A delegate arrives at the King Abdulaziz Conference Centre in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh to attend the Future Investment Initiative (FII) forum.
Fayez Nureldine | Afp | Getty Images
Thousands of financiers, founders and investors are set to descend on the Saudi capital of Riyadh for the eighth edition of the kingdom’s Future Investment Initiative, the flagship economic conference at the heart of Vision 2030 — the multi-trillion dollar plan to modernize and diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy.
Described in past years by some attendees as a bonanza for Saudi cash, fund managers who spoke to CNBC this year draw a distinctly different picture as the kingdom simultaneously upholds more requirements for prospective fundraisers and investors, while also facing a revenue crunch amid lower oil prices and production.
“Without question, it’s gotten way more competitive to attract money from the kingdom,” Omar Yacoub, a partner at U.S.-based investment firm ABS Global, which manages nearly $8 billion in assets, told CNBC. “Everyone and anyone has been going to ‘kiss the rings,’ so to speak, in Riyadh.”
“Competition for capital has heated up, combined with other factors such as Saudis always having a ‘home bias’ towards investing, plus the broader dynamic of a tighter budget throughout the kingdom due to lower oil prices,” Yacoub said. “This has meant that investing internationally has become much more selective.”
As Saudi Arabia moves full steam ahead with its focus on domestic investment, it’s introduced more stringent conditions for foreigners coming to the kingdom to take capital elsewhere. The kingdom’s $925 billion sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, saw its assets jump 29% to 2.87 trillion Saudi riyals ($765.2 billion) in 2023 — and local investment was a major driver.
Saudi Arabia’s recently-updated Investment Law seeks to attract more foreign investment as well — and it’s set itself a lofty target of $100 billion in annual foreign direct investment by 2030. Currently, that figure is still a long way from that goal as foreign investment has averaged around $12 billion per year since Vision 2030 was announced in 2017.
“It’s no longer about ‘take our money and leave’ — it’s about adding value,” said Fadi Arbid, founding partner and chief investment officer of Dubai-based investment manager Amwal Capital Partners. “Value meaning hiring, developing the asset management ecosystem, creating new products, bringing in talent, and investing in Saudi capital markets also. So it’s multi-faceted investment, not only a pure financial transaction. It’s beyond that.”
‘More disciplined, more rational’
At the same time, the kingdom is taking clear steps to scale back spending, as oil prices fall well below its fiscal breakeven figure and it continues with crude production cuts agreed upon by OPEC+.
That fiscal breakeven oil price — what the kingdom needs a barrel of crude to cost in order to balance its government budget — has risen sharply as Saudi Arabia pours trillions of dollars into giga-project NEOM.
The IMF’s latest forecast in April, put that breakeven figure at $96.20 for 2024; a roughly 19% increase on the year before, and about 28% higher than the current price of a barrel of Brent crude, which was trading at around $72.75 as of Monday morning.
“I don’t think Saudi has the same means that they had literally two years ago,” one regional investor, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely, said. Nonetheless, they added, the kingdom “remains one of the very few countries that still have money to give. It might be somewhat on pause today, but … now it’s more disciplined, more rational.”
Some fund managers with years of experience in the Gulf suggested it may be too little too late for many of the investors making their first forays to the kingdom.
“You should have started that process two, three, four years ago,” Arbid said. However, he added, “For those that are coming in queue now, that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t position — because it’s a cycle, right? But now, I think they’re more deliberate about it — they say you need to commit to the country.”
One example is the kingdom’s headquarters law, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, and requires foreign companies operating in the Gulf to base their Middle Eastern HQ offices in Riyadh if they want contracts with the Saudi government.
In the shadow of regional war
The glitzy conference, held in the opulent Ritz-Carlton Riyadh, also takes place against the backdrop of regional war and just over a year after Israel launched its war on Hamas in Gaza.
In that time, attacks between Israel and Iranian proxies including Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis have soared, with the Jewish state invading Lebanon in September. The region has been on tenterhooks awaiting Israel’s avowed revenge against Iran for its missile barrage over Tel Aviv and other parts of the country on Oct. 1.
Early on Saturday, Israel struck military sites in Iran targeting missile manufacturing factories. Israel’s military later said it had completed “targeted” attacks in Iran, adding that it was ready to “conduct defensive and offensive action.”
“Saudi has done a phenomenal job recently of shielding itself from geopolitical events,” Arbid said.
That is also aided by the fact that local investors make up the majority of market participants, and local investor confidence is strong. The Tadawul All Shares Index, Saudi Arabia’s leading stock market index, is up 16.48% in the last year.
Still, some analysts in the region warn that the expanding crises in the Middle East have the potential to cause further instability.
“The war has gradually escalated to the point where there is a de-facto regional war,” Aziz Alghashian, director of research at the Observer Research Foundation Middle East, told CNBC. “The ongoing war is not only a geopolitical crisis, but the continuation of it has potential to create more radicalization in and around the region.”
“Attracting FDI and tourism, while maintaining oil prices at a desired level, are key for keeping Saudi Arabia’s mega projects and diversification plans on track,” Alghashian said.
“This of course is complicated by regional war, and so economy and security go very much hand in hand.”
Tesla has finally released its ‘Master Plan Part 4’ and it’s nothing more than a smorgasbord of AI promises about its humanoid robot, which can’t even serve popcorn.
For more than a year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been teasing the release of his ‘Master Plan Part 4’ for the company.
Since 2006, Musk has been releasing “secret master plans” for Tesla to explain the company’s broader mission and product roadmap.
Musk himself recently admitted that Master Plan Part 2, released in 2016, is not even completed yet. He believes that will happen “next year”, but we heard that one before.
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Master Plan Part 3 was released in 2023, and it was about scaling when, in fact, Tesla’s electric vehicle sales have been in decline since then. They peaked in 2023.
Now, ‘Master Plan Part 4’ was released on X, and it’s all about “sustainable abundance” through AI and robotics.
Here it is:
Introduction
Since Tesla’s founding, each iteration of our master plan has focused on our north star: to deliver unconstrained sustainability without compromise.
Humans are toolmakers. At Tesla, we make physical products at scale and at a low cost with the goal of making life better for everyone. As the influence and impact of artificial intelligence (AI) technology increases, the mission set forth in Master Plan Part IV should come as no surprise.
This next chapter in Tesla’s story will help create a world we’ve only just begun to imagine and will do so at a scale that we have yet to see. We are building the products and services that bring AI into the physical world.
We have been working tirelessly for nearly two decades to create the foundation for this technological renaissance through the development of electric vehicles, energy products and humanoid robots.
Now, we are combining our manufacturing capabilities with our autonomous prowess to deliver new products and services that will accelerate global prosperity and human thriving driven by economic growth shared by all. We are unifying our hardware and software at scale, and in doing so, we are creating a safer, cleaner and more enjoyable world.
This is sustainable abundance.
Guiding principles
Growth is infinite.
Growth in one area does not require decline in another. Shortages in resources can be remedied by improved technology, greater innovation and new ideas.
The technologies that gave us the ability to power machines led to industrial revolutions that have widened our economic landscape, creating more opportunities for all. Groundbreaking inventions like the semiconductor and the internet have expanded—not diminished—social and economic opportunities across all aspects of the human experience, from creating more jobs to providing greater access to information to enabling deeper interpersonal connections.
Our desire to push beyond what is considered achievable will foster the growth needed for truly sustainable abundance.
Innovation removes constraints.
For centuries, humanity’s primary mode of transportation was the horse. Then, over the last fifty-plus years, cars with internal combustion engines powered by fossil fuels became the standard and expected transportation method. The idea that batteries could be produced affordably and at a scale large enough to pivot the transportation industry away from fossil fuels seemed a fool’s errand—until Tesla led the way forward.
Through continued innovation, we have overcome the technological constraints of battery development and built an industry powered by renewable resources.
Technology solves tangible problems.
The products and services born out of the acceleration toward sustainable abundance will advance humanity by solving real-world problems. To further accelerate our innovation, we build each product more efficiently and more sustainably than the last.
Solar energy generation and large-scale battery storage are increasing the availability and reliability of clean electricity in our communities—and are doing so more affordably and more sustainably.
Autonomous vehicles have the capacity to dramatically improve the affordability, availability and safety of transportation while reducing pollution, particularly in our increasingly dense global cities.
Optimus—our autonomous humanoid robot—is changing not only the perception of labor itself but its availability and capability. Jobs and tasks that are particularly monotonous or dangerous can now be accomplished by other means. In this way, Optimus’s mission is to give people back more time to do what they love.
Autonomy must benefit all of humanity.
The tools we make at Tesla help us build the products that advance human prosperity.
How we develop and use autonomy—and the new capabilities it makes available to us—should be informed by its ability to enhance the human condition. Making daily life better—and safer—for all people through our autonomous technology has always been, and continues to be, our focus.
Greater access drives greater growth.
Making technologically advanced products that are affordable and available at scale is required to build a flourishing and unconstrained society. It serves to further democratize society while raising everyone’s quality of life in the process. The hallmark of meritocracy is creating opportunities that enable each person to use their skills to accomplish whatever they imagine.
Everyone deserves access to these opportunities, and technological growth can help ensure that each of us is able to maximize our most limited resource: time.
We’re accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable abundance.
We must make one thing clear: this challenge will be extremely difficult to overcome. The elimination of scarcity will require tireless and exquisite execution. Some will perceive it as impossible. And plenty of others will laud every obstacle and setback we inevitably encounter along the way. But once we overcome this challenge, our critics will come to see that what they once thought was impossible is indeed possible. And that will be fine with us, because what matters most is that, together, we create a sustainable and truly abundant future for generations to come.
All worthwhile journeys are long. And they all begin with a first step.
Our first step was to make an exciting sports car—Roadster. Then we leveraged those profits to fund the development and production of more affordable, yet still exciting products—Model S and Model X. Then we repeated the process, bringing us to Model 3 and Model Y and onward.
This process required us to take many steps, some of them small and others large. But ultimately each win led to another win, and even with our failures, we were able to keep building momentum. Our momentum allowed us to build out a fully integrated ecosystem of sustainable products, from transport to energy generation, battery storage and robotics.
Today we are on the cusp of a revolutionary period primed for unprecedented growth. And this time it will not be a single step but a leap forward for Tesla and humanity as a whole. The tools we are going to develop will help us build the kind of world that we’ve always dreamed of—a world of sustainable abundance—by redefining the fundamental building blocks of labor, mobility and energy at scale and for all.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla is lost as a company. This is a bunch of utopic nonsense, complete with AI “abundance” buzzwords that Grok could have easily written.
Elon’s first two master plans were straightforward, featuring clear, actionable steps and a well-defined product roadmap.
In comparison, this is opium meant for Tesla shareholders to get their fix of potential “infinite growth” as an AI stock. It’s not real.
Everyone can see the value in an affordable humanoid robot capable of autonomously performing useful tasks. You don’t need to sell people on a weird utopic future around it. Start by demonstrating that you can create such a robot.
We have seen no evidence of that yet.
All of Tesla’s Optimus robot demonstrations have been supported by humans remotely controlling them. Most recently, Tesla had Optimus serving popcorn to guests at its diner in Los Angeles. It worked for a few hours on the first day, and the robot has reportedly been offline for a month since the restaurant’s launch.
I know I might sound like a hater, but I don’t care. Tesla is not a company that is about to deliver a future of “sustainable abundance”.
Tesla is a company that did the impossible and significantly accelerated the world’s transition to electric transportation. Then, its CEO went nuts. Sales started to go down, earnings began to drop, and to maintain a nonsensical stock price, the CEO decided to ride the AI bubble. That’s about it.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly told Reuters on Monday that there are “other authorities that can be used” to uphold the tariffs. One of them could be the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, Bessent said.
Since markets in the U.S. were closed for the Labor Day holiday on Monday, they didn’t have a chance to respond to both Bessent’s comment and the court’s ruling, which was announced after the bell on Friday.
For now, futures tied to U.S. stocks were little changed Monday night stateside. Investors could have gotten used to the volatile nature of Trump tariffs and are taking a wait-and-see approach.
No point, after all, to prepare for an outcome that might lead to the start of another legal battle. It’s never over till it’s over — it’s just another day inTrump’s America.
What you need to know today
Bessent expects the Supreme Court to uphold Trump tariffs. And if they are struck down by the court, “there are lots of other authorities that can be used,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday, Reuters reported.
Oil giant Equinor backs crisis-stricken Orsted. In an apparent show of confidence in the world’s largest offshore wind developer, Norwegian oil giant Equinorpledged almost $1 billion of fresh capital to participate in Orsted’s rights issue.
Europe’s Stoxx Aerospace and Defenseindexpops. The index rose 2.2% on Monday, outperforming the Stoxx Europe 600’s 0.23% rise, after Norway placed a £10 billion ($13.5 billion) order for British-made warships. U.S. markets were closed for Labor Day.
[PRO] A Chinese property stock defying the slump. The company has “already returned more capital than they ever raised from capital markets,” wrote Barclays — and its stock has an implied upside of over 40% from the bank’s price target.
And finally…
TIANJIN, CHINA – SEPTEMBER 01: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin(L) and Chinese President Xi jinping ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025 at the Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Centre on September 1, 2025 in Tianjin, China. (Photo by Suo Takekuma – Pool/Getty Images)
A widely shared clip of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin laughing together in Beijing has already gone viral.
On the surface, it appears to be an easy exchange between three leaders. But analysts say it reflects a delicate mix of competing rivalries and shifting power dynamics.
Hop on Electric Bike Co.’s Model J e-bike with a $321 bundle at $1,649 for Labor Day ($2,170 value)
Electric Bike Company is offering some special Labor Day discounts across its lineup of customizable e-bikes, with the lowest price starting on the Model J e-bike at $1,649 shipped and coming with a bundle of $321 in free gear. Normally, this model would fetch $1,849 in our post-tariff marketplace, with the bundle pushing that cost up to a $2,170 value. We haven’t been seeing too many discounts since the beginning of summer when the brand raised their prices in response to tariffs, instead spotting more bundle offers over the last few months. While we’ve seen the price go lower in the past, you’re still looking at a $200 price cut on the e-bike and $521 in total savings, which is the best deal we have tracked in several months. You can also browse the entire lineup of e-bikes and e-bike bundles on the main landing page here.
One of the biggest features about buying any of Electric Bike Co.’s e-bikes is the customizable options, with most of the parts on each of its models coming with different options – including the paint jobs alongside plenty of add-on accessories too. Though, keep in mind that the price may be altered by branching away from any of the stock options. Regardless of which model you choose, the brand will be giving you a $321 bundle that includes a bell and a 3X PowerBoost Smart SuperCharger that greatly reduces charge times.
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Electric Bike Co.’s Model J e-bike is a Venice Beach-inspired moped design that sports the appropriate banana seat, alongside the 750W rear hub motor and 14Ah battery combo that provides you with up to 60 miles of pedal-assisted travel at up to 20 or 28 MPH speeds, which is determined by your state’s local laws. While you can certainly customize Electric Bike Co.’s Model J e-bike, as I’ve already mentioned, the stock model comes with a solid array of features already, including 24-inch motorbike-grade puncture-resistant tires, 4-piston hydraulic brakes, integrated front and rear safety lights, hand stitched vegan leather grips, an LCD color display with a USB charging port, and more.
Save up to 62% on EcoFlow’s three power station bundles and dual solar panel deal starting from $479 in Labor Day flash sale
As part of EcoFlow’s ongoing Labor Day Sale, the brand has launched a 24-hour flash sale lasting through the holiday with up to 62% being taken off four different bundled units – three of which are power stations and one being a dual solar panel package. Things start off lowest with the DELTA 2 Portable Power Station coming with a free waterproof bag at $479 shipped, which does match the price we’re seeing on the station at Amazon, though it doesn’t come with the free protective bag. Coming down from its $1,049 full price tag on EcoFlow’s website, whereas Amazon usually sees it start around $699, we’ve only seen this rate beaten out by a drop lower to $449, which last appeared back in May, with you otherwise getting the second-best price through the rest of the day that saves you $570 off the MSRP.
Anker’s eufy E15 and E18 robot lawn mowers get $400 Labor Day discounts starting from $1,400 (Reg. $1,800+)
By way of its official eufy Amazon storefront, Anker is offering its E15 Robot Lawn Mower at $1,399.98 shipped, which matches the price we’re seeing directly from the brand’s website, while its E18 Robot Lawn Mower is down at $1,599.99 shipped, which also matches the brand’s direct website pricing. These two new autonomous lawn care solutions usually run for $1,800 and $2,000 at full price outside of sales, with the E15 returning to its best post-launch pricing that matches the Prime exclusive markdowns we’ve seen off and on since July’s Prime Day event (beaten out by a $1,300 low from its initial launch), while the E18 is hitting a new all-time low price that comes in $100 under the previous low.
The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.
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