching consequences. Historical examples suggest that deregulation:
•May increase corporate profits but often at the expense of public safety or service quality.
•Risks weakening consumer protections, as seen in sectors like banking and energy following similar moves in the past.
4) Broader Implications
My concern (and that of many well-meaning folks) is about how concentrated wealth and political influence can blur the lines between public service and personal gain. While Trump’s policies have long championed deregulation as a driver of economic growth, the balance between efficiency and accountability will ultimately define public perception of his governance.
Policy Implications for the EV Industry as a result of the possible actions of DOGE and the impact of deregulation, using the Healthcare and Aviation industries as test cases:
Policy Implications for the EV Industry
The competition between Tesla and newer players like Rivian is central to understanding the potential effects of DOGE’s decisions. Here are the key points:
1. Market Competition and Innovation
•Favoritism Risks: If Rivian loses the $6 billion promised by the Biden administration while Tesla continues benefiting from previous subsidies, the playing field could tilt significantly in Tesla’s favor. This reduces competition, which is vital for innovation and cost reduction in the EV market.
•Job Loss and Economic Impact: The proposed Rivian factory in Georgia would generate around 8,000 jobs, directly boosting the local economy. Its cancellation could harm not only the state’s workforce but also U.S. efforts to expand domestic EV manufacturing capacity.
2. Global Leadership in EVs
•Policies favoring one company over others may hinder the U.S.’s ability to compete globally, especially with countries like China, which dominates the EV supply chain and production. A diverse domestic EV ecosystem is critical to achieving energy independence and global competitiveness.
3. Public Perception and Policy Credibility
•Rolling back Rivian’s funding while Tesla remains dominant could spark accusations of bias or corruption, undermining public trust in government energy policies.
Impact of Deregulation
Deregulation in sectors like healthcare and aviation often has mixed results, with both short-term gains for businesses and long-term risks for consumers and workers.
1. Healthcare
•Impact on Safety Standards: Deregulation could loosen controls on drug approvals, hospital standards, and medical device quality. While this might accelerate innovation and reduce costs for companies, it risks patient safety if oversight is weakened.
•Access and Affordability: If deregulation leads to the consolidation of insurance companies or healthcare providers, patients may face fewer options and higher prices in the long run.
2. Aviation
•Safety Concerns: The aviation industry is highly regulated to ensure passenger safety. Reduced oversight could increase the risk of accidents or mechanical failures, as was seen in the aftermath of deregulation in the 1980s. We have already seen that with the tragic air mishaps in Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.
•Cost vs. Quality Trade-offs: While deregulation might lower ticket prices, it often comes at the cost of service quality (e.g., reduced legroom, increased fees, or overbooked flights).
With no guard rails in place for the incoming Trump administration, balancing efficiency and oversight will be a tall order as Trump will not be favorably disposed to the concept of independent watchdogs.
Furthermore, policies that support fair competition, especially in the EV industry, through the encouragement of a diverse marketplace that engenders innovation across multiple players, will be abandoned for archaic and authoritarian policies that promote favoritism and stifle competition.
The basic premise for the creation of DOGE was to promote transparency around funding and policy decisions. It was supposed to help rebuild trust and reduce perceptions of corruption.
Under Trump, with Musk as the main anchor, realizing that aforementioned noble premise will be at best, an illusion.
America and Americans are in for a long and painful ride.
Friday
Elon Musk - The Nazi and Apartheid DNA He Proudly Embodies
CC™ VideoSpective
CREDITS - DEMOCRACY NOW MEDIA
Wednesday
Tesla’s EU sales fall 49% in first two months of 2025
CC™ PersPective
By Global NewsDesk
European sales of Tesla electric cars dropped 49 percent in January-February compared with the same period a year earlier, the ACEA manufacturers’ association said Tuesday.
Aging models are one factor behind the plunge so far this year, but e-vehicle clients may also be refusing to buy in protest of Tesla’s billionaire owner Elon Musk since he became a key supporter of US President Donald Trump.
Musk has been leading a vocal and divisive cost-cutting drive at the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Several Tesla dealerships around the United States have been vandalised in recent weeks and the company’s stock price has plummeted over the past month.
New Tesla registrations in the European Union fell to 19,046 in the first two months of the year, giving the company a market share of just 1.1 percent, the ACEA said.
In February alone, Tesla registrations were down 47 percent at 11,743.
The sales drop came even as overall electric vehicle sales jumped 28.4 percent over the first two months of this year to 255,489 — for an EU market share of 15.2 percent.
But for ACEA director general Sigrid de Vries, “The latest new car registration figures confirm that market demand for battery electric vehicles remains below the level needed for the transition to zero-emission mobility to progress.”
She cited a need for tax and purchasing incentives for clients and investments in recharging stations, at a time when the EU is preparing to ease emission reduction targets for struggling European automakers.
Hybrid-electric vehicles continued to be the biggest market segment in the first two months of the year, rising to 594,059 registrations — for a 35.2 percent market share.
That outpaced both petrol and diesel models, with market shares of 29.1 percent and 9.7 percent in February.
Thursday
US Federal Judge Blocks DOGE From Accessing Social Security Data of Millions of Americans
CC™ PersPective
A federal judge has barred Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive systems at the Social Security Administration, saying the group appears to be on a “fishing expedition” that could jeopardize the data of millions of people.
“The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion,” said U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in a 137-page ruling. “It has launched a search for the proverbial needle in the haystack, without any concrete knowledge that the needle is actually in the haystack.”
Hollander, a Maryland-based appointee of President Barack Obama, ordered an immediate halt to the DOGE Social Security team’s access to any systems that contain sensitive data of Social Security recipients. She ordered Musk, DOGE and other affiliates to destroy any non-anonymized data they’ve obtained.
Tuesday
The Axe of DOGE: Pentagon aims to cut 50,000 to 60,000 civilian workers
CC™ PersPective
The Pentagon is working to downsize its civilian workforce by approximately 50,000 to 60,000 employees through voluntary departures, though it remains uncertain whether this target can be met without resorting to involuntary layoffs.
The Department of Defense is currently implementing a voluntary reduction initiative to achieve a 5% to 8% cut in its 878,000 civilian workforce—an adjustment that translates to around 50,000 to 60,000 positions, a senior defense official told reporters on Tuesday.
“The number sounds high, but I would focus on the percentage, a 5% to 8% reduction is not a drastic one,” the official stated, emphasizing that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “is confident can be done without negatively impacting readiness in order to make sure that our resources are allocated in the right direction.”
So far, about 21,000 civilian employees have had their resignation requests approved under the Pentagon’s Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), which allows employees to resign while still receiving pay until the fiscal year concludes on September 30. However, the senior defense official declined to specify the total number of workers who had applied for this program.
ABC News had previously reported that under a Trump administration initiative, 31,000 civilian employees had submitted resignation requests, though some were denied.
Friday
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starship explodes in space
CC™ Global News
SpaceX’s massive Starship spacecraft exploded in space on Thursday, minutes after lifting off from Texas, marking the second consecutive failure this year for Elon Musk’s Mars rocket programme.
The explosion prompted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to halt air traffic in parts of Florida.
Several videos circulating on social media showed fiery debris streaking across the dusk skies near South Florida and the Bahamas after the spacecraft broke apart.
SpaceX’s live stream of the mission captured the moment Starship began to spin uncontrollably, with its engines shutting down before contact was lost.
The failure of this eighth Starship test comes just over a month after the seventh ended in a similar explosive failure.
Both incidents occurred during early mission phases that SpaceX had previously surpassed with ease, presenting a setback for Musk’s ambitious timeline to accelerate the program this year.
The 403-foot (123-meter) rocket system remains central to his plan to send humans to Mars by the turn of the decade.
The FAA briefly grounded flights at Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Orlando airports due to “space launch debris.” It later announced an investigation into the mishap.
The launch took place at around 6:30 p.m. ET (2330 GMT) from SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas, facilities. The Super Heavy first-stage booster successfully returned to Earth as planned and was caught midair by a SpaceX crane.
However, the upper stage of Starship encountered issues shortly after reaching space, Reuters reported.
SpaceX’s live feed showed the vehicle spinning uncontrollably, with a visualization indicating multiple engine shutdowns.
Soon after, the company lost contact with the spacecraft. Referencing the previous failure, SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot remarked on the live stream, “Unfortunately this happened last time too, so we’ve got some practice now.”
TRIBUNE
Sunday
The Deception of AfriForum as Julius Malema debunks the Elon Musk engineered misinformation troll against majority African rule in South Africa
CC™ VideoSpective
CREDITS: WE LOVE AFRICA
Saturday
Toxic Culture: Elon Musk's company directors are said to feel an 'expectation' to use drugs with him to avoid upsetting the billionaire
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| Elon Musk smokes weed on an episode of the Joe Rogan experience. |
CC™ Business Interest
Elon Musk is said to have created a culture of peer pressure among some of his friends and business associates that encourages them to use drugs with him, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal that details how board members and directors of his various companies either participate in or enable his substance use to stay close to the billionaire.
The Journal reported that at parties in recent years, Musk had been spotted taking ketamine recreationally through a nasal spray and drinking liquid ecstasy from a water bottle, citing people who witnessed the drug use or were briefed about it.
Current and former Tesla and SpaceX directors and board members— some of whom have invested tens of millions of dollars in Musk's companies or have significant stock options tied to their roles — had also used drugs with him, the Journal reported.
Sources told the Journal that the "volume" of Musk's drug use had created a culture wherein his closest business associates feared losing their wealth and social status by upsetting the billionaire if they refused to use drugs with him.
Musk, his lawyer Alex Spiro, and representatives for Tesla and SpaceX didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Following a January 6 report by The Journal that said the 52-year-old had used cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, and magic mushrooms over the years, Musk said in a post on X: "Whatever I'm doing, I should obviously keep doing it!"
After the January report, which could jeopardize Musk's security clearance as well as the billions of dollars of government contracts enjoyed by SpaceX as a defense contractor because of federal regulations on drug use, NASA said in a statement: "The agency does not have evidence of noncompliance from SpaceX on how the company addresses the drug- and alcohol-free workforce regulations."
Musk's reported drug use has been at the center of recent controversies after the Journal reported that a former director at Tesla was so concerned about Musk's drug use and unpredictable behavior that she chose not to stand for reelection to the electric-car company's board.
The Journal also reported that SpaceX executives worried Musk was on drugs during a "cringeworthy" all-hands meeting, in which the billionaire arrived nearly an hour late, rambling and slurring his words for about 15 minutes before the meeting was taken over by the spacecraft manufacturer's president.
Monday
Saturday
Former Tesla director Larry Ellison invited Elon Musk to Hawaii to 'dry out' from drugs, report says
Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert and
Elon Musk's drug use so worried his business associates and company board members that they asked him to go to rehab and even take a break from working to "dry out" from various substances, including LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and ketamine, a new report from The Wall Street Journal said.
Larry Ellison, Musk's close friend, a former Tesla director, and the billionaire cofounder of Oracle, went so far as to urge Musk to travel to Hawaii during winter 2022 to pause his work and avoid drugs, the outlet reported, citing people familiar with the offer.
Ellison's proposal came amid increasing concerns among Musk's friends and associates that Musk's drug use was getting worse, some of those people told the Journal.
At a party in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles around the time of Ellison's suggestion, the report added, one person who attended the event said Musk drank ecstasy in "liquid form" from a water bottle after having his personal security clear the floor for privacy.
The Journal reported the "volume" of Musk's drug use had contributed to a culture of peer pressure among Musk's friends and board directors of his various companies that created an "expectation" for them to use drugs alongside him to maintain the social status gained by being close to the billionaire.
Musk, Ellison, and their lawyers Alex Spiro and Christopher Muzzi did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
The Journal previously reported Musk, who is reportedly one of several executives in Silicon Valley to try his hand at psychedelics such as ketamine, had also indulged in LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and "magic" mushrooms.
Despite proclaiming that he doesn't "like doing illegal drugs," Musk's drug use has previously put him and his companies on notice.
After he smoked marijuana on an episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast, NASA made SpaceX pledge in writing that the company was following federal guidelines on drug use in the workplace. The company spent $5 million in taxpayer money to properly train its employees on the rules, the Journal reported.
The billionaire also said on X that he had a prescription for ketamine, which research has suggested can be used to treat depression.
Experts previously told BI that the combination of hard drugs Musk is said to have used came with several health risks, especially at his age of 52.
Those include irregular heartbeat and incontinence, as well as psychosis if the user has bipolar disorder. In 2017, CNBC reported Musk suggested to his Twitter followers that he had the disorder.
Wednesday
Elom Musk makes history: Becomes first person to lose $200 billion and counting......
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| Illustration: Ryan Trefes |
CC™ News
By Tade Ogunjobi
Billionaire Elon Musk, formerly the richest man in the world, has broken a new record as the first person in history to lose $200 billion and counting, as things stand.
According to the Western/European centric Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index, the Tesla founder and Twitter owner lost $200 billion off his net worth.
It was gathered that Musk’s wealth plummeted to $137 billion following the decline in Tesla shares in recent week. This includes a massive 11 per cent fall in Tesla shares on December 27.
Tesla, out of desperation resorted to offering consumers in the United States a $7,500 discount for its two highest-volume models before the end of 2022.
Recall Musk’s fortune topped at $340 billion in November 2021.
On the back of this, he was the world’s richest person for more than a year at a stretch.
The new Twitter owner was then overtaken this month by Bernard Arnault, the French business magnate and co-founder of luxury goods powerhouse LVMH.
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