Another sign that Elon Musk’s businesses are benefiting big from his role as Trump’s ‘first buddy’
CNN
Elon Musk may be taking a step back from his full-time gig at the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. But his companies are still benefiting from the unprecedented relationship between the world’s richest man and the sitting US president.
Elon Musk may be taking a step back from his full-time gig at the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. But his companies are still benefiting from the unprecedented relationship between the world’s richest man and the sitting US president. That message was on full display in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, where Musk was part of a program of meetings and conversations held with business leaders such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the Saudi-US Investment Forum. But Musk, who has been referred to as Trump’s “first buddy,” held a special role in the conference. The billionaire CEO was the speaker chosen to appear just before President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman gave their remarks. In conversation with Saudi Communications and Information Minister Abdullah Alswaha, Musk revealed new business deals he had just struck with the Saudi government. “I’d also like to thank the kingdom for approving Starlink for maritime and aviation use,” Musk announced, referring to his satellite internet company. Alswaha also hinted that Musk could bring Tesla’s robotaxis to the kingdom; the electric car maker just launched in Saudi Arabia in April. And Musk made sure to plug his other companies: the Boring Company, and xAI.
Tess Coward, a 27-year-old PR professional based in New York City, woke up feeling under the weather on Wednesday. But without the ability to make phone calls or receive text messages, she couldn’t get in touch with her doctor or log into the provider’s patient portal.
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.06% for the week ending January 15, according to Freddie Mac. The last time home borrowing rates were this low was September 2022.
Inside The Washington Post, the impact was immediate. Reporters called the search “incredibly disturbing” and unprecedented. Natanson met with Post lawyers and security experts, scrambled to line up her own outside legal counsel, and urged her colleagues to keep reporting.
Federal immigration agents have been circling El Burrito Mercado, a prominent Mexican supermarket and restaurant in St. Paul, Minnesota, for the last week.
The United States is considering whether to strike Iran as turmoil intensifies for the country’s authoritarian regime.
The US has completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil since the US attached Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro, earlier this month, according to an administration official.
President Donald Trump enacted a new 25% tariff on “certain advanced computing chips” on Wednesday, according to a White House fact sheet. That includes Nvidia’s H200 chip and AMD’s MI325X. However, chips imported to support building up the US technological supply chain would be exempt.
Verizon said some of its wireless services were down Wednesday, leaving many customers without access to voice and data services.
YouTube will now let parents limit the amount of time their teens can spend scrolling through its short-form video feature, Shorts, or block them all together.
Last month, Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson penned a first-person piece about her long year as “the federal government whisperer,” receiving tips from hundreds of federal workers. On Wednesday, the FBI searched her home, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.
Price hikes picked up speed for US-based businesses toward the end of last year, a potential signal that inflation has yet to peak and prices could soon rise faster for consumers.
Trump is threatening to take “strong action” against Iran just after capturing the leader of Venezuela. His administration is criminally investigating the chair of the Federal Reserve and is taking a scorched-earth approach on affordability by threatening key profit drivers for banks and institutional investors.
Perhaps no data point better encapsulates the American economy right now than this nugget from Delta’s quarterly earnings: