7th Viva Technology Conference In Paris - Day 3

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X’d AI

Tesla shareholders support Musk much more than Musk’s xAI

Many abstained from voting on xAI investment.

Tesla shareholders voted resoundingly in favor of CEO Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package last week, with nearly 70% voting in favor (75% of votes). Their enthusiasm for investment in Musk’s other company was much more muted: 38% voted in favor, 33% voted against, and a notable 17% of shareholders abstained from voting, according to recent filings.

Despite there being more votes cast in favor of the proposal, Tesla said its bylaws “generally consider abstention as votes against” so did not approve the measure, and “will examine next steps in light of these voting results (including the high number of abstentions).”

Tesla’s board itself abstained from making a recommendation on the xAI proposal to avoid “related party” conflicts, as Musk is the head of both companies. Tesla Board Chair Robyn Denholm recently told The Wall Street Journal that the board “hadn’t previously looked into xAI’s financials or done any of the due diligence required to make an investment.”

The shareholder proposal had argued that xAI’s AI expertise would complement Tesla’s autonomous driving and robotics endeavors, and would give Tesla investors a stake “in a major AI player, potentially yielding significant financial returns while fostering technological advancements that benefit Tesla’s customers and shareholders.”

In July, Musk posted, “It’s not up to me. If it was up to me, Tesla would have invested in xAI long ago.”

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said in a note Monday that the vote was a missed opportunity.

“We don’t think investors understand just how important xAI is to Tesla and the broader Muskonomy,” Jonas wrote. “Tesla’s relationship with xAI (financially and strategically) is deterministic to the long-term success of Tesla due in part to the natural synergies of data, software, hardware and manufacturing in recursive loops.” He added, “The values (and value systems) of both Tesla and xAI are endowed by the values of their shared creator. We believe this co-determination becomes more obvious in the next phases of physical AI/autonomy for Tesla in the year ahead.”

1.6M

Rani Molla3h

Chinese EV maker and Tesla competitor BYD could sell up to 1.6 million vehicles abroad next year, according to a new report by Citi published by Reuters. That’s potentially 60% more than the roughly 1 million vehicles BYD is expected to sell outside China this year. That’s also the same number analysts polled by FactSet expect Tesla to sell in total in 2025.

Rani Molla5h

Apple reportedly considers adding additional camera to iPhone Air and pushing next release to 2027

Apple is delaying its next iPhone Air to the spring of 2027, from the fall of 2026, as it potentially rejiggers the model to include a second camera lens, according to The Information. Consumers have largely overlooked Apple’s latest, thinnest phone, choosing instead to buy the standard and Pro models, thanks in part to the Air’s single camera and relatively weak battery life. The preference caused Apple to greatly scale back production for its Air model.

Apple Explores Adding Second Camera to Next iPhone Air to Boost Sales

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Meta falls on report that Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun is leaving to found his own startup

Meta’s chief artificial intelligence scientist, Yann LeCun, is leaving to found his own startup, the Financial Times reports, sending the stock down more than 1% premarket.

Tensions have emerged between the new guard (headed by 28-year-old college dropout Alexandr Wang) and existing AI teams (headed by LeCun) at the company, as Meta pours billions into achieving “superintelligence,” a type of artificial general intelligence (AGI) that’s smarter than humans. LeCun now reports to Wang. Meanwhile, LeCun, who has been working on a more humanlike vision for AI, doesn’t believe large language models are a viable path to AGI.

LeCun, considered one of the pioneers of modern AI, will leave Meta in the “coming months,” according to the FT, and is in “early talks to raise funds for a new venture.”

Rani Molla22h

Apple delays release of next iPhone Air as consumers greatly prefer the standard and Pro models

When Apple releases its iPhone 18 next year, there will be a Pro model and a foldable model, but no iPhone Air, The Information reports. That’s because demand for the newest, thinnest iPhone has been exceptionally low even as iPhones generally have sold above expectations. Indeed, Apple notched an iPhone revenue record for the September quarter.

While the company had set aside only 10% of its manufacturing capacity for the iPhone Air, even that portion has remained unsold, The Information reports. Meanwhile, early sales of the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro have handily beaten last year’s version, and have been driving overall iPhone sales. Nikkei Asia previously reported that Apple was “drastically” cutting back manufacturing of the iPhone Air “end of production” levels. A KeyBanc survey also recently found “virtually no demand for iPhone Air,” which people have criticized for its lower battery life among other compromises for its small size.

As of yet, there’s no new release date for the next iPhone Air, but Apple has yet to explicitly cancel it.

Apple Delays Release of Next iPhone Air Amid Weak Sales

As of yet, there’s no new release date for the next iPhone Air, but Apple has yet to explicitly cancel it.

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Tesla’s China sales hit three-year low

Tesla sold just 26,000 vehicles in China last month, down 36% from the more than 40,000 it sold in October 2024 and the lowest it’s been since November 2022. China is Tesla’s second-biggest market after the US, where sales are expected to fall following the end of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit. Sales also fell in a number of countries in its third-biggest market, Europe, in October.

In China, Tesla faces increased competition from companies like BYD and XPeng, which is also getting into the robotaxi and robot markets. Notably, China also saw lower car sales overall in October amid weaker consumer sentiment.

Fortunately for Tesla, which is now focusing more on its robot, autonomous taxi, and AI goals, analysts are also placing less of an emphasis on its car business.

Tesla retail sales in China hit 3-year low in Oct