Musk’s Tesla Pay Isn’t the Biggest Concern From the Shareholder Meeting, This Is. And 5 Other Things to Know Today.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk (Getty Images)

It’s no surprise Elon Musk got his $1 trillion pay package. Tesla shareholders were never likely to risk the CEO walking away, but there’s another thing he dearly wants—the car maker to invest in his xAI artificial-intelligence start-up amid a fiercely competitive AI spending race.

Musk is used to getting his way when it comes to his corporate empire. But a Tesla board happy to make him a potential trillionaire is apparently hesitant about pouring the electric-vehicle company’s funds into xAI. While shareholders owning a majority of shares, barring abstentions, voted in favor of the proposal, the board is still considering how closely the two companies should be linked.

Perhaps Tesla’s board is paying attention to the wider market mood, which seems to be darkening toward AI. A suggestion from OpenAI’s chief financial officer that the U.S. government might offer a “backstop” on its data-center investment was widely ridiculed this week. CEO Sam Altman hastily clarified the ChatGPT developer wasn’t looking for a potential bailout for its $1.4 trillion spending commitments.

Investors look to be wary of huge AI investment as the stock market gets jittery amid a lack of economic data during the government shutdown. Technology stocks have borne the brunt of selling amid the rush to interpret private jobs figures. A flight to safe-haven assets is bad news for companies justifying long-term spending—just ask delivery company DoorDash, which had its worst ever day after announcing a plan to invest hundreds of million in its tech platform.

In such an environment, even Musk might find it hard to convince Tesla’s board the best use of its funds is investing in xAI when the market is struggling to value the worth of AI plays. Still, it’s never wise to bet against the Tesla CEO finding a way to get what he wants.

—Adam Clark

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EV Maker Approves CEO’s $1 Trillion Package

Elon Musk thanked Tesla shareholders after they approved an unprecedented pay package making the world’s richest person a trillionaire for meeting certain business targets. Tesla shareholders, who have overcome political drama and competitive challenges, apparently believe it’s a fair payoff to keep Musk happily at the company.

• More than 75% of the votes cast approved the pay, which gives Musk approximately 425 million incentive-laden shares that vest when milestones are met over the next decade. Musk wanted 25% voting control of Tesla stock, but he has 15% now. The package is 12% of current shares outstanding.
• Thursday’s vote shows that investors considered the prospect of Tesla without Musk at the helm unfathomable. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said Musk is Tesla and that the vote cements Musk as a “wartime CEO” as the artificial intelligence revolution boosts Tesla’s opportunities.
• Barron’s asked more than a dozen analysts and investors about Musk’s pay package. Zacks Investment Research stock strategist Andrew Rocco said the incentives are constructed so that if Musk wins, “shareholders win.” If Tesla stock doesn’t increase, Musk makes essentially nothing.
• Tesla must sell 20 million EVs cumulatively, have 10 million subscriptions for its “Full Self Driving” assistance, deploy one million robo-taxis, and sell one million robots. The targets culminate in an $8.5 trillion market capitalization and $400 billion in annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

What’s Next: Musk said he’s optimistic that AI-trained Optimus robots will lower labor costs and increase production, making more goods accessible to many. He believes that within months, Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” will let users text while driving, and said that Cybercab production will begin in April 2026.

— Al Root and Janet H. Cho

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Air Travelers Meet Realities of Prolonged Government Shutdown

If air travel was fraught with inconveniences before the government shutdown, things are about to get a lot more harried. Airlines have to cut back flight schedules starting today because the prolonged shutdown has led to staffing shortages, especially among air-traffic controllers. Flights were throttled at 40 airports.

• Delta, American, United, and Southwest Airlines have confirmed reduced flight schedules, though the cuts won’t affect long-haul international flights. United said customers traveling during this period are eligible for a refund even if their flight isn’t affected.
• Delta and American said that the vast majority of their flights will continue to operate as scheduled and that they will make it easier to change or cancel flights for free. Southwest will refund all customers who have booked flights through next Wednesday even if it isn’t affected.
• The affected airports service major metropolitan areas from coast to coast, including four facilities in the New York City area, five California airports, and multiple airports in Florida and Texas. Airlines have posted guidance for passengers who might be affected.
• The cuts are due to “issues of fatigue” that air-traffic controllers are experiencing during the shutdown, FAA administrator Bryan Bedford said. Starting today flights are being trimmed at airports based on data showing which flight hubs are experiencing the most pressure.

What’s Next: Aviation regulators are starting with 4% cuts that will eventually get to 10%, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a Southwest Airlines internal memo it had reviewed. That 4% amounts to about 100 flights, which isn’t unlike weather or irregular operational events, it reported.

— Anita Hamilton and Liz Moyer

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Holiday Retail Sales Could Top $1 Trillion, NRF Says

Holiday sales this year are expected to top $1 trillion for the first time, the National Retail Federation projects, despite persistent economic uncertainty and rising prices that has forced many lower-income shoppers to make trade-offs. NRF expects consumers to seek savings on nonessential categories to spend more on gifts.

• Still, the retail association’s projections indicate potentially slower spending than last year. NRF forecasts that retail sales between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31 will increase by 3.7% to 4.2%, versus last year’s 4.3%. This year’s range adds up to spending of $1.01 trillion to $1.02 trillion.
• NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said consumers may be cautious in sentiment but they remain fundamentally strong, and continue to drive U.S. economic activity. He called that “somewhat of a surprise based on where we thought we might be way back in April.”
• Other forecasts also see solid holiday spending. Deloitte forecasts growth of up to 3.4%. ICSC predicts retail sales growth of up to 4% from October to December. Adobe Analytics projects $253.4 billion in U.S. online sales between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, up 5.3%.
• As evidence of the challenging environment, luxury accessories maker Tapestry raised its sales outlook for the full fiscal year to $7.3 billion, but that didn’t satisfy analysts, who believe its projections imply slower growth in the second half of fiscal year 2026.

What’s Next: NRF Chief Economist Mark Mathews said that as tariffs have increased consumer prices, “retailers have tried to hold the line on prices given the uncertainty about trade policies.” Retailers are projected to hire 265,000 to 365,000 seasonal workers, down from 442,000 last year.

— Sabrina Escobar and Janet H. Cho

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DraftKings Misses Expectations. It’s Diving Into Prediction Markets.

DraftKings disappointed with third quarter results and full year sales forecasts as it dives into prediction markets, which will take the sportsbook company into new states and markets. The company has been under pressure with growing competition from prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket.

• DraftKing’s third quarter sales rose 4.4% to $1.14 billion but that was below Wall Street’s estimates, while a loss of 52 cents a share was wider than expected. It expects full year 2025 sales of $5.9 billion to $6.1 billion, which is also below expectations.
• The sportsbook also slashed nearly in half its adjusted earnings outlook for the full fiscal year. It now sees it between $450 million to $550 million, noting that the outlook takes into account the rollout of its prediction market offering in the coming months.
• CEO Jason Robins clarified the plans for DraftKings Predictions, which comes out of its acquisition of Railbird Technologies, a federally licensed exchange that can sell event contracts. It is the basis of DraftKings Predictions. It is expected to enter many states with sport event contracts, Robins said.
• By offering federally regulated event contracts, prediction markets like Kalshi have circumvented state regulations and taxes to effectively offer sports betting nationwide. Now DraftKings will do the same and be in direct competition with Kalshi, whose meteoric rise has spooked investors over the past quarter.

What’s Next: Robins said they would focus on states where they don’t offer sportsbook. That could include California, where voters shot down a bill to legalize sports betting in the state in 2022. DraftKings also announced it will become the official sportsbook and odds provider for Walt Disney’s ESPN.

— Nick Devor

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Schwab Is Buying Forge Global in Private Markets Move

Charles Schwab is buying the private markets exchange Forge Global. Schwab, which got its start by making it much more affordable for individual investors to buy stocks, is hoping the transaction will help it do the same with investing in private companies.

• The transaction is valued at approximately $660 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Schwab will acquire all of Forge’s outstanding common shares in cash for $45 each.
• Forge offers customers a private markets platform that connects buyers who want to invest in private companies with sellers of company shares. The San Francisco-based company also helps private companies manage their liquidity needs.
• Schwab CEO Rick Wurster told Barron’s he wants to make investing in private companies easier and more affordable. “You used to have to be wealthy to access investing [in stocks]. Today, the same is true with regard to private companies,” he said.
• Shares of Forge soared 68% to $43.90 early Thursday morning. The stock is up 214% this year. Schwab’s stock was up 0.5% Thursday morning and it’s up 27% this year, compared with a 16% gain for the S&P 500.

What’s Next: Schwab, as one of the nation’s largest wealth management companies with $11.6 trillion in total client assets, could potentially grow Forge’s private marketplace by making it available to its millions of customers and the thousands of independent advisors it serves. Adding a lot more prospective buyers to the marketplace would render it a more alluring destination for private companies.

— Andrew Welsch

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—Newsletter edited by Liz Moyer, Patrick O’Donnell, Rupert Steiner