Elon Musk and Donald Trump in fiery war of words
America's biggest bromance has broken up. Elon Musk and US president Donald Trump are stuck in a fiery war of words that kicked off on social media. Musk called for the president's impeachment and alleged Trump's name appears in unreleased files related to late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It is a feud sparked by Donald Trump's so-called "big beautiful" tax and spending bill which Elon Musk has spoken out against since leaving the White House last week. US correspondent Todd Zwillich spoke to Lisa Owen.
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RNZ News
12 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Taiwan accuses China of carrying out 'provocative' military patrol near island
By Ben Blanchard , Reuters J-16 fighters flying during a military parade at Zhurihe training base in north China in 2017. Photo: Photo by LI GANG / Xinhua via AFP Taiwan accused China of raising tensions in the region with a "provocative" military patrol involving warplanes and warships near the island, an unusual public rebuke in what are typically routine accounts of Chinese military activity. Taiwan, which China views as its own territory , has complained of repeated Chinese military drills and patrols nearby. Since President Lai Ching-te took office last year China has held three major rounds of war games. Taiwan's defence ministry said that starting mid-afternoon Friday, it had detected 21 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighters, operating with warships to carry out "so-called joint combat readiness patrols" and "harass the airspace and seas around us ". "The Ministry of National Defence stresses that these acts are highly provocative, fail to pay proper attention to the maritime rights of other countries, bring anxiety and threat to the region, and blatantly undermine the status quo in the region," it said. Taiwan regularly reports such Chinese "combat patrols", but does not generally attach such commentary to its statements. China's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The patrol came one day after Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump spoke by telephone, with Xi telling Trump that the United States must "handle the Taiwan question with prudence". This is "so that the fringe separatists bent on 'Taiwan independence' will not be able to drag China and America into the dangerous terrain of confrontation and even conflict", Xi said, according to a Chinese government read-out of the call. China regularly calls Taiwan its most important and sensitive issue in relations with the United States, which is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. China says democratically governed Taiwan is its "sacred territory" - a position the government in Taipei strongly rejects - and that it has a right to carry out drills in Chinese territory. Lai, who last month marked a year in office, is hated by Beijing, which calls him a separatist and has rebuffed his repeated offers for talks. Lai says only Taiwan's people can decide their future, and that the government is determined to ramp up defence spending and strengthen its military. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. On Sunday, Lai will attend drills in the southern city of Kaohsiung for Taiwan's coast guard, whose ships would be pressed into service in combat roles in the event of war with China. - Reuters
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Elon Musk's deep dive into politics was bad for business. His breakup with Trump could hurt even worse
By Matt Egan , CNN Elon Musk. Photo: AFP Analysis - Elon Musk's decision to go all in on Donald Trump never made much sense. His scorched-earth approach to breaking up with Trump is even harder to square. As a close Trump ally, Musk's actions inevitably affected Tesla - the biggest piece of his business empire and the maker of one of the most visible and expensive items that Americans can purchase: electric vehicles. First, Musk turned off Tesla's core customers, Democrats on the coasts, by pouring money and using his influence to help Trump return to the White House. Then he took a chainsaw to the federal workforce. Trump confirmed their relationship has soured , with Musk repeatedly blasting the president's sweeping domestic agenda bill in recent days and a public fight on social media on Thursday (US time). Now, Musk's war of words with the president risk turning off the same Trump voters who may have considered buying a Tesla until this week. Not only that, but Tesla's ambitions for self-driving vehicles require government approval, something that no longer looks like a sure thing amid the Musk-Trump feud. Other Musk businesses like SpaceX are built on government contracts - contracts that Trump wasted no time threatening on Thursday. The past 12 months - with Musk marrying himself to the polarising Trump brand and then breaking up with him - look like a textbook example of what a CEO should not do, especially a consumer-facing CEO. "It's a bit of a head-scratcher that Musk is going so rogue-negative towards Trump so quickly. It's a potentially very hazardous path," Dan Ives, a senior equity research analyst at Wedbush Securities and a longtime Tesla bull, told CNN in a phone interview on Thursday. The Musk-Trump break-up, playing out on the billionaires' respective social media platforms, was both entirely predictable and shocking nonetheless. After Musk blasted Trump's policy bill as a "disgusting abomination" earlier this week, Trump suggested Musk has "Trump derangement syndrome." Musk responded by undercutting Trump's political prowess, saying: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election." As two of the world's most powerful people continued to trade public barbs, Tesla shares dropped lower and lower. Tesla shares (TSLA) [ plummeted 14 percent as the bromance between Trump and Musk imploded in front of the entire world. The selloff erased about US$152 billion (NZ$252 billion) from Tesla's market value and US$34 billion (NZ$56.4 billion) off Musk's net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Tesla shares rebounded on Friday morning but only modestly. Trump told CNN's Dana Bash on Friday that he's "not even thinking about Elon" and won't be speaking to him in the near future. "He's got a problem. The poor guy's got a problem," Trump said. Tesla shareholders are dismayed on multiple levels. First, Musk taking on the president so publicly could further shrink the car maker's customer base by angering Trump backers. "You could end up alienating both sides of the aisle in the course of just a few months. When you're a consumer-facing company, that's the opposite of what you want to do," Ives said. By combing through daily tracking data, researchers found in a recent working paper that Musk's endorsement of Trump and role in the administration "politicised Tesla, polarised the electric vehicle carmaker's brand image and reputation, and likely resulted in partisan consumerism." "Corporate leaders engage in partisan politics at the peril of their brand images and, ultimately, even the bottom line," professors from the University of Northern Iowa, Columbia University and Northeastern University wrote in the paper. Secondly, Tesla relies on the federal government for tax credits and for approval of its controversial full-self driving technology, a green light that investors had been hoping for after the election. Neuralink, Musk's brain chip startup, is also reliant on FDA approval. Bigger picture, the Trump administration will help set the regulatory landscape for autonomous vehicles, not to mention artificial intelligence and other Musk priorities. And the president has not been shy about flexing the power of the federal government to hurt his opponents. "You want Trump nice in the sandbox. You don't want Trump on your bad side," Ives said. Bill George, an executive fellow at the Harvard Business School and former CEO of health tech company Medtronic, described the recent feud as a "brutal breakup." "Never go to war with the president of the United States," he said. "There's going to be a lot of collateral damage to your business." Trump threatened on Thursday to go after Musk's business empire. "The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts," Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social. "I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!" SpaceX, Musk's privately held space company, relies heavily on federal contracts, especially from NASA. SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet recently won business from the Federal Aviation Administration to help the agency upgrade networks used to manage US airspace. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, founder of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute, said the lesson is not about chief executives taking political positions. "The lesson here is that there is no honour among thieves. These are two mob bosses that have had a parting of ways. And now they are going to take each other down," Sonnenfeld told CNN. Harvard Business School's George noted that Musk and Trump had been acting like "best bros" just days earlier. "The lesson here is that you can either work in government or run your business," George said. "But you can't do both." - CNN
NZ Herald
5 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Letters: Phil Goff's art of saying nothing; Parliament shame; bottom trawling destructive
Then came the plot twist. After 40-plus years of having no opinions anyone could remember, Phil discovered he had a voice. Unfortunately about Donald Trump. In a moment of catastrophic authenticity, he shared them publicly. Career over. The moral? In politics, as in nature, survival often depends on not being noticed. Phil Goff mastered this art for decades, only to forget the first rule of political longevity at the final hurdle: when in doubt, say nothing. James Gregory, Parnell. Parliament haka No wonder the coalition government imposed a disproportionately heavy penalty on Te Pāti Māori MPs for their haka in Parliament: the coalition had to challenge such a dazzling criticism of their failure to honour Te Tiriti, one that bypassed the repetitive wrangling that constitutes a normal day in the house. The haka was a powerful, beautiful, unforgettable work of performance art that posed no threat to individuals, but did threaten the destructive, divisive ideology the Government is pursuing. The greatest art speaks truth to power, truth that power would rather we did not hear. Andrea Dawe, Sandringham. The Chase The headline said 'Paul Henry is to host The Chase NZ'. I was amazed by Paul's modesty when he said: '…and I can be enormously charming when I put my mind to it'. Next we learn The Chase NZ is to be filmed in Sydney. This at a time when we are encouraging film makers to come to New Zealand. If the NZ Chase is to be filmed in Sydney, I would rather forget it and stick with the tried-and-true UK version hosted by Bradley Walsh. John Epsom. Relationship with China For the future of our country let's hope our current Prime Minister listens to advice from former leaders on his upcoming trip to Beijing. Helen Clark, Don Brash, Sir Geoffrey Palmer and others all saying the same thing. In 2008, NZ was the first developed country to have a free trade agreement with China, who are now our biggest trading partner by far. Our current Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, is positioning NZ alongside the United States as an adversary of China. In my opinion this is crazy. If China gets annoyed with us and cancels our exports of dairy products, meat, forestry and fruit this could have catastrophic consequences. NZ exports to China are worth $20 billion. Christopher Luxon needs to convince China we value our joint friendship with them. The Chinese will realise we also have longstanding friendships with US, UK and Australia. However, we should state emphatically that we will remain nuclear-free and will not enter into Aukus or similar military alliances aimed at China. Glen Stanton, Mairangi Bay. New Lynn terror attack Families of victims of the New Lynn supermarket stabbings must be aghast to learn that the police Special Tactics Group, specifically deployed to keep the perpetrator under surveillance, decided not to follow him into the supermarket. The team members were armed because of concerns the offender could commit a 'lone wolf' attack yet they stayed outside so as not to blow their cover. This rationalisation was deeply flawed. The tragedy could have been averted. John Walsh, Green Bay. Treaty Principles Bill The expected debacle over the Treaty Principles Bill surprises no one: it was inevitable and highlights the ineptitude of Parliament. Intended to be a place of some gravitas where elected representatives can debate issues and formulate rules by which we can all live, it is in reality a disorganised muddle where politicians preen and carry on like idiots. To misquote Shakespeare, a plague on all your houses. Thank God for the oft-maligned Civil Service that has the unenviable task of making some sense, and creating some order, out of this fiasco. Mike Newland, Matakana. Energy supply A Herald article (June 6) notes the start of construction of the Genesis Energy 100 MW Battery. Genesis chief executive Malcolm Johns is referenced as stating: 'As New Zealand's electricity supply becomes more renewable and subject to weather, this battery will help smooth out fluctuations in supply, ensuring supply remains reliable and secure.' Weather-related fluctuations would have to be of very short duration for the battery to be useful in that context, given it would be flat after just two hours with 100 MW output. The power crisis of the 2024 dry winter lasted two months. Weather-related power variations for time scales of days and months need a much bigger 'battery' – like something equivalent to the Lake Onslow scheme's 1000 MW for 6 months. Earl Bardsley, Hamilton. Bottom trawling Like Edith Cullen (letters, June 6), I am appalled that Aotearoa refuses to ban the hugely destructive practice of bottom trawling. If anyone doubts how devastating this practice is, they should watch David Attenborough's latest movie Ocean. His team managed to get right up close to capture industrial trawlers at work and confronts us with the sight of the grey and lifeless desert it leaves in its wake. Attenborough offers hope but that rests on 'no take zones' and giving the devastated areas time to recover. Why are we going in the wrong direction? Maire Leadbeater, Mt Albert A quick word What do the president of the Law Society, the Deputy Police Commissioner and the Prime Minister's deputy press secretary have in common? Arrogance and stupidity? Bruce Tubb, Devonport. I suspect one of the weaknesses of the public health system is that important decisions are made by persons who have no intention of using the public system themselves. Elizabeth Aloupis, Auckland. A sad day for our beloved Aotearoa ... so ashamed of our Parliament today - Privileges Committee - really says it all, those who are privileged. Bouquets to Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori, who all understood and conveyed the importance of the excessive censure recommended - thank you for representing us with truth and conviction. Janette Anderson, Paeroa. Waikeria Prison, New Zealand's latest and newest hotel. You build them and they will fill them as you get more inside than you get on the outside. Why doesn't the Government do more to keep the prison invasion down is beyond me. We are too soft in New Zealand. Gary Stewart, Foxton Beach. I watched an item on TV1 news this evening (June 5) which included coverage of, what I guess was, the debating chamber of Parliament. My question is - where the heck were all our elected politicians? There appeared to be very few 'bums on seats' so I'm wondering what the heck we're paying them to do if they can't even turn up to work? Shelley Batt, Rotorua. Each year at this time, we can view television coverage of the madness that is the motorcycle racing on the Isle of Man. The event is notorious for its dangers, accidents and its dreadful death statistics. Many recent safety improvements to the course have been made but many stone walls and an undulating roadway remain. The guts of riders is astonishing and to risk one's life at a sporting event is incomprehensible. But every year there is no shortage of starters willing to take the risk whatever us mere mortals may be capable of comprehending. Larry Mitchell, Rothesay Bay.
