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Happy Friday! Dust off that old digital camera for any weekend plans you have. You'll impress the Gen Zer in your life.

In today's big story, we're looking at how a sports bettor trying to hedge a $1.7 million payout shows the gambling world is taking a page out of Wall Street's book.

What's on deck:

• Markets: A boring but promising way to bet on AI in the stock market.
• Tech: Silicon Valley's tech workers are coming to New York for the vibes.
• Business: YouTube insiders describe how it plans to compete with Spotify and Apple.

But first, let's make a wager.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Sports gambling goes Wall Street

How would you like to turn $100 into $1.7 million in a little over a year?

Wayne Shelton has a shot at generating the type of return hedge funds and VCs could only dream of. (It's 1,699,900% if you were wondering.)

A three-leg futures bet Shelton placed in May 2023 on the MLB, NFL, and NBA championship winners is one win away from the life-changing payout.

But Shelton might not need the last leg of his bet — the Oklahoma City Thunder winning the NBA title — to see some cash, writes Business Insider's Matthew Fox. Thanks to a secondary market for gambling tickets, Shelton could sell his ticket to another bettor.

WagerWire, one such market, valued Shelton's ticket at $228,613 after the Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks in the first game of the Western Conference semifinals, according to ESPN.

The value of the ticket is expected to continue to grow if the Thunder advance to the conference finals ($330,366) and the NBA finals ($720,420).

(DraftKings also offered Shelton a cashout, but only at about $75,000.)

It's worth noting Shelton is still up against some considerable odds.

Sportsbooks have the Boston Celtics as a heavy favorite to win the NBA title. And if the Thunder advance to the next round, they'll likely face the Minnesota Timberwolves and Anthony Edwards, widely considered the new face of the NBA.

Futures? Secondary market? Hedging? It's giving Wall Street. (Did I use that right?)

To be fair, you could make the case the two have always looked the same. Multi-leg and same-game parlays aren't really different from out-of-the-money and zero-day options.

And not unlike Wall Street's feelings about retail traders, Shelton is the type of gambler sportsbooks love. A $1.7 million potential payout is nothing compared to the advertising they're getting from his story.

How many people, inspired by Shelton's longshot bet, will cook up their own parlay? And of those bets, how many are likely to win? There's a reason they say the house always wins.

Professional bettors, though, are another story. Unlike mom-and-pop gamblers who often bet on a whim, so-called sharps' systematic approach to gambling can pose a problem for sportsbooks.

And the rise of a secondary market to hedge one's risk is another tool these bettors can leverage to gain an edge on sportsbooks.

That might sound impossible, but so did developing successful betting systems for horse racing and roulette… until professional gamblers did it.

In the meantime, we're compiling our first-ever list of rising stars in the US sports-betting industry. More details here.

3 things in markets

1. The under-the-radar industry set to boom from AI. Utility stocks aren't the most exciting part of the market, but they're well positioned with the rise of AI, according to Goldman Sachs. Data centers, another key behind-the-scenes player in the AI ecosystem, have significant electricity demands.
2. China is pulling a Russia regarding its place in the global economy. The world's second-largest economy is relying less on the West, producing more semiconductor chips and batteries, and reducing food imports. It could be in preparation for long-term geopolitical tension, experts told BI.
3. Sam Bankman-Fried has a new currency to trade in prison. The disgraced former FTX CEO told Puck that his rice has become a medium of exchange in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center. SBF also said he hadn't done anything wrong and plans to appeal his conviction, in his first in-person interview from MDC.

3 things in tech

1. Sundar Pichai explains Google's layoff strategy. The company has gone through several rounds of cuts this year, and Pichai says it's intentional. Rather than laying off employees in one fell swoop, Pichai told Bloomberg the company is "taking the time to do it correctly and well."
2. The tech man cometh. Young tech workers are heading to New York City for the ambiance and the dating scene, and they don't mind paying more for it. Despite high rents, New York attracted the most tech talent from the Bay Area in 2022-2023.
3. Jack Dorsey speaks out. The Twitter cofounder helped launch alternative social media platform Bluesky, but revealed in a posting frenzy on X earlier this month that he'd left the company's board. In an interview with Mike Solana, Dorsey said he quit because Bluesky was "literally repeating all the mistakes [Twitter] made as a company."

3 things in business

1. YouTube has a plan to compete with Spotify and Apple in podcasting. As video podcasts boom on YouTube, the platform is leaning on its ability to offer both video and audio to draw in listeners. Two employees detailed the strategy at an event in April.
2. A failed video game cost Warner Brothers $200 million. The company took a staggering loss on "Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League," which came out in February. It raises the question of whether big media companies should get into games at all.
3. Best of frenemies. Google's Demis Hassabis and Microsoft's Mustafa Suleyman first met in London when the latter was still at school. By 2010, they'd founded DeepMind together — but now they're on opposite sides of an AI arms race fought between Big Tech's oldest rivals.

In other news

• Stormy Daniels gives hush-money jury a tutorial in porn: 'The sex is very real — just like the sex in that room.'
• Joe Biden is expected to unveil new tariffs on Chinese EVs. Here's what that could mean for the sector.
• 'Seriously underwater' mortgages are on the rise throughout the US, with Southern states seeing the biggest jump.
• Apple pulls iPad ad that it says 'missed the mark'.

What's happening today

• Today's earnings: Honda is among the companies reporting.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. George Glover, reporter, in London.

• Ukraine says it executed its farthest drone strike yet, hitting a Russian oil refinery 930 miles away.
• Ukraine's Security Service claimed the attack on Wednesday.
• The effectiveness of the strikes is debated. Some argue they put pressure on Russia's oil sector.

Ukraine's latest aerial attack on Russian soil is its farthest one yet, Ukrainska Pravda reported, with officials saying a drone traveled 930 miles to strike an oil refinery far inside Russia's borders.

Unnamed sources within Ukraine's Security Service told the outlet that one of its drones struck a Gazprom refinery in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan on Wednesday.

The region's head, Radiy Khabirov, confirmed smoke was coming from the refinery but said it was operating as normal, according to Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti.

Footage of the aftermath of the apparent attack was also posted on the prominent pro-Russian Telegram account Baza.

The strike, which has not been independently confirmed, would represent a distance record in Ukraine's ever-more ambitious series of drone strikes on Russian energy facilities.

In early April, Ukraine demonstrated its drones' increasing reach after Russian officials reported strikes 620 miles inside their country.

But the ferocious campaign — launched in earnest in January — has seemingly struck a nerve with the US.

Reports claim that the White House has reached out to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to signal its concern that hitting Russia's oil production will destabilize global energy prices.

Michael Liebreich, founder of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, along with energy analyst Lauri Myllyvirta and Sam Winter-Levy, highlighted in a Foreign Affairs article this week how Ukraine's strikes could hurt Russia without sending global oil prices soaring.

The attacks are largely striking Russia's refining capacity, rather than its oil fields, they said, which actually forces Russia to export crude oil, likely bringing prices down globally.

The strikes have also led to a surge in the price of refined oil products within Russia itself, they argued.

These are some of the exact areas where the West's lackluster sanctions have failed to bite.

But there's some skepticism around the effectiveness of the attacks.

Carnegie scholar Sergey Vakulenko wrote in April that even if Ukraine took out every refinery within its reach, Russia would likely still be able to procure enough oil for its own uses.

Meanwhile, several experts told Business Insider last month that Ukraine would do well to ignore the US' counsel.

Ann Marie Dailey, a geopolitical strategist at the RAND Corporation, told BI that although the impact won't be immediate, "consistently putting pressure on Russia's oil sector would have a significant impact on Russia's ability to fight this war."

Russian officials routinely downplay the impact of the strikes. But there are some indicators that the pain is trickling through: Russia has announced a six-month gasoline export ban, and Ukraine claims that its attacks have reduced Russian oil production and processing by 12%.

• Rachel Maeng Brown is a former NCAA rower who now works with student-athletes at her firm Gen Agency.
• The agency has provided NIL education and consulting to college athletes, collectives, and schools.
• Brown shared a presentation with five strategies to help athletes price and negotiate brand deals.

Knowing your worth is a struggle many college athletes face now that they can make money from their name, image, and likeness, known as NIL.

To help athletes understand their value, influencer-marketing-and-production company Gen Agency has been educating and consulting college athletes on NIL.

"Our big focus is creating a sustainable NIL marketplace at each university," Rachel Maeng Brown, the founder and CEO of Gen agency, told Business Insider.

Brown, a former NCAA rower, said the NIL side of Gen Agency educates universities to help them build curriculums. The agency also offers athletes on-site and virtual workshops about NIL marketing.

In April, Gen Agency hosted its first NIL-educational summit for University of Michigan influencers in partnership with Reach, a student-driven organization helping content creators grow their platforms and connect with brands. The presentation, which was shared with BI, covered how athletes can understand their audience, price sponsored content, post properly on social media, and protect themselves with a contract.

The summit also featured a panel of guest speakers, including former NFL player Isaiah Johnson. Johnson told BI that social-media followers and engagement are more important to brands who work with athletes than on-field performance.

"Followers, everyone wants to know how many people are following you and then two, just how genuine you are," he said. "If you are genuinely using a product, this could be a wonderful fit."

Johnson said athletes with the best media presence are natural and real with their followers. He said sports fans love behind-the-scenes footage they can not get from somewhere else, like athletes' day-in-the-life videos.

Here are five key slides from Gen Agency's NIL presentation on how athletes can brand themselves and negotiate fair pay:

Learn about your audience

Brown said knowing your target audience is key to working with brands. It helps companies understand who they can reach by recruiting you. 

During the summit, Brown showed athletes where to find key stats on their Instagram audiences, including follower count and growth, location, age, and gender.

A formula athletes can use to estimate the price of a brand deal

The presentation offered a formula student-athletes can use to calculate how much to charge brands for a sponsored post. It's based on a $10 CPM, which refers to the cost per every 1,000 impressions, though CPMs can vary.

To calculate what to charge per post, take the average number of views over the last 30 days and divide it by 1,000. Then take that figure and multiply it by the CPM.

Using that math, an athlete with 600,000 average views over the last days would charge $6,000 per post, based on a $10 CPM, per the presentation's example.

Know your copyright rules

Athletes, like other influencers, need to comply with brand, platform, and regulatory guidelines for social-media posts and ads, such as copyright rules and what kind of content is permitted on a platform.

Student-athletes also need to abide by NCAA rules because posting inappropriate content can result in losing scholarships, eligibility, and future career opportunities, according to the NCAA.

Brown said college athletes should also exercise caution and not include other brands or anything illegal in a sponsored post. She advised double-checking the spelling before posting, too.

Dos and don'ts for sponsored posts

The agency also emphasized the importance of double-checking disclosures for paid ads, partnerships, and more so athletes do not have to delete or redo sponsored videos.

"This is really important to student-athletes as well as smaller influencers because a lot of brands will try to bully them," said Brown, "to say, 'You don't need to put hashtag. You don't need to disclose that we're sponsored.' But it's actually illegal across social media."

She said failing to disclose a sponsored post could result in an athlete's account being banned or messing up their average views and algorithm.

Things to know about payment

Brown also talked about contracts and W-9s, which are tax forms for independent contractors. The presentation emphasized in capital letters that athletes need a contract to make sure they get paid for their work.

They should also be mindful of terms such as "usage" and "ownership" because it could mean their videos could be posted on any social-media channel or site.

Brown said brands are not going to protect the athletes, so they need to look out for themselves.

• Planet Fitness is hiking the price of its Classic Card membership plan by 50% to $15 a month.
• It had held the price at $10 for 26 years, which would be worth around $19 in today's money.
• The price increase will be introduced in the summer and will only apply to new members.

Planet Fitness is hiking the price of its basic membership plan by 50% after holding it at $10 a month for 26 years.

The new $15 charge will come into effect in the summer and will only apply to new members, interim CEO Craig Benson told investors Thursday. Current members on $10-a-month plans won't be affected by the change, CFO Thomas Fitzgerald said.

The price is for Planet Fitness's Classic Card, which gives users unlimited access to one gym.

Benson said that Planet Fitness had started testing $12.99 and $15 price points in the fall. The $15 fee drove the biggest increase in average revenues per gym "with the least impact to the rate of joins," he said.

Planet Fitness isn't the only company to ditch its trademark price point as inflation pushes up how much businesses pay for staff, goods, and overheads. Dollar stores have been dropping their $1 price point and fast-food chains have been charging customers more.

"Our Classic Card membership has been priced at $10 since 1998, which based on inflation would be about $20 in today's dollars," Fitzgerald said. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator, $10 in January 1998 would have the same buying power as $19.33 in March 2024.

But it will take a while for the benefits of the price change to trickle through and boost gym margins because it only applies to new members, Fitzgerald said.

He also noted that the majority of Planet Fitness's members — about 62% — had its Black Card membership, which is more expensive and allows them to bring a guest, use any of its gyms, and access some other facilities like tanning and massage chairs.

Around the time that the new Classic Card price is introduced, Planet Fitness will start testing new prices for the Black Card, Benson said. The last time its price was increased was in May 2022, Fitzgerald said.

As part of the Classic Card price change, Planet Fitness plans to focus more heavily on its "price for life" policy, Benson said.

"We ought to get the benefit of a subscription-based business that doesn't change pricing on people in the middle of their usage of those services," he said.

Former CEO Chris Rondeau was abruptly fired in September.

Planet Fitness said that at the end of March it had about 19.6 million members and more than 2,500 gyms worldwide. It reported an 11.6% increase in first-quarter total revenue to $248 million and a 6.2% increase in system-wide same-store sales.

But results were hit by a number of headwinds, including consumers focusing on saving money, concerns about COVID-19 infections and other illnesses, and an advertising campaign that Benson said "may not have resonated as broadly as we had anticipated."

• Googlers have been grilling executives about compensation, CNBC reported.
• In April, Alphabet reported triumphant first-quarter earnings that surpassed analysts' estimates.
• One employee claimed they had noticed "a significant decline in morale."

Google execs have been facing tough questions from employees after the company reported blowout earnings last month.

In April, Alphabet reported triumphant first-quarter earnings that surpassed analysts' estimates and sent the stock soaring. The company reported a year-on-year revenue increase of about 15% and issued its first dividend of 20 cents a share.

Googlers wanted to know why the revenue boost wasn't leading to higher pay or an end to some of the company's cost-cutting measures, CNBC reported.

One comment posted on an internal forum before the meeting claimed there was "a significant decline in morale, increased distrust, and a disconnect between leadership and the workforce."

Another top-rated question reviewed by CNBC asked why Googlers had not received "meaningful compensation increases" despite the "company's stellar performance and record earnings."

In an all-hands meeting with Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and other top execs, Google's CFO Ruth Porat reportedly addressed some of the workers' comments. She said the company's priority was to "invest in growth," noting that "revenue should be growing faster than expenses," the report said.

Pichai reportedly followed up with a joke about holding a "Finance 101" TED Talk for employees.

Google representatives did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment, which was made outside normal working hours.

However, a Google spokesperson told CNBC most employees would receive a pay raise this year, including equity grants and bonuses.

Google execs have been fielding tough questions and employee criticism over the last year.

The company cut about 12,000 people in 2023 and started off 2024 with thousands more laid off from core engineering and hardware teams.

The rolling layoffs have angered employees — with some lashing out at leadership. Following a round of layoffs in January, some Googlers took public aim at what they described as "glassy-eyed leaders" and organized protests in response.

During the all-hands, Pichai told workers the company had hired too much staff during the pandemic, per CNBC.

"We hired a lot of employees, and from there, we have had course correction," he said.

• Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson said Chinese automakers are still "years behind" Tesla on EV technology. 
• He told a Financial Times conference that car companies should not "underestimate" Chinese firms.
• Companies such as BYD are now challenging Tesla in China after years of rapid growth.

Chinese EV makers are challenging Tesla — but one of the company's rivals still thinks they're years away from overtaking Elon Musk's firm in one respect.

Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson said that despite their success, Chinese automakers are still some distance behind Tesla when it comes to the underlying technology that powers EVs — but warned that they could catch up quickly.

"If you look at the advance in core EV technology, they're still years and years behind Tesla," said Rawlinson told the Financial Times' Future of the Car Summit in London this week.

The former Tesla engineer said that Chinese EVs had progressed "immeasurably" in recent years, and were now superior to their western counterparts "in terms of fit and finish quality." However, Rawlinson thought their engineering was still lacking.

"In terms of the elegance of their drive train technology, the batteries, the way things are integrated … it's not even close," he said.

"I was looking at a number of the units on display at the Geneva Motor Show and the engineering was very disappointing."

However, Rawlinson warned that Western car makers must not "underestimate" the ability of their Chinese rivals to quickly catch up on core EV technology.

"We underestimated the Chinese ability to make good cars. They're shockingly good. They're a lot better than they've been. They're just not quite there yet," he said.

Western automakers have come under increasing pressure in China from domestic manufacturers that have grown rapidly in recent years. Warren Buffett-backed BYD overtook Tesla as the world's largest EV manufacturer in the last three months of 2023.

After once laughing off Tesla's Chinese rivals, Musk now seems a lot more worried, telling investors that Chinese EVs are likely to "demolish" the competition if trade barriers aren't put in place.

Like other EV startups such as Fisker and Rivian, Lucid has borne the brunt of stuttering demand for electric vehicles in the US.

The company has slashed prices on its high-end Lucid Air sedan to compete with Tesla, and produced less than 10,000 vehicles last year.

However, its backing from the Saudi Public Investment Fund means there is little risk of Lucid running out of money anytime soon, unlike some of its rivals.

The company is also preparing for the launch of its Gravity SUV that boasts a Tesla-beating range of 440 miles and is expected to cost less than $80,000.

Lucid did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

• A cruise ship worker was accused of stabbing a passenger and attacking crew members.
• The incident occurred on the Norwegian Encore on its voyage to Alaska from Seattle, AP reported.
• The worker was arrested and faces assault charges, the district attorney's office said.

A cruise ship employee was arrested after he allegedly used scissors to stab three people aboard a ship that was traveling to Alaska.

The employee, identified as Ntando Sogoni from South Africa, had recently started working on Norwegian Encore, a ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line, according to an affidavit from FBI Special Agent Matthew Judy cited by AP News.

According to the outlet, the ship disembarked from Seattle on Sunday and was scheduled to stop in Alaskan ports, including Junea, during the weeklong voyage.

Sogoni, 35, was on duty on Monday when he was caught trying to deploy a lifeboat from the ship, according to a press release issued by the district attorney's office.

According to the FBI, Sogoni was taken to the ship's medical center for examination, where he then "physically attacked" a security guard and a nurse before using a pair of scissors to stab a passenger who was being examined.

Sogoni allegedly stabbed the passenger several times in her arm, hand, and face. A security guard who intervened was stabbed in the head, while a second security guard was stabbed in the back and shoulders, authorities said.

The conditions of the passenger and staff are unknown, though AP News reported that none of the injuries were life-threatening.

The ship was traveling west of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, when the alleged incident took place, the publication added.

Sogoni was held in the ship's jail before being arrested in Juneau on Tuesday.

Sogoni is facing charges of assault with a dangerous weapon. He could face up to 10 years in prison in addition to a $250,000 fine for each count if convicted, they added.

The cruise industry made $19 billion in revenue in 2022, according to the online data platform Statista.

The US Department of Transportation keeps a record of reported crimes on cruise ships through quarterly reports. According to a recent cruise line incident report, 47 alleged incidents were reported to the FBI between January and March of this year.

Of the incidents reported, eight were recorded as assault with serious bodily injury, one was recorded as a missing US national, and six alleged thefts of under $10,000 were reported. There were also 16 cases categorized as "sexual assault," and a further 16 were categorized as "sexual assault — rape."

The district attorney's office, Juneau's police department, Sogoni's lawyer, and Norwegian Cruise Line did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

• The union for French air traffic controllers reached a deal to avoid a strike.
• Les Echos reported it includes authorization to turn up to work three hours late, and leave early.
• Paris is hosting the 2024 Olympics, and there are fears strikes could disrupt the event.

French air traffic controllers have been given the legal right to turn up three hours late for work, and leave three hours early, Les Echos reported.

That's because the National Union for Air Traffic Controllers (SNCTA) reached an agreement that includes ending a practice called "clearances" — where staff could leave work during quiet periods, according to the French newspaper.

Because ending "clearances" led to more working hours, the controllers are now authorized to arrive three hours late or leave three hours early, when traffic permits.

It means French air traffic controllers have a mandatory minimum time on the clock of five hours, according to Les Echos.

The details of the agreement were kept quiet after the SNCTA reached a deal with the government to avoid a strike on April 25. With the Olympics taking place in France this year, politicians were eager to avoid any potential disruption at airports.

It's a big win for the SNCTA and highlights the strength of labor unions in France.

Air traffic controllers also won several other benefits as part of the deal, according to Les Echos. That includes an additional 18 days off work, and retirement at age 59.

Plus, Les Echos reported their salaries are set to go up by an average of 1,500 euros a month, spread over four years. That's around an extra $19,400 a year.

Agence France-Press reported in 2022 that the average French air traffic controller earned $59,820 a year — putting the recent pay increase at around a third.

The report added that the deal will be entirely financed by airlines. As a further three days of strikes were planned for this month, a person familiar with the matter told Les Echos that for Air France, the cost of further strike action could have outweighed the compensation given to the air traffic controllers.

• Sanction-hit Russian airlines are getting plane parts delivered in hand luggage, per the Financial Times.
• A Middle East company has sent $1.5 million of goods to Russia's S7 airline, the FT reported.
• Flight safety incidents involving Russian planes have shot up, according to estimates.

Passengers are carrying plane parts in their luggage to get them to sanction-hit Russian airlines, according to the Financial Times.

Russian airlines are obtaining plane parts through a vast network of small suppliers, many of which are based in the United Arab Emirates, the FT reported.

The outlet highlighted one incident from mid-2022 when staff at a Moscow airport found a $40,000 plane part in a passenger's luggage. 

The equipment was destined for Russia's second-largest airline, S7, the FT reported, and was one of 11 similar parts sent in passenger bags to Moscow that year, all of them reported in customs forms.

In the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western countries imposed heavy sanctions and export controls on Russia's aviation sector.

The sanctions have made it difficult for the country's airlines to get their hands on new planes or parts to maintain their existing aircraft.

They have also opened up more unorthodox supply routes.

The FT cited Turboshaft, a UAE-based provider and exporter of aircraft parts run by a Russian-born businessman.

According to customs data seen by the outlet, Turboshaft has shipped $1.5 million of goods to S7 since the start of the war.

Turboshaft didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, but a spokesperson for company boss Timur Badr told the FT that it had stopped providing plane parts to Russia in February 2022 and that it was "aware of, and respectful of, the international sanctions regime."

According to data collected by the FT from various sources, S7 and its subsidiaries saw their imports of plane parts drop from over $100 million a month in December 2021 to less than $25 million a month in April 2022.

Meanwhile, the number of flight safety incidents involving Russian planes has more than doubled, from 37 in 2022 to 81 in 2023, according to the Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre.

Those figures also only reflect known cases, the center's founder and CEO, Jan-Arwed Richter, told The Telegraph earlier this year, adding: "There is still a dark figure of unreported incidents."

• Elon Musk isn't done with Superchargers yet.
• Despite firing Tesla's Supercharger team last week, the CEO committed to the network on Friday.
• "Tesla will spend well over $500m expanding our Supercharger network," Musk wrote on X.

Apparently, Elon Musk really is still game for Superchargers.

On Friday, the billionaire Tesla chief took to X to clarify that he was, in fact, still very committed to building out Tesla's Supercharger business.

"Just to reiterate: Tesla will spend well over $500m expanding our Supercharger network to create thousands of NEW chargers this year," Musk wrote. "That's just on new sites and expansions, not counting operations costs, which are much higher."

You may recall that just a week ago, Musk suddenly decided to fire nearly all the 500 employees on Telsa's Supercharger team.

Tesla's Supercharger network, a collection of fast-charging plug-in stations spread over more than 50,000 sites globally, was seen by investors as a vital cornerstone in the company's ambitions to lead the EV market.

Rivals like Ford and GM have been scrambling to gain access to it. The spread of chargers was also seen as a key strategy to offset concerns potential EV buyers might have around range anxiety too.

So as news broke that Musk was axing the Supercharger team, it's safe to say Tesla investors were left more than a little puzzled. As Tesla investor Ross Gerber put it: "Any retreat from this part of the business will have a negative impact on the EV industry."

At the time, Musk tried to offset some concerns by saying Tesla still "plans to grow" the network, just "at a slower pace for new locations and more focus on 100% uptime and expansion of existing locations."

But with his comments on Friday, it looks like Musk has set out to shake off any lingering doubts about his commitment to a business that analysts have estimated could generate almost $7.5 billion in revenue and $730 million in profit a year for Tesla by 2030.

The thing is, with Tesla still without a functioning Supercharger team, the logistics of implementing Musk's plans remain a bit of a mystery.

Musk, who has driven a big shake-up at Tesla recently following the decision to cut more than 10% of the company's workforce in March, seems to be focusing on robotaxis as he looks to boost Tesla's AI and autonomous driving capabilities.

Two days before firing the Supercharger team, the billionaire wrote on X: "Tesla will spend around $10B this year in combined training and inference AI, the latter being primarily in car. Any company not spending at this level, and doing so efficiently, cannot compete."

At a time when companies are plowing billions of dollars into AI, there seems to be some logic here. But Musk also has a stated goal of selling 20 million Teslas a year by 2030.

He'll definitely want to amp up his Supercharger network too if he plans on achieving that.