A Fight Where No American Wins

In a turn of events that everyone expected, American weirdo billionaires Elon Musk and The Donald used their respective social media platforms to post threatening, libellous blows at each other earlier this week. bbc.com

The Donald suggested he might end Elon’s government contracts on Truth Social, quipping that the easiest way to save billions of dollars was to cut Elon’s government contracts.

Elon said he would shut down the SpaceX Dragon program on X (Twitter) in response. Then he backed away from that threat.

The Donald accused Elon of “going crazy.”

Elon accused The Donald of being a pedophile.

Things got ugly. theguardian.com, theguardian.com, cnn.com, theverge.com

The Donald posted that he doesn’t mind that Elon turned against him (he’s probably lying about that).

Elon asked his followers on X (Twitter) if he should fund the creation of a third US political party, dubbing it “The American Party.” thehill.com

As the song says, breaking up is hard to do.

Elon’s frustration with The Donald was born out of his objection to The Donald’s “Big, Beautiful Bill”.

The bill is expected to increase the US debt by trillions of dollars and will undermine any progress DOGE may have achieved (or could ever achieve). theguardian.com

Elon wants the bill killed.

The Donald doubled down, saying it was “one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress”.

The Donald also said there would be "serious consequences" if Elon funds US Democrats running against Republicans who vote for the president's bill, and said his relationship with his billionaire donor is over.

He declined to say what those consequences would be. reuters.com

Bernie Sanders told these billionaire weirdos that they are both right.

The Donald says he doesn’t expect to talk it out with Elon.

He’s likely to put his recently purchased Tesla up for sale. caranddriver.com

What does it mean?

What are the implications of this feud?

In the near term, it looks like Elon has more to lose.

In the longer term, US republicans are going to find it harder to get reelected or elected at all if they push more debt on their constituents and have to battle against the world’s richest man.

Tesla stock was down 14% at the end of the week, then inched back up a bit. bnnbloomberg.ca

And Tesla stock is likely part of every pension or tech mutual fund portfolio on the planet. When their stock goes down, it hurts a lot of people. forbes.com

The GOP and The Donald lose Elon’s hundreds of millions in political backing.

X likely saw an increase in eyeballs during the spat. apnews.com

Some folks are already speculating that The Donald might consider banning Elon’s social media platform, X (Twitter), citing national security concerns. nypost.com

Steve Bannon says he's pushing the president to use the Defence Production Act to seize SpaceX or to investigate Elon Musk's immigration status to make sure that his immigration papers were handled properly. pbs.org

Elon’s companies, particularly SpaceX and Starlink, play crucial roles in US space exploration and communication infrastructure. Any disruption in their operations due to political conflicts could have far-reaching implications for national security and technological advancement. theguardian.com

The feud may negatively impact public trust in both political leaders and tech moguls.

It highlights concerns about the concentration of power and the impact of personal disputes on national affairs. theguardian.com

Paul Krugman put an interesting footnote on the whole Elon, Donald, DOGE falling out:

“In the end, Musk’s legacy will be a damaged federal government that has lost many of its best people and will have a hard time replacing them. Oh, and a lot of dead children. In a just world, Elon Musk wouldn’t be heading back to run Tesla. He would, instead, be retreating to a remote monastery somewhere, to spend the rest of his life in poverty and penance.” paulkrugman.substack.com

China’s Automotive Expansion

BYD launches the Seal 06 EV sedan, starting at $15,270 and with a range of up to 545 km. cnevpost.com

Nio plans to supply batteries to British supercar brand McLaren. cnevpost.com

Nio also has plans to expand into seven additional EU markets. cnevpost.com

Chery expects to launch their first flying car (eVTOL) in October. cnevpost.com

Zhengzhou Nissan has launched a new, plug-in pickup in the Chinese market called the Z9. It’s the same size as the Nissan Frontier Pro, offers over 35 miles of all-electric range, and pricing starts at just $16,600. electrek.co

China considers imposing safety requirements for driving assistance systems. reuters.com

The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology warns its auto industry leaders to “self-regulate,” and that they shouldn’t sell cars below cost or offer unreasonable price cuts. bloomberg.com

A cargo ship carrying over 3,000 vehicles—including hundreds of electric and hybrid models—caught fire in the Pacific Ocean on June 3, 2025, forcing all 22 crew members to abandon the vessel. carnewschina.com

The market share of Chinese automakers in the UK increases to 10%. autonews.com

Xiaomi’s SU7 Ultra is launching outside China... in Gran Turismo (video game). theverge.com

Rise Of The Machines

WIRED writer buys a pellet-firing, story-telling, pretend-urinating robot dog from Temu for $50. wired.com

Walmart plans to expand the usage of Alphabet’s Wing drone delivery service to five more US cities. techcrunch.com

Amazon is reportedly training humanoid robots to deliver packages. The robots would be driven around in Rivian vans to jump out and drop packages at homes. theverge.com

Unitree Robotics’ humanoid robot attacks one of its engineers during assembly. glassalmanac.com

Energy

China has unveiled Qihang, the world’s largest floating wind turbine. glassalmanac.com

BP seeks buyers for Castrol lubricants unit to reach $20 billion divestment goal. reuters.com

Trans Mountain CEO eyes initiatives to increase the capacity of our federally funded pipeline. calgaryherald.com

Building an underground tunnel for Enbridge’s aging underwater oil pipeline that stretches across a Great Lakes channel could destroy wetlands and harm bat habitats, but would eliminate the risk of a boat anchor rupturing the line and causing a catastrophic spill. apnews.com

The world’s first commercial mini nuclear reactor is ready to start powering 526,000 homes in China. interestingengineering.com

But Wait, There’s More

The Porsche 963 RSP is a one-of-a-kind street-legal Le Mans-capable hypercar that was built for Roger Penske. caranddriver.com

Porsche is not planning to shift the final assembly of cars to the US. reuters.com

Kia wants you to love hatchbacks again. electrek.co

GM CEO Mary Barra acknowledges that she and her company could have done a better job managing interactions and conversations with The Donald during his first term as President. usatoday.com

Stellantis’ Ram is bringing its Hemi engine back as an option on the 1500 pickup this summer. autonews.com

Want to make millions of dollars each and every year? You just need to be the CEO of Stellantis (funded by the sale of HEMIs). reuters.com

The 2026 Polestar 4 will be imported into the US from Korea, not China. theverge.com

BMW is planning to raise prices by up to $2,500 next month. carsdirect.com

The Ford Explorer has a B-pillar trim problem. caranddriver.com

Honda has finally introduced its electric motorcycle. electrek.co

Rivian is overhauling the charging experience for its customers, offering more information about how their battery-powered vehicles absorb and use energy. theverge.com

Volvo is looking to boost its reputation for safety with the release of a new “multi-adaptive safety belt” that uses real-time data from the vehicle’s sensors to better protect the person wearing it. theverge.com

A group representing auto suppliers in the US has called for immediate action to address China's restrictions on the export of rare earths, minerals, and magnets, warning that the issue could quickly disrupt the production of auto parts. reuters.com

“The auto industries in both the US and Europe could come to a standstill within weeks thanks to China’s ongoing restrictions on exports of rare earth minerals and magnets.” theverge.com

The Donald doubled his tariffs on steel and aluminum. npr.org

Auto exports to the US plunge as tariffs hit Canadian automakers. theglobeandmail.com

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