Musk wins $1T pay package

PLUS: Artificial wombs for preemies

AuthorAuthor

Jennifer Mossalgue & Rowan Cheung
November 07, 2025

Good morning, tech enthusiasts. Elon Musk just scored the biggest payday in corporate history — a potential $1T windfall, now officially approved by Tesla’s board.

The catch? He has to rocket Tesla’s value from $1.4T to $8.5T in 10 years — no easy feat. It’s meant to keep him loyal to the EV grind. Instead, he’s dreaming of dominion over robots, not roads.

In today’s tech rundown:

  • Tesla clears Musk’s $1T pay package

  • Startup builds artificial womb for preemies

  • IKEA’s smart home lineup just blew up

  • Australia gives solar power for free

  • Quick hits on other tech news

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

TESLA

Image source: Ideogram / The Rundown

The Rundown: Tesla shareholders delivered an overwhelming endorsement for Elon Musk's unprecedented compensation package, with over 75% voting to award the CEO up to $1T in stock over the next decade.

The details:

  • The compensation requires Tesla to hit a massive $8.5T market cap — about 550% higher than today's valuation and roughly 70% above Nvidia's record.

  • The company must also hit operational milestones, including 20M vehicle deliveries, 1M commercial robotaxis, and 1M humanoids sold.

  • Doing so would also grant him an additional 12% stake in the company and boost voting control.

  • The approval comes despite opposition from proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis and ISS, which questioned the sheer magnitude of dilution and key-person risk.

Why it matters: The world’s richest man just talked Tesla into maybe crowning him the first trillionaire — but only if he can pump its value to six times what it is now. That’s a big ask for a company whose robotaxis still need human chaperones, whose Cybertruck bombed, and whose Chinese competition is feasting on its market share.

BIOTECH

Image source: TU/e, Bart van Overbeeke

The Rundown: A Dutch startup is developing an artificial womb, a fluid‑filled incubator that mimics the uterine environment to keep premature babies born between 22 and 24 weeks alive long enough for their lungs and brains to mature.

The details:

  • The system uses an artificial placenta roughly the size of a human fist that connects to the baby's umbilical cord, delivering oxygen and nutrients.

  • A double-layered sac, dubbed AquaWomb, is designed to mimic the uterine environment, complete with resistance against kicks to strengthen muscles.

  • Babies born at 22 weeks have only a 10% survival chance with high risks of lung disease and neurological damage, but two weeks later, that jumps to 60%.

  • Its design prioritizes parental bonding with access ports for touch and a "uterus phone" that transmits parents' voices and heartbeats through the fluid.

Why it matters: The FDA is reportedly reviewing data to consider human trials, while U.S. firm Vitara Biomedical has raised over $125M for similar “biobag” tech. If the approach succeeds, it could rescue more fragile newborns and slash the risk of lasting complications.

IKEA

Image source: IKEA

The Rundown: IKEA’s not just dabbling in smart homes anymore — it’s going all-in. The Swedish giant just dropped 21 new Matter-compatible gadgets spanning lighting, sensors, and controls, all built to work with any platform, no brand lock-in required.

The details:

  • The lineup is built on Thread for fast, reliable connections and plugs into Apple Home, Google Home, and Alexa with the same setup flow.

  • IKEA’s DIRIGERA hub now acts as a Matter controller and a bridge, so new gear pairs easily, while many older IKEA devices still work in your setup.

  • The new smart bulbs, already a top seller for IKEA, come in 11 versions, with choices for dimmable white or full color.

  • Five sensors cover everyday needs: motion, door/window, temperature and humidity, air quality (CO₂ and PM2.5), and water leaks.

Why it matters: By embracing Matter and Thread, IKEA is cutting through the chaos of competing smart home standards, making its gear work seamlessly with whatever ecosystem you already use. It’s a practical step toward a future where setting up connected devices feels as easy as screwing in a light bulb, at least that’s the promise.

CLIMATE TECH

Image source: Mark Stebnicki on Pexels

The Rundown: Australia is offering millions of households up to three hours of free electricity each day starting in July 2026 under a new “Solar Sharer” scheme that is essentially Airbnb for your neighbor’s rooftop panels.

The details:

  • The program leverages Australia's world-leading solar boom — one in three homes has panels — to solve the grid's midday oversupply problem.

  • The free period will be set in the midday window, with customers required to opt in; apartment dwellers can participate without owning rooftop panels.

  • It launches in New South Wales, South Australia, and southeast Queensland, with potential expansion to other states by 2027.

  • Proponents say shifting EV charging and laundry into the free window saves cash, but households that can’t time-shift might get dinged with higher rates.

Why it matters: Australia’s ultra-cheap rooftop solar — about AU$840 per kilowatt, roughly a third of U.S. costs — has blanketed one in three homes. If Solar Sharer scales, it could fast-track EV charging and a grid-wide fossil retreat, while testing whether time-of-use freebies cut bills or just penalize households that can’t shift.

QUICK HITS

Google is reportedly in early talks to deepen its Anthropic investment at a potential valuation north of $350B.

Meta is reportedly making billions of dollars every year from scam ads and illicit product promotions on its platform, according to Reuters.

Elon Musk said Tesla will unveil the production version of its second‑gen Roadster on April 1, 2026, adding that he chose April Fools’ Day for “some deniability.”

Anthropic is opening Paris and Munich offices in a global push that’s already added Tokyo, Seoul, and Bengaluru alongside its London, Dublin, and Zurich operations.

Snap shares rose about 9% after it announced a $400M partnership to integrate Perplexity’s AI-powered search directly into Snapchat.

Netflix is reportedly negotiating to license iHeartMedia’s video podcasts with an eye to exclusive distribution on its platform, according to Bloomberg.

SpaceX is buying an additional $2.6B in spectrum licenses from EchoStar, expanding a $17B September agreement as Starlink continues to add customers worldwide.

Klarna reportedly feared that up to 288K customer logins were exposed in a data leak, projecting roughly $41M in legal and remediation costs.

The White House will block Nvidia from selling its scaled‑down B30A AI chip to China, effectively shutting the company out of that market, reports The Information.

Peloton is recalling about 833K Original Series Bike+ exercise bikes after reports of seat posts breaking, with three complaints, including two injuries.

Amazon launched Kindle Translate in beta, an AI tool that lets self‑publishers translate ebooks at no cost, initially between English, Spanish, and German.

Volcanologists are using portable observatories — packed with thermal cameras, infrasound sensors, and gas detectors — to capture eruptions from safe distances.

Google said it will purchase 200K metric tons of carbon removal from Brazil-based Mombak by funding the acquisition and reforestation of Amazon farmland.

COMMUNITY

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Rowan, Jennifer, and Joey—The Rundown’s editorial team

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