Elon Musk has launched a poll on social media platform X, asking if Tesla should invest $5 billion in his AI startup, xAI. Early votes show strong support, with 70% in favour. Musk emphasised that board approval and a shareholder vote are necessary before proceeding. This comes after Tesla reported its lowest profit margin in five years due to price cuts and increased AI project spending.
During Tesla’s earnings call, Musk highlighted xAI’s potential to enhance Tesla’s full self-driving capabilities and data centre infrastructure. He also mentioned opportunities for integrating xAI’s chatbot, Grok, with Tesla’s software. The poll, posted for nearly three hours, saw participation from approximately 386,000 users. Tesla and xAI have not yet commented on the poll results.
Should Tesla invest $5B into @xAI, assuming the valuation is set by several credible outside investors?
(Board approval & shareholder vote are needed, so this is just to test the waters)
Musk launched xAI last year as an alternative to ChatGPT, securing $6 billion in series B funding and reaching a post-money valuation of $24 billion. Major backers include Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital. Musk plans for a quarter of xAI to be owned by investors in X, which he purchased for $44 billion.
On the earnings call, Musk dismissed concerns about diverting resources from Tesla to his other ventures. He previously ordered Nvidia to ship thousands of AI chips to xAI and X due to Tesla’s data centre being at full capacity. Musk has a history of using polls to gauge public opinion, including a 2021 poll on selling 10% of his Tesla stake.
Samsung’s high bandwidth memory chips HBM3 have been approved by Nvidia for use in its AI processors, specifically for the H20 chip developed for the Chinese market, in compliance with the US export controls. Samsung may begin supplying these chips to Nvidia starting in August.
Despite Samsung being one of the world’s largest memory chip manufacturers, it still needed help to get Nvidia to certify its HBM chips. It is still being determined if Nvidia will use Samsung’s HBM3 chips in its other AI processors or if further testing is required. Meanwhile, Samsung’s fifth-generation HBM3E chips are still being tested to meet Nvidia’s standards.
Why does it matter?
AI chips require large amounts of high-speed memory, and HBM is a type of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) with a uniquely stacked memory chip design, which provides the necessary speed and capacity. Although HBM was introduced in 2013, its demand has risen drastically with the AI boom in recent years. Currently, only Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix manufacture HBM chips, and Nvidia have already certified HBM3 chips from Micron and SK Hynix, but there remains a shortage. Thus, Nvidia’s decision to approve Samsung’s HBM3 chips enables Nvidia to expand its supply chain and meet the deficit demand.
Ferrari announced on Wednesday that it will expand its cryptocurrency payment option for luxury sports cars to its European dealers starting at the end of this month. The Italian automaker introduced this payment method in the United States last year to cater to its wealthy clientele’s requests.
The company plans to extend this scheme to other international markets by the end of 2024, where cryptocurrencies are legally accepted. While many major companies have avoided cryptocurrencies due to their volatility, Ferrari’s move aims to meet its customers’ evolving needs.
In the US, Ferrari partnered with BitPay to facilitate bitcoin, ether, and USDC transactions, converting crypto payments into traditional currency to shield dealers from price fluctuations. Ferrari has not disclosed whether it will use the same payment processors in Europe or other regions.
Malaysia’s digital minister has urged Microsoft and CrowdStrike to consider compensating companies affected by last week’s global tech outage. The disruption, caused by a faulty update to CrowdStrike’s security software, impacted computers running Microsoft’s Windows operating system, affecting internet services worldwide and various industries.
In Malaysia, five government agencies and nine aviation, banking, and healthcare companies were affected. Minister Gobind Singh Deo has requested a full report from Microsoft and CrowdStrike on the incident and asked them to implement measures to prevent future outages. He also emphasised the need for the companies to consider compensation claims from affected parties, with the government ready to assist where possible.
The total amount of losses has yet to be determined. Tony Fernandes, CEO of Malaysia’s Capital A, which operates AirAsia, highlighted the significant impact on airlines and other businesses, calling for appropriate compensation from the tech firms responsible.
Spain’s antitrust regulator, the CNMC, has launched an investigation into Apple’s App Store for potentially anti-competitive behaviour. The investigation focuses on Apple’s alleged imposition of unequal commercial conditions on developers of mobile applications sold through its platform.
The CNMC has suggested that these practices could constitute a serious violation of competition law. If Apple is found guilty, it could face a substantial fine of up to 10% of its global revenues. The following investigation in Spain highlights ongoing concerns about Apple’s dominance in the app store market and its impact on competition and developers.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a probe into eight companies using AI-powered ‘surveillance service pricing’ to evaluate its impact on privacy, competition, and consumer protection. The companies under scrutiny include Mastercard, JPMorgan Chase, Revionics, Bloomreach, Task Software, PROS, Accenture, and McKinsey & Co. These firms use AI to adjust pricing based on consumer behaviour, location, and personal data, potentially leading to different prices for different customers.
The FTC’s investigation aims to uncover the types of surveillance pricing services developed by these companies and their current applications. The agency seeks to understand how these AI-driven pricing models affect consumer pricing and whether they exploit personal data to charge higher prices. FTC Chair Lina M. Khan emphasised the risks to privacy and the potential exploitation of personal data in her statement, highlighting the need for transparency in how businesses use consumer information.
This inquiry reflects growing concerns about using AI and other technologies to set personalised prices based on detailed consumer data. The FTC’s actions aim to shed light on these practices and ensure consumer protection in an increasingly data-driven market.
Adobe has announced new AI-powered tools being added to their software, aimed at enhancing creative workflows. The latest Firefly Vector AI model, available in public beta, introduces features like Generative Shape Fill, allowing users to add detailed vectors to shapes through text prompts. The Text to Pattern beta feature and Style Reference have also been improved, enabling scalable vector patterns and outputs that mirror existing styles.
Illustrator’s update includes a Dimension tool for automatic sizing information, a Mockup feature for 3D product previews, and Retype for converting static text in images into editable text. Photoshop enhancements feature the Generate Image tool, now generally available on desktop and web apps, and the Enhance Detail feature for sharper, more detailed large images. The Selection Brush tool is also now generally available, making object selection easier.
“Our goal is to empower all creative professionals to realize their creative visions,” said Deepa Subramaniam, Adobe Creative Cloud’s vice president of product marketing. The company remains committed to using generative AI to support and enhance creative expression rather than replace it.
Negotiations for a global tax deal have extended beyond the 30 June deadline, with governments now looking to the Group of 20 (G20) finance leaders meeting this week for progress on the stalled plan. The ‘Pillar 1’ arrangement, part of the 2021 global two-part tax deal, aims to replace unilateral digital services taxes on tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Apple with a new mechanism to share taxing rights on a broader, global group of companies.
The stakes are high, as failure to reach an agreement could lead to several countries reinstating their taxes on the United States tech conglomerates, risking punitive duties on billions of dollars in exports to the US. Standstill agreements, under which Washington suspended threatened trade retaliation against seven countries, expired on 30 June. Despite this, the US has not yet imposed tariffs, and discussions are ongoing.
Canada recently became the eighth country to impose a unilateral digital services tax, emphasising the urgency for a global resolution. The US Treasury maintains that such taxes are discriminatory and continues to oppose measures targeting US businesses. The G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro is seen as a critical juncture to finalise the international tax deal, with the European Union listing it as a top priority. As global leaders continue their discussions, there is a strong push to ensure a fair, risk-free, balanced tax system in the digital age.
Cybersecurity startup Wiz has declined a $23 billion acquisition offer from Google’s parent company, Alphabet, opting to pursue its initial plan of an initial public offering (IPO). CEO Assaf Rappaport confirmed the decision in a memo, highlighting the company’s goals of reaching $1 billion in annual recurring revenue and proceeding with the IPO.
Top competition authorities from the EU, UK, and US have issued a joint statement emphasising the importance of fair, open, and competitive markets in developing and deploying generative AI. Leaders from these regions, including Margrethe Vestager of the European Commission, Sarah Cardell of the UK Competition and Markets Authority, Jonathan Kanter of the US Department of Justice, and Lina M. Khan of the US Federal Trade Commission, highlighted their commitment to ensuring effective competition and protecting consumers and businesses from potential market abuses.
The officials recognise the transformational potential of AI technologies but stress the need to safeguard against risks that could undermine fair competition. These risks include the concentration of control over essential AI development inputs, such as specialised chips and vast amounts of data, and the possibility of large firms using their existing market power to entrench or extend their dominance in AI-related markets. The statement also warns against partnerships and investments that could stifle competition by allowing major firms to co-opt competitive threats.
The joint statement outlines several principles for protecting competition within the AI ecosystem, including fair dealing, interoperability, and maintaining choices for consumers and businesses. The authorities are particularly vigilant about the potential for AI to facilitate anti-competitive behaviours, such as price fixing or unfair exclusion. Additionally, they underscore the importance of consumer protection, ensuring that AI applications do not compromise privacy, security, or autonomy through deceptive or unfair practices.
