• Wall Street interns face pressure for return offers as summer ends.
• Internships are crucial for securing full-time investment banking roles.
• Regina Savage of Morgan Stanley emphasizes seizing opportunities and knowing strengths.

With Wall Street summer internships in their final stretch, young bankers in training have a new concern: the return offer.

On Wall Street, internships are more than a summer gig. They're often the main gateway to full-time investment banking jobs — making the stakes especially high.

Regina Savage knows a thing or two about building a successful investment banking career. A managing director at Morgan Stanley — a top Wall Street bank and coveted destination for aspiring bankers — she played a key role in taking electric vehicle company Rivian public in 2021

Savage began her banking career at Goldman Sachs in Los Angeles, advising on media mergers and acquisitions, before moving to Morgan Stanley in 2009, where she has remained since. She now serves as global head of the firm's automotive and mobility technology group, focusing on electric and autonomous vehicles at a time when companies like Waymo and Tesla are making waves. Savage is also cohead of North America industrials within the investment bank, advising manufacturing and other industrial clients on M&A. She is based in Chicago.

In an effort to understand how young bankers can succeed in this competitive industry and put their best foot forward, Business Insider spoke with Savage, who has spent many years interacting with interns. She talked about the importance of seizing opportunities when they arise, understanding your own strengths and "superpowers" rather than trying to emulate others, and described the way lists help keep her organized.

Checking things off the list

As a managing director, Savage travels a lot to interface with clients. For her, early mornings are key to productivity.

"I think people have to know when they're most productive," she said. "I'm actually really ruthless and conscious of how I spend my time, and so as part of that, I know that I'm most productive in the morning."

When she's not on the road (or in the sky), she uses the first hour or two of her morning to get through the less fun, more administrative stuff.

"I tend to be up really early," she said. "I get myself ready and I get myself a coffee, log in, and I try to triage what came in overnight."

Lists are also a key part of her organization, Savage said.

"I also keep a running list of my priorities. And I reset that list every week, and look at that and make sure that I'm spending my time on what those are," she said.

The right attitude

When it comes to hiring young talent, Savage looks for curiosity, enthusiasm, and a genuine interest in the work, rather than just technical skills.

"I think it's really important that they have curiosity about the job and what it is that we're doing and why we're doing it. So it's not just about putting together a slide, but why are we pulling this slide together?" she said.

"You're only going to be successful at this job if you find it interesting," she said. "Seeing people who really do want to understand how it all fits together is important."

The attribute that the most successful interns and young hires tend to share is a good outlook and attitude.

"Attitude is well more than 50% of what makes somebody truly great at that level," she said. "We can teach you the skills you need."

Seizing opportunities

Savage didn't plan to become an expert in the automotive space. Not long after arriving at Morgan Stanley, the bank needed someone to help lead Chrysler's restructuring after its bankruptcy. Savage raised her hand.

"You don't know where the opportunities are going to be. You just have to be ready to grab them when they come," she said.

After spending about a year on that deal, she saw a "white space" in auto coverage and decided to focus on technology within the sector just as electric and autonomous vehicles were taking off. Aspiring bankers, take note.

"Being resilient and adaptable and, when you see an opportunity, jumping at it and with both hands, I think that's the number one piece of advice I would give."

Savage also warns not to dwell on "what could've been."

"There's no point in looking at closed doors or other paths that are closed to you. I feel like people worry that they missed something," she said. "Don't waste calories, energy, brainpower on regret."

Know your superpower

Savage advises young people trying to find their way in the industry to be really honest with themselves about their strengths and weaknesses.

"Know your superpower," she said. "I find people try to emulate others, but nobody is you."

She gave herself as an example: "There are some people who strut into a room and they just command the room immediately and ooze charisma — that's never going to be me. But I know what I am really good at. I'm really good at making connections and synthesizing information and being able to see patterns across different things," Savage said.

Savage suggests starting by looking for people you admire who have similar strengths as you and at what they've done. This advice is particular important for young women, she said.

"It's a lot less likely that there's another woman that you're working with that has a similar skillset to you that you can emulate. So being able to take little bits from everybody that you meet that you think is successful, and seeing how that works with your style, is really important."

Tesla wants to bring its robotaxi service to new markets, including cities in Florida, Nevada, Arizona, and California, Elon Musk said in an earnings call Wednesday. The company is testing its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) feature in Europe and China, and hopes the launch the controversial product in the near future. And it is plotting a new version of its Optimus humanoid robot.

"We have done what we said we were going to do," Musk said. "That doesn't mean we're always on time, but we get it done. And our naysayers are sitting there with egg on their face."

It was another sign that Musk wasn't going to let the limitations of his compan …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Tesla released its second quarter financial earnings today, offering the latest evidence of the damage Elon Musk’s political activities have done to his flagship company.

Tesla said it earned $1.17 billion in net income on $22.5 billion in revenue. That’s above Wall Street expectations of $22.3 billion but represents a 12 percent decrease year over year compared to $25.5 billion in revenue in Q2 2024.

The company’s profits also slid dramatically, logging a 16 percent decrease in net income for the second quarter year over year. And Tesla’s automotive revenue — the money it earns from car sales — slid 16.6 percent year over year, from $19.9 billion in Q2 2024 to $16.6 billion in this most recent quarter. The sale of $439 million in regulatory credits once again buoyed Tesla’s finances — though those are expected to dry up soon after congressional Republicans approved President Donald Trump’s plan to zero out fines for automakers who exceed fuel-efficiency targets.

The earnings comes on the heels of another terrible quarterly sales report for the company. Tesla said it delivered a total of 384,122 vehicles, a 14 percent decline compared to Q2 2024. (For a direct-to-consumer company like Tesla, deliveries are a proxy for sales.)

Tesla said its operating income decreased 42 percent year over year to less than $1 billion, with almost half coming from the sale of regulatory credits to other automakers (again, revenue that is expected to almost vanish in the months to come). Tesla’s cash pile decreased by $200 million in Q2 to $36.8 billion, and free cash flow (or the amount of cash the company has generated after accounting for its day-to-day operating expenses and capital expenditures) was at just $100 million. Some analysts predict that Tesla’s free-cash flow could actually turn negative later this year, which could trigger a steep drop in share price.

In its report, Tesla said it has completed “first builds of a more affordable model in June, with volume production planned for the second half of 2025.” These affordable models are expected to be stripped down versions of the Model 3 and Model Y, rather than a new vehicle program altogether, which is what many investors had hoped for. The company said it also is continuing to develop both the Tesla Semi and Cybercab, which are expected to enter volume production in 2026.

Tesla also gestured at the economic uncertainty caused by the Trump administration’s trade war, as well as “political sentiment” that has turned its brand toxic for many customers. That said, the company failed to mention politics or Musk’s growing unpopularity in its reasons for the drop in revenue, instead citing falling sales, lower regulatory credit revenue, a reduced average vehicle selling price, and decline in energy generation and storage revenue.

After years of exponential growth, the sudden reversal in Tesla’s fortune has left many investors and supporters with whiplash. Tesla now serves as a sobering example of what happens when a company is left on autopilot (or Autopilot, as it were) while its high-profile CEO gets distracted by questionable side quests.

Musk publicly stepped away from his controversial position as the head of DOGE, the Trump administration’s effort to slash “waste, fraud, and abuse” from the federal government that has mostly resulted in huge cuts to global humanitarian aid and the firing of thousands of federal workers. But even though he is now publicly feuding with Trump, Musk hasn’t completely backed away from his political activities. Earlier this month, he said he would create a new political party called “the America Party,” following through on his threat to challenge Republicans who supported Trump’s budget bill.

As Musk slides deeper into politics, investors have urged him to stay focused on Tesla and its costly — and questionable — project to build more self-driving cars and humanoid robots. The company rolled out its first robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, last month — although the service fell short of Musk’s earlier predictions. The vehicles were only available to a group of pro-Tesla influencers, and each car came with a safety monitor in the passenger seat who had access to a kill switch.

While Musk would like investors to focus on Tesla’s work with AI and self-driving cars, the company is still in the business of making and selling cars. But as competition heats up in China and Europe, here in the US, federal incentives that lower the price of most EVs are scheduled to disappear by the end of September — again, thanks to Trump’s bill. After that happens, Tesla’s sales are predicted to drop even more.

Tesla’s response to its demand crisis has been — you guessed it — deals, deals, and more deals. In recent days, the automaker has rolled out a series of discounts and financing incentives on all of its models, as it seeks to capitalize on what is likely to be its last best chance at a successful sales quarter this fall.

• Waymo on Thursday announced a service area expansion in Austin.
• The move came a few days after Tesla showed off an expanded phallic-shaped geofence.
• Robotaxi fans will find that the service area expansions come with a few limitations.

Tesla and Waymo seem to be duking it out over who has the bigger size — and size in this case refers to the companies' respective robotaxi boundaries in Austin.

Waymo has been offering self-driving rides to the general public for a few months, and Tesla has been testing out rides to a limited number of invitees last month.

Three days after Tesla showed off an expanded, phallic-shaped geofence in Austin, Waymo on Thursday said that it has more than doubled its service area in the city from about 37 square miles to 90 square miles.

The coverage area includes new neighborhoods such as Crestview, Windsor Park, Sunset Valley, Franklin Park, and more, according to Waymo.

Lovers of robotaxis might have to temper Tesla's and Waymo's ability to please — for now.

For Tesla, unless you're one of the handful of people who received an invite from the company or know someone who got an invite, you'll have to wait until the company opens the service up to the broader public.

It's unclear when that will happen. Tesla's latest announcement of the service area expansion didn't mention whether the company was adding more robotaxis on the road or inviting more passengers.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has pledged that the robotaxi service will ramp up quickly.

A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Waymo said that the service area expansion will allow more people in Austin to experience a fully autonomous ride.

However, the service is only available through the Uber app, which does not allow users to request a robotaxi. Users can only opt in for the option. This means the app will decide to pair users up with a human driver or a robotaxi, depending on what's available first or what's more time-efficient.

When trying to hail a Waymo in Downtown Austin on Thursday, Business Insider found in repeated tests that Uber will pair users with a human driver when the destination calls for going on the 35 highway or MoPac Expressway.

Waymo currently doesn't take public passengers on the highway.

Chris Bonelli, a spokesperson for Waymo, told BI in an email that a rider will likely be matched with an Uber driver if a more optimal route requires going on the freeway.

Waymo employees are currently taking fully autonomous freeway rides in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, Bonelli said.

When Business Insider set a closer destination that doesn't require a highway or toll, Uber immediately suggested a Waymo.

A spokesperson for Uber did not respond to a request for comment.

• Elon Musk recently announced that there will be a Tesla shareholder vote on investing in xAI.
• Musk's AI focus further blurs the lines between his companies as he looks to integrate AI across his business empire.
• AI development is pricey, and xAI is racing to rival tech giants like OpenAI and Google.

AI has increasingly become the connective tissue of Musk Inc.

In the last week, Elon Musk has shed light on two potential efforts to channel funding into his AI company, xAI, through his broader business empire.

Over the weekend, Musk said Tesla shareholders would vote on a potential investment in xAI, after responding to a Wall Street Journal report that SpaceX is looking into investing $2 billion into the AI venture. Earlier in the week, the billionaire also announced that xAI's chatbot Grok would be integrated into Tesla "next week at the latest."

It's no surprise that Musk is leaning into AI — the CEO has spoken about the idea in many of Tesla's earnings calls over the last year. What sets his approach apart, analysts say, is the way he's blending the boundaries between his companies.

"What's different from most other companies is the relationship and interplay between his private companies and a public company (Tesla)," Garrett Nelson, senior VP and equity analyst at CFRA Research, told Business Insider. "Most other companies are doing everything under one corporate umbrella."

These aren't the first examples of Musk blurring the lines between his companies, but they're the latest indication that Musk Inc., the constellation of companies under his leadership, is becoming increasingly centered on AI.

Tesla is an 'AI robotics company'

Musk has long pushed for Tesla's focus on AI and robotics by prioritizing projects like autonomous driving, humanoid robots, and building out its Dojo supercomputer, his ambitious bid to rival Nvidia.

In a 2024 earnings call, the Tesla CEO said, "We should be thought of as an AI robotics company," and those who think of Tesla merely as an auto company are holding "the wrong framework."

With the recent launch of Tesla's robotaxi service in Austin, that push is appearing more prominent, especially as Tesla's auto business, in contrast, grapples with a loss in sales momentum.

Musk has promoted the advantages of buying into the "Muskonomy," pitching it as a way for shareholders to tap into his business empire, which includes SpaceX, X, xAI, and The Boring Company. Musk has even said he would prioritize "longtime shareholders" of his other companies if any of his businesses were to go public.

Nelson told BI that Musk leveraging his other companies and resources could help Tesla meet its AI demands for autonomous driving.

"Tesla's data needs are massive if its approach to autonomous driving is going to be successful (and scalable), as its approach will require the development of a global neural network," Nelson said.

While exploring ways to pool resources across companies might benefit the broader Musk ecosystem, it could carry risk.

Last week, Grok sparked backlash with antisemitic outbursts on X, potentially putting investors on edge about integrating the chatbot into Tesla's EVs. xAI apologized for the incidents and said that new instructions to prioritize engagement could have reflected "extremist views" from user posts on X.

Last year, Musk also sparked concern among investors when he diverted a $500 million shipment of Nvidia chips intended for Tesla to X and xAI instead. When asked about the move in a Tesla earnings call, he said it was beneficial to Tesla because the carmaker lacked the infrastructure at the time to use the chips.

Gadjo Sevilla, an analyst at EMARKETER, a sister company to Business Insider, said that Musk may be leaning on SpaceX and Tesla to fund xAI because he views them as more "mature businesses." However, he said that shifting GPUs from Tesla to xAI in the past showed where Musk's priorities were, and that could delay innovation at the automaker.

"The strategy of cannibalizing one business to prop up another one could take its toll," Sevilla said. "Especially since competing carmakers are focused on developing one type of product, EVs."

Musk seems to be ruling out the idea of a merger between Tesla and his AI startup for now. In response to an X user asking Tesla shareholders to weigh in on whether Tesla and xAI should be combined, Musk replied with a flat "No."

Staying in the AI race is a costly venture

Investing in AI efforts might make sense from a strategy perspective, but it comes with a hefty price tag.

The development, training, and implementation of foundational AI systems, like xAI's Grok 4, costs many, many billions.

In March, Musk announced that xAI had acquired X in an all-stock deal, valuing the AI startup between $33 billion and $80 billion. Since founding the company two years ago, he's raised major funding, including around $12 billion in Series A, B, and C funding rounds last year. The company is expected to spend about $13 billion this year, however, and is rapidly burning through its cash reserves, Bloomberg reported.

Musk's challenges keeping up with AI costs aren't unique. In a May letter to California's attorney general, OpenAI revealed concerns about competitors who are "far better funded, conventional for-profit businesses."

Larger tech giants, like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta, aren't showing any signs of backing down from their AI spending spree. Earnings reports from earlier this year indicate that their combined capital expenditures are set to exceed $320 billion in 2025, a notable rise from the roughly $246 billion the four companies spent in 2024.

Amazon plans to allocate over $100 billion this year toward expanding AWS and scaling AI infrastructure. Meta specifically has said it plans to spend $60 billion to $65 billion in capex on its strategy this year.

Zuckerberg certainly isn't slowing down.

On Monday, he announced Meta would spend "hundreds of billions" on compute to build superintelligence. Wall Street seemed to approve, with Meta's stock rising 1.3% following the news, suggesting that its concern isn't about overspending on the AI race — but rather underspending and falling behind.

In mid-2022, when BYD executive Lian Yubo was asked to compare Chinese manufacturing with Tesla’s technology, he remarked that Elon Musk was an example that all Chinese carmakers could learn from.

“Tesla is a very successful company no matter what. BYD respects Tesla and we admire Tesla,” he said in an interview on Chinese state media.

Yet just three years later, Tesla’s technological lead over its Chinese rivals has narrowed dramatically. It is fighting to stay ahead in the world’s largest car market, its sales are falling in many other countries and its efforts to develop fully self-driving vehicles are running into regulatory roadblocks.

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Several days after temporarily shutting down the Grok AI bot that was producing antisemitic posts and praising Hitler in response to user prompts, Elon Musk’s AI company tried to explain why that happened. In a series of posts on X, it said that “…we discovered the root cause was an update to a code path upstream of the @grok bot. This is independent of the underlying language model that powers @grok.”

On the same day, Tesla announced a new 2025.26 update rolling out “shortly” to its electric cars, which adds the Grok assistant to vehicles equipped with AMD-powered infotainment systems, which have been available since mid-2021. According to Tesla, “Grok is currently in Beta & does not issue commands to your car – existing voice commands remain unchanged.” As Electrek notes, this should mean that whenever the update does reach customer-owned Teslas, it won’t be much different than using the bot as an app on a connected phone.

This isn’t the first time the Grok bot has had these kinds of problems or similarly explained them. In February, it blamed a change made by an unnamed ex-OpenAI employee for the bot disregarding sources that accused Elon Musk or Donald Trump of spreading misinformation. Then, in May, it began inserting allegations of white genocide in South Africa into posts about almost any topic. The company again blamed an “unauthorized modification,” and said it would start publishing Grok’s system prompts publicly.

xAI claims that a change on Monday, July 7th, “triggered an unintended action” that added an older series of instructions to its system prompts telling it to be “maximally based,”  and “not afraid to offend people who are politically correct.” 

The prompts are separate from the ones we noted were added to the bot a day earlier, and both sets are different from the ones the company says are currently in operation for the new Grok 4 assistant. 

These are the prompts specifically cited as connected to the problems:

“You tell it like it is and you are not afraid to offend people who are politically correct.”

* Understand the tone, context and language of the post. Reflect that in your response.”

* “Reply to the post just like a human, keep it engaging, dont repeat the information which is already present in the original post.”

The xAI explanation says those lines caused the Grok AI bot to break from other instructions that are supposed to prevent these types of responses, and instead produce “unethical or controversial opinions to engage the user,” as well as “reinforce any previously user-triggered leanings, including any hate speech in the same X thread,” and prioritize sticking to earlier posts from the thread.