Plus: Trump traded hundreds of millions in tech stocks before favorable policy movesMay 18, 2026 This is today's edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. Musk v. Altman week 3: Musk and Altman traded blows over each other’s credibility. Now the jury will pick a side. In the final week of the Musk v. Altman trial, lawyers attacked the credibility of the two tech leaders. Sam Altman was accused of lying and self-dealing, while Elon Musk was portrayed as a power-seeker trying to control artificial general intelligence. The case unearthed new details about the two arch-rivals and OpenAI’s contested nonprofit status, as well as a golden trophy of a donkey’s ass awarded to an employee who challenged Musk. Read the full story on the explosive final week of the trial.

—Michelle Kim Michelle Kim, who's also a lawyer, has been in court throughout the Musk v. Altman trial. Read her coverage of week 1 and week 2, plus a Q&A on what it was like in the room.

The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Trump traded hundreds of millions in tech stocks before favorable policy movesHe bought shares in Nvidia, AMD, and Arm ahead of policy boosts. (Quartz)+ And touted Palantir on Truth Social after buying its stock. (CNBC)+ His crypto venture and Iran’s top exchange tapped the same networks. (Reuters $) 2 SpaceX plans to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange as soon as June 12It wants to raise up to $75 billion at a $1.75 trillion valuation. (Reuters $)+ BlackRock may invest up to $10 billion in the offering. (The Information $)+ Cerebras’ blockbuster IPO has boosted hopes for the listing. (CNBC)+ Which is set to dwarf many of the biggest IPOs on ⁠record. (Reuters) 3 Chinese AI groups have pulled ahead of US rivals in video generationByteDance and Kuaishou’s models lead in realism and scale. (FT $)+ AI is fueling China’s short-drama boom. (MIT Technology Review)+ While its AI labs are betting big on open source. (MIT Technology Review) 4 Iran says it will charge Big Tech for using undersea internet cablesThe cables beneath the Strait of Hormuz carry vast digital traffic. (CNN)+ Tech bosses met at Uber HQ on Saturday to discuss Iran’s future. (404 Media) 5 Samsung has a “last chance” to stop a massive strike over AIOver 45,000 employees could walk out for 18 days this week. (CNBC) + They want a bigger share of the AI boom. (FT $)+ Samsung and its largest labor union will resume talks on Tuesday. (Reuters $) 6 Old oil and gas wells could become a new source of clean energyUS states plan to convert them into geothermal energy assets. (Wired $)+ A balcony solar boom is coming to the US. (MIT Technology Review)