Rishi Sunak suggests more should ‘give up security of regular pay cheque’ – as Musk warns of humanoid robots that can ‘chase you anywhere’

Published

1 year ago

November 3, 2023

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Rishi Sunak has encouraged people to be “comfortable failing” when they start businesses during a conversation with billionaire Elon Musk.

The pair spent close to an hour talking at an event in central London where journalists were invited but not allowed to ask questions. Business leaders were given a chance to put questions to the duo.

They spoke about how to encourage people to start their own businesses. They also ranged onto topics like how to stop killer robots.

Politics latest: Musk criticises AI conference hours before Sunak meeting

Mr Sunak spoke about how, as prime minister, his job was to make the country start-up friendly, hinting at reforms that may be coming in the autumn statement – including on pensions.

The prime minister said Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has got a “bunch of incredible reforms to unlock capital from all the people who have it and deploy it into growth equity” – but they’re a work in progress.

Mr Sunak went on to say another challenge for encouraging start-ups was “how do you transpose that culture from places like Silicon Valley across the world where people are unafraid to give up the security of a regular pay cheque to go and start something, and be comfortable with failure.”

He added: “You’ve got to be comfortable failing, and knowing that’s just part of the process. That’s a tricky cultural thing to do overnight, but it’s an important part of I think creating that kind of environment.”

Mr Musk – who is the world’s richest man – told Mr Sunak – who is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds – that someone’s first start-up failing “shouldn’t be a catastrophic, career-ending thing”.

The business leader said that, since starting a company is “high risk, high reward”, that people need incentives.

Mr Sunak said that he agrees, and said that relative to many European countries and California, the UK has much lower capital gains tax.

The event, which came after Mr Sunak’s two-day AI safety conference near Milton Keynes, saw the pair also speak about killer robots and other aspects of technology.

Mr Musk described artificial intelligence as “a magic genie” that grants you limitless wishes.

On robots, Mr Musk emphasised the need to have an off-switch – what some might call a kill-switch – for humanoid cyborgs.

“A humanoid robot can basically chase you anywhere,” he said, adding, “it’s something we should be quite concerned about. If a robot can follow you anywhere, what if they get a software update one day, and they’re not so friendly any more?”

Mr Sunak said “we’ve all watched” movies about robots that end with the machines being switched off.

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Labour’s shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth said: “How out of touch is Rishi Sunak? After 13 years of the Tories, the public are enduring the worst cost of living crisis in memory and he is spending his time telling Elon Musk that he wishes they would give up their jobs and be ready to fail.

“He hasn’t got a clue.”

Politics

Morgan Stanley eyes crypto rollout for E*Trade platform: Bloomberg

Published

2 hours ago

May 1, 2025

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Morgan Stanley eyes crypto rollout for E*Trade platform: Bloomberg

Banking giant Morgan Stanley reportedly plans to list cryptocurrencies on its E*Trade investment brokerage and trading platform.

According to a May 1 Bloomberg report, the firm intends to list crypto assets on E*Trade in 2026. The plan is still in early development, and the bank is said to be exploring partnerships with established crypto firms to power the service. Internal discussions about cryptocurrency support reportedly began in late 2024.

Banking, Banks, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Morgan Stanley — *E*Trade homepage. Source:* *E*Trade*

This would not be Morgan Stanley’s first exposure to digital assets. The bank’s wealthiest clients have had access to crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and futures for some time, with the firm’s advisers allowed to pitch Bitcoin ETFs since August 2024.

Regulatory tailwinds push crypto forward

The news follows previous reports that Morgan Stanley was considering adding cryptocurrency trading to its E*Trade online brokerage platform in early January. The reports at the time cited the expectations of a friendlier crypto regulatory environment.

The move comes amid an increasingly favorable regulatory environment in the United States following the election of President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a pro-crypto platform and is personally involved in several blockchain ventures.

The first 30 days of the Trump administration brought significant changes to the local crypto industry. More recently, US crypto proponents have shown optimism following the swearing-in of pro-crypto Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins.

The SEC had significantly changed its stance even before Atkins took office. In late February, the agency had already paused multiple cryptocurrency enforcement cases with imminent deadlines.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

Magazine: ZK-proofs are bringing smart contracts to Bitcoin — BitcoinOS and Starknet

Politics

Eric Trump: USD1 will be used for $2B MGX investment in Binance

Published

3 hours ago

May 1, 2025

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Eric Trump: USD1 will be used for B MGX investment in Binance

Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX will use a stablecoin linked to US President Donald Trump’s family to settle a $2 billion investment in Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

The World Liberty Financial USD (USD1) US dollar-pegged stablecoin was launched by the Trump-associated crypto platform World Liberty Financial (WLFI) in March 2025.

MGX will use the USD1 stablecoin for its $2 billion investment in the Binance exchange, according to an announcement by Eric Trump during a panel discussion at Token2049 in Dubai. Trump, the son of the president, serves as executive vice president of the Trump Organization.

Eric Trump: USD1 will be used for $2B MGX investment in Binance — *Source:* *Cointelegraph*

MGX announced its investment in Binance on March 12, marking the first institutional investment in the exchange and one of the biggest funding deals in the entire Web3 industry.

At the time, Binance declined Cointelegraph’s request to disclose what stablecoin was used in the transaction.

This marks the Abu Dhabi-based investment firm’s first venture into the cryptocurrency space.

Banks, financial system is “a joke,” says Eric Trump

During the panel discussion, Eric Trump criticized the inefficiencies and limited operating hours of the traditional financial system:

“The US is seeing that the financial world has to progress. It’s a joke. Why do banks run nine to five, Monday to Friday, with an hour and a half of lunch break? It doesn’t make sense.”

Sending money internationally through SWIFT is slow, costly, and complex. Crypto makes banks redundant,” he added.

The average transaction time on the SWIFT payment network is 20 hours and seven minutes, according to analysis published by Statrys. However, 75% of SWIFT transactions involve one or two intermediary banks, meaning that these average 1 day and 11 hours to settle.

In contrast, a USDt (USDT) or USDC (USDC) stablecoin transaction on Ethereum will settle within two to five minutes.

“We’re at the dialogue phase of the crypto revolution right now, and the people who are going to make it big are the people who see it today, not in five years,” Eric Trump added.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Politics

Voting under way to decide thousands of councillors and Runcorn and Helsby by-election

Published

7 hours ago

May 1, 2025

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Voting under way to decide thousands of councillors and Runcorn and Helsby by-election

Voting is under way in local elections across England, as well as in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election.

Due to Ofcom rules, Sky News is limited on what it can report until polls close at 10pm.

The votes mark the first electoral test for the party leaders since last year’s general election.

In total, 23 of England’s 317 local authorities are holding elections, alongside the Isles of Scilly.

The make up of around 1,270 parish councils are also due to be decided.

And six metro mayors are up for election.

The West of England, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Doncaster, and North Tyneside mayoralties already have a mayor in place – while Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire are choosing a mayor for the first time.

Meanwhile, a by-election is being held in Runcorn and Helsby after previous Labour MP Mike Amesbury agreed to stand down following his conviction for punching a man in the street.

While this result is likely to come in overnight, most local election results won’t be known until Friday.

All voters in these elections must be over 18, and be registered.

Join Sky News presenter Jonathan Samuels and deputy political editor Sam Coates from midnight as the results start coming in. Lead politics presenter Sophy Ridge, political editor Beth Rigby, and data and economics editor Ed Conway will be taking over on Friday to report and explain what has happened.