Emma Tucker
1. FROM MY DESK
Elon Musk has spent two decades running (Tesla) and (SpaceX), intertwining their resources and ambitions. Now, he wants to make their relationship official, potentially setting the stage for the largest corporate merger in history.
The talks come as Tesla reports flat revenue but a surprise positive free cash flow, even as it pours money into AI and robotics. Those investments underpin Musk's vision of "physical AI": Tesla building robotaxis and robots, with SpaceX providing the infrastructure to connect them worldwide.
A deal could solve two problems for Musk: competing demands on his attention and his lack of control at Tesla. But regulatory scrutiny could complicate his plans.
Becky Peterson and Corrie Driebusch explore the blurred lines of Musk's empire and how an unprecedented merger could redefine both companies.
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2. TODAY'S HEADLINES
-- Authorities in Saudi Arabia blamed Iran-backed Houthi militants for a new attack on a civilian airport that killed one person and injured eight.
-- Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers faced off in a debate in the race for U.S. Senate in Michigan. It got especially heated when Rogers accused El-Sayed of being "bought off" by the Muslim Brotherhood.
-- The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is ending candidate endorsements and contributions from its political action committee, as a growing number of candidates are distancing themselves from the group.
-- A proposed billionaire tax had Mark Zuckerberg thinking about leaving California, but provisions around the 2-for-1 split of Meta Platforms' stock are designed to keep him in the state.
-- As France tries to restore order to its finances, the government faces a significant challenge: an unusual reliance on foreign investors who no longer have a strong reason to come to its rescue.
-- Corporate America is passing more of its rising healthcare costs on to workers. The average cost of a family health plan rose 5% this year, while employees' share jumped 9% to $7,471.
3. LIVE FROM THE MARKETS
Follow our live financial coverage all day.
-- Stocks Spencer Jakab is watching: Abbott Laboratories matched analyst expectations for third-quarter earnings per share on Wednesday, but the big news from the pharmaceutical giant was that it will separate its nutrition business next year in a tax-free spinoff. The still-unnamed unit-Costello, maybe?-has been dogged by scandals, including baby formula contamination. The stock fell 1.9% and is down by nearly a fifth year-to-date. (Get Spencer's Markets A.M. newsletter in your inbox.)
-- Carrier Global plans to invest more than $600 million in a new Texas plant to meet record demand for data-center cooling equipment, its biggest investment ever.
4. READ IT HERE FIRST
Iran's fleet of shadow tankers has run out of oil.
For most of the war, Tehran maintained a crucial economic lifeline: dozens of tankers holding millions of barrels of crude sitting safely in Asian waters, quietly supplying Chinese refineries and generating billions in cash. Now, that floating cushion is gone, denying the regime vital revenue. With oil sales accounting for up to 40% of Iran's government revenue, Jon Emont reports on the mounting economic strain threatening Tehran's ability to fund its war effort. The squeeze comes as mediators scramble to revive talks with Iran, the U.S. moves another aircraft carrier to the Middle East and Israel warns of possible new strikes.
5.
The ultrarich are buying $100 million mansions just to tear them down.
When cosmetics billionaire William P. Lauder bought Rush Limbaugh's Palm Beach estate for $155 million, it featured a 24,000-square-foot main house with a salon modeled after Versailles. Four months later, he had razed it. Across elite enclaves, ultrawealthy buyers are paying eye-popping prices for relatively new homes-only to immediately demolish them to secure irreplaceable land for custom builds. But the practice is drawing mounting criticism for its environmental impact. Katherine Clarke looks at the rise of the nine-figure teardown, or as many call it, "adaptive reuse."
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6. SEE THE STORY
Five ways to fix Social Security's finances.
Social Security is spending more on benefits than it collects in taxes, and its reserves are on track to run dry within a few years. Congress has yet to agree on a solution. From raising the retirement age to expanding payroll taxes or reducing benefits, lawmakers have several options. Here's a look at how five proposals could narrow Social Security's 75-year funding shortfall-and how long each could postpone insolvency, if at all.
7. HAPPENING TODAY
-- President Trump holds a rally in Iowa.
-- Earnings: Procter & Gamble, American Airlines, Lockheed Martin, Spotify and Comcast
-- Economic Data: Weekly U.S. jobless claims figures are due.
-- Today's paper
8. THE NUMBER
18%
That is the average annual growth rate of The Gund Co., a third-generation family business that has never laid off a single employee since its founding 75 years ago. CEO Steve Gund attributes the nearly $400 million manufacturer's success to a 12-step, "people-first" playbook that gives priority to worker well-being over short-term profits. Now, hundreds of executives are flocking to the company's St. Louis headquarters to see if they can mimic the elusive model and future-proof their own businesses.
9. AND FINALLY...
A $45 million Nicolas Cage movie has gone missing.
Novice producer Simon Afram self-funded the World War II thriller, "Fortitude." But after an unconventional production, an unencrypted hard drive containing the film was stolen from a (Netflix) office, prompting a $105 million lawsuit. With distributors now steering clear, it is unclear what will happen to the movie. Afram released a trailer for the vanished film anyway-which included a misspelling of co-star Ben Kingsley's name.
10. BEYOND THE NEWSROOM
-- Opinion: Iowa Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek's apparent strategy is to scare voters in service of expanding government control over healthcare. This would ultimately hurt cancer patients.
-- WSJ | Buy Side: To identify 11 of the best financial adviser companies, we compared key factors such as fees, adviser credentials and available services.
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Today's newsletter was curated and edited by Bharbi Hazarika and James Leigh in collaboration with Editor in Chief Emma Tucker. Got a tip for us? Here's how to submit.
This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
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