Tech Giant Elon Musk's Companies Face Scrutiny Amidst Mergers, Raids, and Regulations
Elon Musk's various ventures are currently navigating a complex landscape of mergers, investigations, and regulatory changes. SpaceX is acquiring Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI, while X (formerly Twitter) faces legal challenges in France and the UK. Simultaneously, China has banned hidden door handles, a design popularized by Tesla, due to safety concerns.
SpaceX confirmed its acquisition of xAI, known for its Grok chatbot, aiming to create an "innovation engine" combining AI, rockets, space-based internet, and media, according to a memo from Musk posted on the SpaceX website. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, a source familiar with the matter valued xAI at $125 billion and SpaceX at $1 trillion, potentially making the merged entity the most valuable private company ever.
Meanwhile, X's offices in France were raided by the Paris prosecutor's cyber-crime unit as part of an investigation into suspected offenses, including unlawful data extraction and complicity in the possession of child pornography. The prosecutor's office stated that both Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino had been summoned to appear at hearings in April. Musk responded to the raid on X, calling it a "political attack."
In a separate development, the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) announced a probe into Musk's AI tool, Grok, over its "potential to produce harmful sexualised image and video content."
Adding to the regulatory pressures, China has banned hidden door handles on electric vehicles (EVs), a design popularized by Tesla. The decision comes as EVs face increased scrutiny from safety watchdogs following several deadly incidents, including two fatal crashes in China involving Xiaomi EVs where power failures were suspected to have prevented doors from being opened. According to state media, the new regulations, set to take effect on January 1, 2027, require cars to have a mechanical release both inside and outside the doors.
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