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Security gate outside the Tesla Motors Gigafactory site east of Reno, Nevada.

David Calvert | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Tesla has informed workers at its battery factory in Sparks, Nevada, that some set-rate hourly workers there will see pay increases around 10% starting in early January 2024.

According to internal materials seen by CNBC, and workers at the plant who were informed of “cost of living adjustments,” Tesla will bump hourly workers from $20 to $22 an hour on the low end, and from $30.65 up to $34.50 an hour on the high end. It’s also streamlining some levels, so that several levels of worker making between $26.20 and $30.65 an hour today will be adjusted to $34.50 an hour, for instance.

The adjustments also represent a 10% or greater raise for most hourly workers, adding anywhere from $2 to $8.30 an hour to their pay.

The pay increases may help Tesla stave off workers’ interest in forming a union and pushing for a collective agreement in Nevada. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the raises.

The United Auto Workers won record contracts after contentious negotiations and U.S. labor strikes with General MotorsFord Motor and Chrysler-parent Stellantis earlier this year. As CNBC previously reported, UAW President Shawn Fain repeatedly said he plans to take that fight from Detroit automakers to TeslaToyota Motor and other non-unionized automakers operating in the U.S.

In late October, workers at Tesla service and collision repair centers in Sweden touched off a labor strike that has now spread to Denmark, Finland and Norway and includes workers involved in shipping, waste management and providing other services to Tesla. In recent weeks, one of Denmark’s largest pension funds announced that it would sell its holdings of Tesla stock over the U.S. giant’s refusal to enter into agreements with labor unions.

The EV maker’s promise of a significant cost of living adjustment for workers at the Nevada Gigafactory also comes as Tesla faces increased competition for talent, and as CEO Elon Musk touches off one controversy after another via public speaking engagements and posts on X, formerly Twitter, the social media platform he acquired late last year.

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Crypto stocks tumble on Tuesday as investors go into risk-off mode

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Crypto stocks tumble on Tuesday as investors go into risk-off mode

The Coinbase logo is displayed on a mobile phone screen with stock market percentages in the background.

Idrees Abbas | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Crypto stocks suffered on Tuesday as investors fled tech stocks and riskier corners of the market.

Among crypto exchanges, Coinbase and eToro fell more than 5% each, while Robinhood and Bullish both dropped more than 6%. Crypto financial services firm Galaxy Digital dropped 11%. In the burgeoning sector of crypto treasury firms, Strategy lost 7%, SharpLink Gaming slid 8%, Bitmine Immersion slumped 12% and DeFi Development tumbled 15%. Stablecoin issuer Circle lost 5%.

Meanwhile, the price of bitcoin pulled back nearly 3% to just over $113,000. Ether was down more than 4% to the $4,100 level, according to Coin Metrics.

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Bitcoin over the past day

Investors appeared to rotate out of tech names on Tuesday. The sector had seen a boost last week as traders weighed the prospect of more interest rate cuts. Also, bitcoin touched an intraday all-time high near $125,000 last week.

On Tuesday, the Nasdaq Composite was down more than 1%, weighed down by declines in Nvidia and other tech heavyweights.

The crypto market tends to be vulnerable to moves in tech stocks due to their growth-oriented investor base, narrative-driven price action, speculative nature and tendency to thrive in low-interest rate environments.

This week, investors are watching the Federal Reserve’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo. for clues around what could happen at the central bank’s remaining policy meetings this year. If Fed Chair Jerome Powell signals more dovish policy could be ahead, crypto may bounce.

“With Powell speaking at Jackson Hole, we typically see profit-taking ahead of his remarks,” said Satraj Bambra, CEO of hybrid exchange Rails. “Any time there’s communication uncertainty from the Fed, you can generally expect some profit-taking as traders de-risk their positions.”

Crypto stocks have had a solid run in recent months — thanks to the addition of Coinbase in the benchmark S&P 500 index, the successful IPO of Circle and the GENIUS Act stablecoin framework becoming law. However, investors expect a pullback in August and through the September Fed meeting, where they hope to see central bank policymakers implement rate cuts.

Don’t miss these cryptocurrency insights from CNBC Pro:

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Lutnick says Intel has to give government equity in return for CHIPS Act funds

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Lutnick says Intel has to give government equity in return for CHIPS Act funds

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick: Intel has to give gov. equity in return for CHIPS funding

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday that Intel must give the U.S. government an equity stake in the company in return for CHIPS Act funds.

“We should get an equity stake for our money,” Lutnick said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “So we’ll deliver the money, which was already committed under the Biden administration. We’ll get equity in return for it.”

Shares of the struggling chipmaker climbed 7% Tuesday, continuing to rally on recent reports that the Trump administration is weighing different ways to get involved with the company.

Bloomberg reported Monday that the White House was discussing a 10% stake in Intel, in a deal that could see the U.S. government become the chipmaker’s largest shareholder.

Intel and SoftBank announced on Monday that the Japanese conglomerate will make a $2 billion investment in the chipmaker. The investment, equal to about 2% of Intel, makes SoftBank the fifth-biggest shareholder, according to FactSet.

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Lutnick said any potential arrangement wouldn’t provide the government with voting or governance rights in Intel.

“It’s not governance, we’re just converting what was a grant under Biden into equity for the Trump administration, for the American people,” Lutnick said. “Non-voting.”

Intel declined to comment.

Lutnick also suggested that President Donald Trump could seek out similar deals with other CHIPS recipients.

Intel said last fall that it had finalized a nearly $8 billion grant from the law to build its factories. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. was awarded $6.6 billion under the legislation to boost chip fabrication at its Arizona facilities.

US President Joe Biden, second left, tours the site of the new Intel semiconductor manufacturing facility near New Albany, Ohio, US, on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022.

Gaelen Morse | Bloomberg | Getty Images

‘Silicon Heartland’

Trump has called for more reshoring of U.S. manufacturing to reduce the country’s reliance on companies like Samsung and TSMC to manufacture chips.

Intel has been spending billions near Columbus, Ohio, to build a series of chip factories that the company previously called the “Silicon Heartland.” Intel has said that the factory complex would be able to produce the most advanced chips, including AI chips.

But in July, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in a memo to employees that there would be “no more blank checks,” and that it was slowing down the construction of its Ohio factory complex, depending on market conditions.

The first factory is now scheduled to start operations in 2030.

The Ohio factory was one of the most public projects funded by the CHIPS and Science Act, which became law in 2022. The law committed the U.S. government to fund chip development and research and was estimated to cost about $53 billion.

“The Biden administration literally was giving Intel for free, and giving TSMC money for free, and all these companies just giving them money for free,” Lutnick said. “Donald Trump turns that into saying, ‘Hey, we want equity for the money. If we’re going to give you the money, we want a piece of the action.’ “

Intel has struggled to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom in advanced semiconductors and has spent heavily to stand up a manufacturing business that’s yet to secure a significant customer. Intel tapped Lip-Bu Tan to be its CEO in March after his predecessor, Pat Gelsinger, was ousted in December.

Tan met with Trump at the White House last week after the president called for his resignation, alleging he had ties to China.

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Intel 5-day stock chart.

— CNBC’s Kif Leswing contributed to this report.

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Apple reportedly ups iPhone production in India as country’s Russia ties roil White House

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Apple reportedly ups iPhone production in India as country's Russia ties roil White House

Treasury Secretary Bessent: India is profiteering from Russian oil

Apple has reportedly boosted iPhone production in India as the country faces pressure from the White House over its Russian oil purchases.

“We have planned to up the tariffs on India,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday. “These are secondary tariffs for buying the sanctioned Russian oil.”

Bessent accused India of “profiteering” by purchasing cheap Russian oil and reselling it during the Ukraine war, “which is unacceptable.”

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on India to 50%. The president said in July that he would impose secondary tariffs “at about 100%” on Russia’s trading partners if a peace deal isn’t reached with Ukraine by September.

His comments came as Bloomberg reported that technology giant Apple has reportedly upped production at five of its factories in India as it readies for the launch of its new iPhone 17 models.

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The expansion includes some new plants and factories belonging to the Tata Group and contract electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology, according to the report, citing people familiar with the matter. Apple is also looking to create a new iPhone 17e in India next year, according to the report.

In recent years, Apple has shifted more production to India as it looks to reduce its reliance on China, especially in the wake of recent trade tensions.

Data from Canalys in May estimated that iPhone shipments from India to the U.S. grew 76% in May as trade restrictions loomed.

At the same time, Apple has committed to investing over $600 billion in the U.S. over the next four years to improve American manufacturing production.

That includes a $100 billion spending expansion this month, which included a $2.5 billion investment to expand iPhone glass maker Corning’s production.

This commitment to building in the U.S. should put Apple in the clear on India-related tariffs.

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