Elon Musk Lands Another ‘Moonshot’ Pay Deal

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

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Alex Ossola (0:33)

A new wave of job cuts hits tech workers as Big Tech's bill for AI spending comes due.

Plus, the SpaceX IPO could give Elon Musk even more power at the company. Investors are all for it.

Corrie Driebusch (0:46)

It's a lot of, I trust in Musk, and if you have that belief, you're almost investing in the person.

Alex Ossola (0:53)

And, good news for the multi-billion-dollar cannabis industry, the Trump administration is reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. It's Thursday, April 23rd. I'm Alex Ossola for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM Edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.

It's a gloomy day for tech workers. Meta will lay off a tenth of its staff, roughly 8,000 people, next month. Per an internal memo, it's trying to streamline its operations and pay for massive AI investments. The memo also says Meta will cancel plans to hire for 6,000 open roles. A Meta spokesperson declined to comment. And the journal has learned that Microsoft is offering buyouts to about 7% of its US employees. The Voluntary Retirement Program for long-time workers is a first for the software giant, which is reorganizing staff as it also pushes hard on AI. Microsoft employed more than 100,000 people in the US as of June 2025

Companies in Silicon Valley and beyond have made mega layoffs in recent months and are often getting praise from investors for it. Turning to SpaceX, WSJ reporter Corrie Driebusch says that sources have told the journal that its CEO Elon Musk could land another big payday.

Corrie Driebusch (2:14)

Elon Musk is poised to really have a lot of control over SpaceX when the company goes public. SpaceX's board has already granted him a moonshot pay package. Packages that typically are very large in dollar amount and are given to CEOs of companies once they hit huge, very long shot goals.

Alex Ossola (2:42)

Musk, of course, was already granted a moonshot, $1 trillion pay package at his other company, Tesla. As for SpaceX, which is expected to go public in June, Corrie says Musk could control it through what are called super voting shares.

Corrie Driebusch (2:55)

Musk and key executives are expected to hold Class B shares that get 10 votes each, and every other share is going to have one vote each, the dual share class. It's much more popular for founder-led companies and specifically for tech founder-led companies. And corporate governance experts for a while have pushed back on this, but investors we've spoken to, current investors, and even those who are looking at the IPO say they welcome those moves. They said, you know what, Musk's interests for SpaceX, those align what our interests for SpaceX are. And obviously a lot of these shareholders have held on to SpaceX stock even without seeing the financials. It's a lot of I trust in Musk. And if you have that belief, you're almost investing in the person.

So yeah, it makes sense to give them more power.

Alex Ossola (3:53)

Stocks turned lower today, with the NASDAQ leading the losses and closing down 0.9 percent. Oil prices were up for a fourth straight session. The front month Brent crude contract rose above $105 a barrel.

Investors are uneasy about hostilities potentially escalating in the Middle East. US and Iran are jostling for control of the Strait of Hormuz. A third US aircraft carrier has now arrived in the region, which would give President Trump more firepower if he decided to resume strikes on Iran.

Mediators are still trying to get the diplomatic process back on track. In earnings, American Airlines warned today that the company could lose money this year and revised its financial outlook because of the rise in fuel prices.

Devin May (4:34)

On this morning's earnings call, American Airlines CFO Devin May explained, The midpoint of the full year earnings guidance is 35 cents per share, approximately flat to 2025 despite jet fuel prices increasing fuel expense by over $4 billion year over year.

Alex Ossola (4:51)

In the first quarter, American posted a loss of $382 million compared with $473 million a year ago, while revenue rose 11 percent. Its stock closed up 2.4 percent.

And American Express Today reported that profit rose 15 percent in the first quarter. The credit card company known for its higher income card holders says customer spending rose 9 percent, the highest growth rate in three years. Where were they shopping? At luxury retailers, spending rose 18 percent, and at restaurants, 9 percent.