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Musk $55.8 Bn Tesla Pay Deal Again Rejected By US Judge
Rtv News
03 Dec 2024, 09:55
Photo: AFP
A Delaware judge upheld her decision to reject Elon Musk's massive $55.8 billion compensation package at Tesla, denying an attempt to restore the pay deal through a shareholder vote on Monday (December 03).
In a court filing, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of Delaware's Court of Chancery ruled that Tesla's attempt to ratify Musk's compensation package through a June shareholder vote could not override her January decision striking down the package as excessive and unfair to shareholders.
Musk's attorneys attempted to reverse McCormick's January decision after the 2018 pay package was re-approved by 84% of shares not held by Musk or his brother, Kimbal Musk, in June.
But on Monday, that motion was denied. McCormick said that although the package was once again ratified by a majority of shareholders, that didn't mean Musk's record-breaking payday was in shareholders' best interests.
"The large and talented group of defense firms got creative with the ratification argument, but their unprecedented theories go against multiple strains of settled law," McCormick wrote in a scathing opinion.
Musk is not paid a cash salary or bonus for working at Tesla. Rather, Musk, one of the world's richest people, makes his money through lucrative packages of stock options that allow him to purchase millions of Tesla shares for a fraction of their market price.
McCormick agreed with the argument that the board is too close to Tesla's CEO, noting that even Musk admitted that he only "negotiated against himself" regarding his own compensation.
McCormick wrote in her opinion that while Musk is entitled to some form of compensation, the ultimate award was not fair to shareholders.
"There were undoubtedly a range of healthy amounts that the Board could have decided to pay Musk," she wrote. "Instead, the Board capitulated to Musk’s terms and then failed to prove that those terms were entirely fair."
At the time of the June shareholder vote, Tesla's board argued that it needed to keep Musk's pay package in place to keep the CEO fully engaged in running the company. Musk also holds leadership positions at SpaceX, Neuralink, the Boring Company, and X.
Musk's attention has recently been pulled toward Washington, as well. He bet big in the 2024 presidential election, donating millions of dollars to Donald Trump's campaign and joining him on the trail.
Earlier this month, Trump tapped Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, in the incoming administration. The group will be focused on slashing the federal budget as well as axing government regulations and staffing.
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Rolls-Royce Enters EV Market with High-End Electric “Spectre”
Rolls-Royce has launched its first all-electric vehicle, the “Spectre,” marking its entry into the electric car industry with a luxurious $420,000 price tag, placing it among the elite in EVs.
The Spectre is powered by two high-performance electric motors, delivering 577 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. Despite its size and weight, it accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.4 seconds, providing impressive power for a luxury EV.
It offers a range of around 266 miles per charge, with a particularly quiet ride—a unique touch compared to typical EV sounds under acceleration.
Engineered for smooth handling, the Spectre features cutting-edge steering and braking systems, rear-wheel steering, and a 360-degree camera for easy maneuvering.
Inside, it includes a top-tier infotainment system compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with a 16-speaker audio setup for an immersive experience.
Tesla Stock Extends Rally As Musk-Trump Alliance Fuels Gains
Tesla shares extended last week's sharp rally with a jump of over 8% on Monday, fueled by bets that the automaker would benefit from CEO Elon Musk's close ties with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
If gains hold, Tesla is expected to add nearly $87 billion to its value at $348.30. The stock has jumped nearly 28% since Trump's election victory was declared on Wednesday, surpassing $1 trillion in market value for the first time in two years. Tesla's year-to-date gains were just over 1% before Trump secured his second term at the White House.
Musk has been supporting Trump for months in the hopes that his close ties to the now President-elect would position his companies to benefit under the new administration, analysts have said. The billionaire contributed at least $119 million to a pro-Trump spending group, federal records show.
"As an 'efficiency Czar', Musk is likely to see this as an opportunity to sweep away red tape and streamline regulation", potentially helping his companies that are "at the forefront of technological innovation", said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Tesla's self-driving technology has been under scrutiny from safety regulators as Musk attempts to shift the company's focus towards autonomous driving and robotaxis.
In September, Trump said he would establish a government efficiency commission headed by Musk to cut federal spending.
Musk's potential influence in the government could be significant for his other ventures, such as the Starlink broadband system, owing to his role as a major contractor with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Streeter said claims of "preferential treatment" have the potential to end up in court, but given the litigation route is long and difficult, Musk's businesses have plenty of time to benefit.
Tesla shares extended last week's sharp rally with a jump of over 8% on Monday, fueled by bets of the automaker benefiting from CEO Elon Musk's close ties with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
At $348.30, Tesla is expected to add nearly $87 billion to its value if gains hold. The stock has jumped nearly 28% since Trump's election victory was declared on Wednesday, surpassing $1 trillion in market value for the first time in two years. Tesla's year-to-date gains were just over 1% before Trump secured his second term at the White House.
Musk has been supporting Trump for months in the hopes that his close ties to the now President-elect would position his companies to benefit under the new administration, analysts have said. The billionaire contributed at least $119 million to a pro-Trump spending group, federal records show.
"As an 'efficiency Czar', Musk is likely to see this as an opportunity to sweep away red tape and streamline regulation", potentially helping his companies that are "at the forefront of technological innovation", said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
From Tesla's electric vehicles to SpaceX rockets and Neuralink brain chips, Musk's business ventures depend heavily on government regulation, subsidies, or policy.
Tesla's self-driving technology has been under scrutiny from safety regulators as Musk attempts to shift the company's focus towards autonomous driving and robotaxis.
In September, Trump said he would establish a government efficiency commission headed by Musk to cut federal spending.
Musk's potential influence in the government could be significant for his other ventures, such as the Starlink broadband system, owing to his role as a major contractor with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Streeter said claims of "preferential treatment" have the potential to end up in court, but given the litigation route is long and difficult, Musk's businesses have plenty of time to benefit.
Trump has also vowed to pare back certain EV incentives of the Biden administration, but startups are likely to take a bigger hit than Tesla because of the automaker's heft in the market, analysts have said.
Source: Reuters
New AI Tool Uses Microorganisms to Track Recent Locations
Researchers have unveiled an innovative AI tool that can pinpoint recent locations by examining microorganisms collected from a person’s body. Published in Genome Biology and Evolution, the study shows that each environment hosts unique microbial communities, which act like "microscopic fingerprints" with distinct geographical signatures.
By analyzing these microbes, the tool can determine if someone has recently visited places like beaches, train stations, or parks.
Developed at Lund University in Sweden, this tool—unlike traditional GPS—relies on the Microbiome Geographic Population Structure (mGPS) model. It leverages AI to examine microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and algae, which differ by location and leave clues about where a person has been.
According to researcher Eran Elhaik, “By tracing where your microorganisms have been, we can track disease spread, identify infection sources, and even aid criminal investigations.”
To train the AI, scientists gathered extensive microbiome data from diverse environments, including urban and soil samples across 18 countries and marine samples from nine water bodies.
Remarkably, the mGPS tool accurately identified the city source for 92% of urban samples. It even distinguished samples from two Hong Kong subway stations only 564 feet apart, though accuracy was lower in London, potentially due to the Underground’s less maintained stations.
This advancement opens doors to applications in medicine, epidemiology, and forensics, with accuracy expected to improve as more data is gathered.
NVIDIA and SoftBank Conduct World’s First AI-Powered 5G Network Test
NVIDIA and SoftBank have achieved a telecom milestone by conducting the first-ever test of a 5G network driven by AI technology. This pioneering network, built to support AI-powered radio access (AI-RAN), is designed to facilitate high-speed applications, including remote vehicle control and advanced robotics.
For this project, NVIDIA developed its Blackwell chip specifically for SoftBank, now powering AI supercomputers. SoftBank has launched the initial outdoor testing setup in Fujisawa City, Japan, where NVIDIA’s GH200 Grace Hopper Superchip allows a single server to manage baseband processing for 20 5G cells, each with 100 MHz bandwidth.
Using the 4.9 GHz frequency band, the test reached impressive speeds of up to 1.4 Gbps. This trial marks a significant step toward AI-optimized 5G networks, paving the way for faster, more intelligent telecommunications in the future.
Reliance Chairman Ambani Could Bring Humanoid Robot Like Elon Musk
Mukesh Ambani-backed Addverb Technologies Ltd will introduce its first-ever humanoid robot in 2025, according to a Bloomberg report. These robots can do tasks relevant to industries such as fashion, retail, and energy.
This comes amid the introduction of such types of robots to help perform unimportant or time-consuming tasks by companies including Elon Musk's Tesla, Boston Dynamics, Agility Robotics, Figure AI, and some others including Chinese ones.
India and Asia's richest person Ambani entered this space to take on players from the US and China.
The Noida-based Addverb's humanoid robots can perform tasks relevant to industries such as fashion, retail, and energy, the report quoted CEO Sangeet Kumar as having said. However, prices along with specifics of actions the robots can perform haven't been mentioned.
Apart from Addverb, Ambani also backed Hanooman AI, which was launched by BharatGPT this year.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk unveiled the the new Robotaxis and Tesla Optimus during the "We, Robot" launch event, and said humanoid robots would soon hit the markets.
Tesla is expected to launch the Optimus humanoid robots at around $20,000-25,000, with them likely becoming common by 2040.
Addverb's Sangeet Kumar meanwhile said it would require "huge money" to build humanoids, but that his robots were ready to compete with global companies from the US, Europe, and China, despite China's robots being government-subsidized.
Elon Musk’s AI Chatbot ‘Grok’ Ignites Healthcare Innovation Debate
Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, is sparking widespread discussion in healthcare as users on X (formerly Twitter) experiment with its ability to analyze medical images like X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans. Musk has championed Grok’s potential in diagnosing diseases, emphasizing its promising early results and his plans to enhance its accuracy through user data. However, this approach has raised serious concerns about privacy, data security, and ethics.
Grok has been tested on conditions such as brain tumors and bone fractures, with mixed feedback. While some users praised its ability to identify tumors, others reported errors, like confusing a broken bone for a dislocation. Experts argue these inconsistencies highlight the challenges of adapting general AI systems for medical use.
Privacy concerns loom large. Unlike regulated healthcare providers, X isn’t subject to stringent laws like HIPAA. Although the platform claims not to sell user data, its policy of sharing data with related entities has raised alarms about how sensitive medical information might be handled.
While AI holds transformative potential for healthcare, experts stress the importance of thorough testing and user education. Sharing sensitive medical data with non-regulated platforms demands careful consideration to balance innovation with safety and privacy.
Internet to be Down for 3 Hours on Sunday
Internet services will be temporarily disrupted for 3 hours on Sunday (December 1) night due to maintenance to resolve faults in the country's first submarine cable system (SMW4) located in Cox's Bazar.
Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC (BSCPLC) announced this in a press release on Saturday (November 30).
It said that from 3 am on Monday (December 2) to 5:59 am, a total of 2 hours and 59 minutes, maintenance activities were undertaken by the consortium to resolve cable faults in the country's first submarine cable system (SMW4) installed in Cox's Bazar near Chennai Landing Station on the Chennai side and near Tuas Landing Station on the Singapore side.
During this time, services will be temporarily disrupted on the circuits connected to the Chennai route and Singapore route through SMW4.
Therefore, BSCPLC sincerely apologizes for the temporary inconvenience caused to customers.
