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Musk Buys Florida-Based Energy Company

Zero Rss
1 month ago
Musk Buys Florida-Based Energy Company

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

Elon Musk has acquired a power company based in Jacksonville, Fla., paying $1 billion for the mobile gas-turbine provider as a possible solution to data center energy needs.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lists Musk as the acquiring party, with New APR Energy, LLC listed as the acquired entity.

Neither party issued public statements on the deal that closed May 14. Local business news outlet Jacksonville Daily Record first reported on the news in June before it gained national media attention in recent days.

The potential cost of the deal was found in a separate filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in which Technologies Group reported selling its 5 percent non-voting stake in New APR Energy in a May 28 SEC report.

Duos said its sale generated $50.4 million in net proceeds, which implies the Musk deal was worth at least $1 billion.

Musk continues to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) development with the research company he founded, xAI, and its chatbot Grok.

His xAI company runs the Colossus data center in Tennessee, a $20 billion facility near a power plant site, where he has had to rent turbine units as he waits for grid power to the site.

New APR Energy owns and maintains a fleet of gas turbines with more than 1 gigawatt of power generation capacity, according to a statement from the company in January, when it expanded capacity.

The company has been delivering power to clients for more than 20 years, deploying its fleets “in as little as 30 to 90 days,” the statement said.

Grok is a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) chatbot developed by xAI, based on a large language model (LLM). It was developed at the initiative of Elon Musk in response to the rise of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Riccardo Milani/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

Musk’s purchase of the Florida company represents his second investment in the energy sector. In 2006, Musk helped fund SolarCity, a company founded by his cousins, Peter and Lyndon Rive, which grew to be the largest residential solar installer in the United States.

Tesla bought SolarCity in an all-stock deal worth about $2.6 billion in 2016 and turned it into Tesla Energy.

Tech expert and podcaster Aakash Gupta said Musk’s latest transaction exposed the AI industry’s current problems.

“What [Musk] bought tells you where the real bottleneck in AI is,” Gupta said in a July 16 post on X.

New APR Energy operates a fleet of mobile gas and diesel turbines with over 1 gigawatt of generation capacity—enough to power 750,000 homes at once.

The fleet, which was built for disaster response, arrives on trucks and can be delivered, installed, and commissioned in a month.

The fast set-up time makes sense for Musk, who has already lived through delays with xAI’s first Memphis plant, Gupta said.

“Environmental groups sued. The [Justice Department] intervened to keep the turbines running. He was renting the most important input to his most important company,” Gupta said. “So he bought the landlord. … Every AI lab can buy the same chips. Only one of them now owns a power plant fleet that ships by truck.”

New APR Energy and Tesla did not return requests for comments about the purchase by publication time.

Tyler Durden Fri, 07/17/2026 - 12:35
Tyler Durden

US Sends Dozens More Refueling Planes To Israel Amid Widening Iran War, Oil Climbs

Zero Rss
1 month ago
US Sends Dozens More Refueling Planes To Israel Amid Widening Iran War, Oil Climbs Summary
  • Surge in more large US refueling planes headed to Mideast, signaling likely expansion of strikes on Iran.
  • US attacks hit Iranian energy and transport infrastructure.
  • Iran threatens stronger retaliation and claims strike on US base in Qatar - and deepens attacks to include US outposts in Jordan, Syria.
  • Iran urges power conservation; Hormuz shipping traffic declines further.
  • Oil prices rise to session highs on fears of broader regional conflict.
//--> //--> //--> Will the U.S. invade Iran before 2027?
Yes 27% · No 74%
View full market & trade on Polymarket Trump Sends Dozens More Refueling Planes in Sign Of Widening War

Oil prices are climbing on fresh reports Friday that President Trump is ready to continue escalating and expanding strikes on the Islamic Republic, after a Situation Room briefing this week where the Commander-in-Chief was presented with various options. It bears repeating that the White House in the opening days of Operation Epic Fury promised the American public a fast and hasty, limited military engagement - but this is where we are four months later...

"The Trump administration notified Israel it is sending dozens more refueling planes to the country ahead of a potential expansion of military operations against Iran, three U.S. and Israeli officials said," reports Axios. "After he was presented with several new military plans in a Situation Room meeting Tuesday, President Trump is considering a massive offensive in Iran that would be wider in scope than the current strikes around the Strait of Hormuz." This is but the latest signal that the ceasefire and negotiations are fully dead, and the potential for runaway escalation is bigger than ever:

  • OIL RISES TO SESSION HIGHS, BRENT TRADES ABOVE $87/BBL
  • US YIELDS RISE TO DAY'S HIGH ON REPORTS OF US-IRAN ESCALATION
  • US TO SEND DOZENS MORE REFUELING PLANES: AXIOS

War Secretary Pete Hegseth boasted Friday of taking out this Iranian maritime monitoring tower on the southern coast:

Meanwhile, another US attack on an Iranian oil tanker is being widely reported:

US forces have attacked an Iranian oil tanker docked near Iran’s Kharg Island for the second time in two days, according to an Iranian official speaking to the Fars news agency.

“The empty, Belma N.I.22 oil tanker, which was hit two days ago, was attacked again today by two US missiles”, the deputy governor of Bushehr told Fars.

Iranians Urges to Conserve Power

Iran has on Friday warned of a "more crushing" retaliation following the conclusion of last night's sixth consecutive day of US attacks, targeting military targets and logistics infrastructure, but also civilian sites connected to the power grid. By all accounts this current wave goes beyond the prior strikes in size and scope compared to the past several days.

Iranian state media has reported that eight people were killed from the overnight attacks, and that several bridges had been attacked overnight.

Illustrative wartime image from earlier in the conflict.

The country is feeling the strain under what is now nearly a week of constant US heavy attacks. This is being seen in that Iran's energy ministry has urgently called on citizens to reduce electricity use after the power grid came under strain following US strikes on energy infrastructure in the south.

In a statement on Friday, the ministry said those areas in the south "are currently experiencing extreme heat and attacks on power infrastructure." But as Al Jazeera notes, "The ministry however did not elaborate on whether it was power plants, transmission lines or other equipment that had been attacked." According to more details:

Iran's Energy Ministry urged citizens to reduce electricity consumption to help stabilize power supply in the country’s southern provinces following US strikes on energy facilities, citing extreme heat and infrastructure damage, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported Friday.

The ministry asked subscribers to turn off air conditioners for one hour during peak consumption periods to help ensure a more stable electricity supply to the affected provinces, ISNA said.

Report: Hormuz Strait transit falls to three week low--

Hormuz traffic reaches three week low

MarineTraffic data indicate confirmed crossings through the monitored Strait of Hormuz zone fell to eight on 16 July, down from 15 a day earlier and marking a three week low. Seven of the eight transits followed the Iranian route, with no… pic.twitter.com/mEXVxsx40d

— MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) July 17, 2026

Friday was the first time that Iran's government acknowledged American "attacks on power infrastructure" during the campaign, which comes after Trump's prior warning to go after key civilian infrastructure.

Attacks on Bridges

And on the bridges: "Iranian media reported that five bridges were hit in the latest round of US strikes, as well as the train station in coastal Bandar Khamir and Iranshahr Airport ​in southeastern Iran," Reuters reports. An airport has also reportedly been attacked.

Iran has warned of an "infrastructure for infrastructure" tit-for-tat:

Kuwait says that one of the country's power and water desalinations plans suffered "severe damage" after an Iranian attack.

— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) July 17, 2026

There are signs of renewed attacks on rail as well, per NBC:

A railway junction station just west of Bandar Abbas was also hit, the state-owned IRIB news agency said. The highway and railway bridge strikes appeared aimed at cutting off Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port, from roads leading toward Tehran, the capital.

While other routes still are open, the U.S. strikes could expand further, potentially disrupting both the movement of military materiel and goods needed for Iran’s 90 million people.

Regional Arab states which host American bases say they were busy overnight intercepting missiles and drones sent from Iran, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and with reports of projectiles inbound even in Syria.

'Powerful Attack' on Qatar Base

The IRGC announced Friday that it carried out an attack on the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, asserting that it destroyed a long-range radar system and several US aerial refueling aircraft.

Iran's Chabahar port control tower COLLAPSES after more than a week of US strikes — Pete Hegseth boasts of destruction in X photo

Iranian FM Araghchi calls the attacks one of many US 'war crimes' committed over the past week pic.twitter.com/lDBz6ufJ5j

— RT (@RT_com) July 17, 2026

Its Aerospace Force described that carried out a "surprise and powerful" attack on Al Udeid Air Base, claiming to have taken out a long-range radar system along with the refueling aircraft parked there.

Per IRIB news agency, the elite Iranian force stated, "The American enemy and the hosts of its bases in the region should know that crossing red lines and attacking people and civilian infrastructure will have a very severe and miserable price. If the enemy continues this trend, more crushing responses are on the way; responses that will remain in the history of battles."

Iran's bridges have come under fresh strikes, via social media/X.

The IRGC further warned that American forces will "pay a heavy price" for what it called crossing "red lines" and targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. Tehran has not backed off its assertion of 'control' over the Strait of Hormuz - also calling this its red line.

The day or evening prior saw US Marines having conducted "a verification boarding" of a tanker in the Gulf of Oman - which the Pentagon characterized as part of operations enforcing the new naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Tyler Durden Fri, 07/17/2026 - 12:25
Tyler Durden

NY Times Asks Court To Throw Out Subpoena Of Its Reporters

Zero Rss
1 month ago
NY Times Asks Court To Throw Out Subpoena Of Its Reporters

Authored by Stacy Robinson via The Epoch Times,

The New York Times on July 15 asked a court to toss out grand jury subpoenas of three of its reporters who published a story about the new Air Force One plane that Qatar gifted to President Donald Trump.

The paper published the story earlier this month alleging the new plane lacked some defensive features of the older Air Force One aircraft, which the White House denied. That led Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to issue subpoenas to find out where the reporters were getting their information.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, during his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, said the subpoenas were issued to find out who leaked information to the NY Times. Justice Department rules required him to authorize the subpoenas.

“We’re not targeting reporters,” Blanche told Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), later adding, “The question we want to ask them is who provided them with classified national security information.”

David McCraw, senior vice president and deputy general counsel of The NY Times, said the subpoenas were “brought in bad ⁠faith to punish The Times for its coverage."

“We are going to court to ​defend our journalists’ ⁠rights to report freely on the administration and to provide the public with stories that matter,” McCraw said.

Motions to quash a subpoena are usually sealed. McCraw has asked the court to make the contents of his motion public, arguing that people have a right to know about the case.

Like Blanche, Clayton is under congressional scrutiny this week as he looks to the Senate to confirm him as Director of National Intelligence. He hopes to replace Bill Pulte, who is filling in for Tulsi Gabbard. She stepped down from the role earlier this year to be with her husband, who she revealed has cancer.

Clayton told Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that he did not want to publicly go into details about the subpoenas—or who asked that they be issued.

But he said that he was “absolutely committed to” respect for the First Amendment and journalists. He added that he and his team “followed the processes that we’re required to follow.”

First Amendment advocacy groups like the National Press Club have asked the Justice Department to withdraw the subpoenas.

“A free and independent press serves the people, not the government,” the organization’s president, Mark Schoeff Jr., said in a statement.

“The greatest danger isn’t the subpoena itself. It’s the message it sends. It tells sources to stay silent. It tells whistleblowers to think twice.”

Days after subpoenas were issued to the New York Times journalists, War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on July 13 that the War Department and the Department of Justice launched a joint task force to investigate and prosecute anyone involved in leaking sensitive information to the media.

“Access to confidential and secret information is a sacred trust,” Hegseth said in a video posted on X.

“And those who betray that trust will be met with the full force of the law.”

Hegseth did not mention the past week’s incident but spoke in general about threats that leaks pose to national security and the U.S. military.

“The unauthorized disclosure of War Department information has the very real potential to cause exceptionally grave damage to our national security and the operational integrity of our armed forces,” Hegseth said.

Tyler Durden Fri, 07/17/2026 - 12:00
Tyler Durden

IRGC Targets US Command Center In Syria In Unprecedented Attack

Zero Rss
1 month ago
IRGC Targets US Command Center In Syria In Unprecedented Attack

Iran's large-scale 'retaliation' on US bases and Gulf states overnight included a rare first if confirmed. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it conducted a missile or drone attack on an American special operations command center at al-Tanf in Syria on Friday.

The action came after the US bombed Iran for a sixth consecutive night, and while Iranian targets have on several occasions reached into Jordan, it is unprecedented that the Iranians take active aim at sites within Syria.

The IRGC stated the attack was in retaliation for the killing of Iranian soldiers in Iranshahr, in southern Iran.

While the hit on Syria was reported in Reuters based on state media claims, the alleged Tanf strike hasn't been independently verified:

A Syrian military source told Reuters that Iran carried out an attack near al-Tanf, but it had not hit the base itself. There were no casualties or material damage, the source added. 

The episode is the first reported attack on Syria since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in late February.

And more: "The IRGC statement claimed that a radar system, multiple helicopters, and several US personnel were destroyed in the strike. Reuters reported that it has not yet been able to independently verify these claims."

While it is unprecedented or at least unusual for US bases in Syria to come under direct attack by Iran, Tanf base has on multiple occasions come under attack from Iran-aligned Iraqi paramilitaries, and other hostile actors both within Syria and Iraq.

US troops had long operated out of Tanf to pressure the Assad government as part of the long-running US-backed regime change project.

The US primarily trained the Syrian Free Army (FSA) in that remote desert area - which was an umbrella group of various factions, likely among them jihadists, armed and funded by Washington.

But when Assad was finally ousted in December 2024, replaced by an Al-Qaeda group founder (Jolani/Sharaa), this also put Iranian forces in rapid retreat from the country after an over decade-long proxy war.

Syria's new AQ-linked government has been trying to impress its backers by claiming to bust up Iran-Hezbollah axis arms shipments:

🇸🇾🇮🇷🇱🇧 Here's footage of the massive weapons cache that was hidden inside an oil tanker by Iran and bound for Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Until Syria intercepted it along the way.

Inside were hundreds of drones, missiles, and components...

Writer: Michaelpic.twitter.com/4uEykApWFW

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 17, 2026

Iran, alongside Russia, had been a close military supporter of the Syrian army, but the Syrian government's collapse - along with the weaking of Hezbollah with the recent Israeli assassination of much of its leadership in Lebanon, caused most Russian and Iranian troops into a hasty and forced withdrawal.

Tyler Durden Fri, 07/17/2026 - 11:45
Tyler Durden

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