Mag 7 leaders had plenty to say about the pressures shaping Big Tech, even as their stocks moved in different directions. Nvidia faced another rough stretch, while Apple and Microsoft hit new highs.
- Musk said data centers in space looked “pretty appealing right now” as the midterm election results rolled in.
- Huang defended the role of closed frontier AI models, saying they have a “solid place in the world” even as open models gain traction.
- Ternus called memory pricing “unprecedented” on his first earnings call as Apple CEO and warned that higher costs would affect the December quarter.
Apple’s (AAPL) John Ternus, Nvidia’s (NVDA) Jensen Huang and Elon Musk made headlines this week with comments touching on the pressures reshaping the tech industry, while the other tech leaders were fairly silent.
Ternus called memory pricing “unprecedented” on his first earnings call as Apple CEO. Meanwhile, Huang said “we love closed models” as questions continued about a Chinese intelligence spy who was reportedly in touch with him.
Musk, who leads SpaceX and Tesla (TSLA), announced that the production of the Cybertruck would be winding down and that data centers in space look “pretty appealing right now” after Republican losses in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
After a busy week of earnings commentary, Meta’s (META) Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet’s (GOOG, GOOGL) Sundar Pichai, Microsoft’s (MSFT) Satya Nadella and Amazon’s (AMZN) Andy Jassy kept a relatively low profile this week.
MAG 7 See Worst Day Since Trump's 'Liberation Day' Rout
On Friday, the MAG 7-tracking Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS) saw its biggest single-day drop since President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs were announced in April last year. TSLA stock took the biggest hit, down over 10% on Wednesday. AMZN stock and GOOGL stock only dropped around 2% each, outperforming the major indices.
The seven companies' stocks combined lost over $1 trillion in market capitalization on Thursday. Nvidia led losses with a drop of $440 million in its market value.
Meanwhile, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) fell 8.04%, marking its worst daily performance since March 2020, when the XLK fell 13.81%
Musk’s Cybertruck Pullback, Space Data Center Ambitions
Musk said on Friday that the company will halt production of the stainless-steel Cybertruck at its Texas Gigafactory. The move is designed to clear the runway for Tesla's robotaxi ambitions and marks the third vehicle cancellation announcement for the EV maker this year. Cybertruck manufacturing will officially wrap up "around the middle of next year," Musk said, following the recent discontinuation of the Model S and Model X to free up resources for the Optimus humanoid robot.
"Tesla will be winding down production of the Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas around the middle of next year to make room for increased Cybercab production"
Elon Musk, CEO, SpaceX and Tesla
The U.S. midterm elections “blue tsunami” saw Republicans lose in Texas and other parts of the country, putting data center development in the political spotlight. Musk weighed in on both developments in a series of posts on X early Wednesday, linking the election results to SpaceX's ambitions in AI infrastructure and his own political spending.
“Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now.”
Elon Musk, CEO, SpaceX and Tesla
Musk wrote on X that putting data centers in orbit was starting to look attractive as the midterm results rolled in. His comments come after SpaceX has pitched orbital data centers. It plans to use a version of Nvidia’s Vera Rubin server rack designed for space.
On SpaceX’s third quarter earnings call, Musk said the main limit on adding AI capacity is power, cooling and supporting infrastructure, not chips.
“Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time.”
Elon Musk, CEO, SpaceX and Tesla
Musk followed up with a sarcastic reference to his political involvement. He contributed about $474 million during the 2026 cycle, making him the largest individual donor, according to CNBC. Nearly half of it, amounting to $224 million, was in Texas, where Tesla, SpaceX and X are based.
TSLA stock on Friday saw its biggest single-day drop since July, dropping over 10.7%. The shares fell more than twice as much as the S&P 500. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the EV maker fell to ‘extremely bearish’ from ‘bearish’ territory over the past week. Platform data showed that chatter jumped over 100% in the last seven days.
Huang Backs Closed AI Models While Trump Weighs In On China Spy Report
“We love closed models.”
Jensen Huang, CEO, Nvidia
Huang told Fireworks.ai CEO Lin Qiao at Fireworks Forge in San Francisco that there is a “solid place in the world” for closed frontier models. He also stated that open models adapted with specialized knowledge can deliver what he called “essentially a superintelligence” for a given company.
“I would like to say yes.”
President Donald Trump, US President
Meanwhile, Trump was asked over the weekend whether he still has confidence in Huang as an adviser on technology policy after a New York Times report said that U.S. intelligence had concluded Alice Huang was a Chinese intelligence asset who kept a close relationship with the Nvidia CEO.
Trump added “unless we find out something to the contrary,” called Huang “very above board,” and said “we’re going to check it out very closely.” According to Nvidia spokesman John Rizzo, meetings with customers are part of a CEO’s job.
On Thursday, three House Republican committee leaders issued a letter asking Huang to sit for a closed-door briefing on his relationship on his alleeged connection to the Chinese intelligence asset.
NVDA stock was on track to see a fifth straight week in the red for the first time in four years after midterm election results dragged on semiconductor names.
Nvidia shares fell more than 9% in the previous session, marking their biggest single-day slide in 21 months. The drop also erased the stock's year-to-date gains and marked a 25% drawdown from its October peak of around $243.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Nvidia shifted to 'bullish' from 'neutral' territory over the past week. Platform data showed an uptick in chatter of nearly 300% in the time frame.
Apple’s Ternus Calls Memory Pricing ‘Unprecedented’ On First Earnings Call
Memory was the main theme of Apple’s fourth quarter (Q4) earnings call. Ternus said the company expects higher memory costs in the December quarter, and that pricing will keep rising.
“What we’re seeing with memory pricing right now is unprecedented.”
John Ternus, CEO, Apple
Apple reported record revenue of $114.5 billion in Q4, up 12% from a year earlier, and beating analysts’ estimate of $113.4 billion cited by Koyfin. Earnings per share were $2.10, including $0.05 from tariff refunds, and higher than the $1.99 consensus estimate.
iPhone revenue was $57.6 billion, and Mac revenue grew 24%. Ternus said the quarter capped off Apple’s “best fiscal year ever.” Full-year revenue was $479 billion.
“iPhone Duo is constrained as of today.”
John Ternus, CEO, Apple
The Duo, Apple’s first foldable iPhone, launched in late-October. Ternus told Reuters after the call that Apple is not able to predict when supply and demand will be in balance. He also acknowledged display issues and said a “very small percentage” of units have been returned.
The Duo was not part of the quarter’s results, so its sales fall in the December quarter. Apple also expects supply constraints on Mac and iPad.
“It’s the Siri we’ve always wanted.”
John Ternus, CEO, Apple
Ternus said Siri AI marks a new chapter in AI at Apple, adding that Siri handles more than 2.5 billion requests a day. Apple said Siri AI will carry usage limits, and heavy users will be able to pay for more capacity.
Apple recaptured its position as the most valuable company in the world this week after AAPL stock hit a new record high on Wednesday.
However, even Apple wasn't safe from the tech selloff on Thursday. AAPL stock closed the day 1.5% lower, on track to close the week in the red if losses hold. The drop came as the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 slipped into correction territory. The index lost $2.5 trillion in market cap, a single-day record.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Apple trended in 'bearish' territory over the past week. Platform data showed an uptick of almost 60% in message volume in the last seven days.
Read also: Dan Ives Sees Cash Flow Rebound In MSFT, META, GOOGL, AMZN: Says AI Bubble Fears Thrown Out The Window
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