🥊 Trump vs Musk

Good morning and Happy Friday. Elon was busy on X yesterday it seems - a lot went down.

Read more about the backstory in our long article down below!

Ruchirr Sharma & Shatakshi Sharmaa  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 🤝 Why Google believes it still deserves your trust

• 🥊 Trump vs Musk

• 🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

  • 🛒 Quick commerce booms, others lose

  • 🪖 Tharoor: Sindoor strikes backed by proof

• 🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

• 🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

MARKETS

🇮🇳 India

• Green across board - Indian shares extended gains for a second straight session, as banking and auto stocks led the rally. Investor sentiment improved on hopes of political stability and renewed foreign inflows, while IT stocks lagged. Broader markets also ended higher, buoyed by renewed buying interest across sectors.

🌍️ International

• Wall Street ended lower on Thursday as investors turned cautious ahead of Friday’s key nonfarm payrolls report and digested mixed labor market data. Technology stocks, including Nvidia and other chipmakers, saw profit-taking after recent gains, while energy shares declined on softer oil prices.

GOOGLE

🤝 Why Google believes it still deserves your trust

In a rare, wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai defended the tech giant’s reputation at a time when public scrutiny over Big Tech’s power, privacy, and data handling is at an all-time high.

His central message? Google has earned users’ trust - and intends to keep it.

Pichai pushed back on the idea that users should fear how their most sensitive data is managed, claiming that Google has long safeguarded users' information, from emails to documents, with integrity.

"We’ve handled people’s deepest, darkest secrets responsibly," he said, highlighting Google’s record in protecting users from bad actors and resisting unwarranted data access requests.

Addressing growing privacy concerns around AI, Pichai emphasized that Google is developing tools like Gemini and Gmail personalisation features based on user feedback.

One common request? Users want AI that sounds more like them. “It’s an ask we are responding to,” he said, suggesting that personalization doesn’t have to come at the cost of privacy.

On antitrust challenges, particularly in search and advertising, Pichai maintained that users choose Google because they want to, not because they’re forced to. He defended the company’s dominance as a reflection of product quality, not coercion. Still, Google is appealing recent US court rulings that could force it to divest parts of its ad tech business.

Broader implications: As AI becomes more embedded in everyday life, the tension between personalization and privacy will only grow. Pichai

Read more: Times of India

UNITED STATES

🥊 Trump vs Musk

What once seemed like an unlikely but powerful political alliance has rapidly unraveled. US President Donald Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, once aligned on policy and ambition, are now publicly clashing over what Musk calls a “Debt Slavery Bill.”

Here’s what happened:

• The fallout began when Musk abruptly resigned from his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) - an agency he helped lead to cut wasteful spending.

• While Musk's aggressive cost-cutting led to the closure of federal agencies and significant job losses, it was his criticism of Trump’s signature legislation that triggered the real rupture.

• “I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful. But I don’t know if it can be both,” Musk quipped on CBS, directly mocking Trump’s own words.

Then came another blow: Trump revoked the nomination of Jared Isaacman - an entrepreneur and Musk ally - to head NASA. This move, widely seen as retaliatory, signaled a complete breakdown in trust. Isaacman himself noted the timing was “no coincidence.”

Since then, Musk has gone on the offensive, branding the spending bill “pork-filled,” “outrageous,” and a “disgusting abomination.” His increasingly vocal campaign against the bill - urging Americans to call their representatives and “KILL the BILL” - marks a sharp departure from his recent role in shaping government policy.

The broader takeaway? Even among powerful allies, political loyalty is fragile when personal interests and public image are at stake. This rift could reshape the dynamics between Silicon Valley and Washington, raising new questions about how much influence tech moguls should wield in government - and what happens when that influence turns adversarial.

Read more: Economic Times

GENERAL OVERVIEW

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

🛒 Quick commerce booms, others lose - A Kearney report reveals that only 6–8% of sales via quick commerce platforms like Zepto, Blinkit, and Instamart are truly incremental, with most growth cannibalizing modern trade, ecommerce, and kiranas. Despite offering lower discounts (6–9%) than supermarkets (13–18%), quick commerce is now the fastest-growing channel, especially for premium goods. Its share in FMCG sales is 3–6% and doubling annually. While adoption is high for staples, categories like fresh produce and electronics lag. Kearney projects India’s quick commerce grocery market will triple to ₹1.5–1.7 lakh crore by 2027, reaching towns with over 5 lakh population.

🪖 Tharoor: Sindoor strikes backed by proof - During a US visit, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor stated that India had “convincing evidence” before launching Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam attack. Asked by his son, journalist Ishaan Tharoor, about Pakistan’s involvement and international reaction, Tharoor clarified that while media raised questions, no governments had doubted India’s position. He described the attack as a sophisticated, premeditated strike with clear Lashkar-e-Taiba links via the Resistance Front. Tharoor also recalled Pakistan’s history of denial—from the Mumbai attacks to Osama bin Laden’s hiding—emphasizing India’s restraint and responsibility before taking military action.

HEADLINES

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

What’s happening in India (and around the world 🌍️)

• Rapid fashion delivery gathers pace, but long-term viability in question.

• Aditya Birla Group acquires Cargill's speciality chemical manufacturing facility in US.

• Dr Reddy’s, Alvotech to co-develop Keytruda biosimilar.

• India likely to attract investments worth Rs 8,000 crore at India Energy Storage Week 2025.

• India commits $20B for maritime infrastructure development, says Sarbananda Sonowal.

CULTURE

🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

• Shanaya Kapoor’s much awaited debut into the industry with Vikrant Massey in Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan’s teaser is out now.

• Dakota Johnson, Chris Martin part ways after dating for 8 years.

• Thug Life review: Kamal Haasan's film definitely needed more life.