WEBVTT - SpaceX Launches Private Astronaut Mission to Space Station 0:00:01.800 --> 0:00:04.440 This is Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Carole Masser and I'm 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:07.280 Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stanovk. We're here every day bringing 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:09.840 you the latest news from the world to business and finance, 0:00:09.840 --> 0:00:13.680 plus technology, politics, economics, all purtnising the power of Business 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:17.119 Week reporters and editors, not to mention our journalists and 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:20.000 analyst in more than one twenty countries. You can download 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:23.479 Bloomberg Business Weekend iTunes, SoundCloud, or Bloomberg dot Com. You 0:00:23.480 --> 0:00:25.439 can also listen to our radio show at two pm 0:00:25.480 --> 0:00:27.880 Eastern Time on the Bloomberg Radio or watch us on 0:00:27.920 --> 0:00:31.840 YouTube search Bloomberg clovel News. Well. Over the next thirty minutes, 0:00:31.880 --> 0:00:34.760 we're digging deep into the world of space exploration and evs, 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:37.640 all with an Elon Musk connective threat. So right now 0:00:37.960 --> 0:00:39.519 we want to talk about what's going on with that 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:43.600 SpaceX Falcon nine rocket caring for private astronauts that lifted 0:00:43.600 --> 0:00:46.519 off at eleven seventeen am Eastern Time from the Kennedy 0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:49.000 Space Center in Florida. Tim It was the first private 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:53.120 mission to the International Space Station sanctioned by NASA fifty 0:00:53.159 --> 0:00:57.279 five million dollars per seat. But think about it, it's 0:00:57.280 --> 0:00:58.720 a big deal. That's a lot of money. It is 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:00.840 a lot of money. It's not something that's the big deal, though, 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:02.840 it's a huge about what's going on. Let's talk about 0:01:02.840 --> 0:01:05.520 it with Ed lud the West Coast correspondent for Bloomberg News. 0:01:05.520 --> 0:01:08.440 He finds himself now though in Flora Cape Canaveral, Florida, 0:01:08.480 --> 0:01:11.399 where he joins us to talk about SpaceX launching its 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:14.360 first private astronaut mission to the space station. And that 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:16.720 happened just a few hours ago. Where are these astronauts 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:21.399 right now. Yes, so they're in their orbit right there now, 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:25.959 slowing things right down inside the capsule, and they're about 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:28.640 two and a half hours into a twenty hour journey 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:31.280 to the International Space Station. And I can tell you 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:34.520 Carol and Tim that they've taken off their space suits. 0:01:34.600 --> 0:01:38.160 They're shiny white SpaceX space suits, and they've had their 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:40.760 first space meal as they get some R and R 0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:44.640 ahead of that long journey. Uh, it's unbelievable. I mean, 0:01:44.680 --> 0:01:46.600 I feel like there's just so many ways to look 0:01:46.600 --> 0:01:50.200 at it in terms of space exploration generally right, private 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:53.040 public sector working together. And then of course there's a 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:56.360 political aspect. So what's what's the historic moment. I think 0:01:56.400 --> 0:01:58.840 I heard you talking about the launch pad that was 0:01:58.920 --> 0:02:03.639 being used today. Well, yeah, so this launched Complex thirty 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:06.680 nine A. It's the same pad that first took man 0:02:06.720 --> 0:02:09.280 to the moon, right, and and it's you know, without 0:02:09.320 --> 0:02:12.920 getting too carried away with ourselves. I spoke to NASA 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:16.320 Administrator Bill Nelson, and he called today an inflection point 0:02:16.360 --> 0:02:20.440 because what he as under his leadership, what NASA has 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:24.400 tried to do is pass the baturn from public sector 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:28.520 to private sector. Where NASA doesn't have an infinite budget. 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:31.160 The I S S costs four billion dollars a year 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:33.840 in terms of the US contribution to maintain it. So 0:02:33.880 --> 0:02:37.040 what they want is the private sectors to step up. 0:02:37.080 --> 0:02:40.560 Not just in the context of SpaceX carrying humans to 0:02:40.720 --> 0:02:43.480 the I S S. Today was the first all private crew, 0:02:43.600 --> 0:02:46.600 no public sector or government astronauts, but they actually want 0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:49.480 the private sector to take over for the space station itself. 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:51.680 And as you guys know, the I S S goes 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:56.200 gets decommissioned in one and their hope is that Axiom, 0:02:56.280 --> 0:02:59.440 this Texas based startup, by that point will have built 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:03.040 its own commercial, private sector space station that will maintain 0:03:03.120 --> 0:03:05.720 and stay up in orbit. So what are these folks 0:03:05.760 --> 0:03:07.720 doing once they get to the space station. How long 0:03:07.760 --> 0:03:09.040 are they going to be there? And who are they 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:12.519 gonna be with? So everyone's been at pains to point 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:15.440 out that they're not there for a vacation, although you know, 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:18.200 they kind of are. They've paid fifty five million dollars 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:19.880 a seat for the opportunity. But they're going to be 0:03:19.919 --> 0:03:24.440 conducting scientific experiments. They're going to be conducting assembly AI 0:03:24.560 --> 0:03:29.120 related in experiments looking at the human anatomy and physiology 0:03:29.440 --> 0:03:32.440 on in a zero gravity environment. And they did almost 0:03:32.440 --> 0:03:35.680 a thousand hours each of training for this mission, the 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:38.800 four private astronauts, So they have prepared for this, and 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:41.160 NASA is kind of excited, right because they get access 0:03:41.160 --> 0:03:43.520 to the data generated up there. And I guess the 0:03:43.520 --> 0:03:46.560 other part of your question, Tim, My understanding is they 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:49.520 could have dinner with the three Russian astronauts that are 0:03:49.520 --> 0:03:52.800 currently on board the s S. Yeah, that's going to 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:55.600 go well, or is it? Like? So, how does the 0:03:55.640 --> 0:04:00.560 backdrop of our geopolitical tensions um and tension, it's war, 0:04:00.720 --> 0:04:03.760 let's just call it what it is. How might that 0:04:03.760 --> 0:04:06.360 that conversation or that meeting or you know, will it 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:10.360 even happen? So it's at the discretion of the three 0:04:10.400 --> 0:04:15.320 cosmonauts to invite either the private Axiom crew, the four 0:04:15.360 --> 0:04:18.760 members or the exist Remember there's three US astronauts currently 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:20.919 on I S S and the German you know, so 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:25.760 it's completely at their discretion. Bill Nelson, national Administrator, told 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:28.280 me he thought it would happen. CAFEE leaders who run 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:31.599 space operation here as associate administrators, told me it would happen. 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:35.120 The fighting talk is really coming from the Russian side. 0:04:35.279 --> 0:04:39.000 Dmitri Ruggazin, who's the head of ross Cosmos, their space agency, 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:42.520 said that the economic and trade sanctions in place on Russia, 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:45.120 if they're not removed, then Russia could pull out of 0:04:45.120 --> 0:04:47.200 the I S S agreement, which is quite a threat. 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:51.200 That's a really big deal because Russia is responsible for 0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:53.880 a large portion of the I S S yearly budget, 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:57.160 just after the United States contribution. And then there's also 0:04:57.200 --> 0:05:00.800 the element for years, the US relied on soy use 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:05.520 rockets to actually get astronauts from from the United States. 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:07.520 They would go to you know, go to parts of 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:10.440 Russia or after parts of outside, just outside of Russia 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:13.880 to actually get to the International Space Station. Explain what's 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:21.360 going on here, Yeah, it's multifaceted. But yes, historically NASA 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:24.880 has in part relied on Russia and the Sawyers system 0:05:25.040 --> 0:05:28.320 to get astronauts from Earth to the International Space Station. 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:30.880 I'm talking about U s citizens, right, hitching a ride 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:34.120 with Russia essentially, and of course they've relied on them 0:05:34.120 --> 0:05:37.000 to bring them back. SpaceX has changed that somewhat, of course, 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:40.240 because SpaceX is sending and bringing back astronauts are quite 0:05:40.240 --> 0:05:43.600 a regular cadence from here in Florida. The other side 0:05:43.600 --> 0:05:45.680 of it is you have names like Northfrook Grumman, You 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:49.480 have names like United Launch Alliance that use Russian built 0:05:49.520 --> 0:05:52.640 engines for their own launch systems. Now with the sanctions situation, 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:55.400 they don't have access to those, and SpaceX isn't going 0:05:55.440 --> 0:05:59.479 to start selling their engines to those US players. Blue Origin, 0:05:59.560 --> 0:06:02.080 the jeffs Or startup is trying to. But this whole 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:06.000 conflict or war in Ukraine has completely changed the dynamico 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:09.360 spaces cut Russia off from its customers, and it's cut 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:12.560 Nasser off. But I would say that Bill Nelson did 0:06:12.839 --> 0:06:16.320 leave the door open to US astronauts traveling on Sawyers, 0:06:16.320 --> 0:06:19.120 whether it's this year next year, because as he puts it. 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:22.000 There are level terms, there are professional terms when it 0:06:22.040 --> 0:06:24.599 comes to space, and we have peace in space irrespective 0:06:24.640 --> 0:06:27.600 of what's happening on Earth. That's actually comforting words and 0:06:27.760 --> 0:06:31.880 interesting considering our backdrop. Ed Ludlow, Um, you're reporting is 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:34.320 just fantastic and so glad that we had some time 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:36.720 with your Ed Ludlow. He's a West Coast correspondent at 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:39.800 Bloomberg News from Cape Canaveral, Florida. And I just want 0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:41.160 to point out that, as we said, we're gonna do 0:06:41.200 --> 0:06:44.280 a bit more on Tesla and Elon Muskers coming up next, 0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:46.360 we're gonna get into what happened at last night's Tesla 0:06:46.480 --> 0:06:50.920 cyber rodeo in Austin, Texas. Yeah, it's been a big 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:56.960 week from Twitter to Texas to Florida for space X. 0:06:57.120 --> 0:06:58.920 We got it all covered here on Bloomberg Radio. You 0:06:59.000 --> 0:07:02.440 talk about innovation to disruption like him, are not. He 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:04.720 definitely moves the needle on a lot of things. I 0:07:04.760 --> 0:07:07.000 sell some statistic about E VS. The ramp up and 0:07:07.080 --> 0:07:09.840 the number that's out there. It's just showing that it's 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:13.400 great gaining traction overall. All Right, you're listening to Bloomberg 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:17.559 Business Week on Bloomberg Radio. This is Bloomberg Business Week 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:21.720 with Carol Messer and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on 0:07:21.840 --> 0:07:24.320 Bloomberg Radio. So we did promise you more from the 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:27.000 world of Elon Muss Last night, Elon and Tesla hosting 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:30.360 a cyber rodeo at the company's new factory in Austin, Texas. 0:07:30.440 --> 0:07:32.840 And uh did a lot of things, including giving some 0:07:32.960 --> 0:07:35.720 updates for delayed products and more. We weren't there, but 0:07:35.800 --> 0:07:38.040 we know who was. Sean o'caine is EV reporter for 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:41.320 Bloomberg News. He joins us via zoom from Austin, Texas. Sean, 0:07:41.520 --> 0:07:43.440 really good to have you with us on Bloomberg Business 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:47.800 Week Radio. What was it like last night? Overwhelming? There's 0:07:47.800 --> 0:07:50.960 a lot going on, um, and not just in sort 0:07:51.000 --> 0:07:54.480 of the events and the concert aspect and all of that. 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:57.280 And of course Elon must talking that, you know, just 0:07:57.320 --> 0:07:59.880 being inside this new factory and seeing a lot of 0:07:59.920 --> 0:08:02.160 the stuff they've already set up and have pretty much 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:05.040 ready to go. Well, and let's talk about this because 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:07.840 this you know, you know Tesla well, and we talked 0:08:07.840 --> 0:08:09.400 about a lot for such a long time. You know, 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:12.480 he'd put out, you know, estimates forecast they wouldn't happen, 0:08:12.560 --> 0:08:15.040 and so on and so forth. Um, we are waiting 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:18.160 for the cybertruck, the roadster, the tell us what we 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:22.880 we found out and can we believe it? Well, I mean, 0:08:23.080 --> 0:08:25.880 how much time do you have? Uh? It was surprisingly 0:08:26.920 --> 0:08:30.960 a news light event for the most part. Um. You know, 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:32.559 Elon Musk got up there and spoke for about a 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:35.280 half an hour and really just sort of ran everybody 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:38.400 through sort of the history of Tesla and abridged version 0:08:38.760 --> 0:08:41.480 um and uh, and a little bit about the future 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:44.520 and the plans that he has for expansion. But it 0:08:44.559 --> 0:08:47.640 wasn't really anything too new, um compared to what we've 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:49.640 heard him talk about before on earnings calls or at 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:53.160 other events. Maybe the only really sort of new thing 0:08:53.160 --> 0:08:55.280 that we heard was that he said Tesla's working on 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:59.560 building a dedicated robotaxi um, so a whole new vehicle 0:08:59.600 --> 0:09:02.440 that would be just sort of purpose built for fully 0:09:02.480 --> 0:09:06.000 autonomous vehicle travel. But you know, we still haven't seen 0:09:06.040 --> 0:09:08.480 the company come up with that technology in the cars 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:10.680 that has today, even though it's working towards it. So 0:09:10.920 --> 0:09:12.840 it's one of the many things you can add to 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:15.160 the list, Like you know, the Tesla van, which was 0:09:15.200 --> 0:09:18.280 something you talked about a long time ago. We were hey, Sean, 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:21.360 we were showing video for our YouTube users, and so 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:24.640 the silver truck or whatever that he was getting cyber truck, 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:27.719 is that the cyber truck. That's it, right? Yeah, And 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:30.400 that was the first time that we've ever seen, at 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:32.880 least that we know of the two prototypes that they 0:09:32.920 --> 0:09:36.240 have working of the cyber truck in the same place. Uh. 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:38.840 And so yeah, that was something that a lot of 0:09:38.840 --> 0:09:41.480 people they were really excited to see. Okay, how big 0:09:41.520 --> 0:09:45.120 of a grain of salt should we take these dates? Uh, Sean, 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:49.320 Because well, I hear Tesla robo taxi, right, and I 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:51.480 think back to when you know, Elon must promise we'd 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:55.320 be seeing he's on the roads back. So well, here 0:09:55.360 --> 0:09:58.480 we are three years later, no robo taxis, and then 0:09:58.520 --> 0:10:00.319 at the same time, the cyber truck in the semi 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:04.800 or you know this, we're supposed to be in production already. Um. 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:06.920 I mean, I think you're right in thinking that there 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:09.640 should be grains of salt taken with some of this stuff. Uh. 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:11.680 You know, as a writer myself, I know I have 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:15.480 trouble with deadlines, so I can't but you still got 0:10:15.520 --> 0:10:18.640 this piece in last night. And yes, uh though with 0:10:18.679 --> 0:10:21.559 help for sure. And uh and Ellen is definitely someone 0:10:21.600 --> 0:10:23.000 who likes to go it alone, at least at the 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:25.200 top level of the company a lot of times. So yeah, 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:26.920 I mean, I think we should view any date that 0:10:26.960 --> 0:10:28.640 he sets, whether it's Tessla or any of the other 0:10:28.679 --> 0:10:33.280 companies that he runs with, with huge skepticism. Um it 0:10:33.320 --> 0:10:36.719 doesn't mean that they aren't working on these things, they 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:39.320 are just sort of, uh, you know, test this problem. 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:43.880 And Elon's problem really has always been never willing. He's 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:48.600 never really willing to fully accept or understand the challenges 0:10:48.640 --> 0:10:50.160 that he's sort of put in front of him because 0:10:50.200 --> 0:10:53.160 he's been able to accomplish him pretty wild things. But 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:55.200 I think he thinks at the outset of some of 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:57.680 these projects that he's going to be able to make 0:10:57.720 --> 0:11:00.800 those sort of breakthrough moves along the way that he 0:11:00.920 --> 0:11:04.160 typically stumbles his way into or designs his way into, 0:11:04.280 --> 0:11:06.280 and sometimes those are a little bit harder to come 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:08.040 by than I think he expects. You know, I think 0:11:08.040 --> 0:11:09.480 it was back I was just checking. I was doing 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:11.559 quick Google search. I think it was back in we 0:11:11.600 --> 0:11:17.800 used to keep track of um Lan's forecast deadline schedules 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:21.640 because it was constantly Sean so fluid um and that's 0:11:21.679 --> 0:11:23.280 just kind of who he is. But it's interesting how 0:11:23.320 --> 0:11:26.040 investors have kind of gotten used to it, because you know, 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:28.560 if we look at what he's done, he ultimately does 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:31.440 seem to deliver um. Can you just tell us about 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:33.360 the drones flying in the night sky? Did you get 0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:36.160 to see that? Yeah? That was pretty cool. I mean 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:38.360 they we've seen this a lot of tech companies and 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:40.880 stuff and started doing this and sporting events and everything. 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:44.040 But it was nice to see them sort of go 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:47.080 through sort of the design work and put in the 0:11:47.080 --> 0:11:49.840 thought to come up with really kind of clever or 0:11:49.840 --> 0:11:52.520 funny things to show in this drone show. We saw 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:55.360 like a portrait of Nicola Tesla. We saw the she 0:11:55.800 --> 0:11:59.040 you know that is sort of thematica coach coin. We 0:11:59.080 --> 0:12:02.640 even saw a little um uh, the meme that kind 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:04.520 of shows up at the end of the ordering process 0:12:04.520 --> 0:12:07.240 when you buy a Tesla, this little hedgehog that is 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:09.800 throwing up the little okay symbol. So it was you know, 0:12:09.840 --> 0:12:12.440 it's a very considerate as far as uh, you know, 0:12:12.720 --> 0:12:15.839 things within the realm of Tesla uh and people who 0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:19.400 follow the world closely U that surrounds this business. It 0:12:19.520 --> 0:12:22.679 was a very considerate thing for all those people to 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:25.160 see it was it was something else, the humanoid robot 0:12:25.200 --> 0:12:28.360 that didn't make it just quickly it was there. But 0:12:28.640 --> 0:12:31.960 it's still very much a just department store mannequin uh 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:33.800 prop up on a stage. It is. It is not 0:12:33.840 --> 0:12:37.160 something that is working. So we'll see that one might 0:12:37.200 --> 0:12:38.880 need a little bit more salt than some of the others. 0:12:38.960 --> 0:12:41.719 Looking forward to that timeline coming true. Sean Okaine, thank 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:44.240 you so much. Really fun Evie reporter or Bloomberg News. 0:12:44.800 --> 0:12:48.400 You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:52.679 Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. Well the 0:12:52.720 --> 0:12:55.640 new Wayshaw Bloomberg business Week. It is out. It's online 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:58.040 at business Week dot com, Bloomberg dot com, also on 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:00.959 the Bloomberg terminal, and it's on newstand. Joel Weber is 0:13:01.080 --> 0:13:03.439 editor at Bloomberg business Week. He joins the via the 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:05.720 Access line from Brooklyn. You can follow him on Twitter 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:08.680 at Joel Weber's Show. Joel, I got in my hands 0:13:08.880 --> 0:13:11.240 the current issue of Bloomberg Business Week magazine. I want 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:12.520 to start with the cover and then we're gonna get 0:13:12.559 --> 0:13:14.680 to the cover story, but one of my favorite parts 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:17.360 about Business Week each week is talking to you about 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:19.439 how the cover is made, or even just finding out 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:21.600 how the cover is made, flipping it open to the 0:13:21.640 --> 0:13:23.440 table of contents and reading that take us through how 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:26.560 this one came together. So this cover story is by 0:13:26.600 --> 0:13:30.920 Joshua Green, and it's about David McCormick, who, until earlier 0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:34.000 this year is actually CEO of Bridgewater, the world's largest 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:38.600 hedge fund UH. He is now a candidate for the 0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:44.200 gop UH Senate position, a seat in Pennsylvania, and that 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:48.640 primary is unfolding now. The election primary election is next 0:13:48.720 --> 0:13:52.360 month and he's in a heated race with Dr Rosz. 0:13:53.000 --> 0:13:57.200 So the story really focuses on McCormick um and and 0:13:57.280 --> 0:14:02.480 sort of his transformation from being U hedge fund finance 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:07.760 type into a Trump loving maga UH politician. And to 0:14:07.960 --> 0:14:10.600 do that, we really wanted to, you know, show show 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:13.319 what he was like the environments that he's now at 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:16.320 with these rallies. And we just had this amazing photo 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:18.280 that we got of him sort of cackling, and it 0:14:18.400 --> 0:14:21.480 was just the perfect image to go with a line 0:14:21.800 --> 0:14:24.560 um The dominant part of which is you know, full maga. 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:26.840 I said to Tim, this is a guy who is 0:14:27.080 --> 0:14:29.880 on a mission. If it looks like, you know, we'll 0:14:29.920 --> 0:14:32.280 kind of do whatever he needs to do or be 0:14:32.320 --> 0:14:36.880 whoever he needs to be to get to his ultimate goal. Yeah, 0:14:36.920 --> 0:14:39.400 and I think, you know, um John, it's not like 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:43.280 the Republican um side of his politics as a surprise. 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:46.280 I mean, he's long been um known to be Republican 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:49.280 and has prob you know, Josh, as Josh writes in 0:14:49.320 --> 0:14:52.960 the story, like potentially grand ambitions than just this the 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:57.000 Senate seat. But it has taken his Bridgewater colleagues a 0:14:57.000 --> 0:15:01.160 little bit by surprise just how um full maga he's gone. 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:03.920 And it also speaks, as Josh writes in the story, 0:15:04.360 --> 0:15:08.120 to what it takes to actually really uh be a 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:12.120 successful Republican at this stage. And for a while post Trump, 0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:14.520 there was maybe a theory that you would be able 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:18.040 to to see more centrist candidates, and it turns out 0:15:18.040 --> 0:15:21.920 that even somebody like McCormick, who who probably in a 0:15:22.000 --> 0:15:25.520 non Trump world would have been a centest, has to attack. 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:28.760 And now you know, there he and Dr Oz are 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:32.840 effectively trying to out trump one another, and all all 0:15:32.880 --> 0:15:37.440 to basically get Trump's blessing, and if either of them 0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:39.800 happens to get the blessing, it might be enough to 0:15:39.800 --> 0:15:41.360 put him over the top. Well, I do want to 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:43.920 give a shout out to not just Josh who who 0:15:43.920 --> 0:15:47.440 wrote the story, but also to our editor's roundtable discussion 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:51.160 that's part of our Bloomberg Business Week weekend show, which 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:54.040 drops tomorrow, because we do talk a lot about the 0:15:54.080 --> 0:15:55.760 story Joel, but one area that we didn't get to 0:15:55.840 --> 0:16:00.160 hit with Josh was China connections for David McCormick. And 0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:01.600 I thought this was a really interesting part of the 0:16:01.640 --> 0:16:05.040 piece because if we think about what the Trump administration, 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:07.680 the Trump Adminstration's tone towards China and where we are 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:11.720 when it comes to Republicans in China, Uh, what he 0:16:11.760 --> 0:16:15.600 did at Bridgewater, many would argue, uh, does not really 0:16:15.640 --> 0:16:18.800 jell with that. Yeah. And and there's a very memorable 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:22.240 scene with with Josh and Dr oz In in the 0:16:22.360 --> 0:16:25.560 in the bathroom actually where Josh got to interview Dr 0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:29.400 oz And and basically Dr oz at that moment said 0:16:29.400 --> 0:16:32.640 as much um to Josh and that he was surprised 0:16:32.680 --> 0:16:36.360 that more people haven't been frustrated with McCormick on that 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:39.560 on on the China score, because you're right, Bridgewater um 0:16:40.080 --> 0:16:43.680 famously has been very sympathetic to China, has court of 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:46.680 Chinese dollars, has made a ton of money there and 0:16:46.760 --> 0:16:49.920 you know a lot of that happened on McCormick's watch 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:54.160 as CEO. Uh so you know what what he can 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:56.560 Also he's also pushed back on that and said, you know, 0:16:56.600 --> 0:16:59.280 it's only a fraction of the business and um, you know, 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:02.160 was in direct something that that he oversaw. But you know, 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:05.720 the fact of the matter is if in the political 0:17:05.840 --> 0:17:09.160 world in which we look in now, everything looks like 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:11.959 it could be weaponized and that looks like something that 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:15.919 may continue to be used against them, um, either in 0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:18.000 this race and racist com All right, so that's the 0:17:18.040 --> 0:17:22.080 domestic cover story. We also, um had a chance to 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:25.119 catch up this week with you and Sarifire on the 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:29.640 international cover story, which has to do with the French elections. Yeah, 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:32.200 so we uh we You know that that McCormick story 0:17:32.240 --> 0:17:34.360 is interesting because that I forgot to mention that it's 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:38.439 the most expensive primary and Senate history, but it's all 0:17:38.480 --> 0:17:41.880 and it also just shows how this idea that that 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:45.240 I think transfixed the US the last election cycle, the 0:17:45.280 --> 0:17:49.600 last election cycles of you know, how misinformation can be 0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:53.080 weaponized and how rife it is on social media, and 0:17:53.160 --> 0:17:55.359 you know, we've spent a lot of time talking about 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:57.960 the social media companies and the platforms and what they're 0:17:57.960 --> 0:18:01.679 doing to fight misinformation. And it turns out that a 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:05.720 lot of these problems are still um are still festering. 0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:10.000 And France, which has an election on Sunday, happens to 0:18:10.040 --> 0:18:13.880 be a surprising case study in just how how wrong 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:17.520 it all still looks. The far right candidates there, Marine 0:18:17.600 --> 0:18:22.120 Lepine ericson Moore have managed to basically get UM uh 0:18:22.520 --> 0:18:26.520 Emmanuel McCrone to to have to have to veer more 0:18:26.600 --> 0:18:29.800 towards their lane. UH. The race which I think a 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:32.359 lot of people would probably thought McCrone would probably be 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:37.040 able to to walk away with looks really tight and even, 0:18:37.080 --> 0:18:39.440 and it will basically lead to a runoff. And even 0:18:39.440 --> 0:18:42.639 in that runoff, it looks like UM currently like some 0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:45.720 of the numbers suggest that Lapin could have the edge. 0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:49.200 And it all comes down to basically what what Sarah 0:18:49.200 --> 0:18:52.399 Fryar and company right in the story UM is that 0:18:52.520 --> 0:18:57.639 there's more tactics really brought racial grievances to the forefront 0:18:58.200 --> 0:19:01.439 country that's already obsessed with nash fialism has become just 0:19:01.720 --> 0:19:04.399 it's become a weapon there and a lot of the 0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:09.400 same echo chamber of misinformation. They there's a more campaign 0:19:09.440 --> 0:19:13.200 is used to great advantage. Well, let's go to another 0:19:13.240 --> 0:19:16.080 story featured in Bloomberg Business Week this week, this one 0:19:16.160 --> 0:19:19.879 by Mark German, and it's about Apple workers are pushing 0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:23.480 back on their return to office almost two years after 0:19:23.600 --> 0:19:26.560 they were first sent home. So Monday marks the day 0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:29.240 that Apple employees are set to return to the office. Um, 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:33.320 are they just willingly going to come back to the office. Oh? Man, 0:19:34.200 --> 0:19:37.000 it's a it's a story that I'm really interested in 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:39.760 because even um, you know, the world's moth valuable company 0:19:39.840 --> 0:19:43.720 on Apple UH is struggling to get its employees to 0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:47.840 come back to the office. And the German story opens 0:19:47.880 --> 0:19:51.520 with uh this reference to a promotional video titled Escape 0:19:51.600 --> 0:19:54.880 from the Office that Apple published recently, and it's basically 0:19:54.920 --> 0:20:00.159 about how a group of of heroes in this US 0:20:00.200 --> 0:20:04.240 ad working for this fictitious company basically get Apple devices 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:07.760 and can start their own company. And boy, the irony 0:20:07.800 --> 0:20:09.680 there is just that if I can use a bunch 0:20:09.720 --> 0:20:12.000 of Apple devices to start my own company, Like why 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:14.640 why do I have to work from an office for Apple? Uh? 0:20:14.640 --> 0:20:17.640 And that is exactly what Apple is wrestling with. It's 0:20:17.680 --> 0:20:20.480 not alone, a lot of corporate America is wrestling with 0:20:20.560 --> 0:20:24.119 this same thing. Uh. And you know they're having to 0:20:24.119 --> 0:20:28.200 come up with some accommodative policies because maybe exacts need 0:20:28.240 --> 0:20:30.720 to be in the office, but others, um, not not 0:20:30.800 --> 0:20:34.160 so much. So all of that UH leads to sort 0:20:34.160 --> 0:20:37.120 of like you know, even even the most fabulous, wealthy 0:20:37.160 --> 0:20:40.080 companies in the world are are wrestling with uh. You 0:20:40.119 --> 0:20:42.719 know how how ranks want to deal with rto talk 0:20:42.760 --> 0:20:46.879 about tensions man, um, great issue and so fun to 0:20:47.080 --> 0:20:49.880 check in with you. Uh. The editor of Bloomberg Business Week, 0:20:49.960 --> 0:20:53.480 Jill Weber, on the phone from Brooklyn, And of course 0:20:53.880 --> 0:20:55.679 check out our weekend show. You can hear it on 0:20:55.760 --> 0:20:59.080 radio Bloomberg Radio at eight am Saturday. You can also 0:20:59.119 --> 0:21:01.600 catch it on our podcast Speed and check out also 0:21:01.680 --> 0:21:04.280 that editor's roundtable that we do with Joel and we 0:21:04.359 --> 0:21:11.520