
<p><strong>Elon Musk is dialing down his DOGE role that triggered protests and vandalism at Tesla stores. But its EV business needs a hit product and none is on the horizon. And the company’s booming battery business, a Q1 bright spot, will suffer from Trump’s tariffs.</strong></p>



<p>T<strong>his week</strong>, Tesla posted its worst quarterly results in four years. Sales were down 9%. Income plummeted 71%—hurt by a 20% drop in automotive revenues. And given tariffs and rocky market headaches, the company didn’t bother giving sales targets for the rest of the year.</p>



<p>But the stock rallied, jumping 9% since Tuesday as investors cheered one thing: Elon Musk says he&#8217;ll soon step back from his duties gutting the federal government through DOGE, and return to running the show at Tesla in a more full-time capacity (excepting his other responsibilities at SpaceX, xAI and Neuralink).</p>



<p>That&#8217;s not the cure-all investors seem to think it is. The problems Tesla now faces have been exacerbated by Musk joining the Trump Administration as a &#8220;special government employee&#8221; — declining profit margins, intensifying competition and a tarnished brand image. And they show no signs of disappearing any time soon, even if Musk becomes a more active CEO again. Worse, it&#8217;s becoming clear Musk has run out of ideas for how to fix them, instead fixating on an uncertain future focused on robotaxis and humanoid robots.</p>



<p>For now, Tesla profits from selling cars and battery storage systems and both businesses are in trouble. It has no successor to monster sellers like the Model Y and Model 3 (Cybertruck, its latest release,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2025/04/03/elons-edsel-tesla-cybertruck-is-the-auto-industrys-biggest-flop-in-decades/">has been one of the biggest flops in automotive history</a>). At the same time, it’s about to get hit by President Trump’s tariffs, which are expected to chill auto sales across the industry. Worse for Tesla though, a coming 145% tariff on imported Chinese battery cells is set to hammer the company’s battery pack business, one of the only bright spots last quarter.</p>



<p>Musk downplayed these problems on the April 22 results call. “We’re not on the ragged edge of death, not even close,” he said. “There are some challenges, and I expect that … there will probably be some unexpected bumps this year.”</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>“This time, it’s not about the product. It’s about the person. It’s too late to separate man and brand. And in the meantime, it’s lost its EV advantage.”Sue Benson, The Behaviours Agency</p>
</blockquote>



<p>Some, though, are entirely expected. Though Musk’s political activities have been more time-consuming since Trump returned to office on Jan. 20–aided by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/us/politics/elon-musk-trump-rbg-election.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">$250 million</a>&nbsp;from the world’s richest person–his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/musk-rallies-far-right-europe-tesla-is-paying-price-2025-03-04/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">embrace of rightwing politics</a>&nbsp;and<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/04/elon-musk-x-trump-far-right" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">&nbsp;inflammatory social media comments</a>&nbsp;have tarnished Tesla’s brand image for well over a year, particularly in important markets like California and Europe. Multiple polls, including one by&nbsp;<a href="https://law.marquette.edu/poll/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Marquette University Law School</a>&nbsp;this month, found that 60% of people surveyed had an unfavorable view of Musk and 58% disapproved of his DOGE work. A YouGov/Yahoo News survey last month found that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/two-thirds-of-americans-now-say-they-wouldnt-drive-a-tesla--and-most-of-them-cite-elon-musk-as-the-reason-why-according-to-a-new-poll-152619516.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">67% of Americans</a>&nbsp;would not consider buying or leasing a Tesla, with most saying Musk was the reason.</p>



<p>“Remember VW’s emissions scandal? One regulatory crisis cost it tens of billions and its reputation. That’s where Tesla is now,” said Sue Benson, CEO and founder of The Behaviours Agency, a U.K.-based marketing firm. “Except this time, it’s not about the product. It’s about the person. It’s too late to separate man and brand. And in the meantime, it’s lost its EV advantage.”</p>



<p>And while Musk may be spending more time at the Austin-based auto company, he also still oversees SpaceX, X, the Boring Company and Neuralink (in addition to fathering his “legion” of more than a dozen children). Long before DOGE, his bandwidth was already limited.</p>



<p>“He said what he thought people wanted to hear,” said Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, who holds the company’s shares but has advocated for Musk to resign. “But he’s still going to go run xAI, he’s still going to keep doing what he’s doing at Tesla, SpaceX and X and still be involved with DOGE. What’s changed?”</p>



<p>The most pressing challenge for Tesla is reversing the decline in its EV sales, down 13% in the first quarter. More alarming is that automotive revenue dropped 20%, meaning it sold fewer vehicles and charged less for them. The entirety of its $409 million profit came from regulatory credits — free money it gets from other automakers to comply with pollution rules in the U.S., California and the EU. Without the $595 million in credits Tesla sold in the quarter––it would have posted a net loss.</p>



<p>The simplest, most obvious fix for ailing sales is a new model. Rather than doing that, however, Musk and his engineers are readying refreshed, and cheaper, versions of the Y and 3, which went on sale in 2020 and 2017, respectively. Rather than doing what traditional automakers call a “full” model change, where the body shape and interior are dramatically altered, the 2025 Model Y is more of a refresh of the 2024 version, with a new light bar running across the front hood and rear sections, sleeker headlights and more aerodynamic wheels.</p>



<p>That could provide a jolt to sales, but it’s not a winning long-term strategy. There’s a reason why car companies regularly release new models. Dramatic styling changes typically produce better results, according to industry researcher Glenn Mercer, who leads Cleveland-based advisory firm GM Automotive. “Just leaving these models in the market forever, with no significant sheet metal changes, means they are–to overstate things–zombies,” Mercer told&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>.</p>



<p>Neither Musk nor Lars Moravy, Tesla’s head of vehicle engineering, shared details of how the company planned to offer the cheaper variants on the earnings call. Industry analysts expect Tesla to do this by using a smaller, cheaper battery pack with less driving range and eliminating tech features.</p>



<p>“If instead of restyling, Tesla just lowers prices by removing things–like they already removed ultrasonic parking sensors, for example–that&#8217;s even worse,” Mercer said. “Usually at this point in a decaying model&#8217;s lifecycle, you start adding stuff to divert people from seeing the ancient underlying appearance.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ev-competition"><strong>EV Competition</strong></h2>



<p>You know who does have newer models? Fast-growing Chinese EV makers, particularly BYD, as well as domestic competitors like General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Honda and Rivian. It’s no wonder Tesla’s share of EV sales has dropped to 43% in the first quarter, down from 75% three years earlier.</p>



<p>Until a few years ago, Musk claimed Tesla would sell 20 million EVs a year by the end of the 2020s. Now, he’s quietly dropped that goal, pivoting to a new business model built on selling robotaxi rides, AI services and worker robots.</p>



<p>“The future of the company is fundamentally based on large-scale autonomous cars and large-scale, large volume, vast numbers of autonomous humanoid robots,” Musk said this week. “So the value of a company that makes truly useful autonomous humanoid robots and autonomous useful vehicles at scale at low cost, which is what Tesla is going to do, is staggering.”</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>“It makes no sense. Cybercab should have just been a two-door, small $25,000 Tesla.”Ross Gerber</p>
</blockquote>



<p>That may be true, but Tesla hasn’t demonstrated it can do it. Waymo is the de facto leader in robotaxis, using vehicles equipped with far more elaborate sensors and computing capabilities than Musk plans. Meanwhile, Boston Dynamics for years has demonstrated humanoid and animal-style robots that appear to have far greater capabilities than Tesla’s wobbly Optimus. (One near-term problem: Musk said on the earnings call that Tesla can’t get rare-earth magnets the robot’s motors need right now owing to retaliatory restrictions that China, the sole supplier, implemented in response to Trump’s tariffs.)</p>



<p>Investors like Gerber want to see Musk prioritize new products instead. He thinks the Cybercab concept that Tesla showed off last fall, which Musk pitched as a futuristic robotaxi model with no steering wheel, could instead have been sold as a lower-priced EV.</p>



<p>“It makes no sense. Cybercab should have just been a two-door, small $25,000 Tesla,” he said. “Just do the Cybercab with a steering wheel and scale it up. It&#8217;s a cool-looking car and looks different than any other in its lineup and could attract new customers, especially if it’s $25.000. Doing a stripped-down Model Y is kicking themselves in the kneecap.”</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Tariff Impact</strong></h2>



<p>Tesla is somewhat better insulated against Trump’s tariffs as it doesn’t import vehicles built abroad, or even from Canada and Mexico as most other automakers do. But it still sources steel, aluminum and auto parts from outside the U.S. so will be hurt by higher costs for those products. And tariffs will especially hurt its most successful business beside EVs: energy generation and storage, where it sells battery packs to homeowners, utilities and companies. In Q1, Tesla posted a 67% jump in this business line’s revenue to $2.73 billion.</p>



<p>But for these battery packs, Tesla relies on lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cells made in China, which will now get stung by Trump’s 145% tax on imported Chinese goods. Tesla had planned to begin making LFP cells this year at its battery gigafactory in Nevada under a new licensing agreement with China’s CATL, the world’s biggest maker of EV batteries. They would be cheaper than the lithium-ion cells that go into Tesla’s EV packs. But that plan has now stalled.</p>



<p>“The impact of tariffs on the energy business will be outsized since we source LFP battery cells from China,” Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja said on the call. “We’re in the process of commissioning equipment for the local manufacturing of LFP battery cells in the U.S. However, the equipment which we have can only service a fraction of our total installed capacity of late.”</p>



<p>That means much higher prices for Tesla’s Megapacks and less business, especially from utilities buying them to store solar- and wind-generated electricity.</p>



<p>“Nobody, not even Tesla, makes LFP in the U.S. The 145% tariffs mean prices for those cells go up for everybody,” said a person familiar with Tesla’s battery operations who declined to be identified for fear of reprisal. “The utilities are just not willing to pay that higher price. It&#8217;s not like Tesla will lose out to competition. In this case, the market just disappears as the price goes up.”</p>



<p>Gerber, a long-time Musk fan who’s become an outspoken critic, sees no sign that Elon has any ideas to fix Tesla’s near-term product strategy, even if he’s doing less DOGE work.</p>



<p>“I just don’t see this as any big change for the better at Tesla,” he said. “It’s not going to solve their problems.”</p>


GERMANY-AUTOMOBILE-TESLA-MUSK

Elon Musk Is Running Out Of Ideas To Save Tesla


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Shein and Temu, major online retailers known for their wildly low prices, said they would raise prices for some products Friday after President Donald Trump imposed hefty tariffs on China, though it’s unclear which products will get more expensive, or by how much.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p><a href="https://us.shein.com/campaigns/sheincustomernotice" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Shein</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.temu.com/common-policy.html?policy=temucustomernotice" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Temu</a>&nbsp;said in nearly identical notices to customers this week they would increase prices on goods, though they did not specify how much more expensive certain items would become.</p>



<p>Both retailers attributed their impending price increases to Trump’s tariffs on U.S. imports, which both companies said have caused their operating costs to rise.</p>



<p>Both Shein and Temu primarily produce goods in China, Trump’s biggest tariff target, which now faces a total tariff rate of 145% and has demanded that Trump drop the steep tariffs.</p>



<p>Sales for both Shein and Temu spiked after Trump announced his tariffs policy,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-16/temu-shein-see-us-sales-surge-ahead-of-small-parcel-tariff" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Bloomberg reported</a>&nbsp;last week.</p>



<p>Forbes has reached out to Shein and Temu for comment.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Have Consumers Reacted To Shein And Temu’s Price Increases?</h2>



<p>Consumers have largely flocked to Shein and Temu because of their extremely low prices, prompting some to raise alarms on social media about the price increases. One user posted a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@notchiaraaceto/video/7495482729983659294?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">video</a>&nbsp;suggesting the best deals for consumers to take advantage of before the price increases take effect, including earrings for $2, a reusable water bottle resembling a Stanley cup for $21 and sunglasses for $3. Another&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@maryah781/video/7495013921414303019?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">user</a>, who has 75,000 followers and regularly reviews Shein products, urged her followers to place their orders before Shein raises prices and said in the comment section she wouldn’t be placing any more orders after the price hikes. Some users posted videos joking they were ordering their last “Shein hauls” before the price increases, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ramuleus/video/7491065553679945002?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">one</a>&nbsp;who garnered 1 million likes joking he’d avoid tariffs by crossing the ocean to pick up his Shein packages.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What’s The Latest On Trump’s China Tariffs?</h2>



<p>Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/04/10/trumps-tariffs-on-china-are-now-at-least-145-white-house-confirms-higher-than-he-previously-claimed/">hiked his tariffs</a>&nbsp;on China multiple times to a rate of 145%.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/22/business/trump-china-trade-war-reduction-hnk-intl/index.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Trump said</a>, however, those rates would “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero,” at the White House on Tuesday, acknowledging the rate of 145% is “very high.” The shift came after weeks of back-and-forth with China as neither side appeared to back down amid an escalating trade war. Trump claimed Wednesday that China and the United States are “actively” negotiating tariff de-escalation, but Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/tariff-trade-war-china-beijing-trump-washington-us-economy-markets-rcna202535" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Guo Jiakun</a>&nbsp;responded that the sides “have not engaged in any consultations or negotiations regarding tariffs, let alone reached an agreement.” Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/24/china-demands-rollback-on-all-unilateral-tariffs-as-it-rebuffs-trumps-offer-to-negotiate/">He Yadong</a>&nbsp;said Thursday China is open to negotiations, but they must be fair and mutual, urging the U.S. to “cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Background</h2>



<p>Shein and Temu both emerged in recent years as hugely popular, yet controversial, retailers that have dominated the fast fashion and e-commerce spaces. Shein reported $38 billion in total sales in 2024, up 19% from the year prior, though its profits dropped by more than a third, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/021b5460-76e1-408d-83f6-91b9e05180d7" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Financial Times reported</a>. AB Bernstein and Tech Buzz China analysts told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/temus-takeover-is-now-complete/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Wired</a>&nbsp;in December Temu was on track to reach $50 billion in sales in 2024. Their dominance has inspired multiple competitors to launch their own low-priced e-commerce storefronts, including Amazon’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2024/11/13/what-to-know-about-amazon-haul-e-commerce-giants-new-temu-and-shein-competitor/">Amazon Haul</a>, which launched in November, and TikTok’s TikTok Shop. But Shein and Temu have both faced criticism for the allegedly poor quality of their products and accusations of poor working conditions. A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/business/economy/shein-temu-forced-labor-china.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">congressional inquiry</a>&nbsp;in 2023 found an “extremely high risk that Temu’s supply chains are contaminated with forced labor,” while a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-11-21/shein-s-cotton-clothes-tied-to-xinjiang-china-region-accused-of-forced-labor" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Bloomberg report</a>&nbsp;found some cotton used in Shein’s products came from Xinjiang, a region of China where U.S. officials allege China is committing human rights abuses against the Uyghur people. Both Shein and Temu have also sparked scrutiny for their ties to China, though neither is headquartered there.&nbsp;<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/curious-case-temu-u-headquarters-154253838.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Temu’s headquarters</a>&nbsp;are located in Boston, though the company is owned by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/exclusive-chinese-fashion-firm-shein-singapore-hiring-spree-it-shifts-key-assets-2022-02-16/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Shein moved</a>&nbsp;its headquarters from China to Singapore in 2022.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/24/china-demands-rollback-on-all-unilateral-tariffs-as-it-rebuffs-trumps-offer-to-negotiate/">China Demands Rollback On All Unilateral Tariffs As It Rebuffs Trump’s Offer To Negotiate</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/tariff-trade-war-china-beijing-trump-washington-us-economy-markets-rcna202535" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Trump says the U.S. and China are &#8216;actively&#8217; discussing tariffs. Beijing says that&#8217;s false.</a>&nbsp;(NBC News)</p>


Trending Apps Photo Illustrations

Shein And Temu Will Raise Prices Amid Trump Tariffs—What To Know


<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/24/google-earnings-stock-soars-as-q1-results-shatter-expectations/#open-web-0"></a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/24/google-earnings-stock-soars-as-q1-results-shatter-expectations/#open-web-0"></a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Google parent Alphabet reported first-quarter earnings Thursday afternoon, becoming the first of the trillion-dollar U.S. technology behemoths to report earnings from the first quarter, a period marred by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/21/forbes-recession-tracker-recession-odds-spike-as-trumps-tariff-liberation-day-approaches/">elevated</a>&nbsp;economic uncertainty that could weigh on the advertising-heavy Google.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Alphabet brought in $90.2 billion of revenue in Q1, topping consensus analyst estimates of $89.2 billion, and $2.81 diluted earnings per share ($34.5 billion net income), smashing forecasts of $2.01 EPS ($24.8 billion net income), according to FactSet.</p>



<p>That equates to 12% top line expansion from Q1 2024 and 49% bottom line growth year-over-year.</p>



<p>Alphabet’s bread-and-butter Google search unit generated $50.7 billion in sales, compared to forecasts of $50.5 billion, and its artificial intelligence-heavy Google cloud brought in $12.3 billion, matching projections of $12.3 billion.</p>



<p>Google stock jumped about 5% in after-hours trading immediately following the release, and its $169 afternoon share price has the tech firm on track to open at its highest level in four weeks.</p>



<p>The company also announced Thursday board authorization for a $70 billion&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2024/05/09/what-are-stock-buybacks-the-apple-led-strategy-is-expected-to-swell-to-1-trillion-by-2025/">stock buyback</a>&nbsp;program, and it will increase its quarterly cash dividend by 5% to $0.21.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-google-mum-on-tariffs">Google Mum On Tariffs</h2>



<p>In the earnings call, Google CEO Sundar Pichai&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/TheTranscript_/status/1915512617357238675" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">declined</a>&nbsp;to “speculate about potential impacts” of tariffs, before adding the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/04/24/shein-and-temu-will-raise-prices-tomorrow-amid-trump-tariffs-what-to-know/">rollback</a>&nbsp;of the de minimis tariff exemptions will “obviously cause a slight headwind to our ads business in 2025, primarily from” Asian retailers. Google is grappling with a “negative tariff ad spend impact,” according to Bank of America analyst Justin Post, specifically noting declining spending from Chinese discount retailers Temu and Shein as Trump’s more than 100% tariffs on Chinese imports stifle the flow of goods from the country to U.S. consumers. Still, Google has “relatively less” pressure from the choppy operating environment, according to Post. About 4% to 5% of Google’s revenues come from Chinese companies spending on U.S. advertising, according to Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik, much less than the 7% to 8% exposure from Google’s top digital advertising rival, Facebook parent Meta.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-google-stock-bounced-before-earnings-as-nasdaq-jumped-2">Google Stock Bounced Before Earnings As Nasdaq Jumped 2%</h2>



<p>Shares of Google rose during Thursday’s regular session ahead of the release, gaining more than 2% to $161, the highest level in two weeks. The bounce came as stocks continued to rally on renewed hopes President Donald Trump would&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/23/stocks-surge-as-trump-softens-on-china-tariffs/">keep backing down</a>&nbsp;from his most aggressive tariff plans, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index rose nearly 3% on Thursday, heading to its third consecutive day of an at least 2% rally. That’s the first time the Nasdaq has risen by that much in three straight trading sessions since 2001,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/bespokeinvest/status/1915450647832416503" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to Bespoke Investment Group. Still, Google stock is down 16% year-to-date, slightly worse than the tech-heavy Nasdaq’s 12% decline as fears of an economic slowdown tied to Trump’s trade war&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/14/trump-celebrates-last-weeks-largest-gain-in-stock-market-history-but-stocks-are-still-down-during-his-second-term/">broadly</a>&nbsp;ate into investor confidence.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h2>



<p>“If investing in US tech stocks was difficult right now, underwriting Google might be the closest thing to impossible,” Shmulik wrote Wednesday. Among the massive unknowns swirling around Google are recession concerns, tariff exposure, potential for generative AI to disrupt online search, a “library of regulatory overhangs” and a “potential lightning rod for international retaliation” against American entities, explained Shmulik.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



<p>Among the “library” of regulatory hurdles facing Google include high-profile monopoly probes from U.S. prosecutors. A federal judge&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-judge-finds-google-holds-illegal-online-ad-tech-monopolies-2025-04-17/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">ruled</a>&nbsp;last week Google maintains an illegal monopoly in advertising technology, and the Justice Department&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/technology/google-search-remedies-hearing.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">argued</a>&nbsp;in an ongoing antitrust case the company should be forced to sell its Chrome web browser.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Google is one of the six West Coast tech companies with market values of at least $1 trillion, joined by Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon and Meta (those companies are often lumped together with Elon Musk’s Tesla to form the “magnificent seven”). Google was a key part of the massive tech stock rally as generative AI’s popularity spiked, as its share price more than doubled from the end of 2022 to 2024. But big tech has stalled on Wall Street as recession fears escalated, as Bloomberg’s magnificent seven index has declined about 20% in 2025.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">What To Watch For</h2>



<p>Next week, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft will all report earnings from 2025’s first three months. Tesla, the least valuable member of the magnificent seven, shared its Q1 report Tuesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/22/tesla-earnings-elon-musks-firm-reports-worst-quarterly-profit-since-2021/">missing</a>&nbsp;on both profit and revenue forecasts.</p>


FRANCE-ECONOMY-TECHNOLOGY-VIVATECH

Google Earnings: Stock Soars As Q1 Results Shatter Expectations


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Chinese officials on Thursday dismissed talks of any progress in trade negotiations with the U.S. and reiterated their stance that Washington must drop all unilateral tariffs against Beijing, two days after President Donald Trump appeared to soften his stance on levies against China and signaled trade talks between both sides could happen soon.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>In a press briefing, Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yadong addressed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/23/us-futures-and-asian-markets-rise-after-trump-suggests-china-tariffs-will-come-down-substantially/">comments</a>&nbsp;by Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about lowering tariffs with China through trade negotiations.</p>



<p>The spokesperson said China is open to talks, but any such dialogue must be “conducted on an equal footing and based on mutual respect,” and the U.S. must correct its “wrong practices” before engaging with Beijing.</p>



<p>The spokesperson accused the U.S. of “unilaterally” provoking a trade war and warned that “pressure, threats and blackmail” were not the right approach to deal with China.</p>



<p>On Trump’s comments about “substantially” lowering tariffs on Chinese goods, He said the “unilateral tariff increase” was started by the U.S. and if Washington wants to resolve the issue, it must: “cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China.”</p>



<p>He also noted that any claims of progress in China and U.S. trade talks were “groundless and have no factual basis.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Else Has Beijing Said About Trump’s Talks Of Lowering Tariffs?</h2>



<p>Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun also addressed the matter during the ministry’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/xw/fyrbt/lxjzh/202504/t20250423_11602511.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">daily press conference</a>, saying the “tariff war” was “launched by the U.S.,” and while China was not looking for a fight, it is not afraid of it. “We will fight if we must,” but Beijing’s “doors are open, if the U.S. wants to talk.” Guo noted Washington must stop “threatening and blackmailing China” and said: “To keep asking for a deal while exerting extreme pressure is not the right way to deal with China and simply will not work.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Did Trump Say About Lowering Tariffs?</h2>



<p>On Tuesday, Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/23/us-futures-and-asian-markets-rise-after-trump-suggests-china-tariffs-will-come-down-substantially/">told reporters</a>&nbsp;at the Oval Office that he expected Chinese President Xi Jinping to negotiate a trade deal with him, as he promised to be “very nice” to China. The president said he was hopeful a deal would happen soon and acknowledged that the current 145% tariff rate against China was “very high.” The President then suggested he was prepared to lower the tariffs, saying: “It won’t be anywhere near that high. It’ll come down substantially. But it won’t be zero.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Has Scott Bessent Said About Negotiations With China?</h2>



<p>Trump’s remarks were made shortly after Bessent expressed concerns that the high tariffs both the U.S. and China had imposed on each other was effectively halting all trade between the two countries. Speaking at a event on Tuesday, Bessent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-22/bessent-sees-de-escalation-with-china-situation-unsustainable" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">acknowledged</a>&nbsp;the 145% tariff on China was essentially a “trade embargo” and such high tariffs were “unsustainable.” At the time, Bessent said he believed the trade tensions would cool in the next few months but noted that a full fledged deal could take two to three years. On Wednesday, Bessent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/23/bessent-china-tariffs-trade-trump.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">addressed the issue</a>&nbsp;again saying “there is an opportunity for a big deal” between China and the U.S. on trade and added, “If they want to rebalance, let’s do it together.” However, the treasury secretary told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/bessent-says-china-tariffs-are-not-sustainable-us-signals-willingness-de-2025-04-23/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reporters</a>&nbsp;that Trump was not offering to unilaterally lower tariffs on China.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/23/us-futures-and-asian-markets-rise-after-trump-suggests-china-tariffs-will-come-down-substantially/">U.S. Futures And Asian Markets Rise After Trump Suggests China Tariffs Will ‘Come Down Substantially’</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>


Donald Trump Attends Roundtable Discussion On Threat Of China On U.S. Agriculture

China Demands Rollback On All Unilateral Tariffs As It Rebuffs Trump’s Offer To Negotiate


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Meta’s oversight board criticized the company’s updated hateful conduct policies, which included a provision allowing users to describe LGBTQ people as mentally ill, among other controversial updates, urging the company to assess the “human rights impact” of the policy on LGBTQ people, minors and immigrants.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>The Meta&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oversightboard.com/news/wide-ranging-decisions-protect-speech-and-address-harms/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">oversight board</a>, which makes company decisions and conducts mediations and is sometimes referred to as Meta’s “Supreme Court,” issued a response to Meta’s hateful conduct policy change Wednesday, criticizing the update as “hastily” made.</p>



<p>Meta’s hateful conduct policy was updated “in a departure from regular procedure, with no public information shared as to what, if any, prior human rights due diligence the company performed,” the oversight board said.</p>



<p>The oversight board called on Meta to assess whether its updated hateful conduct policy would pose a threat to human rights, demanding the company provide a public report.</p>



<p>The oversight board also urged Meta to assess the effectiveness of its “community notes” policy, which it had adopted after abandoning third-party fact checking.</p>



<p>A Meta spokesperson told Forbes the company “respond to their full recommendations within 60 days in accordance with the bylaws.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-did-meta-update-its-hateful-conduct-policy">How Did Meta Update Its Hateful Conduct Policy?</h2>



<p>Meta announced sweeping changes to its hateful conduct policy and other content moderation standards on Jan. 7, which it billed as an attempt to improve free speech and reduce censorship on its social media platforms. The policy changes included renaming the “hate speech” policy to “hateful conduct,” and according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://transparency.meta.com/policies/community-standards/hateful-conduct/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">policy’s change log</a>&nbsp;on the Meta website, many references to specific examples of hateful conduct were erased, while other controversial examples were added. Among the updated policy changes is a provision that clarifies: “We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like ‘weird.’” Under a section barring dehumanizing speech, Meta erased a previous provision that had prohibited people from evoking offensive stereotypes, including referring to “women as household objects or property or objects in general” and “transgender or non-binary people as ‘it.’” Meta also abandoned its&nbsp;<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2025/01/meta-more-speech-fewer-mistakes/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">third-party fact-checking</a>&nbsp;program in favor of a community notes program like that on X, stating it would be “less prone to bias.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-were-meta-s-conduct-policy-updates-controversial">Why Were Meta’s Conduct Policy Updates Controversial?</h2>



<p>Meta’s updated policies drew scrutiny and allegations it would lead to increased discrimination against LGBTQ people, women and people of color. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrc.org/news/metas-new-policies-how-they-endanger-lgbtq-communities-and-our-tips-for-staying-safe-online" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Human Rights Campaign</a>&nbsp;said these policy changes “create fertile ground for misinformation, identity-based harassment, and abuse, and threaten LGBTQ+ inclusion and safety across Meta,” accusing the company of taking “specific aim at LGBTQ+ people.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-did-mark-zuckerberg-defend-meta-s-policy-updates">How Did Mark Zuckerberg Defend Meta’s Policy Updates?</h2>



<p>Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had defended Meta’s content moderation policy updates as a move to improve free speech, particularly during a high-profile appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, which has more than 9 million views on Rogan’s&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/7k1ehaE0bdU?feature=shared" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">YouTube</a>&nbsp;channel. Zuckerberg said Facebook’s fact-checking policy was like “something out of 1984,” stating people felt the fact-checkers were too biased. “It really is a slippery slope, and it just got to a point where it&#8217;s just, OK, this is destroying so much trust, especially in the United States, to have this program,” praising Elon Musk’s X for adopting a community notes program in place of fact-checking. Zuckerberg said cracking down on hate speech “got to this point where there were things that you couldn’t say which were mainstream discourse,” citing Secretary of Defense&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pete-hegseth-background-defense-secretary-confirmation-hearing-e160e10c86385a8beff110d9190fb34e" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Pete Hegseth’s</a>&nbsp;prior statement that women should not serve in certain combat roles, stating this type of speech should be allowed on social media if Hegseth could say it on the floor of Congress. Zuckerberg also said in the Rogan interview companies should adopt more “masculine” energy and accused former President Joe Biden’s administration of calling Meta to “scream” about monitoring Covid-19-related posts.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/08/permitted-hateful-conduct-what-users-can-now-say-on-meta-platforms" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Revisions of ‘hateful conduct’: what users can now say on Meta platforms</a>&nbsp;(The Guardian)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/01/10/mark-zuckerberg-joe-rogan-facebook-censorship-biden" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Zuckerberg on Rogan: Facebook&#8217;s censorship was &#8220;something out of 1984&#8221;</a>&nbsp;(Axios)</p>


Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Interview On The Circuit

Meta Oversight Board Urges Company To Assess ‘Human Rights Impact’ Of Hateful Conduct Policy


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said he is open to direct bilateral talks with Ukraine for the first time in three years, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed for a moratorium on strikes against civilian targets, just days after Washington expressed displeasure about the lack of progress towards a peace deal between both sides and threatened to walk away from negotiations.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zTE84oVLFM" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Speaking to state media reporters</a>&nbsp;in Moscow on Monday, the Russian president said his government has “always looked positively on any peace initiatives,” adding that he hopes officials in Kyiv feel the same way.</p>



<p>Putin also claimed Ukraine agreed to the temporary Easter ceasefire after being pressured to do so by “someone smarter—most likely foreign handlers.”</p>



<p>In a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1914402951084322862" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">post on X</a>, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy restated Kyiv’s push to extend the Easter ceasefire, saying it shows that peace was possible “when Russia chooses to reduce the killing.”</p>



<p>Zelenskyy said his country “stands by its offer” for an agreement to halt all strikes on civilian infrastructure and the “obvious, simplest, and most reliable way” to do that would be by stopping “missile and long-range drone attacks.”</p>



<p>The Kremlin’s top spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov,&nbsp;<a href="https://tass.com/politics/1946993" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">later clarified</a>&nbsp;Putin’s comments, saying the Russian president’s comments were “about the option of negotiating the issue of not striking civilian infrastructure facilities, [on] a bilateral basis…he was particularly referring to negotiations and discussions with the Ukrainian side.”</p>



<p>Despite Peskov’s comments and Ukraine’s offer, Putin&nbsp;<a href="https://tass.com/politics/1946969" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">ordered</a>&nbsp;Russian forces to resume combat operations after the Easter truce.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Do We Know About U.s. Threats To ‘walk Away’ From Russia-Ukraine Talks?</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/18/us-prepared-to-ditch-russia-ukraine-peace-talks-if-there-is-no-progress-soon-rubio-says/">Last week</a>, Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed frustration about the lack of progress in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and said President Donald Trump’s administration is prepared to “walk away” from the negotiation table if significant progress is not made soon. After a meeting with European leaders in Paris, Rubio told reporters: “If it is not possible to end the war in Ukraine, we need to move on.” He added that the Trump administration would not “continue with this endeavor for weeks and months on end…So we need to determine very quickly now, and I&#8217;m talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks.” The secretary of state also added that Trump felt very strongly about ending the conflict and has “dedicated a lot of time and energy to this,” but there were other “really important things” which deserve “just as much, if not more attention.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Has Trump Said About Russia-Ukraine Talks?</h2>



<p>When asked about Rubio’s comments, Trump told reporters that if one of the two parties made peace negotiations difficult, “we’re just going to say: ‘You’re foolish. You’re fools. You’re horrible people,’ and we’re going to just take a pass…But hopefully we won’t have to do that.” Trump, however, stopped short of giving a specific deadline, saying he did not have “a specific number of days” in mind but wanted it done &#8220;quickly&#8221;. The president later followed those comments up with a&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114372126396548824" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Truth Social post</a>&nbsp;early on Monday, saying he hoped both sides would “MAKE A DEAL THIS WEEK.” In an apparent bid to incetivize such a move, Trump added: “BOTH WILL THEN START TO DO BIG BUSINESS WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WHICH IS THRIVING, AND MAKE A FORTUNE!”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/04/18/us-prepared-to-ditch-russia-ukraine-peace-talks-if-there-is-no-progress-soon-rubio-says/">US Prepared To ‘Move On’ From Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks If There Is No Progress Soon, Rubio Says</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>


President Putin Meets Attends Forum By Agency For Strategic Initiatives In Moscow

Putin Says He’s Open To Direct Talks With Kyiv Amid U.S. Threat To Abandon Negotiations


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Pope Francis has died, the Vatican announced on Monday—after months of severe health ailments, including a bout of severe pneumonia—ending a more than decade-long reign where he pushed to make the Roman Catholic Church a more inclusive institution despite pushback from traditionalists.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Francis’ death was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-04/pope-francis-dies-on-easter-monday-aged-88.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the top administrator of the office of the Holy See, who said: “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.”</p>



<p>Francis, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires, was 88-years-old.</p>



<p>Over the past two months the pope had been in the hospital for several days due to severe health ailments including a bout of bilateral pneumonia and bronchitis.</p>



<p>After a 38-day hospital stay in February and March, the pope returned to his official residence and resumed some of his papal duties.</p>



<p>Francis made his last public appearance less than 24 hours before his death, as he greeted cheering crowds at St. Peter&#8217;s Square while seated in his popemobile on Easter Sunday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Has The Vatican Said About The Pope’s Death?</h2>



<p>“He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized,” Farrell said in his announcement mourning the Pope’s death.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Have World Leaders Reacted To Francis’ Death?</h2>



<p>Several world leaders have expressed their condolences over the Pope’s passing. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/GiorgiaMeloni/status/1914239044885569647" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">wrote</a>&nbsp;on X: “This is news that grieves us deeply, because he leaves us a great man and a great pastor. I was privileged to enjoy his friendship, advice and teachings, which never failed even in times of trial and suffering&#8230;His magisterium and legacy will not be lost.” French President Emmanuel Macron&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1914234073406488855" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>: “From Buenos Aires to Rome, Pope Francis wanted the Church to bring joy and hope to the poorest of the poor. To unite people with one another and with nature. May this hope be resurrected unceasingly beyond him.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/sanchezcastejon/status/1914235723026231483" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">tweeted</a>&nbsp;Francis’ “commitment to peace, social justice and the most vulnerable leaves a profound legacy.”</p>



<p><em>This is a developing story.</em></p>


Pope Francis Leads Way Of The Cross On Rio’s Copacabana Beach

Pope Francis Has Died At 88, The Vatican Says


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Netflix had its best quarter ever, according to earnings results announced Thursday afternoon, setting the stakes for Netflix stock moving forward after it emerged as a perhaps surprising stock market safe haven during the recent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/14/trump-celebrates-last-weeks-largest-gain-in-stock-market-history-but-stocks-are-still-down-during-his-second-term/">slump</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>In its Q1 report released shortly after 4 p.m. EDT market close, Netflix reported its best-ever quarterly earnings per share and revenue numbers.</p>



<p>Netflix scored $6.61 EPS ($2.9 billion net income) and $10.54 billion last quarter, besting consensus analyst estimates calling for the entertainment titan to report $5.67 adjusted EPS ($2.5 billion net income) and $10.5 billion in sales, according to FactSet data.</p>



<p>The company said it expects $11 billion in sales and $7.03 EPS during the second quarter, topping top and bottom line forecasts of $10.9 billion and $6.25, respectively.</p>



<p>Shares of Netflix rose 1.2% to $973 on Thursday, surging another 3% in after-hours trading to nearly $1,000 per share.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-netflix-stock-emerges-as-a-potential-recession-winner">Netflix Stock Emerges As A Potential Recession Winner</h2>



<p>Netflix has emerged from the 2025 stock losses stronger, gaining 4% since April 2 and 9% year-to-date. That came as the S&amp;P 500 (down 6% since April 2, 10% year-to-date excluding dividends) and the Nasdaq (-7%, -15%) both pulled back as President Donald Trump’s trade war heightened recession concerns. Many analysts herald Netflix stock as a safe parking spot as economic slowdown fears swirl. “If a recession hits, we would expect Netflix subscribers to be sticky as Netflix is a stay-at-home cheap diversion, of the type that has held up well in past recessions,” Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett wrote in a Monday note to clients. “Amid recent market volatility, Netflix&#8217;s strong subscription model with critical entertainment (which historically has performed well in a recession) has made the stock a defensive choice for investors,” Bank of America analysts led by Jessica Reif Ehrlich concurred in a Tuesday note.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">Surprising Fact</h2>



<p>Netflix has far outperformed other members of the “FAANG” group, smashing returns this year from the other high-growth technology names: Facebook parent Meta (down 14% year-to-date excluding dividends), Amazon (-21%), Apple (-21%) and Google parent Alphabet (-19%). Netflix has also outperformed Disney (-23% year-to-date) and Max parent Warner Bros. Discovery (-23%), though audio streamer Spotify’s 29% gain this year tops Netflix’s.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">What To Watch For</h2>



<p>Fellow FAANG constituents Alphabet and Amazon will join Netflix in reporting Q1 earnings next week. Both West Coast titans will deliver results next Thursday.</p>


Video Streaming Platforms Stock Photos

Netflix Earnings: Record Profits And Sales Send Stock To Nearly $1,000


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>A bipartisan House panel released a report Wednesday accusing DeepSeek of posing a “profound threat” to U.S. national security, alleging the Chinese AI startup harvests user data on behalf of the Chinese government, as efforts to ban DeepSeek have escalated in recent months amid national security concerns.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>A&nbsp;<a href="https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/media/reports/deepseek-unmasked-exposing-ccps-latest-tool-spying-stealing-and-subverting-us-export" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party claims while DeepSeek “presents itself as just another AI chatbot,” the company “siphons” user data for the Chinese government and relies on stolen U.S. technology.</p>



<p>The House panel alleges DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng oversees the company in an “integrated ecosystem” with ties to a state-linked hardware distributor and the Chinese research institute Zhejiang Lab.</p>



<p>The panel’s&nbsp;<a href="https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/DeepSeek%20Final.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;cites testimony from OpenAI, which told the committee DeepSeek likely relied on “unlawful” techniques to train its AI models and alleged DeepSeek employees “circumvented guardrails” to accelerate development at lower costs, including using OpenAI’s model to help “transform training data.”</p>



<p>DeepSeek “covertly manipulates” search results to align with Chinese propaganda and relied on Nvidia chips that are restricted from export, the House panel claims, though Nvidia has denied this claim, telling&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/27/nvidia-calls-chinas-deepseek-r1-model-an-excellent-ai-advancement.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">CNBC</a>&nbsp;in January that DeepSeek used chips that are “fully export control compliant.”</p>



<p>Neither DeepSeek nor High-Flyer, the hedge fund that backs DeepSeek, immediately responded to requests for comment.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-deepseek-controlled-by-the-chinese-government">Is Deepseek Controlled By The Chinese Government?</h2>



<p>DeepSeek is a privately held company, but the startup and Liang have been embraced by the Chinese government, which is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/china-is-reshaping-not-choking-private-business-2024-10-30/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">usually essential</a>&nbsp;for private businesses to thrive under the country’s communist one-party rule. Liang was among several industry leaders to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-xi-attends-symposium-private-enterprises-delivers-speech-2025-02-17/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">meet with</a>&nbsp;Chinese President Xi Jinping in February, weeks after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/01/28/deepseek-liang-wenfeng-ai-technology/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">meeting</a>&nbsp;China’s Premier Li Qiang. A meeting with Xi marked an apparent approval for the company, as DeepSeek is used by some government offices in China, while Communist Party-backed committees and police departments train workers to use the app, the New York Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/business/china-government-deepseek.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reported</a>. The cybersecurity analysis firm Feroot Security&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/deepseek-china-generative-ai-internet-security-concerns-c52562f8c4760a81c4f76bc5fbdebad0" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told</a>&nbsp;the Associated Press that DeepSeek had hidden code that could send user login information to China Mobile, which the U.S. has&nbsp;<a href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-357372A1.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">banned</a>&nbsp;from operating in the states after citing ties between the company and the Chinese military.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-will-deepseek-be-banned-in-the-u-s">Will Deepseek Be Banned In The U.s.?</h2>



<p>The House panel did not recommend banning DeepSeek, and instead suggested the U.S. implement new export guardrails and prohibit the federal government from using China-based AI models. A bipartisan bill&nbsp;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1121" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">banning</a>&nbsp;DeepSeek from federal devices was introduced in the House in February, though it’s not immediately clear whether the measure will be backed by other lawmakers. Other U.S. agencies have restricted access to DeepSeek, including the U.S. Navy, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/us-navy-restricts-use-of-deepseek-ai-imperative-to-avoid-using.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">cited</a>&nbsp;“potential security and ethical concerns” linked to the app, and NASA, whose chief AI officer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/31/nasa-becomes-latest-federal-agency-to-block-chinas-deepseek.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reportedly</a>&nbsp;expressed national security concerns. Australia banned DeepSeek from government devices, claiming the app posed an “unacceptable risk” to national security, while officials in&nbsp;<a href="https://garanteprivacy.it/home/docweb/-/docweb-display/docweb/10097450#english" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Italy</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/china/2025/02/03/china-taiwan-deep-seek-ban/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Taiwan</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/south-koreas-industry-ministry-temporarily-bans-access-deepseek-security-2025-02-05/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">South Korea</a>&nbsp;have also moved to ban DeepSeek from government devices.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>DeepSeek’s generative AI model quickly rose in popularity after its release in the U.S. in January. The company claimed its chatbot outpaced its competitors, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and industry analysts speculated DeepSeek ran at a fraction of the cost of its rivals. President Donald Trump called DeepSeek’s release a “wake-up call” for U.S. industries, after it sparked a widespread selloff at the U.S. stock market led by Nvidia’s single-day loss of nearly $600 billion. DeepSeek has drawn criticism over its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2025/01/27/does-deepseek-censor-its-answers-we-asked-5-questions-on-sensitive-china-topics/">refusal</a>&nbsp;to answer questions on some controversial topics involving China, including questions about China’s treatment of Uyghurs, Taiwan’s status with China and what happened at Tiananmen Square in 1989.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/02/06/deepseek-should-be-banned-from-federal-devices-lawmakers-urge-after-ai-chatbot-linked-to-banned-chinese-firm/">DeepSeek Should Be Banned From Federal Devices, Lawmakers Urge—After AI Chatbot Linked To Banned Chinese Firm</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/03/25/deepseek-launches-ai-model-upgrade-amid-openai-rivalry-heres-what-to-know/">DeekSeek Launches AI Model Upgrade Amid OpenAI Rivalry—Here’s What To Know</a>&nbsp;(<em>Forbes</em>)</p>



<p></p>


Newly Launched Chinese AI App DeepSeek Causes U.S. Tech Stocks To Tumble, Amid Its Rapid Rise To #1 In Apple’s App Store

China’s DeepSeek AI Poses ‘Profound Threat’ To National Security, House Report Claims


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>More than 45,000 Spotify users&nbsp;<a href="https://downdetector.com/status/spotify/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reported</a>&nbsp;the popular music streaming platform was down Wednesday morning, according to reports filed on DownDetector.com, prompting hundreds of social media users to cope with memes and panicked comments.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Spotify users began&nbsp;<a href="https://downdetector.com/status/spotify/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reporting issues</a>&nbsp;on DownDetector.com around 9 a.m. EST, with reports peaking at just before 9:30 a.m., as more than 45,000 users reported issues with the app.</p>



<p><a href="https://x.com/SpotifyStatus/status/1912487507616313838" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Spotify Status</a>, the company’s X account for server issues, acknowledged the possible outage in a post just before 9 a.m. EST: “We’re aware of some issues right now and are checking them out!”</p>



<p>Forbes has reached out to Spotify for comment.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Are Spotify Users Reacting To The Outage?</h2>



<p>More than 1,300 users flooded the comments section of Spotify’s DownDetector.com page in a panic, many of whom joked and commiserated about the temporary loss of the streaming platform. “It’s only been 10 minutes without Spotify, but it feels like an eternity,” one of the most-liked comments says, with the user adding they are “desperately trying to find something to occupy my mind, but nothing feels right.” “I don’t want to use YouTube for music,” another complained in an all-caps comment. Users also took to X to complain about the outage, where “Spotify’ is the No. 1 trend as of Wednesday morning. One user garnered thousands of likes on a post with a Spotify logo edited onto a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/musicstruggles1/status/1912486819553292340" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">headstone</a>, while another&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/graciem19999/status/1912494480831177036" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">joked</a>&nbsp;“the thoughts are getting in” without music.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Is Spotify Down—and When Will It Be Back?</h2>



<p>Spotify has not yet said when it expects server issues to be resolved. The company’s customer service X account,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/SpotifyCares/status/1912502365019656209" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Spotify Cares</a>, has responded to multiple users reporting issues Wednesday morning, stating its “developers are looking into this as we speak.”</p>


Music And Sound Streaming Platforms Stock Photos

Spotify Outage: Music Platform Appears To Be Down—And People Are Freaking Out


<p><strong>Elon Musk has long claimed civilization will collapse unless we raise the birth rate. Meanwhile, his “DOGE” group is slashing billions in funding for pregnant and nursing mothers and their children.</strong></p>



<p>When Sevonna Brown learned that Elon Musk’s quasi-governmental Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”) had ordered payment stopped on her $2 million plus NIH grant for maternal community healthcare, she started hitting the phones. She was to cease operations immediately, and there was a lot of work in progress that needed to be halted.</p>



<p>Women on their way to lactation appointments would have to turn around. Home visits helping pregnant and postpartum women with blood pressure spikes and suicidal ideation would be cancelled. Domestic violence shelters for pregnant women would likely shutter, she said, and deliveries of food and formula to new mothers and their babies would stop.</p>



<p>The network of services for mothers and children that she had spent more than a decade building was coming to a screeching halt. “The world has literally gone dark,” she said.</p>



<p>Brown is the founder of Sanctuary Medicine &amp; a cooperative member at Restore Forward in Brooklyn, NY. Her work supporting people through pregnancy and new parenthood was funded in part through the NY-CHAMP Maternal Health Research Center of Excellence, which lost support after DOGE cancelled more than $10 billion in grants from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>“We can’t claim to care about birthrates while defunding the very systems that make pregnancy, birth, and parenting safe.”Emilie Rodriguez, co-founder of The Bridge Directory</p>
</blockquote>



<p>Given Musk’s endless warnings that falling birthrates pose an existential threat to civilization, DOGE’s abrupt gutting of maternal health services is simultaneously ironic, and exactly what you’d expect from an effort whose&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/02/19/here-are-the-biggest-doge-hoaxes-and-inaccuracies-as-8-million-canceled-ice-contract-listed-at-8-billion/">blunders</a>&nbsp;may well&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/04/04/trumps-great-rehiring-over-26000-fired-by-doge-likely-to-return-so-far/">exceed</a>&nbsp;its claimed, but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/us/politics/doge-errors-funding-grants-claims.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">difficult to verify</a>, achievements. A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/all-elon-musk-children-and-mothers?srsltid=AfmBOoqnsSgo2mRPwXXhrkyTDlu1GyW7MlVV1kbzFf08aJ9YBrtudj8z" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">father to an estimated 14 children</a>, Musk has said he thinks “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/07/elon-musk-civilization-will-crumble-if-we-dont-have-more-children.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">civilization is going to crumble</a>” if women don’t have more babies. He has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/29/business/elon-musk-children-compound.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">offered his sperm</a>&nbsp;to acquaintances and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/elon-musk-tucker-carlson-fox-birth-control-abortion-1234717505/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">blamed birth control</a>&nbsp;for decreasing pregnancy rates. “It should be considered a national emergency to have kids,”&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1800318513502167246?lang=en" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">he wrote last summer</a>.</p>



<p>Musk has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-14/elon-musk-s-10m-texas-donation-funds-a-favorite-topic-of-his-fertility" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">donated</a>&nbsp;millions of dollars to fund research on fertility. But at this point, he has taken much more from pregnant women and new mothers than he has given. In February, DOGE&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/15/trump-medical-research-funding-maternal-mortality" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">threatened</a>&nbsp;a seven-year, $168 million NIH initiative to improve maternal health across the state of Michigan. It&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-administration-plans-to-freeze-family-planning-grants-541441be" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">suspended more than $27 million</a>&nbsp;in grants to women’s health centers,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.healthcare-brew.com/stories/2025/03/19/meet-two-former-federal-health-technologists-work-halted-doge" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">laid off</a>&nbsp;federal workers running programs for expecting mothers on Medicaid, and&nbsp;<a href="https://taggs.hhs.gov/Content/Data/HHS_Grants_Terminated.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">cancelled</a>&nbsp;$1.6 million in funding for maternal and postpartum care at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA.</p>



<p>“We can’t claim to care about birthrates while defunding the very systems that make pregnancy, birth, and parenting safe,” says Emilie Rodriguez. A medical anthropologist, doula, and co-founder of The Bridge Directory, a group of perinatal maternal healthcare providers, Rodriguez worked with Sevonna Brown on the CHAMP Center of Excellence grant.</p>



<p>The CHAMP Center’s grant focused on providing care to women who are Medicaid recipients. In New York City, Black women are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/07/nyregion/childbirth-maternal-mortality-black-women.html#:~:text=Semple%20were%20Black.,disparity%20than%20the%20national%20one." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">nine times as likely</a>&nbsp;to die in childbirth as their white counterparts. “New York City should be one of the safest places in the world to give birth—but for far too many Black and Brown women, it’s not,” said Victoria St. Clair, a doula and community member who helped administer the NY-CHAMP grant. “The numbers are painful, and the lived experiences behind them are even more so. Still, I want to be clear: no one should be afraid to become pregnant or start a family here … We believe every person deserves to bring life into this world without risking their own.”</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>“Anyone who’s had a kid, who’s gone through those early days of parenting, knows the terror of putting your baby to bed and waking up with a jolt asking, ‘are they still breathing?’”Leslie Root, Associate Director at the Colorado University Population Center</p>
</blockquote>



<p>Many of the DOGE cuts have been justified as part of an “anti-woke” agenda, which aims to cut medical care for traditionally underserved populations. “We got word that there were words we had to eliminate out of our grants – like, women, and Black, and undocumented, underserved, immigrants,” Rodriguez explained. “It’s not just censorship that’s at stake, it’s erasure,” she said.</p>



<p>Whatever their intent, the cuts are likely to worsen healthcare for mothers and children of all races and ethnicity, said Leslie Root, a professor at Colorado University and Associate Director at the school’s Population Center. Root pointed to a recently gutted team at NIH that, until recently, administered the long-standing Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) study. The team conducted tentpole research on the unexpected infant deaths previously known as SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome.</p>



<p>“Anyone who’s had a kid, who’s gone through those early days of parenting, knows the terror of putting your baby to bed and waking up with a jolt asking, ‘are they still breathing?’”</p>



<p>Donald Trump, like Elon Musk, has expressed a desire to help young Americans who want to start a family. “I’ll be known as the fertilization president,” he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdcs-ivf-team-gutted-even-trump-calls-fertilization-president-rcna199261" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;last week, as Musk’s DOGE&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7314743980062040065/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">cut funding</a>&nbsp;to the Health Resources Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health.</p>



<p>A recently departed staffer from the CDC described layoffs at a team in the Division of Reproductive Health working on a set of federal guidelines for the safe use of contraceptives — guidelines that are essential to ensuring safe pregnancies in women with conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, lupus and MS.</p>



<p>“The guidelines can be the difference between these women being able to safely start families or not, and in some cases even save their lives,” they said.</p>



<p>The DOGE cuts have also decimated programs for children’s health.&nbsp;<a href="https://taggs.hhs.gov/Content/Data/HHS_Grants_Terminated.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">It has terminated</a>&nbsp;more than $1 million in grant funding for a children’s behavioral health study in Massachusetts, more than $750,000 to treat kids with respiratory disease at the Seattle Children’s Hospital, more than $200,000 to treat children with skeletal problems at Boston Children’s Hospital, more than $1.6 million in treatment and prevention of HIV in children at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, almost another million in HIV treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and a whopping $<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-government-pulls-back-over-11-billion-funding-state-health-departments-2025-03-26/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">12&nbsp;<em>billion</em></a>&nbsp;in funding from state health departments, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/rfk-jr-vaccines-children-weakening-system-hhs-budget-cuts-rcna199188" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">$2 billion</a>&nbsp;earmarked for child vaccination programs. (Child vaccinations&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00862-1" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">have saved an estimated 154 million lives</a>&nbsp;over the past 50 years.)</p>



<p>People affected by the DOGE cuts may not recognize those offices’ names, Sevonna Brown said, but they’ll feel their impact nearly immediately. “The average pregnant mother sitting in a shelter does not know what HHS is, but she knows what her SNAP benefit is…she knows what her Medicaid card is.” (SNAP&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">helps</a>&nbsp;pregnant women and new mothers access food and formula, and Medicaid&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/program-information/medicaid-and-chip-enrollment-data/report-highlights" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">provides</a>&nbsp;health insurance to more than 70 million Americans each year.)</p>



<p>DOGE has billed itself as a way to cut fat from the federal government, saving taxpayers valuable cash. But Dr. Uma Reddy, who led NY-CHAMP’s work, said that the interventions carried out by her team probably saved taxpayers money. Helping women avoid mental and cardiovascular health crises avoids expensive care down the road, and saves women and their children from needless suffering.</p>



<p>In recent days, the DOGE cuts have rankled even conservatives and proponents of the Trump Administration&#8217;s agenda. Fox News commentator Jesse Waters&nbsp;<a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/fox-news-host-jesse-watters-194638205.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMprH-7pWhudv3V8tJLHcpYX9mk5WxDRKyCOOEzZnLsr-W2TxI8C7d2AE7M4UEY-U4QFKUfAV-1xaLuFAAk06IxDOIs1wB1x_IWggYYOf0l07zfNbwyF1R9lV0a-2f9toCMlwP4r2KO0ncNA6WgFO_hB7p8xiAGR0471iAOIqoLx" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">recently complained to viewers</a>&nbsp;of his primetime show that his mother was upset about the cuts, and that his sister — an employee at Johns Hopkins University — could be personally affected by them.</p>



<p>In the meantime, Sevonna Brown’s network of healthcare providers are trying to pick up the slack. “We’re taking food out of our own fridges. We’re sharing. We’re doing mutual aid. We have to show up for people, we can’t leave people alone. … We can’t leave a mom who can’t nurse or breastfeed without formula. We are making it happen, and that’s straining our families and our communities.&#8221;</p>


President Trump Attends UFC Title Fight

Elon Musk Wants To Raise The Birth Rate. He’s Cutting Medical Care For Mothers And Babies.


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>An all-female crew including pop star Katy Perry, broadcast journalist Gayle King and Jeff Bezos’s fiancée Lauren Sanchez will blast off to space in a livestreamed launch Monday morning on a flight manned by Blue Origin, marking the company’s latest star-studded trip that will take its crew on a brief trip into space.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Perry, King and Sanchez will be joined Monday by scientists Amanda Nguyen and Aisha Bowe, as well as independent film producer Kerianne Flynn, marking the first all-female space trip since 1963.</p>



<p>The mission will take flight on Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle, which has already carried several celebrities to space and can reportedly cost passengers millions.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">When Is The Blue Origin Launch And How Can I Watch It?</h2>



<p>Blue Origin is targeting 9:30 a.m. EST for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/missions/ns-31" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">launch</a>, though takeoff could be pushed back slightly due to weather-related or technology-related delays. Blue Origin began live coverage and a livestream of the launch on its social media&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/blueorigin/status/1910799194937290837" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">channels</a>&nbsp;and its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/missions/ns-31" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">website</a>&nbsp;earlier Monday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Why Are Katy Perry And Gayle King Going To Space?</h2>



<p>The space mission is the latest flight on Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle, which was created for commercial space flights and is a key figure in the growing, and costly, space tourism industry. In a cover story about the space mission, Perry told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a64341516/blue-origin-female-flight-crew-space-interview-2025/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Elle</a>&nbsp;she has “wanted to go to space for almost 20 years” and wanted to make space “glam.” She told the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/katy-perry-spaceflight-interview-ced939b06e1b8b82fa84fe3c2ce41ad9" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Associated Press</a>&nbsp;she has “always been interested in astrophysics and interested in astronomy and astrology and the stars,” adding she wants to “inspire young girls to go, ‘I’ll go to space in the future.’” The crew members told Elle they wanted to set an example for women in space exploration, citing statistics that only about 11% of all people to travel to&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/almost-90-of-astronauts-have-been-men-but-the-future-of-space-may-be-female-125644" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">space</a>&nbsp;have been women.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Long Is Blue Origin’s Space Mission—and Where Are They Going?</h2>



<p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-shepard-ns-31-mission" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">flight</a>&nbsp;is expected to last just 11 minutes. The spacecraft will take the crew about 62 miles past the Kármán line, which is the internationally recognized boundary of space. The crew will feel several minutes of weightlessness while in space before returning to Earth. There will not be any pilots on board, as the rocket is fully autonomous.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Which Celebrities Has Blue Origin Taken To Space?</h2>



<p>Bezos, the world’s second-richest person and the founder of Blue Origin, went to space on a New Shepard flight in July 2021, the spacecraft’s first mission with a crew. Bezos was joined by his brother, Mark Bezos, aviator Wally Funk and then-18-year-old Oliver Daemen. Daemen was selected to join the mission after crypto billionaire&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/justin-sun/">Justin Sun</a>&nbsp;won an auction for a whopping $28 million to join the crew, but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/07/15/blueoriginjeffbezos28millionauctionspace/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">deferred</a>&nbsp;his flight due to scheduling conflicts. Actor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/04/12/blue-origin-spaceflights-new-shepard-rocket/83007319007/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">William Shatner</a>&nbsp;flew to space on a New Shepard rocket in October 2021, becoming the oldest person to travel to space, while television host and former NFL player Michael Strahan participated in a New Shepard flight in December 2021.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Much Does A Blue Origin Flight Cost?</h2>



<p>Tickets for travel on Blue Origin’s flights can cost millions. To reserve a seat, customers must fill out a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.blueorigin.com/new-shepard/reserve-a-seat" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">form</a>&nbsp;on the company’s website that includes a deposit of $150,000. Coby Cotton, a YouTube star who co-founded the popular Dude Perfect channel, flew on a New Shepard rocket in August 2022, and&nbsp;<a href="https://qz.com/emails/space-business/1849365590/space-business-moondaos-golden-tickets" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Quartz reported</a>&nbsp;his seat cost $1.25 million. Blue Origin has not publicized how much it charges for space flights, though&nbsp;<a href="https://observer.com/2022/06/blue-origin-space-tourism-pricing-marketing/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Observer reported</a>&nbsp;the company has offered some flights at no cost, while charging others steeper prices. “It’s not about money; it’s about who you are, your social capital, whether you align with their launch purposes,” Roman Chiporukha, co-founder of SpaceVIP, which helps wealthy people book space trips, told Observer.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tangent</h2>



<p>The upcoming space flight has prompted mixed reactions. Actress&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2025/04/04/olivia-munn-blue-origin-space-comments/82851284007/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Olivia Munn</a>&nbsp;criticized the space trip in an appearance on “Today with Jenna &amp; Friends” last week, calling it “gluttonous.” “It&#8217;s so much money to go to space,” Munn said, adding there are “a lot of people who can&#8217;t even afford eggs.” Some social media users have reacted to the upcoming trip with concern. One&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@katyperrycrave/video/7489184745314716950?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">TikTok video</a>&nbsp;praising the space flight garnered 3 million likes, though many of the most-liked comments are from users stating they are anxious about the trip.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/04/12/blue-origin-spaceflights-new-shepard-rocket/83007319007/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">11 minutes with a window view of Earth: What to know about Blue Origin spaceflights</a>&nbsp;(USA TODAY)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/13/science/space/blue-origin-ticket-cost.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">How much does a ticket to space on New Shepard cost? Blue Origin isn’t saying.</a>&nbsp;(New York Times)</p>


11th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony – Arrivals

Katy Perry And Gayle King Head To Space Today: Why They’re Going And How To Watch


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports are even higher than the 125% rate initially announced, as the White House confirmed Thursday there’s now a 145% tariff on many goods from China—and higher in some cases.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Trump announced Wednesday he was imposing a 125% tariff on Chinese imports in response to Beijing retaliating against his tariffs, after previously ratcheting up his tariffs on the country to 104%.</p>



<p>In an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/modifying-reciprocal-tariff-rates-to-reflect-trading-partner-retaliation-and-alignment/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">executive order</a>&nbsp;published Thursday that codified that tariff increase, the White House said it was modifying previous executive orders on China to impose the 125% tariff rate.</p>



<p>That 125% tariff rate refers to this most recent round of tariffs rather than the tariff rate on Chinese goods overall, the White House confirmed Thursday, meaning that number does not include other tariffs that have previously been levied on China—most notably a 20% tariff that Trump levied because of China’s role in the fentanyl crisis.</p>



<p>That means a combined 145% tariff is now in place for many goods from China, though Trump’s more recent 125% tariff rate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/regulating-imports-with-a-reciprocal-tariff-to-rectify-trade-practices-that-contribute-to-large-and-persistent-annual-united-states-goods-trade-deficits/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">exempts</a>&nbsp;some categories of imports, like copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber articles, certain critical minerals, and energy and energy products.</p>



<p>The rate is even higher than 145% in some cases, as the White House confirmed to Forbes that&nbsp;<a href="https://usacustomsclearance.com/process/section-301-tariffs-a-comprehensive-guide/#:~:text=The%20Section%20301%20tariffs%20that,and%20plastics%2C%20and%20much%20more." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">other tariffs</a>&nbsp;on China Trump imposed during his first term also remain in place, such as those on electronics, furniture, machinery and plastics, which range between 7.5% to 25%.</p>



<p>While the stock market rallied Wednesday after Trump paused broader tariffs on foreign imports, registering&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/09/stocks-shoot-to-one-of-biggest-gains-everas-trump-announces-90-day-tariff-pause/">historic gains</a>, stocks have fallen Thursday amid the continued uncertainty over Trump’s trade war and tariffs on China, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping by nearly 1,500 points as of 12 p.m. EDT—which CNBC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/09/stock-market-today-live-updates.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">notes</a>&nbsp;wipes out half the gains it made Wednesday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-has-china-responded">How Has China Responded?</h2>



<p>China imposed 84% retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports on Wednesday, after the 104% additional rate took effect. That was before Trump hiked his tariffs up higher to 125% plus existing tariffs, however, and it’s unclear if Beijing could further raise its tariffs on the U.S. in response.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-tariffs-are-now-in-place">What Tariffs Are Now In Place?</h2>



<p>In addition to the tariffs on Chinese imports, the Trump administration has also kept in place a baseline 10% tariff on most foreign imports, even as it paused higher tariffs on many countries’ goods for 90 days while the White House negotiates with other countries. Tariffs also remain in place on goods from Canada and Mexico, as Trump has imposed tariffs of up to 25% on a range of goods from those countries that are not exempted under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Canada and Mexico are not subject to the blanket 10% rate Trump imposed Wednesday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-will-trump-and-china-negotiate-on-tariffs">Will Trump And China Negotiate On Tariffs?</h2>



<p>Neither China nor the U.S. has shown any sign of backing down on their steep tariffs as the trade war between the two countries has escalated, though Trump told reporters Wednesday he hopes Chinese President Xi Jinping will ultimately negotiate. “I think President Xi is a very smart guy, and I think we’ll end up making a very good deal for both [countries],” Trump said. “We’ll get a phone call at some point, and it’ll be off to the races.” Foreign policy experts have been less sure that China will ultimately back down, with Daniel Russel, vice president for international security and diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute, telling&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/09/trumps-tariffs-china-relations-00282822" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Politico</a>&nbsp;that Beijing has so far taken the approach to “stand firm, absorb pressure and let Trump overplay his hand.” “Beijing believes Trump sees concessions as a weakness, so giving ground only invites more pressure,” Russel said.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Trump’s tariffs fulfill a central campaign promise made by the president, who has repeatedly touted tariffs despite warnings from economists that imposing them would raise prices for U.S. consumers and harm the economy. Trump has long particularly focused his tariff efforts on China, launching a trade war against the country during his first term before making it one of the first targets of his tariff agenda after being inaugurated in January. The president has accused China of not doing enough to curb the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., and has more broadly targeted Chinese manufacturing, as he claims tariffs will help persuade companies to move manufacturing back to the U.S. China is the <a href="https://ustr.gov/countries-regions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">largest</a> exporter of goods in the world and has been the <a href="https://www.usitc.gov/research_and_analysis/tradeshifts/2023/us_trade_industry_sectors_and_selected_trading" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">second-biggest</a> source of imports to the U.S. behind Mexico, with the two countries trading approximately <a href="https://www.conference-board.org/research/global-economy-briefs/us-china-trade-war-escalates" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$582 billion</a> worth of goods in 2024.</p>


Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump Holds Election Night Event In West Palm Beach

Trump’s Tariffs On China Are Now At Least 145%, White House Confirms—Higher Than He Previously Claimed


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Luxury fashion firm Prada Group reached an agreement with Capri Holdings to acquire designer brand Versace in a deal valued at $1.38 billion, Prada&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pradagroup.com/en/news-media/press-releases-documents/2025/25-04-10-prada-group-versace.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;Thursday, after earlier reports indicated the two Italian fashion staples struggled to close the transaction as President Donald Trump’s tariffs roiled markets.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Prada will fund its acquisition of Versace, approved by both companies’ boards, with about $1.6 billion in new debt after borrowing more than $1 billion, Prada&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pradagroup.com/en/news-media/press-releases-documents/2025/25-04-10-prada-group-versace.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;Thursday.</p>



<p>Prada and Versace expect the transaction to close in the second half of the year, pending approval by regulators.</p>



<p>A deal between Prada and Versace was nearly derailed after Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners, requiring companies to start relying on higher costs to source raw materials as fears of a recession loomed, the Wall Street Journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/prada-deal-for-versace-at-risk-of-collapsing-with-market-in-turmoil-93a285fc" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reported</a>.</p>



<p>The value of Versace’s parent company, the New York-based Capri Holdings, fell to as low as $1.5 billion as Trump’s tariffs led to a historic selloff in the U.S. stock market, and Prada had negotiated the price to buy Versace down from $1.6 billion to just under $1.4 billion, people with direct knowledge of the talks&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/prada-deal-for-versace-at-risk-of-collapsing-with-market-in-turmoil-93a285fc" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told</a>&nbsp;the Financial Times.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



<p>Capri has tried to sell its business for years: A $8.5 billion deal to sell itself to Coach owner Tapestry&nbsp;<a href="https://www.capriholdings.com/news-releases/news-releases-details/2024/Capri-Holdings-Announces-Termination-of-Merger-With-Tapestry/default.aspx" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">fell through</a>&nbsp;in 2024 after the Federal Trade Commission successfully&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/24/business/tapestry-capri-merger-coach-versace.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">argued</a>&nbsp;the transaction would “substantially lessen competition” among luxury handbag makers.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Versace, founded in 1978 by Gianni Versace, was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/michael-kors-reaches-deal-to-buy-italian-fashion-house-versace-1537876642?mod=article_inline" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">acquired</a>&nbsp;by Capri Holdings—then known as Michael Kors—for $2.1 billion in 2018. That deal was reached under Donatella Versace, who succeeded her brother Gianni as the company’s chief creative officer after he died in 1997. Speculation of Versace’s latest acquisition efforts has swirled in recent months, including after Donatella Versace, 69,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/donatella_versace/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;ig_rid=d381e670-32df-45c2-90e4-b08e4822ba09" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">announced</a>&nbsp;she would step down from her role last month. Capri previously asked for more than $3 billion for Versace before Donatella’s absence impacted negotiations, the Financial Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b8a23686-e39a-4e4e-81c3-2cea135813e3" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reported</a>. Capri forecast a $810 million drop in revenue in its current fiscal year, down from $1 billion in 2024.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b8a23686-e39a-4e4e-81c3-2cea135813e3" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Prada Cuts Versace Purchase Price By $200 Million After Trump Tariffs</a>&nbsp;(<em>Financial Times</em>)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/donatella-versace-steps-head-versace-rcna196196" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Donatella Versace Steps Down As Head Of Versace</a>&nbsp;(<em>NBC News</em>)</p>


Prada SpA Moves Closer to Versace Deal for Up to 1.5 Billion

Prada Buys Versace For Nearly $1.4 Billion—After Trump’s Tariffs Almost Derailed Acquisition


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Stocks roared back to life Wednesday afternoon after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day delay on the most significant of his tariffs, just hours after the levies went into effect, sparking extensive&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/08/stocks-slide-again-as-tariff-losses-worsen-in-another-dow-down-8000-points-from-peak/">carnage</a>&nbsp;across financial markets.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>The S&amp;P 500, which follows 500 of the largest public American companies across industries, jumped almost 10% on the day, while the tech-concentrated Nasdaq soared 12% and the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 8%, or about 3,000 points.</p>



<p>Wednesday was a historically great day for stocks, as it marked the best percentage gain for the Dow since March 24, 2020, the S&amp;P since Oct. 28, 2008 and for the Nasdaq since Jan. 3, 2001, according to FactSet data.</p>



<p>It was by far the largest point gain for all three indexes in their five-decade-plus histories.</p>



<p>Trump said Wednesday afternoon he signed a 90-day pause on implementing the more than 10% tariffs on 75-plus countries, sending stocks badly battered by this trade policy soaring.</p>



<p>“BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well,” Trump posted to his Truth Social site shortly after market open, adding “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!”</p>



<p>Trump had shown no sign he’d reverse course on the tariffs, encouraging companies to simply move all operations to the U.S. in a morning social media&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114307832213562859" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">post</a>, and China dug in further in its resistance to Trump’s more than 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, slapping an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-09/china-raises-tariffs-on-us-goods-to-84-as-trade-rift-escalates" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">84%</a>&nbsp;levy on U.S. imports to the Asian country.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Stocks Surged The Most In The Tariff Pause Rebound?</h2>



<p>Nearly every stock surged on the tariff relief, as 484 of the S&amp;P’s 500 constituents were in the green, according to FactSet data. Companies considered most vulnerable in a recession benefited the most, as the S&amp;P’s information technology and consumer discretionary sectors jumped 11% and 12%, respectively. The most notable risers included tech giants, as shares of Amazon, Apple, Nvidia, Mera and Tesla all enjoyed more than 10% gains Wednesday. Delta Airlines, Expedia and United Airlines all ranked among the top 30 biggest gainers in the rally as the travel industry received a jolt.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Contra</h2>



<p>Tariffs have still wreaked havoc on equity valuations. The Dow is down 10%, or more than 4,000 points, from its December peak, the Nasdaq has lost 15% from its December high and the S&amp;P has fallen 11% from its February high.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Chief Critic</h2>



<p>“The tariff clouds parted for the first time today, but it’s too soon to know how sunny the skies will be tomorrow—or 90 days from now,” Daniel Skelly, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s head of market research and strategy, wrote in emailed comments.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What’s Happening In The Bond Market?</h2>



<p>After strengthening immediately after Trump’s announcement last week as investors fled stocks for assets perceived to be safer, U.S. government bonds joined in on the selloff. Yields for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note shot up 40 basis points from Monday to Wednesday afternoon, at 4.4%, reversing the initially lower yields<a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/us-10-year-yield-wont-dance-bessents-tune-mcgeever-2025-04-08/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">&nbsp;celebrated</a>&nbsp;by Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as a sign of cheaper borrowing costs to come. It was a “perfect storm of bad news” for U.S. bonds, remarked Lawrence Gillum, LPL Financial’s chief fixed income strategist. “Sticky inflation, a patient Fed, potential foreign buyer boycotts, hedge fund deleveraging, rebalancing out of bonds into cash, and an illiquid Treasury market are all reasons why Treasury yields continue to move higher,” Gillum explained. Higher yields mean less valuable bonds, as fixed income investors demand higher annual payouts to hold onto federal government debt. Yields were little changed amid the equity rally.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Jpmorgan Boss Jamie Dimon Warned Of Recession</h2>



<p>A<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/04/09/forbes-recession-tracker-recession-odds-spike-as-trumps-tariff-liberation-day-approaches/">&nbsp;recession</a>&nbsp;is the most “likely outcome” for the U.S., JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in a Wednesday interview with Fox Business’ “Mornings With Maria.” “Markets aren&#8217;t always right, but sometimes they&#8217;re right,” Dimon remarked about the pain seen across asset classes in recent days. “And I think this time they&#8217;re right because they&#8217;re pricing uncertainty at the macro level, uncertainty at the micro level, at the actual company level, and then how it affects consumer sentiment,” Dimon continued. In that interview, Dimon encouraged the Trump administration to lean into strengthening trade with allies in Europe and Asia: “I think the goal of this trade stuff should be to make Europe and our trading partners, Japan, Korea, Philippines, stronger, not weaker. Bring them closer.”</p>


Author: Forbes

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