Key Takeaways
- Waymo (GOOGL) is reportedly exploring a split from Uber (UBER) as the two companies clash over robotaxi regulations and market dominance, sending Uber shares down 4.3%.
- The Nasdaq 100 (NDAQ) fell 1.3% to a fresh session low, extending a sharp tech sell-off driven by disappointing earnings from Tesla (TSLA) and Alphabet.
- Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) signed a $15 billion MOU with the U.S. Export-Import Bank to finance strategic procurement of U.S. goods and services.
- Elon Musk announced an accelerated release schedule for xAI's flagship models, with Grok 4.6 due in two weeks and Grok 4.7 in four weeks.
Waymo and Uber Face Strategic Divorce
Alphabet's autonomous driving unit, Waymo (GOOGL), is considering ending its partnership with Uber (UBER) as tensions over the future of the robotaxi industry reach a breaking point. According to reports from the Financial Times, Waymo has already notified Uber of its intent to operate independently in Austin and Atlanta starting in January 2028.
The relationship has soured as both companies engage in aggressive lobbying battles, with Uber favoring "hybrid" networks that mandate human drivers and Waymo pushing for fully autonomous commercial freedom. This potential split is a significant blow to Uber, which has invested over $10 billion in autonomous vehicle (AV) agreements to compensate for selling its own AV division in 2020.
Nasdaq 100 Extends Losses Amid Tech Rout
The Nasdaq 100 (NDAQ) dropped 1.3% on Friday, hitting a fresh low as investors continued to dump high-growth technology stocks. The decline follows a brutal session for Tesla (TSLA), which plunged nearly 15% after a major earnings miss, and Alphabet (GOOGL), which fell 7% despite strong results due to concerns over ballooning capital expenditures.
Market sentiment has turned increasingly selective, with investors showing little tolerance for heavy AI infrastructure spending that lacks a clear, immediate path to profitability. The broader S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average also faced pressure, though small-cap stocks showed relative resilience compared to their megacap peers.
Saudi PIF Secures $15 Billion U.S. Credit Line
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) worth up to $15 billion. This agreement establishes a long-term financing framework for PIF portfolio companies to purchase U.S.-origin goods and services across sectors like advanced technology, aerospace, and future mobility.
The deal reinforces the U.S. as PIF’s top international market, with the fund having already procured $65 billion in U.S. goods since 2017. This massive credit facility is part of Saudi Arabia's broader strategy to diversify its economy away from oil and accelerate industrial innovation through global commercial partnerships.
Musk Accelerates xAI Model Roadmap
Elon Musk confirmed on Friday that xAI is moving to a monthly release cadence for its Grok artificial intelligence models. Grok 4.6, which features a 2-trillion-parameter architecture trained on Nvidia (NVDA) GB300 hardware, is scheduled for release in just two weeks, followed by Grok 4.7 two weeks later.
The upcoming models will reportedly integrate proprietary engineering data from SpaceX and real-world driving data from Tesla (TSLA). Musk claims these updates will significantly improve Grok's reasoning and engineering capabilities, positioning it to challenge frontier models from Anthropic and OpenAI.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.