Bastian
The Living Force
I propose to discuss about the feud between Trump and Musk in a dedicated thread, rather than commenting here or on the thread about Trump.
Elon Musk: Tech Genius! Green Warrior! Biz King! Good Oligarch?
- Thread starter MichaelM
- Start date
Musk published a negative drug test dated June 11th. Not sure how long those drugs are detectable if he stopped using them a week or two before:
www.rt.com
Musk publishes drug test results
A recent New York Times article accused the billionaire of using a “cocktail of substances,” including LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and ketamine
Elon is on the move, having recently relinquished his position with Tesla (buyout) and X as a board member to pursue his quest with SpaceX, OpenAI robotics, and Neuralink.
He has a quota to fill if he expects his trillion-dollar buyout to be paid in 10-year installments.
Who will make a $40—$70 purchase while possibly risking their health via EMF due to the current economic instability?
And since Europe is one of Tesla's larger markets, along with Canada, the US, and Saudi Arabia, Tesla might reach its goal of doubling its production to 2 million from the current 1 million for the foreseeable future
If there ever was a time when his Gordon Gekko moment had arrived in his career, this might be the pinnacle of his stormy ride to the top.
Elon Musk Needs $1 Trillion in ‘Motivation,’ Says Tesla Board. The Stock Rises
Tesla TSLA+3.64% Barron's
Stock jumped on Friday as the company’s board laid out plans to “motivate” CEO Elon Musk. Its proposal includes an unprecedented amount of motivation, but investors appeared not to mind.
Fortune
fortune.com
When Tesla’s board unveiled its latest executive compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk on Friday, it wasn’t just another line in a proxy filing. It was an act of theater—and defiance. After two previous pay deals for Musk—the world’s richest man, worth hundreds of billions—had been alternately dismantled under legal and shareholder pressure, and then heavily criticized, the company is once again pushing the boundaries of corporate governance with a headline-grabbing target: Musk will earn only if Tesla’s valuation surges by at least a factor of eight over the next decade.
Tesla told shareholders in the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Musk’s most recent pay package worth $29 billion was accompanied by the statement that “work was ongoing” by the special committee evaluating Musk’s compensation. The board—with Elon and his brother, Kimbal, recusing themselves from the process—unanimously recommended a “longer-term CEO compensation strategy” that could reach $1 trillion.
The special committee then confirmed what Fortune’s Amanda Gerut reported: that the $29 billion package was not directly linked to performance, and that this was quite the opposite. “Yes, you read that correctly,” the committee told shareholders. “In 2018, Elon had to grow Tesla by billions; in 2025, he has to grow Tesla by trillions — to be exact, he must create nearly $7.5 trillion in value for shareholders for him to receive the full award.” The committee also said that this award “uniquely challenges” Musk to guide Tesla through a new phase of unprecedented growth, while keeping him in leadership for many years to come.
Back in 2012, Tesla’s board offered him a deal based on production and stock price hurdles. At the time, it looked audacious; Tesla was still a niche manufacturer producing a few tens of thousands of cars. When those goals were eventually met, the pay package delivered Musk tens of millions of dollars in options—at once a win for him and a vindication for Tesla shareholders who had seen their stock multiply.
Then came 2018: a plan with a $56 billion potential jackpot contingent on a suite of operational metrics and stratospheric valuation targets. Skeptics scoffed, yet Musk hit many of those goals, pushing Tesla past the trillion-dollar valuation threshold in 2021. To admirers, it proved Musk’s visionary drive. To critics, it was governance gone awry—a board in thrall to its CEO.
Indeed, in January 2024, a Delaware judge struck down that $56 billion arrangement, citing conflicts of interest on the board (including his brother, Kimbal) and lack of adequate oversight. The ruling landed as a symbolic rebuke of Musk’s sway over Tesla, and a warning about the excesses of Silicon Valley’s cult-of-founder ethos. A second attempt at revising the package—“Plan B,” as it was informally known—was again quashed by a Delaware judge nearly a year later. Throughout the year, a furious Musk decamped from his incorporation in Delaware.
In Friday’s proxy, the committee said it had explored numerous alternatives, but ultimately decided to build upon the controversial 2018 package. Musk’s new goals include adjusted Ebitda targets (up to 28x higher than the 2018 milestone, per the committee) and new product rollouts, including 1 million robotaxis in commercial operation and delivery of 1 million AI bots.
But that strength comes with fragility. Musk’s long list of side ventures—SpaceX, X, Neuralink, the recently launched xAI—leads critics to charge that Tesla risks becoming a neglected child. Meanwhile, his mercurial style and public controversies, from social media firestorms to clashes with regulators, have brought volatility to Tesla’s stock and reputation.
Underlying the trillion-dollar plan is a quieter, more existential question: Can Tesla truly outgrow Musk? For over a decade, it has been his vision, his risk appetite, and his brash style that defined the company. Yet most corporate giants eventually mature beyond their founding personalities, shifting power toward institutional structures and professional management.
Once again, Tesla’s board has sided with continuity, betting that the upside of locking Musk in outweighs the turbulence of pushing him aside. Still, the allure of Tesla has always rested in its improbable odds. A company dismissed in its infancy now shapes the future of global transportation. A CEO once thought reckless has become one of the richest men alive. And a pay package once unimaginable is back in play—only now, the number is no longer billions, but a trillion.
www.marketwatch.com
www.zerohedge.com
Rivian Is Laying Off Workers. The EV Pain Is Coming.
He has a quota to fill if he expects his trillion-dollar buyout to be paid in 10-year installments.
Who will make a $40—$70 purchase while possibly risking their health via EMF due to the current economic instability?
And since Europe is one of Tesla's larger markets, along with Canada, the US, and Saudi Arabia, Tesla might reach its goal of doubling its production to 2 million from the current 1 million for the foreseeable future
If there ever was a time when his Gordon Gekko moment had arrived in his career, this might be the pinnacle of his stormy ride to the top.
Elon Musk Needs $1 Trillion in ‘Motivation,’ Says Tesla Board. The Stock Rises
Tesla TSLA+3.64% Barron's
Stock jumped on Friday as the company’s board laid out plans to “motivate” CEO Elon Musk. Its proposal includes an unprecedented amount of motivation, but investors appeared not to mind.
Fortune
'Yes, you read that correctly': Tesla pay committee pitches $1 trillion pact to keep Elon Musk as CEO for long term
Musk had a $56 billion pay package thrown out twice in 2024, so Tesla’s board has proposed a deal worth $1 trillion.
When Tesla’s board unveiled its latest executive compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk on Friday, it wasn’t just another line in a proxy filing. It was an act of theater—and defiance. After two previous pay deals for Musk—the world’s richest man, worth hundreds of billions—had been alternately dismantled under legal and shareholder pressure, and then heavily criticized, the company is once again pushing the boundaries of corporate governance with a headline-grabbing target: Musk will earn only if Tesla’s valuation surges by at least a factor of eight over the next decade.
Tesla told shareholders in the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Musk’s most recent pay package worth $29 billion was accompanied by the statement that “work was ongoing” by the special committee evaluating Musk’s compensation. The board—with Elon and his brother, Kimbal, recusing themselves from the process—unanimously recommended a “longer-term CEO compensation strategy” that could reach $1 trillion.
The special committee then confirmed what Fortune’s Amanda Gerut reported: that the $29 billion package was not directly linked to performance, and that this was quite the opposite. “Yes, you read that correctly,” the committee told shareholders. “In 2018, Elon had to grow Tesla by billions; in 2025, he has to grow Tesla by trillions — to be exact, he must create nearly $7.5 trillion in value for shareholders for him to receive the full award.” The committee also said that this award “uniquely challenges” Musk to guide Tesla through a new phase of unprecedented growth, while keeping him in leadership for many years to come.
Musk’s pay-package past
Elon Musk’s relationship with pay packages has always been outlandish by conventional corporate measures. Unlike the cash-heavy salaries and bonuses that structure most CEO contracts, Musk has repeatedly tied his fortune to Tesla’s ability to smash through aggressive milestones.Back in 2012, Tesla’s board offered him a deal based on production and stock price hurdles. At the time, it looked audacious; Tesla was still a niche manufacturer producing a few tens of thousands of cars. When those goals were eventually met, the pay package delivered Musk tens of millions of dollars in options—at once a win for him and a vindication for Tesla shareholders who had seen their stock multiply.
Then came 2018: a plan with a $56 billion potential jackpot contingent on a suite of operational metrics and stratospheric valuation targets. Skeptics scoffed, yet Musk hit many of those goals, pushing Tesla past the trillion-dollar valuation threshold in 2021. To admirers, it proved Musk’s visionary drive. To critics, it was governance gone awry—a board in thrall to its CEO.
Indeed, in January 2024, a Delaware judge struck down that $56 billion arrangement, citing conflicts of interest on the board (including his brother, Kimbal) and lack of adequate oversight. The ruling landed as a symbolic rebuke of Musk’s sway over Tesla, and a warning about the excesses of Silicon Valley’s cult-of-founder ethos. A second attempt at revising the package—“Plan B,” as it was informally known—was again quashed by a Delaware judge nearly a year later. Throughout the year, a furious Musk decamped from his incorporation in Delaware.
In Friday’s proxy, the committee said it had explored numerous alternatives, but ultimately decided to build upon the controversial 2018 package. Musk’s new goals include adjusted Ebitda targets (up to 28x higher than the 2018 milestone, per the committee) and new product rollouts, including 1 million robotaxis in commercial operation and delivery of 1 million AI bots.
Backlash, loyalty, and the Musk dilemma
Tesla’s board has found itself trapped in a predicament: Musk is simultaneously Tesla’s greatest asset and its greatest risk. The company’s extraordinary rise from an upstart carmaker to a global force in sustainable energy and transport has been fueled by his relentless ambition and uncanny ability to attract capital. He embodies the Tesla brand so thoroughly that investors and customers alike conflate the company’s trajectory with his own.But that strength comes with fragility. Musk’s long list of side ventures—SpaceX, X, Neuralink, the recently launched xAI—leads critics to charge that Tesla risks becoming a neglected child. Meanwhile, his mercurial style and public controversies, from social media firestorms to clashes with regulators, have brought volatility to Tesla’s stock and reputation.
Underlying the trillion-dollar plan is a quieter, more existential question: Can Tesla truly outgrow Musk? For over a decade, it has been his vision, his risk appetite, and his brash style that defined the company. Yet most corporate giants eventually mature beyond their founding personalities, shifting power toward institutional structures and professional management.
Once again, Tesla’s board has sided with continuity, betting that the upside of locking Musk in outweighs the turbulence of pushing him aside. Still, the allure of Tesla has always rested in its improbable odds. A company dismissed in its infancy now shapes the future of global transportation. A CEO once thought reckless has become one of the richest men alive. And a pay package once unimaginable is back in play—only now, the number is no longer billions, but a trillion.
Why the AI bubble in the stock market might still have long to run
Also: A live Q&A to answer your real-estate questions. Plus: One way to become a trillionaire.
These Are Europe's Best-Selling Car Brands So Far In 2025 | ZeroHedge
ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero
www.zerohedge.com
Rivian Is Laying Off Workers. The EV Pain Is Coming.
Sindy-T.S.R
Jedi
The latest from Elon Musk:
Or maybe Elon M. knows something and is starting to play in advance?...
Musk Doubles Down On ‘Cancel Netflix’ Calls Over Trans Character And Director’s Charlie Kirk Post
BySiladitya Ray,
Forbes Staff.
Siladitya Ray is a New Delhi-based Forbes news team reporter.
Oct 01, 2025, 02:54pm EDT
Topline
X owner Elon Musk made repeated calls Wednesday for Netflix subscribers to cancel their memberships over comments Hamish Steele, director of a canceled Netflix animated series, made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk, with Musk also taking aim at the streaming service’s LGBTQ programming and diversity commitments.
X owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk boosted a right-wing social media push to cancel Netflix.
Getty Images
Key Facts
“Cancel Netflix,” Musk wrote in a Wednesday afternoon post on X, quoting another post made by the right-wing Libs of TikTok account, which shared screenshots of a company report in which Netflix said it had increased the number of non-white directors and lead actors on its programs.
In an earlier post on X on Tuesday, Musk reshared a post from another user who said they are canceling their Netflix subscription because the company employed “someone who celebrated the murder of Charlie Kirk and makes content that pushes pro-trans content on my kids,” and wrote: “Same.”
The calls for cancellation appear to stem from an apparent post made by Steele criticizing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s tweet mourning Kirk’s death.
According to a screenshot of Steele’s alleged post, which was shared on X by Libs of TikTok, the animated show’s director purportedly wrote: “Why the f— are you even commenting on this, d—head…a random nazi gets shot and it’s a public statement.”
The Libs of TikTok accounts had earlier shared clips of Steele’s animated show “Dead End: Paranormal Park,” which was canceled in January 2023, and claimed it was “pushing pro-transgender on CHILDREN.”
Musk reshared the post attacking the animated show and wrote: “This is not ok,” and later boosted another post attacking the streamer for pushing a “transgender woke agenda,” saying “Cancel Netflix for the health of your kids.”
Netflix shares are down 2.2% to $1,173.12 as of Wednesday afternoon.
Or maybe Elon M. knows something and is starting to play in advance?...
Session 29 July 2023
What are the differences in thinking and viewing the world in Musks latest musings compared to Bill Gates thinking that dimming the sun artificially by creating “a reflective cloud cover“ above our heads?:
And how much of that is based on dangerous levels of believing any mainstream nonsense, ignorance, extreme materialism, left brain thinking and hubris? What could go wrong?
And how much of that is based on dangerous levels of believing any mainstream nonsense, ignorance, extreme materialism, left brain thinking and hubris? What could go wrong?
Not much. It's the difference between being unintentionally malicious (Musk) and intentionally malicious (Gates). The result is a disaster in both cases. We don't need AI, we don't need vaccines, and we don't need to suppress the natural order of things. Good intentions must be built on truth to have a net positive effect on society.
As much as Musk is deluded in his thinking and what “he“ is creating in many cases and areas I think we have to give the guy some credit in what breathtaking pace “he“ is able to create quite wondrous working things and putting them out there, often more or less for any ordinary person to use for free and/or for very reasonable prices/conditions. I think having a guy like that wake up to some crucial deceptions must be one of the worst nightmares for the PTB. Therefore he is probably extra strongly subjected to things that keep him in mainstream bubbles.
Edit: Spelling
I also remember Putin saying something like that there isn’t much that can stop a guy like Musk.
Edit: Spelling
I also remember Putin saying something like that there isn’t much that can stop a guy like Musk.
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gc8
The Force is Strong With This One
I keep thinking about the old Heinlein novels when I hear of Musk.
Not Asimov, not Clarke, but Heinlein with the politics surrounding the personage(s) in various political scenarios that try to do something "out of band" and break "rules".
Saw in the comments this crazy incident was actually from May of 2025. At least she shot the doors and not the windows so the owner didn't have to clean up broken glass. What a moron.
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Tesla profits drop as automaker starts to move away from electric cars
The year 2025 was supposed to be a big one for Tesla. Instead, the numbers tell a completely different story. The world's most famous maker of electric cars released its financial results yesterday, and the data show a company facing stiff challenges. For the first time in its history, Tesla made less money in a year than it did the year before. While CEO Elon Musk talks about a future filled with robots and self-driving taxis, the business of selling cars took a major hit.
The financial report paints a grim picture for the company. Tesla's total profit for 2025 was €3.24 billion. That is a lot of money, whichever way you look at it, but it is actually 46 percent less than what the company made in 2024. The profit margin, which is the percentage of money the company keeps after paying expenses, fell to just 4.9 percent. In 2022, that number sat at 23.8 percent.
One of the most interesting parts of the financial report is how Tesla made its money. A large chunk of its profit did not come from selling EVs to people. Instead, it came from selling "regulatory credits" to other car companies that need help meeting pollution rules. These credits brought in €2 billion.
That means 52 percent of Tesla's entire profit for the year came from these credits, not from selling vehicles. If Tesla did not have those credits, the financial results would look much worse. And the problem the company is facing? Those credits are gone; they won't be part of Tesla's business model this year since they were cancelled by the current administration.
Tesla sold 1,636,129 cars in 2025. This is roughly 9 percent less than the year before. The end of the year was particularly hard. In the fourth quarter alone, sales dropped by 16 percent compared to the same time in 2024. Revenue from selling cars fell by 10 percent to €59.33 billion for the year.
Tesla profits drop as automaker starts to move away from electric cars
The automaker faced problems from many directions. There is more competition now from other companies making electric cars. Also, the government changed the rules. The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," passed on July 4, ended the €6,400 tax credit that used to help people buy Teslas, making the cars more expensive for normal buyers.
In a shocking surprise to many fans, Musk announced that Tesla will stop making the Model S and the Model X. Musk says the factory space in Fremont, California, where these cars are made, is needed for something else. He plans to use that space to build robots. The goal is to make up to one million robots every year, but we all know how those plans go. Will Tesla eventually shift to robotics and AI? Yes, absolutely, but it won't be an easy ride, and it'll take a little bit longer than Musk promises.
It was not all bad news. Tesla is doing very well in areas outside of selling cars. The energy storage business, which sells big batteries for homes and power grids, grew by 27%. It brought in €10.84 billion. The services division also grew by 19%, earning €10.67. These two parts of the company are becoming very important as car sales slow down.
Elon Musk tried to keep investors happy by looking forward. He spoke about a future with "amazing medical care" and "high universal income." He claims that 2026 will see the release of the Cybercab, a robot taxi with two seats. He also mentioned the Tesla Semi truck and a new version of the Roadster sports car, which might be shown in April.
All the glossy predictions aside, shareholders might be worried about where the money is going. Tesla invested €2 billion into xAI, an artificial intelligence company owned by Musk. Unexpectedly for many - or maybe expectedly - the company and its main product, Grok, have quickly become known for excelling at deepfake technology.
On a side note, Tesla is changing how it charges for its self-driving features. The "Full Self-Driving" system will now be a subscription service costing €85 per month. The company is also removing the standard Autopilot feature. Musk insists that safety is the top priority, saying the company is "paranoid about safety."
Despite the bad numbers, Tesla shareholders voted for a pay package for Musk that could make him a trillionaire if the company's value hits €2 trillion. But for now, the company has to figure out how to either sell more electric cars in a world that seems to be buying fewer of them, or shift quickly to other revenue streams to replace the falling sales.
The reality is that Tesla has slowly started shifting away from selling EVs to the public. It won't happen overnight, but with the Model S and Model X now officially gone, we can see the beginning of the end. The Cybercab will eventually launch, and it will replace the need for ownership for many people. The Semi will start selling in big numbers, and with the energy storage business booming, Tesla won't need to worry about selling cars to the public.
The Roadster, however late, will be the new halo model, which will sell in small numbers, but it was never meant to be a mass-produced EV. Tesla's stake in xAI will alone bring enough profit once the new AI pioneer goes public. And yes, whether we like it or not, the robots are coming, and Tesla will make sure they are literally everywhere. Shareholders rejoice. Workers? Workers have to hope that Musk's promises about universal income do come true.
Tesla profits drop as automaker starts to move away from electric cars
Tesla faces its first annual revenue drop and cancels its flagship sedans while betting its future on robotics and artificial intelligence.www.arenaev.com
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