WHAT’S INSIDE

• Tech News: Iran Strikes, Oil, Fed's Rate Split, AI Regulation, BBC vs. AI, xAI

• Company Watch: Harvey, Apple & Perplexity, Tesla, Ramp, Surge AI, X Money

• Feature: Tesla Launched Robotaxis… and Robo-Wallets

• Buzzy Tools: Latest Buzzy tech, AI and financial tools

• Deep Tech: The latest in deep tech, biotech, futurism and more

• Space Tech: Latest news in the space race and aerospace tech

• Crypto: Blockchain and crypto policy and startups or protocols to watch

TECH IN THE NEWS

Missile Diplomacy — Iran launched a retaliatory strike at a US base in Qatar with no injuries reported. Trump praised the advance notice and urged peace. Oil prices fell 7% following the retaliation after rising 7% earlier Monday.

Fed's Rate Split — The Federal Reserve members are split on rate cuts amid inflation worries. Trump is reportedly reconsidering firing Fed Chair Powell despite a Supreme Court ruling limiting his dismissal powers.

State AI Regulation Block — A Republican-led bill to impose a decade-long moratorium on state AI regulations advances in the Senate, threatening to withhold federal funding from non-compliant states.

BBC vs. AI — The BBC threatens legal action against AI firm Perplexity for alleged copyright infringement demanding cessation of content use, deletion of material, and financial compensation.

Rewriting History — Elon Musk announced xAI's plan to use Grok 3.5/4 to revise human knowledge, correcting errors and filling gaps before retraining on the updates.

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From Robotaxis to Robo-Wallets

Is Musk Building the Ultimate Tech Flywheel? Tesla’s robotaxi launch hit the streets of Austin — and the markets reacted well. But with this week’s announcement of X Money preparing to launch tools for payments, trading, tips and even a credit card, it may be just the start of something much bigger: a cross-platform convergence where X handles your wallet, unlocks your Tesla Robotaxi ride, and xAI guides it all.

Tesla’s Robotaxi Moment Finally Arrives

On Sunday, Tesla launched its first-ever robotaxi service in South Austin, charging a very on-brand $4.20 flat fee per ride significantly cheaper than competitors. The pilot is invite-only for now — reserved for Tesla superfans, investors, and influencers.

Riders are paired with Model Y vehicles that are driverless — but not humanless. Each car still features a safety monitor in the passenger seat. That’s a step behind Waymo, whose vehicles are now fully empty in four U.S. cities. However, the reason is Tesla is using an entirely new and untested self-driving autonomy approach. TLDR:

• Waymo and Zoox use LiDAR + radar + cameras.

• Tesla uses only cameras — a bold cost-saving bet, but one drawing regulatory scrutiny and accounting for the cautious roll-out.

This is why the market reacted so favorably to tesla’s tentative launch. TSLA surged 8.23% within 72 hours — its biggest gain in months — tacking on nearly $100 billion in market cap. Trading volume soared to 186.7 million shares, nearly 2x the average. Another factor is the fact that these cars are unmodified, meaning that in theory any Tesla should now have the tech capacity for full self-driving, local regulation pending.

X Money Coming Soon

Hot on the heels of US Genius Act stablecoin legislation being passed by the Senate last week, we just heard Elon's xAI is continuing to lay the rails for its planned financial play, X Money. CEO Linda Yaccarino just confirmed plans to roll out investment and trading tools, a peer-to-peer payment wallet, and a potential X-branded credit or debit card by year’s end.

This push aligns with Musk’s master plan of transforming X into an “everything app,”like China’s WeChat — so users can trade, tip, shop, book rides, and even pay for Tesla trips with either fiat or stablecoins.

In March, X merged with xAI to create xAI Holdings, a $113 billion entity combining Grok’s AI engine with X’s data and reach. Elon has even talked of xAI and Tela merging to create a mega-company to house this mega-app. This week we heard xAI is seeking a further $4.3B in equity funding after efforts to borrow $5B from debt investors as it faces funding shortages to sustain its operations and the growth initiatives the X Money rollout will require.

These new initiatives taken together will unlock deep integration for finance, personalization, and eventually mobility through widespread robotaxi rides.

The Robotaxi Race Revving Up

With Tesla finally out of the starting blocks, Waymo, Zoox, and others are now checking in the rearview:

• Waymo: Already runs 250,000+ paid rides/week and targeting 10 cities by year-end. Its 2025 revenue is projected at $181M–$230M, with $6.1B in bookings by 2034.

• Zoox: Amazon-owned just opened a Hayward, CA plant aiming for 10,000 custom bidirectional robotaxis/year. Revenue is expected to hit $2.0B by 2030.

  Tesla: Just getting started, but has scale with its brand recognition and existing manufacturing platform. Optimistic projections have its robotaxi unit bringing in $4.0B by 2030.

Stablecoins: The Missing Link

To complete the Tesla/X Robotaxi/Payments loop, you need money in motion — and stablecoins are seemingly now the bridge.

With the GENIUS Act now federal law, stablecoins must be issued by banks or regulated partners. That’s a big win for players like:

• JPMorgan: Launched JPMD, a 24/7 digital deposit token on Coinbase’s Base blockchain.

• Fiserv: The leading national 'financial plumbing' firm just Introduced its FIUSD and client wallets to over 6 million merchants.

• Wyoming: The state is launching WYST, a “public good” stablecoin with yield supporting education.

• Coinbase: Just revealed it is quietly challenging Visa and Mastercard with its Commerce Payments Protocol, allowing stablecoin settlement and instant conversion.

These rails could easily plug into X’s wallet, turning tipping, trading, and Tesla rides, or in the future even, Humanoid Robot services into a seamless experience.

An Economic Engine on Wheels

X could become the gateway for a Tesla ride, as well as much more. You will be able to tip any creator or company in crypto, use the same wallet to summon a robotaxi, and the AI coordinating it all is trained on your X data. No banks, no delays, no drivers.

On top of this, last week, Tesla inked a $557M deal with China to build its first grid-scale battery power plant in Shanghai, a project that will be the largest of its kind. The facility will deploy Tesla’s Megapack batteries — giant lithium-ion units the size of shipping containers — to help stabilize China’s increasingly renewable-heavy grid.

With Tesla projected to hit $297B in revenue by 2030, and the robotaxi market growing from $2B to $17B in four years, the stakes are sky-high. Add in a $3.7T stablecoin market by 2030, not to mention the massive payments/fintech and social/livestreamed commerce markets, and Musk’s empire starts to look a lot more like a closed-loop tech economy. And it looks more and more attractive to investors despite the fact Tesla and xAI appear to be burning through cash at an alarming rate.

Why It Matters

• Tesla gains high-margin software revenue from autonomy.

• X gets payment utility and stickiness as a communication, finance, trading app.

• Investors get a front-row seat to a Musk-fueled convergence of AI, mobility, and money.

This week’s Robotaxi and X Money announcements are collectively another major step towards a self-driving, frictionless finance, AI-powered future.

COMPANIES TO WATCH

Harvey AI — The AI startup, initially focused on legal services, has raised a $300M Series E at $5B. With an ARR of $75M, it plans to double its workforce to broaden its AI solutions.

Apple & Perplexity AI — Apple is exploring the acquisition of the search AI startup to boost its AI capabilities and potentially develop an AI-based search engine for Siri. No formal offer has been made.

Tesla — Expanding into the robotaxi market with a new trial launch in Austin, Texas leveraging its new video-based autonomous driving technology, positioning it as a market leader.

Son's AI & Robotics Hub — Masayoshi Son plans a $1T complex in Arizona with TSMC, focusing on AI and robotics inspired by Shenzhen in China.

Ramp — The corporate expense management fintech startup’s valuation hit $16B after a $200M Series E round, with ARR exceeding $300M in 2024.

Surge AI — This data-labeling startup, with no external funding, generated $1B last year, surpassing Scale AI's $870M revenue. Surge is positioning itself as a significant player in the industry.

X Financial Services Expansion — X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced plans for users to make investments or trades on the platform. The initiative includes a potential X credit or debit card launch within the year.

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BUZZY TOOLS

Buzzy Tech Tools To Watch & Use

Google — Chromebook Plus AI tools for search, summaries, image editing.

xAI — Advanced file editor for Grok integrates AI into spreadsheet tools.

Kimi-Researcher — Agentic AI achieved 26.9% on Humanity's Last Exam.

Purism — Liberty Phone is an almost entirely US manufactured device.

Tripmix — AI planer offers personalized trips and weekly insights.

MCP SuperAssistant — AI for app interactions hits 10,000 MAU.

BUZZY TECH

The Latest Deep Technology & Trends To Watch

New York Nuclear Plant — Plans for 1-gw plant aim to cut fossil fuel reliance.

Agentic Misalignment — LLMs risk harmful actions, blackmail and espionage.

AI Medical Reviews — AI completes 12 medical reviews in two days.

Rapamycin Longevity — Lifespan-extending drug rivals calorie restriction.

AI Song Detection — Music industry uses AI detection to manage licensing.

Regenerative Med — Zebrafish, lizards inspire human healing advancements.

CRYPTO WATCH

GENIUS Act — The new stablecoin regulatory framework, limiting issuance to insured banks and approved entities, could divert transaction volume from banks to stablecoins.

Coinbase Stablecoins — Coinbase is boosting stablecoin payments with its Commerce Payments Protocol, challenging Visa and Mastercard in payments.

WYST Stablecoin — The Wyoming Stable Token Commission plans to launch the WYST stablecoin on August 20, pending blockchain selection.

Fiserv — A leader in the nation’s financial system is building merchant stablecoin payment infrastructure to meet demand for lower transaction costs. CEO Mike Lyons is preparing for federal regulations & developing client stablecoin wallets.

JPMD — JPMorgan introduced a deposit token on a public blockchain, marking a pivotal shift in banking's digital asset strategy. JPMD could reshape financial services by integrating traditional banking with blockchain technology.

OKX — One of the world’s largest crypto exchanges is considering a US IPO after settling legal issues and relaunching in the US market, aiming to enhance reputation and attract institutional investors amid industry shift towards regulation.

Revolut AI — Revolut plans to launch an AI financial assistant to enhance customer experience. This innovation is expected to streamline user interactions and personalize financial management.

X Financial Services Expansion — X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced plans for users to make investments or trades on the platform. The initiative includes a potential X credit or debit card launch within the year.

SPACE_RACE

Psyche Spacecraft — NASA uses backup fuel line for 2029 asteroid mission.

York Space U.S. Military Satellite_Dragoon for missile tracking, secure comms.

Project Kuiper_Amazon launches 27 satellites, total 54; plans exceed 3,200.

Rubin Observatory_World's largest digital camera explores dark energy and matter.

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