Alphabet paused Waymo's driverless ride-hail in San Francisco after a widespread outage left multiple robotaxis immobilized. The blackout began Saturday afternoon, peaked two hours later, and affected about 130,000 customers; roughly 21,000 homes and businesses remained without power at press time. A substation fire caused extensive damage, and no timeline for full repairs was given.

Intel's shares rose 86% in 2025 amid $9 billion from the US government via the CHIPS Act, plus $5 billion from Nvidia and $2 billion from SoftBank, alongside Lip‑Bu Tan's appointment as CEO in March 2025. Entering 2026, the foundry remained loss‑making and lacked a major outside customer, with analysts warning Intel has 12–18 months to secure a 14A client.

On December 21, 2025, Bank of America, Bernstein and Jefferies reaffirmed buy ratings on Nvidia, citing a $500 billion outlook across Blackwell, Rubin and networking through 2026. BofA and Bernstein kept $275 targets, Jefferies set $250. Analysts highlighted early‑2026 Blackwell‑based LLMs, valuation metrics, and pending H200 export licenses to China.

In December 2025, Tencent was reported to be using Datasection's data centers near Osaka and in Sydney to access thousands of Nvidia's latest GPUs under multi‑year contracts, despite U.S. export limits on high‑end chips to China. Datasection's initial batch of 15,000 Blackwell processors and planned deployment of tens of thousands of B300 chips underpin deals exceeding $1.2 billion, while the company faces investor scrutiny, short‑seller criticism, and regulatory sensitivity around its links to Chinese clients and Singapore‑based First Plus Financial Holdings. The firm says its GPU projects are fully compliant with applicable laws and rely on approvals from Nvidia and the U.S. Commerce Department.

On December 21, 2025, Cleveland Fed President Elizabeth Hammack said rates should remain unchanged for months after three meetings cut a total of 0.75 percentage points. She cited inflation risks, noting the 2.7 percent CPI may be closer to 2.9 percent to 3.0 percent, and pointed to tariffs and higher input costs that could lift prices in early 2025.

On Dec. 11, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said one company holding about 50% of the US EV market is unhealthy, as he unveiled Rivian’s Autonomy and AI stack. He detailed in‑house chips, expanded Universal Hands‑Free, a 2026 point‑to‑point mode, and a path to personal Level 4. The article was updated on December 21, 2025.

On December 21 2025, Elon Musk’s wealth climbed to $769 billion after Delaware’s Supreme Court reinstated his disputed $56 billion Tesla compensation plan. At the same time, SpaceX is reportedly preparing an insider share sale valuing the firm at $800 billion and exploring a potential IPO, while investor Bill Ackman floated a SPARC-based listing structure that would offer Tesla shareholders special acquisition rights. Tesla’s share price has rallied, supported by growing market expectations around SpaceX and its possible public debut.

On December 21, 2025, U.S. Representatives Max Miller and Steven Horsford released a draft crypto tax framework focused on small stablecoin transactions and staking and mining income. The proposal would exempt capital gains on payments under $200 made with regulated dollar-pegged stablecoins and offer taxpayers an option to defer taxes on staking rewards for up to five years. The plan also includes a mark-to-market regime allowing traders to report unrealized gains and losses annually.

Industrial metals tracked gold’s strength in 2025, with year‑to‑date gains of more than 34% for copper, 27% for steel, 14% for aluminum, and 30% for lithium. A July 50% tariff on steel and aluminum, plus copper‑intensive goods, sparked inventory moves and price spikes, while mine outages and energy constraints tightened supply.