Evening digest: Trump-Xi summit set, Binance founder pardoned, Musk pushes $1T pay

A packed Thursday news cycle saw fresh geopolitical and corporate flashpoints: Trump and Xi set a high-stakes meeting in South Korea amid a re-escalating trade war.

Trump issued a controversial pardon to Binance founder CZ, and Elon Musk commandeered Tesla’s earnings call to defend a record-breaking pay deal.

The EU moved ahead with a 2027 carbon market, implementing emergency price controls to mitigate public backlash.

A glance at major developments on Thursday.

Trump and Xi to meet in South Korea

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet in Seoul on October 30, officials confirmed on Thursday, a meeting that comes just as tensions in the US-China trade war are heating up again.

The summit will be hosted by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and follows weeks of tariff hikes and finger-pointing over tech restrictions and export controls.

In just the past few weeks, Washington slapped new tariffs on Chinese semiconductors and electric vehicles.

Beijing hit back with limits on exports of key minerals. So it’s no surprise that trade, supply chain security, and regional stability are expected to dominate the talks.

This will be the first time Trump and Xi have met in person since their short interaction at the G20 summit in Osaka back in 2019.

The stakes are high; the meeting could reset the trajectory of the world’s most important economic relationship, or push it into even deeper conflict.

Trump pardons Binance founder

President Donald Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange. The White House confirmed the move on Thursday.

Zhao had already served a four-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to not putting strong anti–money laundering safeguards in place on Binance.

That gap in controls lets criminals move money tied to things like child abuse, drug trafficking, and terrorism.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the Biden administration’s case against Zhao, calling it part of a “war on cryptocurrency” and noting that prosecutors never accused Zhao of fraud or pointed to any direct victims.

The pardon comes amid Zhao’s significant financial and business links to crypto projects tied to the Trump family.

With the slate now wiped clean and after Binance paid a $4.3 billion settlement for past violations, the move could clear a path for the exchange to re-enter the US market.

Zhao thanked Trump for the pardon, saying it reflected a commitment to “fairness and innovation.”

Musk seizes Tesla earnings call

Elon Musk hijacked the end of Tesla’s earnings call to passionately defend his proposed $1 trillion pay package, set for a shareholder vote on November 6.

Interrupting his CFO, Musk emphasized the need for “enough voting control to give a strong influence” while allowing removal if he “goes insane.”

Musk criticized shareholder advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis, calling their opposition “asinine” and accusing them of not understanding shareholder interests.

The package, potentially the largest in corporate history, ties Musk’s compensation to ambitious targets like driving Tesla’s market valuation to $8.5 trillion and achieving key operational milestones.

Tesla’s CFO Vaibhav Taneja, urged investors to support the plan, assuring payouts would only occur if shareholders see substantial returns.

The move highlights Musk’s desire to consolidate influence amid Tesla’s AI, robotaxi, and Optimus robot initiatives.​

EU to launch new carbon market in 2027

The European Union is getting ready to roll out a new carbon market in 2027, and officials are already working on guardrails to stop prices from spiking.

There’s concern that if the cost of carbon climbs too fast, it could drive up fuel prices for households and businesses, and trigger a public backlash.

This new market will apply to emissions from heating and transport fuels, with the goal of speeding up the switch to electric cars and cleaner home heating.

To keep prices in check, the EU is planning a kind of safety valve: if carbon prices hit 45 euros, it will flood the market with more CO2 permits, potentially doubling the annual supply to around 80 million.

Money raised from the system will be used to help people adapt, including subsidies for electric vehicles and for making homes more energy-efficient.

Meanwhile, 19 countries, including big players like Germany and France, are pushing the European Commission to add even tougher safeguards to avoid wild swings in prices and to give investors more certainty as Europe moves away from fossil fuels.