
Elon Musk confirms Tesla will let shareholders decide on xAI investment: Details here
Writing on X, Musk suggested that the final decision on investing in xAI does not reside with him but with the shareholders. Last year, Musk had also polled X users on whether Tesla should invest $5 billion in xAI, noting at the time that he was just testing the waters.
'It's not up to me. If it was up to me, Tesla would have invested in xAI long ago. We will have a shareholder vote on the matter,' Musk wrote in response to a post.
xAI is the artificial intelligence lab set up by Elon Musk in early 2023 in response to the rising popularity of ChatGPT. Since then, the company has rolled out its Grok AI chatbot, which recently received an update to the Grok 4 models. The chatbot competes directly with the likes of ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.
Earlier this year, Musk merged xAI and X in a deal that valued the AI startup at $80 billion and the social media company at $33 billion.
According to a Bloomberg report, Musk is seeking investments in the combined entity at a valuation of $200 billion. His desire for Tesla to invest in xAI appears to be part of his broader plan to more closely entwine his corporate empire.
Earlier this month, Musk revealed that Tesla would use Grok AI within its cars. The EV maker had also disclosed in April that xAI was one of its customers last year, with the startup spending $198.3 million on commercial consulting and support agreements with Tesla. Bloomberg reported that the bulk of that amount ($191 million) was spent on purchasing Tesla's utility-scale energy storage batteries, known as Megapacks.

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Indian Express
29 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Google says its AI agent stopped a cyberattack even before hackers made a move
With tech giants pouring billions into artificial intelligence, the technology has seen rapid advancement in the past few years. From medical science to problem-solving, AI models are proving to be more effective than humans in some areas. Now, Google has announced that its AI agent has stopped a cyber attack even before it happened. In a post on X, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that Big Sleep, its in-house developed AI agent, has helped the company's security team to 'detect and foil an imminent exploit.' For those not in the loop, Big Sleep is an in-house developed AI agent by Google's DeepMind and Project Zero that 'actively searches and finds unknown security vulnerabilities in software.' New from our security teams: Our AI agent Big Sleep helped us detect and foil an imminent exploit. We believe this is a first for an AI agent – definitely not the last – giving cybersecurity defenders new tools to stop threats before they're widespread. — Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) July 15, 2025 In November last year, the large language model recorded its first-ever real-world security vulnerability, showcasing the use of AI in cybersecurity. In a blog post, Google says that in the last few months, Big Sleep has been able to discover new security flaws and, using a 'combination of threat intelligence and Big Sleep', the tech giant was able to stop a vulnerability before it was even used. While Google hasn't clarified when it started deploying Big Sleep to tackle security exploits, it looks like the AI agent has been working under the radar for quite some time now. With the AI-powered agent now at work, it looks the Google is signalling a shift in threat detection, where experts often found themselves taking reactive measures instead of proactive ones. Apart from Big Sleep, Google said it will also be demoing AI capacities which give the defenders the upper edge. Some of these include Timesketch, an open-source collaborative digital forensics platform powered by Sec-Gemini. The tech giant is also working on another AI-powered threat detection system called Fast and Accurate Contextual Anomaly Detection, or FACADE for short. Google has been using this system to identify internal threats since 2018.
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First Post
29 minutes ago
- First Post
More headache for Starmer as UK's inflation jumps amid rising cost of living debate
The unexpected rise in UK inflation to an 18-month high has intensified pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer read more The UK's inflation rose unexpectedly in June to 3.6 per cent, marking the highest annual rate since January 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The rise was attributed mainly to high food and motor fuel costs, with analysts having predicted inflation would remain unchanged from May's rate of 3.4 per cent. ONS acting chief economist Richard Heys said that fuel prices fell less sharply this year compared to June 2023, contributing to the inflationary pressure. He also noted that food price inflation rose for the third consecutive month, reaching its highest level since February 2024. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Economic woes pile up for Starmer's government The inflation data followed another worrying signal: the UK economy contracted for a second month in May. This dual blow has amplified the challenges facing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is now contending with both economic stagnation and intensifying political pressure. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves acknowledged the strain households are under, saying that 'there is more to do' to support people struggling with the cost of living. However, critics argue that government measures have not kept pace with the financial realities facing many households, especially the least well-off. Living standards stagnate despite rising wages While the government points to wage growth — hovering around 5 percent—as a sign of improvement, new analysis suggests that many Britons are seeing little benefit. Bloomberg reported that discretionary incomes fell by 4.2 per cent in April and remained flat in May, making this period the worst for household finances since the energy price shock in 2022. Data from Retail Economics showed that incomes have dropped 7.5 per cent since Labour came to power in July 2024, with lower-income groups hardest hit. Nicholas Found, head of commercial content at the firm, told Bloomberg that unavoidable costs such as council tax, rail fares and utility bills have eaten into earnings, negating recent wage increases. Labour's tax policy adds fuel to the fire The government's stance on income tax thresholds has further fuelled discontent. Prime Minister Starmer has not ruled out extending the freeze on tax brackets — a policy initiated under the previous Conservative administration and scheduled to last through 2028. According to the Resolution Foundation, this fiscal drag is likely to wipe out much of the wage growth for middle-income earners, and could even result in a decline in real take-home pay once local levies like council tax are factored in. These policies have sparked criticism from voters and analysts alike, who view them as regressive during a period of widespread financial strain, the Bloomberg report said. Reform UK capitalises on discontent As economic conditions tighten, Labour is facing growing political backlash. Populist party Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, has overtaken Labour in some opinion polls by promising tax relief and more direct support for working-class voters. The surge in support for Reform reflects the fragility of Labour's mandate and the growing frustration with mainstream policy responses. Despite the government's insistence that rising wages mean Britons are better off, polling and spending data suggest otherwise. Lancaster University's Work Foundation found that one in six workers are struggling to pay monthly bills, and fewer than half believe wage growth is keeping up with the cost of living. The same survey found that nearly 10 per cent more people now hold second jobs compared to a year ago, reaching record highs, as families turn to gig work and side jobs to bridge income gaps, Bloomberg reported. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Bank of England faces a tightrope on interest rates While the inflation rise could normally signal a need to hold or raise interest rates, economic sluggishness may force the Bank of England to ease policy anyway. Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics, suggested that the Bank may still cut rates by 25 basis points in August, given the broader weakness in growth. However, she also warned that the latest inflation figures will likely prompt a slower, more cautious rate-cutting cycle, AFP said. Policymakers are especially wary of 'second-round' inflationary effects, where higher wages drive further price increases, a cycle that could be difficult to break. A political and economic crossroads The unexpected rise in inflation has only intensified the economic and political challenges facing Starmer's government. While officials continue to highlight wage growth as a sign of progress, many households are experiencing deteriorating living standards, rising taxes and increased debt. With Reform UK gaining momentum and household budgets under siege, the Starmer administration finds itself at a precarious juncture. The path forward will require not only sound economic management, but a convincing narrative that connects macroeconomic gains with real improvements in daily life. Until then, the pressure will likely keep mounting—from the public, the opposition and the markets alike.


Indian Express
29 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Tracking AI models' ‘thoughts' could reveal how they make decisions, researchers say
A broad coalition drawn from the ranks of multiple AI companies, universities, and non-profit organisations have called for deeper scrutiny of AI reasoning models, particularly their 'thoughts' or reasoning traces. In a new position paper published on Tuesday, July 15, the authors said that monitoring the chains-of-thought (CoT) by AI reasoning models could be pivotal to keeping AI agents in check. Reasoning models such as OpenAI's o3 differ from large language models (LLMs) such as GPT-4o as the former is said to follow an externalised process where they work out the problem step-by-step before generating an answer, according to a report by TechCrunch. Reasoning models can be used to perform tasks such as solving complex math and science problems. They also serve as the underlying technology for AI agents capable of autonomously accessing the internet, visiting websites, making hotel reservations, etc, on behalf of users. This push to advance AI safety research could help shed light on how AI reasoning models work, an area that remains poorly understood despite these models reportedly improving the overall performance of AI on benchmarks. 'CoT monitoring presents a valuable addition to safety measures for frontier AI, offering a rare glimpse into how AI agents make decisions,' the paper reads. 'Yet, there is no guarantee that the current degree of visibility will persist. We encourage the research community and frontier AI developers to make the best use of CoT monitorability and study how it can be preserved,' it adds. The paper calls on leading AI model developers to determine whether CoT reasoning is 'monitorable' and to track its monitorability. It urges deeper research on the factors that could shed more light on how these AI models arrive at answers. AI developers should also look into whether CoT reasoning can be used as a safeguard to prevent AI-related harms, as per the document. But, the paper carries a cautionary note as well. It suggests that any interventions should not make the AI reasoning models less transparent or reliable. In September last year, OpenAI released a preview of its first-ever AI reasoning model called o1. This launch prompted other companies to release competing models with similar capabilities such as Gemini 2.0, Claude 3.7 Sonnet, and xAI's Grok 3, among others. Anthropic researchers have been studying AI reasoning models, with a recent academic study suggesting that AI models can fake CoT reasoning. Another research paper from OpenAI found that CoT monitoring could enable better alignment of AI models with human behaviour and values.