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☆ This is the word of the summer on Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York CNN —Bifurcation is the word of the summer. Or it’s the word of the summer among investors, at least. It’s a word that the market gets hung up on and then all you do is hear that word. But I think that’s nearing an end, and so I would expect a slowdown in consumer spending. I’m not so sure that’s going to happen this time because their balance sheets and cash flows aren’t as strong.

Persons: Bell, Scott Wren, I’ve, We’ve, You’ve, you’ve, they’ve, That’s, hasn’t, you’re, I’m, Elon Musk’s, Elon Musk, Anna Cooban, Andreesen Horowitz, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, xAI, Musk, Grok, Laura He, Xi Jinping’s Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Nvidia, Fed, Elon, Investors, Sequoia Capital, xAI, Worth, China Construction Bank, China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, National Enterprise Locations: New York, United States, Wells Fargo, Silicon, Saudi, OpenAI, China, ICBC, Beijing

☆ Musk’s A.I. Firm Raises $6 Billion in Race With Rivals
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Jason Karaian | More About Jason Karaian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, said on Sunday that it has raised $6 billion, helping to close the funding gap with OpenAI, Anthropic and other rivals in the red-hot industry. Mr. Musk, who founded xAI in July, said in a social media post the funding round valued the company at $18 billion, not including the new money. Investors included the Silicon Valley heavyweights Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, along with Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Investors and large tech companies like Google, Meta and Microsoft have poured billions into the businesses developing A.I. systems, which require huge amounts of processing power to generate text, sounds and images.

Persons: Musk, Andreessen Horowitz, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Organizations: Elon, xAI, Sequoia Capital, Saudi, Investors, Google, Meta, Microsoft

☆ Elon Musk’s xAI firm valued at $24 billion as investors pledge more money
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —The AI firm founded by Elon Musk has raised another $6 billion from investors, including Silicon Valley venture capitalists and a Saudi prince, boosting its valuation to $24 billion. Investors providing the second-round funding included Sequoia Capital, Andreesen Horowitz, and Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, xAI announced in a blog post on Sunday. Investors, lured by the potential for AI to revolutionize the way people live and work, have thrown huge sums of money at AI companies in recent years. Microsoft (MSFT) is OpenAI’s biggest stakeholder, with a $13 billion investment in the firm. Last year, Amazon (AMZN) announced it would invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic AI in exchange for partial ownership of the company.

Persons: Elon Musk, Andreesen Horowitz, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, xAI, Musk, Grok Organizations: London CNN, Elon, Sequoia Capital, xAI, London . Investors, Microsoft, Google Locations: Silicon, Saudi, OpenAI, Palo Alto, San Francisco, London

☆ Elon Musk denied a report that Tesla planned to build a factory in Saudi Arabia. It's the latest development in his complicated history with the nation.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Elon Musk has denied a report suggesting Tesla has plans to set up a factory in Saudi Arabia. It marks the latest twist in a long and complex history between Musk and Saudi Arabia. "Obviously, the Saudi sovereign fund has more than enough capital needed to execute on such a transaction." Funding secured. Funding secured."

Persons: Elon Musk, Tesla, Musk, — Elon, Yasir al, hadn't, Jty05oJUTk, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Yasir Organizations: Street Journal, Service, Wall, Journal, Democratic, Saudi, Public Investment Fund, Tesla, New York Times, Lucid Motors, JPMorgan, Financial Times, Lucid, @elonmusk, Twitter, Kingdom Holding Co, Reuters, Bloomberg Locations: Saudi Arabia, Wall, Silicon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Saudi, Here's, Tesla, Saudi Prince, San Francisco

☆ The Biden administration considered probing Elon Musk's Twitter purchase over national security concerns, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration reportedly considered an official review of Elon Musk's Twitter takeover. The White House had national security concerns over its foreign investors, per Bloomberg. Changpeng Zhao, the Binance CEO; Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal; and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund are all investors in Musk's Twitter. Some in the Biden administration considered whether Musk's deal should be brought in front of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which can block business transactions over security concerns, Bloomberg reported. In response to Insider's request for comment on the government's concerns, Twitter responded with a poop emoji – an auto-reply Musk announced Sunday.

☆ Elon Musk testifies he would have sold SpaceX stock to take Tesla private in 2018
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk told a San Francisco federal court on Monday that he could have sold shares of SpaceX to take Tesla private in 2018. Trading in Tesla was halted after his tweets, and its share price remained volatile for weeks. Musk said under oath, "SpaceX stock alone meant 'funding secured' by itself. I sold Tesla stock to complete the Twitter transaction. Musk recently became the CEO of social media business Twitter after leading a $44 billion leveraged buyout of the company in October 2022.

☆ Qatar's sovereign wealth fund — which invested $375 million in Elon Musk's Twitter buyout — says it hasn't told the new CEO to tweet less
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Qatar Investment Authority's CEO told Bloomberg TV it hasn't asked Elon Musk to tweet less. QIA's CEO said the fund trusts Musk's leadership to turn the company around. The sovereign wealth fund pumped $375 million into Musk's $44 billion Twitter acquisition. The Qatar Investment Fund is one of a group of high-profile investors who have provided funding for Musk's Twitter deal. The Qatar Investment Fund and Twitter did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.

☆ Musk's bankers mull new Tesla margin loans to slash Twitter debt - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 7 (Reuters) - Billionaire Elon Musk's bankers are considering providing the Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Officer with new margin loans backed by the U.S. automaker's stock to replace some of the high interest debt on his Twitter deal, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday. The margin loans are one of the options that the Morgan Stanley (MS.N)-led bank group and Musk's advisers have discussed to ease the $13 billion debt Twitter took on as part of Musk's $44 billion deal, the report said, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Morgan Stanley (MS.N), Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), Barclays Plc (BARC.L) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (8306.T) led the $13 billion financing for the bid by Musk. The banks are not expected to offload any of the Twitter debt to institutional investors until the new year, Bloomberg reported. Reuters reported in October that banks had abandoned plans to sell the debt to investors because of uncertainty around Twitter's fortunes and losses.

☆ E.U. warns Musk to beef up Twitter controls ahead of new rules
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Musk has signaled an interest in rolling back many of Twitter’s previous rules meant to combat misinformation, most recently by abandoning enforcement of its COVID-19 misinformation policy. He already reinstated some high-profile accounts that had violated Twitter’s content rules and had promised a “general amnesty” restoring most suspended accounts starting this week. Along with European regulators, Musk risks running afoul of Apple and Google, which power most of the world’s smartphones. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen walked back her statements about whether Musk’s purchase of Twitter warrants government review. She declined to confirm whether CFIUS is currently investigating Musk’s Twitter purchase.

☆ Biden says Elon Musk's relationships with foreign countries are 'worthy of being looked at'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

President Joe Biden said Elon Musk's ties with foreign countries are "worth being looked at." A Saudi prince and a Qatari sovereign fund's subsidiary are major investors in Musk's Twitter. "I think that Elon Musk's cooperation and, or, technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at," he told reporters at a White House press conference. White House officials had earlier denied reports that it was planning a security review of Musk's dealings with Twitter. "The national security review, that is not true," said White House press secretary Karine-Jean Pierre on October 24.

☆ Major Gulf bourses in red ahead of U.S. inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Seun Sanni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. consumer price index (CPI) data for October is due at 1330 GMT, with economists polled by Reuters forecasting a decline in both monthly and yearly core numbers to 0.5% and 6.5%, respectively. Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) fell 0.3%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) losing 0.6% and top lender Emirates NBD (ENBD.DU) falling 0.4%. Dubai schools operator Taaleem Holdings announced a price range of between 2.95 dirhams and 3 dirhams per share for its upcoming initial public offering. The company plans to raise 750 million dirhams ($204.21 million) from the IPO to expand its premium schools network. The Qatari index (.QSI) retreated 0.7%, as most of the stocks on the index were in negative territory.

☆ Biden says Elon Musk’s relationships with foreign countries 'worthy of being looked at'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Lauren-Egan-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Lauren Egan | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Asked whether Elon Musk posed a threat to national security, President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the billionaire’s “relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at.”“I think that Elon Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at,” Biden told reporters at the White House. “Whether or not he is doing anything inappropriate — I’m not suggesting that — I’m suggesting it’s worth being looked at. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and the new owner of Twitter, has significant business interests in China. That helped prompt Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., to call for an investigation into the national security implications of Saudi Arabia’s stake. But Musk has important relationships with the U.S. government, too, and those have continued under the Biden administration.

☆ Elon Musk sells at least $3.95B of Tesla shares after Twitter takeover
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk sold $3.95 billion worth of shares in his electric car company Tesla after closing his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk sold 19.5 million shares of Tesla. On August 9, 2022, Musk told fans he was done selling shares to fund a possible Twitter take-private deal. Since he has taken over Twitter, Musk has pulled dozens of Tesla engineers in to assist him at Twitter with code review and other work. Please check back for updates.

☆ President Biden says Elon Musk's relationships with other countries are worth looking into
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

In this article TSLATWTR Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTJoe Biden, left, and Elon Musk Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters; Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAsked on Wednesday whether Tesla , SpaceX and Twitter CEO Elon Musk posed a threat to national security, President Joe Biden said that the centi-billionaire's "relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at." Biden said, "Elon Musk's cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at. Throughout 2022, Musk has accused the President of ignoring his electric vehicle venture, Tesla, despite its success, and favoring legacy automakers and their unions. The kingdom of Qatar also participated in Musk's Twitter deal. The Ukrainian government, which generally praises SpaceX and Musk, is now looking for alternatives to Starlink, Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said last Thursday.

☆ Tesla stock hits 2-year low after Musk sells $4 bln worth of shares
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Hyunjoo Jin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The latest sale brings the total amount of Tesla stock sold by Musk since last November to about $36 billion - despite his having said earlier that he would sell no more of his shares. Tesla shares have fallen more than 50% since touching a record high on Nov. 4 of last year. With the latest sale of his Tesla stock, Musk "yet again loses more credibility with investors and his loyalists in a boy who cried wolf moment," Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said. Analysts had expected Musk to sell more Tesla shares to finance the $44 billion Twitter deal, but it was not clear whether the sales were related to the Twitter acquisition. It is not clear whether all of the equity investors lived up to their equity commitment.

☆ Elon Musk sells at least $3.95 billion worth of Tesla shares after Twitter deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk has sold at least another $3.95 billion worth of shares in his electric car company Tesla after closing his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission published Tuesday, Musk sold 19.5 million more shares of Tesla. Musk sold almost $22 billion worth of Tesla shares in 2021, a year when the stock jumped over 50%. This year, he sold over $8 billion worth of Tesla stock in April and another roughly $7 billion worth in August. On Aug. 9, Musk told fans he was done selling Tesla shares to fund a possible Twitter acquisition.

☆ CZ, the CEO of Binance, has bet big on Musk's Twitter buyout with a $500 million investment, saying he is 'extremely supportive' of the freedom of speech
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, invested $500 million in Musk's acquisition of Twitter. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said he backed Elon Musk's Twitter buyout to support free speech. As a business, we are helping to increase the freedom of money, and free speech comes before freedom of money, so we need to help maintain free speech," Zhao said. Zhao confirmed Binance's investment into Twitter on October 28 via a tweet, saying his intern had wired $500 million. Despite putting $500 million into Musk's deal, Zhao said he has little insight into what the Tesla CEO intends to do at Twitter.

☆ Twitter founder Jack Dorsey to remain invested in the company under Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey stepped down from the company’s board earlier this year, but he’s staying involved with the social platform following its takeover by Elon Musk. Almost immediately after taking over the company, Musk dissolved Twitter’s board of directors. Later that year, Musk defended Dorsey when he was facing pressure from an activist investor, saying on Twitter, “I support @Jack as Twitter CEO. Dorsey stepped down as Twitter CEO last November and left its board of directors in May. In April, after Musk agreed to buy the company, Dorsey pledged his support for the takeover.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Murphy on Monday called for an immediate investigation into the national security implications of Saudi Arabia's stake in Twitter after Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media company. “The purpose of these reviews is clear: to protect the national security interests of the United States and American citizens,” Murphy wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who leads CIFIUS. Late last week, Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Company and the private office of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said they would help Musk finance his Twitter deal by rolling over their ownership of shares of the company worth about $1.89 billion, according to a statement tweeted by Alwaleed. Together all the way @Twitter,” Prince Alwaleed tweeted. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, led by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, owns nearly 17 percent of Kingdom Holding, according to Reuters.

☆ Democratic U.S. senator wants probe into Saudi firm's stake in Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Senator Chris Murphy said on Monday he wants a U.S. national security review of a Saudi Arabian conglomerate's stake in Twitter Inc after Elon Musk's takeover of the social media company. "The deal is in line with the long-term investment strategy which Kingdom Holding Company is known for," the statement said. Alwaleed's Kingdom Holding is 16.9% owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, which is chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Banks including Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) committed to provide $13 billion in debt financing. Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington Editing by Franklin Paul and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Senate Democrat wants national security investigation of Saudi Arabia’s role in Elon Musk-Twitter deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN Business —Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy is calling on the federal government to investigate national security concerns raised by Saudi Arabia’s role in Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter. The Connecticut Democrat urged the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as CFIUS, to conduct an investigation into the “national security implications” of the Saudi involvement. Even though Musk already closed his takeover of Twitter late last week, it may still be subject to national security review. Earlier this month, Twitter shares dropped after Bloomberg News reported Biden officials are in early discussions about possibly subjecting some of Musk’s ventures to national security reviews, including the Twitter deal. “We do now know of any such conversations,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement on October 21.

☆ Elon Musk is $8 billion poorer after taking control of Twitter, meaning his net worth has fallen by $66 billion this year
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk took an $8 billion hit to his net worth after buying Twitter, per Bloomberg wealth index. The world's richest man finally sealed his $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter on Thursday. Before sealing the $44 billion deal on Thursday, Musk was estimated to be worth about $212 billion, per Bloomberg. He remains the world's richest man, but Musk's net worth has fallen by $66 billion this year, according to Bloomberg. Musk's net worth peaked in November last year at $338 billion when Tesla shares soared.

☆ Saudi's Kingdom Holding company to maintain Twitter stake
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding Company and the private office of Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal said on Friday that they will continue their ownership of Twitter (TWTR.N) shares valued at $1.89 billion after Elon Musk's takeover of the social media company, according to a statement tweeted by Prince Alwaleed. Alwaleed's Kingdom Holding is 16.9% owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund chaired by crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal rose to international prominence after making a big successful bet on Citigroup Inc(C.N)in the 1990s and he was an early investor in Apple Inc. The prince has also made hundreds of millions of dollars by investing in companies such as Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) to Twitter Inc. Reporting by Lilian Wagdy, Writing by Hadeel Al Sayegh; Editing by David Goodman and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Musk informs co-investors he plans to close Twitter deal by Friday-source
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO: An image of Elon Musk is seen on a smartphone placed on printed Twitter logos in this picture illustration taken April 28, 2022. Musk pledged to close the deal on a video conference call on Monday with bankers who are helping fund the deal, according to the report. Musk has pledged to provide $46.5 billion in equity and debt financing for the acquisition, which covers the $44 billion price tag and closing costs. Banks, including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp, have committed to provide $13 billion of debt financing to support the deal. The closure of the deal will put to rest months of speculation that the erratic entrepreneur would abandon the takeover.

☆ White House says reports about national security reviews of Elon Musk's Twitter deal and Starlink network were 'not true'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The White House has said reports of national security reviews for Elon Musk's deals were false. The White House press secretary said in a briefing: "The national security review, that is not true." Bloomberg reported last week the US was weighing national security reviews for some of Elon Musk's ventures. Those reportings are not true," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a press briefing on Monday. "The national security review, that is not true."

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