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Stock market news live updates: Stocks rise after Trumps signals support for some virus relief – Yahoo Canada Finance

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Stocks rose after a flurry of Twitter posts from President Donald Trump, who announced his support for specific virus relief measures, despite saying earlier that he told negotiators to end stimulus talks until after the election.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="[Click here to read what’s moving markets heading into Thursday, Oct. 8]” data-reactid=”17″>[Click here to read what’s moving markets heading into Thursday, Oct. 8]

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="The three major indices extended gains intraday Wednesday after dropping on Tuesday. The Dow added more than 400 points shortly before noon in New York. Airline, cruise line and lodging stocks rose as the prospects of at least some stimulus appeared back on the table. Shares of Eli Lilly (LLY) rose after the drugmaker announced it was seeking emergency use authorization from the FDA for its experimental Covid-19 antibody treatment.” data-reactid=”18″>The three major indices extended gains intraday Wednesday after dropping on Tuesday. The Dow added more than 400 points shortly before noon in New York. Airline, cruise line and lodging stocks rose as the prospects of at least some stimulus appeared back on the table. Shares of Eli Lilly (LLY) rose after the drugmaker announced it was seeking emergency use authorization from the FDA for its experimental Covid-19 antibody treatment.

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<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="“The House &amp; Senate should IMMEDIATELY Approve 25 Billion Dollars for Airline Payroll Support, &amp; 135 Billion Dollars for Paycheck Protection Program for Small Business,” Trump wrote in a Twitter post late Tuesday. “Both of these will be fully paid for with unused funds from the Cares Act. Have this money. I will sign now!”” data-reactid=”19″>“The House & Senate should IMMEDIATELY Approve 25 Billion Dollars for Airline Payroll Support, & 135 Billion Dollars for Paycheck Protection Program for Small Business,” Trump wrote in a Twitter post late Tuesday. “Both of these will be fully paid for with unused funds from the Cares Act. Have this money. I will sign now!”

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Trump also added that he was “ready to sign now” a standalone bill to send another round of $1,200 stimulus checks to taxpayers.” data-reactid=”20″>Trump also added that he was “ready to sign now” a standalone bill to send another round of $1,200 stimulus checks to taxpayers.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Earlier Tuesday afternoon, Trump said in his Twitter posts that he instructed his representatives “to&nbsp;stop negotiating until after the election,” after which he expected to win and “pass a&nbsp;major&nbsp;Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business.”” data-reactid=”21″>Earlier Tuesday afternoon, Trump said in his Twitter posts that he instructed his representatives “to stop negotiating until after the election,” after which he expected to win and “pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business.”

Previously, investors had held onto slim hopes that lawmakers might succeed in passing another comprehensive fiscal stimulus package before Election Day on Nov. 3. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held talks over the deal regularly over the past week, though the officials for months had failed to reconcile the discrepancies between their plans, which last stood at $2.2 trillion for House Democrats versus an about $1.6 trillion offer from Mnuchin.

Even before Trump’s announcement Tuesday afternoon, analysts at Eurasia Group said they believed passage of a pre-election stimulus package had an only 20% probability of transpiring, according to a research note Monday.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="The announcement came just hours after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell issued in a speech one of his firmest calls yet for lawmakers to advance fiscal stimulus to promote the economic recovery, saying that the rebound would be “stronger and move faster if monetary policy and fiscal policy continue to work side by side to provide support to the economy until it is clearly out of the woods.”” data-reactid=”24″>The announcement came just hours after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell issued in a speech one of his firmest calls yet for lawmakers to advance fiscal stimulus to promote the economic recovery, saying that the rebound would be “stronger and move faster if monetary policy and fiscal policy continue to work side by side to provide support to the economy until it is clearly out of the woods.”

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Elsewhere, Big Tech companies including Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Facebook (FB) traded higher and shook off Tuesday’s declines, after the House Judiciary’s Antitrust Subcommittee released an about 450-page report describing these companies as having “expanded and exploited their power of the marketplace in anticompetitive ways.” The report outlined a wide-reaching array of measures to try and curb these companies’ power, which, if advanced into legislation, could eventually lead to breaking up parts of the companies’ businesses.” data-reactid=”25″>Elsewhere, Big Tech companies including Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Facebook (FB) traded higher and shook off Tuesday’s declines, after the House Judiciary’s Antitrust Subcommittee released an about 450-page report describing these companies as having “expanded and exploited their power of the marketplace in anticompetitive ways.” The report outlined a wide-reaching array of measures to try and curb these companies’ power, which, if advanced into legislation, could eventually lead to breaking up parts of the companies’ businesses.

Still, some analysts said that it remains a reach for Congress in its current form to pose a meaningful threat to these corporations. However, a major shift of power to a Democratic majority in both chambers of Congress and the presidency post-election would raise the likelihood of more pressure, according to WedBush analyst Dan Ives.

“Absent a legislative fix, we do not see meaningful change in regulation for now,” Ives said in a note late Tuesday. “We likely do not see Congress agreeing on legislation unless both houses of Congress and the Presidency are controlled by the same party, as the parties have had difficulty reaching consensus on more pressing issues. However, a potential ‘blue wave’ in November would change the game on this front and make a formidable force going after antitrust law changes with breakups possibly on the radar.”

<h2 class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="4:05 p.m. ET: Dow gains 530 points, or 1.9%, to rise to the highest level in more than one month” data-reactid=”31″>4:05 p.m. ET: Dow gains 530 points, or 1.9%, to rise to the highest level in more than one month

Here were the main moves in markets as of 4:05 p.m. ET:

  • S&P 500 (^GSPC): +58.50 (+1.74%) to 3,419.45

  • Dow (^DJI): +530.70 (+1.91%) to 28,303.46

  • Nasdaq (^IXIC): +210.00 (+1.88%) to 11,364.60

  • Crude (CL=F): -$0.65 (-1.60%) to $40.02 a barrel

  • Gold (GC=F): -$18.80 (-0.98%) to $1,890.00 per ounce

  • 10-year Treasury (^TNX): +4.3 bps to yield 0.7850%

2:15 p.m. ET: Federal Reserve says recovery could be ‘slower than anticipated’ in absence of future fiscal support

The Federal Reserve released meeting minutes from its Sept. 15-16 meeting Wednesday afternoon, which shed more light on central bank officials’ concerns that the economic recovery might be curbed in absence of further support from Congress.

“Indeed, many participants noted that their economic outlook assumed additional fiscal support and that if future fiscal support was significantly smaller or arrived significantly later than they expected, the pace of the recovery could be slower than anticipated,” according to the meeting minutes.

The minutes also revealed that Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) participants did not view the outcome-based forward guidance on rates that had been put forth in the last FOMC statement as “an unconditional commitment to a particular path.”

“Most participants supported providing more explicit outcome-based forward guidance for the federal funds rate that included establishing criteria for lifting the federal funds rate above the ELB [effective lower bound] in terms of the paths for employment or inflation or both,” according to the minutes. “Among the participants who favored providing more explicit forward guidance at this meeting, all but a couple supported a formulation in which the forward guidance included language indicating that it would likely be appropriate to maintain the current target range until labor market conditions were judged to be consistent with the Committee’s assessments of maximum employment and inflation had risen to 2% and was on track to moderately exceed 2 percent for some time.”

“Participants generally noted that outcome-based forward guidance for the federal funds rate of this type was not an unconditional commitment to a particular path,” the minutes added.

1:20 p.m. ET: Trump has been ‘symptom-free’ for more than 24 hours, White House physician says

President Donald Trump has been “fever-free for more than 4 days, symptom-free for over 24 hours, and has not needed nor received any supplemental oxygen since initial hospitalization,” White House physician Dr. Sean Conley wrote in a memo Wednesday afternoon.

The president has been out of the hospital since Monday evening, after being taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center late Friday and staying the weekend to be treated for Covid-19.

11:57 a.m. ET: Stocks extend gains, three major indices each advance more than 1%

The three major indices added to gains in intraday trading Wednesday. The Dow outperformed with a rise of 1.5%, or 426 points, led by gains in Salesforce and Boeing. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each also rose at least 1.3%.

Gains in the S&P 500 were led by the materials, consumer discretionary and industrials sectors. Each of the 11 major sectors were positive on the day, though the communication services, energy and real estate sectors lagged.

9:31 a.m. ET: Stocks open sharply higher amid stimulus talks, Covid-19 treatment hopes

Here were the main moves in markets, as of 9:31 a.m. ET:

  • S&P 500 (^GSPC): +39.14 points (+1.16%) to 3,400

  • Dow (^DJI): +320.57 points (+1.15%) to 28,093.33

  • Nasdaq (^IXIC): +132.13 points (+1.18%) to 11,286.39

  • Crude (CL=F): -$1.01 (-2.48%) to $39.66 a barrel

  • Gold (GC=F): -$20.50 (-1.07%) to $1,888.30 per ounce

  • 10-year Treasury (^TNX): +3.8 bps to yield 0.778%

8:50 a.m. ET: Eli Lilly shares rise after company applies for FDA emergency use authorization for Covid-19 antibody therapy

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Drugmaker Eli Lilly &amp; Co. (LLY) said Wednesday it has requested that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorize its experimental Covid-19 antibody therapy for emergency use. The company said new data showed its treatment helped reduce “viral load, symptoms and COVID-related hospitalization and ER visits,” according to a statement.” data-reactid=”71″>Drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) said Wednesday it has requested that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorize its experimental Covid-19 antibody therapy for emergency use. The company said new data showed its treatment helped reduce “viral load, symptoms and COVID-related hospitalization and ER visits,” according to a statement.

Shares of Eli Lilly rose more than 3% in pre-market trading.

7:26 a.m. ET: Stock futures rise after Trump signals support for some stimulus measures

Here were the main moves in markets, as of 7:28 a.m. ET:

  • S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,372.5, up 19.25 points or 0.57%

  • Dow futures (YM=F): 27,877.00, up 177 points or 0.64%

  • Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 11,331.00, up 57.27 points or 0.51%

  • Crude (CL=F): -$1.13 (-2.78%) to $39.54 a barrel

  • Gold (GC=F): -$22.40 (-1.17%) to $1,886.40 per ounce

  • 10-year Treasury (^TNX): +3.5 bps to yield 0.775%

7:00 a.m. ET Wednesday: Weekly mortgage applications as record low rates support housing market

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly index tracking mortgage application volume jumped 4.6% for the week ended Oct. 2, following a 4.8% drop during the prior week.

Refinances led the gain, with this index increasing 8% over last week to the highest level since mid-August. The refinance index was up 50% over last year. However, an index tracking purchases fell 2% week-over-week, seasonally adjusted, but was still 21% higher than the same period last week on an unadjusted basis.

“Mortgage rates declined across the board last week – with most falling to record lows – and borrowers responded,” Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, said in a statement. ““Continuing the trend seen in recent months, the purchase market is growing at a strong clip, with activity last week up 21 percent from a year ago. The average loan size increased again to a new record at $371,500, as activity in the higher loan size categories continues to lead growth.”

6:08 p.m. ET Tuesday: Stock futures open lower as stimulus hopes wane

Here were the main moves in equity markets, as of 6:08 p.m. ET Tuesday:

  • S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,338.00, down 15.25 points or 0.45%

  • Dow futures (YM=F): 27,588.00, down 112 points or 0.4%

  • Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 11,230.00, down 43.75 points or 0.39%

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, October 2, 2008. U.S. stocks slid on Thursday as tight credit markets and bleak economic data forced investors to focus on the rocky road still ahead for the U.S. economy even if Congress passes a $700 billion rescue package. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (UNITED STATES)
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, October 2, 2008. U.S. stocks slid on Thursday as tight credit markets and bleak economic data forced investors to focus on the rocky road still ahead for the U.S. economy even if Congress passes a $700 billion rescue package. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (UNITED STATES)

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Oil Firms Doubtful Trans Mountain Pipeline Will Start Full Service by May 1st

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Pipeline

Oil companies planning to ship crude on the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline in Canada are concerned that the project may not begin full service on May 1 but they would be nevertheless obligated to pay tolls from that date.

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In a letter to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER), Suncor Energy and other shippers including BP and Marathon Petroleum have expressed doubts that Trans Mountain will start full service on May 1, as previously communicated, Reuters reports.

Trans Mountain Corporation, the government-owned entity that completed the pipeline construction, told Reuters in an email that line fill on the expanded pipeline would be completed in early May.

After a series of delays, cost overruns, and legal challenges, the expanded Trans Mountain oil pipeline will open for business on May 1, the company said early this month.

“The Commencement Date for commercial operation of the expanded system will be May 1, 2024. Trans Mountain anticipates providing service for all contracted volumes in the month of May,” Trans Mountain Corporation said in early April.

The expanded pipeline will triple the capacity of the original pipeline to 890,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 300,000 bpd to carry crude from Alberta’s oil sands to British Columbia on the Pacific Coast.  

The Federal Government of Canada bought the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX) from Kinder Morgan back in 2018, together with related pipeline and terminal assets. That cost the federal government $3.3 billion (C$4.5 billion) at the time. Since then, the costs for the expansion of the pipeline have quadrupled to nearly $23 billion (C$30.9 billion).

The expansion project has faced continuous delays over the years. In one of the latest roadblocks in December, the Canadian regulator denied a variance request from the project developer to move a small section of the pipeline due to challenging drilling conditions.

The company asked the regulator to reconsider its decision, and received on January 12 a conditional approval, avoiding what could have been another two-year delay to start-up.

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Tesla profits cut in half as demand falls

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Tesla profits slump by more than a half

Tesla logo.

Tesla has announced its profits fell sharply in the first three months of the year to $1.13bn (£910m), compared with $2.51bn in 2023.

It caps a difficult period for the electric vehicle (EV) maker, which – faced with falling sales – has announced thousands of job cuts.

Boss Elon Musk remains bullish about its prospects, telling investors the launch of new models would be brought forward.

Its share price has risen but analysts say it continues to face significant challenges, including from lower-cost rivals.

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The company has suffered from falling demand and competition from cheaper Chinese imports which has led its stock price to collapse by 43% over 2024.

Figures for the first quarter of 2024 revealed revenues of $21.3bn, down on analysts’ predictions of just over $22bn.

But the decision by Tesla to bring forward the launch of new models from the second half of 2025 boosted its shares by nearly 12.5% in after-hours trading.

It did not reveal pricing details for the new vehicles.

However Mr Musk made clear he also grander ambitions, touting Tesla’s AI credentials and plans for self-driving vehicles – even going as far as to say considering it to be just a car company was the “wrong framework.”

“If somebody doesn’t believe Tesla is going to solve autonomy I think they should not be an investor,” he said.

Such sentiments have been questioned by analysts though, with Deutsche Bank saying driverless cars face “technological, regulatory and operational challenges.”

Some investors have called for the company to instead focus on releasing a lower price, mass-market EV.

However, Tesla has already been on a charm offensive, trying to win over new customers by dropping its prices in a series of markets in the face of falling sales.

It also said its situation was not unique.

“Global EV sales continue to be under pressure as many carmakers prioritize hybrids over EVs,” it said.

Despite plans to bring forward new models originally planned for next year the firm is cutting its workforce.

Tesla said it would lose 3,332 jobs in California and 2,688 positions in Texas, starting mid-June.

The cuts in Texas represent 12% of Tesla’s total workforce of almost 23,000 in the area where its gigafactory and headquarters are located.

However, Mr Musk sought to downplay the move.

“Tesla has now created over 30,000 manufacturing jobs in California!” he said in a post on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.

Another 285 jobs will be lost in New York.

Tesla’s total workforce stood at more than 140,000 late last year, up from around 100,000 at the end of 2021, according to the company’s filings with US regulators.

Musk’s salary

The car firm is also facing other issues, with a struggle over Mr Musk’s compensation still raging on.

On Wednesday, Tesla asked shareholders to vote for a proposal to accept Mr Musk’s compensation package – once valued at $56bn – which had been rejected by a Delaware judge.

The judge found Tesla’s directors had breached their fiduciary duty to the firm by awarding Mr Musk the pay-out.

Due to the fall in Tesla’s stock value, the compensation package is now estimated to be around $10bn less – but still greater than the GDP of many countries.

In addition, Tesla wants its shareholders to agree to the firm being moved from Delaware to Texas – which Mr Musk called for after the judge rejected his payday.

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Stock market today: Nasdaq futures pop, Tesla surges after earnings with more heavyweights on deck

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Tech stocks rose on Wednesday, outstripping the broader market as investors welcomed Tesla’s (TSLA) cheaper car pledge and waited for the next rush of corporate earnings.

The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose roughly 0.6%, coming off a sharp closing gain. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was up 0.2%, continuing a rebound from its longest losing streak of 2024, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.1%.

Tesla shares jumped nearly 12% after the EV maker’s vow to speed up the launch of more affordable models eclipsed its quarterly earnings and revenue miss. That cheered up investors worried about growth amid a strategy shift to robotaxis and the planned cancellation of a cheaper model.

The results from the first “Magnificent Seven” to report have intensified the already high hopes for Big Tech earnings, that the megacaps can revive the rally in stocks they powered. The spotlight is now on Meta’s (META) report due after the market close, as the Facebook owner’s shares rose after the Senate voted for a potential ban on rival TikTok. Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOG) next up on Thursday.

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Meanwhile, Boeing (BA) reported better than expected first quarter results before the opening bell with a loss per share of $1.13, narrower than the $1.72 estimated by Wall Street. Shares rose about 2% in morning trade.

Live6 updates

  • Tech leads at the open

    Tech stocks rose on Wednesday, outstripping the broader market as investors welcomed Tesla’s (TSLA) cheaper car pledge and waited for the next rush of corporate earnings.

    The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose roughly 0.6%, coming off a sharp closing gain. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was up 0.2%, continuing a rebound from its longest losing streak of 2024, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.1%.

  • Just off the phone: Otis CEO Judy Marks

    Many in the Yahoo Finance newsroom know of my joy for reading up on elevator and escalator maker Otis Worldwide (OTIS) — I am fascinated by what the company makes, how it makes it and what it all says about the health of the global economy.

    I just got off the phone with Otis CEO Judy Marks. Her comments to me on China — following her trip in March to the country (an important market for Otis) — left an impression:

    “The message from the Chinese government is we want economic development. We want foreign direct investment. We’re going to celebrate 40 years in China this year, and it’s an important market to us, but we’ve watched as the market has developed and some of the challenges in the property market and they’re really continuing. I would tell you that the property market and the new equipment market similar to the last 18 to 24 months, it remains weak. Liquidity and credit constraints are weighing on the developers, and the top 50 developer sales this quarter were down almost 50% versus this quarter last year. So on the equipment side, we’re calling this a down high single digit to down 10% market for the year.”

    Marks doesn’t see growth returning to Otis’ China business in 2024.

  • Hilton continues to buy its company back

    Hilton (HLT) continues to be one of the most aggressive acquirers of its stock out of the gazillion companies I follow closely.

    In many respects, it almost feels like Hilton is taking itself private again! The hotel and resorts company went public again in 2013 after being bought by Blackstone in 2007.)

    This from the company’s just-released earnings report:

    “During the three months ended March 31, 2024, Hilton repurchased 3.4 million shares of its common stock at an average price per share of $196.17, for a total of $662 million, returning $701 million of capital to shareholders during the quarter including dividends. The number of shares outstanding as of April 19, 2024 was 250.0 million.”

    For perspective, Hilton ended 2022 with a share count of 277 million.

  • Toymaker earnings not coming in fun

    No playing around here, earnings from major toymakers Mattel (MAT) and Hasbro (HAS) aren’t very fun to look at.

    Not exactly a great earnings report from Mattel last night — now saying it will return to revenue growth in 2025. Mattel is unique in that the Barbie movie really drove up its results last year, so things mathematically will be down. Sales fell 1% year-over-year in the first quarter.

    Hasbro’s earnings this morning are also tough on the eyes for investors. The company is calling out a 21% sales plunge in its key consumer products business due to “broader industry trends, exited businesses and reduced closeout sales as a result of last year’s inventory clean-up.”

    Both weak reports say a lot about where shoppers minds are at right now … not with buying dolls, action figures and board games.

  • One stat to know on AT&T

    I am still wading through AT&T’s (T) long earnings report, but one number caught my attention right off the jump.

    $4.7 billion.

    That’s how much debt AT&T repaid in the quarter, as it continues to try to bring down leverage in life after Time Warner. CEO John Stankey has told me a few times within the past year that paying down debt is one of the most important goals for his management team.

    As it should be — AT&T still ended the first quarter with about $132.8 billion in total debt! The company’s market cap is $118 billion.

  • A list of questions Tesla investors need to ponder

    The day after.

    Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has played investors like a fiddle. He gave them what they were clamoring for ahead of earnings — details on a cheaper Tesla — and they are eating it up. Shares are up 10% in pre-market trading, and the company’s ticker is dominating the Yahoo Finance Trending Ticker page.

    All of that is fine and good, but it all detracts (likely by Musk’s design) from the main story at Tesla that has weighed on its stock price this year: The company is struggling, and any bold promises by Musk that sends its stock higher inside an awful year for the company should be questioned big-time.

    Here are some questions the Tesla bulls need to ask themselves.

    • Musk promises robotaxis, shows off in the earnings slide-deck what their ride-sharing app may look like. But…
      • What do regulators have to say about this? How feasible is this launch within the next 12-months?
      • Musk does know that Uber (UBER) exists right? And that it’s nicely making profits finally and investing aggressively in its business.
      • Musk seems to think people will want to share their Teslas and make this platform a success. What happens if they don’t want to share their tricked out Model 3?
      • Musk mentions Tesla will own some of the robotaxi fleet. What does that do to its cash flow and margin profile? Do investors and analysts want to see Tesla saddled with these extra costs while the pure EV business is under pressure and they are trying to make humanoid Optimus robots?
    • Musk promises he is fully engaged at Tesla. But …
      • Some interesting dialogue on the earnings call on how long Musk plans to stay CEO of Tesla. He didn’t answer precisely with a timeline, said he works on Sunday and seemingly around the clock (like many other humans). He then questioned whether Tesla could get out its robots if he weren’t leading the company. Is now the time to ponder a Musk-less Tesla within the next few years? What does that even look like for investors? So many of his top execs have left or are leaving, including one of the guys on the earnings call last night! If buttoned-up/corporate Disney (DIS) CEO Bob Iger is seen as failing at succession planning, then Musk could be seen as one of the worst succession planners in CEO history.
    • Musk pounds the table on Tesla being an AI company again. But …
      • Sure, Tesla has some amazing technology. But doesn’t Tesla make cars first that then use its technology? Who would you rather own stock in? A pure play AI company such as Microsoft (MSFT) or a car company masquerading as an AI company?
    • Musk hypes a cheaper Tesla. But …
      • Tesla is no stranger to recalls and concerns about product quality. Just check out the Cybertruck recall last week! So, how high quality is a $25,000 Tesla going to be? This sounds like it could be a dreadful ownership experience, not unlike when my parents bought a cheap 1986 Ford Tempo and a 1987 Ford Escort when they came out.

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