Latest news with #Musked
IOL News
14 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
Does Musk-Trump spat blow a hole in Tesla bull case?
An ugly, name-calling, chest-thumping public brawl on Twitter between the richest guy in the world and the most powerful guy in the world – it's what the platform was made for, says the writer. Image: Allison Robbert / AFP I spoke almost a year ago to Mark Spiegel of Stanphyl Capital in New York. He said it was just a matter of time before Musk and Trump fell out – the only question was who would shaft who first, but his view was that sooner or later everyone 'gets Musked'. An ugly, name-calling, chest-thumping public brawl on Twitter between the richest guy in the world and the most powerful guy in the world – it's what the platform was made for. It's also whacked Tesla stock as bulls need to reassess their upside case for the carmaker. Both probably realise that this is doing each of them a lot of harm – Musk could lose billions of dollars in government contracts and tax credits, while Trump could see his 'big beautiful bill' fail to pass. They are going to cool off a bit and talk things over. But in the words of Anchorman, boy, that escalated quickly! Selling in Tesla was HEAVY, with $153bn wiped out in one day. There is a whole cluster of related items here - we saw the likes of Palantir also hit hard, down almost 8%. Tesla, though, is coming back in pre-market trade. BTD is ever present. To summarise where we are - Musk has been criticising the tax and spending bill all week, which prompted Trump to talk about his disappointment with his 'former' ally. Musk then went full tweetstorm and launched a series of attacks on X, suggesting that Trump appears in unreleased files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Trump shot back, saying Musk "went CRAZY" and was asked to leave the administration, while he also threatened to cut government contracts with Musk's companies. Tesla's stock price dropped 14%. Clearly this introduces new risks for TSLA – the argument that Musk's closeness to Trump was bullish for the stock because Trump always promotes his favourites is kinda becoming unstuck. For instance, the assumption was it would mean an easier path for the rollout of robotaxis or some other favourable policy decision - that is now very much in doubt. Enmity with Trump changes the regulatory environment. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Anyway, look at it like this – the tax bill will cut Tesla's EV subsidy, probably negatively impact profits by $1.2bn a there is a $2bn hit coming from California explains why Musk is such a critic. The tax bill has much broader ramifications than EV credits and Tesla shares, though, so the question is whether this intervention is going to derail the legislation. If it does, then it's probably GOOD for Tesla. But then Trump has many other levers of vindictiveness to pull – he's already mentioned pulling government contracts for things like SpaceX or Starlink. And then you have to chuck in elements like MS's Adam Jonas says could turn TSLA into a defence stock... I guess TSLA won't be getting any Pentagon contracts soon ...but either way, the bulls will keep grasping and throwing new reasons to buy. Does it blow a hole in the bull case? I never bought into the Tesla bull case in the first case - to me it just reaffirms what I already knew. Let's not forget trade! Before this Trump-Musk spat S&P 500 e-mini futures touched 6,016, the highest since late February, as reports that Trump had held a phone call with China's Xi Jinping. Trump said he has had a "very good" phone call amid their ongoing trade war, during which they agreed to more tariff talks. Meanwhile, markets are braced for today's nonfarm payrolls report from the US. It's expected at 130,000 in May, down from the 177,000 increase recorded in April, with the unemployment rate sticking at 4.2%. Wall Street fell yesterday as Tesla dragged the broader tech sector down, with the Nasdaq Composite down 0.83% and the Nasdaq 100 off 0.8%. The S&P 500 fell half a percent, while the Dow was 0.25% lower. European stock markets were mixed in muted early trade on Friday, with investors looking over their shoulders at trade wars and the economic data in the US, which is going to be important for sentiment. Ultimately, really bad economic data may be coming, but it could spur the Fed into action. Yesterday we had US jobless claims up, labour costs up, productivity data is cracking. Broadcom was down 4% after it forecast modest revenue for the current quarter, hinting AI spending isn't as strong as expected. Sales will be around $15.8 billion, with more AI chip deployment next year. Stock fell 4% in extended trading.
CBS News
20-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Former Columbia University students, organizations call Trump administration demands a violation of academic freedom
The deadline is looming for Columbia University to respond to demands on tightening restrictions on campus protests. The Trump administration says the demands are pre-conditions for opening talks on restoring $400 million in suspended federal funding. As the deadline approaches, faculty, former students and several organizations said Thursday the ultimatums are a violation of free speech and academic freedom. "We want Columbia to call for the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil and other detained affiliates to protect the principles of academic freedom, reaffirm its commitment to being a sanctuary campus," Columbia graduate Michael Thomas Carter said. Carter is one of about 900 Columbia graduates who signed a petition calling on the university to stand up for student activists like Khalil, who remains in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody for his role in pro-Palestinian campus protests last summer , and against the administration's demands. "The complete authoritarianism and suppression Columbia has facilitated from the Trump administration is disturbing and a violation for both the values of free speech and the values of academic freedom that should be core to any university," Carter said. On Thursday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations New York was granted a temporary restraining order to prevent Columbia from complying with federal orders. The New York Civil Liberties Union also sent a letter to the federal agencies, arguing the Trump administration failed to follow proper notifications and due process procedures. "It's extremely unsettling for everyone associated with Columbia University and universities around the country," said Sheldon Pollock, former chair of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies at Columbia. "The fear is we are going to be Musked like the Department of Education, Social Security," Pollock added, an apparent reference to Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to cut the size of the federal government. The Trump administration canceled the university's federal grants earlier this month , accusing it of inaction despite persistent harassment of Jewish students, And last week sent a letter laying out demands Columbia must commit to in order to have the $400 million, which is mainly used for scientific research, restored . "Cutting that funding means people lose their jobs, labs shut down, experiments stop running, research treating sick people suddenly stops, directly impacting people in my community," said Dr. Joseph Howley, associate professor in Columbia's Department of Classics. Katrina Armstrong, the university's interim president, said Wednesday that Columbia "will not waver from our principles and the values of academic freedom," but did not say if the administration will comply with the demands, which include a mask ban on campus, enforcing discipline of Hamilton Hall protesters and placing the Middle East, South Asian and African Studies department under academic receivership. "Receivership simply means the university will take over the administration of the department, and that would violate long-standing practices," Pollock said. CBS News New York reached out to Columbia on Thursday, but was told the university does not have anything else to add at the moment.
