Latest news with #X
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Officials under fire for allegedly funneling hundreds of millions to Elon Musk-owned companies: 'It is unacceptable'
A controversy is brewing after a document obtained by Agence France-Presse revealed that the European Union paid hundreds of millions of euros to companies headed by Elon Musk, as reported by The Hindu. According to The Hindu, the document shows that the EU paid Tesla €159 million (around $176 million) to build electric vehicle charging stations in 2023. That year, it also doled out more than €600,000 for advertising on the social platform X before halting publicity amid concerns that Musk — the richest person in the world — was manipulating the social platform to promote his values or opinions to influence European affairs. Last year, the EU also handed Musk's SpaceX a contract worth roughly $197 million for the European Galileo satellite system amid commission delays for the Ariane 6 launch system. Musk's polarizing involvement in the United States federal government and global politics has contributed to strained transatlantic relations. The EU has also said that X, which Musk acquired in 2022, has run afoul of some of its regulations. In short, the U.S. and the EU have different legal frameworks surrounding data protection and privacy. Arkansas State University explained in a 2020 breakdown of key regulatory differences: "The U.S. favors a bottom-up approach, reflecting states' rights in governing, while the EU likes top-down, which balances intergovernmental and supranational policies." The EU's Digital Services Act also outlines strict obligations for online intermediaries and platforms to prevent "illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation." Last year, the EU said Musk's X violated DSA transparency rules, per CNBC. Musk has fired back by referring to EU digital laws as censorship. German Green EU lawmaker Daniel Freund wrote to the European Commission in March arguing that the EU shouldn't continue to make payments to the billionaire, per The Hindu. "This man is an outspoken enemy of the EU and our core values. It is unacceptable that we continue to pay the richest man in the world hundreds of millions," Freund wrote. Do you think Tesla's vehicles have lost some of their appeal? Definitely No way Some models — but not others For some drivers — but not others Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Based on the most recent data analyzed by Bankrate, Tesla is Musk's most valuable investment, valued at approximately $1.22 trillion as of February. However, the company that pioneered modern electric vehicles — coveted among drivers for their lower maintenance and operating costs, as well as their status as cleaner, less polluting modes of transportation — is on shakier-than-usual ground at the outset of 2025. Tesla failed to meet sales expectations in Q1, experiencing a 13% year-over-year dip in deliveries. The automaker's stocks also took a nosedive. Despite Tesla's troubling start to 2025, consumers shouldn't have to worry about EVs going the way of the dinosaur. While Musk's political activities contributed to Tesla's slide, with some viewing their support of the brand as giving their seal of approval to Musk, so did growing competition in the EV market. According to the International Energy Agency, the first three months of 2025 saw EV sales increase by 35% year-over-year. The robust used-EV market is also helping to connect consumers with more affordable EVs, proving to be a win for sellers and buyers alike. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Think your return to the office was rough? Musk faces some big challenges
NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk is leaving Washington after a short but turbulent stint in government and getting back to his numerous businesses, each with their own set of issues for the billionaire to address. Start with his electric car company Tesla. While how much Musk accomplished in his role as President Donald Trump's chief cost-cutter is up for debate, it's clear his association with right-wing politics damaged Tesla's brand and tanked sales. Musk's social media platform X, formerly Twitter, needs to rebuild its advertising base; his aerospace company SpaceX appears to be financially promising but has seen some recent setbacks; and it's unclear if his satellite business Starlink can keep striking deals without Trump nearby. Here's a look at the state of some key Musk businesses. Tesla trouble Profits plunged 71% at Tesla in the first three months of the year right after a Chinese competitor claimed the mantle as the world's biggest electric car seller. The big question now: Will Musk's leaving Washington help lure buyers back? The answer is crucial to reviving profits because so much else is uncertain. Tesla's lineup of cars is aging and its foreign rivals have become much more competitive. They would be taking market share from Tesla even in the best of circumstances. Tesla's decision to close down factories as it retooled its best-selling Model Y, among other temporary problems, contributed to its struggles in the first quarter. But the blowback from Musk's time in Washington has some analysts and investors worried. In a note to clients, JP Morgan warned of 'unprecedented brand damage.' Wedbush Securities said at one point, 'This is a full blown crisis." And a group of smaller investors just Wednesday wrote to Tesla's board demanding it require Musk to spend at least 40 hours a week repairing its 'plummeting global reputation' among other problems. News earlier this week from Europe doesn't bode well: Sales in April plunged by half. Taxis with no driver Another big test for Musk: Will Tesla's launch of its first ever driverless taxis prove successful? Musk has been talking about robotaxis for more than a decade, but next month they may finally hit the road. He has promised to test 10 or 20 robotaxis in Austin, Texas, then ramp that up to hundreds of thousands by the end of next year. 'Can you go to sleep in our cars and wake up at your destination?' the billionaire asked investors in a conference call last month, then answered, 'I'm confident that will be available in many cities in the U.S. by the end of this year.' Investors are convinced Musk will deliver, judging by the 50% jump in Tesla stock since he made that statement. But he faces many challenges, not least is whether technically the taxis will work without hitting things — or people. Federal safety regulators last month requested data from Telsa on how the robotaxis will perform in low-visibility conditions. That request comes after an investigation into 2.4 million Teslas last year equipped with Full Self-Driving software after several accidents, including one in which a pedestrian was killed. Even if the Austin test goes off without a hitch, Musk faces another challenge: Waymo. The driverless taxi company owed by Google parent Alphabet just logged its ten-millionth trip and is now operating in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and several other cities. Ad rebound at X? After Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and opened it up to all manner of conspiracy theories, long-time advertisers began to flee. Then Musk made the situation worse when he threatened to 'name and shame' them, and sued them. Now advertisers are inching back, though maybe not for a good reason. 'Some big brands resumed spending on X in part to curry favor with the Trump administration, or to avoid potential retaliation by Musk,' said e-marketer analyst Jasmine Enberg,. 'But fear is not a sustainable motivator, and most were spending less than they were previously.' She expects X's ad business will rebound this year, but still be smaller than it was before Musk bought the company. Rockets red glare It's not clear how well Musk's rocket company SpaceX is faring because the private company doesn't disclose its finances. That said, news headlines point to both troubles and triumphs. First the bad development, which came just this week with a spinning explosion of one of the company's Starship mega rockets over the Indian Ocean. That followed explosions of two other Starships earlier this year that sprayed flaming debris across the Caribbean Ocean. Undeterred, Musk is vowing several more tests soon but the stakes are high and the clock is ticking. NASA hopes to use Starship for future missions to the moon, including one next year that will attempt a lunar orbit and then send the four astronauts aboard back home. The good news is that investors who have gotten a peek at SpaceX's finances apparently are excited. A private financing round for the company a few months ago followed by a private sale of shares recently have reportedly valued SpaceX at $350 billion, a big jump from a $210 billion estimated value just a year ago. It's business, not politics — or is it? A SpaceX satellite internet subsidiary called Starlink also has been striking deals to set up in foreign countries. But it's not clear how much is the result of cold business calculation and how much is due to politics, an advantage that could disappear as Musk leaves Washington. Accompanying Trump on his trip to Saudi Arabia earlier this month, Musk announced that the country had approved Starlink service for aviation and maritime use. That followed a decision to grant approval for the service by regulators in Bangladesh, whose garment industry would be devastated by Trump's threatened 37% tariff, along with a string of other deals in India, Pakistan and Lesotho in recent months. Next up: South Africa, maybe. Earlier this month, following Trump's Oval Office dressing down of that country's president, regulators in the country loosened a rule in a way that could help Starlink win a foothold in the country. Musk had called the rule requiring Black partial ownership of any new foreign venture 'openly racist." The country denies that politics influenced its decision. —- AP Writer Barbara Ortutay contributed to this story from San Francisco.
BreakingNews.ie
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
X marks the spot: Bruised Musk says his young son punched him
A bruised Elon Musk explained away a black eye during a White House appearance on Friday by saying that his five-year-old son had punched him in the face while the two were playing around. Mr Musk made the comments during an Oval Office event with Donald Trump marking the end of the billionaire's formal cost-cutting role in the president's administration. Advertisement Mr Musk's visibly bruised right eye caught reporters' attention. Asked about the injury, Mr Musk said he was "horsing around" with his son, who is named X. "And I said, 'Go ahead, punch me in the face.' And he did," Mr Musk said. Mr Trump then interjected. "That was X that did that? ...X could do it. If you knew X." When he was initially asked about the bruise, Mr Musk brushed it off with his usual cryptic humour. "I wasn't anywhere near France," he quipped, referencing a recent incident where president Emmanuel Macron's wife shoved him in the face. Mr Musk said he didn't feel much at the time but it bruised later. The Tesla CEO is leaving the Trump administration after leading a tumultuous cost-cutting drive, during which he upended several federal agencies but ultimately failed to deliver the generational savings he had sought.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Why Does Trump Keep Saying Harvard Teaches Remedial Math?
The notion began with a student-newspaper article misinterpreted on X. (Can you answer a question from the course?)
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Musk Gives Crazy Explanation for Sporting Black Eye in Oval Office with Trump
Elon Musk joined President Donald Trump in the Oval Office to mark his last official day with DOGE where the billionaire appeared to have a literal black eye as he made his departure from the White House. The world's richest man stood alongside Trump as he made remarks and the pair took questions. Musk, wearing his standard black baseball cap, this one reading 'DOGE' and t-shirt under his jacket, had bruising around his right eye. Finally, a reporter referenced the black eye and asked Musk if his eye was ok. First Musk joked that he wasn't anywhere near France, a reference to the recent viral video of the French First Lady pushing French President Emmanuel Macron in the face. However, then Musk's explanation got even weirder. 'I was just horsing around with little X, and I said 'go ahead, punch me in the face,' and he did,' Musk explained. X is the tech billionaire's five-year-old son who has regularly appeared with Musk and the president at the White House. 'Turns out, even a five-year-old punching you in the face actually,' Musk continued before being interrupted by Trump. 'That was X that did that?' the president asked. 'X could do it. If you knew X, he could do it.' While X has regularly been spotted hanging out inside the Oval Office as his dad met with Trump and tagged along for visits to Capitol Hill, he was notably absent during the farewell remarks on Friday. Musk explained his absence by saying he was with his mom. The tech billionaire added that he didn't really 'feel much' at the time when they were horsing around, but then it bruised. Musk might be heading out as an official 'Special Government Employee' but he vowed on Friday that the work of DOGE would continue. 'The DOGE team will only grow stronger over time. The DOGE influence will only grow stronger,' Musk insisted. Musk, decked out in a shirt that read 'The Dogefather' similar to 'The Godfather' called it a 'way of life.'
