Phew, It's a Girl
Friday, June 6th, 2025
World Events — Cooling Tension Between Musk and Trump
Bloomberg
Elon Musk signaled a willingness to deescalate his public feud with President Donald Trump after a day of intense exchanges that saw Musk call for Trump’s impeachment, accuse him of withholding Epstein-related files, and threaten to end the use of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, only to later reverse course and acknowledge the need for a cooling-off period. The dispute erupted over the GOP’s proposed tax legislation, which would slash electric vehicle credits benefiting Tesla, prompting Musk to criticize Trump’s fiscal policies and suggest the president owed his election victory to Musk’s support. Trump retaliated by threatening to terminate federal contracts and subsidies for Musk’s companies, which have received $22.5 billion in government contracts since 2000 and play a crucial role in US space and defense operations. The public spat forced Republican lawmakers into an awkward position, given Musk’s rising influence as a party donor and Trump’s dominance over the GOP, while also drawing in figures like Bill Ackman and Steve Bannon, the latter calling for Musk’s deportation. Despite the acrimony, Musk’s eventual openness to reconciliation suggests both men recognize the high stakes of their fractured alliance, which has significant implications for politics, business, and US government operations.
Tech — Huawei Pura X foldable Phone With HarmonyOS
Bloomberg
The Huawei Pura X stands out as a bold entrant in the foldable phone market, featuring a unique “wide foldable” design with a 6.3-inch 16:10 LTPO OLED display that folds into a compact square with a 3.5-inch external screen, offering a tablet-like experience for media consumption and multitasking. Powered by Huawei’s upgraded Kirin 9020 processor and running HarmonyOS 5, the Pura X is the company’s first flagship to fully break from Android, debuting a maturing ecosystem with over 20,000 compatible apps and advanced AI features like eye-tracking page turns and AI-driven camera enhancements. The hardware impresses with up to 16GB RAM, 1TB storage, a robust 4,720mAh battery supporting 66W wired and 40W wireless charging, and a triple rear camera array (50MP main, 40MP ultra-wide, 8MP telephoto) with a fourth lens for color temperature, delivering natural photos and standout low-light performance. Durability is ensured by a titanium alloy frame, UTG glass, and IPX8 water resistance, though the device is relatively thick and heavy for a foldable. While the HarmonyOS ecosystem is rapidly improving, some global apps and features remain absent, and the phone is only available in China due to ongoing U.S. sanctions, limiting its international appeal. Priced from 7,499 yuan (about $1,037), the Pura X is a testament to Huawei’s innovation and ambition to challenge the iOS-Android duopoly, but its incomplete software ecosystem means early adopters must be patient as the platform matures.
Business — Why It’s So Hard to Make a Reliable Self-Driving Car
Bloombrg
Despite years of hype and billions in investment, fully autonomous vehicles remain elusive, with the industry facing persistent technical, regulatory, and ethical challenges. Companies like Waymo have made the most progress, operating robotaxi services in several U.S. cities, while Tesla plans a limited robotaxi launch in Austin using remote supervision, far short of its earlier promises of mass deployment. China’s WeRide and Baidu are expanding globally, but most efforts are still confined to specific, geo-fenced areas. Many automakers, including Ford and GM, have scaled back or abandoned ambitious self-driving projects after high-profile setbacks and accidents, shifting focus to advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) like automated emergency braking and lane-keeping, which are now proliferating in both luxury and budget vehicles. The most advanced systems, such as Mercedes’ Level 3 Drive Pilot, are only certified for select roads and require human oversight, while true Level 5 autonomy—cars that can drive anywhere, in any condition without human input—remains out of reach and is not expected before 20351. Meanwhile, regulators are mandating more safety features, but fatal crashes involving ADAS continue to draw scrutiny, highlighting both the promise and the pitfalls of partial automation as the industry inches forward.
Culture — The Decline of the Preference for Having Boys
The Economists
A quiet but remarkable shift is underway: the longstanding global preference for sons, which once fueled the mass abortion of millions of girls, is rapidly fading, with the number of “missing” girls at birth dropping from 1.6 million in 2000 to just 200,000 this year. Once-distorted sex ratios in countries like China, India, and South Korea are returning to near-normal, reflecting a decline in the patriarchal traditions that valued sons over daughters and a lessening of the social harms caused by surplus men, such as increased violence and instability. Intriguingly, a mild preference for daughters is now emerging in some societies, seen in adoption choices, IVF requests, and fertility patterns, partly driven by concerns over boys’ academic struggles and social prospects. While this new trend is far less extreme and does not yet threaten to create a surplus of girls, it raises fresh questions about the future, especially as technology makes sex selection ever easier. The world should celebrate the end of “gendercide,” but remain alert to the complex social consequences that may arise as family preferences continue to evolve.
The Daily Spark
With mortgage rates close to 7% and home prices at all-time highs, the share of first-time home buyers as a share of all houses sold has declined from 50% in 2010 to only 24% today, see the first chart below.
With fewer new households able to enter the housing market, affordability is putting upward pressure on rents, which is a problem for the Fed, see the second chart.
Song Recommendation — Hard Time Lover (Gryffin)
Quote of the Day
“For there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it." - Amanda Gorman