Tesla reported a 61-percent drop in fourth-quarter profits on Wednesday due to lower auto sales and increased expenses as CEO Elon Musk ramps up technology investments.The results conclude a turbulent year for the electric vehicle maker that included a controversial Musk stint in Donald Trump’s White House and a shareholder vote in November to award the outspoken CEO a pay package worth as much as $1 trillion in anticipation of massive technology breakthroughs at Tesla. Profits came in at $840 million in the quarter ending December 31, down from $2.1 billion a year earlier. Revenues were $24.9 billion, down 3.1 percent.Lower profits had been expected after Tesla reported a drop in fourth-quarter and full-year auto deliveries early in January. A company presentation cited a litany of other factors. These included higher restructuring costs, increased research and development funding for AI pursuits, the drag from higher tariffs and a decline in revenues tied to emission tax credits following Trump’s reversals on US environmental policies.Musk opened a conference call by saying he was committed to “very, very big investments” to realize the mission of working to ensure “the best future,” an “era of abundance” where the “environment is great, nature is great, and people can have whatever they want.”Chief Financial officer Vaibhav Taneja said the 2026 capital spending budget would be “in excess of $20 billion,” more than that double the $8.5 billion last year.Musk said Tesla plans to wind down production of the Models S and X luxury EVs and will convert plant capacity in Fremont, California to build humanoid robots.Tesla’s outlook did not include a projection for its expected 2026 auto sales, saying it would depend partly on “aggregate demand for our products.” In its January 2025 earnings release, Tesla projected a return to growth in vehicle sales. But Tesla’s 2025 auto sales fell nine percent, reflecting increased competition from rivals and blowback to Musk’s embrace of Trump and far-right political figures.- Unrealistic timing? -Shares of Tesla rose sharply in the second half of 2025 after Musk left the White House in spite of weaker financial results shrugged off due to Tesla’s perceived growth potential.Musk has touted Tesla’s technological prowess on artificial intelligence and autonomous driving as a decisive advantage against rivals that justifies the company’s lofty stock market valuation. The company describes itself as in “transition from a hardware-centric business to a physical AI company.”At the World Economic Forum earlier this month, Musk described self-driving cars as “essentially a solved problem at this point,” adding that the robotaxi service will be very widespread in the United States by the end of 2026.Musk has also spoken optimistically about the expected growth in revenue tied to subscriptions of the driver-assistance “FSD” program. Many analysts have learned to take Musk’s utterances with a grain of salt after earlier predictions about the nearness of fully autonomous driving didn’t come to pass.CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson characterized Wednesday’s results as better than expected, pointing to revenue gains from Tesla’s energy generation and storage business and the company’s confirmation of the buildout of Cybercab and other big projects targeted for 2026.Stil, “execution risk is high as Tesla has its work cut out to deliver on its promises and justify the company’s lofty valuation in the face of challenging EV demand and growing competitive threats,” Nelson said. Included in Wednesday’s earnings press release, Tesla disclosed that it entered into an agreement on January 16 to invest $2 billion in Musk’s xAI artificial intelligence venture.A “framework” accord “builds upon the existing relationship between Tesla and xAI by providing a framework for evaluating potential AI collaborations between the companies,” said Tesla, adding that the investment agreement is expected to close in the first quarter.Tesla shares rose 1.7 percent in after-hours trading.

A branch of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent to Italy for the Winter Olympics will not carry out patrols and will have only an “advisory” role, Washington’s ambassador to Rome said on Wednesday.News of its deployment for the February 6-22 Games in Milan-Cortina has sparked anger in Italy, after the agency’s involvement in an often brutal crackdown on immigration in the United States.But US ambassador to Italy Tilman J. Fertitta said ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit will be “strictly advisory and intelligence-based, with no patrolling or enforcement involvement”.”At the Olympics, HSI criminal investigators will contribute their expertise by providing intelligence on transnational criminal threats, with a focus on cybercrimes and national security threats.”All security operations will remain the responsibility of Italian authorities,” he said after meeting Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.ICE operations in a number of US cities have triggered large-scale protests, and the recent killings of two demonstrators have caused outrage.Agents accused of violence there are from a different division than that earmarked for the Olympics.Fertitta said the HSI focuses on “cross-border criminal activity, ranging from investigating human smuggling, narcotics trafficking, child exploitation, financial crimes, intellectual property right theft, to recovering stolen art and antiquities”.The Italian authorities initially denied speculation that ICE would be present at the Games, then played down their role, suggesting that they would only be helping with security for the US delegation.US Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected at the opening ceremony at Milan’s San Siro stadium on February 6.Italy’s political opposition has asked the government to refuse the deployment, and protests are expected in the coming days in Rome and Milan.

A US immigration judge on Wednesday granted asylum to a Chinese man who fled his country after documenting sites of alleged human rights abuses against Uyghurs, his mother and lawyer told AFP.Guan Heng, 38, had been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in August, sparking fear among activists and supporters that he could be sent back to China where they said he would likely face persecution.But Guan was granted asylum Wednesday, a result that has become increasingly difficult in recent times.His lawyer, Chen Chuangchuang, told AFP that his actions “driven by his extraordinary moral courage, are worthy of US government protection.””We’ve been very moved, and thankful for everyone’s concern,” he said.Besides efforts by human rights activists, the top Democrat of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Raja Krishnamoorthi, also urged in December for Guan’s asylum petition to be granted.In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, he said the United States has “a legal responsibility to protect those who seek refuge in our country from persecution by authoritarian governments.”For now, Guan remains in detention and the Department of Homeland Security has a 30-day window where it could appeal the decision.”It’s unbelievable,” Guan’s mother, Luo Yun, said of the outcome. “I’m really, really happy.”She has spoken with her son since learning of the decision, and said he is similarly overwhelmed: “He had been anxious and unsettled about today’s hearing.”In late 2021, Guan published a 20-minute video online detailing his travel around the northwestern Xinjiang region in China.He was visiting places identified by a BuzzFeed investigation as detention facilities for Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities — or likely sites for such centers.Beijing has been accused of detaining more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims since 2017, part of a campaign that the United Nations previously said could constitute “crimes against humanity.”China vehemently denies these allegations, claiming its policies have rooted out extremism in Xinjiang and boosted economic development.Guan left China after filming the videos, and entered the United States after travels through South America.Asked about her plans if Guan were released, Luo said: “The first thing I want to do is go shopping at a large supermarket with him, to finally be able to walk through the aisles hand-in-hand with my child.”