Steve Wozniak, co-founder of the technology company Apple.
Thomas Banneyer | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
BARCELONA — Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak criticized the “sledgehammer” approach Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has taken to cut administrative costs and implement mass firings at federal government agencies.
The Department of Government Efficiency — or “DOGE,” for short — is an initiative President Donald Trump set up to optimize the federal government and cut its administrative spending.
“I definitely think that we should look for inefficiencies in government, but pretty much have a huge department that analyzes bit by bit by bit,” Wozniak told CNBC on the sidelines of a tech conference on Tuesday.
But he added, “Just mass firings … it’s not good for a business to run that way,” referring to DOGE’s deep cuts to jobs at several government agencies.”It’s really to find out what works and what doesn’t, make the changes.”
He noted that, though addressing administrative burdens and red tape in government can be a good thing, it’s a process that should be done “more surgically, with a scalpel instead of a sledgehammer.”
‘Bullying’
Wozniak also accused Trump and Musk of “bullying” over the U.S.’ treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Department of Government Efficiency’s mass firings at federal government agencies.
“Elon Musk, I don’t know what got into his head,” Wozniak added. “Sometimes you get so rich at these big companies, and you’re on top — it goes to your head, and you’re the most incredible person in the world and the brightest and you’re going to dictate what others will will do.”
CNBC has reached out to the White House and to Tesla for comment.
Wozniak, who says he has Ukrainian heritage, said that Trump and Musk have mistreated Ukraine and accused them both of being bullies.
“Bullying is the best way to think of it,” he told CNBC. “If you’re in school, the bully is going to force their way on the little guy.”
He noted, “I’ve always favored the little guy over the big guy, and I’ve always favored the consumer of a good over the producer,” he added, in an apparent reference Musk’s electric car firm Tesla.
U.S. relations with Ukraine have soured since Trump took office. American officials have re-established relations with their Russian counterparts — but excluded Ukraine from preliminary talks laying the groundwork for peace. Tensions between Washington and Kyiv recently escalated after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Trump as “living in a Russian disinformation bubble.”
Trump then hit back, calling Ukraine’s leader a “dictator without elections.” Zelenskyy won the 2019 presidential vote Ukraine, which has been unable to hold national polls since its invasion.
‘On the wrong side of Elon’
Wozniak said he also suspects he’s been banned from X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter after several public rants about the quality of Tesla’s vehicles in TV interviews. Musk is the owner of X.
The Apple co-founder said he had not violated any of the social media platform’s rules and has unsuccessfully taken every step to unfreeze his account, which he says has been blocked for the past two to three months.
“Maybe it’s because I was on the wrong side of Elon,” he added.
X was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
Wozniak owns several Teslas but says he isn’t a fan of how Musk’s electric vehicles have evolved over time.
“Every step up where they changed things in the car, it got worse and worse and worse, and now it is just miserable for user interface,” he said. “Coming from Apple, user interface, the way you deal with technology, is the most important thing in the world to me. And Tesla is the worst in the world at that.”
Wozniak added that he doesn’t like Tesla’s Full Self Driving or Autopilot driver assistance features, due to concerns over the safety of the systems.
Tesla did not immediately return a CNBC request for comment on Wozniak’s criticisms of the company.
A Zoox autonomous robotaxi in San Francisco, California, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Amazon‘s Zoox issued a software recall for 270 of its robotaxis after a crash in Las Vegas last month, the company said Tuesday.
The recall surrounds a defect with the vehicle’s automated driving system that could cause it to inaccurately predict the movement of another car, increasing “the risk of a crash,” according to a report submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Zoox submitted the recall after an April 8 incident in Las Vegas where an unoccupied Zoox robotaxi collided with a passenger vehicle, the NHTSA report states. There were no injuries in the crash and only minor damage occurred to both vehicles.
“After analysis and rigorous testing, Zoox identified the root cause,” the company said in a blog post. “We issued a software update that was implemented across all Zoox vehicles. All Zoox vehicles on the road today, including our purpose-built robotaxi and test fleet, have the updated software.”
Zoox paused all driverless vehicle operations while it reviewed the incident. It’s since resumed operations after rolling out the software update.
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Amazon acquired Zoox in 2020 for over $1 billion, announcing at the time that the deal would help bring the self-driving technology company’s “vision for autonomous ride-hailing to reality.” However, Amazon has fallen far behindAlphabet‘s Waymo, which has robotaxi services operating in multiple U.S. markets. Tesla has also announced plans to launch a robotaxi offering in Austin in June, though the company has missed many prior target dates for releasing its technology.
Zoox has been testing its robotaxis in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Foster City, California. Last month, Zoox began testing a small fleet of retrofitted vehicles in Los Angeles.
Last month, NHTSA closed a probe into two crashes involving Toyota Highlanders equipped with Zoox’s autonomous vehicle technology. The agency opened the probe last May after the vehicles braked suddenly and were rear-ended by motorcyclists, which led to minor injuries.
Palantir co-founder and CEO Alex Karp speaks during the Hill & Valley Forum at the US Capitol Visitor Center Auditorium in Washington, DC, on April 30, 2025.
“Some investors may be disappointed with the modest full- year revenue guidance raise, the sequential margin decline, and the international commercial revenue year-over-year decline,” wrote William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma, adding that the company’s high software multiple makes it “vulnerable” to compression as revenue growth slows.
Despite the post-earnings move, Palantir topped revenue expectations and lifted its revenue guidance for the year. The Denver-based company posted adjusted earnings of 13 cents per share on $884 million in revenues. Analysts polled by LSEG had expected adjusted EPS of 13 cents and revenues of $863 million.
Palantir’s revenues rose 39% from $634.3 million in the year-ago quarter. Net income grew to about $214 million, or 8 cents per share, from roughly $105.5 million, or 4 cents per share, a year ago. The company also hiked its full-year revenue outlook to between $3.89 billion and $3.90 billion
CEO Alex Karp said that “Palantir is on fire” and he’s “very optimistic” about the current setup during the earnings call after the bell Monday.
“The reality of what’s going on is that this is an unvarnished cacophony — the combination of 20 years of investment and a massive cultural shift in the U.S. which is generating numbers,” he said.
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Palantir has outperformed the market this year, building on a successful 2024 run in which the stock was the best performer in the S&P 500. Many on Wall Street say the surge in shares has contributed to an elevated multiple for the company, making the bar higher and higher to clear. To be sure, the stock has undergone immense volatility amid the latest batch of market volatility spurred by President Donald Trump’s tariff plans.
“While 2025 numbers move higher on guidance ahead of consensus, we question conservatism and if estimate revisions are priced in from here,” said RBC Capital Markets analyst Rishi Jaluria.
Despite the company’s strong execution and fundamentals, Mizuho’s Gregg Moskowitz also said it’s “very difficult to justify” its high multiple. Raymond James analyst Brian Gesuale said that Palantir needs to consolidate some of its gains to “grow into its rich valuation.”
Wall Street also highlighted a deceleration in international commercial revenues among the reasons for the potential decline in shares. The segment fell 5% year over year after rising 3% in the previous quarter due to headwinds in Europe.
Management said on an earnings call that the region is “going through a very structural change and doesn’t quite get AI.”
Travelers walk past a sign pointing toward the Uber rideshare vehicle pickup area at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on February 8, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
Uber will acquire an 85% stake in Turkish food delivery platform Trendyol GO for about $700 million in cash, the company said in a securities filing.
The deal, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the second half of this year. Uber said it expects the transaction to be accretive to its growth once completed.
“Uber and Trendyol GO coming together will elevate the delivery sector in Türkiye for consumers, couriers, restaurants and retailers, especially small and family-owned businesses,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a release. “This deal reflects our long-term commitment to Türkiye, we’re incredibly impressed with what the Trendyol GO team has built, and we’re excited to continue that strong momentum across the country.”
Founded in 2010, Trendyol GO is run by Turkish e-commerce platform Trendyol, which is majority owned by Chinese titan Alibaba. The platform hosts roughly 90,000 restaurants and 19,000 couriers across the country.
In 2024, Trendyol GO delivery more than 200 million orders and generated $2 billion in gross bookings, a jump of 50% year over year, Uber said in the securities filing.
The announcement comes as Uber is set to report first-quarter earnings before market open on Wednesday. The rideshare and food delivery company is expected to post earnings per share of 51 cents on revenue of $11.6 billion, according to StreetAccount.