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The European Union is so far the only jurisdiction globally to drive forward comprehensive rules for artificial intelligence with its AI Act.

Jaque Silva | Nurphoto | Getty Images

The European Union formally kicked off enforcement of its landmark artificial intelligence law Sunday, paving the way for tough restrictions and potential large fines for violations.

The EU AI Act, a first-of-its-kind regulatory framework for the technology, formally entered into force in August 2024.

On Sunday, the deadline for prohibitions on certain artificial intelligence systems and requirements to ensure sufficient technology literacy among staff officially lapsed.

That means companies must now comply with the restrictions and can face penalties if they fail to do so.

The AI Act bans certain applications of AI which it deems as posing “unacceptable risk” to citizens.

Those include social scoring systems, real-time facial recognition and other forms of biometric identification that categorize people by race, sex life, sexual orientation and other attributes, and “manipulative” AI tools.

Companies face fines of as much as 35 million euros ($35.8 million) or 7% of their global annual revenues — whichever amount is higher — for breaches of the EU AI Act.

The size of the penalties will depend on the infringement and size of the company fined.

That’s higher than the fines possible under the GDPR, Europe’s strict digital privacy law. Companies face fines of up to 20 million euros or 4% of annual global turnover for GDPR breaches.

‘Not perfect’ but ‘very much needed’

It’s worth stressing that the AI Act still isn’t in full force — this is just the first step in a series of many upcoming developments.

Tasos Stampelos, head of EU public policy and government relations at Mozilla, told CNBC previously that while it’s “not perfect,” the EU’s AI Act is “very much needed.”

“It’s quite important to recognize that the AI Act is predominantly a product safety legislation,” Stampelos said in a CNBC-moderated panel in November.

“With product safety rules, the moment you have it in place, it’s not a done deal. There are a lot of things coming and following after the adoption of an act,” he said.

“Right now, compliance will depend on how standards, guidelines, secondary legislation or derivative instruments that follow the AI Act, that will actually stipulate what compliance looks like,” Stampelos added.

In December, the EU AI Office, a newly created body regulating the use of models in accordance with the AI Act, published a second-draft code of practice for general-purpose AI (GPAI) models, which refers to systems like OpenAI’s GPT family of large language models, or LLMs.

The second draft contained exemptions for providers of certain open-source AI models while including the requirement for developers of “systemic” GPAI models to undergo rigorous risk assessments.

Setting the global standard?

Several technology executives and investors are unhappy with some of the more burdensome aspects of the AI Act and worry it might strangle innovation.

In June 2024, Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands told CNBC in an interview that he’s “really concerned” about Europe’s focus on regulating AI.

“Our ambition seems to be limited to being good regulators,” Constantijn said. “It’s good to have guardrails. We want to bring clarity to the market, predictability and all that. But it’s very hard to do that in such a fast-moving space.”

Still, some think that having clear rules for AI could give Europe leadership advantage.

“While the U.S. and China compete to build the biggest AI models, Europe is showing leadership in building the most trustworthy ones,” Diyan Bogdanov, director of engineering intelligence and growth at Bulgarian fintech firm Payhawk, said via email.

“The EU AI Act’s requirements around bias detection, regular risk assessments, and human oversight aren’t limiting innovation  they’re defining what good looks like,” he added.

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Elon Musk received court summons in SEC suit over failure to properly disclose Twitter stake

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Elon Musk received court summons in SEC suit over failure to properly disclose Twitter stake

Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks on as US President Donald Trump speaks to the press as they stand next to a Tesla vehicle on the South Portico of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. 

Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

Elon Musk received a court summons last week in connection with the SEC’s lawsuit over his alleged failure to properly disclose purchases of Twitter stock in 2022 before bidding to buy the company, according to a filing on Thursday.

A process server delivered the civil summons to Musk on March 14, at the headquarters of SpaceX in Brownsville, Texas, the filing said. The server noted that upon his arrival at the SpaceX facility, three different security guards refused to accept the documents, and one told him he was trespassing. He “placed the documents on the ground,” and left while the guards photographed him and his car.

The summons pertains to a case concerning Musk’s eventual purchase of Twitter, now known as X, for $44 billion in 2022. Prior to the acquisition, Musk built up a position in the company of greater than 5%, which would’ve required disclosing his holdings to the public within 10 calendar days of reaching that threshold.

According to the SEC’s civil complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., in January, Musk was more than 10 days late in reporting that material information, “allowing him to underpay by at least $150 million for shares he purchased after his financial beneficial ownership report was due.”

Once he took over Twitter, Musk used the platform to promote then-candidate and now President Donald Trump, and other Republican candidates and causes. Musk, who’s also CEO of Tesla, spent some $290 million to help propel Trump back to the White House and now serves within the administration as a top advisor to the president.

An answer from Musk, or his attorneys, is due on April 4.

The SEC, Elon Musk, and Quinn Emanuel Partner Alex Spiro, his lawyer, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment

Trump’s White House has directed deep cuts in the budget and staff of independent federal regulatory agencies, including the SEC. The regulator offered $50,000 to many of its employees, encouraging them to resign or retire by March 21.

The Trump administration has also reversed a 15-year-old policy that allowed the SEC’s director of enforcement to issue formal orders of investigation. The agency will now require requests for formal orders of investigation to be pitched to and approved by a vote of SEC commissioners, a change likely to slow down probes like the one that led to the SEC’s suit against Musk.

Musk previously settled civil securities fraud charges brought by the SEC at Tesla, his autos business. In that matter, Musk and Tesla each had to pay $20 million in fines, and Musk had to temporarily relinquish his role as chairman of the Tesla board.

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Tesla owners are trading in their EVs at record levels, Edmunds says

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Tesla owners are trading in their EVs at record levels, Edmunds says

A Tesla store in Alhambra, California on March 11, 2025.

Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images

As Elon Musk wraps up his second month in the White House, Tesla owners are trading in their electric vehicles at record levels, according to an analysis by national car shopping site Edmunds.

The data from Edmunds published on Thursday said that March represented “the highest ever share” it had seen for Tesla trade-ins toward new or used cars from dealerships selling other brands.

Since heading to Washington, D.C. in January as a central figure in the second Trump administration, Musk has been slashing the federal workforce and government spending, and has gained access to sensitive government computer systems and data, though his efforts have been repeatedly challenged in court.

Prior to assuming leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk spent around $290 million last year to help propel President Donald Trump back to the White House.

While investors snapped up Tesla shares after Trump’s victory in November, they’ve been rushing for the exits of late, pushing the stock’s price down by 42% this year. Waves of protests have targeted Tesla facilities in the U.S. and beyond. Other criminal acts of vandalism and arson have targeted Tesla stores, vehicles and charging stations across the U.S.

In addition, Tesla is facing increased competition from EV makers. In January, S&P Global Mobility found Tesla sales declined about 11% year-over-year in the U.S., while Ford, Chevrolet and Volkswagen bolstered their sales of EVs, picking up market share.

“Shifts in Tesla consumer sentiment could create an opportunity for legacy automakers and EV startups to gain ground,” Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds, wrote in an email. “As Tesla brand loyalty and interest wavers, those offering competitive pricing, new technology, or simply less controversy could capture defecting Tesla owners and first-time EV buyers.”

The Tesla brand, more than that of any other automaker, is tightly tied to its CEO. In August 2024, Edmunds surveys found that just 2% of car shoppers in the U.S. were unfamiliar with Musk.

Edmunds also said that shopping for new models of Tesla vehicles on its platform dropped to its lowest level last month since October 2022 after peaking as late as November.

Even before Musk began heading up DOGE, Tesla’s brand was suffering. Its brand value fell by 26%, or about $15 billion, in 2024, a second straight annual decline, according to research and consulting firm Brand Finance.

Many car shoppers trade in their Tesla EVs for a newer model Tesla. Edmunds data didn’t account for those transactions.

Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Micron shares jump on earnings beat, rosy guidance as data center revenue triples

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Micron shares jump on earnings beat, rosy guidance as data center revenue triples

Signage outside the Micron offices in San Jose, California, on Dec. 17, 2024.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Micron shares popped 6% in extended trading Thursday after the company reported second-quarter results that beat analysts’ estimates and offered better-than-expected guidance.

Here’s how the company did:

  • Earnings per share: $1.56, adjusted vs. $1.42 expected by LSEG
  • Revenue: $8.05 billion vs. $7.89 billion expected by LSEG

Revenue increased 38% from $5.82 billion during the same period in 2024, Micron said in a press release. The memory and storage solutions company reported net income of $1.58 billion, or $1.41 per share, up from $793 million, or 71 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Data center revenue tripled, the company said.

Revenue for the fiscal third quarter will be about $8.8 billion, Micron said, topping the $8.5 billion average analyst estimate, according to LSEG. Adjusted earnings will be roughly $1.57 a share, the company said, beating the $1.47 average estimate.

Prior to Thursday’s close, Micron shares were up 22% for the year, while the Nasdaq is down more than 8%.

Micron will host its quarterly call with investors at 4:30 p.m. ET.

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