EU unconditionally clears SES's $3.1 billion bid for Intelsat
BRUSSELS :The European Commission said on Tuesday it had unconditionally approved the proposed acquisition of Intelsat by SES, confirming a story Reuters exclusively reported earlier this month.
The $3.1-billion bid made by the European satellite company for its rival will create a major European player to rival Elon Musk's Space X-owned Starlink.
"The Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns in the European Economic Area," EU's executive arm said in a statement.
Together with other European satellite companies, Luxembourg-headquartered SES is looking for greater scale to compete more effectively with Starlink and Amazon's Project Kuiper.
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AsiaOne
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Musk backtracks on Trump criticism after White House outreach, World News
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They went too far," Musk wrote in a post on his social media platform X on Wednesday, without saying which specific posts he was talking about. [[nid:718975]] He has deleted some of the posts, including the one signalling support for impeachment. He has not walked back his criticism of Trump's tax bill, however. Vance, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and David Sacks, Trump's crypto czar and a longtime Musk friend, all pushed for Musk and Trump to make up, said two people briefed on the conversations. Asked if he had helped defuse tensions between the two, Vance told reporters at the Kennedy Center that he had spoken with Musk and Trump about "trying to ensure that Elon is publicly supporting and privately supporting the president's agenda." He said Trump was "rightfully very frustrated" with about Musk's comments, but had no desire to be in a long-term feud with the billionaire and big campaign donor. One of the sources said Musk was serious about potentially starting a new party, a risk for Trump's Republicans going into the November 2026 midterm congressional elections. In the 2024 vote, Musk gave Republicans roughly US$300 million (S$384 million), contributing to their sweep of the White House and both houses of Congress. On Friday, James Fishback, a Tesla investor and adviser to Musk's government cost-cutting effort, posted on X that the billionaire owed Trump "a full-throated apology." Musk retorted: "What's the apology for exactly?" Musk subsequently deleted several posts, and a senior Trump adviser called Fishback to thank him, according to one of the sources. Musk spoke to Trump on Monday, according to a White House source with knowledge of the matter. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday that Trump appreciated the apology. 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An acrimonious relationship with Trump would risk more scrutiny of Musk's business practises, as the US Transportation Department regulates vehicle design standards and would have a big say in whether Tesla can mass-produce robotaxis without pedals and steering wheels. "The conciliatory tone from Musk recently might indicate his desire to protect his businesses in the light of the position he has found himself in," said Mamta Valechha, consumer discretionary analyst at Tesla investor Quilter Cheviot. Shawn Campbell, adviser and investor at Camelthorn Investments, said the relationship between Musk and Trump could be restored but also said it was unlikely it would return to where it once was. "The stakes between the richest man in the world and leader of the most powerful nation in the world are just so big, with billions of dollars of government contracts at stake, not to mention the power to investigate and regulate and tax," said Campbell, who personally holds Tesla shares. 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European game generated 38 billion euros in 2023-24 season, study shows
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CNA
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A person familiar with Austin's autonomous-vehicle policies said the city has been meeting regularly with Tesla since December and that the company has shared some deployment plans with the city. Safety experts say there has been a dearth of information about Tesla's technology. Phil Koopman, a Carnegie Mellon University engineering professor and autonomous-vehicle safety expert, said Musk's statements 'leave room for ambiguity' about its plans in Austin and the sophistication of its robotaxi technology. 'When you start to pin it down, it's like jello,' he said. He questioned whether Tesla would be ready for a rapid nationwide rollout soon. 'Having 10 cars on the road and not having a crash,' Koopman said, 'is sort of table stakes for this game.'
