Author: openjargon

• Elon Musk has been criticized for his decision to redirect Tesla's Nvidia chips to X. 
• But Tesla's former head of AI infrastructure, Tim Zaman has come forward to defend Musk's decision. 
• Zaman said that most wouldn't understand the "practicalities" of such a "crazy military operation."

Diverting Tesla's AI chips to X made sense given the logistics that come with assembling a supercomputer, the automaker's former head of AI infrastructure said on Tuesday.

"The practicalities of building a supercomputer are insane once you get down to it," Tim Zaman wrote in an X post.

"Lets assume you have a datacenter location and ordered GPUs," he added. "Just taking delivery of thousands of GPUs is a crazy military operation, even before any racking, stacking and cabling or bringup."

Prior to joining Tesla in 2019, Zaman had spent three years working for Nvidia as an AI infrastructure systems software engineer, per his LinkedIn profile. He left Tesla to join Google's DeepMind as a software engineer last year.

"True," Musk replied.

Zaman weighed in on the issue after a CNBC report on the same day said that Tesla CEO Elon Musk had rerouted $500 million worth of Nvidia chips to his social media platform.

Musk confirmed CNBC's report on Tuesday but said the move was made because "Tesla had no place to send the Nvidia chips to turn them on."

"They would have just sat in a warehouse," Musk wrote in an X post.

Musk's decision to redirect the highly coveted AI chips has highlighted his companies' increasingly competing interests.

The mercurial billionaire's sprawling business empire spans multiple industries, whether it be making rockets with SpaceX or drilling tunnels with The Boring Company.

In January, Musk said that he was "uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having ~25% voting control." Under Musk, the EV giant has been working hard to realize its ambitions of building self-driving cars and sentient humanoid robots.

Tesla, however, isn't the only Musk-owned company that has set its sights on conquering the AI industry.

On May 26, Musk revealed that his AI startup, xAI, raised $6 billion for their Series B funding round. The latest fundraising round has bolstered xAI's total valuation to $24 billion, making it the second-most valuable AI company behind Sam Altman's OpenAI.

But money isn't the only issue AI players like Musk and Altman have to contend with. Companies hoping to make a splash in the highly competitive field need to acquire Nvidia's coveted AI chips, which, unfortunately, are in short supply.

This has become a problem — even for Nvidia. In February, Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang said in an earnings call that the company was trying its best to distribute chips fairly.

"Why allocate something when the data center's not ready? Nothing is more difficult than to have anything sit around," Huang said.

"At the core of it, we want to allocate fairly, avoiding waste and looking for opportunities to connect partners and end users," Huang added.

• Mark, 65, amassed over $2 million in retirement savings by maximizing his 401(k) contributions.
• He benefited from steady employment, low living costs, and delaying parenthood.
• Mark advises saving early, leveraging Roth accounts, and maintaining consistent contributions.

For many people at or near retirement age, the outlook is dire.

One in five older Americans have no retirement savings, Social Security doesn't feel like much of a guarantee, and the pension era is over.

While the widespread shift over the last five decades to 401(k)s for retirement savings has meant some Americans can't afford the burden of being primarily responsible for their retirement finances, others have been able to work the system to their advantage.

Mark, 65, is one of them.

Mark — whose last name is known to Business Insider but withheld for privacy purposes — retired three years ago at age 62. Throughout his nearly 40-year-long career in geology, he was able to sock away over $2 million for his retirement, even after putting multiple kids through college.

"You just leave it alone, and you look up 40 years later, and it's a really nice number," he said.

The first company he worked for in the 1980s had a pension plan, which quickly transitioned to a 401(k) in the first year he was there. He read some articles on how to maximize the new benefit, and, from that point forward, he said he just essentially maxed it out. He heard the advice that you should aggressively save into a 401(k), and so that's what he did. Then, he said, he just left it there and tried not to worry about it.

"Every once in a while when there was a downturn in the market, it was a little alarming, but whether I was a procrastinator or whatever the thing was, I didn't move the money. I just left it in the same stuff," Mark said.

Mark is the embodiment of what happens when retirement saving does what it's supposed to do. He also was able to have everything fall into place: He said he's been very blessed not to have any long stints of unemployment and to earn enough that he was always able to max out his 401(k). He lived in low cost of living areas, and didn't have kids right away — meaning he was able to accrue some savings before embarking on parenthood.

"When it's all said and done, I ended up with two-plus million dollars," he said. "Never putting extra in, never taking anything out, never taking any loans on the money or any of those sorts of things."

What Mark did right — and what he thinks others should do

In his earlier years of work, Mark was surprised by the people who didn't contribute to their 401(k) accounts, even if it was just a small amount to get the match. He thinks some just didn't know much about 401(k)s during the switch from a pension or didn't understand them.

"I did hear plenty of people that didn't even take advantage of that, and it just seemed like a no-brainer," he said.

Of course, not every American has access to a retirement account. As of 2023, just under three-quarters of Americans had access to some form of retirement benefits, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And of those who do, a solid chunk still doesn't participate in benefits.

Some of that could be chalked up to how benefits have changed. While Mark is a big proponent of the 401(k) and it's worked well for him, other workers might have been used to pension plans. Mark is part of the cohort that saw the retirement economy transition from defined benefits, plans like pensions that pay out fixed amounts, to defined contribution plans, which pay out based on how much you put in — and how the stock market fares.

For instance, after a downturn in the 1980's, Mark said that "it was pretty alarming to me that I lost so much money on paper — but it came back."

"From that point on, I figured any other recession after that, it's going to come back — and it did," he said.

Mark's advice for retirement savings would include taking advantage of some benefits that exist now that didn't really exist when he was doing his retirement planning, things like index funds and Roth accounts — post-tax savings plans that can be offered by employers, in the case of 401(ks), or generally open to Americans making under a certain amount.

"If I was starting now, I would be putting more money into Roth accounts," he said. He also acknowledged that he lives in a low cost-of-living area — and said that if workers can, they should try to lower their living costs. He does realize that certain places cost "a heck of a lot more" than other spots.

But overall, Mark said that he's a "pretty big proponent of the 401(k)." He said that while he knows some people have their own issues with it, he thinks that what he calls the almost-forced savings — the ability to get it out of the person's hands before they have a chance to spend it — is one of the "wisest things there is."

For him, his savings have meant tremendous peace of mind. Unless something very unforeseen comes up, they won't run out of money. If there's something that they need to spend money on or help their kids out with, they can — and that's thanks to their savings.

"If I had to tell people what to do, there's save big and save early — or save early, and it doesn't have to be big, but save early and you get all that compounding," Mark said. "It makes a huge difference. I realize it's the toughest time to save for a lot of people, but if you can get the money saved before it gets into your hands, I guess that's a big deal."

Are you a boomer doing well in retirement? Contact this reporter at jkaplan@businessinsider.com.

• Indian's Prime Minister Narendra Modi lost his absolute majority in parliament on Tuesday.
• That is probably gonna be a bummer for JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon who has been a big fan of Modi.
• Dimon was effusive in his praise for Modi, saying that he "has done an unbelievable job in India."

JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon probably isn't too happy that India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi lost his absolute majority in parliament on Tuesday.

The Wall Street veteran hasn't been afraid to voice his support for Modi. In April, Dimon effusively praised the Indian leader during an event at The Economic Club of New York.

"Modi has done an unbelievable job in India. I know the liberal press here, they beat the hell out of him," Dimon said. "He's taken 400 million people out of poverty."

Dimon also said he thought US officials needed to stop "lecturing" Modi on how to run India and instead start taking lessons from the world's most populous democracy.

"They've got an unbelievable education system. Unbelievable infrastructure. They're lifting up that whole country because this one man is tough," Dimon said.

"He's breaking down some of the bureaucracy," he added. "And we need a little bit more of that here."

Representatives for Dimon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.

Modi, who's held the premiership since 2014, has long been a favorite of corporate titans like Dimon. Modi's pro-growth, pro-business policies are a huge draw for tech giants like Apple and Tesla, both of which have signaled intentions to expand operations there.

"India is an incredibly exciting market. It's a major focus for us," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a November earnings call. "I was just there and the dynamism in the market, the vibrancy is unbelievable."

Modi's decade-long reign as India's prime minister has coincided with a decline in the country's poverty levels. According to the World Bank, the share of India's population living in extreme poverty has dropped from 18.8% in 2014 to 12.9% in 2021.

However, some of Modi's critics may argue that his track record in economic policymaking has been uneven.

In October, India's unemployment rate hit 10.1%, per the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. That is the first time the country's jobless rate has exceeded 10% since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Growth has been good, but it has to be set in perspective," Raghuram Rajan, a former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, told the Financial Times in January.

News of Modi's shrinking majority hit the Indian stock market on Tuesday — it registered its most significant daily drop since March 2020.

To be sure, Modi is likely to stay on as prime minister, albeit as the head of a coalition government. Experts say the electoral surprise is unlikely to unravel Modi's past reforms.

"This surprise creates political and policy uncertainties that will have at least short-term consequences," said Jeff Lande, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center.

"A reversal of the sort of investments and capital expenditure that the government has advanced in recent years, in favor of a return to subsidies, protectionism, and welfare programs, is unlikely," he continued.

• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang signed autographs, including a woman's top, at a Taiwanese tech event.
• Huang's popularity has surged alongside Nvidia's soaring stock.
• This trip to Taiwan cements Huang's rockstar status.

Jensen Huang is shedding his Ultimate Cool Dad status, becoming — for better or worse — the true rockstar that's been lurking just beneath his black leather jacket.

In a crowded booth at a Taiwanese tech conference on Tuesday, the Nvidia CEO wore the same glasses and Tom Ford jacket he sported for Sunday night's keynote address.

He signed Macbooks, chips, and even a woman's top, just above her cleavage.

"Is that a good idea?" he asked with a smile, before scrawling his name with a black pen on the woman's white top, in a video posted to Threads of the encounter.

At the conference, Huang spoke about the robot revolution and Nvidia's next-generation chip.

Huang has stayed in the spotlight as artificial intelligence pushes demand for Nvidia's software and hardware to record levels. As the company's stock soared 197% over the last year, the press — including Business Insider — has scrutinized Huang's memo-writing style, his fashion, and his organizational style.

While other CEOs are known for their fashion, including Mark Zuckerberg's recent glow-up, no one is lining up with their chests out for Tim Cook.

A Nvidia spokeswoman declined to comment on the signature.

• Narendra Modi continues to be prime minister, but how he won was a major blow to the leader.
• His ruling party expected to smash the polls but couldn't secure a majority without the help of allies.
• With his allies now kingmakers, Modi must now balance his governing with securing their loyalty.

Narendra Modi has been prime minister of India for 10 years.

On Tuesday, he extended his tenure by another potential five years when his ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, secured a majority in the lower house of parliament with its allies.

That's the key to everything being said about the world's biggest election — without his allies, Modi would have lost control of parliament and, by extension, India.

It's why the election results have been a shocking blow to Modi and the BJP despite them winning.

Anyone seeking a majority in India's parliament — the prerequisite for naming a prime minister — needed to win 272 out of 543 seats. And this time, the BJP won only 240, relying on smaller parties under a coalition called the National Democratic Alliance to carry it past the finish line.

For a BJP that previously enjoyed a majority on its own with 303 seats in 2019, that's a stark shift in its grip on power. Its alliance only managed to secure 293 seats, just 21 more than needed for a majority.

The result was especially humbling for Modi because the NDA was projected to slam-dunk the election with a whopping 400 seats. The incumbent seemed so confident that he declared victory three days before the result announcements, saying his voters turned out in "record numbers."

Now, though, his allies hold the enviable position of being the difference-maker in deciding who leads India. Should they all ditch Modi for his rivals in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, they could oust him from leadership.

Two of the biggest players in that gaggle of kingmakers, the Telugu Desam Party and the Janata Dal (United), hold a combined 28 seats and are led by politicians known for switching loyalties, per Bloomberg.

Modi now must ensure his coalition holds so he can remain in office, and is set to enter talks with allied leaders to secure their support.

His weakened hold on India's parliament was big news to observers concerned about the rise of his ideology, Hindutva, which promotes building a Hindu nation and has been criticized as right-wing and anti-Muslim extremism.

So why did the stock market tumble?

Tuesday's result surprised a world expecting Modi to trounce his opponents and widen his lead in parliament.

India's stock market posted its worst day in four years after the announcement, dropping by as much as 8.5% on Tuesday before ending the day at 5.9%.

Why the loss of faith? Experts aren't expecting monumental change for India's economy, but a coalition government will likely be far less nimble with major policies.

"India's economic and security drivers will remain unchanged. However, a coalition government will often take big decisions more slowly and be less inclined to push states to meet national objectives in areas like the energy transition," wrote Richard Rossow, chair of US-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

And with uncertainty hanging over the BJP's hold on power, questions are growing about what India's policies might soon look like.

Experts like Jeff Lande, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center, think it's highly unlikely we'll see any reversal in the overall direction of India's economy.

Modi's heavy investment style and capital expenditure should still continue, Lande wrote.

"Policy and political decisions will likely be delayed," he added. "Industry, particularly multinational corporations, and partner governments may hold off on some decisions as they wait and see how the new government develops."

This year's shock result also casts doubt on whether Modi can decisively coalesce enough momentum to rocket the Indian economy forward and allow it to one day catch up with China's.

The country has lagged behind Beijing's rapid growth since the 1980s, and Modi wants to lay the groundwork for India to become a global manufacturing hub in the next few years.

But Kapil Sharma, acting senior director of the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center, said the BJP slipping is good for India's economy as a whole.

The votes show that the average Indian citizen isn't feeling the economic benefits that Modi's policies have brought to the wider nation, and the ruling party will have to govern with extra care to maintain its lead, Sharma wrote.

"The BJP and its coalition government are now operating in a 'now or never' moment," he wrote.

As for foreign policy, most experts say Modi's allies are unlikely to fundamentally alter India's approach.

Rossow of CSIS said Chinese aggression should continue pushing India to work closely with the US.

"The United States' willingness to share advanced weapons systems, contribute to India's domestic defense manufacturing, and offer assistance during periods of military tension with China provides a strong foundation that should withstand political change," he said.

Most experts say the election results show that the world's largest nation still holds onto its democracy.

Gautam Nair, an assistant professor of public policy at Harvard, called Tuesday a "watershed moment" that showed Modi's nationalist message wasn't resonating with voters.

Rossow said that despite Modi extending his influence over key institutions such as the courts, voters are still making their choices count. "This election, even if Prime Minister Modi retains power, shows the power of India's democracy," said Rossow.