CNBC Daily Open: Tesla wobbles as BYD gets ahead in self-driving and Elon Musk is everywhere

Published

5 months ago

February 12, 2025

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Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump appear during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 11, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Andrew Harnik | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Elon Musk is the world’s richest person, and the leader of Tesla, SpaceX, X, the Boring Company, xAI, Neuralink, the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency as well as a recent group of investors bidding to buy OpenAI.

From a business point of view, Musk’s accomplishments are undeniable. The companies he heads are not only market leaders, but often trailblazers in their field — consider how Tesla kickstarted the electric-vehicle industry or how SpaceX successfully commercialized space flight.

Paradoxically, achieving success too broadly can have negative effects. Investors seem to be growing worried that Musk, for all his business acumen, is getting distracted. Tesla shares have fallen for the past five trading days, plunging over 6% on Tuesday as Chinese rival BYD appears to be eclipsing the company on AI-enabled autonomous driving.

If hands-free driving becomes a reality atTesla, that could free up Musk to have his fingers in other pies without dragging down the company’s shares.

What you need to know today

BYD threatens Tesla
Tesla shares fell 6.3% Tuesday after Chinese EV maker BYD said it will integrate DeepSeek into its autonomous driving technology and offer it in nearly all its vehicles. There are also concerns over Musk’s distractions, such as his bid for Open AI and his role at the “Department of Government Efficiency” in the White House. Tesla’s stock price has fallen over 16% in the past five trading days.

Tentative U.S. markets
U.S. markets were mixed Tuesday as investors digested U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments in the Senate that the central bank doesn’t need to “be in a hurry” to adjust its policy stance. The S&P 500 was mostly flat, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.28% and the Nasdaq Composite retreated 0.36%. Asia-Pacific stocks traded higher Wednesday. The Hang Seng Index rose around 1.9% as Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba popped 7.15% on reports it is partnering Apple to roll out iPhone AI features in China.

Baidu to release next-generation AI model
Chinese tech giant Baidu plans to release its next-generation AI model in the latter half of the year, according to a source familiar with the matter. Named Ernie 5.0, the model is set to have “big enhancements in multimodal capabilities,” the source said. Multimodal AI models can work across media formats. Baidu’s release comes amid AI advancements in China, such as the cost-effective DeepSeek released in January.

Super Micro Computer reassures investors
Super Micro Computer CEO Charles Liang said on Tuesday he is “confident” that the company will file its delayed annual report by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Feb. 25 deadline. The company also said it expects to hit $40 billion in revenue in fiscal 2026, higher than the $30 billion expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Shares of the company jumped as much as 8.4% in extended trading.

CATL files for listing in Hong Kong
China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology, also known as CATL, has filed for listing on Hong Kong’s stock exchange. The initial public offering is expected to raise at least $5 billion, Reuters reported, which would make it the city’s largest IPO in five years. The company supplies batteries to automakers like Tesla. In January, the U.S. Department of Defense included CATL and Tencent on its list of “Chinese Military Companies.”

[PRO] How to play the CPI
The U.S. consumer price index report will be released Wednesday and comes at a time when inflation concerns have resurged because of tariffs and higher-than-expected wage growth in January. JPMorgan traders laid out how the S&P 500 could react based on the CPI reading. The scenarios range from a 1.75% increase to a 2% fall, including an asset class that could “react violently.”

And finally…

The dock at the Port of Sikka in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India, on Saturday, July 31, 2021.

Dhiraj Singh | Bloomberg | Getty Images

India’s oil minister says ‘we play by the rules,’ as markets weigh U.S. energy sanctions

India will “play by the rules” and not “go around” international sanctions regarding oil markets, the country’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri told CNBC on Tuesday at the sidelines of the India Energy Week conference. India’s refiners have been snapping up discounted Russian oil since Western and G7 energy sanctions barred many consumers from Moscow’s supplies. New Delhi has repeatedly defended its purchases as a matter of national interest.

Puri also signaled that the government of Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, had endorsed India’s bolstered intake of Russian oil. “I’ve had a chat with the Americans, the previous administration. They said, please buy as much as you like. Just make sure that you buy it within the price cap. And that’s what we did,” Puri said.

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Tesla’s retro-futuristic diner and Supercharger is here and it looks sick

Published

9 hours ago

July 15, 2025

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Tesla's retro-futuristic diner and Supercharger is here and it looks sick

Tesla’s retro-futuristic diner with Superchargers and giant movie screens is ready to open, and I have to admit, it looks pretty sick.

This project has been in the works for a long time.

In 2018, Elon Musk said that Tesla planned to open an “old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in Los Angeles.” It was yet another “Is he joking?” kind of Elon Musk idea, but he wasn’t kidding.

A few months later, Tesla applied for building permits for “a restaurant and Supercharger station” at a location in Santa Monica. However, the project stalled for a long time, apparently due to local regulations.

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Nevertheless, Tesla still moved forward with a Supercharger at the location, but it had to move the diner project to Hollywood. In 2022, Tesla filed the construction plans with the city, giving us the first look at what the automaker intends to build.

In 2023, the automaker broke ground on the site of the diner.

7 years after being originally announced, the project appears now ready to open:

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Musk said that he ate at the diner last night and claimed that it is “one of the coolest spots in LA.” He didn’t say when it will open, but Tesla vehicles have been spotted at Supercharger and people appear to be testing the dinning experience inside.

A Tesla Optimus Robot can be seen inside the diner on a test rack. It looks like Tesla might use one for some tasks inside the diner.

Earlier this year, Tesla integrated the diner into its mobile app – hinting at some interaction through the app – possibly ordering from it.

Electrek’s Take

I think it looks pretty cool. I am a fan of the design and concept.

However, considering the state of the Tesla community, I don’t think I’d like the vibes. That said, it looks like Tesla isn’t prominently pushing its branding on the diner.

You can come and charge there, but it looks like Tesla is also aiming to get a wider clientele just for dining.

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Environment

Westinghouse plans to build 10 large nuclear reactors in U.S., interim CEO tells Trump

Published

10 hours ago

July 15, 2025

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Westinghouse plans to build 10 large nuclear reactors in U.S., interim CEO tells Trump

Plant Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant in Waynesboro, GA, August 15, 2024.

Van Applegate | CNBC

Westinghouse plans to build 10 large nuclear reactors in the U.S. with construction to begin by 2030, interim CEO Dan Sumner told President Donald Trump at a roundtable in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

Westinghouse’s big AP1000 reactor generates enough electricity to power more than 750,000 homes, according to the company. Building 10 of these reactors would drive $75 billion of economic value across the U.S. and $6 billion in Pennsylvania, Sumner said.

The Westinghouse executive laid out the plan to Trump during a conference on energy and artificial intelligence at Carnegie Mellon University. Technology, energy and financial executives announced more than $90 billion of investment in data centers and power infrastructure at the conference, according to the office of Sen. Dave McCormick, who organized the event.

Trump issued four executive orders in May that aim to quadruple nuclear power in the U.S. by 2050. The president called for the U.S. to have 10 nuclear plants under construction by 2050. He ordered a “wholesale revision” of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s rules and guidelines.

The U.S. has built only two new nuclear reactors over the past 30 years, both of which were Westinghouse AP1000s at Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Georgia. The project notoriously came in $18 billion over budget and seven years behind schedule, contributing to the bankruptcy of Westinghouse.

The industry stalwart emerged from bankruptcy in 2018 and us now owned by Canadian uranium miner Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management.

Westinghouse announced a partnership with Google on Tuesday to use AI tools to make the construction of AP1000s an “efficient, repeatable process,” according to the company.

Catch up on the latest energy news from CNBC Pro:

Environment

Hyundai’s electric minivan sheds its camo: Check out the new Staria EV

Published

11 hours ago

July 15, 2025

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Hyundai's electric minivan sheds its camo: Check out the new Staria EV

Hyundai’s electric minivan is finally out in the open. The Staria EV was caught without camo near Hyundai’s R&D center in Korea, giving us a closer look at the electric minivan undisguised.

Hyundai’s electric minivan drops camo ahead of debut

The Staria arrived in 2021 as the successor to the Starex, Hyundai’s multi-purpose vehicle (MPV). Although the Staria has received several updates throughout the years, 2026 will be its biggest by far.

Hyundai will launch the Staria EV, its first electric minivan. Like the current model, the 2026 Staria will be available in several different configurations, including cargo, passenger, and even a camper version.

We’ve seen the Staria EV out in public a few times already. Last month, we got a glimpse of it while driving on public roads in Korea.

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Despite the camouflage, new EV-like design elements were visible, including updated LED headlights and a full-length light bar. Although it’s still unclear, the electric version appears to be roughly the same size as the current Staria from the side, but slightly wider from the front.

New images posted on the South Korean forum Clien reveal a test car, expected to be Hyundai’s Staria electric minivan, without camo.

Like most Hyundai test cars, the prototype has a black front and a grey body. It still features a similar look to other prototypes we’ve seen, but you can clearly see the new facelift.

Earlier this year, a Staria EV was spotted in a parking lot in Korea, featuring a similar look. The electric version is nearly identical to the Staria Lounge, but with an added charge port and closed-off grille.

The Hyundai Staria EV is expected to make its global debut later this year. Technical details have yet to be revealed, but it’s expected to feature either a 76 kWh or 84 kWh battery, providing a range of around 350 km (217 miles) to 400 km (249 miles).

Hyundai's-first-electric-minivan — Hyundai Staria Lounge (Source: Hyundai)

Hyundai’s electric SUV arrives after Kia introduced its first electric van, the PV5, which launched in Europe and Korea earlier this year.

In Europe, the Kia Passenger PV5 model is available with two battery pack options: 51.5 kWh and 71.2 kWh, providing WLTP ranges of 179 miles and 249 miles, respectively. The Cargo version has a WLTP range of 181 miles or 247 miles.

Source: TheKoreanCarBlog, Clien

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