Tim Higgins
Appearances
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
Well, the president has talked about how he's doing this as part of his kind of make America great plan to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. and to bring kind of that high value manufacturing to the U.S. For automakers, this is a nightmare scenario. Building, designing, making cars is something that takes many, many years.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
There's these supply chains, there's these factories, and the system is not parochial anymore. It's very global. And if you think about the U.S. in the last year, More than 16 million cars were sold, and 54% of those were produced in the U.S. That means 46% were imported. And that's just talking about where they're built.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
That doesn't even get into the complicated supply chain of where those parts came. And a lot of them come from outside the U.S.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
Part of that, but also U.S. car makers are not so U.S. anymore. Think about General Motors. 46% of their cars that are sold in the U.S. are assembled outside of the U.S., primarily in Mexico, Canada, South Korea. It's a global business. Ford is probably the best position, perhaps. They have a lot of U.S. manufacturing.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
The other Detroit automaker, now known as Stellantis, it used to be known as Chrysler. They build a lot of models outside of the U.S., but they also have a lot of U.S. parts in their vehicles. So if they're made in Mexico, they got a lot of U.S. parts. So they could be okay. I mean, they could be better off. Who knows?
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
You know, overall, analysts are expecting this is going to hit the operating margins, operating profits for these car makers.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
Well, the stock market thinks that Tesla might be the winner if you look at kind of the way the stock has moved. But even Elon Musk, the CEO of that company and a very vocal Trump advisor these days, has said there will be an impact. So Tesla's probably better position. Ford seems to be better position.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
One of the real winners, at least if you listen to the United Auto Workers Union, could be American workers if, in fact, work does return to the U.S., whether it's final assembly or the work making parts. But it's not yet clear exactly if production is going to return to the U.S. We don't know yet. We could see a scenario in which some popular models or some models might just not come to the U.S.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
They might get discontinued. One of the concerns, one of the really big concerns you hear from economists is and kind of industry observers. Since the pandemic, it has just been really amazing to watch kind of the cost of cars increase for your pocketbook. I look at numbers from earlier this year, and this was before the tariffs.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
The average price of a new car transacting in the US was around $48,000. I don't think a lot of people think $48,000 is is affordable for many people. Economists kind of look at that number and they think it'll probably just go higher with these tariffs. Though, as my colleagues at The Wall Street Journal have reported, Trump has been, you know, perhaps warning U.S.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
automakers not to raise those prices, though most believe the cost increases will be pushed off to consumers.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
It depends on kind of the timeline you're looking at. He's making the gamble. The president's making the gamble that production will kind of return to the U.S., that a new kind of American economy will emerge. They'll be stronger. That's going to take time. Cars take many, many years to develop and to kind of create that ecosystem. And you just don't see it pop up overnight in the interim.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
There does seem to have been a buildup of inventory by some of the makers, car makers in the U.S., but that's going to probably be eaten through very quickly. If you look at sales results in March, which are just coming in, it seems to be a surge of buyers out there trying to get in before March. The effects go into place.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
Economists and industry observers are kind of talking about how the situation is kind of a perfect storm, if you will, that resembles perhaps what we saw in the wake of the pandemic when there was shortages of vehicles and sent prices up just because of that.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
There's a concern that there'll be a shortage of affordable vehicles, and that'll just push prices up for everybody, not just in new cars, but also in used cars.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
Well, there are two really big issues for Tesla. The one that's obvious, at least to people who are kind of paying attention to the brand and protesting outside of the stores or the showrooms in recent weeks, is the political one. Elon Musk and Tesla are intertwined. It's hard to talk about Tesla as a brand without thinking about Elon Musk, and Elon Musk has clearly become— very political.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
I can't think of a modern equivalent of a CEO essentially operating out of the White House grounds on a day-to-day basis. I mean, it's unprecedented in the modern time. And by that kind of very position, there's a large percentage of the U.S. who's against it because they're Democrats, perhaps, and he's on the Republican side, right? So you've got the politicalization of the brand.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
You've got Musk taking some contentious positions. And so that's a challenge for Tesla, the brand. But then Tesla, the company also has a challenge in that it does not have new product. to speak of in the mainstream sense. Of course, we all know the Cybertruck, but that is not a mainstream vehicle. The last mainstream vehicle they brought out was the Model Y, a compact sport utility vehicle.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
As Musk likes to point out, the best-selling vehicle in the world really helped build the modern Tesla, what we think of as this powerhouse, most valuable automaker in the world company. because of this vehicle, but it's old and it's long in the tooth. In the car business, fresh sheet metal is key to keep those sales growing, and investors are getting jittery about that.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
What Musk is doing, he's been kind of vocal about that, is that he's betting that the future of Tesla is not about pumping out you know, new sheet metal per se, but it's about software and it's about autonomous vehicles. It is about robots. The Model Y and whatever the future cars that he makes, the Cybertruck or Cybercab, these will be delivery vehicles, if you will, for that software that
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
The potential, the value is in autonomy, and that's the gamble. The interim, however, is all about selling that sheet metal, and he's still playing in the game of selling cars. And so it's not surprising, given the age of his fleet. that sales have been the way they are.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
They're trying to kind of juice them or get some excitement in the lineup this year with a refreshed version of the Model Y. It's not yet clear if that will bring the excitement back to the brand. Supporters, fans of the company say that sales in the first quarter were probably affected because people are waiting to buy this new vehicle in the coming days and whatnot. But we will see.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
What do you think? Do you think that's true? Well, I think that there always is a segment of the Tesla kind of fan community who wants the newest thing. And, you know, clearly they're going to be out there. Now, how much wind behind that sail is there? I'm not quite sure.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
If you look at other car companies over the years, refreshes help, but they don't kind of overcome the fact that they aren't new vehicles. Time will tell. There's also efforts to bring out cheaper vehicles this year, basically variations of what's already out there. So that could help. At one point, Elon, at one point, Musk was talking about deliveries rising 23 percent this year.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
I don't think a lot of people think that's going to happen.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
The biggest bet is the idea of the robots, the humanoid robots. Now, when you talk about how real that is, I mean, there's a lot of steps. When I talk to robotic experts, professors, people in the space, there's a lot of things that need to occur. You can do demos, you can do concepts, but many steps ahead. There are others out there who are still, you know, kind of showing the same thing.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
And that's a big leap. When you talk about driverless taxis, now this is a technology that some have figured out. I'm in San Francisco. I have been in the Waymo robo-taxi. People are using it for their daily commutes here. It's a business. It is expanding to places like it's in Los Angeles. It's going other places. Next on the horizon here in San Francisco is Amazon.com's own gamble with Zoox.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
I have been in their robo-taxi as well. It's not yet been opened up to the general public, but is on a path. We've seen those. With Tesla, we have not seen those. the company demonstrate an ability to operate vehicles without people behind the wheel on public roads. That's a big leap forward.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
Now, supporters and Tesla enthusiasts will say that FSD, their full self-driving technology, which is not fully self-driving just yet. It is a driver-assisted system, which still requires somebody behind the wheel. Supporters would say that's getting very far along and they can see it happening. Thank you. Thank you.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
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Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
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Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
The idea of kind of the way Trump would call it, it was mandating EVs, though it wasn't necessarily a mandate. He kind of argued it was. There was a push to have a percentage of vehicles go EV, without a doubt. But it's part of this kind of uncertainty that we're seeing in the U.S. automotive landscape among these administrations. What the CEOs of these companies would like probably the most—
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. thought things were going to go a certain way and now are scrambling to try to figure out the chaos that they say is ahead of them.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
Definitely not the same situation as legacy companies. They don't have the benefit of having the legacy product line that still is generating profit in the U.S., right? Rivian has seen, I think, an interesting kind of positioning with its branding. It is not Tesla. It is not Elon Musk. It is producing a vehicle that people seem to be excited about. Both companies, Lucid and Rivian,
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
are probably on that, if we have a scale of like vehicles that companies who are like the Koreans who are importing a lot of vehicles and seem to be looking kind of bleak here with the idea of these tariffs. And Tesla on the other end of that, according to at least investors' mindset of being largely U.S. done, they're probably closer to the Tesla side of things on the tariff situation.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
I shouldn't say cheaper. I think they'd be upset a more affordable vehicle coming. But, you know, they have an interesting branding position. They came out at the high end like Tesla did with the Model S. And, you know, the idea was to kind of go more mainstream. But what are they at this point? Are they a high end vehicle or are they more affordable?
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
They've been trying to have lease deals and whatnot to make them more affordable. They've got new product that's interesting. People are excited about it, but they haven't quite hit that scale yet to be Yeah, absolutely. You know, operating as a car company in this kind of environment, this geopolitical environment, is a challenge. Then you throw in where are interest rates going to be?
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
Are we going to head into a recession? There's a reason why it's tough to be in the car business, right?
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
Well, you know, it's interesting. I think one of the more interesting car stories of the last 10 years or so is the rise of Hyundai and Kia. They have just developed such a strong position in the U.S. market. But still, a lot of that is coming from outside of the U.S. Yes, Hyundai just opened a new factory in Georgia for its EV and hybrid vehicles, and they're trying to become more U.S.-based. But
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
It'll be interesting to see how they respond to these tariffs and can they respond quick enough. It's a company that has created a very powerful brand. And, you know, that's not easy to do. And so that's an interesting company.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
I think the Germans are also kind of at this inflection point, facing real challenges in their home market, real challenges with that kind of evolution to the EV as well in the kind of a similar but different way than the Detroit companies. And watching them play in the tariffs here in the States could be another kind of interesting and eye-opening experience.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
I think of a story one of my colleagues did about Mercedes and how They invested heavily in a U.S. factory in Alabama, yet they still face the challenge that a good percentage of the parts come from outside of the U.S. And so even though they're building here, those vehicles will probably be hit with cost increases. So lots of different simmering dramas around the automotive industry.
Prof G Markets
A Nightmare Tariff Scenario for the Auto Industry — ft. Tim Higgins
We're already seeing CEOs kind of move in and out of these companies, always a sign of kind of a critical period, if you will, in the space, a great global drama.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
I mean, let's talk about the Oval Office press conference. Except for the location and the visuals and having the president next to him, listening to it, it felt like it could have been one of the quarterly calls he does as the Tesla CEO. This is the Elon Musk that investors have known for a very long time, where he sells his vision for his companies and for his business ideas.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
The difference here is he was selling that vision for the government. This is the way he operates. He's not a bit player in the background. He wants to run things.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
One of the things about Musk is that most of his companies are startups. He's green shooting it. He's creating it the way he wants to go. But there are some examples of when he takes over and Twitter is the best in late 2022, shock and awe immediately taking over, getting rid of the top executives, then cleaning house, getting rid of eventually 80% of the employees, slashing expenses.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
And when you look at Doge, I see some similarities. Going through agency by agency, trying to figure out where the money is going specifically and looking for people that can get on board with the vision for government 2.0.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
Well, it's a different company. It is a totally different company. Even by name, it is now X. Right, it's not Twitter.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
The everything country. Look, Twitter, when he took it over, was a trouble coming. This is a company that hadn't been really financially successful in the previous 10 years. It needed a change, and he brought a change. Now, is it the right change, or is it a better business? That's to be determined. It's a work in progress.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
But even the most recent financial data that our colleagues at the Journal have uncovered would suggest it's doing better now than it was in those early days when he took it over.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
Well, you hit it on the head there. I mean, the biggest difference between Twitter and the government is he owned Twitter or he controlled Twitter. He doesn't control the government. You know, there are lots of stakeholders that have a say in everything, whether it's Congress, there's the judiciary that he gets to weigh in on some of this. His word is not the law like it might be at his companies.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
And that's one of the big differences, to say the least. It's also, as you kind of alluded to at the beginning of the show, it's unclear exactly how much power he has.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
I think we have to take him at his word. He is a kind of a guy who wears his emotions on his sleeve and his opinions on his feed. And he has been very vocal in the last few years that the government has just become a run amok, if you will, with too many regulations.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
I've heard him time and time again over the years talk about regulations being an impediment for business, in particular his experience at SpaceX and at Tesla. These are highly regulated industries he's playing in, and he has huge ambitions, whether it's Tesla, where he wants to bring out driverless cars, where this is a kind of a gray area of regulation.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
that it would be very helpful to have somebody in the White House and empower, kind of usher this technology in. He has pointed to things like the EPA that he feels like have been slowing him down. And these are huge issues in his mind, apparently so big of issues that he is willing to kind of get into government, personally roll up his sleeves and start weeding that garden, if you will.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
I mean, Elon Musk is a master marketer. One of the superpowers that he's had as an entrepreneur is selling his vision for the future of aerospace, the future of cars to customers, but more importantly, investors who have funded the development of those companies until they could get off the ground. It's been time and time again out there pushing the narrative of where things could be.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
And what I see him doing with Doge seems to be like straight from the playbook. He's creating the appearance of momentum. Even though it's not clear that these are actual victories, it is showing the world that he's doing stuff, right? He can point to whatever tweet or whatever day's victory and say, look what we're doing. There's corruption. There's fraud. Look at this misspending.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
This is why we're here. Hang on for the ride because we're going to get rid of all this stuff in the long run.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
He would like to get it down to the very core, and it gets to the first principles approach. This idea of just because we've done something the way we have in the past, this cliche thinking doesn't mean we should be doing it in the future. And you kind of get to the government, and there's not just generations, but centuries of why things have developed the way they are.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
And you go in and just blow it up, that's going to make a lot of heads hurt.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
You know, you kind of watch this relationship develop over the past months, and it seems to be that Musk is putting a lot of effort and a lot of attention into trying to nurture it in a way that it's almost like a company or a business of his or an idea.
The Journal.
Trump 2.0: The Musk-Trump Bromance
He clearly has ambitions for things that he wants to accomplish with the government and sees in the president a vessel, if you will, to get those things accomplished. Who needs who more?
WSJ What’s News
Consumers Pull Back Spending, From Luxury Goods to Convenience Stores
The biggest question since the election was how long would Trump and Musk kind of stay close? And time and time again, we continue to see them making these public displays of affection. And this past week was no different.
WSJ What’s News
Consumers Pull Back Spending, From Luxury Goods to Convenience Stores
Trump hosting Musk on the White House lawn to essentially hawk Tesla vehicles, which was odd, if you will, because the campaign season, Trump was very much against electric vehicles.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
But it's Luckey's current venture in the world of weapons that gives him influence in the U.S. defense industry. Lucky isn't your typical defense contractor.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
He's got a mullet and a goatee, he sports Hawaiian shirts instead of business suits, and while his company, Andrel, is named after a sword in the Lord of the Rings, its business, designing and manufacturing high-tech weapons, is deadly serious. Drones, artificial intelligence, cutting-edge operating systems, the stuff of sci-fi armories coming to life.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
I mean, this vision that you put forward comes at a good time, right? I mean, a period of time when President Trump is trying to reimagine how the federal government works. It has his team of Elon Musk and Doge out there talking about government efficiency. You spent time at the President's Club in Florida, Mar-a-Lago. What are they thinking about?
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
What are you hearing about what they want to do with the Pentagon? Is it this vision? Do you see this potential?
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
But I didn't, you know, during Inauguration Day, I didn't see you on stage behind the president. How much voice are you going to have in this new administration?
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
Let's go back to Musk. And I'm just curious, how much are you in contact with him? You know, what are you telling him? Anything specific?
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
What's your last text message?
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
Sorry, pull it out.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
I mean, how often do you text with him?
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
Video game group chats, perhaps.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
You consider him a friend, though? A mentor? Yeah.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
I guess I was wondering, I mean, you've partnered with OpenAI to use their AI tech and drone defense systems. Their CEO, Sam Altman, is almost Musk's nemesis at this point. Did you get any grief from him for that?
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
So you're okay seeing Mark Zuckerberg hang out at Mar-a-Lago?
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
Well, I think that's probably a good place for us to tie it off at. Homer Lucky, thank you for coming on. Always fun. Before we go, we reached out to Apple to get its response to Lucky's thoughts on its Vision Pro headset, and the company didn't respond. We also reached out to the U.S.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
Department of Defense, and the State Department asked what those agencies thought of his comments about the country's national security policy. The State Department referred us to a fact sheet on U.S. arms sales and defense policy, and the DoD did not respond.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
Our producer is Danny Lewis. We got help this week from Catherine Milsop, Scott Salloway, and Falana Patterson. For even more, check out our columns on WSJ.com. I'm Tim Higgins. And I'm Christopher Mims.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
Today we ask, how does Palmer Luckey want to remake the U.S. government's approach to national security and go from being the world's top cop to its gun store? Palmer Luckey, welcome. Lots to get into today. What you think about Trump 2.0. You've got great insight, I bet, from your time hanging around Mar-a-Lago.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
To your thoughts on Elon Musk's government efficiency efforts with Doge as a guy who himself has spent a lot of time trying to navigate the bureaucracy of government. But first... Let's talk about your company, Andrel, recently announcing that you're taking over the VR headset development for the Army, a $22 billion contract previously held by Microsoft.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
And on that, you posted on social media platform X the following, and I quote, "...we don't have time for business as usual. Whatever you are imagining, however crazy you imagine I am, multiply it by 10, then do it again. I am back." I'm only getting started. Dang, man, that sounds crazy. What does it actually mean?
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
I think you are clearly a true believer in augmented reality. You've been doing it for a lot of years. Last time we talked a few years ago, Apple was coming out with its own augmented reality goggles, and you were a fan. Huge fan. And I wonder if that's still the case.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
And I ask because there's been some disappointment among the general observer that this new device hasn't taken over the world yet, just like the iPhone. And perhaps this kind of feeling that the metaverse isn't on the precipice that we all kind of thought a few years ago. Where are you on this?
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
It's almost as if you're looking at a different use case than a few years ago that the general public was talking about.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
He's one of the perhaps brightest examples of a new wave of entrepreneurs out there who, in a lot of ways, are abandoning what has made Silicon Valley so powerful, whether it's personal gadgets or ad tech and pouring themselves into super hard and sometimes controversial science and engineering. Lucky is working on weapons.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
For my mother, my mother's listening. Who's Andrew? Yeah.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
AI weapons, drones, high-tech operating systems, kind of the stuff of sci-fi nightmares. And he is even more influential now because he thinks that his company can help the U.S. government become more efficient. And as you know, everything in D.C. right now is about becoming more efficient.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
So we've heard how Lucky sees the worlds of VR and war coming together. But next, we explore how his views match up with the current efforts by Doge.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
Well, let's talk about, I mean, maybe something you don't want to talk about, but you're out there raising more money, something like $2.5 billion, according to reports, which I think would value you at- Allegedly. $28 billion. But okay, so you don't want to talk about if that's true, but what do you need this kind of capital for?
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
Arsenal want a billion dollars, almost a billion dollars. I mean, this is a massive the plans for this. It's a massive facility. We've already talked about 4000 jobs. Yep. You're a wildly ambitious timeline. You want to start production mid 2026. That's right. What are you building there?
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
I mean, the movie is going to go away.
WSJ What’s News
Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication
Out of the Silicon Valley tech leaders now supporting President Trump, one you may not have heard of is Palmer Luckey, an eccentric entrepreneur who made his billions by selling his virtual reality company Oculus VR to Facebook, now Meta. Oculus laid the foundations of the tech behind Meta's popular Quest headsets.
WSJ What’s News
Banks Warn of Risk to U.S. Economy Because of Tariffs
There is clearly an off-ramp being developed for Musk to maybe dial back some of his involvement at the White House. He is a special government employee that is a 130-day employee. It is clear that the White House and Musk seem to be signaling that when that comes to an end, he's going to take a step back. He has many companies to run.
WSJ What’s News
Banks Warn of Risk to U.S. Economy Because of Tariffs
Tesla is facing its own challenges, and Musk has been spending a lot of time at the White House complex the last few years. months. And investors of his companies would probably like to see him spend some of that time in Austin, where Tesla is headquartered, or in South Texas, where SpaceX has its launch facility.