Tesla unveiled its Roadster last week with a launch spectacle featuring SpaceX boosters attached to the car (and certainly some AI). CEO Elon Musk welcomes a Tesla-SpaceX merger (scroll this column for details). [IMAGE: Tesla]
Post-Election Attack on Iran? – The United States and Israel are working on plans to possibly attack Iran after the November 3 midterm elections, Morning Edition reports, citing a person briefed on the preparations who spoke with NPR Thursday on the condition of anonymity.
The US and Israel had initially planned to resume military action on Iran in the middle of this month, about two weeks before Israel’s October 27 elections, in which Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting to retain his seat as prime minister. President Trump earlier this week endorsed Netanyahu for re-election.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded Thursday, saying Iran is ready for war with the US and Israel.
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Fuel Up – In an up-down week, the national average for a gallon of unleaded regular was up more than half a penny Thursday, +0.57 cent, to $4.2701, according to AAA. That’s up $1.30414 over February 27. Diesel prices fell for the second day in a row Thursday, to $6.3090 per gallon Thursday, down 0.84 cent over Wednesday and up $2.5956 over AAA’s March 5 average.
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Mass Strikes on Ukraine – After real estate developer/White House special envoy Steve Witkoff met with the president of Russia in Moscow, Wednesday to discuss a potential peace agreement, “humanitarian” Vladimir Putin’s military launched a mass overnight strike on Ukraine’s capital, The Kyiv Independent reports. This, despite Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s expressed interest in reaching a deal with the Kremlin to cease attacks on each other.
Russia’s attacks come as Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo reached Kyiv in “a flurry of diplomacy” according to the Independent, bringing with him news Helsinki will allocate €2 million (US$2.2 million) in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, including for winter purposes.
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MegaElon Merger? – SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk told Wall Street analysts in SpaceX’s third-quarter earnings call Tuesday the boards of both his companies have formed special committees of independent directors to consider a merger, The New York Times reports. Wall Street analysts dialing in to Musk’s Q3 earnings call for Tesla the next day were told questions about the possibility of a merger were off-limits.
“Do I think it would be a good idea? Yes,” he told the SpaceX Q3 call.
He said he would recuse himself from participating in both committees. If the largely fanboy base of shareholders for Tesla and SpaceX voted in favor of a merger, the combined monolith would be worth an estimated $3.5 billion (NYT’s number) to $3.7 billion (NPR’s number).
Either total could restore Musk's trillionaire status, as he is largest shareholder of both companies, and would cement his position as the world's most powerful life form. – Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa