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Business Insider
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
What's really fueling Elon Musk's latest outburst against Trump's tax bill?
Good morning! Doing one thing every day that makes you smarter is a good goal to have. Here's my suggestion for today: Subscribe to BI Tech Memo. Alistair Barr is the best in the biz at breaking down what's going on in Big Tech. (And it's free!) In today's big story, Elon Musk had some not-so-nice things to say about President Donald Trump's tax bill. What's on deck Markets: They might be in secondaries, but they're still on top. Meet the key execs in Wall Street's hottest market. Business: Florida real estate is showing cracks, and it could be a red flag for the rest of the country. But first, I just can't stand it anymore. If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. The big story Elon has something to say Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and Elon Musk doesn't see anything pretty in the "Big Beautiful Bill." The billionaire railed against President Donald Trump's tax bill Tuesday afternoon, calling it a " disgusting abomination." Musk, known for keeping his opinions to himself, posted on X that he "just can't stand it anymore," before criticizing the "massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill." "Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it," he added. He's not the only one attacking Trump's bill. Some within the president's own party have gone after it for fueling the government's growing deficit. So what's behind Musk's outburst? Here's what could be rubbing him the wrong way about the bill: DOGE disappointment: According to one estimate, Trump's tax bill will increase the deficit by $4 trillion over 10 years. That's probably a difficult pill to swallow for Musk, who was tasked with cutting that down via DOGE. The group took extreme measures trying to achieve that, and Musk faced plenty of professional and personal backlash. Now he's seeing the tax bill "undermine" — his words, not mine — all of that work. Musk Inc. and the tax bill: Despite his recent foray into politics, Musk is still a business owner at heart. Trump's tax bill has real implications for his companies, both good (SpaceX) and bad (Tesla). BI's Ana Altchek, Alice Tecotzky and Kelsey Vlamis have a breakdown on what it means for his portfolio. The end of a friendship: Since the Trump-Musk bromance first blossomed, people have speculated when it might end. As BI's Peter Kafka put it shortly after the election, "both men are famously short-fused" and "adore the spotlight." "And that combination makes it easy to imagine a break-up down the line," Peter added. We've seen cracks in the relationship before. The dustup over the government funding bill led to jokes about Musk being the real leader of the GOP. That elicited a response from a Trump spokesperson. Musk also clashed with Trump's base over H-1B visas. Just Elon being Elon: Sometimes the best explanation is the simplest. Musk has a history of shooting from the hip with his takes. (Being the richest person in the world affords you that privilege.) He's already said that he and Trump didn't always see eye to eye. This could just be another example of that. 3 things in markets 1. The Nvidia hype is back. The chip giant's stock has climbed 20% over the last month. After bottoming in April during a broader market sell-off, Nvidia's stock is now up 45%. These are four big catalysts spurring it on. 2. Six Wall Street veterans on the best trades they've ever made. Senior money managers told BI about the highlights of their investing careers, from buying undervalued stocks to making well-timed exits. One talked about shorting GameStop. 3. Power players in secondaries. The secondaries market — in which investors buy and sell secondhand shares of private funds — is on pace to break last year's record highs of $160 billion. Meet 14 people who took the industry from niche to new heights. 3 things in tech 1. How can you make AI your coworker, not your replacement? The HR-tech startup Lattice thinks it has the answer. The CEO of the company, which makes AI agents for the workplace, told BI that embracing AI now would help protect jobs, not threaten them. 2. Microsoft's copycat strategy. The company's latest exec Jay Parikh is adopting Amazon CEO Andy Jassy's strategies for his new AI organization, Core AI, according to an internal email viewed by BI. Parikh shared takeaways from an annual letter Jassy sent to Amazon shareholders in a memo. Here are three of his takeaways. 3. The pure internet is gone. Did anyone save a copy? Since ChatGPT came out, the internet has been flooded with AI-generated content. That's sent researchers diving deep to preserve content made by humans prior to 2022, BI's Alistair Barr writes. 3 things in business 1. Trouble in paradise. Florida was the undisputed winner of the pandemic relocation boom, luring millions of new residents with its beaches and low taxes. Now, Floridians are experiencing an affordability crisis, hurricane-fueled insurance nightmares, and more. It's also a warning for America's real-estate market. 2. A business immigration lawyer on Trump 2.0. The Trump administration is being as strict as possible when it comes to work-visa applications, attorney Jason Finkelman told BI. With the amount of effort and hoops to jump through, Finkelman believes it's designed to frustrate US companies into giving up on hiring foreign workers. 3. This longtime middle manager supports flattening middle management. Alvaro Munevar Jr. told BI he'd seen middle management practices that siloed workers and slowed productivity. But as Big Tech culls those roles, the remaining ones could still evolve significantly. A LinkedIn executive said managers will need to be more like coaches to keep teams' energy up. In other news 'Looksmaxxing' is all the rage on ChatGPT. I tried it myself — and I don't recommend it. Amazon is in talks to roll out AI coding assistant Cursor internally as employee interest spikes. International schools to Harvard students: Come here, life's a beach. The Palantir job that grows startup founders. Voyager eyes a $1.6 billion IPO amid defense tech boom. It's official: Trump's tariffs are damaging the economy. Danny Boyle confirms Cillian Murphy will appear in the '28 Years Later' sequel. Airlines and planemakers warn that credit card legislation could end frequent-flier rewards. Dollar General's sales are climbing as higher-income shoppers opt for cheaper deals. What's happening today The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Inside Amazon's radical redo of the 'Everything Store'
This post originally appeared in the BI Tech Memo newsletter. Sign up for the weekly BI Tech Memo newsletter here. Hello, and welcome to your weekly dose of Big Tech news and insights. I'm your host, Alistair Barr. My dog Maisie came through her surgery. That cost thousands of dollars. How much would you pay to keep your furry friend alive? We reveal a radical overhaul of Amazon's online marketplace that's been hotly debated inside the tech giant. An exclusive look at one of Microsoft's top cloud customers, sharing big numbers you've never seen before. New data suggests Big Tech stock-based compensation could be under pressure. In 2013, my old boss Brad Stone published "The Everything Store." It's the defining book about Amazon's giant e-commerce business. The key idea in the book was infinite product selection. This strategy propelled the company to become the Western world's largest retailer. Based on quarterly sales, it overtook Walmart earlier this year. Having endless inventory means shoppers are more likely to find what they're looking for on Amazon, increasing the chances they buy something, and return again. That's been a powerful advantage over physical retail stores, which can only stock so much. However, in recent years, some of Amazon's digital aisles have become cluttered and outdated, which could confuse or frustrate shoppers. So, under CEO Andy Jassy, the company has been purging billions of product listings via a secret project known as "Bend the Curve." Business Insider's star tech reporter Eugene Kim has the scoop with all the juicy details. Does this spell the end of The Everything Store? Nope. There's no way Amazon would give up this hard-won advantage. Instead, it's mostly about cleaning up this giant online marketplace. Product listings get old. Sellers can chuck thousands of listings on there, and some are inaccurate or worse. There are also millions of dollars in cloud savings from not having to host billions of unproductive listings. Still, this big move has been debated inside Amazon, according to Kim's report. And surveys by Evercore ISI found that fewer shoppers think Amazon's product selection is the best. READ MORE Other BI tech stories that caught my eye lately: Exclusive: New numbers show just how big a customer Walmart is for Microsoft's cloud business. This venture capital firm bought a hospital chain. Why? Exclusive: Meta's big bet on virtual reality isn't stopping it from opening retail stores. I thought everyone knew not to speak their minds in work surveys? Apparently not. The life of the digital nomad is getting harder. My take on who's up and down in the tech industry right now, including updates on Big Tech employee pay. UP: Tesla surged this week after Elon Musk said he's getting back to work. DOWN: In late February, investor Ross Gerber predicted a 50% drop in Tesla's share price. The stock is up roughly 20% since then. Ouch! COMP UPDATE: Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald looked at restricted stock units issued recently by tech companies including Meta, Google, and Uber. RSUs are the main way tech employees get paid. The latest numbers show these equity awards are slowing down or even falling at some companies. The chart below shows changes in RSU grant value per employee. Other Big Tech stories I found on the interwebs: Making a video with fancy new AI tools is harder than you might think. (WSJ) Satellite smackdown: Apple versus SpaceX. (The Information) A self-driving truck startup siphoned trade secrets to Chinese companies. (WSJ) You can't develop chips without software from Cadence and Synopsys. The US is trying to limit China's access to this tech. (FT) This week, I'm telling you about an AI tool that may not be immediately obvious as AI. But it most certainly is. Tesla uses thousands of chips in massive data centers to train AI models that understand video collected from millions of the company's vehicles. This is used to develop FSD software for near-autonomous driving. I've been using FSD a lot this year in my Tesla Model 3 Performance. Here are the highs and lows. Is this a fair assessment? Tesla plans to roll out a full robotaxi service in Austin in June. This will be fully autonomous, with no human supervision. It's a huge leap. My FSD software still requires me to be responsible and alert. But this FSD diary gives some pretty solid clues to how capable Tesla's current software is. What AI tool should I use next week? Let me know. I would love to hear from anyone who reads this newsletter. What am I doing wrong? What do you want to see more of? Specifically, though: I want to know about your recent experiences with Amazon's online marketplace. Have you noticed an improvement in the quality of listings lately? Or have you sensed any change in product selection? Let Eugene Kim know at ekim@ Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The key details from Apple's earnings report as the company faces a major change
This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter. You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here. Good morning. This is my last morning writing to you for a while, as Dan DeFrancesco returns from leave on Monday! But I'll still be around: After a brief staycation (the lawn needs tending to), I'll be back behind the scenes editing each edition from London. In today's big story, we're looking at the key details from Apple's earnings report — and why the company's huge stream of App Store revenue could be at risk. Newsletter alert: BI Tech Memo is a weekly newsletter where Silicon Valley secrets go public. Launching soon — sign up here now! What's on deck Markets: One market strategist thinks the US stock market's best times are behind it. Tech: CEO Andy Jassy said Amazon is focusing on keeping prices low ahead of tariffs. Business: Spotify was great at helping users discover new music. Then it laid off staff. But first, Apple has been through the wringer.A federal judge slapped Apple around. Referring to Apple's court case with Epic Games, the judge said on Wednesday that Apple "outright lied under oath" and that she would refer the company for possible criminal prosecution. In 2020, Epic accused Apple of anticompetitive practices tied to the App Store and in-app payments. The judge ruled against Epic in 2021 on almost all counts. But Epic did salvage one win: Apple had to let developers tell customers that they could leave the app and head to another website — where, theoretically, they could get more for their money if Apple isn't taking a cut. This week, the judge ruled that Apple was in "willful violation" of that ruling. Apple said it will comply with the court order — and they'll appeal it. BI's Peter Kafka has broken down why this could be an enormous issue for Apple. Then came the earnings report. It was a mixed bag. Apple beat revenue and EPS estimates, but also said it expects the cost of Donald Trump's tariffs to be $900 million in the current quarter. Sales in China were worse than expected. The stock is down 3% in premarket trading. CEO Tim Cook opened the earnings call by touting a recently announced $500 billion investment to boost US manufacturing over the next four years. In the more immediate term, Cook said he expects the majority of iPhones sold in the US during the June quarter to have "India as their country of origin." Nearly all of the company's other products entering the US will come from Vietnam, he said. Cook also spoke about consumer behaviours and Siri's newest features being delayed again. BI has the six most important takeaways. 1. The best may be over for US stocks. Jefferies' Chris Wood says the stock market has already peaked, partly due to President Trump's tariffs damaging the US brand. Now, Wood has some advice for investors: Look abroad. 2. Scott Bessent calls on the Fed to cut rates. The US Treasury Secretary pointed to bond yields as a reason Jerome Powell and the Fed should lower interest rates. The Trump administration has been clamoring for rates to come down, though Powell hasn't budged. 3. So long, "Liberation Day" tech losses. Meta and Microsoft led a tech-stock comeback on Wednesday after AI dominated their earnings calls. Meta raised its 2025 capex guidance, indicating that AI infrastructure growth isn't slowing down. 1. Inside the "Conclave of Silicon Valley." Tech titans and political power players descended on Capitol Hill for the hush-hush gathering known as the Hill and Valley Forum. BI had a writer in attendance; she said the forum showed just how tight tech's hold on DC is. 2. Amazon narrowly beat expectations. The e-commerce giant's stock fell as much as 5% in after-hours trading as it reported weaker-than-expected earnings for Q2. On the earnings call, CEO Andy Jassy said Amazon was focused on keeping prices low as tariffs take effect. 3. The new Meta AI app shows you other people's chats. The stand-alone version of the Meta AI assistant can come up with funny images and answer your questions. You can also scroll through other users' public AI chats — and that's where it gets weird. 1. Why Spotify's music discovery went downhill. Personalized playlists like Discover Weekly and Release Radar used to bring new music straight to your ears. After the company reoriented its priorities — and laid off some employees — its music discovery function fell off the deep end. 2. McDonald's isn't lovin' its sales. The chain reported that US same-store sales were down 3.6% in Q1, the biggest decline since COVID lockdowns. Even as McDonald's tries to lure customers with its new value menu, the CEO said customers just aren't visiting as often. 3. Advertisers are sticking with Meta, even with content moderation changes. The company's advertisers aren't too shaken up by the lax rules and shift to community notes. One former ad agency exec shared why he thinks Meta's ad business is still booming. Trump's advice to new grads: 'Find your limits and then smash through everything.' I scammed my bank. All it took was an AI voice generator and a phone call. I attended LlamaCon, Meta's first event for AI developers. It was "kinda mid." From Paul Weiss to DLA Piper, five lawyers share how they're using AI at work. The US Army plans to flood its forces with drones, making sure every division has them by next year. A fight is brewing in Indiana over who should pay Big Tech's energy bills. Spoiler: It's you. Reddit's stock jumps as much as 19% after first quarter earnings report. Kohl's fires its CEO months after he started the job. Warren Buffett disciples want to know what he plans to do with all that cash. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases monthly employment report. US judge holds hearing to decide remedies after ruling Google has illegal monopoly in online ads. ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and Wendy's report earnings. The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York (on parental leave). Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Lina Batarags, bureau chief, in Singapore. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago. Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
