Musk Just Apologized To Trump

Welcome back!

Here’s your must-read news this morning:

• U.S.-China Trade Framework

• Meta’s “Superintelligence” Bet

• Musk Apologizes to Trump

I’ve got all the details for you, so let’s dive in.

— Josh

MARKETS

💰 U.S., China Agree on Rare Earth, Tech Trade Framework, Awaiting Trump-Xi Sign-Off

The Scoop: The U.S. and China have reached a trade agreement framework after two days of high-stakes talks in London, with both sides now awaiting approval from their leaders. Full details are expected to be released soon.

The Details:

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer held talks with China’s Vice Premier, He Lifeng, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, and trade negotiator Li Chenggang.

• Lutnick announced that a framework was reached to advance the mid-May Geneva deal, which paused tariffs for 90 days, following a Trump-Xi call last week to stabilize negotiations.

• China’s restrictions on rare earth exports, critical for U.S. manufacturing, are a key focus, with Washington expecting a resolution through the agreement.

• The U.S. is prepared to ease restrictions on advanced technology exports to China, including AI chips, provided Beijing lifts its rare earth export limits.

What’s Next: U.S. stock futures dipped as investors awaited further clarity on the trade framework before May’s inflation report. China’s CSI 300 index edged higher, with European stock markets showing gains. Bessent’s Capitol Hill testimony today may shed light on the U.S.-China trade negotiations.

Markets Roundup

🏦 Economy & Policy

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: A federal appeals court ruled that Trump can continue enforcing his global tariffs. (FP)

• The U.S. and India advanced toward an interim trade deal after four days of talks, focusing on industrial and agricultural market access, tariffs, and non-tariff barriers, Indian sources say. (ET)

• The U.S. and Mexico are nearing a deal to reduce Trump’s 50% steel tariffs on limited imports, likely with a quota allowing some steel to enter duty-free or at a reduced rate, while excess imports face the full tariff. (BBG)

• The White House denied a report claiming that Bessent is a potential candidate to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. (BBG)

• Most economists polled by Reuters expect the Federal Reserve to maintain current interest rates for at least two more months. (RTS)

• U.S. small-business sentiment improved in May, marking the first increase this year, with the National Federation of Independent Business optimism index rising three points to 98.8, signaling brighter economic expectations. (BBG)

📈 Stock Market

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Blackstone intends to invest as much as $500 billion in Europe over the next 10 years. (BBG)

• J.M. Smucker reported Q4 earnings per share of $2.31, beating estimates by $0.07, but $2.1 billion revenue missed the $2.18 billion consensus, driving a record 16% stock drop.

• GameStop reported a 17% decline in Q1 revenue to $732.4 million from $881.8 million a year ago, with shares dropping nearly 4% in after-hours trading, while announcing the purchase of 4,710 Bitcoin between May 3 and June 10. (INV)

• Dave & Buster’s reported Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.76 per share and revenue of $567.7 million, missing estimates of $1.01 and $573.25 million, with shares falling 4.7% after hours. (GNW)

🏢 Industry & Deals

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: General Motors announced a $4 billion investment plan through 2027 to boost U.S. production facilities for gas and electric vehicles in Michigan, Kansas, and Tennessee. (NT)

• Paramount Global will slash 3.5% of its U.S. workforce, citing declines in linear TV. (DL)

💵 Energy & Commodities

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: The European Commission proposed its 18th sanctions package against Russia, targeting energy and military sectors with a Nord Stream transaction ban, while pushing the G7 to cut the Russian oil price cap from $60 to $45 a barrel. (AP)

• Pathfinder Tonopah’s Nevada copper and molybdenum mine has drawn $896 million in potential financing from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, signaling federal support for critical mineral development. (AN)

• Spain’s Energy Minister criticized private power companies for delaying information sharing in the probe of a massive blackout, with the cause still undetermined. (RTS)

🌕 Crypto

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has scheduled a Wednesday procedural vote on the GENIUS Act, a bill to regulate stablecoins, after filing cloture Monday on the legislation. (TB)

• U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs are poised to hit $1 trillion in cumulative trading volume less than 18 months after their debut, led by BlackRock’s IBIT fund with a 79% market share. (TB)

• Coinbase’s latest “State of Crypto” report reveals that about 60% of Fortune 500 executives are pursuing blockchain initiatives, while small to medium businesses increasingly adopt crypto to address financial pain points. (CB)

• The SEC has requested potential Solana ETF issuers to revise their S-1 filings, a move that could pave the way for approval within months. (BW)

• Stablecoin infrastructure platform Noah raised $22 million in a seed funding round led by LocalGlobe, with participation from angel investors including Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. (FM)

  
  

TECH

🧠 Meta’s $15 Billion “Superintelligence” Bet: Zuckerberg Eyes Scale AI Massive Stake

The Scoop: Meta is reportedly nearing a $15 billion deal for a 49% stake in Scale AI, aiming to recruit CEO Alexandr Wang to lead a new “superintelligence” AI lab and strengthen its lagging AI efforts, The Information reports.

The Details:

• Wang, praised for his technical and business acumen, would be tasked with revitalizing Meta’s AI strategy following the underwhelming launch of its latest Llama models.

• To avoid antitrust scrutiny amid its FTC trial, Meta is said to be pursuing a minority stake rather than a full acquisition, echoing Google and Microsoft’s strategies with AI startups like Character.AI and Inflection AI.

• Under the reported deal, Wang would lead a new Meta AI lab, joined by Scale AI colleagues, to advance generative AI.

• Scale AI, valued at $14 billion last year, leads in data labeling for AI training and recently secured a 180,000-square-foot lease in San Francisco’s downtown.

What’s Next: Zuckerberg is driving Meta’s quest for a “superintelligence” team, personally recruiting 50 top AI researchers with seven- to nine-figure packages to build the world’s most advanced AI platform, sources say. He’s even rearranged Meta’s offices to keep the team close. The high-stakes push aims to eclipse rivals like OpenAI and Google.

Tech Roundup

🧠 AI

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: OpenAI will incorporate Google’s cloud service into its computing resources, marking an unexpected partnership with a leading AI competitor and a step to diversify beyond its primary investor, Microsoft. (RTS)

• Google’s AI tools have sharply reduced organic search traffic to news publishers, with Business Insider, HuffPost, and The Washington Post experiencing significant double-digit declines over three years. (WSJ)

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the company's first open model in years, initially set for release, will now launch later some time after June due to an “unexpected and quite amazing” research breakthrough needing more time. (X)

• Starbucks announced a generative AI assistant, built with Microsoft Azure’s platform, with plans to deploy it in U.S. and Canada stores in fiscal 2026. (CNBC)

• Google is revamping its internal learning platform to train employees on integrating modern AI tools into their daily workflows. (CNBC)

🤖 Hardware & Robotics

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Elon Musk announced that Tesla plans to launch robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas, starting tentatively on June 22, with the first driverless trip from the Austin factory to a customer's home scheduled for June 28. (CNBC)

• Toyota will launch Woven City, the world’s first robot city, at the base of Japan’s Mount Fuji in July 2025, serving as a 175-acre testing ground for autonomous vehicles, robots, and AI-driven urban systems. (IE)

• AlphaBot2, a general-purpose humanoid robot, has been deployed at Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co.'s automotive factory in China, performing tasks like quality inspection, assembly, logistics, and maintenance. (IE)

• Snap announced it will launch purchasable AR glasses in 2026. (LAT)

• Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam’s startup, Nudge, has entered the brain-health sector, hiring at least eight former Neuralink employees. (BBG)

• Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology unveiled a breakthrough AI system that could reduce pedestrian risk by 51% by enabling autonomous vehicles to make split-second decisions with human-like moral reasoning. (IE)

🚀 Defense & Space

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX have postponed the Axiom Mission 4 launch to the ISS on Wednesday due to a liquid oxygen leak in the Falcon 9 rocket, with a new date pending repairs and range availability. (NASA)

• China's Shijian-25 satellite is scheduled to dock with Shijian-21 today to test in-orbit refueling and extend mission lifespans, observed by nearby U.S. surveillance spacecraft. (SN)

• The U.S. Navy awarded BAE Systems a $10.5 million contract modification for the Archerfish, a helicopter-launched missile system that will clear sea mines four times faster than traditional methods. (IE)

• United Launch Alliance postponed the second flight of Amazon's Project Kuiper internet satellites from Friday to June 16 due to multiple weather delays. (CNBC)

• Blighter, a U.K.-based firm, introduced its longest-range “smart” border surveillance radar system, capable of detecting a human from 9.3 miles away. (DP)

💰 Venture Capital & Deals

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Glean, an enterprise AI firm, raised $150 million in a Series F funding round led by Wellington Management, valuing the company at $7.2 billion. (TC)

• AI storage platform Vast Data is seeking a $25 billion valuation in a new funding round. (TC)

• Laurel, an AI platform addressing the challenge of accurately mapping time to business outcomes, secures $100 million in Series C funding led by IVP and Google Ventures. (BW)

• Linear, an enterprise software firm rivaling Atlassian, raised $82 million in a Series C funding round led by Accel.(TC)

• Legal AI startup Ontra secures $70 million from Silicon Valley Bank to streamline back-office tasks for Wall Street. (FM)

• AIM Intelligent Machines, a startup retrofitting heavy construction equipment for autonomous operation, secured $50 million in funding from investors including Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst. (SEM)

• Aethero, a San Francisco startup, secured $8.4 million in seed funding led by Kindred Ventures’ Steve Jang to advance high-powered space computing, with plans for two orbital demonstrations. (PL)

FREEDOM

🤝 Elon Musk Apologizes to Trump for Some Criticism: “Went Too Far”

The Scoop: Elon Musk on Wednesday apologized on X for his public attacks on Trump, expressing regret for posts that fueled a feud over the president’s "Big, Beautiful Bill.“

The Details:

• Musk wrote that “some” posts about Trump “went too far,” without clarifying which, after a week of attacks, including calls to “KILL” the tax bill, unsubstantiated claims tying the president to the “Epstein Files,” and endorsing his impeachment.

• The clash began after Musk, who exited his 130-day role leading the cost-cutting DOGE last month, slammed the bill as a “disgusting abomination” that would inflate the national debt.

• Trump fired back, claiming Musk had “lost his mind” and gone “crazy,” even publicly musing about cutting federal contracts for Musk's companies.

• Yet, Trump said yesterday that he won’t sell his Tesla or scrap the White House’s Starlink and wished Musk well.

What’s Next: Musk’s apology aims to defuse his feud with Trump, but lingering distrust may dim his clout in Washington. Investors in Tesla and SpaceX will brace for market swings as the spat’s fallout unfolds. Asked about reconciling after Musk’s apology, Trump said, “I guess I could.”

Freedom Roundup

🏛️ Economic & Education Policy

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress that collaboration with DOGE identified $6 billion in Pentagon budget cuts, with Trump’s proposed budget redirecting $30 billion away from "nonlethal priorities." (BBG)

• A federal judge restricted DOGE's access to federal databases, ruling it constitutes a "breach of law and trust." (FOX)

• The Trump administration is weighing cuts to California’s federal education funds, with the Education Department considering halting "formula funds" allocated by Congress. (POL)

💻 Business & Tech Policy

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: U.S. government agencies tracked foreign nationals from Eastern Europe and other regions visiting Elon Musk’s properties in 2022 and 2023 over concerns of potential influence attempts. (WSJ)

• 27 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit in bankruptcy court to block 23andMe from selling customers' personal genetic data without their consent. (NBC)

• Ofcom, the UK media regulator, has initiated probes into 4chan, a pornography site operator, and multiple file-sharing platforms for potential violations of the Online Safety Act, suspecting failures to curb illegal content and protect children through safety measures. (SM)

• China's AI only lags U.S. by three to six months, warned White House AI czar David Sacks, cautioning that overregulation could stifle American innovation. (RTS)

• Joe Lonsdale writes that the idea of a tech right-MAGA split is fiction, contending that tech patriots and the right are natural partners in reforming government and challenging special interests. (SPT)

💬 Free Speech & Woke Overreach

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: The French government is contemplating classifying X as a pornographic platform, likely requiring stringent age verification measures. (RTW)

  The House Committee on Education and Workforce is probing Harvard University’s hiring policies for potential discriminatory practices, requesting details in a Tuesday letter. (MAL)

• Telegram founder Pavel Durov told Tucker Carlson he’s still confused as to why French authorities detained him in August 2025, hinting at political motives and government concerns over alleged illicit activity on the app. (CT)

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