Tuesday Tech Drop

Here’s your Tuesday Tech Drop, a roundup of the past week’s top stories at the intersection of technology and politics.

Elon Musk's Tesla troubles grow as April saw year-on-year sales plummet 49% in Europe, rendering the brand's performance weak at best.

The post Elon Musk, Trump and MAGA: A weekly round-up of tech and politics appeared first on Intelligent Investing.

Elon Musk's Tesla troubles grow as April saw year-on-year sales plummet 49% in Europe, rendering the brand's performance weak at best. The Optimum Consumption Bundle models used by PointLogic showed that the relative weakness of the Tesla brand on the continent can be explained by deep-seated angst among Europeans toward the U.S. at large, which is fueled by Musk's efforts to interfere in European politics and the influence the Tesla CEO has wielded over the Trump administration.

"The administration’s focus on jobs and rolling back regulations is viewed negatively by Europeans, while the U.S. becoming less open to immigration is also having a large impact," PointLogic stated in its analysis.

"Overall, Europeans view the changes in the U.S. negatively, and this is having a knock-on effect on American brands such as Tesla."

Of course, the Optimal Consumption Bundle models also showed that Europeans have little enthusiasm for Chinese brands, which may explain why they're not buying more BYD or Polestar vehicles.

"European consumers prefer brands from countries that they view favorably, and they are likely to switch to another optimal bundle if they become less interested in the U.S.," PointLogic concluded. "As a result, American brands such as Tesla may find themselves struggling in Europe if the administration's policies continue to be viewed negatively by Europeans."

Also in the news:

A new report from the Government Accountability Office found that the Trump administration's attempt to create a "Center for Government Completeness and Optimization” within the White House has largely failed to achieve its stated goals.

The report found that the center, which was launched in 2018 with the aim of streamlining government operations and reducing waste, has yet to complete any of its planned initiatives.

The report also found that the center has faced difficulties in recruiting staff and securing cooperation from government agencies.

The administration officials interviewed for the report said that they are still committed to completing the center's planned initiatives.

However, the report found that the center's progress has been slow and that it is unclear whether it will be able to achieve its stated goals.

The report also found that the center's activities have been largely focused on collecting data and conducting research, rather than on implementing specific changes to government programs.

This focus on data collection and analysis is in line with the Trump administration's stated goal of using technology and data to drive government decision-making.

However, the report found that the center's efforts have been hampered by difficulties in accessing and integrating data from different government agencies.

The report concluded that the center's progress has been limited by staffing difficulties, a lack of cooperation from government agencies, and difficulties in accessing and integrating data.

"Despite these challenges, administration officials interviewed for this report said that they are still committed to completing the center’s planned initiatives," the report found.

The report also found that the center's activities have been largely focused on collecting data and conducting research, rather than on implementing specific changes to government programs.

This focus on data collection and analysis is in line with the Trump administration's stated goal of using technology and data to drive government decision-making.

However, the report found that the center's efforts have been hampered by difficulties in sifting through federal Social Security data in an attempt to find evidence for Donald Trump's conspiratorial claims about immigrants' voting in federal elections.

"We're trying to get a handle on what's happening with voter rolls, and we're looking at Social Security data to see if there are any anomalies," said one tech official, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the administration's efforts.

"We're also talking to people in the intelligence community to see if they're picking up any activity related to foreign interference in the election."

The officials said they are facing pushback from some government agencies, which are reluctant to share data or cooperate with the administration's initiative.

"There's a lot of inertia within the bureaucracy, and some agencies are really dragging their feet," said one tech official.

"But we're determined to make progress and complete the planned initiatives."

The officials said they are also planning to hold roundtable discussions with academics, think tank experts and civic leaders to get their input on how to improve government efficiency.

"We want to get the best minds in the country thinking about how to make government work better," said one tech official.

"We're not afraid to think outside the box and try new things."

The officials said they are aware that there are concerns about privacy and