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Category Archives: Elon Musk

Stocks fall as trading starts for year of great expectations – Long Island Business News

Posted: January 5, 2021 at 2:35 pm

U.S. stocks are falling Monday, as big swings return to Wall Street at the onset of a year where the dominant expectation is for a powerful economic rebound to sweep the world.

The S&P 500 was 1.7% lower in afternoon trading after earlier dropping as much as 2.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell from its record set last week and was down 512 points, or 1.7%, at 30,094. The Nasdaq composite was 1.7% lower, as of 1:39 p.m. Eastern time.

Coronavirus cases keep climbing at frightening rates around the world, threatening to bring more lockdown orders that would punish the economy. The worsening numbers also raise the possibility that Wall Street has been overly optimistic about the big economic recovery it sees coming because of COVID-19 vaccines. Tuesdays upcoming runoff elections to determine which party controls the Senate may also be contributing to the volatility.

Elsewhere in the world, stocks fell in Japan as officials there mull a state of emergency due to surging virus cases. But optimism was more prevalent in other markets, with most European and Asian stock indexes higher. Treasury yields were holding relatively steady after giving up a healthy gain in the morning.

The United Kingdom has been hit particularly hard by a new variant of the coronavirus that appears to be more contagious. On Monday, the United Kingdom became the first nation to start using the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and drugmaker AstraZeneca.

In the United States, regulators have already approved two other vaccines. China last week gave the greenlight for its first domestically developed vaccine. Others are also being tested.

The hope in markets had been that vaccines will allow daily life around the world to slowly return to normal. Thats helped spark a recent recovery for stocks of travel-related businesses, smaller companies and other industries left behind for much of the pandemic.

Even though infection rates and hospitalizations are at frightening levels, many investors have been betting that ultralow interest rates provided by the Federal Reserve and financial support for the economy recently approved by Congress can help tide the economy over until vaccinations become more widespread.

Governments might throw less stimulus at their economies than last year, but policy is still at a very loose setting, which supports stock prices and lending, said Kerry Craig of JP Morgan Asset Management in a report.

Investors should look through the bumpier start to the new economic cycle and focus on the improved earnings outlook, Craig said.

Of course, many risks remain for the market, even beyond the threat of economic lockdowns coming in the near term because of the raging pandemic. Prices have climbed enough that critics say stocks may be too expensive, particularly if the big rebound in corporate profits that investors expect to occur later this year doesnt materialize.

Politics is also still a wild card. If Democrats sweep the two runoff races in Georgia, that could lead to higher corporate tax rates, tighter regulations and other changes from Washington that would hinder corporate profits. Democrats already control the House, and President-elect Joe Biden is a Democrat.

But even in a Democratic sweep, markets see some causes for upside, including the potential for more stimulus for the economy. Democrats have been lobbying for $2,000 payments to go to most individuals, for example.

More than 80% of stocks in the S&P 500 were falling Monday. On the losing end of the market were several Big Tech stocks. Apple fell 2.8%, Microsoft dropped 2.7% and Amazon lost 2.2%. Because theyre so massive in size, the movements of Big Tech stocks have much more sway over the S&P 500 than other companies. Those three were the biggest drags on the index.

Airlines, cruise operators, hotel chains and stocks of other companies hit particularly hard by the pandemic also had some of the markets sharpest losses.

Tesla rose 4.2% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500 after it said it delivered 499,500 vehicles last year. Thats a 36% jump on the year, though it fell short of CEO Elon Musks goal of 500,000, which was set before the pandemic hit.

In European stock markets, Frances CAC 40 gained 0.7%, and Germanys DAX returned 0.1%. The FTSE 100 in London rose 1.7%.

In Asia, Tokyos Nikkei 225 lost 0.7% after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said a state of emergency was under consideration for the Japanese capital and three surrounding prefectures due to surging virus caseloads.

Suga called on restaurants and bars to close by 8 p.m. and said it would be difficult to restart a travel promotion program that was suspended last month. He said the government would expedite approval of coronavirus vaccines and begin providing injections in February.

South Koreas Kospi rose 2.5%, Hong Kongs Hang Seng gained 0.9% and stocks in Shanghai climbed 0.9%.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 0.91% from 0.89% late Thursday. Earlier in the morning, it had climbed as high as 0.96% in a signal of rising expectations of economic growth and inflation. Markets were closed Friday for New Years Day.

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New Car Sales See Mixed Finish in December after Tumultuous Year – Car and Driver

Posted: at 2:35 pm

Automakers have emerged from 2020, a challenging and unprecedented year, and some did so on a high note. Eight months weren't enough for the industry to fully recover from the low point in the spring, but a strong, if somewhat unexpected, recovery began in the summer and continued through December, even as the COVID-19 pandemic has surged across the country.

The U.S. market is now estimated to see sales finish around 14.5 million, a much stronger result than the 13 million range that some analysts forecasted earlier this year. Overall, sales are estimated to be down 14.9 to 15.5 percent, bringing sales to the lowest levels since 2012. The decrease was lessened because retail sales were strong, although fleet sales slowed considerably.

Shutdowns earlier in 2020 were part of the reason sales were down, of course. "This year presented the economy and the auto market with incredible challenges. As we close the year, it is remarkable to see how well the industry performed," Cox Automotive's chief economist Jonathan Smoke said in a note. "Retail vehicle sales will end the year down less than 10 percent despite losing six weeks of the most important time of the year."

General Motors finished the year down 11.8 percent compared to last year after finishing the fourth quarter with a sales growth of 4.8 percent. Pickups, as has been the case for most of the year, were a bright spot for GM; Silverado pickups saw annual sales increase 3.2 percent and Sierra pickups by 8.9 percent. Retail sales for GM were down only 6 percent for the year.

Hyundai sales grew 2.3 percent in December as compared to last year thanks to its popularand recently expandedcrossover lineup, including the Kona, Santa Fe, and Venue. Annual sales for the Korean automaker saw a decrease of 9.7 percent from 2019, a drop which is largely attributable to reduced fleet vehicle sales, as retail sales for Hyundai increased by 1 percent this year.

Toyota saw a strong finish to the year as December sales were up 20.4 percent by volume (that drops to 7.5 percent on a daily selling rate) and by 9.4 percent over the fourth quarter. On a volume basis, Toyota trucks ands SUVs finished the month with 32.1 and 28.5 percent increases, respectively; those divisions have cushioned Toyota's sales decreases elsewhere. Annually, Toyota's total sales sales shrank 11.3 percent.

J.D. Power estimates that trucks and SUVs are set to make up 79.1 percent of new-vehicle retail sales, up from 75 percent a year ago. Strong truck and SUV sales have underscored many of the results seen throughout this year, a continuation of a trend seen in past years.

Mazda, largely thanks to the new CX-30 which went on sale late last year, saw sales grow by 0.2 percent and 18.2 percent in December as compared to last year. Although Mazdas most popular vehicle, the CX-5, had sales contract by 5.9 percent this past year, the automakers largest offering, the CX-9, had a sales increase of 2.2 percent.

Tesla, which only reports globalnot U.S.sales numbers, saw considerable growth in its total deliveries, which came in at just under 500,000CEO Elon Musks goal for the yearat 499,550, an increase of 35.9 percent. The Model 3, Tesla's most popular vehicle, appears to have seen further growth in sales, but Tesla combines Model 3 and Model Y sales numbers so it's difficult to attribute the growth to one vehicle or the other.

GM chief economist Elaine Buckberg said in a statement that the automaker expects the pandemic to continue to put pressure on the auto industry throughout the year, but for that to ease beginning in the spring. "Widening vaccination rates and warmer weather should enable consumers and businesses to return to a more normal range of activities, lifting the job market, consumer sentiment, and auto demand."

Although the better part of a year now separates the industry from the shutdowns in the spring, inventories haven't recovered, largely due to pent-up demand. That has translated to early 2021 still not being an optimal time to buy a car, since dealers aren't pressed to move outgoing model year vehicles off their lots.

"It's certainly not much of a buyer's market right now: Inventory is still in short supply in certain areas, and automakers and dealers aren't faced with the pressure to use big discounts to clear out their lots like they normally do at this time of year," Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds executive director of insights, said in a note.

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Elon Musk has overtaken Bill Gates to become the worlds second richest person – CNBC

Posted: November 29, 2020 at 6:05 am

Tesla co-founder Elon Musk is now the world's second richest person after he leapfrogged Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, which tracks the wealth of the world's 500 richest people.

The 49-year-old entrepreneur, who is also the co-founder of space exploration firm SpaceX, saw his net worth rise by $7.2 billion to $128 billion on Monday as Tesla shares surged days after the news that the electric car company will be admitted to the S&P 500 index in December.

Musk's net worth has risen by $100.3 billion in 2020, marking the largest increase among those on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. In January, Musk ranked 35th.

Last week, Musk pushed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg down into fourth position when he claimed the third spot.

The only person ahead of Musk now is Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, who took the top spot from Gates in 2017 and has stayed there since.

The move forces Gates down into third place, marking only the second time in the index's eight-year history that he hasn't been ranked in the top two. However, Gates's net worth of $127.7 billion would be considerably higher if it weren't for his philanthropic endeavors. Since 2006, he has given over $27 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

This year, those on the Bloomberg index have collectively added 23%, or $1.3 trillion, to their net worth as millions of workers face financial hardship after being laid off by their employers due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

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Elon Musk To Win Award In Germany For His Work In Tesla, SpaceX, Boring Company, and More – Torque News

Posted: at 6:05 am

Following Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk is set to receive the Axel Springer Award. Musk will accept the award on December 1, 2020, at the Axel Springer headquarters in Berlin and the theme of the evening will be An Evening for Elon Musk Mission to Mars. Which is based on Elon Musks goal with his SpaceX venture to make humanity multi-planetary and reach Mars by 2024.

Axel Springer is a German digital publishing house and is the largest such company in Europe. The company has several multimedia news brands, such as Bild, Die Welt, and Fakt, and employs more than 15,000 individuals.

Elon is the fifth winner of the Axel Springer Award, with which the company annually honors outstanding personalities who are innovative in an extraordinary way, who create and change markets and who shape culture while at the same time shouldering their social responsibility. The award recognizes achievements to date and encourages them to develop these further. said the press release in the announcement for the award.

Previous winners of the award are Mark Zukerberg CEO and Cofounder of Facebook; Jeff Bezos CEO and founder of Amazon; Sir Timothy Berners-Lee inventor of the World Wide Web and the language on which it is based HTML and Shoshana Zuboff who is an economist and a critic of big tech and data collection.

At this time there is certainly no one better suited to get this award than Elon Musk. His companys are revolutionizing several industries. Tesla is disrupting the century-old automotive industry both with electrification and autonomy. SpaceX is doing the same for the aerospace world ushering in the era of reusable rockets and with a planned 42,000 strong satellite constellation Musk is working on offering worldwide internet access.

The Boring Company is changing transportation significantly cutting the cost of building tunnels and reimagining how we get from point A to point B with hyperloop. And Neuralink if it becomes successful might be Elon Musks most profound contribution to humanity fighting diseases like Parkinsons, Alzheimer's, dementia, restoring mobility, vision, and hearing loss and ultimately going all the way to creating a high bandwidth interface between our brain and Artificial Intelligence.

As one of the most creative entrepreneurs and most brilliant engineers of the digital age, Elon Musk inspires an entire generation. He combines great visions with the indomitable will to achieve them. With PayPal, SpaceX, and Tesla, Elon Musk has turned entire industries upside down, and his drive is irrepressible. He is motivated by the goal of making life better for humanity. And not in small steps, but by fundamentally turning the way we do things on their head. With incredible success. said Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Axel Springer SE

Elon Musk is set to receive the award in person and following he will hold an interview. The event will be live-streamed and we will keep you posted if any new nuggets come out about his work in Tesla and the plans for the company.

For more information check out: Tesla and Volkswagen Small Cars, Timeline and Price Targets Also, see E-bike From Tesla: Model B Turns Heads and Steers Independently

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.

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Elon Musk To Win Award In Germany For His Work In Tesla, SpaceX, Boring Company, and More - Torque News

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SpaceX’s Starship will have its first high-altitude test next week – Business Insider – Business Insider

Posted: at 6:05 am

Next week, Elon Musk's space-exploration company SpaceX will take a big step forward in its quest to fly people to Mars.

Musk tweeted on Tuesday that SpaceX's enormous Starship spacecraft which the company eventually wants to use to get humans to Mars will undergo its first high altitude test next week. This follows a successful test firing of the current prototype's engines on Tuesday.

A prototype of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft at the company's facility in Boca Chica, Texas (September 28, 2019). REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare

According to Musk, in next week's test, the rocket will fly 15 km (50,000 feet) into the air. Previous prototypes have made short hops a few hundred meters into the air. This test flight will be a big step in testing whether the design can withstand the rigors of spaceflight.

Elon Musk said in a follow-up tweet on Wednesday that lots could go wrong in this first high-altitude test. "Lot of things need to go right," the billionaire said. When asked on Twitter what he thought the odds were of Starship landing in one piece, he answered "1-in-3."

There are also more prototypes lined up to be tested should this one fail.

Read more: SpaceX may spend billions to outsource Starlink satellite-dish production, an industry insider says and could lose $2,000 on each one it sells

SpaceX's Starship spacecraft is made up of two sections, the Super Heavy booster and the Starship rocket ship which Musk claims will be able to carry 100 people to Mars at a time. The entire spacecraft stands at 120 metres (394 feet) tall.

There's no specific day confirmed for next week, and as TechCrunch notes, test dates are subject to change.

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SpaceX plans for Starship test flight next week, which Elon Musk gives 1-in-3 odds of landing intact – CNBC

Posted: at 6:05 am

SpaceX prototype rocket Starship SN8 stands on the company's launchpad in Boca Chica, Texas before an engine test.

@LabPadre

SpaceX is aiming to launch its latest Starship rocket prototype as early as "next week," CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday, in what would be the company's most ambitious flight test of the rocket to date.

Musk confirmed that Starship prototype Serial Number 8, or SN8, successfully completed a test firing of its three engines ahead of the flight attempt. This next launch is aiming to reach about 50,000 feet altitude well above the 500 foot flights of the prototype's predecessors SN5 and SN6, which completed flight tests on Aug. 5 and Sept. 3, respectively.

The prototypes are built of stainless steel and represent the first versions of the rocket that Muskunveiled last year. The company is developing Starship with the goal of launching cargo and as many as a 100 people at a time on missions to the Moon and Mars.

SpaceX is aiming to pass several further development milestones with Starship SN8's flight.

"Goals are to test 3 engine ascent, body flaps, transition from main to header tanks & landing flip," Musk said in a tweet.

Asked what he thought about chances of the Starship prototype landing intact after the flight, Musk gave SN8 low odds of complete success on the first try.

"Lot of things need to go right, so maybe 1/3 chance," Musk said.

"But that's why we have SN 9 & SN10," Musk added.

Those later prototypes are already in progress at SpaceX'sgrowing facility in Boca Chica, Texas. While SpaceX's fleet of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets are partially reusable, Musk's goal is to make Starship fully reusable envisioning a rocket that is more akin to a commercial airplane, with short turnaround times between flights where the only major cost is fuel.

Musk said that SN9 and SN10 feature "many small improvements," with "major upgrades" planned once SpaceX begins work on prototype SN15.

SpaceX's first Starship prototype under construction near Boca Chica, Texas in 2019.

SpaceX

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Dow crosses 30,000, and Elon Musk is richer than Bill Gates: CNBC After Hours – CNBC

Posted: at 6:04 am

CNBC.com's MacKenzie Sigalos brings you the day's top business news headlines. Today was a historic day on Wall Street the Dow crossed 30,000 for the first time on record. CNBC.com's Pippa Stevens explains what Dow points are, why they're important, and why 30,000 is such a significant milestone. Plus, CNBC Wealth Editor Robert Frank breaks down how Tesla's meteoric stock performance added billions to Elon Musk's personal fortune, making him richer than Bill Gates, at least on paper.

Dow surges more than 400 points, closes above 30,000 for the first time ever

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied on Tuesday, breaking above 30,000 for the first time amid positive vaccine news, hope for a strong economic recovery in 2021 and easing of political uncertainty as the Trump administration approved the start of the presidential transition.

The 30-stock Dow surged 454.97 points, or 1.5%, to close at 30,046.24. At its high of the day, it traded at 30,116.51. Chevron rose 5% to lead the Dow higher. JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs rose 4.6% and 3.8%, respectively.

"This is yet another reminder of how far stocks and the economy have come since the depths of March," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at LPL Financial, about the Dow's milestone. "Although 30,000 isn't much different than 29,999, there is something special about those big milestone numbers."

Elon Musk has overtaken Bill Gates to become the world's second richest person

Tesla co-founder Elon Musk is now the world's second richest person after he leapfrogged Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, which tracks the wealth of the world's 500 richest people.

The 49-year-old entrepreneur, who is also the co-founder of space exploration firm SpaceX, saw his net worth rise by $7.2 billion to $128 billion on Monday as Tesla shares surged days after the news that the electric car company will be admitted to the S&P 500 index in December.

Musk's net worth has risen by $100.3 billion in 2020, marking the largest increase among those on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. In January, Musk ranked 35th.

Jim Cramer unveils list of 'return to normalcy' stocks to buy on vaccine optimism

After Wall Street digested more positive coronavirus vaccine news and investors grew more optimistic on the reopening trade, CNBC's Jim Cramer on Monday unveiled a list of "return to normalcy" stocks.

"I think you have to buy a couple of these vaccine winners on any weakness, although when it comes to retail, I just say buy some, period, because there's no time to wait for a dip," the "Mad Money" host said.

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If you want to be successful, adopt these 5 traits of above average people like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates – CNBC

Posted: at 6:04 am

1. Never stop raising expectations.

To achieve greatness, you must constantly be evolving and innovating. Let's say you've reached all your goals this year. Are you going to keep those goals the same for next year? No.

That's how Bezos' mind works. He's always thinking about the next big thing. For example, how can a successful customer service model be even more successful? After all, customers themselves are never divinely discontent.

"It's human nature. We didn't ascend from our hunter-gatherer days by being satisfied," Bezos wrote in Amazon's 2017 annual shareholder letter. "People have a voracious appetite for a better way, and yesterday's 'wow' quickly becomes today's 'ordinary.' [..] You cannot rest on your laurels in this world."

Everybody has a multimillion-dollarideainside them. But it takes courage and guts to move forward with those ideas, especially when there are people telling you not to. That's what happened to Spanx founder Sara Blakely, when she had the idea to invent footless pantyhose.

"They said stuff like, 'Well if it's such a good idea, why hasn't someone else thought about it?'" Blakely wrote in a 2019 LinkedIn post. "Some people laughed at me, others whispered behind my back, and one lawyer even thought I had been sent to him as a 'prank' from his buddies."

Even though Blakely had never taken a business or clothing design class in her life, she believed in her idea. She knew failure was a possibility, but it's a good thing she didn't let the naysayers discourage her. Spanx, which was founded in 2000, is now a billion-dollar business.

No one is born with excellent communication skills. Just like learning to drive a car, the ability to speak confidently and clearly in public takes practice.

After graduation, Buffett signed up for a Dale Carnegie public speaking course. Having grown up terrified of public speaking, he knew that he needed to overcome his fear in order to be successful.

"I don't have my diploma from the University of Nebraska hanging on my office wall, and I don't have my diploma from Columbia up there either but I do have my Dale Carnegie graduation certificate proudly displayed," the billionaire investor wrote in an essay published in the 2015 book, "Getting There: A Book of Mentors."

"That $100 course gave me the most important degree I have," he added. "It's certainly had the biggest impact in terms of my subsequent success."

We live in a highly distracting world. And while it's important to prioritize work-life balance, the wealthiest people don't get wealthy by being easy on themselves and allowing procrastination to occur.

During an interview with his brother Mark atSummit Series in Los Angeles, Bezos revealed how he maintains laser focus: By only tackling one thing at a time.

"When I have dinner with friends or family, I like to be doing whatever I'm doing," he said, according toTechCrunch. "I don't like to multitask. If I'm reading my email, I want to be reading my email."

Elon Musk is in the same category of focused achievers. A college friend of Musk's, Navaid Farooq, has referred to the Tesla CEO as "intense" and "insistent."

"When Elon gets into something, he develops just this different level of interest in it than other people," Farooq said, according to the book "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future," by Ashlee Vance. "This is what differentiates Elon from the rest of humanity."

What you do with your free time has a huge impact on your success, and one of the best ways to spend your non-working hours is to absorb knowledge even about topics outside of your career through books.

"Nothing, not one thing or activity, can replace the experience of a good read being transported to a different land, a different realm, through words and language," Oprah Winfrey wrote in an article for her website. The media mogul has also shared her reading habit with the world through her popular book club.

A handful of entrepreneurs also credit their success to reading. Buffett spends five to six hours a day reading newspapers and corporate reports. Bill Gates reads 50 books per year. And Mark Cuban has said he reads "more than three hours almost every day."

Tom Popomaronisis a leadership expert and vice president of innovation atMassive Alliance.His work has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., and The Washington Post. In 2014, Tom was named one of the "40 Under 40" by the Baltimore Business Journal. Follow him onLinkedIn.

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Why Elon Musk wont be the second richest man in the world for long – Evening Standard

Posted: at 6:04 am

T

HIS week Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla who is often described as a maverick, became the second richest person on the planet (ours, not his).

The latest surge in the shares of the car maker took his fortune to almost $130 billion, nearly 100 billion.

That puts him above Bill Gates and second only to Jeff Bezos, though we are sure none of them look at it in such a tawdry manner (they totally do).

Tesla shares have risen six-fold this year. At the time of writing they are at $563, valuing the business at $533 billion.

But a point of view: he wont stay second richest in the world, perhaps not even for very long.

Here is why: Tesla shares are absurdly overvalued. The price rests on a belief system, a matter of religious devotion, both to the man and to cars which in truth are not much more than iPhones on wheels.

If you ask Google how many cars Tesla has sold, the answer varies but seems to come out at about a million since it was founded in 2003.

Normally, you would check this with the press office, but Tesla dissolved its PR department last month in the latest sign of its maverick genius.

If you divide one million by the market value of $533 billion, that puts the value of each car sold at $533,000. Racy.

Tesla has nearly always lost money, though it has had quarterly profits lately that dont begin to justify the valuation.

The reason for the share surge is, of course, a bet on the future. Investors have noticed that electric cars are quite the fashion.

Traditional car companies are moving away from petrol engines, prompted by changing consumer tastes, ever more urgent calls for action on climate change, and ensuing government rulings.

Tesla has won so far because it was ahead of the curve, it has had the luxury electrical car market almost to itself until now.

Mercedes, BMW, VW and others are now getting their act together and can go to school on Teslas mistakes and lessons.

The German, Japanese and indeed the big American auto firms have been around a while for good reason. They are really good at making cars.

As a car driver one problem with Tesla cars, aside from their price is this: they look boring.

From a practical point of view, Tesla does not have enough European presence.

Which means they are likely to run into all sorts of problems with transporting their wares and with tariffs.

Moreover, if you have an accident in a BMW, the dealership up the road can get you the replacement parts you need very quickly. It might take Tesla months.

One thing Tesla has benefitted from is massive flows into ESG funds those that invest in companies that have good environmental, social and corporate governance credentials.

That favouritism will unwind once Mercedes and the rest are no longer making petrol vehicles.

So congrats to Elon Musk. Enjoy that $130 billion. Spend it while you can.

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When Melissa McCarthy had lunch with Elon Musk to talk Artificial Intelligence and left terrified – WION

Posted: at 6:04 am

Melissa McCarthy's new comedy 'Superintelligence'centres on artificial intelligence deciding it's time to destroy the world. While bringing it to life McCarthy and her director/husband Ben Falcone completed major items on their bucket lists including having lunch with Elon Musk.

"And we sat down and had lunch with Elon Musk," says McCarthy, 50. "Which is not a sentence I thought I was ever going to be able to say."

Melissa McCarthy spoke with USA TODAY about the future horrors she picked up from her chat with Tesla CEO Musk, who has warned that AI is a "fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization".

Also read:Melissa McCarthy apologises for donating to anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQI+ charity

"We wanted to talk to him about, "Is this possible?" To our surprise, and slight terror, he was like, "It's not what if, but when." It was eye-opening to realize we are doing this dance with technology, friend and foe." she said."It makes our lives better and worse. It's all up to how we use it, how we program it, even if it is to our own demise, which could possibly be our own fault. I walked out of there just like, "Oh, boy!" she further added.

On being asked who paid for lunch, McCarthy quipped, "I have a change belt and sat there counting out pennies and nickels, sliding pennies across the table, saying, "This should cover it, Mr. Musk." He finally said, "I can't watch this anymore."

'Superintelligence'is aromantic comedy sci-fi film directed by Ben Falcone and written by Steve Mallory. The film stars Melissa McCarthy in her fourth collaboration with her husband, Falcone. It was digitally released by Warner Bros. Pictures via HBO Max on November 26, 2020.

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