Business

Elon Musk this week urged his followers to cancel their Netflix subscriptions over a controversy surrounding an animated show and its creator.
Shares of the company are down 4% this week.
Analysts say the statements might not have as big an impact on the stock as Musk is intending.

Elon Musk stands in the Oval Office to attend a press event with U.S. President Donald Trump, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025.
Nathan Howard | Reuters

Elon Musk this week urged his followers to cancel their Netflix subscriptions over a controversy surrounding an animated show and its creator.
Musk on Wednesday posted on his X platform saying, “Cancel Netflix for the health of your kids.” The post was in response to an image accusing Netflix of carrying out a “transgender woke agenda.”

The controversy seems to stem from conservative backlash over an animated Netflix show, “Dead End: Paranormal Park,” which features a transgender character. The show was canceled in 2023 after two seasons.
In addition to several anti-trans posts, Musk also responded to a post criticizing alleged statements made by the show’s creator, Hamish Steele, that a prominent conservative X account said “mocked” the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Steele responded to Musk’s callout on rival social media platform Bluesky saying, “It’s probably going to be a very odd day.” Steele also shared a post by TV writer Jack Bernhardt that called “Dead End” a “brilliant show about kind, wonderful characters.”
Netflix did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Analysts say the backlash might not pose as big of a threat to Netflix as Musk may be hoping for.

Netflix reported 301.63 million subscribers as of the fourth quarter of 2024, the last time it reported the metric before shifting priority to revenue over user growth. The company has a roughly $490 billion market cap, and its stock is up more than 60% in the past year.
Shares are down 4% so far this week.
“Is that going to move the needle necessarily? … You’re going to see people sign up on the back of that to counter it,” CNBC contributor Guy Adami said Wednesday on “Fast Money.”
“I don’t think this is a reason to sell the stock,” he added.
Wedbush Securities’ Alicia Reese told CNBC that the comments came too late in the third quarter to make any meaningful impact on subscriber counts.
Still, she said she believes the backlash won’t make a major dent and that any impact will be offset by an increase in ad revenue.
“Their numbers should come out just fine,” Reese said. “I think that shares haven’t been hit too hard.”
Seymour Asset Management’s Tim Seymour said though a day of headlines may move the stock around, Netflix shares are ultimately too expensive to be significantly affected by internet backlash.
“We’ve had these moments in time where, whether it was an ad campaign that went wrong or whether it was some sense that a company was aligned in a particular political channel… I don’t think that that’s going to be the reason to sell Netflix here,” Seymour said Wednesday.
The calls for a boycott mirror those against Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2023 after it released an ad campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. But the boycott of Bud Light, CNBC contributor Karen Finerman noted on Wednesday, yielded “far greater” destruction than any other recent examples.
“I feel like this will be very fleeting,” Finerman said. More

“In future, we will be a relevant player on land, at sea, in the air and in space,” proclaimed Armin Papperger (pictured). Rheinmetall’s chief executive had already led the maker of tanks and ammunition on forays into satellites, drones and parts for fighter jets. Last month Germany’s biggest defence firm said it was adding the four shipyards of Naval Vessels Lürssen (NVL), based in Bremen, for a sum estimated at €1.5bn-2bn ($1.8bn-2.4bn). More

ONCE YOU start using TikTok, good luck taking your eyes off it. The same goes for the saga of the Chinese app’s American misadventures. Unlike TikTok’s irresistible short videos, this has dragged on for years. Now, at last, it is nearing a denouement. In late September the contours began emerging of an arrangement reached between Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to hand control of TikTok US to a consortium led by American investors. It was either that or, in keeping with a bipartisan law signed in 2024 by Mr Trump’s Democratic predecessor, TikTok would eventually go dark in America. More

J. Edgar Hoover, the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, was a darkly authoritarian figure. During his 48-year reign at the FBI and its forerunner, he exercised personal oversight over decisions large and small, from wiretaps to dress codes. Control bred unthinking obedience. When Hoover once scrawled “Watch the borders” on one of the memoranda that passed across his desk, agents were reportedly dispatched to America’s frontiers with Mexico and Canada. It turned out that he was in fact concerned about the width of the margins on the document. More

TALK TO AMERICANS about their health-care system and many reach for Xanax. Together they spend around $5trn a year on keeping themselves in good nick, 40% more than in 2010 after adjusting for inflation. That comes to $13,400 per anxiety-ridden head, $6,000 more on average than in other rich countries, without being any healthier for it. Politicians of all stripes have long railed against this injustice—and fingered big pharma as the main culprit. President Donald Trump is now demanding that drugmakers charge no more for medicines in America than they do in comparably well-off places. More

Baby boomers make up nearly half of the 510,000 people who are worth at least $30 million, according to a new report by Altrata.
But by 2040, millennials and members of Generation Z are expected make up a third of the world’s ultra-wealthy.
The world’s wealthy are shifting thanks to tech wealth, social media and earlier inheritances.

Young cheerful lady enjoying on poolside. Resting in spa hotel in pine forest in summertime. Swimming pool in tourist resort. Joyful woman on vacations, female wellbeing.
Oleg Breslavtsev | Moment | Getty Images

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
The ranks of the world’s ultra-wealthy continue to swell, with the number of individuals worth at least $30 million surging to 510,810 at the end of June, up 5.4% since the beginning of the year, according to a new report by wealth intelligence firm Altrata.

Millennials and members of Generation Z only make up 8% of this class, which boasts combined net worth of $59.8 trillion, per Altrata. Baby boomers command the lion’s share of nearly 45% and people born in 1945 or earlier represent another 22%.
However, this dynamic is set to change rapidly thanks to the great wealth transfer, with Altrata estimating that the millennials and Gen Z constituents will make up more than a third of the ultra-wealthy population by 2040. Meanwhile, the share held by baby boomers and the silent generation will shrink from more than two-thirds to a fifth, and Generation X will take the lead with 45%.
This generational shift has far-reaching implications for firms that cater to the ultra-rich, from wealth managers to art dealers as well as nonprofits, according to Altrata’s Maya Imberg.
“They really have to think ahead because 15 years is not actually that far away,” said Imberg, head of thought leadership and analytics at Altrata. “Are environmentally friendly cars going to become more critical? Are they going to be as into yachting? All of these preferences are going to have a really big impact on the bottom line of businesses.”

Part of this rapid growth is due to the increased use of trusts and family offices over the past decade to pass wealth to heirs at an earlier age, Altrata’s Maeen Shaban told Inside Wealth.

“That means younger people are able to access that wealth. They don’t have to wait for the principal to pass away,” said the director of research and analytics.
Imberg said the most “stark” difference between generations lies in the industries where they made their wealth and the ones where they currently work. For most ultra-wealthy individuals, especially younger ones, these two are one and the same, according to Imberg.
But 15% of the next generation derives their wealth from hospitality and entertainment, while their older peers index below 5%. The next generation is also the most likely (just under 9%) to have technology as their industry of focus, which is twice the share of baby boomers. While banking and finance is the most popular industry across all generations, the share for the youngest is just under 20%, 10 percentage points lower than the average.
These differences, according to the report, reflect tech companies minting millionaires, as well as influencers and celebrities monetizing social media.

Get Inside Wealth directly to your inbox

Other nuances can largely be attributed to age, such as the next generation listing philanthropy as a lower priority, as well as real estate and luxury assets making up nearly a quarter of their wealth. These young entrepreneurs are typically running businesses that may be illiquid, leaving less time and cash to spend on philanthropy, Imberg said.
They also have a lower average wealth with a median of $44 million (versus $57 million for baby boomers), so real estate often makes up a larger chunk of their portfolios, according to Shaban. And while baby boomers are downsizing, the next generation is in the mood to spend, he said.
“They are in more of an acquisition state than older generations. They’re still buying things. For some of them, they’re buying the first house, their first big car, their first vacation home, or whatever,” he said. “It’s a different life cycle.” More

Ford said sales of all-electric vehicles increased by 30.2% during the period to a fresh quarterly record of more than 30,600 units.
General Motors and Hyundai said EV sales more than doubled during the quarter.
EV sales during the third quarter are expected to be a record, ahead of federal incentives of up to $7,500 ending in September.

Ford Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning on display at the New York International Auto Show on March 28, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC

DETROIT – Strong electric vehicle sales are leading to robust third-quarter results for major automakers, as consumers flocked to car dealerships before the end of $7,500 in federal incentives for EVs.
Ford Motor, General Motors and Hyundai all reported record quarterly sales of all-electric vehicles from July through September.

Both GM and Ford said third-quarter sales overall increased roughly 8% from a year earlier, with EV sales more than doubling for GM. Ford said sales of its EVs increased by 30% compared with the third quarter of 2024.
Hyundai reported its namesake brand recorded a 13% year-over-year sales increase during the third quarter, also led by doubling sales of all-electric vehicles.
Japan’s largest carmakers that don’t offer many EVs reported varying results for the quarter. Toyota Motor — the world’s largest automaker — said its quarterly sales increased 16%, while Honda Motor’s sales fell 2% from a year earlier. Nissan Motor reported an increase of 5.3%.
Chrysler and Jeep parent Stellantis reported a roughly 6% sales increase during the third quarter compared to a year earlier, as the carmaker continues a turnaround plan to reverse a yearslong decline in U.S. sales.

GM said it remained the top automaker in U.S. sales through the third quarter of this year, with the Detroit company estimating a market share of 17.2% – its highest position since 2015.

“No one is in a stronger position for a changing U.S. market than GM. We have the best lineup of ICE and EV vehicles we’ve ever had, and our brands have grown market share with consistently strong pricing, low incentives and inventory,” GM North American President Duncan Aldred said in a release.
GM on Wednesday estimated the industrywide sales pace for the third quarter was 16.7 million to 16.9 million units — higher than some earlier industry estimates, led by gains in EVs.
U.S. EV sales during the third quarter are expected to be a record, as buyers pulled ahead plans to purchase a new zero-emissions vehicle ahead federal EV incentives of up to $7,500 ending in September.

GM’s 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV during a media launch event for the vehicle in Detroit, May 16, 2024.
Michael Wayland / CNBC

Ford CEO Jim Farley on Tuesday said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if sales of EVs fell from an industry market share of around 10% to 12% this month — which is expected to be a record — to 5% after the incentive program ends.
Cox Automotive forecasts sales of EVs hit 410,000 during the third quarter, up 21% from a year earlier. That would easily be the highest amount of EVs ever sold in a quarter in the U.S., as well as a record 10% market share.
Sales of EVs as well as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles that also qualified for federal incentives are expected to assist in boosting third-quarter vehicle sales up between 4% and 7%, according to forecasts from Cox and CarMax’s Edmunds.
Some automakers are trying to keep their EV sales momentum going after the end of the tax credit. The incentives expired as part of the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which stripped the old enticement but included some perks for buying a U.S.-assembled vehicle, regardless of it being an EV.
Hyundai on Wednesday said it is reducing pricing for its 2026 Ioniq 5 EV by up to $9,800 and offering a $7,500 cash incentive on 2025 models, matching the federal credits.
“We’re very bullish when it comes to EV sales in the marketplace,” said Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, adding the brand is evaluating pricing on other models as well. “There’s going to be a little bit of a reset in October, probably even November, but the EV market will settle, and at that point, we view this as an opportunity. … We’re not backing off.”
GM and Ford also essentially extended the use of a $7,500 U.S. tax credit on leases of electric vehicles, Reuters reported Monday, by rolling out programs to their retailers under which the automakers’ financing arm would initiate the purchase of EVs in dealers’ inventory by making down payments on them. More

Neptune Insurance, the nation’s largest private flood insurance, goes public on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday.
CEO Trevor Burgess sees opportunity to acquire customers while the government shutdown means the NFIP won’t process new applications or new claims.
A growing number of U.S. properties are opting for insurance through private carriers rather than government insurance.

The timing of Neptune Insurance Holdings’ IPO couldn’t be more opportune.
Neptune, the nation’s largest private flood insurance, debuts on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday under the ticker symbol “NP.” The company sold more than 18 millions shares in its initial public offering at $20 apiece, and shares opened Wednesday at $22.50.

The company’s first trade comes just as the U.S. government has shut down, meaning the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) isn’t accepting applications or processing new claims.
“Neptune is open for business,” said Neptune chairman and CEO Trevor Burgess. “We can help the 1,300 people every day who are trying to close on their homes who need flood insurance or required to have flood insurance.”
The National Association of Realtors has warned the government shutdown will delay real estate closings, because it prevents buyers from securing flood insurance that is necessary for some mortgages.
A growing number of U.S. properties are opting for insurance through private carriers rather than government insurance.

Neptune Insurance signage during the company’s initial public offering (IPO) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Burgess said Neptune’s underwriting results are far outperforming the NFIP. Neptune offers flood insurance of up to $7 million rather than the NFIP’s $250,000 maximum.

The company uses AI and other advanced technology to assess risk on individual properties, rather than looking at broad zip codes or whole neighborhoods.
“We tell the truth to consumers,” Burgess said. “If we say that it’s $200 a year, it’s pretty low risk. If we say it’s $12,000, that’s pretty high risk. And if we say, ‘No, [we won’t cover you]’, you should move.”
A 2024 study by the Joint Economic Committee found that flooding costs the nation between $179.8 billion and $496 billion each year. Nearly one third of NFIP flood insurance claims, according to federal data, come from outside high-risk flood areas. More