Tesla Cybercab on display in Brussels, Belgium (Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images)

Tesla up more than 9% after Trump administration relaxes self-driving regulations

The stock was trading up nearly 10% Friday after the announcement Thursday.

4/25/25 1:08PM

Tesla’s big bet on the Trump administration looks like it’s paying off both for Tesla’s autonomous future and its stock, which is up nearly 10% today. Yesterday the US Department of Transportation announced a national framework for government self-driving cars to help speed up their development.

“This Administration understands that we’re in a race with China to out-innovate, and the stakes couldn’t be higher,” US Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy said in a press releasee. “As part of DOT’s innovation agenda, our new framework will slash red tape and move us closer to a single national standard that spurs innovation and prioritizes safety.”

To do so, American-built autonomous vehicles will be able to be exempted from certain federal safety rules for research and demonstration purposes, something previously available only to some foreign vehicles, and the department will streamline the reporting of safety incidents for those vehicles.

As Musk has noted, getting regulatory approval state by state or even county by county can slow down the adoption of autonomous vehicles.

“It’s incredibly painful to do it state by state for 50 states,” Musk said on an earnings call last fall regarding the country’s patchwork of regulation on autonomous vehicle approval. “There should be a national approval process for autonomy.”

More recently on the company’s latest earnings call this week, Musk said he expects the company’s robotaxi service to launch this year in Austin, and by the second half of next year there will be “millions of Teslas operating fully autonomously” around the country.

Of course, these moves by the DOT could also help Tesla’s autonomous competitors, like Google-parent-owned Waymo, which currently has a huge head start over Tesla in the autonomous ride-sharing space.

Jon Keegan13m

WSJ: OpenAI plans Q4 IPO in race to be the first AI startup to enter public markets

OpenAI was the first to the generative AI market with ChatGPT, and now it hopes to be the first of its AI startup cohort to pull off an initial public offering, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The $500 billion startup is in a race against its $350 billion competitor Anthropic to IPO, who has also been exploring one.

According to the report, OpenAI is in talks with banks to try for a fourth-quarter IPO this year, which has the potential to be one of the largest IPOs ever, in a year that is expected to see many record breaking tech companies make tap into public markets to raise massive new rounds of capital.

Ahead of a potential public listing, OpenAI is reportedly attempting to raise a massive round of private investment. The company is reportedly aiming to raise $100 billion, with Amazon potentially accounting for up to half that target. Other investors in talks with OpenAI over the private fundraising round include Nvidia, Microsoft, and SoftBank.

Exclusive | OpenAI Plans Fourth-Quarter IPO in Race to Beat Anthropic to Market

Rani Molla2h

SpaceX is actually considering a merger with Tesla or xAI: Report

Bloomberg reports that Elon Musk’s SpaceX is considering merging with Musk’s Tesla. Earlier today, Reuters had reported that SpaceX was thinking of potentially merging with xAI ahead of SpaceX’s IPO this year.

From Bloomberg:

“The firm has discussed the feasibility of a tie-up between SpaceX and Tesla, an idea that some investors are pushing, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Separately, they are also exploring a tie-up between SpaceX and xAI ahead of an IPO, some of the people said.”

Musk’s companies already have numerous relationships between themselves, including most recently Tesla’s $2 billion investment in xAI. At Tesla’s shareholder meeting last year, shareholders voted to invest in the company but the board didn’t approve the measure due to significant abstentions.

In 2024, SpaceX incurred about $2.4 million in expenses under commercial, licensing, and support agreements with Tesla, and Tesla incurred about $800,000 in expenses for Musk’s use of SpaceX’s jet.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Is Said to Consider Merger With Tesla or xAI

From Bloomberg:

“The firm has discussed the feasibility of a tie-up between SpaceX and Tesla, an idea that some investors are pushing, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Separately, they are also exploring a tie-up between SpaceX and xAI ahead of an IPO, some of the people said.”

Rani Molla

APPLE OF MY AI

Apple posts record quarterly revenue and iPhone sales

But all eyes will be on margins and AI.

Rani Molla3h

WSJ: Amazon considering $50 billion investment in OpenAI

What a difference half a day makes. Earlier today, The Information reported that Amazon was considering investing roughly $10 billion to $20 billion in OpenAI as part of a $60 billion fundraising round alongside Nvidia and Microsoft. Now The Wall Street Journal is reporting the e-commerce giant could invest up to $50 billion in the ChatGPT maker as part of a larger, $100 billion funding round. The Financial Times also earlier reported today a $100 billion funding round but with smaller amounts from Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon.

Exclusive | Amazon in Talks to Invest Up to $50 Billion in OpenAI

Rani Molla5h

Elon Musk’s SpaceX reportedly in talks to merge with xAI

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly exploring a merger between SpaceX and his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, a move that would bundle rockets, satellites, the social media site X, and AI under one company ahead of SpaceX’s long-anticipated IPO.

According to Reuters reporting, the deal would swap xAI shares for SpaceX stock, potentially valuing the combined operation north of $1 trillion.

Reuters reports:

“Two entities have been set up in Nevada to facilitate the transaction, the person said.

Reuters could not determine the value of the deal, its ‌primary rationale, or its potential timing.

Corporate filings in Nevada show that those entities were set up on January 21. One of them, a limited liability company, lists SpaceX and Bret Johnsen, the company’s chief financial officer, as managing members, while the other lists Johnsen as the company’s only officer, the filings show.”

The combined companies could also set the narrative groundwork for putting data centers in space — an idea that Musk and a number of other tech billionaires have been floating lately but that may not get off the ground.

In its earnings filings yesterday, Tesla disclosed that it recently made a $2 billion investment in xAI. Last year, Musk’s xAI bought Musk’s X in an all-stock deal.

Exclusive: Musk's SpaceX in merger talks with xAI ahead of planned IPO, source says