US SEC, Musk seek more time for billionaire to respond to SEC's lawsuit
In a filing in federal court in Washington, D.C., the SEC and Musk said they have agreed to give Musk until August 29, 2025, to answer or otherwise respond to the lawsuit. He was due to respond by July 18.
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Leader Live
6 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Tesla profit plunges in latest quarter as Musk's turn to politics repels buyers
The car company that has faced boycotts for months said on Wednesday that revenue dropped 12% and profits slumped 16% in the three months through June as buyers continued to stay away. 'The perception of Elon Musk, its chief executive, has rubbed the sheen right out of what once was a darling and soaring automotive brand,' wrote Forrester analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee in an email. Tesla is 'a toxic brand that is inseparable from its leader'. Quarterly profits at the electric vehicle, battery and robotics company fell to 1.17 billion dollars (£865.8 million), or 33 cents a share, from 1.4 billion (£1.03 billion), or 40 cents a share. That was the third quarter in a row that profit dropped. On an adjusted basis, the company said it earned 40 cents a share, matching Wall Street estimates. Revenue fell from 25.5 billion (£18.8 billion) to 22.5 billion (£16.6 billion) in the April through June period, slightly above Wall Street's forecast. Tesla shares fell 3% in after-hours trading. Mr Musk spent the company's earnings conference call talking less about car sales and more about robotaxis, automated driving software and robotics, which he says is the future of the company. But those businesses are yet to take off, and the gap between promise and profit was apparent in the second quarter. 'It appears management's focus will now shift to robotaxis and away from deliveries growth,' said Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein, referring to car sales. A big challenge is that potential buyers, not just in the US but in Europe, are still baulking at buying Teslas. Mr Musk alienated many in the market for cars in Great Britain, France, Germany and elsewhere by embracing far-right candidates for office on the continent. And rival electric vehicle makers such as China's BYD and Germany's Volkswagen have pounced on the weakness, stealing market share. Tesla began a rollout of its paid pickup robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, and hopes to introduce the driverless cabs in several other cities soon. Mr Musk has said he expects to have hundreds of thousands of the cabs on US roads by the end of next year. In the post-earnings call, Mr Musk said the service will be available to probably 'half of the population of the US by the end of the year — that's at least our goal, subject to regulatory approvals'. He added: 'We are being very cautious. We don't want to take any chances.' The test run in Austin has mostly gone off without a hitch, though there have been a few alarming incidents, such as when a robotaxi went down a lane meant for opposing traffic. With autonomous taxis, though, the billionaire who upended the space race and electric vehicle manufacturing faces tough competition. The dominant provider now, Waymo, is already in several cities and recently logged its ten-millionth paid trip. Meanwhile, other threats loom. The new federal budget just passed by Congress eliminates a credit worth as much as 7,500 dollars (£5,522) for buying an electric car. It also wipes out penalties for car makers for exceeding carbon emission standards. That threatens Tesla's business of selling its 'carbon credits' to traditional car companies that regularly fall short of emission standards. Tesla generated 439 million (£328 million) from credit sales, down sharply from 890 million (658 million) a year ago. 'We're in this weird transition period where we'll lose a lot of incentives in the US,' Mr Musk said, predicting several rough months possibly through June of next year. He added, though: 'Once you get to autonomy at scale in the second half of next year, certainly by the end of next year, I would be surprised if Tesla's economics are not very compelling.' The company is now planning to introduce a cheaper model to the market in the last three months of the year. Tesla had previously said that it was going to happen by June this year. Mr Musk also said he expected regulatory approval to introduce its so-called Full Self-Driving software in some parts of Europe by the end of the year. He had previously expected that to happen by March of this year. The feature, which is available in the US, is a misnomer because it is only a driver assistance feature. In the robot business, Mr Musk said he expects explosive growth as Tesla ramps up production of its humanoid Optimus helpers to 100,000 a month in five years. 'We'll go from a world where robots are rare to where they're so common that you don't even look up,' he said. Asked about whether he would want more than his current 13% stake in Tesla to keep control, Mr Musk said he did want more but not too much. 'I think my control over Tesla should be enough to ensure that it goes in a good direction,' he said, 'but not so much control that I can't be thrown out if I go crazy'. Gross margins for the quarter, a measure of earnings for each dollar of revenue, fell to 17.2% from 18% a year earlier. A highlight from the quarter was from something far removed from cars and robots: the company's investment in bitcoin. That bet generated a 284 million (£210 million) paper gain, compared with a loss in the previous quarter.
Reuters
7 minutes ago
- Reuters
Lynas sees higher rare earths prices after US backs MP Materials
MELBOURNE, July 24 (Reuters) - Prices of rare earths could rally further given growing demand for Western material, reflected in a recent deal by the United States that has shown its resolve to rebuild the sector outside China, the CEO of top producer Lynas Rare Earths ( opens new tab said. The U.S. Department of Defense this month agreed to a multi-billion dollar deal to become the largest shareholder in the Australian company's peer, MP Materials (MP.N), opens new tab, the sole U.S. miner of the magnetic metals used in electronics, electric vehicles and aircraft engines. As part of the deal, it offered a floor price of $110 per kilogram for the two most popular rare earths, a price nearly twice the current Chinese market level. Lynas CEO Amanda Lacaze, who heads the world's largest rare earths producer outside China, said the MP Materials deal reflected the U.S. government's determination to break Beijing's dominance and to drive investment in its own industry. "Can (prices) go above $110? Yes and I think the recent detail of the deal is that there would be an expectation for the government that that is likely to happen, because they have negotiated exposure to upside," she said. After Beijing curbed exports earlier this year, automakers panicked over a rare earths supply bottleneck, though those concerns have started to dissipate as Chinese rare earths magnets began to flow again. Japanese magnet makers had "significantly increased" their output over the past quarter due to the Chinese supply shortages, and Lynas was working with them to develop automotive customers outside their home country, Lacaze said. Lynas beat estimates for fourth-quarter revenue by 10%, driven by higher selling prices across all rare earths products, and entered into a magnet manufacturing deal with South Korea's JS Link ( opens new tab. It received an average selling price of A$60.20 per kg, the highest since the July 2022 quarter, compared with A$42.30 per kg a year earlier. Shares climbed as much as 4.2% to A$10.57, the highest level since April 5, 2022, compared to a 0.3% decline in the broader Australian mining index (.AXMM), opens new tab. Lynas posted sales revenue of A$170.2 million ($112.3 million) for the quarter ending June 30, beating a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of A$155 million by about 10% according to Barrenjoey, and up from A$136.6 million a year earlier. The company's total rare-earth oxide (REO) output for the fourth quarter was at 3,212 REO metric tons, compared with 2,188 REO tons reported a year ago. Lynas also disclosed a deal with South Korean permanent magnet manufacturer JS Link to develop a permanent magnet value chain in Malaysia and said it sees the country as a key market for industry growth. The collaboration includes plans for a 3,000-ton neodymium magnet manufacturing facility near Lynas' advanced materials plant in Kuantan, Malaysia, it said. Lynas will supply light and heavy rare earth materials to support production, although the non-binding agreement remains subject to finalisation. ($1 = 1.5152 Australian dollars)
The Independent
36 minutes ago
- The Independent
U.S. house sales drop as prices soar to record levels
Sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. have dropped to the lowest levels since last September, as the national average price for houses hit unprecedented levels. Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 24th consecutive month, with the national median sales price rising two percent in June from a year earlier to $435,300 – an all-time high. Existing home sales fell by 2.7 percent from May to June, according to the National Association of Realtors, and the latest home sales fell short of the 4.01 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet. The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since early 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Home sales fell last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years, leading to a lackluster spring homebuying season – traditionally the busiest period of the year for the housing market. Stubbornly high mortgage rates and rising prices have intensified the hardships for would-be homebuyers who had already been pummeled by a real estate market that overheated during the pandemic. While the number of homes on the market has increased sharply from a year ago, it remains well below normal levels, meaning prices continue to rise even as sales slow. 'The second half of the year really depends on what happens with mortgage rates,' Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, told The Associated Press. High mortgage rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting their purchasing power. So far this year, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage has remained relatively close to 7 percent, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. Homes purchased last month likely went under contract in May and June, when the average rate on a 30-year mortgage ranged from 6.76 percent to 6.89 percent. Yun estimates that if the average rate on a 30-year mortgage were to fall to 6 percent that would lead to an additional roughly half-million more homes sold. 'If the mortgage rate remains stuck at this level, we are essentially looking at very small changes in our home sales and home price condition, but if the mortgage rate was to drop, we know there will be a more meaningful increase in sales,' he said. The housing market's affordability crunch is keeping many aspiring first-time homebuyers on the sidelines. They accounted for 30 percent of homes sales last month, unchanged from May, NAR said. Historically, they made up 40 percent of home sales. Home shoppers who can afford to buy at current mortgage rates or pay in cash are benefiting from more properties on the market. There were 1.53 million unsold homes at the end of last month, down 0.6 percent from May, but up nearly 16 percent from June last year, NAR said. That's still well below the roughly 2 million homes for sale that was typical before the pandemic, however. June's month-end inventory translates to a 4.7-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 4.6-month pace at the end of May and 4 months in June last year. Traditionally, a 5- to 6-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers. Homes for sale are staying on the market longer as sales remain in the doldrums. Properties typically remained on the market for 27 days last month before selling, up from 22 days in June last year, NAR said. The housing market slowdown isn't all bad, if you're a home shopper who can afford to buy. In June, some 20.7 percent of homes listed for sale had their price reduced, the highest share for the month of June going back to at least 2016, according to Increasingly, however, many sellers are opting to pull their home off the market rather than lower prices. The number of properties taken off the market without having sold jumped 47 percent in May from a year earlier, according to
