TodayPrice

Tag: Elon Musk

  • Tesla’s EU sales fall 49% in first two months of 2025

    Tesla’s EU sales fall 49% in first two months of 2025

    European sales of Tesla electric cars dropped 49 percent in January-February compared with the same period a year earlier, the ACEA manufacturers’ association said Tuesday.

    Ageing models are one factor behind the plunge so far this year, but e-vehicle clients may also be refusing to buy in protest of Tesla’s billionaire owner Elon Musk since he became a key supporter of US President Donald Trump.

    Musk has been leading a vocal and divisive cost-cutting drive at the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

    Several Tesla dealerships around the United States have been vandalised in recent weeks and the company’s stock price has plummeted over the past month.

    New Tesla registrations in the European Union fell to 19,046 in the first two months of the year, giving the company a market share of just 1.1 percent, the ACEA said.

    In February alone, Tesla registrations were down 47 percent at 11,743.

    The sales drop came even as overall electric vehicle sales jumped 28.4 percent over the first two months of this year to 255,489 — for an EU market share of 15.2 percent.

    But for ACEA director general Sigrid de Vries, “The latest new car registration figures confirm that market demand for battery electric vehicles remains below the level needed for the transition to zero-emission mobility to progress.”

    She cited a need for tax and purchasing incentives for clients and investments in recharging stations, at a time when the EU is preparing to ease emission reduction targets for struggling European automakers.

    Hybrid-electric vehicles continued to be the biggest market segment in the first two months of the year, rising to 594,059 registrations — for a 35.2 percent market share.

    That outpaced both petrol and diesel models, with market shares of 29.1 percent and 9.7 percent in February.

  • Elon Musk offers voters cash to sign state petition against ‘activist judges’

    Elon Musk offers voters cash to sign state petition against ‘activist judges’

    Tech billionaire Elon Musk promoted a cash giveaway Thursday for Wisconsin voters who sign a petition against “activist judges”, as President Donald Trump demanded courts stop blocking his agenda.

    Judges have dealt Trump a number of setbacks in recent weeks as his administration pursues its wholesale overhaul of the federal government through Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency.”.

    The America PAC, a pro-Trump political action committee established by Musk, said it would give $100 to Wisconsin voters who sign the “petition in opposition to activist judges”.

    The petition, which Musk reposted on his social media platform X, urges Wisconsin voters to sign by April 1, when the northern state elects a judge for its Supreme Court.

    America PAC has thrown its weight behind conservative candidate Brad Schimel for the crucial seat in the swing state’s top court.

    “Judges should interpret laws as written, not rewrite them to fit their personal or political agendas,” it wrote on X.

    “Wisconsin registered voters receive $100 for signing the petition & $100 for each signer they refer.”

    America PAC has launched a series of controversial initiatives, including cash incentives for voters who refer others to sign a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments to the US Constitution, which protect free speech and the right to bear arms.

    It also launched a daily $1 million lottery prize for random petition signatories in election battleground states in the 2024 presidential race.

    The Justice Department warned Musk and America PAC in October that the sweepstakes may violate federal law, which prohibits paying people to register to vote.

    The Wisconsin petition comes after Trump launched a scathing attack Tuesday on a judge who suggested his administration had ignored an order to block the deportation of alleged illegal migrants to El Salvador.

    Trump personally called for the impeachment of District Judge James Boasberg, calling him “a troublemaker and agitator” in remarks that drew a rare public rebuke of a sitting president from the Supreme Court chief.

    Federal Election Commission filings in December showed that Musk, the world’s richest person and Trump’s top donor, donated $238 million to America PAC.

  • Starship to leave for Mars at end of 2026 – Elon Musk

    Starship to leave for Mars at end of 2026 – Elon Musk

    SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Saturday its massive Starship rocket would leave for Mars at the end of 2026 with Tesla humanoid robot Optimus onboard, adding that human landings could follow “as soon as 2029.”

    “Starship departs for Mars at the end of next year, carrying Optimus. If those landings go well, then human landings may start as soon as 2029, although 2031 is more likely,” Musk said on his X social network.

    Starship — the world’s largest and most powerful rocket — is key to Musk’s long-term vision of colonizing Mars.

    NASA is also awaiting a modified version of Starship as a lunar lander for its Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon this decade.

    But before SpaceX can carry out those missions, it must prove the vehicle is reliable, safe for crew, and capable of complex in-orbit refueling — critical for deep space missions.

    SpaceX faced a setback this month when its latest test flight of the Starship prototype ended in a fiery explosion, even as the booster was successfully caught in its orbital test.

    It was a near replay of the previous attempt.

    Minutes after liftoff and booster separation, a live video feed showed the upper stage tumbling uncontrollably before the signal abruptly cut.

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said SpaceX will be required to conduct an investigation before it can fly again.

  • Trump says will buy a Tesla to show support for Musk

    Trump says will buy a Tesla to show support for Musk

    US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will buy a “brand new Tesla” to show support for his top campaign donor and advisor, Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

    “To Republicans, Conservatives, and all great Americans, Elon Musk is ‘putting it on the line’ in order to help our Nation, and he is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform just after midnight on Tuesday.

    “But the Radical Left Lunatics, as they often do, are trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of the World’s great automakers, and Elon’s ‘baby,’ in order to attack and do harm to Elon, and everything he stands for,” Trump said.

    “I’m going to buy a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American.

    “Why should he be punished for putting his tremendous skills to work in order to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN???”

    Musk, the world’s richest person, responded on his X platform, thanking the president.

    Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has empowered Musk to slash federal government spending and agencies’ workforces as head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

    But DOGE’s cost-cutting campaign has faced increasing resistance, including protests, court rulings and some pressure from lawmakers.

    While Musk enjoys Trump’s confidence, polling shows the tech billionaire is deeply unpopular among ordinary Americans, and his cuts to government budgets have sparked angry confrontations between Republicans and their constituents at town halls.

    And Tesla investors have feared boycotts and buyer backlash over Musk’s actions and close ties to Trump.

    Some owners of Tesla’s pioneering electric cars have voiced buyers’ remorse over Musk’s foray into politics, and his sharing of conspiracy theories online.

    Unhappy Tesla owners have even slapped bumper stickers on their vehicles claiming they had purchased them “before Elon went crazy.”

    – Slumping shares –

    Tesla shares closed down more than 15 percent on Monday, as uncertainty over Trump’s import tariffs and threats have left US financial markets in turmoil.

    The tech-heavy Nasdaq tanked four percent owing in part to the plunge in high-flying titans including Apple, Amazon and Tesla.

    Tesla has also seen its sales drop across Europe in recent weeks following Musk’s controversial support for far-right groups, including Germany’s AfD during the country’s recent election campaign.

    Tesla sales in Germany — Europe’s biggest auto market — plunged more than 76 percent year-on-year in February, official data showed. Overall sales in the European Union almost halved, on year, in January.

    In early March, a dozen Teslas were torched at a dealership in France in what authorities treated as an arson attack, and the firm’s facilities have also been vandalized in the United States.

    Tesla has lost more than one-third of its market value since mid-December as Musk deepens his association with Trump.

    Meanwhile, Musk said his X platform was hit Monday by a major cyberattack, raising questions as to whether the politically divisive billionaire is being targeted or his decision to gut staff at what was once Twitter is haunting the social network.

  • Video: Elon Musk reacts as White House posts clip of deportees in handcuffs, chains

    Video: Elon Musk reacts as White House posts clip of deportees in handcuffs, chains

    The White House has released a 41-second video on social media showing undocumented immigrants being shackled and escorted onto a deportation flight departing from Seattle.

    Titled “ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight,” the clip features close-up shots of chains and cuffs on the tarmac, as well as detainees walking with their hands and ankles restrained.

    One segment shows an individual walking past an officer with hands cuffed in front and ankles bound by chains. Other shots highlight a close-up of a man’s handcuffs being secured, another individual’s feet in chains while ascending the stairway to the plane, and a detainee preparing to board. The faces of those being deported are not visible.

    Since taking office, President Donald Trump has intensified deportation efforts as part of his immigration policy. Thousands of undocumented immigrants have already been removed, including more than 300 Indian nationals.

    Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to stricter immigration enforcement, stating he will not rest until every “illegal criminal migrant” is “eradicated” from the country. He also claimed that illegal border crossings have decreased under Trump compared to previous years.

    Reacting to the video, senior advisor to Trump, Elon Musk, expressed excitement with the words: “Haha wow.”

  • Musk’s DOGE seeks access to US tax system – Reports

    Musk’s DOGE seeks access to US tax system – Reports

    Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has sparked alarm by seeking access to a system with the US tax office that has detailed financial data about millions of Americans, US media reported.

    Spearheaded by Musk, the world’s richest man, US President Donald Trump has embarked on a campaign to slash public spending deemed wasteful or contrary to his policies.

    The Washington Post and others reported that the latest request is for DOGE officials to have broad access to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) systems, property and datasets.

    This includes the Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS), access to which is usually extremely limited and which offers “instantaneous visual access to certain taxpayer accounts”, according to the IRS.

    As of Sunday evening, the request had not been granted, the reports said.

    But it has sparked alarm within the government and among privacy experts who say granting Musk access to private taxpayer data could be extraordinarily dangerous, according to TodayPriceNG News.

    “People who share their most sensitive information with the federal government do so under the understanding that not only will it be used legally, but also handled securely and in ways that minimize risks like identity theft and personal invasion, which this reporting brings into serious question,” Elizabeth Laird, a former state privacy officer now with the Center for Democracy and Technology, told TodayPriceNG

    “Waste, fraud, and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said when asked about the employee’s potential access to the sensitive system, TodayPriceNG News reported.

    “It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it.

    “DOGE will continue to shine a light on the fraud they uncover as the American people deserve to know what their government has been spending their hard-earned tax dollars on,” Fields added.

  • Musk brands USAID as ‘criminal organization’ amid row

    Musk brands USAID as ‘criminal organization’ amid row

    Elon Musk attacked the US Agency for International Development on Sunday, calling it a “criminal organization” after Donald Trump moved to freeze the bulk of Washington’s foreign assistance for three months.

    The Trump administration has since issued waivers for food and other humanitarian aid. But aid workers say uncertainty reigns — and that the impact is already being felt by some of the world’s most vulnerable.

    Trump has tasked Musk with cutting the government workforce and slashing what the Republican calls waste and unnecessary spending under the guise of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is now reportedly taking aim at USAID.

    “USAID is a criminal organization,” Musk wrote on his X platform, replying to a video alleging USAID involvement in “rogue CIA work” and “internet censorship.”

    In a subsequent post, Musk doubled down and, without giving evidence, asked his 215 million X followers, “Did you know that USAID, using YOUR tax dollars, funded bioweapon research, including Covid-19, that killed millions of people?”

    He did not elaborate on the allegations, which officials in the previous administration linked to a Russian disinformation campaign.

    There have been reports Trump wants to roll USAID into the State Department. His team did not respond to AFP calls for comment.

    USAID’s account on X had been disabled, AFP confirmed, and the agency’s website was still offline.

    USAID, an independent agency established by an act of Congress, manages a budget of $42.8 billion meant for humanitarian relief and development assistance around the world.

    Democratic Senator Chris Murphy has criticized the “total destruction” of the agency.

    CNN reported that two senior security officials at USAID were put on forced leave after they barred staff from Musk’s DOGE from accessing classified documents as part of their sprawling effort to inspect the government’s books.

    The two DOGE representatives also wanted to access staff files and security systems at USAID’s headquarters, the broadcaster reported, citing multiple sources.

  • Elon Musk trashes Trump’s $500 billion AI plan

    Elon Musk trashes Trump’s $500 billion AI plan

    Elon Musk, the billionaire tech CEO turned government adviser for President Donald Trump, openly questioned a new artificial intelligence initiative hours after the president announced it.

    Musk claimed on Tuesday that the new AI initiative, called Stargate, did not have the funding necessary to fulfil its goal of investing $500 billion in building AI infrastructure in the United States over the next four years.

    “They don’t actually have the money,” Musk said in response to the announcement on X.

    The quick rebuke from Musk was noteworthy given his presence in the Trump world. Musk has been a vocal backer of the president and made his presence known throughout Trump’s inauguration.

    The initiative is a collaboration between OpenAI, an AI research company that Musk co-founded before a falling out with Sam Altman, SoftBank and Oracle.