Apple in conversations with Alibaba for Apple Intelligence in China. Tesla and musk continue in freefall. Broadcom richer than Tesla. TSMC richer than Tesla. Buffett richer than Brin.

The weak iPhone sales in China in recent months has been attributed partially to the fact that Apple is yet to roll out Apple Intelligence in China. The rise of 2.18% in Apple’s stock price on Tuesday can be attributed to a news report that Apple and Alibaba are in a process already submitted for approval by China's cyberspace regulator, to bring AI services to Apple devices in China.

Tesla continues having an alarming freefall in the stock market. Elon Musk’s close proximity to President Donald Trump does not seem to be helping Tesla’s stock price, at least not in the short term. The highest historic prices for the company’s stock were seen on 17 Dec, and 24 Dec 2024. After that, Tesla has been suffering a steady and alarming fall. One important question to answer is, how is Musk's close proximity to Trump affecting Tesla’s brand? Is it helping or damaging the company’s reputation? Donald Trump’s executive orders have been challenging for Tesla. The 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum directly affect the company because steel and aluminum are important raw materials to build Tesla’s vehicles. A trade war with China is also challenging news for Tesla because Tesla's batteries need materials from Chinese companies. In all this process, Elon Musk is seeing his net worth fall dramatically in the last few weeks. With all his involvement in politics in recent weeks, it may be a time to reflect on what investors want from Tesla’s CEO, and how Musk should prioritize his focus and energy in a balanced way for the financial health of his own company. There are different angles to see this apparent dichotomy. Musk’s involvement in politics might be strategic to prepare the way for Tesla’s future in self-driven car technologies that are not blocked by the U.S. Government. Or it might be a personal interest unrelated to financial gains or motivations. That is for Elon Musk to answer. But in the meantime, Tesla is suffering a difficult season in 2025.

In the ranking of richest companies, Broadcom surpassed Tesla, moving from 9th to 8th place. TSMC also surpassed Tesla, moving from 10th to 9th place. Tesla was downgraded from 8th to 10th place.

The race between Sergey Brin and Warren Buffett continues for the position of the 7th richest person in the world. It was 11 Feb 2025 when Brin moved from 8th to 7th. Now again Buffett reversed places and took the 7th position. Alphabet has not had a good 2025 in the stock market. The opposite can be said about Berkshire Hathaway Inc. As a result, now Buffett is richer than Brin.