Trump Asks OpenAI to Stagger AI Model Release
Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly:OPENAI ASKED TO STAGGER RELEASE:The Trump administration has asked OpenAI to stagger the release of its AI model so organizations can first be vetted by the government before receiving access to the tool, George Hammond and Joe Miller of The Financial Times reports. OpenAI currently plans to give two dozen partners access to GPT 5.6, the company's latest AI model, ahead of a broader rollout, but these partners would need to be approved by the government, multiple people with knowledge of the matter told the Times.HOUSING BILL SIGNING CANCELED:On Wednesday, President Donald Trump stated in a post to Truth Social: "Today's Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Publicly traded homebuilding companies include Beazer Homes, D.R. Horton, Hovnanian, KB Home, Lennar, PulteGroupand Toll Brothers.HONDA'S EV PLEDGE UNRAVELS:Five years ago, Hondapledged by 2040 the company would spend tens of billions of dollars to phase out gas cars in favor of electric vehicles, River Akira Davis of The New York Times reports. This goal, however, has more recently unraveled in a way CEO Toshihiro Mibe has called "heartbreaking." The Trump administration's elimination of federal tax credits for EVs has sapped demand, leading to the company's first annual net loss in its history as a public company. As a result, some senior executives have begun rallying support to urge Mibe to resign and take responsibility for the issues at the company.
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- Technological Milestones: QuantumScape achieved significant commercialization progress in 2025, and despite a 27.4% stock drop in the first half of 2026, its partnership with Honda could expand solid-state battery applications, enhancing market competitiveness.
- Market Opportunities: Beyond electric vehicles, QuantumScape is targeting energy storage solutions for AI factories, showcasing the broad application potential of its solid-state battery technology, which may attract more investor interest.
- Risk Factors: Although technological milestones have reduced investment risks, QuantumScape's market cap remains at $4.3 billion, prompting investors to carefully assess their allocation in speculative portfolios.
- Industry Competition: QuantumScape is not the only company pursuing opportunities in the solid-state battery market, and increasing competition within the industry could impact its market share and future growth potential.
- Technological Milestones: QuantumScape has made significant strides by securing an expanded development and licensing agreement with Volkswagen's battery maker PowerCo, marking a crucial step toward commercializing its solid-state battery technology, despite a 27.4% stock drop in the first half of 2026.
- Partnerships Established: The company has formed partnerships with glass manufacturer Corning and Murata Manufacturing to achieve high-volume production of its ceramic separators, further advancing the practical application of its technology in the market.
- Market Opportunities: QuantumScape's solid-state batteries are expected to offer greater energy density and faster charging times, with plans to extend applications beyond electric vehicles to include power equipment, indicating a broad market potential.
- Investment Risks: While technological milestones have reduced investment risks, the nearly 30% drop in stock price still warrants caution from investors, suggesting that only a speculative portion of their portfolio should be allocated to QuantumScape.
- Collaboration Projects: Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa indicated that Nissan and Honda are actively exploring joint projects aimed at addressing both companies' capacity needs in the U.S. market, thereby enhancing their collaborative potential in a competitive automotive landscape.
- Investment in Technology: The discussions include the need for investments in hardware for electric architectures, particularly regarding battery capacity for future hybrid models to meet the increasing market demand, ensuring technological foresight and market adaptability.
- Software Platform Integration: Nissan and Honda are also considering the establishment of a common software platform to improve product compatibility and technological integration, positioning themselves favorably in the future development of automotive technologies.
- Positive Collaboration Outlook: Espinosa emphasized that the discussions are very constructive, with related partnership news expected to be announced soon, reflecting Nissan and Honda's proactive stance and potential market opportunities for future collaboration.
- Sales Decline: Ford's Q2 US sales fell 10.3% to 549,200 vehicles, primarily due to weak electric vehicle demand and declines in F-Series and SUV volumes, resulting in a 9.6% year-over-year drop in first-half sales to just over 1 million, indicating increasing market competition pressures.
- Weak EV Sales: Ford's electric vehicle sales plummeted 40.7% in Q2 to 9,746 units, with the Mustang Mach-E down 30.9% and the discontinued F-150 Lightning down 58.6%, reflecting an overall slump in the EV market and posing challenges to Ford's market share in this segment.
- F-Series Performance Issues: The F-Series, America's best-selling truck, saw an 11% drop in Q2 sales to 197,900 units and a 13.3% decline in the first half, with Ford attributing this to a retiming of commercial production rather than demand weakness, although it still outsold the Chevrolet Silverado by over 80,000 trucks.
- New Model Plans: Ford is retooling its Louisville Assembly Plant to launch an affordable small electric pickup priced under $30,000 next year, with CEO Farley emphasizing that this model will cater to multiple market needs and is expected to drive future sales growth.
- Battery Production Shift: Honda has commenced battery production for AI data centers at its Ohio plant, marking a significant pivot from electric vehicle battery manufacturing in response to sluggish EV demand.
- Partnership with LG: The collaboration with South Korea's LG Energy Solution, initiated in 2022, was originally aimed at lithium-ion battery production, but has now shifted focus to energy storage systems (ESS) batteries due to unmet EV demand expectations.
- Future Plans: Honda intends to start producing hybrid vehicle batteries at the facility in 2028 after acquiring LG's assets for $2.5 billion, indicating a strategic emphasis on the hybrid market.
- Market Adaptation Strategy: Honda will adjust the output between ESS and hybrid batteries based on trends in vehicle electrification, supporting its strategic goal of launching 15 hybrid models primarily in North America by fiscal 2029.
- Chip Sector Decline: The Nasdaq fell 4.7% this week as heavyweight chip producers faced a sell-off, exacerbated by OpenAI's consideration to delay its IPO to 2027, indicating growing concerns over tech stocks.
- Market Sentiment Fluctuations: While advancing US-Iran negotiations provided some relief, investors weighed the economic cushion of lower oil prices against expectations of further US interest rate hikes, resulting in a 2.3% drop in the S&P 500 this week.
- Flat European Market Performance: European equities ended the week flat, with the UK FTSE 100 rising 1.4%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC fell by 1.6% and 0.4%, respectively, reflecting regional economic uncertainties.
- Chinese Market Dynamics: The People's Bank of China maintained key lending rates at record lows for the 13th consecutive month, and despite a 1.6% drop in Chinese markets this week, Tokyo's core inflation accelerated, suggesting potential continued rate hikes by the Bank of Japan, impacting regional investor confidence.










