Business

Elon Musk (probably) got a big raise

Maybe if he reivests it all into Twitter we can see likes again. After a shareholders meeting late last week, Tesla investors re-approved a $56 billion pay package for Elon Musk in a landslide vote, handing a big victory to Musk and the EV company’s board.

• In a regulatory filing, Tesla said 72% of shareholders voted in favor of awarding the CEO stock options. Musk later thanked investors on X for their support.

The company’s investors also agreed to move Tesla’s incorporation to Texas from Delaware, according to paperwork filed with the Texas secretary of state’s office, bringing its legal home and its physical headquarters to one state.

How’d we get here?

Despite the fact that Tesla's shareholders had approved Musk's payment package back in 2018, a Delaware judge revoked it in January, saying that Musk had an undue influence and the board had conflicts of interest.

• The judge will hear final arguments on July 8th and issue a ruling.

• If the decision isn’t in Tesla’s favor, Musk will then have a month to appeal the decision to the Delaware Supreme Court.

However, since the company met predetermined revenue and profit benchmarks, Musk was able to obtain options on around 300 million shares, which are currently valued at around $56 billion.

The vote is more symbolic than practical: While shareholder approval may help Tesla get an appeal, it cannot reverse the judge’s January decision regarding the case, according to some legal experts.

Before the Tesla CEO gets his money, the Delaware judge or an appeals court will likely get the final say.

Southwest might have a shakeup

As the budget airline struggles, an activist investor firm is calling for big changes. In a letter demanding a complete leadership change, activist investor hedge fund Elliott Management, which has built a $2 billion stake in the company, berated the failing airline for its "stubborn unwillingness" to modernize its "antiquated operations." Sheesh.

After Elliot’s announcement, the airline’s stock soared to its biggest single-day gain in four years (that has since settled), as investors cling to hope amid a regrettable stretch of underperformance.

Airline inadequacies

In the past three years, Southwest’s share price has split in two for a vast amount of reasons. Increasingly vigorous competition, lackluster technology, and a reliance on the problematic Boeing 737 planes have all attributed to its decline.

Not to mention, Southwest has had a problematic run that has hindered its popularity:

• In the holiday season of 2022, the airline had to void around 17,000 flights, which cost the company more than $1 billion along with a $140 million fine from the Department of Transportation.

• Southwest has also been heavily impacted by Boeing’s continuing struggles and is on track to obtain far less planes than they hoped, which will restrict expansion more than that it already has been.

Both incidents involved Boeing 737 planes, and no one was injured in either incident. However, Boeing is now being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration over the issues.

Elliot’s plan

The firm said Southwest’s stock could skyrocket 77% in a year if it does three things:

1. Fire the CEO and chairman and bring in people outside of the company instead.

   • Southwest CEO Bob Jordan recently said he has “no plans to resign”, but will “sit down and listen to [Elliot].”

2. Replace the board of directors with industry veterans that have concrete experience.

   • The board recently said it was “confident” in the company’s leadership. So far there has been no word from the company on replacements.

3. Prioritize the airline’s focus on monetization and modernization.

   • Southwest reported a loss of $231 million in Q1 of 2024 and it expects to lose 2,000 employees by the end of the year.

Southwest’s financial stability is still up in the air, and whether they choose to intrigue Elliot’s plans for the company remains to be seen. However, one thing is certain: the airline needs to find a way to compete soon or it risks flying all the way to obscurity.

Grab Bag

The pope might be the newest AI savant

The G7 summit is usually talked about because of interesting agreements or the rather strange group photo. But this year, it’s about the Pope. On Friday, Pope Francis spoke at the G7 Summit in Italy about religious values artificial intelligence. Yes, the Pope was lecturing world leaders on AI.

Francis was the first pontiff to address the Summit, and warned the leaders about the dangers of AI and how protocols must be put in place to guard against it in a special session.

Why the Pope?

The Vatican, which happens to have an AI expert employed (yes, I’m serious), and Pope Francis have been critical on AI for a long time. Last year, Francis gave an address on AI advocating for ethical use and development of the technology in an international agreement.

The "Rome Call for AI Ethics," which the Vatican itself created in 2020, is a set of recommendations for AI creation that have been signed by a number of religious leaders, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco Systems, and Italy's innovation ministry.

This could bring some bonus points to the Catholic Church

Pope Francis reportedly used an Italian slur directed towards gay men during a private meeting for the second time this week, according to Italian news outlets. Francis has previously apologized for using the same slur two weeks ago (see video).

The controversy brought criticism to the Vatican, and they’re looking for a way to get some moral standing back, especially considering Francis is acting as an “ethical voice” regarding the use of AI.

The church isn’t the only one with something to gain: Tech companies, who don’t really have the best public image right now, are looking to endorse religious leaders like Francis to assist with that. AI itself also needs a little PR help, as people are increasingly suspect that it could replace certain industries.

Ever wanted to swim in an NFL stadium?

Well, you can… if you’re swimming in the Olympic Trials. The Olympic Swimming Trials go through the 23rd and are being hosted at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to see who will be making the trip to Paris for the real deal this summer.

The main attraction of USA Swimming is bringing larger and larger crowds that exceed the capacity of actual swimming venues. This is the first time a major swimming competition will take place in an American football stadium.

Building it was quite the task

With only a month to convert the football stadium into a watery paradise for Olympic candidates, Myrtha, an Italian pool manufacturer, collaborated with local construction partners to take on the gargantuan project.

• The main 10-lane racing pool was installed where the football field typically is, and an advanced filtration system was also constructed.

• The venue also boasts an 18-lane warmup pool, which is the largest warmup pool ever constructed for any competition anywhere in the world.

  • The two pools were filled with fire hydrants, which took 13 hours to amass the 2 million gallons of water needed.

• The arena also added a nearly 70-foot-tall replica of the Eiffel tower, in case the swimmers forgot the summer Olympics will take place in Paris.

The first day of the event, which started on June 15th, set an attendance record, with over 20,000 attendees. The organization expected 16,000 people to come watch, which still would’ve been a record.

Mayor Joe Hogsett expects the trials to bring in over $100 million in revenue to the local community and over 250,000 fans to visit Indianapolis.

Fast Facts

Easy Employment: Wells Fargo fired more than a dozen employees for allegedly “creating [the] impression of active work” by using fake keyboard activity, according to a regulatory filing reported on by Bloomberg.

Prostate Procedure: A Chinese doctor performed surgery and removed a lesion from a patient’s prostate with a robot from 5,000 miles away.

Stimulant Stream:  Brown trout have been reportedly getting addicted to methamphetamines and European perch are becoming less afraid of predators because they’re ingesting SSRIs due to pharmaceutical drug pollution.

Fire Frenzy: A wildfire north of Los Angeles forced the evacuation of at least 1,200 people and grew to more than 16 square miles on Sunday.

Rubik's Robot: This robot solved a Rubik’s Cube in less than half-a-second.