This week’s world-famous-news-haiku-competition™ is about how Tesla will stop making the Cybertruck after poor sales. Send me your entry — to haiku at cheddar dot com — by noon ET Thursday, for consideration by your Cheddar peers.

Matt Davis — Need2Know Chedditor

Table of Contents

• An ‘Experience’ Gift Guide for Cool People Who Lik …

• NASA Takes Bids on Contracts for Moon Base

• Dow Surges 1,000 Points After Last Week’s Rout

• Can Jensen Huang Survive Honeypot Scandal?

• Ford Facing Million-Vehicle Airbag Probe

• Poll of the Day: Kiss, Kiss, Huang, Huang

• Poll of the Day: So Long, Then, Deplorean!

What’s the Stock Market Up To, Eh?

$SPX ( ▲ 2.35% )  $DJI ( ▲ 2.15% )  $NDX ( ▲ 1.59% )  

Companies Mentioned in Today’s Newsletter

 $SPCX ( ▲ 5.81% )  $LMT ( ▲ 3.72% )  $NOC ( ▲ 2.68% )  $MSFT ( ▲ 2.75% )  $BRCM ( 0.0% )  $NVDA ( ▼ 4.27% )  $F ( ▲ 0.64% )  

An ‘Experience’ Gift Guide for Cool People Who Like To Do Cool Things

From my colleague Lauren Babbage…

You wanted special activities and experiences, so I’m delivering!

-Lauren

• The latest “grandma” trend these days? Learning how to embroider. Yes, that grandma-style decor is still a trend, and people seem to love to embroider their own art and frame it. This small embroidery kit is great because it’s good enough for a beginner, or someone who just loves crafting and might need something new to try, but it’s also cheap. A good ‘stocking stuffer.’

• Speaking of “grandma” trends…can we talk about mahjong? It’s taking over mom suburbia. A girls' night with some mahjong? Yes, please. You can’t go wrong with a mahjong set (I’ve also been told you can never have too many sets…the vibe depends on your mood). 

• More games: My brother is the biggest game junkie ever. He collects them like art and always brings over a new one to play on holidays. So, whether I like it or not, I do know a good board game when I see it, and I do buy one each year for a Secret Santa party. Here are my recent favs:
  -Shut the Box: A classic, addictive dice game that combines luck and strategy for a little friendly competition.
  -Flip 7: A fast, addictive card game where you push your luck without collecting duplicate numbers.

  -Horse Race (this one is SO good for groups of very fun and loud people): A fast-paced, dice-rolling game that brings the excitement of the racetrack to your next game night.

  -Telestrations: A drawing-meets-telephone party game. Everyone's terrible interpretations become the entertainment.

• This is something very high on my own list this year: a Book of the Month subscription. You can choose what fits your budget…and honestly, I’d be happy with the lowest tier just so I can try it out and then decide for myself if I want to continue. It gives you a list of 5-7 books per month; you pick one, and they mail it to your house. If you don’t like any that month, you opt out and check the following month... No biggie. A nice little treat for the reader in your life. This is an “activity,” right? Reading?

• My friend just got this outdoor movie projector, and while it might not be the season to use it, I highly recommend it as a gift. The adults and kids love it. It’s cheaper than going to the movies, and you can give everyone a fun/different night. The kit my friend got comes with the projector screen as well, but you can spend a little more and get a larger inflatable screen with a separate projector. Depends on how serious everyone is about the setup. To add on to this gift (OR, if you want to gift someone movie theater tickets in a cute bundle), I recommend: Reusable Popcorn Buckets, Popcorn seasoning, and Movie night candy.

• If you’re buying for someone who likes to travel or explore new places, it might be best to just go for the ol’ gift card. A few I’ve loved receiving: Airbnb Experiences gift card (maybe only do this one if you know they have a trip coming up), Lyft gift card, and of course…Costco has a great selection of gift cards.

• You could also gift some luggage. We have this garment duffle bag and this weekender bag.

• A few other ideas to look up in your local area for a gift card (but I can’t link to): pottery class, golf simulator session, sauna session, movie theater, or a wine tasting event. 

Thanks, Lauren! That’s a ton of experiences!

Tune in next Tuesday for our next gift guide!

Quote of the Day

NASA Takes Bids on Contracts for Moon Base

NASA is turning the Moon's South Pole into the solar system's newest commercial development zone. Under an expanded Commercial Lunar Payload Services framework boasting a $10 billion ceiling over 10 years, the agency is opening up bids to private companies for delivering scientific equipment, technology, and base infrastructure.

Leading the charge in this high-stakes lunar gold rush are billionaire-backed heavyweights Elon Musk’s SpaceX $SPCX ( ▲ 5.81% ) and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, alongside aerospace stalwarts like Lockheed Martin Space $LMT ( ▲ 3.72% ) and Northrop Grumman $NOC ( ▲ 2.68% ) .

Instead of attempting to cram every piece of base hardware onto a single government rocket, NASA is hiring private contractors to prep the lunar surface well in advance. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman highlighted this step-by-step approach: “We are building the Moon Base mission by mission,” he said. He further explained that “when our astronauts return to the Moon, they will arrive with the first elements of the Moon Base already waiting for them on the surface.” 

The delivery manifest is already packing serious heat. Blue Origin bagged a $94 million base contract to deliver JPL’s nuclear-powered PROMISE rover to search for vital subsurface water ice. Meanwhile, SpaceX was tapped to deploy lunar communications satellites via its massive Starship rocket, while specialized companies like Honeybee Robotics are providing gear for a wireless solar power tower. NASA hopes this ambitious lunar outpost will serve as a foundation for eventual crewed missions to Mars.

Dow Surges 1,000 Points After Last Week’s Rout

Wall Street has financial whiplash down to a fine science. Just days after last week's historic tech rout, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rocketed over 1,000 points — jumping 2% to 52,321 — while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq happily joined the rally.

Yet, while tech heavyweights like Microsoft $MSFT ( ▲ 2.75% ) and chipmakers like Broadcom $BRCM ( 0.0% ) surged, AI’s poster child was left out in the cold. Nvidia $NVDA ( ▼ 4.27% )  shares plummeted over 5% following news of an internal board investigation into CEO Jensen Huang’s romantic affair with an executive allegedly linked to Chinese espionage, on which more below.

Explaining the sudden drag on tech, Nadia El Bilassy, senior market analyst at Equiti Group, noted that the scandal “was just the cherry on top for investors looking to pull out of AI-linked stocks,” calling it “a very bad headline that’s affecting tech stocks.” El Bilassy pointed out, Wall Street's gossip phase won't last long once “we have more important things to discuss, like the inflation data.”

Still, the markets seem to be unclear on whether this is the best of times or the worst of times. Sounds like the beginning of a great novel, though.

Song of the Day: Joshua Idehen, ‘Say Less’

"Say Less" is a standalone single by London-based spoken word and hip-hop artist Joshua Idehen, co-produced by Joe Goddard of Hot Chip. Music blogs and tastemakers have heavily praised the track for its infectious energy, so it’s a lot like this newsletter.

Can Jensen Huang Survive Honeypot Scandal?

Silicon Valley’s favorite leather-jacket-wearing CEO has hit an unexpected snag in the form of an affair he denied and later confessed to. Nvidia $NVDA ( ▼ 4.27% ) co-founder Jensen Huang is fighting for his professional life after admitting to an extramarital affair with a customer executive whom U.S. officials allege was a Chinese spy. As Nvidia’s board launches an independent investigation, Wall Street is left debating whether tech's ultimate visionary is truly indispensable or a national security liability.

The drama immediately knocked over 5% off Nvidia's stock, yet across Silicon Valley, Huang’s vocal allies are mounting a fierce defense. “Jensen is irreplaceable for America’s AI leadership,” declared Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire, adding, for the Financial Times’ benefit, “Yes he should have known better.… But let’s also not nuke our AI industry because China ran a successful intel op.”

Wall Street analysts at Bernstein echoed that sentiment, arguing that “Nvidia is not an ordinary company and Jensen is not an ordinary CEO; he IS Nvidia.”

The core dilemma for Nvidia's board — which currently holds zero formal succession plan — is whether corporate secrets were actually leaked. As one large Nvidia fund manager put it, “If information was compromised, the implications are a lot bigger than if it was just an affair,” while acknowledging that “there’s no better person than Jensen to run the company; it would be very different without him.”

For now, Nvidia’s board maintains it has “no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised.” But managing a $150 billion personal stake with over 60 direct reports while dodging international espionage is a heavy workload, even for Silicon Valley royalty. Let us know what you think in today’s poll!

Free Yourself From Advertising Forever!

Ford Facing Million-Vehicle Airbag Probe

Driving a Ford $F ( ▲ 0.64% ) Explorer is supposed to offer a smooth ride, but for some drivers, things just got a little too hot under the collar. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched a preliminary evaluation into more than 1.2 million Ford vehicles following reports of seat-mounted side airbags deploying accidentally and inflicting severe thermal injuries.

Instead of cushioning impact during a crash, these side airbags have been activating unprompted, turning routine commutes into sudden trips to the burn unit. NHTSA confirmed it has received “eight complaints and four early warning reports alleging burn injuries” linked to the unexpected deployments in 2021–2026 model-year Ford Explorers.

The victims aren't just everyday commuters. The auto regulator stated that “drivers, front-seat passengers, and some law enforcement officers in Ford Explorer Police Interceptor vehicles suffered second- and third-degree burns” after the side airbags fired off without warning. Even police officers on patrol are getting scorched by their own utility vehicles!

Should You Check Your 401(k) Today?

👎️ 

I’m gonna stick with my earlier verdict that you should leave it well alone for a few weeks, honestly.

Poll of the Day: Kiss, Kiss, Huang, Huang

Poll of the Day: So Long, Then, Deplorean!

We asked: Will you miss the Cybertruck?

You answered:

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Not as much as I'll miss Elon Musk when he eventually, tragically dies. Hopefully years from now. KIDDING. I will not miss the Cybertruck. No. (443)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Yes. I shall miss the Cybertruck! Whatever you think of its chief architect, it was a cool vehicle! (24)
467 Votes via @beehiiv polls

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