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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Tesla Shareholders Vote in Favor of Musk's $50B Payday; Tesla Investors Approves Tesla's Move to Texas; Musk Sued by Former Employees; Biden and Zelenskyy Sign U.S.-Ukraine Security Pact; G7 Leaders to Loan Ukraine $50 Billion; PM Giorgia Meloni Welcomes G7 Leaders; Trump Returns to Capitol Hill; Football Player Unions File Lawsuit Against FIFA; Argentina Reform Bill Protests; AutoStore Expands with New Robot Factory; Climate Change Affecting Malaysian Sea Turtles; BTS Jin Finishes Mandatory Military Service. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired June 13, 2024 - 18:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN HOST, FIRST MOVE: It is 7:00 a.m. in Seoul, 7:00 p.m. in Buenos Aires, and 6:00 p.m. here in New York. I'm Julia Chatterley.
And wherever you are in the world, this is your "First Move."
And a very warm welcome to "First Move." And here's today's need to know. Musk's money. Tesla shareholders vote in favor of Elon's nearly 50 billion
pay package from 2018.
Security support. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailing a historic 10-year security agreement with the United States.
Footballer frustration, a group of players union suing FIFA and saying they're overworked as more games are added to the calendar.
And Jin's joy, the BTS band member hugging 1,000 fans after finishing his mandatory military service. All that and plenty more coming up.
But we do begin tonight with an Elon Musk Tesla triumph. The electric car company just announcing that shareholders have re-approved Musk's massive
pay package, the largest, in fact, in U.S. corporate history, after a Delaware court struck it down earlier this year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDON EHRHART, GENERAL COUNSEL, TESLA: Our stockholders have approved the ratification of the 100 percent performance-based stock option award to
Elon Musk that was approved by stockholders in 2018.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Wow. Listen to that cheer. Tesla investors at that annual meeting, greeting the news with a standing ovation. That said, other high-
profile investors did oppose the move and two large shareholder proxy advisers recommended their clients vote it down.
The news comes as Tesla faces growing competition from less expensive electric vehicles made in China, but it would also help quell fears that
Musk might leave Tesla and focus on his other firms like SpaceX and the social media site X. The message from shareholders seems to be he hit his
performance target and he deserves the reward.
The bottom line, Musk remains the $48 billion man plus. Clare Duffy joins us now. Wow. Clare, a re-established vote to try and hand his money over,
but it's actually not the end of this. Tell us more.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: That's right, Julia. Just because he got this vote, which is a huge win for Elon Musk. This is a real vote of
confidence for him at this time when Tesla has seen its shares -- its sales slump and its shares slump over the past couple of months. So, this is a
big win for him, not just in terms of the money, but in terms of the confidence from his shareholders.
But it's important to note that just because he got this vote doesn't necessarily guarantee that he is indeed going to get this massive pay
package. This case is still tied up in Delaware court. But I think it does, you know, give him some confidence, it certainly gives Tesla lawyers some
good material to be going back in court and arguing with in favor of this compensation package.
And look, I think this vote also shows that this is not a typical company. Elon Musk is not a typical leader. And I think the majority of Tesla
shareholders realize that it's sort of unusual that you would have to pay to the tune of billions of additional dollars, because remember, Elon Musk
already owns a significant portion of this company, that you would have to pay your CEO to incentivize him to not spend his time elsewhere. That's
sort of unusual. But I think Tesla shareholders realize that and they are willing to go with that because Elon Musk has made them billions of
dollars, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. And I think that's the critical point. And part of the sort of reasoning, I think, for the judge voting this down initially was
saying that, to your exact point, when he's already a massive shareholder, why should he be -- have to be given more money to align his incentives
with other shareholders? They're already aligned.
So, in Delaware court's view, this was a gift, and that requires 100 percent of shareholders in order to sign off on it, at least according to
Delaware law. So, it's going to be interesting to see, Clare. And I know we don't know yet whether or not this was a unanimous vote or otherwise,
because to your point, this is not over yet.
But very quickly, I've got to ask you as well. I know that Elon Musk is also being challenged by some former employees who are criticizing the
conditions that they faced at SpaceX. I think they were fired back in 2022. What more can you tell us about what more is included in this lawsuit?
[18:05:00]
DUFFY: Right, Julia. Well, these employees say they were illegally fired from SpaceX for their involvement in writing this letter in 2022 that
raised concerns about a culture of gender discrimination and sexual harassment at SpaceX.
And this lawsuit, like the letter, specifically raises concerns about Elon Musk's habit of making crude sexual innuendos in his posts on X, the
platform formerly known as Twitter, that points to one example in particular in 2021 where Elon Musk says he's going to start a new
university called the Texas Institute of Technology and Science, which, of course, would have a crude acronym referring to women's bodies.
And this lawsuit claims that because he's the CEO, his tweets were considered like official company documents, and they influenced how people
at the company felt they could behave. I want to play for you just one clip that one of these plaintiffs, one of these former employees, told CNN's
Laura Coates last night about the influence of Musk's tweets at the company.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAIGE HOLLAND-THIELEN, PLAINTIFF IN LAWSUIT: SpaceX will retweet Elon Musk's Twitter and he will retweet them. And so, it becomes impossible to
separate his personal nonsense from the actual day-to-day life of an actual working environment where engineers are working hard and trying to get
things done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DUFFY: Right. So, this lawsuit claims that because of the culture that Elon Musk's tweets created, employees felt comfortable doing things like
naming a part of one of the company's rockets the upskirt camera.
Now, I should say that we asked SpaceX for comment on this lawsuit, they did not respond. But a former executive of the company previously said that
these employees were fired for cause. So, we'll have to see how this one plays out in court as well, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: There is nothing normal about any of the companies that Elon Musk has interest in or runs. We were actually, I should point out to our
viewers, just showing live pictures of Elon Musk on stage answering questions. So, I'm sure there's going to be one or two questions in that
room. But of course, that was what we were showing you earlier, where that standing ovation took place with investors.
He's not a normal CEO. He's not a normal person. And as far as we can see, the majority of shareholders here like the idea of him sticking around and
being given a whopping amount of money. But as far as those cases are concerned, Clare, we'll keep our viewers informed. Not the end of that. All
right. Clare Duffy there. Thank you.
Now, a show of strength and support to U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signing a 10-year bilateral
security pact on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy. President Biden saying the U.S. will ensure Ukraine can defend itself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Our goal is to strengthen Ukraine's credible defense and deterrence capabilities for the long-term. A lasting piece for
Ukraine must be underwritten by Ukraine's own ability to defend itself now and to deter future aggression anytime in the future.
The United States is going to help ensure that Ukraine can do both, not by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine, but by providing weapons and
ammunition, expanding intelligence sharing, continuing to train brave Ukrainian troops at bases in Europe and the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: This also comes as G7 leaders agreed to a $50 billion loan for Ukraine, backed by the profits from frozen Russian assets. Meanwhile,
President Zelenskyy is saying he has received assurances from Beijing that it will not supply weapons to Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I had phone conversation with the leader of China by phone. He said that he will not sell any weapon to
Russia. That is the first. We'll see with you. We'll see. But he said to me, if he is a respectable person, he will not, because he gave me the
word.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Nic Robertson has more details from that G7 meeting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Brisk handshakes, hugs, even a kiss or two. Italy's P.M., Giorgia Meloni,
welcomes G7 leaders. Then they all wait for the top guest. Meloni finding the time to take a selfie.
Eventually, Joe Biden arrives, more than half an hour behind the carefully choreographed schedule. Like Biden, many here, six total, facing electoral
challenges. The U.K. P.M. almost certainly his last G7 as leader for a while. Meloni on the other hand, buoyed by a bounce in recent European
elections.
I'm very proud to have the double honor of being Italy's prime minister and G7 president, she told the other leaders.
[18:10:00]
Hosting not just the G7 leaders, Ukraine's Zelenskyy joining them at the symbolic olive wood table. A $50 billion loan, unprecedentedly structured
from $300 billion of frozen Russian assets, getting political agreement at the highest levels.
Later, bilaterally with Biden, signing a 100year security agreement with the United States.
BIDEN: By providing weapons and ammunition, expanding intelligence sharing, continuing to train brave Ukrainian troops at bases in Europe and
the United States, enhancing interoperability between our militaries in line with NATO standards.
ZELENSKYY: This is an agreement on steps to guarantee sustainable peace. And therefore, it benefits everyone in the world because the Russian war
against Ukraine is a real, real global threat.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Ukraine, not the only G7 focus Thursday, Africa, climate development, and the Mideast also dominating leaders'
conversations.
BIDEN: Democracies can deliver.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Biden taking the lead on infrastructure and development to help farming and agribusiness in Africa and beyond.
BIDEN: Just look at the progress we've made over the past -- over the last year. The Lobito Corridor and Sub-Saharan Africa. We've mobilized $33
billion dollars for clean energy projects, which will bring electricity -- clean electricity to 1.5 million families who had no access to it before.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): More back-to-back meetings planned Friday and another G7 first. The pope expected at the sumptuous Puglia Resort to help
lead conversations about A.I.
ROBERTSON: But after a long day, and not for the first time in recent years, President Biden bailing early on the others, skipping the leader's
dinner with Italy's president.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Monopoly, Italy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Now, while President Biden travels abroad, Former President Donald Trump is back in Washington. He returned to Capitol Hill for the
first time since leaving office and since the January 6th attack.
Republican lawmakers welcomed him, demonstrating a united front after reservations voiced in certain quarters and following his conviction in the
New York hush money trial. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee spoke after those meetings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's tremendous unity in the Republican Party. We want to see borders.
We want to see strong military. We want to see money not wasted all over the world. We don't want to see Russian ships right off the coast of
Florida, which is what they are right now. That's unthinkable. We want to see just success for our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: And Kristen Holmes has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP: We have to take this beautiful place and we have to make it really something very special again. Right now, it's not special.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former President Donald Trump returning to Capitol Hill as the presumptive Republican
presidential nominee and a convicted felon.
TRUMP: This is an outstanding group of people. I'm with them a thousand percent. There was me, a thousand percent.
HOLMES (voice-over): Hoping to rally congressional Republicans and streamline the messaging ahead of the presidential election. House
Republican leadership unsurprisingly giving the meeting positive reviews.
ELISE STEFANIK, CHAIR, U.S. REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE: Well, thank you for being here this morning. We just concluded a very successful special
political conference with our special guest, President Donald J. Trump. We are 100 percent unified behind his candidacy.
HOLMES (voice-over): The Trump team said his meetings were expected to focus on policy, but sources inside the House meeting told CNN Trump tore
through a list of complaints, lamenting about his legal woes, calling the Justice Department "dirty, no good bastards." Wondering about Taylor
Swift's endorsement of President Joe Biden. "Why would she endorse this dope?" Calling Milwaukee, the site of the upcoming Republican Convention
"horrible." A comment allies said was in reference to crime in the city.
But Republicans said Trump did also talk about some policy, offering guidance on how Republicans should discuss abortion rights.
MIKE JOHNSON, U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: He said, make sure that you exercise your own conscience, talk about it, share your conviction, and do that in a
way that makes sense to people, and I think he made a good point.
He has said that after the Dobbs decision that the states are handling the issue right now, and that's where he's comfortable keeping it.
HOLMES (voice-over): And Trump addressed interparty politics after a year of infighting over the speakership.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): He saw me in there and he was like, hello, Marjorie. He's always so sweet and recognizes me. And he said, are
you being nice? He was joking. Are you being nice to Speaker Johnson? And I said, eh. And he said, OK, be nice to him. And I'm not in my head.
[18:15:00]
HOLMES (voice-over): After the meeting with House allies, Trump moved on to the National Republican Senatorial Committee for another closed-door
meeting.
TRUMP: Everybody here, you're all either elected or you're going to be elected again and re-elected. And I'm with every one of you, and you know
that.
HOLMES (voice-over): Ahead of Trump's return to Capitol Hill, the Biden campaign releasing a new television ad, seeking to remind voters about
Trump's role leading up to the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is nothing more sacred than our democracy, but Donald Trump's ready to burn it all down.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: And just to remind you, President Joe Biden, Former President Donald Trump will have their first debate of the 2024 election cycle on
Thursday, June 27th, right here on CNN. It's scheduled for 9:00 p.m. Eastern in the battleground State of Georgia.
Now, straight ahead, you're up-to-the-minute weather forecast.
Plus, FIFA players are giving the football organization a swift kick over its new match schedule. Will the top strikers and other players, well,
strike?
Plus, the tech company that says there's no place for wasted space. We'll introduce you to the founder of AutoStore, whose busy bee robots make sure
warehouses resemble their own Rubik's Cubes. We'll explain, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move." And a fourth straight session of record highs on Wall Street chopping today's "Money Move." At risk of
sounding like a broken record, the NASDAQ and the S&P hitting brand-new records on Thursday, all this after a second straight day of encouraging
U.S. inflation data. Prices at the factory gate unexpectedly fell two- tenths of a percent month over month. Prices easing on an annualized basis too. It's just another positive sign, at least for the Federal Reserve and
for consumers. Don't forget U.S. jobless claims rose to their highest level in 10 months meanwhile.
Now, a mixed session across Asia, but big gains for E.V. stocks relief, I think, that Europe's new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and not as
punishing as the stiff 100 percent tariffs announced in the United States. Of course, Europe for these players is a far bigger market at the moment.
Fear that China will retaliate, though, against European automakers helped trigger a selloff in France and Germany with shares there falling almost 2
percent.
Now, red arrows for European stocks. And in sports, perhaps a red card for FIFA. Football Player Unions are taking legal action against the governing
body, blasting its new international match calendar as "overloaded and unworkable."
[18:20:00]
They're asking the European Court of Justice to step in. All this ahead of the start of the Euro 2024 tournament on Friday. Patrick Snell joins us
now. I can hear the accusations here. They're paid so much money. They should put up and shut up. But they're also professional athletes and they
need some downtime.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, Julia, spot on. They're human beings now. I've heard that for decades growing up. Oh, well, they own a fortune,
don't they? Own a fortune. But look, they're finely tuned, honed athletes. And look, we've got a scenario, this time next year, where some players
could potentially, Julia, be playing for 12 consecutive months before the next pre-season kicks in.
You're right, so much going on in the world of football right now. We've got the European Footy Championships, they get underway on Friday. Germany
taking on Scotland at the Allianz Arena in Munich. We got the Copa America over here in the U.S. So, we got the Olympic football tournament as well in
France, not to mention the start of those new domestic campaigns before you know it.
And then, this time next year, well, we'll also be getting set for the first expanded FIFA Club World Cup, which will involve 32 teams -- being
upped to 32 teams. So, you got that scenario. I mentioned the 12 straight months potentially. What do we got? We got the English Professional
Footballers Association and the French Players Union accusing FIFA violating players rights and potentially E.U. competition law by creating a
calendar that, as you said in the intro, it says is overloaded and unworkable. Those two words certainly resonating.
Now, according to World Players Unions FIFA Pro Europe, FIFA has "failed to meaningfully engage or negotiate and have unilaterally continued a program
of competition expansion despite the opposition of Player Unions." CNN, well, we did reach out to FIFA. They're the governing body for world
football. We want to comment on the legal action. We await that. This is certainly a hot button issue and I expected to run and run.
At the recent Global Soccer Forum in Sardinia, we did speak -- our own Amanda Davies spoke with Maheta Molango, who's chairman of the Professional
Footballers Association. Take a listen to what was said because it's very impactful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHETA MOLANGO, CHAIRMAN, PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLERS' ASSOCIATION: Maybe like 18 months ago, you still had some skeptical fans would say, come on,
you know, you're well paid, you're millionaires, you're privileged. Why don't you stop complaining and get on with it? But all of a sudden now, 18
months down the line, you see that it has become now an industry problem.
It's no longer about a few unions, a few player complaining, it's just even the fans, even the most skeptical fans saying, I want to see my player
playing because if I don't, I lose games. If I lose games, I'm sad.
So, for the first time, I think we're no longer talking about the problem of players. We're talking about the problem of the industry, and we'll talk
about the situation that is basically killing the game, killing the product for those who want to call it a product.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNELL: The words are impactful and powerful. Molango adding in a statement on Thursday that "too many within football act like it is exempt from the
normal requirements of employees and employees." Players are not being listened to, and they want to see action. As their union, we have a duty to
intervene and to enforce their legal rights as employees. Ultimately, that time has now come.
So, is it possible, Julia, that the 32-team Club World Cup could be rescheduled? Well, back in May, FIFA saying it would not consider
rescheduling. Remember, it's due to start in mid-June of next year. And then 12 months on from that, we've got the 2026 Men's World Cup in America,
Canada, and Mexico. First time three countries will ever have hosted football's biggest showpiece event.
So, it really doesn't stop. It is relentless. And so, players have just finished their campaigns, haven't they? In La Liga, in the Premier League,
Serie A. What's next? Well, Euro '24 for many of them. Back to you.
CHATTERLEY: I know, as a football fan, you can't really complain, but I have some sympathy for them too, and the schedule is so packed, you can't
even adjust here. You're killing the product. If they're exhausted, they're not playing their best game, and they risk injury too. So, something's got
to give. Patrick, thank you for that. Patrick Snell there.
Now, as the summer kicks in, you might imagine Miami is basking under sunny blue skies. Well, sadly, banish the thought. Parts of South Florida have
been left under water after a deluge swamped roads and suburban gardens.
Here in the Miami-Dade area, you can see drivers battling through the water. Elisa Raffa at the Weather Center says, sadly, there's more to come.
ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Julia, we could see an additional four to eight inches of rain on top of what has already fallen over the last 48
hours huge swaths of 10 inches or more has fallen across parts of South Florida. Some communities just north of Miami have gotten more than 20
inches of rain in the last 48 hours.
Just in one day alone, Fort Lauderdale got more than nine and a half inches of rain, which is equivalent to the entire month of June and marks the
eighth wettest day on record for the city. So, just incredible amounts of rain.
We do know that our rain is getting heavier as our atmosphere is warmer. It holds more moisture. So, we do find that our hourly rainfall rates are
increasing. That rain can come down heavier and squeeze out more.
[18:25:00]
Across the southeast, our top-heaviest days for rain is 37 percent heavier than it used to be since 1958 across the southeast, including places like
Florida. We're also tracking the heat as well that's going to start to shift into the east as we go into next week. Above average temperatures
from the Midwest into the northeast. And we're talking well above average, looking at high temperatures up near 100 degrees in St. Louis. Sunday,
Monday, Little Rock too. Sweltering temperatures as we go through the weekend. Hotlanta really starting to get in on it too. Temperatures in the
middle and upper 90s.
Now, as we go into Monday and Tuesday, the extreme heat risk will also start to pop for parts of the Midwest and starting to shift east. This
means that we have an extreme risk of heat sickness. So, people will need to really watch for those symptoms as temperatures start to climb.
CHATTERLEY: Sweltering is the word. Our thanks to Elisa Raffa there. All right. Coming up for us, protests erupt in Argentina's capital following
the passage of a controversial reform bill. Though investors are breathing a sigh of relief. We'll discuss, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move" with a look at more of the international headlines this hour. Russian authorities say U.S. journalist
Evan Gershkovich will stand trial on espionage charges. The Wall Street Journal reporter has been detained for over a year, but his case was only
sent to the court on Thursday. Russia accuses him of spying for the CIA. Those charges vehemently denied by Gershkovich, the U.S. government, and
the Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. Supreme Court has now rejected a challenge involving access to a key abortion pill. It's the court's first big ruling on reproductive rights
since it overturned the federal right to an abortion two years ago. Women can still receive mifepristone through the mail and without an in-person
doctor's appointment.
[18:30:00]
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is taking partial responsibility for Boeing's recent safety problems, including a door plug blowout in
January. The head of the agency telling senators that when it comes to Boeing, the FAA had been "two hands off." Mike Whitaker added he will visit
Boeing's factory in South Carolina on Friday as the FAA takes a more proactive approach.
Now, protesters rocking Buenos Aires with 27 people arrested on Wednesday, this after Argentina's Senate approved a sweeping package of economic
reforms. It follows weeks of tense negotiations. Senators passed what's seen as a market friendly bill that includes access to privatizations and
liberalizing labor laws. Argentina's stocks and bonds rallied on Thursday.
Milei has already drawn criticism for his strict austerity program, and for the nation's high inflation rate. However, official data shows inflation
falling in May to its lowest level since 2022.
For more on this, we're joined by Stefano Pozzebon. Stefano, this is an encapsulation for me of the word reform. Investors like it when governments
do things to try and get an economy on a soundtrack. But in the short-term, it means pain for the people.
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Yes, precisely, Julia, it's what we call the difference between Wall Street and the high street. And I think yesterday,
Wednesday in Buenos Aires, just like you said, encapsulates it perfectly, because we have seen thousands, if not tens of thousands of people taking
to the streets protesting against these reforms. Really some of the harshest scenes of violence that we haven't seen in Buenos Aires in at
least six to seven years.
And on the other side, we see today the market celebrating, the market's actually popping up because of these reforms. The level of the inflation, I
don't need to tell you how crucial inflation is for Argentina, for everybody who looks at our Argentinian markets. And today, is down at only
4.2 percent.
I think that we were in a hyperinflationary cycle just in October, November last year, the fact that Milei managed to bring that down to less than 5
percent is beyond remarkable. But at the same time, that came at a huge cost for tens of thousands of workers who have been laid off, mostly from
public companies, in particular the state airline, the state press agency, for example. And those were the ones that took to the streets yesterday,
those workers unions who demand to see better subsidies, to demand the state to be there for them.
Milei himself, what's interesting, on Wednesday, he was speaking at a ring- wing conference at the Hilton Hotel in Buenos Aires. And this is how he himself referred to this discrepancy. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAVIER MILEI, ARGENTINE PRESIDENT (through translator): Today, as a country and a society, we are facing the choice between the path of
decadence or we rise to walk the path of freedom. The battle is being fought in the street.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POZZEBON: And you see battle being fought in the street, a choice between decadence and freedom. Milei shows no sign that he's going to sit down and
talk with the protesters. He's showing no sign that he's interested in breaking a deal with the -- and brokering a deal with the opposition.
Yesterday's package of reform was able to pass just after the vice president broke a tie vote in the Senate. But Milei is going ahead at full
steam, regardless of the scenes that we've seen on Wednesday in Buenos Aires. And that leaves, Julia, tough times ahead in Argentina for both
market investors, people who are looking at those markets and of course, for hundreds of thousands of Argentinians who are feeling the pain right
now of those reforms. Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. And -- but the past shows that something has to change, Stefano. I think that's the key. And to your point, about the inflation
rate. But it does mean pain in the short-term. But he's going to hold his head up high when he meets the IMF chief tomorrow because I know they're
negotiating a new package. So, it's going to be interesting to watch that too. Great to have you with us, Stefano. Thank you. Stefano Pozzebon there.
All right. Coming up after the break, a total waste of space. More importantly, how to fill it properly. AutoStore squeezes every last inch
out of warehousing space with the little help of some little robots like this. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:35:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move." Now, traditional warehouses have looked like this for decades, with vertical shelves separated by enough
space for people to drive a forklift truck. Well, my next guest says that's wasted space. AutoStore promises to quadruple capacity using a modular
system and robot pickers, which shuttle goods around using special bins. Their warehouses resemble Rubik's cubes.
The company says its retrieval rate is over 99.7 percent accurate, which makes you wonder about the 0.3 percent, but there you are. And it claims
the result is the fastest automated fulfillment system per square foot in the world.
The company is opening its second robot manufacturing facility in Thailand to meet growing demand. In fact, it says it's deployed nearly 1,500
warehouse systems across 54 countries worldwide. Mats Hovland Vikse is the CEO. Mats, my apologies on your name. Welcome to the show. Just start by
explaining how the technology works from the moment someone places an order.
MATS HOVLAND VIKSE, CEO, AUTOSTORE: Yes, absolutely. Thanks, Julia. So, the way that we've sold warehouses and just the fulfillment of goods more
broadly is that instead of having this shelf-based storage and manual labor running around, we use a cube-based modular system where products are
stored in toasts are just stacked on top of each other in between with no air in between them. Like you said, like a Rubik's Cube.
And then, when an order is placed, either online or from a store, we have developed robots that drive on top of that cube, retrieving then the goods
that are ordered and delivering them to workstations where either people or other types of robots are ready to pick it up and send it to its
destination.
And what's interesting is that when you're using this approach, you can store more than four times as much inventory in the same footprint and
overall, just significantly increase the speed at which you're able to deliver those orders that are placed.
CHATTERLEY: Do you have a sense of what the speed increase is? Because I think in this day and age with online demand and delivery, I think just
increasing the speed at which you can find the goods and get them out to people is probably pretty crucial.
VIKSE: It definitely is. And you can more than double your speed in terms of your operation. And from a one picker perspective, on each of our
workstations, you can deliver more than 650 picks per hour. And out of a total system, you can do more than 20,000 orders per hour. So, that's
insane speeds when you think about it.
[18:40:00]
CHATTERLEY: It's also safe, say insane relative to the humans that it would take in order to do that. Do you have any sort of sense of what,
unfortunately, to some degree, or fortunately in others that the human saving is in using this system?
VIKSE: Now, you definitely get less dependent on labor. But what is really, really, really about this being able to grow and expand your
operation without being fully dependent on massively scaling labor. And what we've seen is a trend over time that automation is not really about
taking costs out of the operation and taking out people, it's more become a strategic enabler for growth and for meeting the ever-increasing demands of
customers out there.
So, we actually did a survey where we asked more than 300 executive this year, across a wide range of end markets, what their biggest challengers
were. And the top two highest responses were labor shortage and rising labor costs.
CHATTERLEY: Yes.
VIKSE: So, getting in a system that helped resolve some of that and in addition, just significantly improves the working conditions for those that
do work there is a very positive thing.
CHATTERLEY: How much maintenance does this need? Because another saving here is training people, I guess, to operate a system like this. In this
case, you set it up and you run. How long does it take to set up?
VIKSE: Yes. So, we deliver out of our factory in as little as, less than 20 weeks. And then, depending on the size, you can get a system up and
running with everything ranging from a week to six months. The good thing is, though, that we've done all of this with very, very standardized set of
modules, which is what has been part of enabling a 99.7 percent uptime across all of those 1,500 systems.
And because of the simplicity that we've employed, you don't need a lot of highly skilled engineers running that site. You can do it with simple
maintenance and to get pickers on boarded on the technology, and you can train them in just a matter of hours, which makes it easier to scale up
when you have peak demands as well.
CHATTERLEY: I mean, you have some whopping great customers. Best Buy is one of them. DHL, of course, the logistics company, the European Logistics
Company. What about the smaller companies as well? And how do you cost this? What does an operation like this cost if you are a smaller business,
for example, that is looking to automate and save space? Because what you've just told me as well is that you can quadruple your operation
without actually having to buy any further warehouse space.
VIKSE: No, exactly. And look, we have a system that works across such a broad variety of applications. You mentioned different types of count
customers, but it's also different sizes of businesses. So, we have delivered system -- that systems that cost you a couple of hundred
thousands, and we've delivered systems which has been in the size of tens of millions.
And in order for smaller businesses to really get access to these advantages, we've also, this year. launched a product that's called Pio.
So, on pio.com, you can see a very standardized version, small scale that is designed to meet exactly the needs of small to medium sized businesses.
CHATTERLEY: So, you've just opened a production facility in Thailand to manufacture some of these robots. And I believe the plan is to produce
15,000 robots in the next 18 months. Obviously, it gives you access to Southeast Asia and to Asia more generally, too. But can I ask why you
picked Thailand first and foremost?
VIKSE: Yes. So, first of all, as you say, Thailand as a location was attractive to us because it places us close to a lot of our key markets,
both across Asia-Pacific, but also in -- for the U.S. In addition to that, because of the experience that sits in the region, we get access to top
class talent, and it's a good location for us to build out by -- diversified set of suppliers. And having this in place, we can continue to
deliver to our customers in less than 20 weeks, which is industry leading delivery times.
CHATTERLEY: OK. But you could have chosen somewhere like Vietnam, but you chose Thailand.
VIKSE: Yes, we took a thorough approach and we looked at supplier availability, talent availability. We looked at government support for
automation businesses. So, it just ended up being a very good choice for us.
CHATTERLEY: And very quickly last year alone, I think you had $6.5 billion worth of sales and order backlog of over $440 million as well. Are you
profitable as a business? You're clearly in expansion mode, but are you profitable at this stage?
VIKSE: We are. So, we have a pipeline of opportunities, as you say, of more than $6 billion. Last year, we did $650 million of revenues. And we
did that moving up to an EBITDA margin of almost 50 percent. And we convert a lot of that into cash. So, we built a very, very efficient business model
to deliver on.
[18:45:00]
CHATTERLEY: Hence the smile. And I should point out, it's what, 40 minutes past or into tomorrow where you are. So, I appreciate you staying up late
to talk to me as well. We'll keep in touch and hear about progress. Mats, fantastic to talk to you there, the CEO of AutoStore. Thank you.
All right. Coming up after the break, Jin is back. The K-pop star celebrating the end of his military service. A group of lucky fans got to
nab some face time with their idol.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back. Climate change is impacting the inhabitants of our world in so many ways, and even the smallest of creatures are at risk.
In Malaysia, there are fears uncontrolled global warming will put the survival of tiny sea turtles in jeopardy. Elisa Raffa reports on efforts to
understand and then manage the problem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFFA (voice-over): These sea turtle hatchlings are being moved to shadier patches. The rising surface temperatures in Malaysia are changing the sex
ratio among sea turtles, which is dependent on its environment. According to scientists, incubation temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius can lead to
all female baby turtles.
NICHOLAS TOLEN, SEA TURTLE RESEARCHER, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYSIA TERENGGANU: We hypothesize about 29.1 degrees Celsius is our pivotal temperature point.
So, what would produce a 50/50 male female sex ratio. So, understanding that basically is such a very small span, a very small range of degrees.
RAFFA (voice-over): For decades, the population of marine turtles has been in serious decline across the country, often due to the harvesting of their
eggs, overfishing, and lack of policy enforcement. Observers at the Chagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary in the Malaysian island of Redang are already
seeing fewer males being hatched in recent years.
Now, volunteers are carefully moving the eggs to cooler parts closer to the island's rainforest and away from the hot sands.
TOLEN: Sea turtle conservationists were concerned that uncontrolled global warming in the future, in the next 15, 20, 30 years will be detrimental to
sea turtle nesting populations worldwide because it will feminize sea turtle hatchling populations, which will then lead to less productivity,
less female turtles being able to mate and lay more eggs.
RAFFA (voice-over): Researchers say that artificial incubators are not a viable option as they might disrupt the hatchling's understanding of the
Earth's magnetic field, and they will not be able to find their way back to the nest.
MOHD UZAIR RUSLI, SEA TURTLE RESEARCH UNIT, UNIVERSITY OF MALAYSIA TERENGGANU (through translator): We are concerned that if we produce these
turtles and release them into the ocean, they will lose their sense of direction and won't know where to swim. And for sure, such turtle mothers
won't nest back here in Terengganu when they've reached adulthood because they aren't familiarized with it.
RAFFA (voice-over): Climate change might have a detrimental effect on the sea turtle population, and it might only get worse from here. Due to the
lasting effects of El Nino, increasing heat waves are being prolonged in the country.
[18:50:00]
In Redang, after hatching, the sea turtles are moved to a small nursery before being released at night. These little ones will wobble their way
into a cooler future.
Meteorologist Elisa Raffa, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: So, from Malaysia now to South Korea, where K-pop fans are feeling Jin jubilation. Is that Jin-bilation, then? The BTS star finished
his mandatory military service on Wednesday. If you're waiting for a full BTS reunion tour, though, you'll have to wait a little longer. The other
six members are still waiting. still serving.
No break for Jin, however. He was back to work Thursday, hugging a thousand fans who've been waiting eagerly for his return. I'm joined by Mike Valerio
from Seoul. I believe there was a lottery, Mike. The all-important question is for this hugathon. Did you try and get a ticket? And did you get a hug?
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Julia, I tried to get a ticket. I didn't get a hug because you know what? I had to be outside reporting for CNN.
But, Julia, watch this space, there were certainly more deserving 1,000 fans who got that opportunity. But exclusive with me and Jin, it's going to
happen. Again, watch this space.
One of the best parts, though, Julia, of going to such an international event was trading fan merch with people queuing in the shadow of Seoul's
Olympic Stadium waiting to get in. So, this is a photo card from one of Jin's fans in Orlando, Florida, with some of his greatest, most handsome
headshots. And then the super fan, we're going to show you from Thailand, who actually got a hug. She took it upon herself to make some of these
gourmet deluxe cookies in the shape of a cartoon character that Jin created to help promote his music.
CHATTERLEY: Wow.
VALERIO: So, Julia, it was amazing. We had a phenomenal time. But this is just a taste of what it was like a few hours ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALERIO (voice-over): They are quite possibly the luckiest superfans in the world. A once in a lifetime hug from BTS superstar, Jin. It's just a
day after Jin finished his compulsory military service with the Korean Army. The pop icon's BTS Army, as fans are known, are now filled with Jin
jubilation.
CROWD: BTS.
ASHLEY STOUDNOUR, BTS FAN: Thank you for everything. Thank you for the music. Thank you for giving me this beautiful community. This beautiful
family full of love.
VALERIO (voice-over): They came to Seoul by the thousands. Nan from Southern California is still in shock. She and BTS bestie, Michelle, won
coveted tickets to Jin's Welcome Back concert.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was -- I'm still having a bit of an out of body experience. It was completely unreal. My daughter was with me and she told
me, oh, that's fake. That's not true. Because I've entered these things several times, and they've never -- I mean, what are the chances, right?
VALERIO: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, it was amazing, and I'm still sort of floating.
VALERIO (voice-over): But the golden ticket truly is a chance to hug Jin.
VALERIO: That's the golden ticket.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
VALERIO: Wow.
VALERIO (voice-over): Memchin Chanya (ph) from Bangkok is one of those fantastically fortunate fans. She won a ticket from an online raffle to hug
Jin. Yoon-jeong painted these gorgeous portraits of Jin and the rest of BTS. But there's still a bit of sorrow that she didn't win one of the hug
raffle tickets.
KIM YOON-JEONG, BTS FAN (through translator): I stayed the night of crying. Yes, for real. I stayed the night up. I couldn't even do my makeup.
VALERIO (voice-over): The man himself also grateful for his new army family.
JIN, BTS MEMBER (through translator): It was so fun for the last year and six months. It's such a relief. I met so many good people.
VALERIO (voice-over): These fans are now ready for J-Hope, the next of BTS's seven members, to finish compulsory military service. The BTS Army,
now ready for a new beginning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the start of the next --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, the next phase.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The next phase.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VALERIO (on camera): So, Julia, of course, why this matters in terms of our business friends, business community being the "First Move" show that
we are, this, as our last soundbite, was conveying is certainly a new chapter. This is one of the most powerful menace manifestations of South
Korea's soft power that's projected onto the world. A multibillion-dollar K-pop industry.
So, you know, a whole multitude of fans, Julia, told us yesterday that with Jin coming back, and then the rest of the members, next one coming back in
October, and then sort of snowballing after that, this is expected to be a new resurgence for new K-pop music, a new chapter of creativity, and
certainly competition between K-pop bands, BTS being one of the most prominent.
So, Julia, I think you and me, June of next year, when all of BTS is going to be reunited, let's go. Seoul, in the shadow of the Olympic Stadium. It's
going to be lit. It's going to be amazing.
CHATTERLEY: I'm with you, my friend. Although, I do think we're completely out superfans there by the out of body experience, the person who was up
all-night crying, and the person that was baking cookies. But we will do our best. And do a valiant effort, I'm sure. Thank you, Mike.
VALERIO: Indeed.
[18:55:00]
CHATTERLEY: Mike Valerio there. Thank you. And finally, on "First Move," another South Korean celebrity now appearing before some adoring fans. Not
quite that excited, though. Visitors in China got a chance to lay their eyes on Fu Bao, munching on bamboo at a giant panda reserve on Wednesday in
the Sichuan Province.
Fu Bao is the first giant panda to be born in South Korea. She arrived in China in April but had to go through quarantine and inspections. So, this
is her first media appearance. The reserve is offering limited five-minute visits each day to see her and you can see plenty of takers as you can see.
Don't get a hug though, but that's probably for the best.
That just about wraps up the show. Thank you for joining us, and I'll see you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
END
