Welcome back to Daily Zaps, your regularly-scheduled dose of AI news ⚡️ 

Here’s what we got for ya today:

• No federal bailout for AI

• How AI will cure all diseases

• Details of Elon's $1 trillion Tesla pay package

• Xpeng debuts impressive humanoid robot

Let’s get right into it!

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GOVERNMENT

No federal bailout for AI

Venture capitalist David Sacks, now serving as President Trump’s AI and crypto czar, said there will be “no federal bailout for AI,” emphasizing that competition among the U.S.’s five major frontier model firms makes such support unnecessary.

His comments followed OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar’s remarks suggesting a potential federal “backstop” to help fund AI infrastructure, which she later clarified on LinkedIn was misunderstood and not a request for government aid. Friar said her intent was to highlight the need for collaboration between government and private industry to build technological capacity.

Sacks added that the Trump administration aims to ease permitting and power-generation hurdles to accelerate AI infrastructure—without increasing electricity costs for consumers.

HEALTHCARE

How AI will cure all diseases

Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg discussed how the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is using AI and advanced computation to accelerate cures, prevention, and management of all diseases by the end of the century.

Joined by a16z’s Ben Horowitz, Erik Torenberg, and Vineeta Agarwala, they explained that traditional NIH grants can’t fund the $100 million-scale basic science projects needed for breakthroughs like CZI’s Cell Atlas, an open-source “periodic table of biology” mapping millions of cells. Their new virtual cell models let scientists test risky hypotheses in silico before costly lab work, merging frontier biology with frontier AI.

BIG TECH

Details of Elon's $1 trillion Tesla pay package

Tesla shareholders approved Elon Musk’s massive new pay package, potentially worth nearly $1 trillion, with about 75% support, despite opposition from proxy advisors.

The plan grants Musk 12 tranches of stock that vest only if Tesla achieves extraordinary growth, starting at a $2 trillion market cap and scaling up to $8.5 trillion, alongside ambitious operational targets such as 20 million annual vehicle deliveries, 10 million Full Self-Driving subscriptions, and 1 million each of Optimus robots and robotaxis.

If fully realized, Musk’s ownership could rise from 13% to 25%, cementing his control and making him the world’s first trillionaire. Critics call the plan excessive and risky, but supporters see it as aligning Musk’s incentives with Tesla’s long-term vision in AI, robotics, and autonomy.

ROBOTICS

Xpeng debuts impressive humanoid robot

At its AI Day in Guangzhou, Chinese EV maker Xpeng unveiled the eighth generation of its IRON humanoid robot, which it plans to mass-produce by late 2026.

Unlike most humanoid robots with industrial or domestic purposes, Xpeng’s latest model targets service-oriented roles like tour guides, receptionists, and shopping assistants. The new robot features full-body synthetic skin for a “warmer, more intimate” feel and offers customization options such as body type, hairstyle, and color.

CEO He Xiaopeng said it follows Asimov’s three laws of robotics plus a new rule banning data disclosure. While the robot’s design—curvier and more “feminine”—marks a bold aesthetic shift, critics note it’s unclear who needs such a robot or what it will cost, leaving questions about its real-world demand despite Xpeng’s ambitious vision.