Meanwhile at FOX:
Fox News Host Suggests Death Penalty for Those Who Vandalize Tesla Vehicles
Fox News host Harris Faulkner raised eyebrows after she suggested that those who vandalize Tesla vehicles, particularly by setting them on fire, should face the death penalty.
On her show, The Faulkner Focus, Faulkner asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt whether the federal death penalty could be applied to individuals who commit such acts of vandalism.
Faulkner’s comments came amid growing protests targeting Tesla cars, including reports of vehicles being set on fire at dealerships. This wave of attacks has coincided with backlash against the company, partly fueled by Elon Musk’s support for President Donald Trump.
Click on the link for the full article
That's not happening unless they amend the Death Penalty Act of 1994. But we shouldn't expect FOX host to understand justice or the law.
The Egocentric Eccentric Exploits of Elon
Tesla vandals face up to 20 years in prison, says attorney general
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Thursday that three defendants accused of vandalism targeting Elon Musk's Tesla electric vehicle company could face up to 20 years in prison.
Bondi said the damage to Tesla cars, dealerships and charging stations was "domestic terrorism".
Arrests and charges against the three suspects were previously announced by prosecutors.
Tesla dealerships across the country have been targeted in a wave of protests, but also vandalism and arson attacks, in response to Musk's influence over the Trump administration.
Click on the link for the full article
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Thursday that three defendants accused of vandalism targeting Elon Musk's Tesla electric vehicle company could face up to 20 years in prison.
Bondi said the damage to Tesla cars, dealerships and charging stations was "domestic terrorism".
Arrests and charges against the three suspects were previously announced by prosecutors.
Tesla dealerships across the country have been targeted in a wave of protests, but also vandalism and arson attacks, in response to Musk's influence over the Trump administration.
Click on the link for the full article
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How Elon Musk’s SpaceX Secretly Allows Investment From China
As a U.S. military contractor, SpaceX sees allowing Chinese ownership as fraught. But it will allow the investment if it comes through secrecy hubs like the Cayman Islands, court records say. “It is certainly a policy of obfuscation,” an expert said.
Elon Musk’s aerospace giant SpaceX allows investors from China to buy stakes in the company as long as the funds are routed through the Cayman Islands or other offshore secrecy hubs, according to previously unreported court records.
The rare picture of SpaceX’s approach recently emerged in an under-the-radar corporate dispute in Delaware. Both SpaceX’s chief financial officer and Iqbaljit Kahlon, a major investor, were forced to testify in the case.
In December, Kahlon testified that SpaceX prefers to avoid investors from China because it is a defense contractor. There is a major exception though, he said: SpaceX finds it “acceptable” for Chinese investors to buy into the company through offshore vehicles.
“The primary mechanism is that those investors would come through intermediate entities that they would create or others would create,” Kahlon said. “Typically they would set up BVI structures or Cayman structures or Hong Kong structures and various other ones,” he added, using the acronym for the British Virgin Islands. Offshore vehicles are often used to keep investors anonymous.
Experts called SpaceX’s approach unusual, saying they were troubled by the possibility that a defense contractor would take active steps to conceal foreign ownership interests.
Click on the link for the full article
As a U.S. military contractor, SpaceX sees allowing Chinese ownership as fraught. But it will allow the investment if it comes through secrecy hubs like the Cayman Islands, court records say. “It is certainly a policy of obfuscation,” an expert said.
Elon Musk’s aerospace giant SpaceX allows investors from China to buy stakes in the company as long as the funds are routed through the Cayman Islands or other offshore secrecy hubs, according to previously unreported court records.
The rare picture of SpaceX’s approach recently emerged in an under-the-radar corporate dispute in Delaware. Both SpaceX’s chief financial officer and Iqbaljit Kahlon, a major investor, were forced to testify in the case.
In December, Kahlon testified that SpaceX prefers to avoid investors from China because it is a defense contractor. There is a major exception though, he said: SpaceX finds it “acceptable” for Chinese investors to buy into the company through offshore vehicles.
“The primary mechanism is that those investors would come through intermediate entities that they would create or others would create,” Kahlon said. “Typically they would set up BVI structures or Cayman structures or Hong Kong structures and various other ones,” he added, using the acronym for the British Virgin Islands. Offshore vehicles are often used to keep investors anonymous.
Experts called SpaceX’s approach unusual, saying they were troubled by the possibility that a defense contractor would take active steps to conceal foreign ownership interests.
Click on the link for the full article
Elon Musk says he sold X to his AI company
Elon Musk on Friday evening announced he has sold his social media company, X, to xAI, his artificial intelligence company. xAI will pay $45 billion for X, slightly more than Musk paid for it in 2022, but the new deal includes $12 billion of debt.
Musk wrote on his X account that the deal gives X a valuation of $33 billion.
“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined,” Musk said in a post on X. “Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent. This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach.”
Musk didn’t announce any immediate changes to X, although xAI’s Grok chatbot is already integrated into the social media platform. Musk said that the combined platform will “deliver smarter, more meaningful experiences.” He said the value of the combined company was $80 billion.
Musk has made a slew of changes to the platform once known as Twitter since he purchased it in 2022, prompting some major advertisers to flee. He laid off 80% of the company’s staff, upended the platform’s verification system and reinstated suspended accounts of White supremacists within months of the acquisition.
While X’s valuation is lower than what Musk paid for the social outlet, it’s still a reversal of fortunes for the company. Investment firm Fidelity estimated in October that X was worth nearly 80% less than when Musk bought it. By December, X had recovered somewhat but was still worth only around 30% of what Musk paid, according to Fidelity, whose Blue Chip fund holds a stake in X.
Click on the link for the full article
Elon Musk on Friday evening announced he has sold his social media company, X, to xAI, his artificial intelligence company. xAI will pay $45 billion for X, slightly more than Musk paid for it in 2022, but the new deal includes $12 billion of debt.
Musk wrote on his X account that the deal gives X a valuation of $33 billion.
“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined,” Musk said in a post on X. “Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent. This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach.”
Musk didn’t announce any immediate changes to X, although xAI’s Grok chatbot is already integrated into the social media platform. Musk said that the combined platform will “deliver smarter, more meaningful experiences.” He said the value of the combined company was $80 billion.
Musk has made a slew of changes to the platform once known as Twitter since he purchased it in 2022, prompting some major advertisers to flee. He laid off 80% of the company’s staff, upended the platform’s verification system and reinstated suspended accounts of White supremacists within months of the acquisition.
While X’s valuation is lower than what Musk paid for the social outlet, it’s still a reversal of fortunes for the company. Investment firm Fidelity estimated in October that X was worth nearly 80% less than when Musk bought it. By December, X had recovered somewhat but was still worth only around 30% of what Musk paid, according to Fidelity, whose Blue Chip fund holds a stake in X.
Click on the link for the full article
‘What a coincidence’: Musk’s $1 million Wisconsin giveaway won by chair of state’s College Republicans
Elon Musk gave away two checks for $1 million on Sunday as part of an effort to fire up Republican voters ahead of Wisconsin’s hotly contested Supreme Court election on Tuesday.
But the move, which is reminiscent of his controversial giveaway stunts in swing states ahead of the 2024 presidential election, is being dismissed by critics as “rigged” after one of the two giveaway winners was revealed to be the chairman of the Wisconsin College Republicans.
“The recipient of Elon’s first $1 million check in Wisconsin, Nicholas Jacobs, has the same name and looks very similar to the chairman of the Wisconsin College Republicans,” noted White House columnist Niall Stanage on Sunday.
Stanage’s hypothesis was correct, with one of Jacobs’ friends confirming his win and connection to College Republicans on Facebook.
“Congratulations to my friend Nick Jacobs on winning $1 million at the Elon Musk Rally! He is the Chairman of the Wisconsin College Republicans and a huge advocate for young conservatives in Wisconsin! Believe it or not I drove him … through an ice storm to get here,” wrote his friend.
Many chose not to believe the lucky odds.
“Everybody got played,” concluded one commenter of the revelation.
“Could explain his lack of any emotion whatsoever…it was another performance!” remarked another X user.
“Ahh so it’s all a scam as predicted,” decried someone else.
“What a strange coincidence,” swiped another person.
Jacobs’ giveaway win came after the state Supreme Court declined to intervene in Musk’s efforts to fire up conservatives “against activist judges in Wisconsin.”
Wisconsin law prohibits payments that would motivate a voter.
Musk deleted his initial X post advertising the giveaway as an “appreciation for you taking the time to vote.”
Click on the link for the full article
Elon Musk gave away two checks for $1 million on Sunday as part of an effort to fire up Republican voters ahead of Wisconsin’s hotly contested Supreme Court election on Tuesday.
But the move, which is reminiscent of his controversial giveaway stunts in swing states ahead of the 2024 presidential election, is being dismissed by critics as “rigged” after one of the two giveaway winners was revealed to be the chairman of the Wisconsin College Republicans.
“The recipient of Elon’s first $1 million check in Wisconsin, Nicholas Jacobs, has the same name and looks very similar to the chairman of the Wisconsin College Republicans,” noted White House columnist Niall Stanage on Sunday.
Stanage’s hypothesis was correct, with one of Jacobs’ friends confirming his win and connection to College Republicans on Facebook.
“Congratulations to my friend Nick Jacobs on winning $1 million at the Elon Musk Rally! He is the Chairman of the Wisconsin College Republicans and a huge advocate for young conservatives in Wisconsin! Believe it or not I drove him … through an ice storm to get here,” wrote his friend.
Many chose not to believe the lucky odds.
“Everybody got played,” concluded one commenter of the revelation.
“Could explain his lack of any emotion whatsoever…it was another performance!” remarked another X user.
“Ahh so it’s all a scam as predicted,” decried someone else.
“What a strange coincidence,” swiped another person.
Jacobs’ giveaway win came after the state Supreme Court declined to intervene in Musk’s efforts to fire up conservatives “against activist judges in Wisconsin.”
Wisconsin law prohibits payments that would motivate a voter.
Musk deleted his initial X post advertising the giveaway as an “appreciation for you taking the time to vote.”
Click on the link for the full article
Trump Tells Inner Circle That Musk Will Leave Soon
President Donald Trump has told his inner circle, including members of his Cabinet, that Elon Musk will be stepping back in the coming weeks from his current role as governing partner, ubiquitous cheerleader and Washington hatchet man.
The president remains pleased with Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency initiative, but both men have decided in recent days that it will soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a supporting role, according to three Trump insiders who were granted anonymity to describe the evolving relationship.
Musk’s looming retreat comes as some Trump administration insiders and many outside allies have become frustrated with his unpredictability and increasingly view the billionaire as a political liability, a dynamic that was thrown into stark relief Tuesday when a conservative judge Musk vocally supported lost his bid for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat by 10 points.
It also represents a stark shift in the Trump-Musk relationship from a month ago, when White House officials and allies were predicting Musk was “here to stay” and that Trump would find a way to blow past the 130-day time limit.
One senior administration official said Musk is likely to retain an informal role as an adviser and continue to be an occasional face around the White House grounds. Another cautioned that anyone who thinks Musk is going to disappear entirely from Trump’s orbit is “fooling themselves.”
The transition, the insiders said, is likely to correspond to the end of Musk’s time as a “special government employee,” a special status that temporarily exempts him from some ethics and conflict-of-interest rules. That 130-day period is expected to expire in late May or early June.
Musk’s defenders inside the administration believe that the time is right for a transition, given their view that there’s only so much more he can cut from government agencies without shaving too close to the bone.
But many others say he’s an unpredictable, unmanageable force who has had issues communicating his plans with Cabinet secretaries and through the White House chain of command led by chief of staff Susie Wiles, frequently sending them into a frenzy with unexpected and off-message comments on X, his social-media platform — including sharing unvetted and uncoordinated plans to gut federal agencies.
Click on the link for the full article
President Donald Trump has told his inner circle, including members of his Cabinet, that Elon Musk will be stepping back in the coming weeks from his current role as governing partner, ubiquitous cheerleader and Washington hatchet man.
The president remains pleased with Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency initiative, but both men have decided in recent days that it will soon be time for Musk to return to his businesses and take on a supporting role, according to three Trump insiders who were granted anonymity to describe the evolving relationship.
Musk’s looming retreat comes as some Trump administration insiders and many outside allies have become frustrated with his unpredictability and increasingly view the billionaire as a political liability, a dynamic that was thrown into stark relief Tuesday when a conservative judge Musk vocally supported lost his bid for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat by 10 points.
It also represents a stark shift in the Trump-Musk relationship from a month ago, when White House officials and allies were predicting Musk was “here to stay” and that Trump would find a way to blow past the 130-day time limit.
One senior administration official said Musk is likely to retain an informal role as an adviser and continue to be an occasional face around the White House grounds. Another cautioned that anyone who thinks Musk is going to disappear entirely from Trump’s orbit is “fooling themselves.”
The transition, the insiders said, is likely to correspond to the end of Musk’s time as a “special government employee,” a special status that temporarily exempts him from some ethics and conflict-of-interest rules. That 130-day period is expected to expire in late May or early June.
Musk’s defenders inside the administration believe that the time is right for a transition, given their view that there’s only so much more he can cut from government agencies without shaving too close to the bone.
But many others say he’s an unpredictable, unmanageable force who has had issues communicating his plans with Cabinet secretaries and through the White House chain of command led by chief of staff Susie Wiles, frequently sending them into a frenzy with unexpected and off-message comments on X, his social-media platform — including sharing unvetted and uncoordinated plans to gut federal agencies.
Click on the link for the full article
Elon Musk Backlash Turns Into Global Sales Slump for Tesla
If there is anyplace Tesla should be thriving, it’s Norway. Electric vehicles account for more than 90 percent of new car sales in the Scandinavian country, and buyers here are among the most sophisticated in the world when it comes to understanding the nuances of batteries, charging and range.
So it hardly bodes well for Tesla that its sales in Norway, as measured by registrations, have declined more than 12 percent so far this year. Sales for the first three months of the year were even worse in Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Sweden.
In fact, Tesla’s sales have been on a steep downward trend around the world: The company said on Wednesday that its global sales in the first quarter fell 13 percent from a year earlier.
Tesla said that it delivered nearly 337,000 cars during the quarter. That is down from 387,000 in the first three months of 2024 and fewer than in any period since the second quarter of 2022.
The company’s tepid sales at a time when electric vehicle sales were rising around the world reflected a number of serious problems, not least a consumer backlash against the prominent role that Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, is playing in the Trump administration.
Click on the link for the full article
If there is anyplace Tesla should be thriving, it’s Norway. Electric vehicles account for more than 90 percent of new car sales in the Scandinavian country, and buyers here are among the most sophisticated in the world when it comes to understanding the nuances of batteries, charging and range.
So it hardly bodes well for Tesla that its sales in Norway, as measured by registrations, have declined more than 12 percent so far this year. Sales for the first three months of the year were even worse in Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Sweden.
In fact, Tesla’s sales have been on a steep downward trend around the world: The company said on Wednesday that its global sales in the first quarter fell 13 percent from a year earlier.
Tesla said that it delivered nearly 337,000 cars during the quarter. That is down from 387,000 in the first three months of 2024 and fewer than in any period since the second quarter of 2022.
The company’s tepid sales at a time when electric vehicle sales were rising around the world reflected a number of serious problems, not least a consumer backlash against the prominent role that Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, is playing in the Trump administration.
Click on the link for the full article
Elon Musk appears to break with Trump admin on tariffs — as he slams Peter Navarro and says he wants ‘zero tariff situation’ with Europe
Elon Musk appeared to split from the Trump administration on tariffs overnight — as he lashed out at trade adviser Peter Navarro and said he hoped for a “zero tariff situation” between the US and Europe.
The world’s richest man made the comments after President Trump announced sweeping tariffs against virtually every US trading partner last week.
The resulting stock market crash saw $11 billion wiped off his net worth.
Click on the link for the full article
Elon Musk appeared to split from the Trump administration on tariffs overnight — as he lashed out at trade adviser Peter Navarro and said he hoped for a “zero tariff situation” between the US and Europe.
The world’s richest man made the comments after President Trump announced sweeping tariffs against virtually every US trading partner last week.
The resulting stock market crash saw $11 billion wiped off his net worth.
Click on the link for the full article
Did Musk not pay attention during the campaign?China wrote: Sun Apr 06, 2025 8:15 pmElon Musk appears to break with Trump admin on tariffs — as he slams Peter Navarro and says he wants ‘zero tariff situation’ with Europe
Elon Musk appeared to split from the Trump administration on tariffs overnight — as he lashed out at trade adviser Peter Navarro and said he hoped for a “zero tariff situation” between the US and Europe.
The world’s richest man made the comments after President Trump announced sweeping tariffs against virtually every US trading partner last week.
The resulting stock market crash saw $11 billion wiped off his net worth.
Click on the link for the full article