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Quest Means Business
Iranian Video Purportedly Shows Ship Seizures; President Trump Speaks to Reporters; Meta Reducing Workforce to Offset Big Investments
Aired April 23, 2026 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:24]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Markets taking a bit of a breather. The Dow there, off its lows and remember even though, the NASDAQ and the
S&P are down today. They hit records yesterday. Those are the markets. And these are the main events.
President Trump threatens to shoot at boats laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Talks between Israel and Lebanon are expected to start this hour at
The White House.
And Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce.
Live from New York, it is Thursday, April 23rd. I am Paula Newton in for Richard Quest, and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
Tonight the U.S. and Iran are locked in a struggle to control the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump says he has ordered the U.S. to "shoot and kill"
any Iranian vessels laying mines in the Strait. He also says the U.S. will increase its mine clearing activity.
Now, the Pentagon says U.S. Forces boarded a stateless vessel carrying Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean, and Iranian state media released this
video, purportedly showing troops seizing a container ship. Now, CNN cannot independently verify the video, but it shows really frame by frame how this
apparent seizure happened.
Experts say it may have been partially reenacted. Still, it shows how Iran is trying to project its control over the Strait. Iran's Deputy Parliament
Speaker claims Tehran has received its first revenue from a new toll scheme on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Oren Liebermann is with us now from Jerusalem. You know, we really haven't seen many headlines out of today, not much movement, but what more are you
hearing in terms of where these negotiations are now, if there are to be any negotiations, principally between the United States and Iran, but
obviously it involves Israel as well.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: Paula, it is unclear where the negotiations stand. Pakistan is trying to push forward
and get the U.S. and Iran to meet for the second time to see if it is possible to get to a ceasefire. But, of course, that is tied closely to
what is happening with the Strait of Hormuz.
And here, two things appear to be true at the same time. First, the U.S. is blockading Iranian ports, and we see that with the seizure of another
vessel linked to Iran carrying Iranian oil, but hundreds, if not thousands of miles away in the Indian Ocean. The U.S. making clear here that it will
go after Iran's shadow fleet pretty much no matter where they are.
At the same time, if the U.S. is doing that, Iran has made clear that it will effectively block the Strait of Hormuz. Now, this is a combination of
not only foreign --
NEWTON: Oren, forgive me here. The President is speaking from the Oval Office on Iran. He is taking questions. Let's listen in.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: -- older person, but a person without legs or without arms or with a face that got
blown to pieces, most likely it was from Iran. It was Soleimani who I killed, Soleimani loved the roadside bomb. He was an evil genius.
He was a brilliant general, probably, we wouldn't be as far advanced had I not taken him out. That was the beginning of it all. And then I ended the
Obama horror show, the nuclear transaction that he made was horrible. He gave him a road to the -- you call it, I mean, what the deal that he did,
the Iran nuclear deal was so bad it gave them a road to a nuclear weapon.
And I will tell you, I deal with them. You cannot give Iran a nuclear weapon. This is all about a nuclear weapon. They cannot have the nuclear
bomb, and they're not going to have the nuclear bomb.
So we've taken out their military. We have hit about 75 percent of our targets. We stopped a little early because they wanted to have some peace
and we have a blockade that's 100 percent effective and they are getting no business, and as you know, they are not doing well economically,
financially, they are not doing any business because of the blockade.
They want to make a deal. We have been speaking to them, but they don't even know who is leading the country. They are in turmoil. They are in
turmoil. So we thought we'd give them a little chance to get some of their turmoil resolved.
But, you know, and I hope the fake news people like you, I hope the fake news are going to be able to write about it accurately. Because when you
say, oh, they're fighting very well, they're not fighting well, they were - - they have been obliterated -- obliterated -- 159 ships are in their Navy. You know, how many ships are at the bottom of the sea, Jeff? A hundred and
fifty-nine.
So, you know, and if you read "The New York Times," the failing "New York Times" -- subscriptions are way down as you know.
[16:05:10]
That's because people don't believe the stuff anymore. If you watch CNN, you'd think that they are doing well in the war. They are not doing well,
they are getting absolutely decimated.
Now, with all of that being said, we will see what happens. You have a lot of -- we have no pressure. It is only guys like you with a question like
that about what is your time -- we've been doing it for five-and-a-half weeks.
REPORTER: But sir --
REPORTER: Is your administration --
REPORTER: Mr. President, it has been eight weeks that the U.S. now has been involved with Iran? You had initially said it would be four to six weeks.
TRUMP: Well, I hoped that. But I also took a little break. I gave them a break. And remember this, I want to make the best deal. I could make a deal
right now.
Do you know that if I left right now, we had a tremendous success, it would take them 20 years to rebuild. But I don't want to do that. I want to have
it everlasting.
I want to have it where they never get -- they never have a chance to get it. I mean, the way you asked that question, yes, I did say it. I thought
it would take four to six weeks and I was right, because at the end of six weeks, at the end of four weeks, their military was decimated.
REPORTER: So are you saying --
TRUMP: But now what I am doing, I don't I can't tell you that. I don't want to put that kind of a timetable on it, but it will go pretty quickly. And,
we will have the Strait opened up. Right now, we have it closed. We have total control of the Strait. And the fact that it slows -- you know, they
would have opened it up three days ago. They came to us and they said, we will agree to open the Strait. And all my people are happy. Everybody was
happy except me. I said, wait a minute. If we open the Strait, that means they're going to make $500 million a day.
I don't want them to make $500 million a day until they settle this thing. So I am the one that kept it closed. We have total control of it. And it
will open when they make a deal or something else happens that's very positive.
REPORTER: Mr. President, what do you say to the American public who question how much longer this will take? Obviously, you know that they are
having --
TRUMP: You are such a disgrace. Did you hear what I just said? Vietnam. How many years was Vietnam?
REPORTER: I understand, sir --
TRUMP: How many years was Vietnam?
REPORTER: But you are past your six-week deadline --
TRUMP: Well, I did my act -- I took -- I took --
REPORTER: I was wondering what you would say to the American people who are wondering about --
TRUMP: I took the country out militarily in the first four weeks. I took it out militarily. Now, all we are doing is sitting back and seeing what deal?
And if they don't want to make a deal, then I will finish it up militarily with the other 25 percent of the targets. Weve hit 78 percent of the
targets that we've wanted to hit.
We've knocked out their manufacturing. We've knocked out their missile production. We've knocked out their drone production. We've knocked out
everything. In some cases, when I say knocked it out, 70, 80, 90 percent. It is amazing what we've done.
So I've done that within that period of time that I mentioned. But I don't want to rush myself, you know, because every story -- you say, oh, Trump is
under time pressure. I am not. No, no, you know who is under time pressure? They are.
Because if they don't get their oil moving, their whole oil infrastructure is going to explode. You know what that means? Because they have no place
to store it, and because they have no place to store it, if they have to stop it, something happens and only Lynn (ph) can explain, if something
happens underground that essentially renders it in very poor shape and you never recover fully. You can recover 5 to 60 percent, but you can never
have it like it is right now.
And they have a matter of days before that event takes place. So I am not under any pressure whatsoever. Weve never had so much ammunition. Our ships
are loaded. I call them locked and loaded. They're locked and loaded. They're ready to go.
We have much higher quality equipment than we did when we first started the war, and/or the military operation, whatever you want to call it and they
are coming to us. The problem they have is they are very disorganized right now.
Well, now, yesterday and I was very pleased with this, eight young women were going to be executed yesterday afternoon at 6:00. And I asked them,
call it a favor or call it just a moral request that they not be executed and they came back with an answer that they won't be executing. They're
going to release -- it was protesting, eight beautiful young women, very young women and their pictures are in the paper and it has been a story for
a little while. And I saw that and I said, let's see if we can save them.
And they were -- it was very nice what happened. So they're not going to be -- what they are doing is, as you know, they are releasing four of them
very shortly, and they are going to keep four of them in jail for a period of one month and release them so they won't be executed. Yes.
REPORTER: So if you're asking for more time to sort out negotiations with them --
TRUMP: I am not asking for more time, I am not asking for them. No, it is not --
REPORTER: -- for some more time.
TRUMP: I am not asking anybody for more time.
REPORTER: If you need more time, does that mean Americans should anticipate spending more on gasoline for the foreseeable future?
TRUMP: For a little while, and you know what they get for that? You know what they get for that? Iran without a nuclear weapon that's going to try
and blow up one of our cities or blow up the entire Middle East.
[16:10:10]
You want to see what shock would be? And I have to be honest, the stock market is at an all-time high right now. I thought it would have been down
20 to 25 percent when we hit.
Wait a minute. Wait, can I finish my question, wise guy?
The stock market is at an all-time high right now. I projected, and I am pretty good at this, that the stock market, Howard would drop maybe 20
percent, 25 percent and I understood that and I said, hey, it is a bad thing, but I have to do what is right for the country, even the world,
because you can't have them. You cannot let them have a nuclear weapon.
So, the stock market, unlike what a lot of people were predicting, I thought they weren't necessarily wrong. The stock market today hit an all-
time high, hit an all-time high yesterday and the day before and it is staying there.
I thought oil would go up to maybe $200.00 a barrel, and oil is at a very a different number than anyone thought. In fact, this country is much lower
because we have all the oil we can use. We are actually -- ships, are coming from all over the world to Texas, Louisiana and Alaska. They are
coming from all over the world to get oil from the United States, you know, while this is closed, the Hormuz Strait.
So, uh, if you look at what I said, I guess it was right because I said I would have it four to six weeks, and in four weeks we have totally defeated
their military.
REPORTER: Would you be --
TRUMP: So right now, I don't want to rush it because you guys are, you know, trying to make us look as bad as possible. I don't want to rush it. I
want to take my time. We have plenty of time and I want to get a great deal. I want to get a deal where our nation and the world is safe from
lunatics with nuclear weapons.
REPORTER: And if it does go to 200, are you okay with that, sir? If oil goes to --
TRUMP: I think that there is nothing worse than a nuclear weapon that takes out one of your cities or two of your cities or three. I think there is
nothing worse than a nuclear weapon that is going to destroy the Middle East, including Israel.
I think there is nothing worse than Europe being under attack by people that have missiles now that reach Europe, as you know, they don't reach us,
but they reach Europe, but they will reach us at some time, probably the not too distant future unless we stop them now.
I think there would be nothing worse than having nuclear holocaust in Europe, London, Paris, various places in Germany, all targeted. No. What I
-- what I say is you can't let them have -- I don't think it will happen, by the way, I really think -- we actually, it turns out that we are drill,
baby drill and it turns out we are producing a lot of oil and they are buying the oil.
They are going to Alaska, they're going to Texas, Louisiana and our guys have done a fantastic job. We are putting out right now more oil and gas
than we ever have in the history of our country.
And one other thing, there are more people employed today in the United States than ever in the history of our country.
REPORTER: Okay, I have a question, sir. Is it true that your administration is considering sending 1,100 Afghans to the Democratic Republic of Congo?
And if so, do you have a response to --
TRUMP: I don't know, I would have to check.
Please --
REPORTER: Thank you, Mr. President. Breitbart News' Matt Boyle just published an interview with the Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, in which
the Prime Minister said that he is rooting for you to succeed in getting a deal with Iran, and he also said he looks forward to hosting you in Greece
later this year. Do you have any response?
TRUMP: You know, it is just really nice. I mean, Greece has been very supportive, actually. Greece has been terrific. He is a terrific guy
because he understands the importance of it. You know, oil goes up a little bit. I hate it. You know I was the one that had -- I had it down to $60.00
a barrel. And I looked at guys like Howard Lutnick -- Howard, you remember it well. I said, well, we just hit an all-time high in the history of the
market.
Think of this when we hit 50,000, I was told -- everybody was told when I won the election, November 5th, they said, well, during the four-year
period, it will be impossible for the Dow to ever reach 50,000. It will be impossible for the S&P to ever hit 7,000. Impossible.
And you remember that, Howard, right? It was going to hit maybe six to seven years, eight years. But I did it in my first year. It hit 50,000. Now
it is just about at 50,000 and S&P is higher than it was when we started and S&P hit over 7,000 and that was before the year ended, up one year.
So I can only tell you this, it will end. I don't think it will be very long, by the way. They are delaying it because we don't know who to deal
with. They are in -- you know they know who the leader is in this country. We don't know who the leader is in Iran because remember, regime change.
Khamenei is gone. He has gone to greener pastures. He is gone and all of his team is gone. Then a second group came in and they are all gone. And
now you have the third group, and they are a little concerned about being gone, too.
REPORTER: Sir, would you use a nuclear weapon against Iran? You posted on Truth Social --
TRUMP: No! No! We don't need it.
[16:15:10]
REPORTER: So that's not --
TRUMP: Why do I need it? Why would a stupid question like that be asked? Why would I -- why would I use a nuclear weapon when we've totally, in a
very conventional way, decimated them without it?
No, I wouldn't use it. A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody.
REPORTER: -- have the Iranians given a timeline of when they could give you a proposal?
REPORTER: On this state visit, sir, which we are all very much looking forward to, Prince Harry today has said that he would like to see you do
more to end the war in Ukraine. Do you think it is appropriate for a Royal to make those comments ahead of the visit on Monday?
TRUMP: Prince Harry?
REPORTER: Yes, sir.
TRUMP: How is he doing? How is his wife? Please give him my regards.
Okay. No, no, I don't know. I think -- I know one thing, Prince Harry is not speaking for the U.K., that's for sure. I think I am speaking for the
U.K. more than Prince Harry, but I appreciate his advice very much. Great advice.
REPORTER: To the dinner and to the state visit --
TRUMP: Well, I look forward to the dinner. We are having King Charles come. He is a friend of mine. We are really looking forward to it. We've spoken
and we are going to have a great time.
I will tell you, if I had that ballroom built, it would be full. I wish we had more seats. You know, they've wanted a new ballroom for 150 years. Now,
they are getting the best in the world. We are going to have the best in the world.
But, you know, we have a little room that's not big enough to handle what would be a big crowd. But we are going to have very great people that love
the U.K. I love the U.K.
I think they made a big mistake on energy. They should open up the North Sea in Aberdeen. They should open it up. And the other thing is they've
made a big mistake on immigration.
REPORTER: Sir, on TrumpRx --
REPORTER: What do you hope to learn from Jeanine Pirro, the investigation into the Fed's renovation that you did not --
TRUMP: Say again?
REPORTER: What do you hope to learn from Jeanine Pirro's investigation into the Federal Reserve's preservation that you did not learn when you visited
the site yourself?
TRUMP: Well, look, you know, the Federal Reserve Building is a small building. They are going to be in there by the time it opens, in my
opinion, for $4 billion. I built a hotel down the road for $201 million that I believe is bigger than the Federal Reserve Building, $201 million.
The ballroom, I am going to have the ballroom from three to four hundred million, depending on finishes like marbles to quality, you know, quality
finishes. We will go top of the line, but that's a much bigger project.
When you look at the fact that they have taken this beautiful building and destroyed it, they've taken down the beautiful ceilings with eagles,
they've taken down the walls that are a foot and a half thick masonry. You couldn't hear from office to office. They ripped it all down. They did --
They ripped down because Kevin Warsh, who is terrific, he said, the saddest thing is they ripped down the nicest building in Washington for a
boardrooms and all of that. Did you know about that building? They ripped it down.
It was the Boardroom Building. It was beautiful. And they ripped it down. And probably because it cost so much to fix it. So I would have done that
job for $25 million and had money left over. It is going to cost more in my opinion -- it is going to open for a long time.
You know, Kevin may not be able to have an office. I am going to have to get him an office. Can you give him an office space?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has space.
TRUMP: Bobby, do you have some space over there, please?
ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR., U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: We have a lot of space.
TRUMP: But -- he has more than you think. But we are going to have Kevin sitting right next to you, Bobby.
But it may not open for a long time. I looked at it the other day, it is a see through, see through. You know what that means? The walls aren't even
up yet. This is after years and years of construction, and somehow you have to find out what went wrong, that a small building -- I could have done it
for $25 million and had money left over. It would have been beautiful, that a small building can cost $4 billion.
It may never open, it may never open. And we have to get to that. On top of that, he has been terrible on interest rates because he should have lowered
interest rates that's why I call him Jerome Too Late. Too Late is his nickname, Jerome Too Late Powell. He likes me a lot.
Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, press. Thank you, press.
NEWTON: And we have been listening to President Trump in the Oval Office there taking questions on principally the conflict with Iran, but on other
topics as well.
Oren Liebermann is back with us from Jerusalem, and Kevin Liptak is standing by in Washington for us.
Oren, I do want to start with you just kind of getting your impressions. Two things stuck out with me is he did say that Iran may have reloaded
during the last two weeks during the ceasefire. And also his quote saying, you know, that it is not Iran's timeline, that it is his timeline, but also
pointing out that the Strait will open, in his words, when we get a deal or something else happens.
What are your takeaways?
[16:20:00]
LIEBERMANN: So that part in particular about the U.S. blockading the Strait of Hormuz doesn't actually make a lot of sense. The whole purpose of this,
since Iran was able to effectively close the Strait, was to open it.
Trump claiming the U.S. is now the one blockading the Strait of Hormuz would only serve to block global commerce and the passage of tankers
through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical waterways, so it doesn't actually make sense for the U.S. to blockade the Strait.
Meanwhile, we know full well that Iran has been able to effectively close the Strait with the threat of mines, rocket and drone attacks against
ships, and that has prevented ships from going through. There has only been a trickle of traffic through the Strait over the past few days.
Now, the question of where negotiations go from here, Trump made it sound like he is more than happy to wait out the Iranians, and even sort of blew
off concerns about higher gas prices that Americans are feeling, which drives higher prices really across the board, saying, you know, what's the
other option? That Iran has a nuclear weapon and is able to threaten all of these cities.
So that was kind of his response to the question of, you know, how long will Americans face higher gas prices? He repeatedly said that he had
destroyed Iran's military and there is pretty much no doubt about that. Israel and the U.S. have destroyed much of Iran's military capabilities,
but Iran was never able to go toe-to-toe with the U.S. or even with Israel. Its strength has always been its asymmetric warfare, its ability to use
small, inexpensive drones and short range rockets to, for example, close the Strait of Hormuz and cause panic throughout global energy markets by
hitting energy sites throughout the Gulf.
It was never a question of Iran's military versus the U.S. military. He did repeatedly say there is no timeline on how long the ceasefire might last.
He says he wants to see negotiations happen.
He also said, and I want to find it in my notes here that we've never had so much ammunition, referring, obviously, to the U.S. and that they have
much higher quality equipment than when we first started the war. On the first point, CNN has reported multiple times on the dwindling stockpiles of
some of the U.S.' highest and key weaponry. So U.S. stockpiles are not full up. In fact, they've been depleted since the very start of this war at an
incredibly high rate, as U.S. Central Command has made clear that they've carried out thousands of strikes.
And then he said that the U.S. has much higher quality equipment than when the war first started. It is unclear what he is referring to there. The
start of the war was only seven weeks ago, and there are no major acquisitions process for new high end weapons that I think anyone is aware
of.
NEWTON: Yes, Oren, and I am glad you made that point about the ammunition, because he is clearly sensitive about this. And again, leaning on your
experience, not just in the Middle East, but your experience in the Pentagon, you point out quite clearly that this is a concern in the United
States right now about how to replenish those stockpiles.
Kevin, to you as well, he definitely had a message for American there saying, look, what are you complaining about? I thought the price of gas
would be higher. The stock market, not at a record today, but he is right that it has been breaking some records and him suggesting that he thought
the economic pain for Americans would be much worse.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and I think that's going to be a difficult political sell for the President. You know,
Americans don't like to hear that yes, it is bad, but don't worry too much, because it could be a lot worse.
And I think that sustained questioning that he withstood there about the length of this and why this war has now surpassed his initial projection,
which was four to six weeks, we are now at almost eight weeks of this war, really trying to shrug that off and suggest that he is, in fact, now in no
rush to end the war through a negotiated settlement, saying that he wasn't going to be pressured into a deal and trying to tick off all of the past
conflicts, whether it was Vietnam or the Iraq War that did stretch on for much, much longer, trying to tell an American public, which has said in
polls, it does not support this war, that in fact, he knows what he is doing and that the economic pain could be potentially worse, and that
having Iran with a nuclear weapon would have been the alternative.
Now, Iran did not have a nuclear weapon before this war began. He has said that they were weeks away from obtaining one. That's not what the American
Intelligence has shown, and that's not what the IAEA, the international nuclear watchdog has said as well.
And so that argument too, I am not sure how much that is going to resonate with an American public that is already questioning the viability of this
war.
Now, when it comes to how he is going to negotiate this deal going forward, thereto, he didn't necessarily offer a great deal of optimism because he
said the Iranians are fighting like cats and dogs. They don't know who the leader is and that they have been speaking to them, but he isn't entirely
sure who in that country has the authority to actually sign off on an agreement.
So if you're an American who is watching the President here downplaying the economic risks and suggesting he has no idea how this war is going to end,
because he doesn't know who he is going to negotiate with there is, I think, not a lot of optimism there.
[16:25:10]
NEWTON: Yes, and to make a fine point of it, Kevin, it isn't just Americans in the sense that you literally have, whether it is Asia at the very sharp
end or those risking another military up -- you know, another military incident here in the region everyone has a piece of this and has a lot at
stake.
Kevin Liptak in Washington, grateful to you and Oren Liebermann, thanks so much for standing by, we appreciate to hear your expertise as well.
Appreciate it.
And we will be right back with more news in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:28:34]
NEWTON: Meta plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce in a push for efficiency. It says in addition to the 8,000 layoffs, the company also
plans to close 6,000 open roles.
Now, Meta Chief People Officer, Janelle Gale said in an internal memo that the cuts are needed to offset other investments. The company plans to spend
tens of billions of dollars this year in its push into A.I. investors.
Not sold on this news, Meta shares closed more than two percent lower.
Lisa Eadicicco joins me now from New York.
I mean, normally when they make these kinds of announcements, the stock actually goes up. But what is at work here and how does -- how are they
playing this in terms of how it is going to strengthen Meta?
LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: So I think that quote that you mentioned about this being a move to push for more efficiency and to offset
some other investments they are making. That's how they are positioning this. And I think that continues the theme that we've seen among other tech
companies over the past year, especially in the last few months, that these companies are saying that they can accomplish more with fewer people.
And we also know that they are ramping up their investments in A.I. infrastructure spending. Meta is expected to spend at least $115 billion
this year in capital expenditures. It spent $72 billion last year. So I think there is this fear of running out of compute power that's kind of the
biggest hurdle that a lot of tech executives have cited when it comes to any roadblocks that might be holding up A.I. expansion.
So I think that's kind of what is happening here, is that none of these companies want to be left behind or missing out on future business
opportunities because of A.I., especially as they're facing a lot of pressure to show that they are going to make a return on those investments.
So I think that's -- that seems to be what is happening here. We don't have a lot of clarity from that memo. What we do know is that these layoffs are
being made for investments -- to offset those investments and to also just kind of make the company more efficient, which is similar to what Amazon
said when it made its layoffs as well.
[16:30:36]
We are expecting to eventually learn more. Meta said in the memo that the layoffs will go into effect in May, so we will likely learn more about what
departments were cut. at that point, we will have to keep an eye out for that.
And the company also reports earnings next week. So I imagine investors will have a lot of questions about this as well.
NEWTON: Yes, eye-watering figures though over two years, more than $200 billion on the A.I. build out and it is not over yet.
Lisa Eadicicco thanks so much.
Now Tesla shares fell today after the automaker missed on revenue. The stock closed down more than 3.5 percent. Tesla posted $22.39 billion in
revenue in the first quarter.
Wall Street was expecting for it to be slightly higher. Tesla still managed to record an earnings beat though, EPS came in at $0.41 per share, $0.04
more than expected.
CEO Elon Musk told investors that Tesla is making big leaps with its self- driving technology. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA: I think worth noting that the Tesla car is incredibly -- incredible value for money, and they're all autonomy ready,
depending on what part of the world you're in.
The supervised full self-driving is getting extremely good. We have just started production of cybercab and we will begin production of our
semitruck soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, a former attorney is suing Tesla over claims that it reneged on its self-driving promises. Tom LoSavio, lead plaintiff in a class action
lawsuit, says he paid an extra $8,000.00 for his Tesla models. That would be the Model S, that's in exchange for enhanced autopilot and full self-
driving capability whenever those features were developed.
LoSavio claims that nine years later, the company has not fulfilled its promise. He says Tesla misled customers into paying extra by promising them
future capabilities that just never materialized. Tesla has not responded to our request for comment, but I do want to point out that we asked this
before this earnings call, because we've been asking for a reply from Tesla for several days.
Tom LoSavio joins us now. And we did hear a lot on that earnings call. Good to be on the program. Happy to speak to you. Especially since this is a
complaint that we've heard from a lot of the original buyers of Tesla.
In simple terms, what are you alleging here? Because it was made clear to Tesla buyers that the enhanced autopilot and full self-driving capability
would take years to really come to fruition.
TOM LOSAVIO, PLAINTIFF: Well, it wasn't a hundred percent clear about how soon it would take place, but at the time I bought it, I was willing to
give the company the benefit of the doubt that it would be done in a relatively reasonable amount of time. And I continued to harbor that belief
for the subsequent six, seven, eight years, now, nine years after my purchase.
NEWTON: You hung on.
LOSAVIO: At some point --
NEWTON: You paid $8,000.00 and you hung on hoping I will see this someday.
LOSAVIO: Well, it was a hope fueled by statements made by Mr. Musk repeatedly to the effect that there has been a bump in the road, but by the
end of the next year, we should be able to deliver the full self-drive.
The hardware was already installed, I was told, and it was just a matter of updating the software. That was repeated periodically over the years. Until
very recently, I believe in the last day or two, I think Mr. Musk, in an earnings call, said he is pretty much has given up on --
NEWTON: In fact, he did. In fact, he did.
So let's listen to him ourselves for a moment. Let's just take a minute to listen to what he said in the earnings call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSK: For customers that have bought FSD, what we are offering is essentially a trade in, like a discounted trade in for cars that have A.I.
for hardware and then, we will also be offering the ability to upgrade the car to replace the computer.
[16:35:10]
And you also need to replace the cameras unfortunately to get the hardware for -- so to do this efficiently, were going to have to set up, like kind
of micro factories or small factories.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: This is a huge undertaking he is talking about. I will point out that you were told that the software would be upgraded. Now he is saying
your car, the model you have is not fit for purpose. You're going to have to bring it into one of these micro factories.
I mean, this is a remedy, though. Do you accept it as a remedy for what the problem is?
LOSAVIO: I think there is a story about Peter and the wolf, and Peter cries wolf so many times that people don't believe him. I just find it very hard
to put any credibility in statements made by Mr. Musk, considering he has made the statements over the past nine years that I had the hardware, and
it was just a matter of tinkering with the software.
Meantime, I've seen Waymos driving all over the city of San Francisco, and I haven't seen a single Tesla driving by itself anywhere.
NEWTON: But how do you feel about the fact that your vehicle itself, and he is admitting now the car itself would have to go into one of these micro
factories. And do you believe that because of this admission, it strengthens your case because you're a lawyer? You know better than I do.
It may not strengthen your case because he is providing a remedy.
LOSAVIO: Well, I leave the lawyering to my lawyers. I can tell you, as the client, that the statement that there will be many factories set up to
remedy my car strains believability.
I can't imagine new mini factories being set up when Mr. Musk has already announced the existing factories are going to be converted to making
robots.
I think, frankly, I think he has turned my car into the Edsel of 2026.
NEWTON: Okay. It is a story that we will continue to follow. Tom LoSavio, we will continue to keep in touch to see the fate of both your car and this
lawsuit. Really appreciate it.
And I do want to point out that, as I said, we did reach out to tesla a few days ago. They did not reply to us either before the earnings call or after
the earnings call and we also invited him to be on the program and they are welcome any time.
Now, shareholders of Warner Bros Discovery, CNN's parent company, have voted to approve a proposed acquisition by Paramount Skydance. The deal has
Paramount buying Warner Bros Discovery at $31.00 a share. The offer came about during a bidding war with both Netflix and Comcast.
Now Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery are two of the biggest media companies on the planet, so the deal has sparked a range of responses.
Brian Stelter joins me now.
Brian, look, this was a fait accompli. This was a bidding war. The shareholders got a great price out of this. Where do we go now? Now that
this hurdle has been passed.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Right, for investors, this is a very happy day. They're relieved in some cases. If you have been holding on
to WBD shares for years, you saw the stock get pummeled in the past couple of years all the way down to $7.00 or $8.00 a share. So all of a sudden,
have it back up near $30.00, a big win for the shareholders. And that's why this vote passed unanimously today.
But when you look at reactions in Hollywood, in Washington, in other quarters, you see a lot more mixed emotions as you said, this is a hugely
controversial deal. And that's why there were even protesters standing outside WBD headquarters this morning opposing the deal.
There is also going to be protesters tonight in Washington when Paramount holds a dinner "honoring" the Trump White House, along with CBS White House
correspondents. That's coming up because of the White House Correspondents' Dinner this weekend.
So you have Paramount trying to keep those cozy relations with the Trump administration at a time when federal regulators now have to review this
deal.
There is an expectation that the DOJ, the FCC will give the greenlight to Paramount to go ahead and take over WBD. So the real action is going to be
at the state level -- California, New York -- what are those state attorneys general do now?
Earlier today, California A.G. Rob Bonta reiterated that his office is looking at the deal and might sue to block it. There are also European
regulators in the U.K. and elsewhere looking closely at this deal, and they might require Paramount to make some concessions, maybe divest some assets.
But here is the thing, I've talked to Paramount executives, they seem prepared for any of these possibilities. They seem very confident that they
can win all the approvals they need by this summer, and they can close this deal by September. So that's the timeline. That's the expectation.
[16:40:09]
We will see if it happens or not. If it does that means HBO Max and Paramount+ coming together that means CNN and CBS News potentially coming
together in the future. A major move of media consolidation that will reshape Hollywood.
NEWTON: So, Brian, I am curious, while I continue to say that the timeline, they are confident they can get it done by the end of the summer, that's
still a tall order, is it not? And I know they start to get into a penalty phase by the fall if it doesn't get done, but you just quoted the A.G. from
California.
STELTER: Right. He says there are red flags everywhere in this deal. However, Paramount might well already have some plans to make some
concessions, right? You could imagine a situation where the California A.G. sues and then Paramount tries to settle by making promises about a certain
amount of production in California, a certain number of jobs that will be protected. Those are the sorts of arrangements we have seen with other
media mega deals in the past.
So Paramount executives, sources close to the company have told me they've been in talks with these regulators already. So were going to find out, is
their confidence appropriate? Is their confidence justified or will this end up being a bigger battle than they expect? That's a big question mark
right now.
Certainly, the thousands of Hollywood directors and actors and writers who have all signed that petition trying to block the deal, they want to see
strong action at the state level. They're hoping for that.
And we've seen, for example, today, Senator Elizabeth Warren say, hey, this deal is not a done deal. Look at what the states might do next.
You know, its curious, by the way, warren just got booked tonight on the CBS "Late Show" with Stephen Colbert. Colbert's show is ending in a month,
but for now, at least, he is using his CBS platform to stick it to his parent company, Paramount. So I am very interested to see that interview.
But that's an example of the political energy here and basically this deal, it is a giant political football.
NEWTON: A political football that American consumers are looking at very closely, not to mention consumers all over the world. It certainly is, as
they say, right, Brian, break out the popcorn. This is going to be interesting over the next few months.
Brian Stelter for us, thanks so much.
Now, Wall Street closed lower on mixed earnings and fading hopes for a quick end to the war in Iran. The Dow dropped 0.3 percent, but it was off
its lows. That was after, as you can see it there that mid-session wobble.
We want to take a look at some of those Dow components. Salesforce and IBM are both down more than eight percent. IBM reported slower revenue growth.
AmEx down four percent. It says airline spending rose eight percent last quarter. Caterpillar is up three percent, so is Verizon, Coca-Cola and P&G.
And that's it for QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Up next, Richard Quest takes us to Sydney for the "World of Wonder."
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "WORLD OF WONDER": I am Richard Quest. I love traveling the world and I am not done yet.
It is time to embrace new adventures.
Just doesn't get much better than this, does it?
Seize the moment. Ta-da!
In this WORLD OF WONDER.
It is 35 years since I first came to Sydney. Jet-lagged, wide-eyed, and I wandered down to Circular Quay. There it was, Sydney Harbor, and I
discovered then where the culture, commerce or celebration. This is Sydney's heartbeat.
I have returned here many times for both work and pleasure.
And only then were they able to address how difficult it was going to be to sort it out.
Richard Quest, CNN, Sydney.
Enough of that.
Okay, so not for the faint hearted, but I've always known that Sydney brings out a different side of me. For after all, this is a city where
adventures abound. Life is waiting to be lived.
KEV: The first time you came to Australia, Richard?
QUEST: 1991. Yes.
KEV: Was it officially formalized as Australia then?
QUEST: What?
KEV:: It was quite a while ago.
QUEST (voice over): Cranky Kev is with me too, and he reminds me just how long this city has been part of my life.
KEV: You can only pick one.
WATTERS: Yes.
KEV: Opera House or Harbour Bridge?
QUEST: If I have a choice between the bridge and the Opera House. I am going for the Opera House.
To me, the Opera House is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
Designed by the architect, Jorn Utzon, the Opera House was opened by the late Queen in 1973, but really, Opera House or bridge? It is a false
question. One complements, not competes with, the other.
And what a bridge, completed during the Great Depression, the bridge united Sydney together from the very beginning, a million strong visited on
opening day.
Now I've climbed this bridge before, back in 2007.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Steady now! It feels --
QUEST: Oh! Let's keep moving.
QUEST (voice over): Today, I am going to see it in a different way.
SHONA HALE, BURRAWA STORYTELLER, BRIDGECLIMB SYDNEY: This is ocher. Ocher is used traditionally to bring people together from all around the world
and to connect to the country. Today, we are connecting to Gadigal Country, which is a part of the Eora Nation.
QUEST (voice over): The Eora Nation is home to the traditional custodians of what we now call Sydney. The city is named by Captain Arthur Phillip
after the home minister who devised the original plan to send convicts to Australia and commissioned the first fleet.
Strapped in and climbing the steel ribs, and there is that familiar panorama.
HALE: So this is what we know as Port Jackson today.
QUEST: Right.
HALE: But the original term was to Tubowgule, which means Tubowgule --
QUEST: Right.
HALE: -- it is where two water knowledge meets. And when that first fleet arrived, they noticed the fresh water stream that flowed right into the
Birra Birra which was --
QUEST: How much of all this was here?
HALE: None of it. Gadigal Country is pretty large. It is all about BCBB and the bigger outsides of it and then it meets with Bidjigal Country, which is
Botany Bay Area.
KEV: What about that view, Richard?
QUEST: Well, look, you know, it is my favorite building in the whole world. To see it from this angle is extraordinary. To see it from the bridge is
even more extraordinary.
HALE: We like to think that the Opera House is like our sister, our younger sister.
QUEST: 1932, Kevin, this was built. 1932.
[16:50:12]
KEV: Here we go. History lesson.
QUEST: And do you know --
KEV: No, I don't.
QUEST: No, you don't know. I am going to tell you. It is so overengineered.
HALE: Yes.
QUEST: That you could put more weight on it. You could. There is -- do you know that? But you know that, didn't you?
And this is still the main artery. I mean, nearly a hundred years later. Yes, you've got the bridges. You've got the tunnels. No more bridges.
HALE: Yes.
QUEST: This is still carrying on a bit. One of you can tell me how many cars -- you're going to find out, aren't you?
HALE: I was going to.
QUEST: Go on.
HALE: Do we know how many cars crossed the road over the bridge? The busiest time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Up to 160,000 vehicles.
HALE: A hundred and sixty thousand.
QUEST: A hundred and sixty thousand vehicles a day.
HALE: Not too bad.
QUEST: Not shabby at all.
All right, let's keep climbing. I knew somebody would know.
QUEST (voice over): At the summit where the Australian and aboriginal flags now fly together, we are more than 130 meters above the water.
HALE: So what created this beautiful harbour is a large spirit. So the spirit, he lived underneath this land and he was listening and waiting. And
he just saw so much hatred on top.
And so he had enough. He rose up. He crashed through the land, eating and devouring every bit of evil that lived on top, only leaving the good and
the respected.
And the people started living and peacefully throughout, just to each other. And the land and this large spirit made his way around the harbour
all the way over to what we knew back then is Burramattagal -- Parramatta as what we know it today.
The traditional name is Burramattagal, which is the people of the waterways of the eel.
QUEST: The eel.
HALE The eel. The spirit does keep his eye on this harbour, making sure that we all stay in peace.
QUEST: Theres something we need to do up here, isn't there?
HALE: There is. Are you ready for it?
QUEST: Well, I am hoping to. Yes.
HALE: This is a creation dance.
QUEST: What?
HALE: A dance.
QUEST: All right.
HALE: And so I need you to stomp your feet. So one step at a time. And then eels have little side fins, right? So they can swim gracefully. And so you
give yourself little flips, and then you move your head like you're swimming an eel. That's it. Feel free to move and loosen your shoulders.
That's it.
It's all in the movement.
QUEST: So it is all eel. Kev.
KEV: It's like watching your dad at a wedding.
HALE: You're creating.
QUEST: You're creating.
HALE: Look at what he is creating.
QUEST: You know, he is creating more of a fuss, enough commotion.
Come on, let's see those hips moves.
HALE: And move your shoulders.
QUEST: And your shoulders. You're an eel, Kev. You're an eel.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST (voice over): It is half past silly hour, very early in the morning. But for where I am heading, I am already behind.
I thought 6:00 A.M., I would be early. By 6:00 A.M. I am late and Bondi is busy.
Surfers here, swimmers there and runners all around. Kayakers stretching, twisting, lifting and a lot of grunting and all this before work.
QUEST (on camera): So different days, different groups meet here today. It is the Bondi Penguins, a large number of people, hundreds of them.
[16:55:08]
To be honest, I am surprised at the sheer number. And I think the point about it is, it doesn't matter how good you are, you're just there to enjoy
it and to have fun and take part. It is the Bondi vibe.
QUEST (voice over): That unmistakable vibe, unhurried, open, effortless AND for me, two words Australians use better than anyone else. Tell me how it
should be said.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No worries, mate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No worries.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, no worries, mate.
QUEST: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No worries mate.
QUEST (voice over): Asking for directions, thanking someone, apologizing. No worries.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No worries, brother.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is crazy. It is easy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is no worries.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No worries. It is all right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got a worry in the world, we've got no worries. That's what it is, mate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, no worries. I mean, it just means that I hope you spend the day without any kind of, you know, any kind of stress or any fear
or any worry. It is kind of like sending that message of just have a beautiful day.
QUEST (voice over): What this place carries isn't always said out loud. In Bondi, where the recent terrorist shooting shook this community, this city,
this country to its very core. Yet look around, several months on, the wounds certainly aren't gone, but the people they are still here, showing
up, standing together.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I promise you, it has kind of grown a stronger community.
QUEST (voice over): With an atmosphere welcoming to friend and stranger alike. Of course, we can stand and watch or join in.
Cranky Kev and I, the waters. They are a calling.
QUEST (on camera): Here in Australia, it is accepted to wear proper shorts like this. Unlike grandpas shorts or the boardshorts, which is what you
wear.
They said it was warm. They lied.
QUEST: It's freezing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's freezing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get in!
QUEST: But no matter. It is a reset for the soul. Braving the waters. And once in, go for it because this is Bondi.
Sydney defines carpe diem, seize the day. It is a get up early type of place. We have walked, swam and finally breakfasted on Bill's famous
ricotta hotcakes, no less.
No worries and it is barely 8:00 A.M.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:00:00]
END
