Tesla Profits Drop By 71%!

Tesla’s sales figures have put the company closer to the red than it has been in years. The electric automaker reported $409 million in net income on $19.3 billion in revenue after delivering almost 337,000 EVs in the first quarter of the year. The company’s net income reflects a 71% drop from the same quarter last year. It was the worst quarter for Tesla deliveries in more than two years and came on the heels of the company’s first-ever year-to-year drop in sales. Tesla’s income was buffered by selling $595 million in zero-emissions tax credits, according to its earnings report — without those, it would have posted a massive loss. 

Tesla also cautioned shareholders about how the trade war may affect its business moving forward. The company said President Trump’s tariffs and “changing political sentiment” could have a “meaningful impact on demand for our products.” The company noted the current tariffs, the bulk of which are directed at China, will have “a relatively larger impact on our Energy business compared to automotive.” Tesla said it is taking actions to stabilize the business in the medium to long term. Tesla is sticking to its ambitious plans to make more affordable models. 

The new vehicles will use aspects of a next-generation platform that powers the robotaxi, but will rely on its existing one that powers the Model Y and Model 3, the company said. As such, these cheaper vehicles will be produced on the same manufacturing lines as the current vehicle lineup. 

The company’s EV lineup is aging (though the sedans and SUVs have now all gotten face-lifts) and its newest product, the Cybertruck, is nowhere near the hit that CEO Elon Musk thought it could be. And Musk’s far-right politics, along with his involvement in the Trump administration, have created a sizable backlash to Tesla’s brand.  At the same time, Musk has oriented the company toward its Robotaxi and Optimus robot projects.  

Much of its (Tesla) future will depend on Musk’s antics within the Trump administration. Even if he leaves the US Government, it is tough for him - no one believes in what Tesla stands for in the end, he may have to sell the company to some other US carmaker! 

References:

Tesla profits drop 71% on weak sales and anti-Elon Musk sentiment, Sean O'Kane, Kirsten Korosec, TechCrunch, 22 April 2025

 

World EV Sales Report 2025, CleanTechnica

Trust God in Uncertainty

When we experience uncertainty, we can feel as if something is wrong with us spiritually. The sooner you come to terms with this spiritual reality, the more you'll enjoy the journey. To do otherwise is to end up with a self-absorbed spirituality that leaves you feeling empty. Instead of following the Spirit, you're inviting the Spirit to follow you. Instead of serving God's purposes, you want him to serve your purposes. While this may seem like a subtle distinction, it makes an ocean of difference. Here are your choices: (1) Follow the path of certainty, which keeps you in control but robs you of the adventure God has in mind. (2) Accept the uncertainty of the 'how' and 'when' that comes from following God.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org

When it comes to being led by God's Spirit, the operative phrase is 'You can't explain how.' Even when you have given your best thinking to the problem, the Bible says, '"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the Lord. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine"' (Isaiah 55:8 NLT). So, when you follow God, anything can happen. You never know who you'll meet, where you'll go, or what you'll do.

In these times of uncertainty (with tariffs, wars and economic decline), stay anchored on God and He will carry you through.

Malaysia’s 2025 GDP Growth at 3.9%?

The World Bank has projected Malaysia’s economic growth to slow in 2025, citing the challenging global environment. It projects Malaysia’s 2025 [GDP] growth rate at 3.9%. Among Malaysia’s regional peers, the World Bank set Indonesia’s 2025 growth outlook at 4.7%, the Philippines at 5.3%, Cambodia at 4%, Thailand at 1.6%, and Vietnam at 5.8%.

 

The international financial institution said exports will face considerable external headwinds arising from the deterioration in the global environment. While external challenges are likely to impact investment decisions, private investment is expected to remain supported by ongoing multi-year investments and the implementation of previously approved projects, according to the World Bank. Nonetheless, domestic demand and private consumption supported by government measures will continue to drive growth. However, it noted this growth outlook is subject to several significant downside risks, primarily driven by increased uncertainty around trade and investment.   

The World Bank’s forecast on Malaysia’s 2025 GDP growth is even lower than the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recently downgraded projection. The IMF trimmed its growth forecast for Malaysia this year to 4.1%, from its January estimate of 4.7%. The readjustment came in line with a broader reduction in regional projections following the US’ tariff barriers. 

The Malaysian government is also reviewing its official growth projection of 4.5% to 5.5% for 2025, given recent developments casting uncertainty for investment and trade. 

Reference:

World Bank projects Malaysia’s 2025 GDP growth at 3.9%, Izzul Ikram /

theedgemalaysia.com,25 Apr 2025

Is Private Healthcare Thriving?

Malaysian private hospital operators are expected to have another year of growth. But the country grapples with a 15% medical inflation that exceeds global average.

The two largest private hospital chains in Malaysia by bed count – IHH Healthcare Bhd and KPJ Healthcare Bhd – are government-linked. IHH, which owns brands like Gleneagles, Pantai and Prince Court, is 37% owned by Khazanah Nasional Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund, combined. Meanwhile, the Johor government’s Johor Corp is the single-largest shareholder of KPJ with a 45% stake.

 

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org

Based on World Bank data, Malaysia had two hospital beds per 1,000 population in 2020. This is much lower than the average for upper-middle income nations at 3.7 beds, while the average for high-income countries was even higher at 5.4 beds. If private hospitals are taken out of the equation, the country could lose nearly 30% of its hospital beds. 

In 2022, private hospitals contributed 17,780 licensed beds, while the majority 45,167 beds were in the public hospitals. By 2028, Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB) forecasts private hospitals to add almost 4,000 beds, raising the total to 21,770 beds. As for the public sector, hospital beds are also expected to increase albeit at a smaller quantum of nearly 2,800 beds to 47,946 beds.

IHH is also looking to add about 300 beds over the next three to five years through ongoing asset enhancement initiatives across its hospitals. Overall, IHH has set a bed expansion target of 4,000 beds by 2028, with nearly half of them in India. Beds in Malaysia will increase by 1,300. As for KPJ, it plans to raise its bed count to 5,000 by 2028.

IHH and KPJ enjoyed a net profit margin of 11% and 9% respectively in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024. Pre-tax profit margins are even higher at 15.4% for IHH and 13.5% for KPJ. Meanwhile, Cengild Medical Bhd and TMC Life Sciences Bhd reported a net profit margin of 16.6% (pre-tax margin: 23.7%) and 11.7% (pre-tax margin: 15.2%) respectively in the financial year ended June 30, 2024. Cengild runs a hospital in Bangsar South treating gastrointestinal and liver disease.

Some private hospitals in Malaysia will benefit more from medical tourism, such as IHH’s Island Hospital. About 60% of its patients are medical tourists, mainly from Indonesia, attracted by the oncology services.

Beyond medical tourists from abroad, more Malaysians are also expected to use private healthcare facilities, leading to a growing patient inflow into the private healthcare system. In particular, IHH and KPJ are the clear winners of the increasing patient inflow. According to Maybank IB, IHH and KPJ make up 18% and 27% of total market share of private inpatient admissions in 2023, respectively.

Despite the positives of the private hospitals sector, challenges will include change of payment system for hospital care, rising costs and pushback on medical fees charged to clients.

Reference:

Private healthcare thriving, Ganeshwaran Kana, Star Biz7, 28 Apr 2025

What Is Trump’s Agenda for Science?

The United States, for much of its history, was less an engine of scientific progress than a beneficiary of it. Pasteur, Koch, Lister, Mendel, Curie, Fleming—the giants who midwifed modern medicine were not Americans but Europeans.

 During the Second World War, the balance shifted. President Franklin Roosevelt created the Office of Scientific Research and Development and tapped Vannevar Bush, a former dean of M.I.T., to lead it. In the span of a few years, the agency spurred development of an antimalarial drug, a flu vaccine, techniques to produce penicillin at scale, and, less salubriously, the atomic bomb. Bush became a champion of state-sponsored research, helping to establish the National Science Foundation and to modernize the National Institutes of Health.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org

Bush’s vision may be as responsible as any other for nearly a century of American scientific dominance. Research funded by the federal government has found useful expression in many of the defining technologies: the internet, A.I., crispr, Ozempic, and the mRNA vaccines that saved untold lives during the covid pandemic. Between 2010 and 2019, more than three hundred and fifty drugs were approved in the U.S., and virtually all of them could trace their roots to the N.I.H. The agency has grown into the world’s largest funder of biomedical research, with a forty-eight-billion-dollar budget. By some estimates, each dollar that the U.S. invests generates five dollars in social gains like economic growth and higher standards of living.

Donald Trump, since his return to the White House, has upended the long-standing bipartisan consensus that the government should fund scientific research and then mostly stay out of the way. His Administration has paused communications from health agencies, wiped data from their websites, fired hundreds of government scientists, and proposed slashing the budget of the National Science Foundation by two-thirds. It has announced that the N.I.H. will no longer honour negotiated rates for “indirect costs” on the grants that it administers—money that institutions use for such things as laboratory space, research equipment, removal of hazardous waste, and personnel to help patients enrol in clinical trials.

The disruptions are already cascading through academia. Medical schools have paused hiring; labs are considering when they’ll have to let employees go; universities are curtailing Ph.D. programs, in some cases rescinding offers to accept students. Meanwhile, biotech investors are warning of a contraction in medical innovation. There is nothing wrong with reform. The N.I.H. could stand to restructure its institutes to minimize duplicative work, to fund projects with greater transformative potential, to demand more transparency in how institutions calculate their administrative overhead. But what Trump is doing is not reform, it is subversion. And it could not come at a worse time.

America has long been the global leader in scientific output, but by various measures China is now surging ahead. In recent years, it surpassed the U.S. as the top producer of highly cited papers and international patent applications. It now awards more science and engineering Ph.D.’s than the U.S., and, even before the current funding turmoil, it was projected to match spending on research and development by the end of the decade. Trump may speak of America First, but his Administration’s playbook will ensure that the U.S. comes in, at best, second.

It is in this context, that progressive Asian nations have a tremendous opportunity to lure disgruntled academics and graduate students to their countries and leapfrog the West. This is the Asian century, and it must be anchored on research and development.

Reference:

Trump’s Agenda Is Undermining American Science, Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker,
9 March 2025

 

China Focused on Skills, India Chose…

 China and India, home to a third of humanity, took divergent paths in building their future workforces. China banked on structured skill development, deep-tech investment, and a relentless push for merit-based advancement. It paid off. From dominating supply chains to leading in AI and engineering, China's rise is no accident — it's a blueprint. 

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org

India, meanwhile, is still grappling with fragmented policies, bureaucratic red tape, and an education system more attuned to memorisation than innovation. The result? A widening gap, not just in development but in ambition. And now, voices within India are openly calling it out.

Akshat Shrivastava, CEO of The Wisdom Hatch Fund, didn’t mince words when he said India has lost the development race against China. In another post featuring a video on China's disruption of the luxury goods industry, Shrivastava added, “When you have the skills, the world comes to you. For the last 4 decades, the Chinese obsessed over improving their skills. The outcome is: they are cost competitive, control the supply chains (on several products). And offer great quality." 

Shrivastava criticised India's focus on reservations over merit-based progress. “We Indians — on the other hand -- demanded more reservations. It has gotten to a point now: where you have freeloaders who score a big fat 0 on competitive exams. Yes, they become teachers. And teach others.” 

“Classic case of the incompetent people teaching others how to be skilled,” he wrote. “End result: we lost the development race against the Chinese. We don't even talk about competing with China anymore. So, we go back to singing tunes how we are democratic country. And the Chinese are autocrats.” 

India lacks discipline. You may go to any major Indian city; you will see chaos on the roads – “controlled chaos” as they call it. No accidents but not for the faint-hearted. Then it has meetings which follow IST (Indian Standard Time) – which means 30 minutes to 2 hours late from the scheduled time. Followed by more talk but little action. Everyone has a point, and no consensus is arrived at. If you want laissez-faire, then live with it and accept that you will never overtake China. 

If you want to overtake China, you need discipline, courage to change, resourcefulness including funding, entrepreneurship and single-mindedness on a goal or purpose that is big to dream and small to actualise. Good luck India! 

 

Reference:

China focused on skills, India chose...': Financial advisor slams India’s ‘freeloader culture’, sparks viral debate, Business Today Desk, 14 April 2025

Selamat Hari Pekerja!