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Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025.

Hamad I Mohammed | Reuters

Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund said it will vote against Elon Musk’s trillion-dollar pay package at Tesla‘s annual shareholder meeting this week, rebelling against management guidance and threats from Musk to step down if the deal is rejected.

Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the fund — the largest of its kind in the world, and a major shareholder in Tesla — said on Tuesday that it had already cast its vote against Musk’s remuneration package as CEO of the carmaker.

“While we appreciate the significant value created under Mr. Musk’s visionary role, we are concerned about the total size of the award, dilution, and lack of mitigation of key person risk- consistent with our views on executive compensation,” NBIM said in a statement.

“We will continue to seek constructive dialogue with Tesla on this and other topics,” the fund’s managers added.

Norway’s wealth fund holds a 1.14% stake in Tesla, according to its half-year filings in June. The value of that investment was last declared to be 118.3 billion Norwegian kroner ($11.6 billion).

Tesla shares were 2.5% lower in premarket trade.

Tesla’s Board of Directors is asking shareholders to approve a pay plan for Musk that could see him granted almost $1 trillion in stock and expand his voting powers at the company. The full award would be contingent on Tesla hitting certain milestones over the next 10 years.

The proposals have raised eyebrows and been met with opposition from some company watchers. Last month, the Take Back Tesla campaign — a coalition of unions and corporate watchdogs — urged shareholders to reject the deal, while proxy advisories Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis have also recommended investors vote against the compensation package.

Musk has hit back at those recommendations, labeling ISS and Glass Lewis “corporate terrorists” on an analyst call.

“Tesla is worth more than all other automotive companies combined,” Musk wrote in a post on X last month in response to a critic of the pay proposal. “Which of those CEOs would you like to run Tesla? It won’t be me.”

Representatives for Musk and Tesla were not immediately available to comment on NBIM’s vote against the proposed CEO compensation package.

However, Musk has butted heads with NBIM over his pay in the past.

Last year, NBIM voted against reinstating Musk’s $56 billion pay deal after it was rescinded by a U.S. judge. The package — the largest public executive compensation plan in U.S. history — was ultimately approved by Tesla’s shareholders.

Following the vote, the Financial Times and Norwegian newspaper E24 published text messages exchanged between Musk and NBIM Chief Executive Nicolai Tangen, which showed the Tesla CEO declining an invitation to a dinner in Norwegian capital Oslo.

“When I ask you for a favor, which I very rarely do, and you decline, then you should not ask me for one until you’ve done something to make amends,” Musk reportedly wrote. “Friends are as friends do.”

Musk is the world’s wealthiest person, according to Forbes, with a net worth of $504.1 billion.

— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.

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Alex Karp blasts ‘Big Short’ investor Michael Burry as ‘bats— crazy’ for bets against Palantir, Nvidia

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Alex Karp blasts 'Big Short' investor Michael Burry as 'bats--- crazy' for bets against Palantir, Nvidia

Alex Karp on 'Big Short' investor Michael Burry: 'Bats--- crazy' for bets against Palantir, Nvidia

Palantir CEO Alex Karp ranted against short-sellers, calling out specifically Michael Burry after a filing revealed the investor of “The Big Short” fame had bets against the AI software company, as well as Nvidia, at the end of the last quarter.

“The two companies he’s shorting are the ones making all the money, which is super weird,” Karp told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “The idea that chips and ontology is what you want to short is bats— crazy.”

“He’s actually putting a short on AI… It was us and Nvidia,” Karp added.

When reached via email by CNBC seeking comment on Karp’s remarks, Burry declined to comment.

Palantir shares slid roughly 9% Tuesday even after the software company beat Wall Street estimates for the third quarter and offered upbeat guidance. Investors have grown increasingly wary of lofty valuations in AI-linked names. Palantir shares, which were up 173% for the year heading into Tuesday’s trading, have a forward price-earnings ratio of 228. Nvidia fell more than 2% after gaining more than 50% this year.

“I do think this behavior is egregious and I’m going to be dancing around when it’s proven wrong,” said Karp of short-sellers.

Burry’s hedge fund Scion Asset Management disclosed put options with a notional value of about $187 million against Nvidia and $912 million against Palantir as of Sept. 30. in a filing. The filing didn’t specify the strike prices or expiration dates of the contracts.

It’s unclear whether Burry is profiting from Tuesday’s declines. The filing reflects his positions at the end of September, and he may have since adjusted his portfolio by now. Burry declined to comment on his positions.

“It’s not even clear he’s shorting us. It’s probably just, ‘How do I get my position out and not look like a fool?'” Karp said.

The disclosure comes after Burry hinted at renewed caution in markets in a cryptic post on X last week.

“Sometimes, we see bubbles. Sometimes, there is something to do about it. Sometimes, the only winning move is not to play,” he wrote to his 1.3 million followers on the platform.

Burry gained fame for his prescient bet against mortgage-backed securities before the 2008 financial crisis, a trade chronicled in Michael Lewis’ The Big Short and the Oscar-winning film of the same name.

“With the shorts it’s very complex…honestly I think what’s going on here is market manipulation,” Karp said. “We delivered the best results anyone’s ever seen. It’s not even clear he’s not doing this to get out of his position. I mean these people, they claim to be ethical, but they are actually shorting one of the great businesses of the world.”

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Bitcoin’s November sell-off worsens as investors reduce risk on worries about the AI trade

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Bitcoin's November sell-off worsens as investors reduce risk on worries about the AI trade

Representation of Bitcoin cryptocurrency in this illustration taken Sept. 10, 2025.

Dado Ruvic | Reuters

Bitcoin fell victim to investors’ risk-off mood Tuesday as cryptocurrency holders backed off, growing increasingly concerned about the sustainability of stock valuations driven to stratospheric heights by the artificial intelligence trade.

Bitcoin was last trading at $103,952, down 2.5% on the day and roughly 6% in the past two days. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, shed 2.5% on Tuesday and has now lost more than 10% over two days to trade at $3,503.

The leading cryptocurrencies attract many of the same investors as artificial intelligence stocks, linking the two trades when one goes bad. The Nasdaq Composite, home to the leading AI stocks, dropped almost 1% Tuesday, with investors selling AI-linked Palantir on concerns about its eye-watering valuation despite the data manager’s solid earnings results in its latest quarter.

Absent individuals

Compass Point analyst Ed Engel said individual investors may not be buying the dip as much as in the past.

“While selling from Long-term Holders is a common feature in bull markets, retail spot buyers have been less engaged than prior cycles,” he said in a note.

The latest downdraft could pull bitcoin deeper into the red, dragging the token below its critical $100,000 support level, according to the analyst.

“With Long-term Holders still selling, this leaves further downside risk if Short-term Holders’ capitulate further,” Engel wrote. “While we see support for BTC above $95k, we also don’t see many near-term catalysts.”

Bitcoin’s price has largely trended downward over the past few weeks, with October’s historically strong seasonality failing to materialize this year.

Bitcoin last failed to rise on seasonal tailwinds in October 2018, Engel noted. In the month that followed, Bitcoin plunged 37% in November of that year.

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Instacart rolls out AI tools for grocers, Sprouts will be first to use its Cart Assistant

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Instacart rolls out AI tools for grocers, Sprouts will be first to use its Cart Assistant

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Instacart on Tuesday launched a suite of artificial intelligence tools for grocers to deliver more personalized shopping experiences and improve retail operations.

CEO Chris Rogers told CNBC that the announcement is a major step forward in the company’s enterprise strategy, which has grown to power hundreds of digital storefronts.

“It’s taking everything that we’ve been building for retailers over the last decade, and it’s bringing it into the AI era,” Rogers said. “It’s really about putting enterprise-grade AI tech in every grocer’s hands, whether it’s a small, local independent or a national chain.”

The collection of new AI Solutions includes an AI shopping assistant that grocers can provide to shoppers for personalized meal planning, budgeting, and product recommendations.

Dubbed Cart Assistant, the agent can be used across retailers’ websites through Instacart’s Storefront Pro or integrated into the company’s AI-powered shopping carts in-store, according to a release.

Sprouts Farmers Market and Kroger will be the first to roll out Cart Assistant on its website and app.

“AI is transforming the way people shop and today’s customers want the experience to be more personal and intuitive,” said Sprouts President and Chief Operating Officer Nick Konat in a release.

Read more CNBC tech news

The suite also offers Store View, which provides grocers a real-time view of store shelves and uses images and videos to identify which products are running low or out of stock. Store View is already live with McKeever’s and Good Food Holdings.

The lineup additionally includes an AI-driven catalog system and agentic analysis of retail data to provide business insights.

The online delivery firm is also working with AI companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and others to “define how grocery shopping is going to work across the next generation of digital agents,” Rogers said.

Instacart’s new products are just the latest examples of generative AI’s rising popularity within the retail industry. Amazon debuted an AI agent for third-party sellers in September, and Walmart launched “super agents” that cater to shoppers, sellers, and suppliers earlier this year.

Instacart shares took a hit after Amazon rolled out its same-day delivery service in August and faces competition from brick-and-mortar retail giants like Walmart and Target, which have their own delivery services.

However, Rogers said that Instacart is working with other grocers to help them compete against industry heavyweights.

“Our retail partners already look at look at us as their technology partner in the grocery industry, and they want to participate in the AI revolution the same way the largest players in the industry do,” Rogers said.

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