January 2027 effective date leaves Zuckerberg’s voting control unchanged
The Wall Street Journal’s What’s News newsletter reported that Meta’s new stock will have an effective date in January 2027 and will not affect CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s voting control. Meta reported record third-quarter revenue of $64.6 billion, a 26% increase from a year earlier. The newsletter presented the new stock in the context of Meta’s AI investments.
The results came hours after a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay the state $25 billion for misleading users about its data-privacy practices. The state called the verdict one of the largest in U.S. history.
Tesla spending, SpaceX merger and Starshield
The newsletter said Wall Street expected Tesla’s capital expenditures to accelerate from the previous quarter’s $5.8 billion, but they declined to $4.7 billion. Tesla still spent more than twice what it had a year earlier and reported flat revenue for the third quarter. In July, Musk signaled that Tesla would spend heavily on assets such as AI computing power. On the previous day’s SpaceX earnings call, Musk said a merger between Tesla and SpaceX “would be a good idea.”
The disruption to Ukraine’s use of Starshield is having a significant impact on Kyiv’s defenses against Russia’s invasion, according to Ukrainian military units and military analysts cited by the newsletter. Musk said the previous week that access to Starshield was controlled by the U.S. government. SpaceX has not so far responded to requests for comment on the Journal’s reporting that Musk ordered the slowdown. U.S. officials denied that the White House ordered the restrictions, and members of Congress from both parties are calling for an investigation into the SpaceX CEO.
Witkoff mission and Acton campaign video
Some Republican senators were quick to condemn U.S. special envoy Witkoff’s praise of Putin, according to the newsletter. The newsletter said the praise did not mark a departure because President Trump had sought to foster warmer relations with Putin to defuse the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv and develop economic ties with Russia. Witkoff’s remarks came after he arrived in Russia to secure the release of Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American citizen. The newsletter described Putin as “one of the West’s most persistent adversaries.”
A video showing Democrat Amy Acton’s mother calling her a liar and unfit for office prompted backlash across the political spectrum, the newsletter reported. Acton has said her mother’s husband sexually abused her, and she and her mother have been estranged since she was a child. Her opponent Vivek Ramaswamy took responsibility for the video, which the newsletter said injected new tension into a closely contested race just two weeks before Election Day.
Online security flaw and Rio Grande shortage
Artificial-intelligence tools helped find a critical security issue that the newsletter called “one of the most severe online bugs ever.” A portion of the world’s websites could be vulnerable, and the flaw could allow an attacker to steal information or launch a cyberattack on anyone visiting a hacked website.
The Rio Grande, which spans about 1,900 miles and sustains farms, towns and wildlife, supports much of the Southwest and is running dry, according to the newsletter. The newsletter said experts described the situation as “one of America’s most severe water crises.” According to the newsletter, the crisis has depleted reservoirs in Colorado, New Mexico and Texas, imperiling many communities that depend on the river for drinking water and irrigation.
Reader reactions and family apple picking
The newsletter asked readers whether Elon Musk should have ordered the Starlink slowdown in Ukraine. Nancie Carlson of Oregon said, “Absolutely not! He’s not a representative of the people or the government and has no business interfering in foreign policy.”
Darrell Ticehurst of California said, “No private individual should have that kind of power! We elect our representatives to Washington to represent us, and we certainly didn’t elect Musk. The argument that he owns the company and can do what he wants doesn’t factor in that he has many diverse shareholders who actually own the company and are also represented by the government in international affairs. Musk is much to be admired for his many accomplishments, but he has strayed into areas that must be left to elected officials.” The newsletter said the responses were condensed and edited.
The newsletter also pointed readers to a Wall Street Journal feature by Ellen Gamerman describing apple picking as a family activity akin to “leaf peeping” for new couples on their first weekend away. Her feature described the modern day trip to an apple orchard as a “high-stakes quest for joy” that simultaneously raises realities not advertised in advance, and detailed “the excruciating delight” of the outing.