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Tesla Inc TSLA is trading over 5% on Robinhood’s overnight trading service after a report on Sunday, suggested that the upcoming regulatory framework might ease mandates for self-driving vehicles.

What Happened: The transition team of President-elect Donald Trump has told advisors that it aims to make a framework for fully self-driving vehicles a priority for the Transportation Department, reported Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently secured a position to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the Trump administration, supported federal rules for autonomous vehicles in Tesla’s third-quarter earnings call, saying he would use any role to push the government to allow autonomous vehicles to be used nationwide.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration allows automakers to deploy only 2,500 autonomous vehicles per year, while efforts to increase this number have repeatedly failed.

See Also: Nvidia’s Blackwell Chips Are Extra Toasty, Server Overheating Issues Impact Meta, Microsoft And Elon Musk’s xAI

Why It Matters: In October, Musk unveiled Tesla’s long-awaited robotaxi, which aims to mass produce ‘Cybercabs’ by 2026. Investors and market analysts are considering robotaxi’s success as a major factor for the company’s valuation, while some investors remain skeptical about robotaxi’s success in regulatory approval.

In October, ARK Investment Management said that Tesla’s driverless ride-hailing plans could unlock $11 trillion in revenue potential, exceeding the total addressable market that ride-hailing companies Uber Technologies Inc. and LYFT Inc. are targeting.

The Future Fund Managing Partner Gary Black has repeatedly voiced skepticism about Tesla maintaining a monopoly in the unsupervised autonomy market, citing competition from Alphabet Inc GOOGLGOOG-backed Waymo, Baidu BIDU and Mobileye Global MBLY who has already received approval to deploy their autonomous vehicles.

Price Action: Tesla is trading 5.69% higher at $339 on Robinhood’s overnight trading service. The stock closed at $320.72 in a regular trading session on Friday, gaining 3.07% for the day. In after-hours trading, the stock edged up 0.0062%. Year to date, Tesla’s stock has risen by 29.10%, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Gita Gopinath, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, expressed concern over the increasing energy consumption and carbon footprint of cryptocurrency mining and AI data centers, expected to worsen in the next few years.

What Happened: In an X post on Sunday, Gopinath stated, citing IMF data, that the share of cryptocurrency mining and data centers in global electricity could rise to 3.5% by 2027 in a base case scenario, from 2% in 2022. This would equate to the current consumption of Japan, the world’s fifth-largest electricity user.

In the high-case scenario, the share could expand to nearly 6%, while the low-case scenario would see a slight increase to 2.2%.

Interestingly, cryptocurrency mining activity’s share in global CO₂ emissions was projected to decline in 2027, primarily driven by the reduction in mining rewards due to halving. However, data centers’ carbon emissions could reach 450 million tons by 2027, or 1.2% of the world’s total.

See Also: Cathie Wood Draws Reagan-Era Parallels As Elon Musk Takes DOGE Helm: ‘This Bull Market Has Just Begun To Broaden Out’

Why It Matters: Gopinath’s concerns come amid the ongoing debate around Bitcoin BTC/USD mining’s environmental impact

According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, the annual greenhouse emissions from Bitcoin mining were higher than in countries like Greece and North Korea.

However, the increasing footprint hasn’t deterred nations from exploring the economic prospects associated with the still-nascent business.

President-elect Donald Trump vowed to make the U.S. the Bitcoin mining hub of the world during his election campaign, while Vladimir Putin’s Russia legalized cryptocurrency mining earlier this year.

Photo by CMP_NZ on Shutterstock

Photo Courtesy: Shutterstock.com

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Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. didn’t mince words when he praised Bitcoin BTC/USD as a solution to the U.S. national debt and an inflation hedge.

What Happened: Kennedy recently took to X to express his unwavering support for the leading cryptocurrency.

“Bitcoin is the currency of freedom, a hedge against inflation for middle-class Americans, a remedy against the dollar’s downgrade from the world’s reserve currency, and the offramp from a ruinous national debt,” he said.

Kennedy also firmly endorsed Howard Lutnik for Treasury Secretary in the incoming Donald Trump administration, arguing that the Cantor Fitzgerald CEO would be a major advocate of Bitcoin.

See Also: Musk’s DOGE Role Boosts Dogecoin As Brian Armstrong Shows Support

Why It Matters: Kennedy Jr.’s advocacy for Bitcoin is not new. In July, during his presidential campaign, he expressed his intent to persuade the federal government to accumulate Bitcoin until its holdings equaled the nation’s gold reserves.

Kennedy had earlier voiced his conviction that cryptocurrency should be treated as a currency, not taxed as capital gains, and used for everyday purchases.

Meanwhile, President-elect Trump announced that Kennedy would serve as the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), marking the inclusion of yet another pro-Bitcoin voice in the upcoming cabinet. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) was picked up as the nominee for attorney general, while Tulsi Gabbard was nominated as Director of National Intelligence. 

Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $90,653.00, up 0.69% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Read Next: Michael Saylor Predicts Bitcoin Boom, Says $100K On The Horizon

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, endorsed the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under Elon Musk‘s leadership while advocating for stricter government spending controls in a series of posts on X on Sunday.

What Happened: “Government spending is taxation,” Wood said, citing her early economics education with Arthur Laffer. She emphasized that government spending either translates to immediate tax increases, future generational burdens, or inflation, which she termed “the most regressive tax of all.”

The discussion gained momentum following Coinbase Global Inc COIN CEO Brian Armstrong‘s proposals for constitutional reforms to limit federal expenditures. Armstrong suggested implementing a constitutional amendment capping government spending at 10% and establishing a U.S. sovereign wealth fund that would distribute shares and dividends from budget surpluses to citizens.

Wood, who recently praised Musk’s appointment to lead DOGE in a CNBC interview, emphasized his technological expertise as crucial for the department’s mission to minimize waste and streamline government operations.

The department, named after the cryptocurrency Dogecoin DOGE/USD, aims to eliminate unnecessary regulations and reorganize federal agencies for improved efficiency.

Dogecoin rallied by 6.52% over the past 24 hours to $0.372. The cryptocurrency surged 26.24% in the past week and an impressive 155.42% over the last month.

See Also: Nvidia’s Blackwell Chips Are Extra Toasty, Server Overheating Issues Impact Meta, Microsoft And Elon Musk’s xAI

Why It Matters: Drawing parallels to historical economic transformations, Wood highlighted the former President Ronald Reagan administration’s impact: “The Reagan revolution extended through President Clinton’s administration, leading to lower taxes, stronger GDP growth, and a bull market rewarding active equity management that lasted nearly 20 years. We believe that this bull market has just begun to broaden out.”

With President-elect Donald Trump‘s upcoming return to the White House, Wood anticipates significant economic growth through deregulation and tax cuts, similar to the Reagan era’s economic policies. She predicts these changes, combined with DOGE’s efficiency initiatives, will “change the mindset profoundly in Washington” and potentially lead to lower individual and corporate tax rates.

The ARK Invest CEO, who maintains a bullish stance on cryptocurrency with Bitcoin BTC/USD price predictions reaching $650,000 to $1.5 million by 2030, believes the current bull market “has just begun to broaden out,” suggesting a positive outlook for both traditional and digital asset markets under the incoming administration.

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Image via Ark Invest

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

A meme coin inspired by the “Peanut,” the squirrel, maintained its upward march Sunday as UFC legend Jim Miller demanded justice for the late animal.

What happened: Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) jumped over 11% to become the market’s fourth-best-performing cryptocurrency in the last 24 hours. 

The coin’s trading volume rose 13% to $1.70 billion, eclipsing Shiba Inu SHIB/USD and dogwifhat WIF/USD, coins with bigger market capitalization.

The fresh rally boosted the Solana SOL/USD-based coin’s weekly gains to a staggering 1343%, dwarfing the returns of other coins.

In less than two weeks since launch, PNUT has amassed a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, becoming the seventh-largest meme coin.

See Also: Shiba Inu Lead Developer Shytoshi Kusama Pitches S.H.I.B In Response To Elon Musk’s Call For New Roles Recommendations In Trump Administration

Sunday’s rally came after UFC star Miller used his victory speech to draw attention to the cause of the late social media star.

“New York, I got one thing to say, first. We need justice for P’Nut,” Miller said after defeating Damon Jackson at the Madison Square Garden.

Miller hoped that the newly constituted Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, would help fix these issues. “Hopefully that DOGE cleans things up down at the state level.”