Axios Closer

March 25, 2025
Tuesday ✅. Missed the Axios What's Next Summit today? No problem, watch the replay here!
Today's newsletter is 570 words, a 2-minute read.
🔔 The dashboard: The S&P 500 closed up 0.2%.
- Biggest gainer? International Paper Co. (+6.5%), the packaging company, delivered rosy growth projections at its annual investor day.
- Biggest decliner? UPS (-5.1%), the shipping company, was the subject of a lowered stock price target by a Bank of America analyst who cited tariff uncertainty.
1 big thing: Tesla chair goes mum
Tesla chair Robyn Denholm is maintaining radio silence about the corrosive effect of Elon Musk's political activities on the company's electric vehicle sales.
- Why it matters: Denholm's arrival at Tesla in 2018 was seen as a potential stabilizing moment after Musk's tumultuous tussle with U.S. securities regulators.
Driving the news: Faced with questions at a conference in Australia today about whether "she was concerned about Musk's apparent right-wing allegiances, or his opposition to diversity and inclusion initiatives," Denholm "said nothing," Bloomberg reported.
- "Asked if she had a message for Tesla shareholders, she didn't respond," the newswire added.
- Also, "a woman accompanying Denholm as she entered the conference venue said they wouldn't comment or respond to any questions."
The big picture: In contrast to Musk, Denholm largely shuns the spotlight and isn't outwardly political.
- She hasn't posted on X in more than a year and rarely gives interviews.
- Though in her six-plus years as Tesla chair, she has publicly supported Musk on a range of issues, from his use of social media in 2019 to lobbying shareholders to approve the CEO's $56 billion pay package last year.
The intrigue: Denholm has been selling Tesla stock in heaps recently.
- She's sold more than $117 million in shares over the last three months in a pre-approved trading arrangement, Fortune reported three weeks ago.
What they're saying: Denholm and Tesla did not respond to Axios requests for comment.
2. BNPL is everywhere
JPMorgan Chase's payments unit announced a second deal in as many months with a buy-now-pay-later provider.
- Why it matters: It's another sign that the purchase option is becoming more entrenched.
Catch up quick: JPM is making Affirm's BNPL options available at the point of checkout for its network of merchants.
- Customers will be given the payment option when making purchases in the range of $35–$30,000.
- Term lengths range from 30 days to 5 years, with payments due on a biweekly or monthly basis and no late fees or hidden fees.
Flashback: JPM reached a similar deal with Affirm rival Klarna last month.
🥊 State of play: Klarna, which is readying for a U.S. IPO, scored a big win last week inking a deal to become the exclusive BNPL provider for Walmart.
3. Tuesday catch-up
🚙 Waymo plans to expand robotaxi service to Washington, D.C., in 2026. It will be the company's sixth service area. (Axios)
🤖 Alibaba chair Joe Tsai warned about a potential bubble in AI data centers. Investments of several hundred billion dollars aren't "entirely necessary," he argued. (Barron's)
⦿ Samsung Electronics co-CEO Han Jong-Hee died today after suffering a heart attack at age 63. His colleague Jun Young-Hyun will become the sole CEO. (NYT)
4. Napster sold for $207 million
You'll have to believe us when we say that not only is Napster still around, someone just bought it for $207 million.
Catch up quick: The platform that pioneered music streaming (before slipping into digital irrelevance) has been acquired by Infinite Reality, a VC-backed metaverse unicorn.
- The buyer's plan is to reimagine Napster as "a social music platform" that prioritizes active fan engagement over passive listening, Axios' Sara Fischer and Dan Primack write.
Between the lines: Brand equity sometimes outlives the underlying business of internet platforms that were once popular with young users. That can prove irresistible to dealmakers.
💭 Nathan's thought bubble: I don't think the kids these days will believe us when we say that streaming music online used to be illegal, but Napster can tell some stories.
Today's newsletter was edited by Pete Gannon and copy edited by Sheryl Miller.
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