Good morning, you're tuned into Markets Desk, and here's where things stand.
Tesla steps into the earnings spotlight tonight, and the stakes are unusually high. This isn't just a quarter — Wall Street is demanding clarity on the robotaxi timeline and Optimus robot program. Investors have been pricing in a transformation story, and management now has to show the math behind it.
Shifting to semiconductors, Intel has confirmed layoffs inside its data center group, the latest in a sustained workforce reduction under CEO Lip-Bu Tan. The cuts are framed around becoming more focused and efficient, but the data center business is a critical battleground for Intel as it fights to stay relevant against Nvidia and AMD in AI infrastructure.
And in private markets, SpaceX has set August fourth as the date for its first-ever earnings report, and that announcement immediately triggered the first lock-up expiration for millions of shares. The stock snapped a seven-day losing streak on the news — investors apparently welcoming the transparency, even as fresh supply of shares now enters the picture.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
