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]
Iran Warns Back – Tehran will strike not just US airbases and warships, but also airports, pipelines and other civilian targets of its Persian Gulf neighbors if the United States and Israel carry out plans to restart its air war on Iran after the November 3 midterm elections, The Wall Street Journal reports. The warnings were issued publicly and in private diplomatic communications, according to the report.
The Trump administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly backed off plans for the resumption of air strikes in mid-October, ahead of next week’s elections in Israel, for the post-midterm plans, The New York Times and Financial Timesreported.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu warned in a speech that Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is attempting to develop what the Israeli PM called “the bombs of death.” (This raises the question, ‘is there any other kind?’) Netanyahu was referring to nuclear weapons, which Trump has repeatedly stated that Iran must never have.
Netanyahu said in the speech that the only way to remove the threat of Iranian “bombs of death” is to overthrow the regime.
•••
Trump Must Be Deposed – Federal Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett has ordered President Trump to record a deposition in his $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC by December 11 or face sanctions, including possible dismissal of the suit (The Guardian). Trump’s suit alleges the BBC spliced together two comments the president made about one hour before the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol began for a Panorama documentary.
Judge Lett also rejected the Trump team’s request to prevent the seven-hour long deposition from being videotaped, even though it will be restricted to access by attorneys in the case.
Trump cancelled a deposition that was to be held last Friday, with his attorneys arguing the president had “other matters or national importance” that day. BBC attorneys countered that Trump had attended on October 16 a campaign rally in Dalton, Georgia and a Republican National Committee event at Mar-a-Lago, according to NPR’s Morning Edition.
The BBC had acknowledged the specific edit in question was misleading, according to The Guardian, but said Trump had falsely claimed the British broadcaster had used AI to insert words into his speech. Trump filed suit under Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, though the Panorama documentary has never aired in the state.
•••
Fuel Upped – With the Strait of Hormuz “effectively closed” according to Political.org and Brent Crude trading above $114 per barrel Friday morning, according to Business Insider, AAA reports the national average for a gallon of unleaded regular costs consumers $4.2926, up 2.25 cents from Thursday and $1.32664 costlier than on February 27. AAA’s national average for a gallon of diesel is up 0.82 cents to $6.3172, or $2.6038 more per gallon than on March 5. –TL
__________________________________________________
THURSDAY 10/22/26
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.
•••
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.
•••
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.
•••
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