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Musk says a SpaceX-Tesla merger is a good idea
Elon Musk said on SpaceX’s earnings call that combining the companies would be a good idea, as both boards formed independent special committees to explore a potential deal that could create a multitrillion-dollar entity.
Committees formed for talks: Both SpaceX and Tesla’s special committees of independent directors are to consider a merger, with Musk recusing himself as a conflicted party who cannot join the discussions.
Synergies on superintelligence: Musk pointed to gains from cooperating on superintelligence software, chip design, the Terafab, robotics, and mass-to-orbit capabilities with the Starmind constellation.
Potential scale and control: A combination could be worth around $3.5 trillion based on current values, and analysts note it might consolidate Musk’s influence given his larger voting power at SpaceX.
Scrutiny and delay risk: Some involved in the talks worry Musk’s public endorsement could invite shareholder scrutiny and delay the process by weeks, recalling the SolarCity litigation over fairness.
Odds surge on Tesla merging with SpaceX before 2028
The odds of Tesla merging with SpaceX before 2028 have surged according to the latest data from Kalshi.
Elon’s Mega Corp: Elon Musk, fresh off the back of the SpaceX IPO has been rumored to be debating the move.
A Pattern Emerging: Prior to the SpaceX IPO several of Musk’s ventures were brought in under the SpaceX umbrella. This included the satellite internet division Starlink and the xAI division which runs the AI model Grok.
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AI uncovers PHP bugs that force 70% of websites offline
Artificial intelligence helped researchers find two critical remote-code-execution vulnerabilities in PHP that affect roughly 70% of websites, prompting governments and companies to take sites offline while patches roll out.
Decade-old flaws exposed: The vulnerabilities, CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619, rated 9.2 severity, affect all PHP installations serving web requests going back to version 5 from 2004.
AI accelerated discovery: Wiz researchers used Gemini 4 Argon and GPT-5.6 Sol; OpenAI and Calif independently found issues with GPT-5.6 Sol under an OpenAI-funded audit, turning hidden bugs into working exploits quickly.
Immediate action ordered: The U.S. National Security Agency and European agencies advised organizations to patch immediately or pull vulnerable systems offline; French, Dutch, Finnish and other government sites went dark.
Scale of exposure: PHP powers about 70% of websites including WordPress and Drupal; Cloudflare and others reported millions of exploitation attempts as patches were issued to PHP 8.5.12.
Meta’s $64.6B quarter fails to calm $145B AI spending fears
Meta posted $64.6 billion in third-quarter revenue, a 26% jump, yet shares fell as free cash flow turned negative, a New Mexico court levied a $25 billion privacy fine, and the company restructured shares to keep its founder in California.
Revenue beats, cash turns: Advertising revenue climbed 26% to $63.1 billion on a 14% rise in average ad prices, but free cash flow fell to negative $2.1 billion after $34.9 billion in capital outlays.
$25 billion New Mexico hit: A Santa Fe judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after a jury found more than 43 million violations of the state’s unfair-practices law over misleading statements tied to the Cambridge Analytica data practices.
Founder alignment on tax: Meta will issue non-voting Class C shares in January, letting Mark Zuckerberg sell a portion immediately for liquidity while committing to remain a California resident for eight years under a potential 5% wealth tax.
Muse shopping traction: More than 10 million people in the U.S. and Canada set up Muse agents in roughly six weeks, with about a quarter of engaged users shopping at an average purchase size above $200.
Oil hits $112 and Wall Street’s “AI patience” finally snaps
U.S. stock futures fell sharply Thursday after Meta and Tesla earnings failed to ease artificial-intelligence spending worries, while Brent crude topped $112 a barrel on Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia and reports of planned post-midterm strikes on Iran.
Futures drop on tech: Nasdaq futures declined about 1.7% and the S&P 500 fell nearly 1% in premarket trading as investors punished higher Meta capital plans and lower Tesla 2026 spending targets despite both companies beating expectations.
Meta and Tesla reverse: Meta shares erased early after-hours gains and Tesla fell around 5% premarket, with Barron’s noting that good results were not enough for the AI trade.
Brent above $112: Crude rose more than 3% after a Houthi drone strike on Saudi Arabia’s Shaybah oilfield killed two people and the United States ordered diplomats and families to leave the kingdom.
Post-midterm strike plans: The New York Times reported that the United States and Israel are preparing for possible strikes on Iran after the November midterm elections, adding to inflation fears across oil-importing Asia.
Tesla quietly cuts 2026 capex by $5B after mixed quarter
Tesla beat adjusted-earnings expectations in the third quarter but reported flat revenue and a sharp drop in GAAP profit, then lowered its 2026 capital-spending outlook to roughly $20 billion.
Revenue flat, profit down: Automotive revenue was roughly flat year over year while GAAP net income fell 43% to $787 million; non-GAAP EPS of $0.48 topped the roughly $0.45 consensus.
Energy and cash flow: Energy generation and storage revenue declined 16% to $2.9 billion; free cash flow came in at $1.53 billion after capital expenditures of $4.73 billion, more than double a year earlier.
2026 spending guide cut: Management reduced the 2026 capital-expenditure outlook to about $20 billion from the prior expectation of more than $25 billion.
Demand still exceeds output: Executives said vehicle demand outpaced production, pointing to Full Self-Driving software, energy-storage orders, and early Robotaxi operations as growth drivers.
Anthropic launches Claude Duet the proactive AI agent
Anthropic released a research preview of Claude Duet, a proactive personal AI agent designed to monitor apps, surface priorities, and execute tasks, positioning it against Grok Bot, Muse and Dots.
Research preview launch: The agent is available to U.S. Pro and Max subscribers through a waitlist, with both mobile and desktop versions.
Proactive task handling: Claude Duet continuously monitors connected applications, surfaces the highest-priority items, and can carry out background actions without constant user prompts.
Competitive positioning: Anthropic framed the product as a direct response to xAI’s Grok Bot, Meta’s Muse and OpenAI’s Dots in the emerging personal-agent category.
Early access limits: The company has not disclosed a broader public release timeline beyond the current restricted preview.
French yields hit 5% as $112 oil and protests collide
French 10-year yields climbed toward multi-decade highs while the spread over German Bunds widened sharply, as oil above $112 and political tension added to pressure already visible in European markets.
Yields hit fresh highs: French 10-year OATs moved toward levels last seen around 2002, with the OAT-Bund spread expanding amid the broader risk-off move.
Oil adds inflation pressure: Brent above $112 on Middle East developments raised concerns about energy costs across Europe, which imports most of its fuel.
Political backdrop: Ongoing fiscal and political friction in France contributed to the yield move even as U.S. Treasury yields declined on safe-haven flows.
European risk-off: The STOXX 600 gave back prior gains as higher oil and wider French spreads weighed on sentiment.
Kalshi lets you borrow against bitcoin without selling a coin
Prediction market Kalshi will let some prime clients use Bitcoin and Ether held at BitGo as collateral for leveraged perpetual futures, while the OCC finalized the first GENIUS Act rules for stablecoin issuers effective in January 2027.
Bitcoin-backed perps collateral: Kalshi arranged with BitGo so select clients can post crypto-secured loans from a lending affiliate against Bitcoin and ether to margin perpetual-futures trades.
OCC sets GENIUS framework: The Comptroller finalized requirements covering reserves, redemptions, custody and risk management for payment stablecoins, with the law and rule taking effect January 18, 2027.
No direct issuer yields: The rules ban stablecoin issuers from paying yield directly to customers, though the OCC will evaluate third-party reward arrangements case by case.
Crypto stocks rally on clarity: Strategy shares rose 7% and Galaxy Digital 8% after the framework, with Circle up 5% and Coinbase up 4%, while bitcoin ETFs drew more than $1.07 billion over three sessions.