Elon Musk and Donald Trump May Bury the Hatchet
Good morning. Elon Musk and Donald Trump may be coming to their senses. 'America First' is turning into 'America the Avoidable.' And not even the legacy of Trump's mother can save Harris Tweed. Listen to the day's top stories.
Keep calm and carry on. Signs are Donald Trump and Elon Musk may be heading toward a detente, but nothing is for certain quite yet. Musk has signaled he's open to cooling tensions and backed off on a threat to decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft. White House aides have scheduled a call with the Tesla CEO to broker peace, according to Politico. Here's a timeline of their very public spat.
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CNBC
21 minutes ago
- CNBC
Tesla already had big problems. Then Musk went to battle with Trump
Tesla has been facing massive challenges trying to get back on track after a disastrous first quarter. Those headwinds strengthened considerably this week. CEO Elon Musk officially concluded his term with the Trump administration at the end of May, hitting the 130-day mark, the maximum time allowed for a "special government employee." On his way out the door, Musk expressed sharp criticism of the Trump's signature spending bill that's being debated in Congress due to its expected impact on the national debt. What started off as a policy disagreement quickly escalated into an all-out online brawl, with Musk and President Donald Trump hurling insults at one other from their respective social media platforms. After Musk called the "one, big beautiful bill" an "abomination" and rallied his followers on X to "kill the bill," Trump said Musk had gone "CRAZY" and threatened to end government contracts and cut off subsidies for Musk's companies. Musk responded, "Go ahead, make my day." The rift sent Tesla shares plummeting 14% on Thursday, wiping out roughly $152 billion in value, the most for any day in the company's 15 year-history on the public market. While Musk is still the richest person in the world on paper, his net worth plunged by $34 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index. More importantly, the spat brought about the collapse to a relationship that blended business, politics and power in a manner virtually unprecedented in U.S. history. The ramifications to Tesla, which fell out of the trillion-dollar club on Thursday, could be severe, and not just because Trump is reportedly considering selling or giving away the red Model S he purchased in March after turning the White House lawn into a Tesla showroom. A senior White House official told NBC News on Friday that the president was "not interested" in having a call with Musk to resolve their feud. Ire from the Trump administration could influence everything from future regulation, investigations and government support for Tesla, to decisions on tariff exemptions the company has been seeking in order to purchase Chinese-made manufacturing equipment. Tesla shares were badly underperforming the broader market before the Musk-Trump breakup. Revenue slid 9% in the first quarter from a year earlier, with auto revenue plummeting 20%, due to the combination of increased competition from lower-cost EV makers in China and a consumer backlash to Trump's political activities and rhetoric. It's certainly not what Tesla shareholders were expecting, when they sent the stock up about 30% in the days following Trump's election victory in November. After spending close to $300 million to return Trump to the White House, Musk was poised to have a major role in the administration and be in position to push through regulatory changes in ways that benefited his companies. Instead, his company has suffered, and Musk's behavior is largely to blame. One of his most divisive actions in leading the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was the dismantling of USAID, which previously delivered billions of dollars of food and medicine to more than 100 countries. Beyond the U.S., Musk has endorsed Germany's far-right extremist party AfD, and gave a gesture that many viewed as a Nazi salute at an inauguration rally. In response, in recent months, there were numerous cases of vandalism or arson of Tesla facilities or vehicles in the U.S., as well as waves of peaceful protests at Tesla stores and service centers in North America and Europe. Advertisements in protest of Musk have appeared in New York's Times Square, and at bus shelters in London, urging people to boycott Tesla, some labeling the company's EVs as "swasticars." The Vancouver International Auto Show even removed Tesla from its exhibitors' list fearing the company's presence would cause safety problems. On top all that are President Trump's sweeping tariffs, which have led to concerns that costs will increase for parts and materials crucial for EV production. In its first-quarter earnings report in April, Tesla refrained from promising growth this year and said it will "revisit our 2025 guidance in our Q2 update." Pension funds that invest in Tesla have said the "crisis" at the company requires a leader to work a minimum of 40 hours per week to focus on solving its problems. Public officials are echoing that sentiment, and calling on Tesla's board to take action. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said on Thursday in s statement to CNBC that the "schoolyard fight" between Trump and Musk highlights how "Tesla's weak accountability measures and poor governance threaten not only the company's financial stability and shareholder value, but also the future of homegrown EV production." Brooke Lierman, comptroller of Maryland, told CNBC in an email that the company's board "is not doing its job to ensure that there is a CEO at Tesla who is putting the company's interests first." Since Musk's name is synonymous with Tesla, the board needs to ensure that Tesla can stand on its own regardless of who's leading the company, she added. "Musk's behavior continues to threaten the future of Tesla," Lierman said. "As long as Tesla is identified with Elon Musk and he continues to be a polarizing figure, he will continue to damage the brand which is a huge part of Tesla's value." Musk didn't respond to a request for comment. CNBC also reached out for comment to board chair Robyn Denholm and directors and executives who work in government relations and in the office of the CEO. None of them responded as of the time of publication. Tesla investors focused on business fundamentals are justified in their skepticism. The company has failed to roll out innovative and affordable new model EVs, while Chinese competitors like BYD have flooded the market, particularly in Europe. Analysts at Goldman Sachs on Thursday lowered their price target on Tesla mostly due to the outlook for 2025. Deliveries this quarter are tracking lower for the U.S., the analysts noted, while European sales saw a 50% year-over-year decline in April and another double-digit drop in May. China sales from those two months were down about 20% from a year earlier. Quality is also a problem. Tesla has announced eight voluntary recalls of the Cybertruck in 15 months due to a range of issues including software bugs and sticking accelerator pedals. Musk is urging investors to largely ignore the core business and look to the future, which he says is all about autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots. But even there, Tesla is behind. In AVs the company has ceded ground to Alphabet's Waymo, which is operating commercial robotaxi services in several U.S. markets. After a decade of missed deadlines, Musk has promised a small launch of a Tesla driverless ride-hailing service in Austin this month. The Austin robotaxi service will operate in a geofenced area, Musk said in a recent interview with CNBC's David Faber, and will begin with a small fleet of just 10 to 20 Model Y vehicles with Full Self-Driving (FSD) Unsupervised technology installed. If all goes well, Musk has said, Tesla will try to rapidly expand its driverless offerings to other markets like San Francisco and Los Angeles. What consumers won't be seeing anytime soon are the Cybercab and Robovan vehicles that Tesla touted at its "We, Robot" event last year to drum up customer and investor enthusiasm. On Friday, Milan Kovac, Tesla's vice president of Optimus robotics, announced he was leaving after joining the company in 2016. Musk thanked him for his "outstanding contribution" in a post on X. Still, there are plenty Tesla bulls and Musk fanboys who are believers in the CEO's vision. The stock's 4% rebound on Friday is a sign that some saw an opportunity to buy the dip. "I think the real story here is the investor base of Tesla literally doesn't care about anything," Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management and CNBC PRO contributor, told CNBC's "Halftime Report" Friday. "This is still a nothing matters stock." FundStrat's Tom Lee said the Tesla selloff was "overdone." Tesla's market cap, which is dramatically inflated relative to every other U.S. car maker, is built on Musk's vision of Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots doing factory work and babysitting our children, while self-driving Cybercabs and Robovans make money carting around passengers. Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas wrote in a note this week that, "Tesla still holds so many valuable cards that are largely apolitical," pointing to what he sees as the company's "AI leadership, autonomy/robotics, manufacturing, supply chain re-architecture, renewable power, [and] critical infrastructure." In terms of Tesla's existing business, the most immediate impact from what's happening in Washington D.C., is the rollback of EV credits in the current budget bill that Musk loudly opposes and that's struggling to find sufficient support in the Senate. There's also the matter of the tariffs and whether Tesla is able to get preferred treatment, a proposition that seems increasingly unlikely with the Musk-Trump fallout. Matthew LaBrot, a former Tesla staff program manager, told CNBC that he's not surprised that Musk blew up his relationship with the president. LaBrot was terminated earlier this year after sending an open letter in protest of Musk's divisive political activity. "I am devastated for the country and the climate, though Elon only has himself to blame," LaBrot said in an interview. "Back a loose canon, expect stray canon fire." Tesla investors can't know at the moment how much of Musk's energy and time will now return to his lone public company, and the business responsible for the vast majority of his wealth. Even without politics, he still has SpaceX, AI startup xAI and brain tech startup Neuralink, among other businesses. As of Thursday, Musk still had a West Wing office that hadn't been cleaned out, two administration officials told NBC News. The space will likely be packed up in the coming days, one of the officials said. And while his time in the Trump camp may be over, Musk has called on his followers to form a new party in the U.S. "Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?" he wrote on X on Thursday, in a post that's now pinned at the top of his page. According to the post, 80% of 5.6 million respondents to the unofficial poll said "yes." Musk's actions this week may have caused a permanent rift with the president. But one thing is clear — his company can't get away from the White House.
USA Today
22 minutes ago
- USA Today
Supreme Court rejects GOP challenge to Pennsylvania ruling about provisional ballots
Supreme Court rejects GOP challenge to Pennsylvania ruling about provisional ballots Show Caption Hide Caption Supreme Court hears arguments on judges' block on Trump birthright EO The justices heard arguments on whether its ok for judges to universally block President Donald Trump's birthright citizenship executive order. WASHINGTON − The Supreme Court on June 6 rejected a Republican challenge to a Pennsylvania court's ruling on provisional ballots, a case that could have restricted how much leeway state courts have to interpret federal election rules. During the 2024 election, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said voters should be able to cast provisional ballots if they failed to encase an absentee ballot in the required secrecy sleeve. State and national Republicans argued that would give voters an 'unauthorized do-over' for 'naked ballots' or for other mistakes on mail-in votes. And they said the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision usurped the power the Constitution gives state legislatures to set federal election rules. In November, the U.S. Supreme Court declined the GOP's emergency request to intervene as ballots were being cast. The Republican National Committee said the justices should decide the issue now because they can do so without worrying whether their decision would affect an ongoing election. Related: Supreme Court to decide if challenge to Illinois' grace period for mail-in ballots can proceed Pennsylvania Democrats countered that the 2024 ruling by the state supreme court was consistent with the text of state election law and with the intent of the legislators who set the rules. There's no good reason, Democrats said, for the Supreme Court to review what was a routine interpretation of a state law. Getting involved would invite appeals in 'any and every state-law election case," lawyers for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party told the justices. 'That is not a regime the Court should foster,' they wrote. The case is the second about election law the court agreed to hear next term. They will also decide whether a GOP congressman can challenge Illinois' decision to count mail-in ballots that are cast, but not received, before the end of Election Day.
TechCrunch
22 minutes ago
- TechCrunch
TechCrunch Mobility: How Jony Ive's LoveFrom helped Rivian and what Uber's next-generation playbook looks like
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! I've spent a decade covering Tesla and CEO Elon Musk, so it would be natural for me to weigh in here about the billionaire's public fallout with President Donald Trump. Plenty of other reporters, armchair analysts, influencers, and bloggers have already done that. Some of it is smart, while some of it misses the mark — by miles. Since I have the benefit of institutional knowledge, and a helluva good memory, let me offer some brief reminders and predictions. We've been here before — Musk has a long, well-documented history of creating seemingly strong alliances and then burning it all down. As senior reporter Tim De Chant noted, Elon is getting an introduction to politics. The problem here is that Musk also embraces risk and gravitas — which means that learning something doesn't equate to his behavior changing. Expect a roller-coaster ride of tentative peace followed by public outbursts. Rinse. Repeat. The implications of this fallout promise to be broad and will likely touch all of Musk's various enterprises. I will be monitoring how Tesla EV sales numbers fare and how the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' will actually affect the automaker's business if it is passed into law. In the short term, I will be focused on Tesla's great robotaxi experiment in Austin, Texas, and how Musk's complicated and increasingly toxic relationship with the Trump administration affects his dealings with the Department of Transportation. Prior to his public breakup with Trump, Musk was lobbying lawmakers on legislation related to autonomous vehicles — specifically over a bill introduced on May 15 called the Autonomous Vehicle Acceleration Act. A little bird Image Credits:Bryce Durbin Ever since Rivian spun out Also, a micromobility startup that also received backing from Eclipse Ventures, we've been poking around to find out more. A few little birds have been in touch and helped us better understand how the skunkworks program turned into a stand-alone company; they also revealed a surprising detail: Jony Ive's creative firm LoveFrom worked alongside Rivian's design team and the staff under the skunkworks program. Senior reporter Sean O'Kane and I have the full scoop here. Techcrunch event Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at or my Signal at kkorosec.07, Sean O'Kane at or Rebecca Bellan at Or check out these instructions to learn how to contact us via encrypted messaging apps or SecureDrop. Deals! Image Credits:Bryce Durbin Memorandums of understanding rarely grab my attention. But this one did. Joby Aviation and Saudi Arabian conglomerate Abdul Latif Jameel signed a memorandum of understanding to explore a distribution agreement for up to 200 electric aircraft. The tentative deal is notable because Abdul Latif Jameel is already an investor of Joby. If finalized, the partnership could provide Joby with a fast path to monetizing its electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles in Saudi Arabia. Turning an investor into a customer can complicate the relationship, too (just ask Amazon and Rivian.) Other deals worth noting … Obvio, a California-based startup that is combining AI with cameras placed at stop signs to root out unsafe driving behavior, raised $22 million in a Series A funding round led by Bain Capital Ventures. Obvio plans to use those funds to expand beyond the first five cities where it's currently operating in Maryland. Portless, an e-commerce fulfillment and logistics startup, raised $18 million in a funding round led by Commerce Ventures, with participation from eGateway Capital, Ground Up Ventures, and FJ Labs. Portless uses a Shein-like business model and charges brands duties after an item sells, helping defer the cost of tariffs. Toma, an AI voice startup that is applying its tools to car dealerships, raised $17 million across a seed and Series A round led by a16z. Y Combinator (Toma was in YC's January 2024 cohort), the Scale Angels Fund, and auto industry influencer Yossi Levi, also known as the Car Dealership Guy, have backed the startup. What Uber's executive shuffling is telling us Recent executive shuffling coupled with comments by Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi don't just hint at the company's strategy. Nope, this is like a neon blinking sign and the word 'autonomy' is at the center. Earlier this week, Uber announced it had appointed Andrew 'Mac' Macdonald as president and chief operating officer. The company also announced the departure of Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, who ran Uber's delivery business. Gore-Coty's responsibilities will slot under Macdonald, who has been with the company since 2012 and most recently led the mobility and business operations. Another tidbit worth mentioning: He launched Uber's Toronto operations 13 years ago and spearheaded its autonomous strategy. Mac's new role will combine mobility, delivery, and autonomy. At a Bloomberg conference, Khosrowshahi was asked about AVs. He talked about building the AV ecosystem and Uber's stakes in companies (Aurora and Waabi) developing autonomous vehicle technology. 'We want to essentially support the AV ecosystem and continue to help that ecosystem develop and then AVs penetrate into the marketplace,' he said. 'AVs, we think, represent a safer way of transportation. Ultimately, we think it'll expand the marketplace as it makes kind of safe transportation cities available to everybody.' In other Uber news, the company has added a new type of account with a simpler UI for older people. Notable reads and other tidbits Image Credits:Bryce Durbin Autonomous vehicles Tesla filed trademark applications for the term 'Tesla Robotaxi' after the company's previous attempts to secure trademarks for its planned self-driving vehicle service hit roadblocks. Electric vehicles, batteries, & charging I missed this story from Axios reporter Katie Fehrenbacher and wanted to mention it here. Last year, Redwood Materials quietly walked away from the Department of Energy (DOE) loan it had received conditional approval for. To date, Redwood has never received any federal funding. I reached out to Redwood to understand why. Redwood initially applied for a DOE loan in 2021. The process dragged on and at considerable cost to Redwood. Companies that go through this process are responsible for paying the third-party consultants and experts hired to vet the business and technology. By 2024, Redwood was still on the conditional approval limbo. While it was waiting, the company raised more than $2 billion in private funding and generated nearly $200 million in revenue last year. Ultimately, Redwood determined that the costs and constraints of this loan outweighed its value. Future of flight Walmart and Alphabet's Wing are bringing drone delivery to thousands more customers. Wing, which already operates out of 18 Walmart Supercenters in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, is setting up shop in five more U.S. cities through the partnership. In all, more than 100 stores will be added in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando, and Tampa. People Trevor Milton, the recently pardoned founder of Nikola, has been fighting a subpoena from the creditors of his bankrupt electric trucking company. Milton owed Nikola nearly $100 million before it filed for bankruptcy in February, which followed an arbitration case with the company in 2023 related to his criminal conviction that he lost.
