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US Treasury Sec & CFIUS chair sees "no basis" for investigating Elon Musk Twitter takeover US Treasury Sec & CFIUS chair sees "no basis" for investigating Elon Musk Twitter takeover

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US Treasury Sec & CFIUS chair sees “no basis” for investigating Elon Musk Twitter takeover

Credit: TED

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U.S. Treasury Secretary and chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), Janet Yellen, said she doesn’t see any basis for investigating Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter.  Yellen said that such an investigation is unlikely to happen, noting that she didn’t think this was what President Biden had in mind.

“We really. have no basis–to the best of my knowledge–to examine his finances of his company,” she told CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes on Tuesday.

She added that she wasn’t aware of concerns that would cause the Treasury Department to investigate Elon Musk. When asked to clarify her statement, Yellen said, “I don’t think we have the basis to launch some investigation.”

In October, the White House denied rumors of an investigation by CIFUS into Elon Musk and his ventures.

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Adrienne Watson, the spokesperson for the National Security Council, said, “We don’t know of any such discussions. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre added, “There’s a lot of interest in those reportings. Those reportings are not true. So, we’ll leave that there. The national security review that is not true.”

In November, President Biden said Elon Musk’s relationships with other nations were “worthy of being looked at” during a White House press conference.

“I think that Elon Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at,” Mr. Biden said. “Whether or not he’s doing anything inappropriate, I’m not saying that, but it’s worth being looked at,” the president said.

Your feedback is welcome. If you have any comments or concerns or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter at @JohnnaCrider1.

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Johnna Crider is a Baton Rouge writer covering Tesla, Elon Musk, EVs, and clean energy & supports Tesla's mission. Johnna also interviewed Elon Musk and you can listen here

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Tesla Cybercab includes this small but significant feature

The Cybercab is Tesla’s big plan to introduce fully autonomous ride-sharing in a seamless fashion. In fact, the Full Self-Driving suite was geared toward alleviating the need to manually drive vehicles.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Cybercab manufacturing is strikingly close, as the company is still aiming for an April start date. But small and significant features are still being identified for the first time as production units appear all over the country for testing and for regulatory events, like one yesterday in Washington, D.C.

The Cybercab is Tesla’s big plan to introduce fully autonomous ride-sharing in a seamless fashion. In fact, the Full Self-Driving suite was geared toward alleviating the need to manually drive vehicles.

This was for everyone, including the disabled, who are widely reliant on ride-sharing platforms, family members, and medical shuttles for transportation of any kind. Cybercab aims to change that, and Tesla evidently put a focus on those riders while developing the vehicle, evident in a small but significant feature revealed during its appearance in the Nation’s Capital.

Tesla Cybercab display highlights interior wizardry in the small two-seater

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Tesla has implemented Braille within the Cybercab to make it easier for blind passengers to utilize the vehicle. On both the ‘Stop/Hazard Lights’ button and the Door Releases, Tesla has placed Braille so that blind passengers can navigate their way through the vehicle:

This is a great addition to the Cybercab, especially as Full Self-Driving has been partially pointed at as a solution for those with disabilities that would keep them from driving themselves from place to place.

It truly is a great addition and just another way that Tesla is showing they are making this massive product inclusive for everyone out there, including those who have not been able to drive due to not having vision.

The Cybercab is set to enter mass production sometime in April, and it will be responsible for launching Tesla’s massive plans for an autonomous ride-sharing program.

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Elon Musk

Tesla and xAI team up on massive new project

It is the latest move by a Musk company to automate, streamline, and reduce the manual, monotonous, and tedious work currently performed by humans through AI and robotics development. Digital Optimus will be capable of processing and actioning the past five seconds of a real-time computer screen video and keyboard and mouse actions.

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Credit: Grok

Elon Musk teased a massive new project, to be developed jointly by Tesla and xAI, called “Digital Optimus” or “Macrohard,” the first development under Tesla’s investment agreement with xAI.

Musk announced on X that Digital Optimus will “be capable of emulating the function of entire companies.”

It is the latest move by a Musk company to automate, streamline, and reduce the manual, monotonous, and tedious work currently performed by humans through AI and robotics development. Digital Optimus will be capable of processing and actioning the past five seconds of a real-time computer screen video and keyboard and mouse actions.

Essentially, it will be an AI version of a desk worker in many capacities, including accounting, HR tasks, and others.

Musk said:

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“Grok is the master conductor/navigator with deep understanding of the world to direct digital Optimus, which is processing and actioning the past 5 secs of real-time computer screen video and keyboard/mouse actions. Grok is like a much more advanced and sophisticated version of turn-by-turn navigation software. You can think of it as Digital Optimus AI being System 1 (instinctive part of the mind) and Grok being System 2. (thinking part of the mind).”

Its key applications would be used for enterprise automation, simulating entire companies, high-volume repetitive tasks, and potentially, future hybrid use with the Optimus robot, which would handle physical tasks, while Digital Optimus would handle the clerical work.

Tesla announces massive investment into xAI

The creation of a digital AI suite like Digital Optimus would help companies save time and money, as well as become more efficient in their operations through massive scalability. However, there will undoubtedly be concerns from people who are skeptical of a fully-integrated AI workhorse like this one.

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From an energy consumption perspective and just a general concern for the human workforce, these types of AI projects are polarizing in nature.

However, Digital Optimus would be a great digital counterpart to Tesla’s physical Optimus robot, as it would be a hyper-efficient addition to any company that is looking for more production for less cost.

Musk maintains that there is no other company on Earth that will be able to do this.

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Elon Musk

Tesla China posts strong February wholesale growth at Gigafactory Shanghai

The update was shared by Tesla observers on social media platform X, citing monthly China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data.

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Credit: Grace Tao/Weibo

Tesla China sold 58,599 vehicles wholesale in February, reflecting strong year-over-year growth. The figure includes both domestic deliveries in China and vehicles exported to international markets.

The update was shared by Tesla observers on social media platform X, citing monthly China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data.

Tesla’s February wholesale result represents a 91% increase year over year, compared with 30,688 vehicles in February 2025. Month over month, the result was down 15.2% from January, when Tesla China recorded 69,129 wholesale units.

The February total reflects combined sales of the Model 3 and Model Y produced at Gigafactory Shanghai. The facility produces the two vehicles for both domestic sales and exports.

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Gigafactory Shanghai continues to serve as Tesla’s primary vehicle export hub, supplying vehicles to markets across Asia and Europe. Data compiled by Tesla watchers shows that 18,485 vehicles were sold domestically in China in January 2026, while exports accounted for 50,644 units during the same period.

Tesla has also been extending financing programs in China as it pushes to strengthen domestic demand. The company recently extended its seven-year ultra-low-interest and five-year interest-free financing programs through March 31, marking the second extension of the promotion this year.

The financing initiative was first introduced on January 6 as a strategy aimed at offsetting higher ownership costs ahead of China’s planned 5% NEV purchase tax in 2026. The promotion was originally scheduled to expire at the end of January before being extended to February and then again through the end of the first quarter.

Tesla’s efforts come amid growing competition in China’s EV market. According to data compiled by CNEV Post, Tesla’s 2025 retail sales in China reached 625,698 vehicles, representing a 4.78% year-over-year decline. Part of that decline was linked to the Model Y changeover to its updated variant in early 2025, which temporarily reduced deliveries during the transition period.

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