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Chinese investors own about .03 percent of America’s farmland, according to federal data. But their land purchasing is becoming a major issue as politicians at the state and federal level ramp up their fight against perceived threats from China.

In the past couple of months, lawmakers in more than two dozen states have passed or considered legislation restricting Chinese purchases of U.S. farmland. 

And former President Trump has promised that if he retakes the White House, he will ban Chinese investors from buying U.S. farmland and other critical infrastructure, and force sales of their current holdings. 

“China has been spending trillions of dollars to take over the crown jewels of the United States’s economy,” Trump said in a campaign video in January. 

“To protect our country, we need to enact aggressive new restrictions on Chinese ownership of any vital infrastructure in the United States, including energy, technology, telecommunications, farmland, natural resources, medical supplies and other strategic national assets.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed multiple bills this month that prohibit Chinese citizens from purchasing land in the state. Last month, the North Carolina House passed a bill that would ban the governments of “foreign adversaries” from purchasing agricultural land as well as any land within 25 miles of a military installation. And the Texas Senate passed a bill last month that would ban citizens of China from buying property, with certain exceptions. 

Lawmakers on the federal level are also pushing legislation to block China from buying farmland. A bipartisan group of senators have introduced a bill, known as the PASS act, that would prohibit nationals of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from buying U.S. agricultural land or investing in American agricultural businesses. 

Other legislation focuses specifically on the Chinese government. The House easily passed an amendment to the Republican’s energy bill in late March prohibiting the Chinese Communist Party from purchasing U.S. farmland or land used for renewable energy. The broader bill was dead on arrival in the Democrat-controlled Senate.  National security threat?

Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland has increased fivefold over the past decade, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data, from 69,000 acres in 2011 to almost 384,000 acres in 2021. That amounts to about 1 percent of the 3 percent of all U.S. farmland owned by foreign nationals. 

The rate of this increase has not been even. A large portion of the increase came from a single purchase in 2013, when the Chinese company WH Group bought Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the U.S. 

After that, the amount of U.S. farmland owned by Chinese investors remained largely stagnant until 2019. Chinese-owned farmland increased by more than 136 thousand acres between 2019 and 2021, but this was almost entirely from acquisitions by U.S. companies with Chinese shareholders.

The new Republican majority in the House of Representatives has sought to make China a central focus, creating a select committee on “strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.”

One of the Republicans on the committee, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), has repeatedly introduced legislation to prohibit the Chinese government from buying U.S. agricultural land. 

“I’ve always said that food security is literally national security,” Newhouse said at the committee’s first hearing in late February.

Former Trump national security adviser H.R. McMaster, who testified at the hearing, agreed that this issue is cause for concern. He said the Chinese government is engaging in a concerted effort to make U.S. agriculture dependent on China.

“I describe in my written testimony the three Cs of co-option, coercion and concealment,” he said. “Co-opt by trying to build dependencies from U.S. agriculture on the Chinese market. And then, hey, once your in, then to use that for coercive purposes.”

However, a 2021 analysis by the bipartisan Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) found that foreign purchases of U.S. agricultural land are not a major threat to U.S. food security.

“The United States currently produces more than enough food per capita, even after adjusting for food waste,” CSIS analysts Jamie Lutz and Caitlin Welsh wrote. “Food insecurity among U.S. families is primarily driven by poverty, not a lack of food.”

Newhouse’s press secretary, Mike Marinella, said in an interview that even though Chinese investors currently own only a small portion of American farmland, the U.S. should be concerned about what could happen in the future.

“We don’t want to have to buy our food from China,” Marinella said.

Another area of concern is Chinese land purchases near military infrastructure. In 2021, Texas lawmakers passed legislation to prohibit a company owned by a Chinese billionaire from building a wind farm on 15,000 acres of ranchland near a U.S. Air Force base. 

That same year, Chinese food manufacturer Fufeng Group purchased 300 acres of farmland near Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota to build a corn mill, which the Pentagon deemed a threat to national security. 

Eric Chutorash, the chief operating officer of Fufeng Group’s U.S. subsidiary, repeatedly denied that the plans posed a security risk, as the company is publicly traded and not affiliated with the Chinese government. In February, however, the Grand Forks City Council voted unanimously to block the project. Fueling anti-Asian sentiments

Some critics of efforts to limit Chinese purchases of U.S. farmland argue they could contribute to anti-Asian sentiments.

In a House Appropriations Committee hearing last year, Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) criticized an amendment from Newhouse to ban companies owned wholly or in part by the Chinese government from purchasing U.S. farmland. She said singling out China would “perpetuate already rising anti-Asian hate.”

“If the concern is about U.S. national security, other countries also should be included in this conversation,” Meng said.

Neysun Mahboubi, a research scholar at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Study of Contemporary China, said the hostile rhetoric toward China can be dangerous.

“[In] our American political culture, once we identify something as threatening, we’re not very good about talking about it in a nuanced and subtle way,” he said. Target removes some LGBTQ merchandise from stores after threats to workers Most Americans favor clean debt ceiling increase: poll

Mahboubi said it is important to discuss threats posed by China in a nuanced manner, especially given the high amount of trade the U.S. conducts with China. 

“We’re concerned about the implications for our food security of actions that China takes, [China could become] worried about what are the implications of their food security from actions that we take, until we’re locked in this sort of downward spiral,” Mahboubi said.

“I don’t think anyone can particularly anticipate how far it’s going to go or how damaging it could be.”

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Musk says Tesla is expanding Austin robotaxi service, adding Grok to cars

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Musk says Tesla is expanding Austin robotaxi service, adding Grok to cars

Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends an opening ceremony for Tesla China-made Model Y program in Shanghai, China, on Jan. 7, 2020.

Aly Song | Reuters

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company is expanding its robotaxi service area and bringing xAI’s Grok to vehicles as it rolled out a new iteration of the artificial intelligence chatbot.

Shares gained about 3%.

Musk said on X that Grok, his AI chatbot that praised Adolf Hitler and posted a barrage of antisemitic comments recently, will be available in Tesla vehicles “next week at the latest.”

xAI officially launched the Grok 4 update overnight as the company continued to face backlash for the vitriol written by the chatbot.

In response to a user post on his social media platform X, Musk said the company is expanding its Austin, Texas robotaxi service area this weekend. He also said Tesla is awaiting regulatory approval for a launch in the Bay Area “probably in a month or two.”

Read more CNBC tech news

The expansion of robotaxi and Grok integration comes at a fraught time for Musk and his empire.

Tesla set its annual shareholder meeting for Nov. 6, a Thursday filing showed. A group of investors recently called on the electric vehicle company to schedule the meeting.

Its last shareholder meeting was in June 2024, as Musk established himself as a major backer of President Donald Trump‘s reelection campaign. Musk later led the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE.

After stepping down from DOGE at the end of May, Musk has openly feuded with Trump on social media over the major tax bill, with the president suggesting the government look at cutting contracts for Musk’s companies.

Shares have tanked from their post-election high over investor concerns that the public fight could hamper Tesla. Slowing sales and rising competition also stifled some investor appetite.

Tesla shares fell Monday, with the company losing $68 billion in value after Musk continued to blast Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and said he was establishing his own political party, the “America Party.”

The world’s richest man suffered another blow Wednesday when Linda Yaccarino stepped down as CEO of his social media platform X, leaving the role after a turbulent two years for the company.

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The Hyundai IONIQ 6 N is here and it’s even better than expected

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The Hyundai IONIQ 6 N is here and it's even better than expected

The Hyundai IONIQ 6 N is finally here, and it delivers. Hyundai’s electric sports car is loaded with fun new features, a sleek design (including a massive rear wing), 641 horsepower, and much more.

Meet the Hyundai IONIQ 6 N

After teasing the new model for the first time last month, Hyundai created quite a buzz. Now, we are finally getting our first look at the upgraded high-performance EV.

Hyundai unveiled the new IONIQ 6 N at the famed Goodwood Festival of Speed on Thursday in West Sussex, England. The upgraded model follows Hyundai’s first high-performance EV, the IONIQ 5 N.

At the event, the company boasted that its new electric sports car marks “a pivotal milestone in Hyundai N’s electrification journey,” adding “Hyundai N is once again redefining the boundaries of high-performance electrification with the debut of the IONIQ 6 N.”

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The IONIQ 6 N delivers an impressive 641 horsepower (478 kW) and 77 Nm of torque, enabling a 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) sprint in just 3.2 seconds. Its top speed is about 160 mph (257 km/h).

Hyundai-IONIQ-6-N-EV
Hyundai IONIQ 6 N (Source: Hyundai)

That’s when using Hyundai’s Launch Control, one of the many performance features the new EV offers. Like its other N models, the IONIQ 6 is based on three pillars: Corner Rascal, Racetrack Capability, and, of course, an Everyday Sportscar.

Powered by two electric motors, a 223 hp (166 kW) at the front and another 378 hp (282 kW) motor at the rear, for a combined 600 hp (448 kW).

Hyundai-IONIQ-6-N-EV
Hyundai IONIQ 6 N (Source: Hyundai)

Redefining the EV driving experience

The upgraded IONIQ 6 “redefines the EV driving experience,” according to Hyundai, thanks to its advanced in-house vehicle control software.

Central to this is Hyundai’s N Active Sound + system, which mimics the feel and sound of a traditional engine. An added N e-Shift simulates shifting gears.

Hyundai-IONIQ-6-N-EV
Hyundai IONIQ 6 N interior (Source: Hyundai)

And that’s just the start. Other performance features, such as N Drift Optimizer, N Grin Boost, and N Torque Distribution, give you even more control over the vehicle while delivering increased power.

The IONIQ 6 N is powered by an 84 kWh battery, providing a WLTP range of up to 291 miles (469 km). However, EPA figures will be revealed closer to launch. Given the IONIQ 5 N has an EPA-estimated range of up to 221 miles, you can expect it to be slightly higher when it arrives.

With a 350 kW DC fast charger, Hyundai’s new performance EV can recharge from 10% to 80% in about 18 minutes.

With a length of 4,935 mm, a width of 1,940 mm, and a height of 1,495 mm, the IONIQ 6 N is about the size of the Porsche Taycan.

Hyundai will showcase the new high-performance EV during the hillclimb event alongside other models like the IONIQ 5 N, IONIQ 6 N Drift Spec, and IONIQ 6 N with N Performance parts. Hyundai promises each vehicle brings unique capabilities to the event, “guaranteeing a dynamic and thrilling on-track experience for all attendees.” Check back soon for more info.

What do you think of Hyundai’s new electric sports car? Would you buy one over the Porsche Taycan? Let us know in the comments.

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Elon Musk says Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles just after it went full Hitler

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Elon Musk says Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles just after it went full Hitler

Elon Musk said that Tesla owners will “soon” have access to Grok, a large language developed by Musk’s xAI startup, days after the AI started calling itself ‘MechaHitler’.

Yesterday, xAI launched Grok 4, the latest version of its large language model.

The new model is benchmarking very well, but that’s generally the case with the latest model to come out. It edges the latest models from Google and OpenAI on intelligence by a few points, but it falls behind on speed:

At the launch event, Musk announced that Grok will “soon” be integrated into Tesla vehicles.

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This is something that the CEO has been discussing since founding xAI, which has been controversial because Musk has also positioned Tesla to compete in the AI space. He even stepped down from his role at OpenAI due to a “conflict of interest with Tesla.”

The announcement of the imminent integration of Grok into Tesla vehicles comes just days after the language model went haywire on X and started praising Hitler, referring to itself as ‘MechaHitler’, and made several antisemitic comments.

xAI acknowledge the issue and put Grok on timeout while they fixed it:

We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts. Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X. xAI is training only truth-seeking and thanks to the millions of users on X, we are able to quickly identify and update the model where training could be improved.

The “bug” came just a few weeks after Musk stated that he was displeased with Grok supporting left-wing narratives, even though it didn’t say anything inncurate, and that he would update Grok to “fix” it.

Now, the large language model (LLM) is expected to power the new voice assistant inside Tesla vehicles.

LLMs are becoming quite common in cars, especially premium vehicles. Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and a few others have all integrated Chat-GPT in some models.

Many Chinese automakers have also developed their own and deployed them in cars, even entry-level ones.

Tesla is playing catch up on that front.

Electrek’s Take

As I have previously stated, I think Musk is setting up Tesla to invest or even merge with xAI at a ridiculous valuation – making Tesla shareholders virtually pay twice for Twitter, which is now part of xAI.

This is how he will be able to gain wider control over the company’s share.

Of course, it will be widely challenged in court. In fact, shareholders have already filed a lawsuit alleging that Musk was in breach of fiduciary duties to Tesla shareholders when he started xAI.

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