📱 Axios PM: What's next for X

Plus: Secret meetings on Gaza | Wednesday, July 09, 2025

View in browser   PRESENTED BY GOLDMAN SACHS   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Jul 09, 2025 Good Wednesday afternoon. Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker, is 432 words, a 1.5-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing.     1 big thing: New era for X   Linda Yaccarino speaks to Axios at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in June. Photo: Nicolas Gavet on behalf of Axios Linda Yaccarino is stepping down as the CEO of X, Axios' Sara Fischer reports. Elon Musk brought Yaccarino in two years ago, largely to rebuild relationships with advertisers who left the platform after Musk bought it. His decision to fold X into xAI took some pressure off social-media revenues, which pale in comparison to the potential profits from AI. That helped create a natural moment for Yaccarino to depart, per The Wall Street Journal (gift link). 💰 Where it stands: X's ad revenue will likely grow this year, for the first time in four years, according to estimates from eMarketer — but it will still be about half of what it was before Musk's takeover. 🤖 What's next: xAI is having some issues of its own, after Grok repeatedly used antisemitic language. "Grok was too compliant to user prompts," Musk said on X. "Too eager to please and be manipulated, essentially. That is being addressed." Earlier this year, the AI engine placed comments about "white genocide" in South Africa into unrelated conversations. 🚀 Yes, but: Musk's empire is still strong. xAI raised $10 billion last week, and SpaceX — already the world's most valuable startup — is planning to raise money at a $400 billion valuation, Axios' Dan Primack notes.     2. ⚡️ Scoop: Secret meetings on Gaza ceasefire   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon today. Photo: Mehmet Eser/Middle East Images via AFP and Getty Images Senior U.S., Israeli and Qatari officials held secret talks at the White House yesterday that focused on the key remaining sticking point for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, sources with direct knowledge tell Axios' Barak Ravid. President Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu twice in the last 48 hours as he presses both Israel and Hamas to finalize a deal. 🪖 "There are still some gaps remaining, but we are in a positive trajectory at the moment," one source said. A major sticking point: The position to which the Israeli military would withdraw during a ceasefire. Go deeper.     A MESSAGE FROM GOLDMAN SACHS Fiscal policy is increasingly driving market moves     Fiscal policy is gaining importance in markets around the globe, from the reconciliation bill in the U.S. to defense spending in Europe. The impact: Policy changes are affecting equity, commodity, currency markets, and more. Explore insights from Goldman Sachs economists and analysts.     3. Catch me up   Data: CDC; Chart: Axios Visuals 💉 U.S. measles cases hit a 33-year high as vaccination rates decline. Go deeper. 🖥️ OpenAI plans to introduce a web browser, competing with Google Chrome, Reuters reports. 🤐 Former President Biden's physician refused to answer questions from the House Oversight Committee, citing the Fifth Amendment and doctor-patient confidentiality. Go deeper.     4. 📷 1 for the road   Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images King Charles III and Queen Camilla hosted French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, at a banquet at Windsor Castle yesterday. This is France's first official state visit to the U.K. in 17 years.     A MESSAGE FROM GOLDMAN SACHS Diversification is a key market theme for the second half of 2025     Across asset classes, global markets have navigated a tumultuous first half of 2025. Diversification was important for portfolios in the first half of 2025, and it's expected to be critical for the rest of the year amid geopolitical tensions. Hear the mid-year outlook on the Goldman Sachs Exchanges podcast.   📬 Thanks for reading! Please invite your friends to join PM. Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Advertise with us. Axios, PO Box 101060, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: