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Wednesday, October 21, 2026Oct 21, 2026 · morning edition

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Tesla, SpaceX form committees to study a merger

On SpaceX's first earnings call since going public, Musk said both boards set up special committees of independent directors, at shareholders' request, to study combining the two companies.

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7 moves
Elon MuskLeadershipAerospaceSPCX · TSLAAI read · ▲ Big if real, years from done

Tesla, SpaceX form committees to study a merger

The move

On SpaceX's Oct. 20 Q3 earnings call, its first since going public, Musk said Tesla's and SpaceX's boards have each formed a special committee of independent directors, at shareholders' request, to study a possible combination of the two companies. Musk said he is a conflicted party and cannot take part in the committees' discussions. He said no deal terms exist yet and flagged that a Tesla shareholder vote would need support from 50% of all outstanding shares, not just those cast, calling that a high bar. SpaceX reported Q3 revenue of $14.6 billion, up 161% year over year and above the $12.72 billion analysts expected; shares rose about 10% in premarket trading the next day.

Why it matters

A combined company would be one of the largest corporate mergers ever, and investors have speculated about it for months given growing operational overlap between the two firms.

The bear case

The special committees could study the idea for a long time without reaching an agreement, and Musk said the shareholder-approval bar on the Tesla side is unusually high.

What to watch

Whether Tesla's board raises a merger proposal at its annual meeting.

Source · CNBCRead original ↗Report an error
Larry PageOtherAI & techGOOGLAI read · — Embarrassing outage, not a financial hit

Google Cloud outage knocks out UK banking apps

The move

A Google Cloud outage in its London region (europe-west2) on Oct. 20 disrupted banking apps and other services across the UK and Europe for several hours. Google attributed the disruption to a power event in one zone. Lloyds, Halifax, HSBC and Revolut customers reported being unable to log in or access funds, and court video hearings and delivery services including Royal Mail and DPD were also affected. Google said the issue was mitigated for most customers by the next day, though a small number remained affected.

Why it matters

The outage shows how concentrated some of the UK's banking infrastructure is on a single cloud provider and zone.

The bear case

Google said the root cause was a physical power failure, not a security breach, and most customers recovered within hours.

What to watch

Whether Google publishes a post-incident report naming additional affected customers.

Source · ABC NewsRead original ↗Report an error
Jensen HuangOtherAI & techNVDA · CRWVAI read · ▲ Talking up a key customer

Nvidia's Huang defends CoreWeave after debt worries hit stock

The move

Speaking in Stockholm on Oct. 15, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said "CoreWeave's strength is improving every day" and that its cost of capital is falling, adding he sees no need for Nvidia to backstop the company. The comments came a day after CoreWeave shares fell 15% to $65.78, their biggest one-day drop since February, as investors grew worried about the AI cloud company's debt load. CoreWeave shares recovered after Huang's remarks, closing up 5.9% at $69.69.

Why it matters

Nvidia is both an investor in and major supplier to CoreWeave, so Huang's confidence carries weight for a company whose borrowing has drawn scrutiny.

The bear case

Huang's comments are a view, not a financing commitment, and CoreWeave's debt load and the cost of insuring it against default remain elevated.

What to watch

CoreWeave's next quarterly results and any update on its borrowing costs.

Source · BloombergRead original ↗Report an error
Mukesh AmbaniIPO / MarketsOtherPrivateAI read · ▲ India's biggest IPO, by a wide margin

Reliance's Jio Platforms opens India's largest-ever IPO

The move

Jio Platforms opened its initial public offering to the public on Oct. 21, with a price band of 1,065 to 1,119 rupees per share. At the top of that band the fresh-issue offering would raise about 30,213 crore rupees (roughly $3.6 billion), which Indian financial press describe as the country's largest-ever IPO by issue size. Subscription closes Oct. 23. Reliance Industries holds more than 66% of Jio Platforms, with a Meta affiliate near 10% and Google holding about 7.7%, according to LSEG data.

Why it matters

A successful listing would give Ambani's Reliance a large new source of capital and a public market valuation for its telecom and digital arm.

The bear case

The final issue price and allotment results won't be known until subscription closes, and Reliance retains firm control regardless of how the public portion prices.

What to watch

Jio Platforms' subscription numbers when the window closes Oct. 23, and its stock-market debut.

Source · Business TodayRead original ↗Report an error
Peter ThielPolicyAI & techPLTRAI read · ▲ Overhang removed, not a new contract

Palantir settles London lawsuit over scrapped police deal

The move

Palantir and the Mayor of London's Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac) settled, on Oct. 14, the lawsuit Palantir had brought after Mopac blocked a roughly £50 million deal for the Metropolitan Police to use Palantir's AI-driven crime-analysis software. Both sides withdrew their allegations against each other. Palantir had argued the block was an unlawful veto based on the firm's "values and ethics"; Mopac said its decision rested on procurement process, not on Palantir specifically. The Met has opened a fresh competition for the analytics contract.

Why it matters

The settlement clears Palantir to compete again for a UK police contract it had been shut out of, at a time when the firm is also facing a separate review of an NHS contract in Britain.

The bear case

Palantir isn't guaranteed to win the re-opened competition, and UK scrutiny of its government contracts continues on other fronts.

What to watch

The outcome of the Met's new procurement competition for the analytics contract.

Source · ITV NewsRead original ↗Report an error
Eric SchmidtInvestmentAI & techPrivateAI read · ▲ Early bet, big paper gain

Eric Schmidt's early Anthropic bet nears a payday

The move

Bloomberg reported Oct. 19 that former Google CEO Eric Schmidt holds about a 1% stake in Anthropic, stemming from an early investment in the AI company's 2021 Series A round. Anthropic filed confidentially for an IPO on June 1 after a $65 billion funding round valued it at $965 billion, and some investors have discussed a listing valuation of around $1.5 trillion, with a listing possible as early as this fall. It is unclear whether Schmidt has sold any of his stake; he and Anthropic did not respond to requests for comment.

Why it matters

A roughly 1% stake at that scale of valuation would make Schmidt one of the largest individual beneficiaries of an Anthropic listing.

The bear case

Anthropic has not confirmed an IPO date or valuation, and reported target valuations for the listing have varied widely across reports.

What to watch

Whether Anthropic sets a formal IPO date and price range this fall.

Source · The Daily GuardianRead original ↗Report an error
Masayoshi SonOtherAI & techSFTBYAI read · ▼ Debt markets pricing in AI concentration risk

SoftBank's credit risk hits its highest since 2022

The move

SoftBank Group's five-year credit-default-swap spread climbed to about 432 basis points on Oct. 20, a level unseen since late 2022, according to Bloomberg, as investors weigh the company's heavy financial commitments to OpenAI against reports it is in early talks to acquire security firm Allied Universal for about $18 billion. SoftBank has already raised a $40 billion bridge loan and a separate $10 billion loan collateralized by its OpenAI stake to fund its AI investments, and its OpenAI stake is on track to reach roughly $64.6 billion by October.

Why it matters

Rising default-insurance costs signal that credit investors see SoftBank's AI bets, and the debt funding them, as increasingly concentrated risk.

The bear case

SoftBank's stock has still risen sharply this year on optimism about its OpenAI stake, even as its credit spreads widen.

What to watch

Whether SoftBank confirms or drops the reported Allied Universal acquisition talks.

Source · BloombergRead original ↗Report an error

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