💰 5 Fact Friday: 10 Teslas, No Drivers, Big Stakes

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POLITICS
1. TACO Trade Spices Up Tariff Drama 🌮

Wall Street just bit into a familiar combo: the TACO trade.

No, it’s not a Chipotle ETF—it stands for Trump Always Chickens Out. And it made headlines this week when a reporter confronted Trump about the pattern behind his tariff theatrics.

“It’s called negotiation,” Trump snapped, visibly annoyed. Honestly, who wouldn’t be, hearing their negotiation strategy reduced to fast food?

But here’s the thing: it’s not entirely wrong.

Yes, the name was clearly designed to provoke. But directionally? It’s spot on.

Trump’s negotiation playbook is consistent: lob an outrageous demand (cue 50% EU tariffs), let the media and markets spiral, then dial it back to a more moderate deal that still favors U.S. leverage. It’s anchoring 101, and it often works.

That’s why the chorus of critics calling him soft is a bit rich.

These are the same folks who predict economic doom every time Trump fires off a trade threat tweet. If he follows through, they panic. If he backs off, they mock. Either way, the outrage machine stays well-oiled.

Why does it matter? Because despite the market’s recent rally, we’re not done here.

Trump has now set timers for:

• China: August 12

• European Union: July 9

• Rest of the World: July 9

If all of those deals aren’t struck by then, we could see a fresh round of market volatility. But the TACO trade is a helpful reminder for investors: don’t flinch at the first firework.

Tariff headlines may be loud, but (so far) we have every reason to believe they won’t spell the end. At least, not unless reporters keep tempting fate…

TECH
2. The Self-Driving Showdown Is On 🚘

The race to dominate America’s roads—without a driver—has officially shifted into high gear.

On May 28, Elon Musk announced that Tesla $TSLA ( ▲ 0.43% ) has begun testing fully driverless Model Y vehicles in Austin. The pilot starts with a small fleet of 10-20 cars and marks a pivotal step toward Musk’s long-promised robotaxi network.

Meanwhile, Waymo, the autonomous division of Alphabet $GOOG ( ▼ 0.24% ), is already way out in front.

Waymo recently crossed 10 million paid robotaxi rides. It now delivers over 250,000 driverless rides per week across cities like Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

But Tesla and Waymo are taking radically different roads to autonomy:

🧠 Waymo (Lidar-Heavy, Geofenced)

• Tech stack: Lidar + radar + 29 cameras + high-definition maps

• Pros: Safer in dense urban environments, strong regulatory support, proven track record (85% fewer injury crashes vs. human drivers)

• Cons: Expensive hardware, limited to mapped zones, struggles on highways, scalability challenges

Waymo’s system is thorough—arguably too thorough. It uses preloaded high-definition maps and lidar to build a 3D model of its surroundings, but that means it struggles with anything not pre-planned (including construction sites).

👁 Tesla (Vision-Only, Real-World Data)

• Tech stack: Eight cameras + neural nets trained on billions of miles of supervised driving

• Pros: Lower-cost hardware, no need for maps, flexible deployment

• Cons: Not yet fully autonomous, remote operator support likely, ongoing safety concerns

Tesla’s strategy mimics human vision: let the car "see" with cameras and make decisions with AI. The benefit? Greater flexibility and much cheaper vehicles (~$75,000 per unit vs. Waymo’s ~$180,000). Tesla’s system can navigate unmapped areas and adapt like a human, at least in theory.

But theory hasn’t materialized yet.

The system still requires supervision, and safety remains a regulatory hurdle. Elon’s bet is that the sheer scale of Tesla’s data—3.6 billion miles and counting—will give it the edge. If he’s right, any Tesla could be quickly turned into a robotaxi.

Of course, the prize is massive.

The U.S. rideshare market sees roughly 7-8 billion trips annually. That’s around 2.5 billion hours of ride time.

If robotaxis can pocket the labor savings at $20/hour, that’s a $50 billion profit stream—likely worth over $1 trillion in market value today.

No wonder Musk says he’s “super focused” and “back to spending 24/7 at work.” There’s big money to be made.

ENTERTAINMENT
3. Memorial Day Delivers For Moviegoers 🍿

After years of pandemic lulls, flops, and streaming shakeups, the silver screen might just be shining again.

The 2025 Memorial Day weekend box office brought in a record-breaking $326 million in domestic ticket sales, smashing the previous high of $314 million set back in 2013.

Leading the charge? A blue alien and one last mission.

Disney’s Lilo & Stitch live-action remake exploded with $183 million over the four-day stretch, while Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning followed with a strong $77 million domestic debut.

The impact reached beyond the box office. Theater stocks popped over the last 3 days:

• AMC $AMC ( ▼ 1.16% ) rose 6%

• Cinemark $CNK ( ▼ 0.36% ) gained 2%

• Marcus Corp $MCS ( ▼ 0.64% ) jumped 9%

It seems like a steady cadence of promising releases is finally back.

Family-friendly hits (Minecraft Movie), nostalgic reboots (Lilo & Stitch), and long-awaited finales (Mission: Impossible) have lured audiences off the couch.

Analysts now expect a $4 billion-plus summer, fueled by upcoming titles like Jurassic World Rebirth, Pixar’s Elio, and Marvel’s Fantastic Four revival.

As AMC CEO Adam Aron put it, “Finally, it would appear that our industry has turned a corner.”

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ECONOMY
4. Confidence Is Back… For Now 😅

Consumer confidence just staged a comeback for the ages.

The Conference Board’s headline index jumped to 98.0 in May. That’s up from 85.7 in April and well above the 86.0 economists expected.

Even more eye-popping? The Expectations Index, which reflects consumer views on future income, jobs, and business conditions, saw its biggest monthly jump since 2009.

Here’s a breakdown of the key shifts:

• Headline Index: 98.0 (↑ from 85.7)

• Present Situation Index: 135.9 (↑ from 131.1)

• Expectations Index: 72.8 (↑ from 55.4)

• Business conditions (good): 21.9% (↑ from 19.2%)

• Jobs plentiful: 31.8% (↑ from 31.2%)

• More jobs ahead: 19.2% (↑ from 13.9%)

• Higher income expected: 18.0% (↑ from 15.9%)

What sparked the optimism? Tariffs. Or more specifically, the pause on new ones.

After a chaotic April, May brought a 90-day truce between the U.S. and China. That single move slashed expected tariff rates nearly in half and, almost overnight, lifted consumer spirits.

Importantly, only half of the survey responses came in after the May 12th U.S.-China deal, meaning some of the rebound may not even be baked into the result.

But here’s where the signal gets fuzzy.

The consumer confidence index is often looked at as a leading indicator that helps forecast economic momentum. After all, confident consumers tend to spend, borrow, and invest—all activities that drive future growth.

Lately, though? The index has acted more like a rearview mirror, reacting to trade headlines instead of signaling what’s ahead.

So while the rebound is encouraging, it may say more about the past than the future.

STOCKS
5. Guess That Stock 🕵️‍♂️

This brand made its name in drugstore aisles. Now it's dropping $1 billion on celebrity skincare. Can you name the stock?

1. After years of viral growth on TikTok, this cosmetics company is moving upscale. It just announced plans to acquire Hailey Bieber’s skincare line Rhode in a deal worth up to $1 billion.

2. The target? A Gen Z-fueled rocket that went from zero to $212 million in sales in under three years with just 10 products and no retail footprint.

3. The buyer declined to give full-year guidance, citing tariff uncertainty. It sources about 75% of its products from China and plans to raise prices by $1 to offset higher costs.

4. Despite a strong earnings beat and a post-deal rally, the stock is still down 11% this year. Investors remain wary as the firm faces class-action lawsuits over alleged financial misrepresentation and deceptive packaging.

5. But the brand isn’t slowing down. With Hailey staying on as Rhode’s chief creative officer and a Sephora launch on the horizon, the company is betting big on beauty’s A-list.

Got a guess? Tap here to reveal the answer → 

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