Benzinga

Tomorrow on The Drift: Adam Mesh is joined by Tom Sosnoff for a live market conversation on stocks, options, rates, earnings, and the forces moving the tape. @Tomunderwater @wearelossdog Watch here: youtube.com/live/mc6R10wRA…

Could AI Pay Americans $1 Million Each? New Think Tank Forecast Sparks Jim Chanos' SpaceX Jab: 'Seems Reasonable' The AI Futures Project, a non-profit that forecasts the future of artificial intelligence, published a proposal calling for the U.S. government to distribute a citizen's dividend to all American adults as AI increasingly displaces human workers. The plan, called AI 2040 Plan A, projects that by 2033, AI-induced unemployment will rise significantly as millions of AI agents boost productivity. The non-profit said that "across a variety of companies, there are now 60 million AI agents running continuously at 20x human speed." Under the plan, the U.S. government would distribute the majority of compute and robot permit fees as a direct citizen's dividend, with the proposal forecasting the dividend starting at $45,000 per person in 2032, climbing to $1 million per person by 2035, and $10 million by 2040. The plan also predicts AI reaching an 85% labor share by 2035 and projects the U.S. government distributing an average of $1,200 per year to the rest of the world's adult population, covering approximately 4 billion people. China would be excluded from those distributions because the plan assumes it would be "experiencing a similar AI wealth boom" of its own. The article also noted comments from SpaceX ($SPCX) CEO Elon Musk, who separately said SpaceX could be worth more than the entire planet if it achieves its goals. Musk has also argued that space is the only way to meaningfully scale AI computing beyond Earth-based data center limitations.

Palantir ($PLTR) CEO Alex Karp says AI could become America’s biggest driver of wealth inequality. He says AI may raise living standards broadly, but the biggest gains could flow to a tiny group leading the industry.

Elon Musk criticized MacKenzie Scott’s massive charitable giving after an X post said she had donated more than $26.3 billion to charity. Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon ($AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos, has become one of the largest individual philanthropists in history through her organization Yield Giving. The original post praised Scott for trying to use most of her Bezos fortune to help others. Another user responded that she was “making the world a worse place,” and Musk replied, “Sadly, yes.” Scott’s giving model focuses on large, often unrestricted grants to nonprofits, allowing the groups to decide how to use the money. Supporters see that as a way to quickly move wealth into communities and organizations that need funding. Critics argue that many of the grants support progressive causes, including racial equity, immigration, climate initiatives and LGBTQ+ advocacy. Musk did not explain his reply, but it fits with his long-running skepticism about whether philanthropy actually produces good outcomes. Musk has said before that giving money away effectively is extremely difficult because even well-intended donations can create unintended consequences. He has often argued that building companies like Tesla ($TSLA) and SpaceX ($SPCX) is his preferred way to create large-scale impact. The broader debate is about two different views of doing good. Scott’s supporters believe nonprofits can drive meaningful change, while Musk appears to favor building transformative companies over pure redistribution.

Small cap stocks just had their biggest first half in 35 years. Tom Sosnoff (@Tomunderwater) breaks down the massive rotation happening under the surface. (Video contains content from @tastyliveshow)

New Jersey’s new Power New Jersey Act could create a roughly $24B nuclear buildout. Cameco ($CCJ) and Brookfield ($BAM), Westinghouse co-owners, may be best positioned as the state signals a preference for shovel-ready projects over SMR startups.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi pushed back on President Donald Trump’s proposal to charge a 20% fee on cargo moving through the Strait of Hormuz. Araghchi said Trump was “absolutely right” that whoever secures safe passage through the waterway should be compensated, but argued that Iran, not the U.S., is the rightful guardian of the Strait. Araghchi said Iran has always protected the Strait and will continue to do so. He also joked that 20% was “too much,” adding that Iran would be “fair” if it were collecting compensation. Trump had announced that the U.S. would become the “Guardian of the Hormuz Strait” and begin charging the fee to cover the cost of securing navigation. He also said the process would begin immediately. At the same time, Trump said the U.S. would reinstate its blockade of Iranian ports near the Strait, with CENTCOM saying the move would resume Tuesday afternoon. Trump insisted the Strait is open and will remain open “with or without Iran.” The proposal quickly drew legal pushback. The International Maritime Organization told CNBC there is no legal basis for mandatory transit tolls on ships using an international strait, echoing earlier comments from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The dispute adds another layer to already rising U.S.-Iran tensions. The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most important oil chokepoints, carrying roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments.

I have to say one of the more gratifying things is the team I hired & trained along w others @Benzinga now lead the ad/biz dev teams at most of the successful financial media companies these days. Hmm, maybe I need to be trainer?? :-)

Half of Americans think AI will cost someone in their household a job. Jeff Bezos says AI is going to create a labor shortage. One of them is wrong. (Image via Shutterstock - FotoField. Video clip via youtube user drmnewsinternational)

International Business Machines Corp. ($IBM) plunged 24% after preliminary Q2 revenue and EPS missed estimates. IBM said customers shifted spending toward servers, storage and memory late in the quarter, while infrastructure revenue fell 7%.

Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest bought another $21.3 million of SpaceX ($SPCX) stock on Monday as shares continued sliding from recent highs. The purchases came across ARK Innovation ETF ($ARKK), ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF ($ARKQ), ARK Next Generation Internet ETF ($ARKW) and ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF ($ARKX). SpaceX has fallen nearly 35% from its record one-month high, but Ark kept adding to the position. The biggest buy came from ARKK, which purchased 88,957 shares, followed by ARKQ, ARKW and ARKX. The stock remains in focus after its public debut and ongoing debate around its valuation. Elon Musk’s comments about orbital data centers have added to the hype, while short seller Jim Chanos has questioned how practical the plan really is. At the same time, Ark continued trimming Advanced Micro Devices ($AMD). The firm sold shares from ARKQ, ARKW and ARKX as the chipmaker faces pressure from tech profit-taking, supply-chain concerns and broader semiconductor weakness. The move suggests Ark may see better near-term opportunities outside AMD, even though the company remains a major AI and semiconductor name. Ark’s recent trading pattern has leaned more aggressively into SpaceX while reducing exposure to the chipmaker. Other trades included buys of Cantor Equity Partners II ($SECZ), Block ($XYZ), Prime Medicine ($PRME), Oklo ($OKLO) and Kratos Defense and Security Solutions ($KTOS).

Ring The Bell is live 🔔 Squeeze watch. These 10 stocks could soar. Plus a Berkshire surprise, Meta and Salesforce face breakout or breakdown, top stories, and more. Read today’s issue: benzingaringthebell.beehiiv.com/p/squeeze-watc…

Elon Musk Confirms Starlink Can Deliver Reliable 10 Gigabit-a-Second Upload and Download Speeds Anywhere On Earth Elon Musk confirmed on X that Starlink ($SPCX) can now provide reliable 10 Gbps symmetric upload and download connectivity anywhere in the world, citing a demonstration in Utqiagvik, Alaska, the northernmost U.S. city, located 320 miles above the Arctic Circle, where peak speeds of up to 10 Gbps symmetric were achieved. Starlink also noted that bonded gateways can deliver up to 20 Gbps symmetric service for remote and extreme environments. Starlink has surpassed 12 million active users across more than 160 countries, up from 9 million users reported in 2025. SpaceX, which operates Starlink, has also been raising prices in some higher-end market segments alongside the service expansion. The company's Business Aviation Regional 25 GB plan recently doubled in price to $4,000 per month from $2,000, according to published pricing details shared at the time of the article. SpaceX shares were down 0.93% to $150.75 during pre-market trading on the day the article was published. Benzinga Edge Rankings did not show a favorable price trend for SpaceX stock in the short, medium, or long term at that time. The 10 Gbps milestone was announced as SpaceX continues expanding Starlink's capacity to serve enterprise and government customers globally.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Says Businesses 'Pay for Intelligence Twice,' Warns AI Can Cost Companies Proprietary Knowledge. $MSFT benzinga.com/markets/tech/2…

EXCLUSIVE: Envoy Medical $COCH Says 12-Month Data Shows Continued Improvement in Word Recognition in Ear Implant Study

Elon Musk Says Tesla Robot Will Be 'Biggest Product of All Time' - 'Nothing Will Even Be Close' but China Is Toughest Rival, 'No Two Ways About It' Tesla ($TSLA) CEO Elon Musk declared during an earnings call that the company's Optimus humanoid robot will become the largest product in human history. "My prediction is that Optimus will be the biggest product of all time by far. Nothing will even be close. I think it'll be ten times bigger than the next biggest product ever made. That level," Musk said. To back that prediction, Tesla is already converting dedicated factory space at its Fremont, California facility into an Optimus production line, after winding down production of its flagship Model S and Model X vehicles. The move signals a clear shift in the company's long-term priorities away from its traditional electric vehicle lineup and toward humanoid robotics. Musk identified China as Tesla's most formidable rival in the humanoid robot market, saying Chinese companies are "extremely good at scaling and manufacturing" and are also strong in AI, with models there improving rapidly. "China will definitely be tough competition, there's no two ways about it," he said, adding that to Tesla's current knowledge there are no significant competitors outside China. Musk said people outside China frequently underestimate the country's capabilities, calling it "an ass kicker next level." Despite that assessment, he said Tesla believes it can hold an advantage in real-world AI and robotic hand dexterity, which he described as one of the hardest engineering challenges in robotics.