Transcript
Wow, sinked up live. From a bottomless pit of CEO pay, that's an easy one. That's an easy joke, that is a bottomless bit, it's a business pants Friday, show here at March. 21st Studios. Is this spring? I mean it's spring, I don't even know technically spring doesn't take like featuring analyst whole mattress card. He's the one everyone's here for Matt mascardi. That's no they're not mascardi. LinkedIn champion on today's weekly wrap up. Nate Nelson. Peltz hates woke. Ice cream. I didn't even know. There was woke guys. So hating cyber trucks and anti-esg man babies. I feel, you know what, that all the time I do feel like, man, baby is the new theme of our new world order, really? I need a mascot, a man, baby mascot. Our show. Oh, maybe this. Maybe this platform can be the mask. Our show today is being sponsored by free flow analytics.com. The only platform measuring Ford power connections and performance for free, and most exciting. Is that if whoever is was works the code over at free flow. Analytics.com is finally woken up and they've gotten rid of that, horrible Kash Patel photo FBI. Yeah. And now here's the, here's the, main the headline piece now, I don't know. I don't know why it's this. I don't know how it chooses the headline but the article is called is planting trees. Dei Trump Administration Cuts Nationwide, tree planting effort, I like that. But this is that blue. If you're into this kind of stuff, there's a slew of linked articles like that on the free flow analytics.com. Look what platform you can't go to. Like, you know, like, I don't know, everybody at free full analytics. I only know a couple of the people there but like you can't go to like the ISS website or the, you know, and get like curated important. Probably mildly sarcastic news. Like, he can't do that, like the car. I mean, it's very real. Can you get performance data on individual directors, nor can you get an analyst team that will respond basically 24/7? Because they're desperate have no friends because they want to eat. That's correct. Well done. All right. This year the week? Come on. Yes. Story of the week story. In no particular order and I'll start with the story we already covered on a show earlier this week. The headline is basically Jamie dimon unloads on proxy advisor ISS. I don't like the word unloads, it feels weird. So Jay Jamie saying that both glass Lewis, I don't know why they highlight ISS there or not. Not the duopoly glass Lewis and ISS should be quote gone and dead and done with that's what he said. He actually said that gone and dead and done with Jamie. Is it not enough that they're just gone. You want them dead too? Like I don't get that diamond think about free flow analytics do you think? Oh please first of all he wouldn't think about should actually a lot of fascinating data and then the second thing he said is that anyone who gives them money shame on you. It's like, it's like it's basically like donating to your local Clan like your local Clan member shame on you ambulatory. I don't know what he's saying. No, it's a little but he is, he's He stepped into the modern day, vernacular, which is just a spew bulshit and just like, have a tirade and just say stuff, just say crazy stuff. I love getting forced into a corner where like, for the last three years, we've had to defend BlackRock because the the ESG woke charges against them are so ridiculous. Now, we have to defend ISS from Jamie. Diana says, I'm not gonna defend them, I don't care. I don't want them gone and dead and done with. I would like a bunch of their clients to move over to free flow analytics.com, but they don't need to be dead for me to feel, but anyone who gives him money shame on you. Like, what does that goal of giving ISS? Money is to actually exercise your fiduciary duty. I don't know what that means. Vote, your shares and understand governance structures, but this is the door mat part. This is the Dork who came out a few months ago and it was like, joking around that. He never he doesn't have a boss. I haven't had a boss in 20, he's a goofball. I'm just saying. Like shame on you for trying to do your fiduciary duty. It would be better if you didn't all. So I have no boss. Is not really, like, I don't know what governance expert is sitting around. Being like I agree with Jamie dimon now like you sound like a blow hard? Shut up. All right, that's the first story. Second Story. Second Story is a bit of a mouthful, so I don't really know, no pun intended. I don't really even know how to start with this one so Unilever. You know, lever has This. Here's the quote. I'll start the headline. You know, lever hit new levels of oppressiveness Ben & Jerry's claims as its CEO was sacked over social activism, that's a terrible headline. Too much too verbose, that headlines too much going on there. So in a nutshell Ben and Jerry's has accused Unilever of firing the Ben & Jerry's CEO, David stiver. Over his support of the brand Progressive politics. Now, here's where so that they they're suing Unilever. They filed something in district. Court on Tuesday, here's where it gets interesting because only because we were just really haven't covered a case like this so Ben and Jerry's a subsidiary of Unilever. Yeah, but it has an interesting structure, it has an interesting governance structure. So Ben and Jerry's has its own independent board of directors. Oh, and it has an independent board, specifically tasked with preserving the company's social Mission. And and there's probably not a more famous Brands Mission and Ben & Jerry's. I mean, everyone knows that they're a bunch of lefties and a bunch of Happiness weed. Smokers when you know, lever acquire them, the year 2000 and they had merger agreement protections. The 2000 acquisition agreement required consultation with the board. The Ben and Jerry's board, right? For for key leadership decisions, including hiring or firing the CEO and all the board exists has a specific Mission. It exists to prevent the dilution of the company's activist identity. So again, so that's the, that's the backdrop. What's interesting that I pointed out that far into the show? Is that one of the members of the Unilever board is anti-walk machine himself. Nelson, Peltz member, who got angry that the cast of Black Panther was too black. Remember the Disney movie Black? Panther, I remember that. Yeah, all so I do want to point out this fun little side note. I don't know. This is a giant troll on the rest of corporate America. Maybe this is a giant troll on all of the anti-diagonal. Yes, the CEOs on the board is a white man. David stiver, he's the guy always not there anymore. He just got fired but hey he yeah, he was on the board and this is a company in Vermont and I don't have, I don't have to tell most people United States that the Vermont is one of the white is states in the union. Maybe that is correct. That's correct. That's all black person once listened to the board of Ben and Jerry's so it used to be the CEO of white guy, but then there are four women of color. What one of whom is a, is the chair. That's it. No. Why actually, no white women, just four women of color and then two black men. That's the best. Wow, I love that. I think trolling. Are they trolling like Elon Musk? But the trolling like, that's incredible. I think it's been that way for a long time. I know. But I'm just saying like, wow they managed to find experts. How did they do it incredible? This, this feels like I don't do. I don't know how to care about this. I don't know how to here's the other reason why I included this is that so weird is that I was performing my civic duty this week, my my my my jury duty that's all I'll say. And in most of the people there, know what I do and and what we do and they know about our podcast and and that's our whole listening audience, I know, right? But I did have a woman come right to me and and this is what she wanted to talk about. She was very jazzed up about the situation, she wanted to know our perspective and so this is one of the reasons why I included it. And then when I looked into the governing, the governor's details of it, I don't remember seeing a subsidiary with this type of Border Arrangement and it reminded me a lot of the open AI situation, right? So it's one reverse, right? Yeah. It's like a for-profit company. That owns, effectively a social Mission driven semi non-profit. Right. And the difference between the board is not being allowed to do its job here. Whereas it open, I Board was doing its mandate its job and it was they got fired. Yes, I don't know. I just thought I'd throw this out there. I just found the whole thing. Pretty fascinating. Look that the I think it's highly Unilever. I think it's highly unlikely. So what Ben and Jerry's has to would have to prove and I'm no legal scholar, obviously. Well, you might be you listen to and Lipton show shareholder Primacy. That's true. I don't know if you scholarly as a result. Yes. But it would Ben and Jerry's would have sensibly have to prove is that the CEO was fired for his activism and that contributes the merger agreement from 2000. What Unilever would have to show? Is that none of that guy? Just underperformed well alright, welcome to 2025 where we're still waiting to find out why the Kroger CEO was fired because that's right after 50,000 years of service at Kroger, he's a, he's fired and shareholders. Still don't know why to customers other than personal. Conduct whatever that means. And now you don't leave her has David. They have not publicly disclosed a reason for the firing of the Ben & Jerry's, CEO. We don't actually know why they won't tell us what I find fascinating about. The story actually, is nothing to do with the CEO. It's like, because like this, this feels like the traditional problem of how money Trump's mission. Right? Like you like it's that's what chat GPT did, like Capital just crushed labor and Mission and Humanity, right? Like the capital doesn't care about humans. But what I like about this or what's interesting about this is no one's talking about the fact that like no one's shooting Ben and Jerry's cartons of ice cream and whether they love it because they love the ice cream, that's the thing like yeah. This is like the wokest company that you could arguably think of? Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. And it's also one of the most beloved America. Yeah. Really. I across the world. I've seen Ben and Jerry's out of America too. Here's the other thing, Matt is that the founders Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry have already gone to Unilever saying we want to buy our company back and you know, leave of course said no but Should be an escape hatch. Shouldn't there be like, like just sell it back? It's, come on then, and take a beloved brand. Yeah, I mean, what, what are we gonna? We're gonna get rid of the Department of Education and we're gonna get rid of Ben & Jerry's. This is what you're gonna do to us. Oh, and I believe Nelson, pelts for all of this because Nelson pellets not only sits on the board of you know, everybody else, a big Trump supporter. So he's to blame for everything. I don't like what it How long will it be before the secret recording of Nelson pellets at a Unilever board? Meeting comes out where he says, why do we need all the black people on the Ben and Jerry's board? Like when is that secret recording coming out? That's the second story of the week whether you like it or not. The third one. I think you're all gonna is gonna raise an eyebrow too. But I just wanted to include this because I want to honor this this story. And I, this is a story that bothered me in the past and so I, I don't know. I just felt like it was important. A lot of headlines on this. This is a lawsuit that was filed this week. This is from The Wall Street Journal, Boeing sued for wrongful, death by family of whistleblower. Now, I just want to remind people of this strange story, this was a guy who was a quality, man, his name is John, John, Barnett, and he's worth honoring. This guy was a quality manager at Boeing for almost three decades, and he was one of the quote unquote whistleblower's, who was testify. Being in the OSHA case against Boeing. And on day two of his testimony at that night, he went into his truck and he killed himself and yeah. And that was and he had another day of testimony coming up and it and Boeing sort of brushed the story under the rug, the the business dues brush, the story under the rug. I'm I I hope the family finds get somewhere, I don't know, I just wanted to honor this, I don't know if you think it rises to a story of the week situation, but this is just one of those instances where I'm amazed, what the business news is willing to, like, not talk about because it's just a creepy story. It's just it's it's I mean, this guy was a suddenly putting his life, his career on the line to, to really just save people's lives, maybe just to write so that we don't have firmer whistleblower Protections in place is Sister. And now of course with the new Administration, I don't even know that the OSHA's gonna exist. Yeah, so strike me. That's one of them right there is like, like, there's not gonna be testimony in front of Osha any more, and there's no whistleblower protections that are likely to, like, stick around. Like the last thing. Elon Musk wants is a whistleblower at Tesla. So right, can't imagine. That's going to be a thing, right? And frankly, actually, like, tangentially musk has been pushing the FAA of the transportation department, to Stop reporting on their crashes that yeah. Use Auto Pilots. They don't want that anymore. It's an important point because we're gonna cover the latest Tesla recalls soon, but those recalls do come from the government. They come from safety. Safety. Oversight organizations. So it's not like now no staff. It's not like Tesla itself is looking. After its stakeholders saying, oh shit, our car, our cars are falling apart. We should actually get them back and fix them, they're actually not doing that. But in this case it actually feels very thorough notes to me. It feels like like like like there were you know in the book The there's like long accounts about how theranos would Badger any potential whistleblower with lawsuits and like some like some of the the worst, you know, lawyers or most aggressive lawyers in the country, the board would be intimidating them. Like there's a lot of intimidation but there is something you can do here. Okay? What's That. You can vote those fuckers out half of the board is still here right? Like the guy you don't like Dave Calhoun managed to parachute out with millions of dollars of a golden parachute that investors a lot of them to have but their board members still on this board. Who would be the ones harassing The Whistleblower? Yeah. Like shockingly Matt. According to our data are the data on freeflow analytics.com, only two of and this is a pretty big board. It looks like 130 have been appointed since 2024, so there's a lot of older directors on that board and one has like, actually just left Sabrina sousan just left, the board, you have to wonder and this is pure conspiracy theory, but you have to wonder Someone who's an engineer and aerospace engineer. Who's had to work her entire life to get recognition for like the, the job that she's done like the the way she's been successful. You wonder if she joins a board like this that has been traditionally very Clubby according to the data that's just the data saying that these are people who know each other, it's very Clubby, they actually lack core knowledge and Aerospace and Engineering. Like that's not a thing on this board. You have to wonder if that person enters this board and something like this comes up, and they're sickened by it and because there's no explanation given for the fact that she left the board after just two years. Yeah. Like it was she just left the board. I wonder if like when I read a story like this, we bury a story like Sabrina Susan leaves. The Boeing board you have to wonder. These are like little tiny crumbs of like the culture problem at Boeing may not have shifted at all. And the fact that they're cozying up with musk, you know, partnering with them on their, on like their starliners and they're cozying up with Trump like aren't those all sort of little clues that they don't want you to look at them anymore, like stop looking at us. We're we're not fixing stuff. We can't fix stuff. We don't know how to fix stuff some things going on. I will say that is one of the hardest things about having a smaller startup company. Without these, you know, we're playing and Fields with like some of our competitors that other like media companies have huge staffs, huge researchers, even just for their podcasts, let alone for the for the articles that they're tagging and putting out their. But it is stories. Like this that I wish we could, I wish we had more tentacles to cover these stories more regularly, because they do. Because if, if we don't highlight them, we they do kind of get swept under the rug. And I do want to point out a You kind of references that the lawsuit does allege. And I'm just saying this because it does speak to what you can do, which is you can vote directors out the lawsuit. Alleges a quote campaign of harassment abuse and intimidation intended to discourage discredit and humiliate him until he would either give up or be discredited and they're talking about the company. They're talking about Boeing. Yeah. So right, correct. They are talking about the company. All right. That's like any of these stories know. Well, you're not gonna like this last one and I know you have some of these stories in the assholes the week. So, and we're struggling this year, Matt. We don't, we don't know how to cover Tesla and Elon Musk because we know we should we don't want to. He's, he's never really, the story or the week, or the asshole of the week because he's like now, he's like omniscient asshole. Yeah. Like he's the god about every single week. It's be boring. Like, but all so yeah. The company not a company, like, can we stop referring it to? It really? Is it it's like it's a piggy bank, it's a booty. It's a boutique car company, which shity cars that acts as a piggy bank for its leader, right? I just think of it as the, the piggy bank, right? Because all he does is, you know, to buy Twitter. He didn't sell Tesla shares to buy Twitter, he used Tesla shares that's collateral. So, he wouldn't have to pay tax on the sale of the Tesla shares and then borrowed all the money against that collateral. So there are a bunch of banks now and individual. Who may think Elon Musk should not be doing any of the things that he's doing like Sig hiling at Trump? You know, you know, on the White House, lawn whatever he's doing. Tesla's in the shiter, the stock is down. But what is the likelihood that they call them up and call the loan, right? Like what? Like they say like we want that collateral, give us the collateral just like it's just not gonna happen because there's too much risk now to them. So they all got in bed with the richest man in the world who turned out to be, you know, a Nazi and and fairly horrible person a Neo he basically still holds the shares and he's still his piggy bank, it's just piggy bank and he's still demanding more money. He still was another 50 billion to support Matt's point. There is a great article. In Fortune this week, the headline being the the true genius of Elon Musk is his Subsidy harvesting strategy into a political science professor, at USC, good results, it's not according to that. We've been talking about that. Well, generally, five years while we say, this guys noticed fucking genius, stop talking about him like a genius. I like Fortune because I I guarantee you mad, there's a lot of listeners at 4, in fact, some of the fortune writers follow us on. I think that I think Fortune like our shows and listens to our shows but but let go ahead. I mean, I want this stuff to be printed. Here's the reason why I included Elon Musk is we can store the week. Is it whenever there's a shift kind of in our universe? Like I kind of add it. So the the headline I focused on was long time, Tesla investor demands Elon Musk resign as CEO. So we're so we're getting a little bit closer to some of the investors waking up I guess. Like but there is a but there's a bunch of other silly headlines this week to, I don't know how many of these Overlap with yours. But I'm gonna just I'll just quickly say the headlines and we can go more into depth and as holy as if you want, but some of the fun headlines this week, Elon Musk says he has no idea what he did to make everybody so mad at him. I love that. One of the quotes semester that I've never done anything harmful. Yeah. That's actual. Quote, Tesla just recalled basically all the Cyber trucks sold in America. This is from the financial times, a huge amount of money is missing from Tesla 1.4. Again, this is not from some rag like free flow, analytics.com. This is a financial times reporting that one port point four billion dollars seems to have vanished and thin air. I just contact sake. The reporter that reported that in the Ft the incredibly Lefty woke. Nobody said ever. Yeah, the reporter that reported that is the same reporter who uncovered the accounting fraud at wire of cars, okay. Like the same exact person, another big Scandal. Yeah, yeah. Uncovered a massive scale, right? The company. Great, documentary on Netflix about wirecard. Also, how about this one? This is like back to the to the Amazon drivers peeing in bottles. This reminds me of this story I never thought would be so lucky to be Grace by this type of story. Again Tesla workers in Germany. Say they don't Have time to use the bathroom. Oh finally yeah I'm not kidding. Desperate for some bathroom stories and then a few other good ones. This one nobody wants to hear musk. This is from again, these are from reputable, this is a right wing newspaper. This is reputable Source. Here musk set to receive top secret briefing on us War plans for China. Yeah, you know, they are called it off because they're reporting on it and then, oh good. So, you know another reason. Why sucks another why reason why we need journalism more than ever. And finally, this gem this gem. How about these two headlines is a gem. First Tesla board members executive sell-off over 100 million dollars of shares in just, in the recent few weeks. Yeah, yeah. That's not let alone like the close to a billion. They've sold in the last year and then this other headline that comes out for that Elon Musk tells Tesla workers, don't sell your share. I mean, I don't I can't imagine that he actually trumped his ass. Holy but there you hears. The amazing part. This is the gamesmanship that happens when you're talking about pay and boards and because nobody cares about boards. This is what actually happens is a board gets traditionally, they get a one year best on their options that they're giving because you never know if they're going to get voted out. And just because Tesla's board has a three-year like are it's a classified board is three year term. Just not necessarily mean they don't get the one year. Best Buy like process they actually say Like they set a schedule of when they're going to sell shares. Now, you can sell shares before or after that, but it's outside of the processing. You have to disclose things but often what they'll do is suddenly change the schedule like there's no rules, they can set a schedule. Three years ago that says on every October 15th this so-and-so will sell their shares or or cash out their options or whatever. And then like on September 12th, they'll say, oh well this year the process is going to move to September 15th when the share price is really high or when they want to cash out their shares, we're just gonna change the schedule. And there's not actually rules about when they can or can't change that schedule. It's all under sort of this guise of being like, well, I'm not really involved like, you know, like it's automated. I'm not benefiting off this process, I don't know. What's my account? Like every, but like, like we all have that exact same problem. I don't know. Money, just appeared in my account today. I don't know. I love that. And just to point out a few of the instances of this James Murdoch. Yeah. Board member Elon Musk friend James Murdoch. He's on the board of Tesla. You know that what he just sold 13 million dollars of shares like he needs the money. Did you know that Elon musk's brother is on the board? Kim know. He just sold 27 million dollars. This is the last few weeks, Matt 27 million dollars of shares and then the independent board chair. Who I love the ABC News calls, the chairman, her name is Robyn denholm. She sold another 75 million dollars in the last few weeks. Oh, which gets her to over 500 million 600 million for the last year or so. So, this is just ugly, it's just ugly. But anyways on too long. Those are my four stories of the week. I I feel like no one story of the week is hard to say. Jamie dimon says, is a story of the week. It's like, you know, you want to do Ben and Jerry's. Come on. Well, Ben and Jerry's feels like pandering to the one. Well, I let you talk. I live in New England. I like their ice cream in one of the owners went to one of my the colleges I went to. So I'm just I am pandering. I actually this week I'm gonna do something that I hate to do, but how to be done. Yeah, I'm going to choose the the turn on must. Okay. So you see as a turn I think meaningful turn. I think actually the combination this investor is Ross Gerber. He's he is talking about musk for years is a long time. He owns like some stake in it, but he constantly is in the media about being tested. Why him? I'm not like, I don't know that that he matters nearly as much. I actually think, though the combination of the price being down as far as it is, and the Cyber truck recall. And suddenly questions, if musk is out in the world saying, quote, I don't understand what did he say? I've never done anything. Harmful testing is a peaceful company, right? Like if my company is make great products which is, you know, that's debatable. But my company is make great products that people love all the debate of all. And I've never physically hurt anyone. That's one of his congratulations. I don't believe that either. By the way in the same, Week that basically he had to drive Tesla to the lawn of the White House in order to sell some because no one wants them. There are 50 headlines a day about Tesla's being set on fire Tesla, charging stations being set on fire vandalism. They announced anyone who vandalizes a Tesla is a domestic terrorist, which honestly is really hurtful to actual terrorists. Like like are we suggesting that like a real terrorists who like like a 9/11 terrorist is now, equated to people. Yeah. Why SWAT. The population are literally afraid of. They're afraid of commuting to their jobs because they're afraid of the Mayhem that terrorists because people. Yeah, like I don't so like I think there's a real turn in the investor the I think people were willing to put up with a lot. Let me just a real turn. Let me add to Ross Gerber because mostly because I want to kiss these people's asses because I'm hoping they'll they'll fly me out there for I don't know why because I went in one of my favorite cities, Edinburgh, I love Edinburgh. But Bailey Gifford all in the headlines, Bailey Gifford. Slashes Tesla steak they saying it's a record low stake in Tesla, so it's not just Ross Gerber and yes, flat, Bailey different fly me out there. I'd like to well, their their European. So do they count like Scotland little Europe? I don't even know what's called, I don't even know, so that's what I'm choosing. All right, let's do. What do we on? We're that was like the longest story. I don't see much copy here. Julius is fast. All right. I've got one, you've got two, once you go and then I'll go. I'm starting with an old fashioned one. Why does all? Why does the only good companies like it's either yogurt or ice cream Chobani CEO? They're not they're giving all workers at least 12 weeks of Parental leave. Here's why. Here's why I picked this one? Is because I think we should force. Dad's to leave. Yes. In fact, why don't we start giving daddy? Why don't we? Give dad's longer leave. Take leave, take leave. Yeah, why don't we force dads? Actually, take the even longer lead them, to the moms and see how it affects their career. Like when they're gone for like eight months or something, like let's, let's get them out. Let's get them a home. A little bit longer. I took leave with all three of my children. Yeah. And I am the primary caregiver in our house. Yeah, and I can tell you that every guy who says you're better at this than I am, you can you just do it? They're fucking lying. There is no trees. Just, it's called effort. It's called doing it. Yeah, it's not cold. Like there's no innate ability. That like no, don't give birth and have an innate Island. Yeah. Like but I'm just saying like the character is just not innate. It's captain and its effort. Yeah. Um all right. I'll go in the middle and then you go last. Here's that line I pulled because I just love it. Tesla cybertruck deliveries are on hold as trims are flying off. The bulletproof truck and I love it because the it's not deliveries are on hold. They're also headlines that 46,000 cyber trucks are being recalled which is all of them. All the Cyber trucks are being recalled. Can you imagine if Mary Berra? Put out a car, a year and a half ago and every one of the cars they sold had to get recalled. If Mary Barron would have a job, what would investors do to marry Barra? She'd be lumped into the Elizabeth home's. A Marissa Meyer? Yeah they'd be like mocking her and yeah like if the Ford family put out a car and the car was every one of the cars that they sold of that new car in a year and a half was recalled because shit fell off the With like their stock would trade down 30%. Like they'd be wondering about lawsuits and all but Elon Musk does it and oh like it's just par for the course two things two things. I feel like your headline under sells it a bit. I like this. Other headline that says owners, complain of metal sides. Falling off the side of the car, mask, the side of the car. So good. This am I alone here? Did it make you? It made me sad that there are there are 46,000 of these attractions in our country because I've only seen like two of them, but that didn't Florida. Where are they? Oh, that's like, do that like like on the on a Time basis, right? Like even selling them for like a too many two months is enough 461. Not that many. Yeah and in my ongoing requests to find some Kind of bipartisanship. I always like to try to find something from the Trump Administration that I can agree with last I think last time was about like like selling cheap Goods or something. I don't remember what it was like. Oh yeah. It was cheap. This week I'm gonna I'm gonna agree with JD Vance. I don't know the Fuller context of this conversation. I bet you if I saw the Fuller context, I would say that he's an absolute monster in a hole, but the headline, I agree with Matt, JD Vance, rips globalization calling cheap labor, a drug. I like that line, although it has no effect on how labor is treated in Red State here in America, where but illegalized child labor in some of them in the last year. So and where they where they spend basically all day busting unions and preventing workers from trying to unionize in the first place. But that's a whole nother but it's a cheap labor that I agree with you. Wow, that's very good. Let's do asshole. Is that that's always the winner. If well honestly if the side falls off of anything except for an airplane, it's kind of funny, right? Like isn't it a motorcycle at the side of your car is falling off. What is it? I've got four asshole. Yes, okay, four. Oh we'll move quickly because most of it is just headlines. First one is, when a diaper babies, which will be every single week, which version of diaper baby. Yeah. So there's a couple of versions here because here's where our CEO Tesla warns White House over tariffs in unsigned letter. It's a polite way to say that. The bipolar tariff regime is screwing over Tesla. That's the headline. I like, I like some of the two things, I like the bipolar tariff regime and I also unsigned letter was it not signed because the CEO is at the White House. Like the weirdest sign the letter, what they've independent board chairman like literally involved in the bipolar tarot unsigned letter. Yeah, who's who wrote the Are who's complaining? Like, like, it's not musk. The whole thing is, is funny. Well, I hear in Germany, they have more time to write letters because they're not getting bathroom breaks, so yeah, maybe that's right. Yeah. So is that that staff? Where China open AI slams, deep sea warning, the US government that China is catching up fast. There was a wonderful. I think it's from wired. You shared a link. A professor from NYU for me. I forget her name. She did a you can an FAQ a YouTube video. Yes about the coming about fascism about fashion autocracy authoritarianism. Yeah, she yeah Ruth been it mentioned next week because it's a great. She's a great. She's a great speaker but one of the things she mentioned there really is. This is it's about how they one of the signs of fascism is basically blaming other entities and scaring you that if you don't let me have full power. If you don't let me be the dictator here then the the enemies are coming and they're going to win. Let me tell you where. That happens very, very much. Of us companies attracted, free flow, media's database. Now, free flow, our free flow analytics. Database free flow analytics, actually, like uses influence on the companies to understand what kind of government this would be if it were a government. That's true. That's true. They so it could be Democratic, right? Like everybody has roughly equal amount of influence. It could be something like a monarchy where someone has a lot more influence, but there's no single stakeholder. That can that can get rid of them as an example. The Boeing Company is considered a risk to Craddock as an aristocratic is when everybody has advanced degrees. But that doesn't necessarily, you know, it's an Elite Class of connected people with Advanced degrees and as an as a another example, meta platforms, most people call it Facebook is, is the board type is totalitarian. Exactly. So Talent is one of the tags and that is when one person or a pair of Founders in some cases. But, Generally one person has incredibly outside influence on the board so that Bezos Zuck, it's a Spiegel, it's all of the tech Bros. In free flow analytics data. Why would you use this data? Why would people not use this data? 26% of us companies are totalitarian. Is that 56% one in four us? Did I miss something? I remember there was like like talks of not a mandate but they wanted to get a 30% women on the board. You know, in some European jurisdictions there is a mandate, was there a mandate to get 30% of us companies to be run by dictators? I don't remember that. There was not, in fact, this is supposed to be all about democracy in this country and it is the least scary. That's scary. The least Democratic in the alternative democracy and so when you're talking about like you know like the the Hallmarks of fascism and authoritarianism and one of them being blamed someone else, you notice where that happens, the most is that companies we cover it in the headlines. All the time at companies that are totalitarian, you don't hear, democratically LED companies complaining nearly as Much that China is coming to get them, right? What you hear? Zuckerberg say all the time, you hear now, open AI, which is up, which, though, not publicly traded would absolutely be a dictatorship given that it's a hand-picked board by Sam Altman, right? Like he anointed himself King when he when he when he didn't listen to the board who fired him. So this is this is a recurring theme. Watch what these companies say. Yeah. Because when they say something like China's coming, it's an indication of how they govern. It's not their governing for Innovation, they are governing for dictatorship. They require absolute protections because and they want to like, run everything because if they don't, then it falls apart for them, which is what they're saying. Deep sea is better. What? You know, better. It's funny that this has to do with open AI because there's another part in her name is Ruth Ben ghiat, she's a NYU professor. A expert on fascism another part. She talked about she talked a lot about coups and and really the she would, she would characterize the way Sam Altman came to power at open. I basically is a coup as a coup 100%. Yeah and then there's a couple more Wham babies here where investors Bailey Gifford, slashes Tesla stake, you know. Don't make fun of Billy gift for. They're gonna I want them to fly. Just saying like the man babies don't like their investors now and then there's wow. Privacy considerations, a dad in Norway. Demanded open AI. Delete chat gpt's Falls claimed that he murdered his kids. Wait, wait wait first of all did he murder his kids know he did? Are they still hurt his? Are they still alive? The kids his kids are still alive. Okay, so where is the weather? There I'd be upset about that too. Open AI claimed that it would be incredibly difficult to do this and they are not sure it can be done. Oh, so the way is not the dad, it's Openai. The wire is companies complaining about privacy because what they did this is he's he is a not a public figure and as much as like he's you know a politician but he's publicly known he searched for himself, open ai's response about him. Was that included details about him like his kids names? And you know what he did and mixed in total hallucinations about how he murdered his kids and was sentenced to prison for 21 years for it. Well, you remind me later to never ask a chat GPT about myself. I'm never gonna search myself on church people. I have searched on Chachi it. Did you murder your kids? It does not. Say yes it does. It does say that. I like Szechuan food does that's so far as well. One of the Hallmarks of tech companies that I hate the most is that the lead we talked about totalitarian regimes. A lot of them are running by dictators. They make absurd amounts of money through their, through their share price through their shares often without the company even making any money for several years, right? And yet, when when there are horrible cases, that stakeholders push back on to fix things, they they don't have the, they don't have, they don't know how to fix things, it's not possible. Like it's not possible. Let alone at let alone, tell me some possible to reach out to these people, to even talk to them. But, yeah, they don't have that, they can't do it. They can't, in fact, the last one that I have a way is wham back in middle school. And you mentioned this Elon Musk says he shocked at the level of Tesla hate and vandalism happening. What I've never done anything harmful, that's that's real. Do you think he really thinks that? But here's the problem. Yeah. It's not just that. We have dictators and the alternative democracy that are now porting their, their sort of worldview into the actual democracy and this country But globally, you're seeing like a move towards authoritarianism. Not only that, but their middle school dictators, they are not like fully formed adult dictators. This is a man who effectively after making hundreds of billions of dollars. Still feels the need I should say. Siphoning off. Hundreds of billions of dollars. He still feels the need to cheat at video games so that people like him to get his friend to sell his product on the lawn of the White House to claim. I've never, I don't know why everyone hates me. I probably disgraced his own daughter because he doesn't believe repeatedly talks about his daughter in the most derogatory terms because in public transit in public in public, he, in fact, his ex-wife had to beg him on X, to pay attention to him at one point because his kid needed something. I mean, this is a man who who doing his excuse here is, he said, he literally said, I've never done anything. Harmful, he's a dad, who was publicly shaming, and disgracing his daughter over his own, at his own company, where he is rigged the algorithm to make sure that he gets maximum exposure. Yeah, he's shooting on his daughter. That's not harmful. I mean, he is so he's so daughter his daughter. I mean. Almost sad, he's so needy. Now let me ask you, ask you this. If you're investing, you can invest in any company in the world. I wouldn't. If if you can invest in any company in the world, you do an assessment like like VC's constantly assess the founders. I've been sitting in front of VCS for two years, they're asking me all sorts of questions about me about my work habits. Like we know, like what am I like, what do I want to do? What do I want to be in five years? They want to vet, whether or not? I'm gonna be sleeping on the floor, making them tremendous amounts of money with your vetting, the people who run these companies, where on that list Does Elon Musk rank at this point. Like, you could pick any executive, any CEO at any publicly traded company. Where do you put investability in? Just that executive, where is Elon Musk right now for anybody, if you're totally objective, forget the fomo of Mars, and you know, like, one day I might have robots that like, serve me. Pancakes. Like yeah. Like like nothing. He said, is actually come true. No. He is managed to take billions of dollars for you. The US government to save himself multiple times. That's true. Yeah. He has managed to, like, sell this vision of the future. He's managed to keep shareholders hostage, right? He says he did. He did seem to get Trump elected. I feel like that really swayed the election. So you kind of achieve that and let's not forget that that part of that was to to pay people. A hundred dollars, Pennsylvania. How did how did he get Trump elected? He had chose a board that was fully compromised, made it classified and used the incumbency system against investors who are casually indifferent to anything to make the money to pay to get Trump elected. Well for those of you who think that we complain too much, which is probably anyone who's ever listened to the show. That's all correct. I could suggest buy a Hyundai, they just supported. They just came out publicly supporting Dei. They, they have great warranties, right? I just do that. That's just not complained. Just do that. All right, they're not even sponsoring. What are you doing? What are you doing? Really fly me out to Edinburgh. Please number two asshole. Only number two. Wow, that don't worry. They get faster as I go. We've already talked about Stefan Hadfield. Oh, Oh no. He is at the national Center for Public Policy. There's a boy or research. Okay. Yeah, no. Stefan padfield. He their responsible for a Disney shareholder proposal that got 1%, they were higher than I thought they would have gone. But yeah, go they are their proposal was to have Disney stop participating in the human rights campaigns you know, equality index. What I say all those words the human rights campaigns equality index already on the surface. It seems like stupid to not participate in that but forget that, you got 1% support. But this is why he is nominated again because here's his quote after getting 1% support. Quote, it is not surprising that our proposal received low support, given the concerns. We have about bias and conflicts of interest, infecting the votes and recommendations of the big five asset managers and proxy advisors, as well as the company's management. They're so leftist and whoa, there the whole system, so woke. That's the reason why our proposal didn't get any support. He said, quote the issues raised by our proposals remain relevant to Disney's bottom line, and we arguably saw an indication of this, in the fact that neither ESG nor Dei were mentioned, once directly or indirectly, and IRS opening remarks. Suggesting, the company is slowly distancing himself from leftist radicalism embodied in those agendas. Well, that checks Stefan, go ahead, ESG and Dei, we're not mentioned in igors remarks in 2024, Or in 2023. So where like, I love when you can cherry pick like we were actually successful because he didn't say the word d. He didn't say Dei this year. When he hasn't said it three years, I don't know. Where, where does Stephanie probably further? I didn't. It was Chase bank before that, right? Like where does the fund live in the very northern part of Finland? Like I, I does he not know that? Like Bob Iger is just responding to the demographics of America. Like America is not a white, monolith living on an iceberg outside of Greenland like It's you Can't Blame a media Organization for creating content that is not meant to reach, just Elon Musk and his friends like right. I mean, I don't know what we're talking about Stefan, but you sound like a dope? Well, that Disney did have the top three, grossing movies of the entire year, like the only three movies to Eclipse. A billion dollars in sales. This year's reaching over is reaching a wide swath of America, the American population, not just not just the angry Christians in Northern Finland, but Stefan, If you want to know why your proposals saying, I only got 1%. I do support. I know I SS in glass was suck. They suck ass and I know every company size was management, almost regardless, but your sister organization, who is equally as anti-gay and I black people the national legal policy Center. They are they you guys are like twins and I know, you know, each other. I know you guys don't like you, you meet at parties, your sister organization. Got a solid 11% in favor at Cheryl to support in apple just one month ago because they wrote they wrote a proposal about the real dangers of AI and they didn't mention that black people should not have representation or that you're discriminating against white guys in that proposal. In fact, Boyer research who also had a proposal here. I had a proposal at Apple that got 10% in favor because they were looking for a report on child, sex abuse software at Disney when they asked for, why don't you like, why do you discriminate against advertising on platforms that have not seized on it, right? Like that was basically the content of The Proposal they only got 1% support. So maybe the problem. Is not the big five you baby. Maybe it's that you write stupid fucking shareholder, proposals. Maybe that's the problem. Yeah. Okay, not much. All right, number know I'm with you. I mean, there's so much, there's so much to say about this. I mean, I'm looking at while you're talking, I'm looking at first about a press release from the national Center for Public Policy research and they very cleverly, have a picture of a man, wearing looks like a tutu in it. I guess that's important somehow to their point of view that and when I do a reverse Google image search, it looks like it's just some part go or having a little fun at some photo booth at the Disney park where him and his wife are both dressing up in like Disney like skirts. There's just having a little fun. So, I don't Stefan, I don't know what your hate is all about there. And I'm also looking at a research report that he that he actually wrote. He, he's a, I guess he was at the University of Akron, School of Law and the title of the report is, does stakeholder capitalism. Have a diversity problem. Meaning, that, that really what he's just doing is fighting back against people of color and women because he's just angry, right? Because I mean the guy's a clown show, I don't know. Don't know who made, who made him angry at every part of America that wasn't living on an iceberg floating outside of Finland. I don't understand this guy. That sounds Vaguely discriminatory of you against Scandinavians. All right. Numbers coming from a white straight guy by the way. I'm not exactly. Yeah. Go ahead number should be for that. Yeah. Have we reached The single pay Tipping Point. Oh, I'm proud of this one in some sad way because I predicted this, but I also feel good. When this is a headline surgeon incentive pay lifts Hanes Brands, 2024 CEO compensation to 12.9. France, really that. Yeah, I bet like have a great sheep. Underwear made by like like people in Bangladesh, you get a raise or how about this. Big companies Backtrack on climate goals and bosses pay. Oh really you think so like how are we going to justify their Pace since they're rolling back. All of their climate goals? Yeah they're now rolling back. All the pay related to their climate goals long. Yeah that works. How about Starbucks must end its Creed. Bernie Sanders calls out. Starbucks CEO for getting 96 million? Yeah four months of work on. Someone's pointing that out. Yeah. And then clarina CEO got an Hundred and sixty two percent. Raise ahead of its IPO pointless, the stupid. Let me also, I want to add another article to that. I saw this article by Sam Pizza Gotti. It sounds made up but I like to I like this headline with all eyes on Trump who has time for old news like outrageous, CEO pay. Oh yeah well right because it's like no one. Can think, yeah. That stands look over there. Yeah, there's something happening. Perfect time for these Shameless compensation committees who more often than not are just people are part of the CEOs, Network are other CEOs. It's the perfect. Time to jack up. The pay, you know, you're an investor. You don't have to read a single paper puzzle, don't read one, don't read the whole thing, just vote. If the CEO pay ratio, this is your rule, right? If the CEO makes more than the meeting employee. In one day, vote out the entire compensation committee and I go and I'm being generous there. I think it actually should be a lot lower that threshold but that's a start, that's a start with the average. Yeah. Like the average is ridiculous. It's a good conversation things giving that idea. Yeah, go, yeah, and finally, we hate trees now we hate trees. Here's the headline. Is planting trees. Dei Trump Administration Cuts National Nationwide tree planting effort. It's on the you said it's on the front page of free flow, analytics.com. And it is. Why do we hate trees? It's funny. It's the trees. Are they, is a birch tree Dei versus an oak. What's the deal in some ways? It reminds me when I was a kid talking about Ronald Reagan, who really might be the Godfather of this entire movement. Just like a populist idiot, Rises to power on a bulshit right-wing populist anti-government message. But he famously had a quote about trees saying a tree is a tree. How many more do I need to look at essentially as a way of come batting? How angry people were that they were clear, cutting forests. For you know. So yeah. I mean maybe trees are Dei Matt. I mean, really do. We need more trees. I see a bunch out my window right now. How many more do we need? That's true, that's a tree. I see it. Yeah. All right. So that your options wham wham, man babies Stefan padfield. CEO pay Tipping Point and trees. I'm going easy on this one mostly because I'm I want to wrap all this up but Stefan padfield you're my oh that's the second time. I think you chose them last time too. Wait we've had you had two straight weeks. Well you know but you always gonna pick these guys though because I know because it's hard not to it. There's a there's a shamelessness to the theater and its really with hate and it's riddled with with the assertions made in a seventh grade debate class and I hate them all really. Honestly, like actually it was great listening to the AGM at Disney and and realized they're just saying stuff with literally no facts, there's no facts. Nothing just inserting it and they takes me the thing that I actually I and I mentioned this on LinkedIn, his references for the shareholder proposal and I am not exaggerating New York Post and was a Daily Caller. There you go. There you are a daily signal or daily. I think it was Daily Caller article and a post on X by Robbie Starbucks. There you go. Those were his references for why you should vote for him. Well, that was it. There wasn't like a number. There, wasn't like an estimate, not knows that the one thing that tweaks me and he's bored to death of me pointing this out is the, for some reason, I get Desiree, fixler, she's like the anti ESG godmother, she pops up in all my stupid LinkedIn conversation and she's the queen of this. She just asserts that. Another thing that ESG has ruined, another thing that ESG will ruin in 20 years and I I did every time for the fact, for the footnotes for the references. None, there's never showing up you. Keep reading night now. I know I'm not. All right, that's prediction. Let's get out of here. Oh my God, I think we can fly. Now we can fly. Let me start with just a classic and we don't have to say much about it, but I like this genius. This is from Fortune top workplace psychologist, Adam Grant says offering employees better. Pay packages is the smartest move. The long term, what What do you got? I got a few more. So when you take one, I got one. Donald Trump's favorite musical explained as he demands non-woke theater. Where's he gonna find non woke? Theater is Trump's Broadway. Is gay, isn't it? Yeah. Or people call his favorite theater is it's cats? Yes, I'm sure if you I don't actually have never seen cats map but I'm sure if you actually looked into the subtext I bet it's woke well. Right they're all owners themselves basically liberals. I mean what are we talking about here? Is it like like Andrew Lloyd Webber? I think wrote Cats, didn't he? And he's gay. And I'm pretty sure. I don't know. There's a brown cat in it. No there's no. There's there is no art. That's not. Whoa. It's it's defiant by definition definition like definition. Sorry is sorry, but it's not art. If it's not woke that point my next headline is the week mom of child dead from measles. So, She says, don't do the shots. My other four kids were fine. Oh wow. I hate that Matt. Can you imagine that? I mean, this is the America we live in. I don't even know how to like. I don't know if I should cry laugh. I don't know what that is. That might be in five years of doing this. The worst headline we've ever read, ever. But speaking Desiree, fixler and Stefan padfield. This this is the stage of knowledge and information are countries in right now. Like that. Like the, the plague wasn't so bad, two of us survived, that's unbeatable some other kids and you're saying that about your kid as someone who has three kids. Yeah, that's the Crassus thing you could ever. Think you should be like that. She's brainwashed. She's brainwashed by platforms like X. The only thing that can do is basically be a defense mechanism against the immense amount of guilt. You must feel for your kid died. I don't agree with you at all. Matt, she she is a she's probably listening in on face gram, Instagram X and she's getting him whatever. She's getting funneled. You know, that algorithm of tweak to finalists information to her concert, I had a friend who she used to work at msci. He said that he used to drive to the next state to his dad's. Dad was living in assisted living facility, just to delete the stuff from Facebook. That his dad was getting in his feed. Because it was making his dad nuts. It was feeling his dad with rage and fear and paranoia, he would drive their mouth, just to delete that stuff. Yes. Delete Facebook, he probably couldn't figure out how to get back on. So what I have, I have one more video, go ahead, I got one more British gas centrica, CEO's, pay slashed in half at, let's see, 100 giant. Well, I just feel like we gotta celebrate. When a CEO's pay goes down, I will say this, we need to hire salespeople in Europe and in the UK, because I am actually, I'm seeing a lot of headlines. Suggesting that CEO pay is going in the other direction in Europe in the UK. That's one of several headlines. I've seen that, they're cutting pace. So it's so let's not let America set the trend there. My final headline, I had to pick this because this doesn't, this just give away the entire game of antiques. Speaking of stuff on padfield, and Robbie Starbucks, this gives Away the whole game to me. This is the headline Prince Harry's friends. Are blaming Meghan Markle and let's remember who Meghan Markle is, she's a black woman. For making him to woke, right? That's the whole game. Is that not? The game field, right? And I d e. I stands for. It's just right? Just her heart out with a black woman and that's enough. Yeah, right, that's the ball game. That's pretty much it. That's all right, sad. All right. Move on. Let's winners and one of the week. Who's your winner for? Okay. Mine's a bit esoteric here. I actually found a very interesting study. The author of a study is Sonia, Mishra. She's at the the tuck, the Dartmouth School of Business. Professor, the study is, how does society perceive power-seeking women differently from status? Seeking women, the study found and this, this highlights the data at free flow, analytics.com perfectly. In my view, the study found that Desiring status is seen as more congruent with feminine stereotypes compared to Desiring power and that women who desire status are less likely to incur backlash compared to women who desire power Matt. This out, this is about study that demonstrates why on the boards of like on the boards at Norway, where there's a 40% mandate for women on boards, right? Like several European countries, why you don't see them hot, how olding high percentage of influence, according to the data, Free for analysis.com that's because their fellow board members are letting them have the status of being on the board, but they do not elect all positions. I love this there. That's great. So, not My winner is actually this a video on YouTube. I don't know how I can't show it to you right now. I mean I could but it's not just make for interesting. It's long. It doesn't make for interesting listening. But the video is, was part of this headline Tesla fans. Furious at video of Tesla crashing into wall painted like Road, you know? So, this video is by Mark Rober, who does awesome science-based videos? Basically for kids, right? Like they're just, you know, um, he tested the auto Pilots of Alexis and Miss Busters. Remember the show MythBusters, it's basically that. Yeah. Um, Tesla uses Optical sensors and Lexus uses lidar sensors. So a former radar and they tested whether Tesla's like autopilot with the optical sensors would break in advance of certain obstacles. They tested the dummy of a kid and then the dummy of a kid in fog and then in rain and then they did this wall where the wall was painted to look exactly like the road and it turns out that the auto pilot runs into the kid Like almost every time in the Tesla. Yeah. And then in defense, yeah, in defense that they someone said you should have used full self-driving because the autopilot has this well documented tendency of turning off, right before a crash. Oh, and that's why it's crashing. And in fact, what In fact, the reason why there's speculate that that the Tesla does that is because Regulators have found that the drivers to software shuts off a fraction of the second before making impact, but Tesla cannot be blamed for the crash. If the auto driving turns off, right before it crashes. That's totally fucking insane. Imagine if there was someone at Tesla who could be held responsible for the nightmare so that Tesla cannot be incriminated, it's the driver's fault because the auto drivers off a split second before hitting the thing. And I'm sure part of this is that you've agreed to a 700 page terms like term, right? Like contract before you even start using this self-driving car. You don't even know what it says. It's insane. So big win. Big win to Mark Rober, for actually bringing like doing the tests on a YouTube video. Watch that. It's, it is terrifyingly good. Good. It is really, really good. That's your winner predictions. I'll go first, mine's mine's a little faster. The genius is a boy or research, the Geniuses that Stefan Hadfield, all the Robbie Starbucks. All of them. My prediction is that they blame ready, they blame female CEOs. Right? You with me? Yeah, I'm with you. Okay, in the S&P 500 for reducing the overall percentage of male CEOs, right? So they're gonna blame, they're gonna come right at them, you know, it is there, it's the exactly there were less of them. There'd be more males. So, they're clearly discriminatory well, in the same vein. Oh, you ready for this? Because we're not though, we're not in the same thing. Yeah, blame all the women. Oh, running the big five. Yeah, tell me the names of those women again. The women names of those women are Larry Fink. Ronald Hanley, Slim ramji Gary. Rotel me, and Bob Mann, by the way, just in case you can't tell, none of those names are women. None of them are women. In fact, I can't think of a more masculine name and Bob, man, that's a great man's name. Yeah, they blame all the women running the big five for the failure of their shareholder. Proposals demanding a request, a report from each requesting, an analysis of the risk of having so many woke women running the big five. That's my good prediction. That's more. Great research from Boyer research. You gotta blame somebody baby somebody else's phone. By the way, by the way, Jamie dimon one of the people, I think paying a working with ISS is Boyer researchers. So according to Jamie Diamond shame on Boyer research. Yeah they have. They have that. I am your daddy. We are free float. Come back next week. Where I actually think we have a normal week. We have a normal week. We did not do Approxi countdown this week. No, because there's not a lot just happened. So, we'll come back next week of the proxy countdown and go check out Cheryl the Primacy or other pot. We've got some guests coming in the next. We got big things happening until that.