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Quest Means Business
Peloton Shares Pop On Announcement Of New CEO, Job Cuts; NVIDIA's Deal To Buy Arm From SoftBank Collapses; Interview With Rep. Ro Khanna (D- CA); Biden Vows To Stop Major Pipeline If Russia Invades Ukraine; Nissan To Run Action-Packed Commercial During Super Bowl; Academy Award Nominees Announced; Dash To The Bell. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired February 08, 2022 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:19]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR: Sixty minutes and counting, an hour to go on trading on the Tuesday session and positive ground for stocks. They
struggled early on and they may struggle before day is out, but you can see we're well off the top of the day, but not bad, not bad indeed getting over
half a percent.
The markets as we see them, and what are people talking about?
A new head of the pack, the Peloton. Founder John Foley stepping down or stepped down amid rumors of a possible takeover.
SoftBank plans an IPO for the chip designer Arm to go public, in doing so, $80 billion deal falls through with NVIDIA.
And Netflix grabs the most Oscar nominations, a film that hardly anyone saw in the theater.
Hello, we are live in New York. I'm live in New York. It is Tuesday. It is February the 8th. I'm Richard Quest, a busy day, and of course, I mean
business.
Good evening.
We start tonight with the story of Peloton, the company that built a multibillion dollar business of cycling going nowhere. Now, its CEO is
speeding away. A large part of the workforce is getting left behind in the dust.
Peloton shares are up nearly 30 percent, 25 percent now on course correction. The cofounder, John Foley is no longer Chief Executive. He has
now become the executive Chair, 2,800 employees unfortunately are getting laid off and Peloton is selling off or scaling down warehouses and
factories.
Today's market boost, if you will, is a short sprint. Look at the way the price has gone. Now, you go back to November 2020. In that first year of
the pandemic, during that year, it made a steep impressive climb. But then as things reopened, it went steeply downhill over the course and things got
back up there again, and then by the time you get to November of last year, there is real trouble in the share price.
For Peloton itself, it is about getting in shape to impress disillusioned shareholders to attract possible buyers. The stock is down 80 percent from
its all-time high. I showed you the graph just a second ago. January 2021 was the peak of the pandemic. Now, activist investors have grave concerns.
Today, there is the cut of 20 percent of corporate jobs and the slimming down is a start. Investors in the end may want to see even more changes.
So Apple, Nike, Amazon all rumored to have interest in Peloton.
Matt Egan is with me. First of all, let's declare any conflict of interest. Are you a Peloton user?
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: I am not, Richard.
QUEST: Yes, it's very important, Matt, because they're sort of Messianic about it. As I said yesterday, our executive editor's Peloton went to word
your word against it, right? So, why is he gone? Was it a question of just time to go and the share price is down and he is not perceived to be the
right man to carry on?
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Richard, this was a company that was really operating as if COVID was going to last forever, as if the world was always
going to be shut down. People weren't going to be back in offices, weren't going to be back at gyms, and you know, in reality, a lot of people are
trying to learn to live with COVID.
They are going back to offices and trying to go back to gyms and that, of course is not great news for Peloton, which has seen a decline in demand.
Just today, reported losing another half a billion dollars in the latest quarter. It dimmed its sales outlook.
I mean, this was a company that in early 2021 was worth almost $50 billion, and despite being up 25 percent today, Richard, it is only worth $12
billion now.
QUEST: So the Peloton model is you buy or you lease the machine and you pay a subscription for the various services with numerous ancillaries.
Is the view, Matt, that the model doesn't work anymore? Or that they merely have to refine it, which is it?
EGAN: Well, I think it's the latter, Richard. I think that it is hard to know if the model worked because of the way they ran it here.
The CEO, the outgoing CEO, Foley, he said today -- he said: Listen, we scaled our operations too rapidly. We overinvested in certain areas of our
business. We own this. I own this. We're holding ourselves accountable.
So the point is, is that if they spent all of this money, they devoted all this capital to scaling up to meet demand that was not really going to be
there as the world moved beyond COVID. We don't really know if that model was necessarily flawed, it was just the way they ran that model.
[15:05:07]
QUEST: And in terms of buyers, so he's gone, an interim is being put in, excuse me, who is likely to buy?
EGAN: Well, we know that in the last few days, there have been rumors about Amazon, apparently according to "The Wall Street Journal" and
"Financial Times." Amazon maybe expressed some interest; also Nike. Tech analyst Dan Ives, from Wedbush Securities talked about how he would be
shocked if Apple was not interested here.
But you know, your point about Foley, so he is stepping down as of tomorrow as the CEO, that's a huge deal. He was running the company ever since it
launched a decade ago. But he is not going away. He becomes executive chairman.
This is not a situation where, you know, it's a cofounding CEO who is fading into the darkness. He was very front and center today announcing
what went wrong, the vision for the future, and what is really important to remember here is that Foley and other insiders, they control more than half
of the voting shares here.
So whatever happens next, his fingerprints are going to have to be all over. They are not going to be able to sell to Amazon or anyone else
without his approval. So, they are making a big shuffle here, but this is not a complete change at the top and that's not pleasing the activist
investor, Blackwells Capital. They came out today and they said listen, Foley has quote, "... proven he is not suited to lead Peloton," whether as
CEO or Executive Chair and he should not be hand picking directors as he appears to have done today.
So, you know, the future of this company is still going to be determined, at least to some extent, Richard, by Foley.
QUEST: And we will watch. Matt Egan, thank you.
EGAN: Thanks.
QUEST: Now, it was meant to be the world's largest semiconductor deal, and it has collapsed. There has been acrimony and problems over NVIDIA's plan
to buy the British chip designer Arm from SoftBank. This is so mired in a mess.
The chips are good, Arm designs chips used by Apple and other smartphone makers. It's one of the U.K.'s most successful tech companies. Regulators
of the world had expressed concerns about the possible takeover.
SoftBank says it'll now take Arm public instead.
Paul La Monica is here. This has been a real nasty -- I mean, NVIDIA wanted it. Softbank got Arm. There were issues over valuations and how it had all
been valued in the whole swathe of issues about Arm. Why they finally decided -- SoftBank -- not to proceed?
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes, I think NVIDIA and SoftBank see the proverbial writing on the wall, Richard, that this deal was
probably not going to get greenlit by regulators in an increasingly difficult environment right now where there are people, lawmakers in
Washington, and others around the world that are scrutinizing tech companies for some of these mega mergers.
But I think it is also worth pointing out that there was significant opposition to this deal happening from a competitive standpoint from rivals
and companies in the smartphone food chain nervous about NVIDIA's increasing clout. So that's why you had Google, Microsoft, and Qualcomm all
objecting to the deal as well.
When you add all that up, NVIDIA and SoftBank really had no choice, but to just go their separate ways.
QUEST: Now, I see NVIDIA's share price today. It has barely budged, it is up just a tad in an up market. But the share price went up, about $248.00
down from a 52-week of $346.00. It's one of those stocks that bounce -- it tends to bounce back.
I'm guessing the market is saying, well, we had already priced in that this might not happen.
LA MONICA: I think that is true, Richard. NVIDIA has been a juggernaut as of late. Its shares are up more than 70 percent in the past year. Its
market value now exceeds Intel, the chip giant that is in the DOW.
NVIDIA definitely is playing in a lot of rapidly growing fields even though cryptocurrency mining is still volatile, its graphic processors are used in
devices that can help mine crypto. They are a big player with regards to graphics chips for gaming. So that's another area that is incredibly
lucrative right now.
So, I don't think NVIDIA investors need to shed too many tears about this deal not happening, but obviously it would have made an already formidable
company an even more gigantic force in Silicon Valley and the global tech landscape.
QUEST: Paul La Monica. Paul, thank you. And I do apologize to everybody, I've been coughing a bit this morning, so forgive me if I keep having to
take a slurp of something, the collar is a bit tight.
[15:10:06]
Now, it's been a rocky New Year for tech companies. Just take a look at the NASDAQ. Valuations ballooned in 2021, tech shares have since come back to
Earth, and there are many reasons, including the specter of new regulations from Washington, to Brussels, to Beijing.
Ro Khanna is a congressman from California's 17th District, better known as Silicon Valley. New book, just out, "Dignity in the Digital Age: Making
Tech Work for All of Us."
Congressman, I'm very delighted to say is with us in Washington tonight. You look like you're in your car, Congressman.
REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): I am. I have to step out of the Capitol because I can't talk about my book from the Capitol. So, I'm looking forward to
having this conversation.
QUEST: Excellent. Excellent.
Look, you represent Silicon Valley, large parts of it. And, and to a certain extent, that's the elitist of the most elite and you're talking
about a digital democracy. Your constituents are arguably the very ones that we now need to regulate against.
KHANNA: Well, we need to regulate, but we also need to create digital opportunity. I mean, the market cap in my district and the surrounding
areas is $11 trillion. This is more wealth than is generated in any place, probably in human history.
It went up 40 percent during the pandemic with increased digitization, and a large part of the book is saying: We've got to create opportunities in
places left out for the 25 million digital jobs that will exist in 2025, so people will have the opportunity to build wealth without moving to Sand
Hill Road.
Of course, we also need to regulate on privacy, antitrust, and misinformation.
QUEST: Okay, there is a lot there. Let's just take the privacy and antitrust. Europe has already done, you'll be familiar, of course with
GDPR. The U.S. didn't or hasn't or refuses to go down the same road or even to meet halfway, so we end up with this halfway house where many websites
in the U.S. won't let you go to European sites, et cetera from Europe, because of GDPR.
Does the U.S. need to increase its privacy protections by law?
KHANNA: Yes, we do. We need to have opt-in consent, but let me be a little provocative as I am in the book. The tech companies are running circles
around the GDPR.
You know, you have Facebook interns, perhaps noticing the level of fines, it barely registers in most of these companies, they go to the lowest
forum, because there are 28 countries and many of the countries don't enforce it the same way, and then they have dark patterns, they can get 90
percent consent, because they can manipulate the technology.
So I don't agree with this premise that Brussels can innovate on policy and leave the tech innovation to America. I think to have effective policy, you
need people who can understand the technological innovation and that is why America must join the game. We not only need to regulate, but we need to
beef up the F.T.C. and F.C.C. with people who understand tech, so that tech doesn't continue to run circles around the regulators.
QUEST: Right. .But that idea of tech running circles is de facto saying tech is too powerful and we've seen that yesterday, by the way, Facebook is
basically saying to the European regulators, you either change the rules or we will stop Facebook and Instagram in Europe. It is facing them down.
However, I guess, you don't want the Chinese solution ala DiDi or Alibaba or JD.com, which is we are going to regulate or shut you down anyway.
KHANNA: Well, certainly we don't want the Chinese solution. I mean, the Chinese don't have the values of freedom, of privacy. And look at what's
happened to Jack Ma. I mean, there's some of these state owned enterprises. It's scary that what the communist government is doing in China, but that
doesn't give tech a free pass.
We need to have a Transatlantic Alliance and we need to make sure that we have opt-in consent in the United States, that the United States is
collaborating with the Europeans in enforcing these regulations.
QUEST: Would you break up Amazon -- you know, there are one or two other big names like for example, Facebook. Would you require divestment of
Facebook? Let's start with Amazon first. Some in your caucus do believe that Amazon should be broken up.
KHANNA: I don't think Amazon should be broken up and I've been critical. I said that -- introduced the Stop Bezos Act pushing Amazon along with Bernie
Sanders to have a $15.00 wage, which they did. But what I do think we need regulation on is Amazon shouldn't be able to discriminate against vendors.
[15:15:06]
For example, they shouldn't say okay, just because Ro Khanna criticized Bezos, we won't put his book on Amazon or other vendors, and I think we
need regulations to make sure they don't discriminate against sellers, but they shouldn't be broken up.
QUEST: So, how far do you go? How far -- I mean, in terms of the antitrust legislation, or power of the D.O.J., how much -- obviously, you'd like to
do it by consent, but we've seen a million times that consent doesn't work and even if it does work at the beginning of a transaction, 10 years later,
everybody wonders what it was all about.
KHANNA: The key is -- there are two principles. First, these companies shouldn't be able to kill their competitors by firing them. That's why I do
think Facebook should be separated from WhatsApp and Instagram. There, you had billions of dollars of acquisition simply to kill competitors and that
should not be allowed.
Second, we ought to have a principle that you should not be able to just discriminate against other vendors to prevent vendors from using your
platform, and if we had those two principles, I think you'd have a lot more competition.
QUEST: Congressman, I'll let you get back inside. Very kind of you to come out in the cold and sit in the car. That is a first.
By the way, before you go. You will be delighted to know that your book, "Dignity in the Digital Age" is most certainly available on Amazon. Not
only that, they are describing you as a bestseller. I can get it as early as tomorrow, if I didn't already have a copy of it, and a hard copy,
unfortunately, sir, they are already discounting you from $28.99 to $24.88.
So you are a bargain to boot. Grateful that you were with us tonight, sir. Thank you.
KHANNA: Well, I appreciate that. I appreciate that, and I'm not sure the bestseller is a good market for books, but I will say that I had a
compliment from a philosopher, Martha Nussbaum, who did a review and I appreciated that.
QUEST: Thank you, sir. I appreciate you joining us on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
KHANNA: Thank you. Take care.
QUEST: And so the to the shuttle democracy -- diplomacy, I should say, well to defuse tensions in Russia, that continues. The leaders of Germany,
France, and Poland, they are meeting in Berlin. We've got the details, next.
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:20:00]
QUEST: The French President, Emmanuel Macron says he sees a way to ease tensions with Russia.
You'll recall of course, yesterday when we were together, he was meeting the Russian President Vladimir Putin, and we had that news conference at
the Kremlin. Now, it's the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
He is already in Berlin with the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz who of course, himself, just came back across the Atlantic from the White House.
The Polish president Andrzej Duda is there, and the three began their meeting with a news conference where President Macron explained what the
path forward should look like.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): For us, allies, it's very important that we have security guarantees. We want to make
progress on this. We want to have a very good dialogue and want to have our use and also continue anonymously. We want to do this together with Russia.
We want to de-escalate the situation. We want to have a lasting peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: The Chancellor Scholz is set to go to Kyiv and then Moscow next week. So everybody is flying around.
Alex Marquardt is in Kyiv. The issue seems to be did Macron get an undertaking from Putin not to escalate and even to de-escalate? Putin and
the Russians are saying nothing of the kind, Macron says, oh, yes, we did.
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're absolutely right, Richard. That was one of the big lines that came out of
President Macron today here in Kyiv when he came to meet Volodymyr Zelensky, and the Kremlin dismissed it essentially as soon as President
Macron had left.
He is saying that there were not only no assurances that they would de- escalate on a military basis, but also that they weren't setting a date for withdrawal from Belarus. The Kremlin spokesman said that, you know, of
course, at the end of exercises, we will be withdrawing from Belarus, but those exercises are set to end around February 20th, and the Kremlin did
not indicate that they necessarily plan to pull out exactly on that date. Those troops in Belarus, Richard, of course, threatening Ukraine.
But at the same time, we have heard some of the more positive noises out of President Putin and out of Moscow that we've heard in quite some time. He
complimented President Macron for essentially laying the groundwork for more conversations, and as you know well, Richard, as long as conversations
are happening, then that means that there's no fighting, of course, that begs the question of whether President Putin is just drawing this out, and
then intends to invade Ukraine, no matter what.
But the leads that President Macron identified clearly, and he called these sort of concrete practical steps that can be taken towards finding a
solution for de-escalation are really in two primary areas. The first is to end the fighting that has been raging in Eastern Ukraine for the past eight
years, ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014.
You'll remember that after that conflict, after Crimea was annexed, that the two Minsk Agreements were put into place, but they were never really
fully adopted. In fact, they have been essentially completely neglected.
So President Macron says, you know, let's focus on that. Let's get the Minsk Agreements to actually be working in order to stop the fighting in
Eastern Ukraine.
And then the second thing is he kept talking and you heard about it in that soundbite about security guarantees, Richard, and that is really what
President Putin has wanted from the beginning. He has constantly complained about Europe and NATO threatening Russia -- Richard.
QUEST: So, look, we've got Macron -- we've had Boris Johnson, Macron, Scholz, the Polish Minister, the loads are different -- Hungary, a lot of
people going here and there and everywhere. Who has the key to unlock this?
MARQUARDT: Certainly, the person who has the highest profile right now, and probably will, for the coming weeks is going to be Emmanuel Macron. He
really is positioning himself as this middleman, as this go between, essentially between Russia and the rest of NATO, particularly the United
States.
He seems to have the closest relationship with President Putin. The two of them have spoken to each other more times in the past few weeks than
anybody else has spoken with President Putin. You've heard President Putin call Macron a quality interlocutor.
So it really is going to be macro not just as the President of France, but now they have the presidency of the E.U. who is going to be taking a
leading role, but that's not to say that Germany is going to be left out. Of course, these are the two major powers in Europe.
The German Chancellor as you mentioned, Richard, in Kyiv and Moscow both next week. So those two countries really taking on a bigger -- a bigger and
bigger role in trying to de-escalate this conflict -- Richard.
[15:25:17]
QUEST: Alex Marquardt. Alex is in Kyiv. Thank you, sir. I appreciate.
Germany and the U.S. are sending different messages, some would say, about the fate of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine. The
pipeline, you can see from the map runs directly from Russia to Germany, and it's a 48-inch -- that's a four-foot pipe -- once it's up and running,
it would allow Russia to bypass Eastern Europe. That will cost Ukraine billions in transit fees and transit licenses.
President Biden standing next to Scholz yesterday, you saw it here, of course, said the pipeline would get the shutdown if Ukraine was invaded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine, again, then there
will be -- there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: The new German Chancellor refused or was reluctant or hedged -- you choose the word -- to match President Biden's tough talk when they were
speaking. He said afterwards to Jake Tapper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Will you commit today to turning off and pulling the plug on Nord Stream 2? You didn't mention it. You haven't mentioned it.
OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: As I already said, we are acting together, we are absolutely united.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Why won't you explicitly say Russia, if you invade Ukraine, we're canceling the pipeline.
SCHOLZ: We are doing much more as one step, and all the steps we will take, we will do together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Fred Pleitgen joins us from Berlin. Fred, you've been in Berlin a long time. You know the political ins and outs of that place backwards.
So never mind sort of the bigger issue, why won't he just say -- look, we can read between the lines and say, If he says we will do the same as the
U.S., he is de facto saying there will be no Nord Stream 2 with an invasion. But why won't he use those words, when he knows the rest of us
put such importance on it?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think that there are several reasons for that. First of all, I think that he doesn't
want to completely break off diplomatic channels with Russia. I think Nord Stream 2 pipeline is of course, one that is very important economically,
not just to the Russians, but of course, to the Germans as well. So he doesn't want to go out and say it.
And also, quite frankly, one of the things the Germans have been discussing is possible legal implications. If they do say, look, in this case, we are
going to completely abandon this project, and it is of course, also a project, not just a German-Russian project, but also has companies from
other European countries, like for instance, Austria, involved in it, as well.
But from what I just saw there on my screen, from what I saw on the interview with Jake Tapper yesterday, which was definitely one that was
worth watching and also the press conference with President Biden, I think essentially the deal is done.
I think, essentially, if there is a further invasion of Ukraine, that pipeline is not going to start operating. And the way that that that that
is read, I think, Richard, is exactly the way that you've just put it. President Biden is the guy who is putting out the tough rhetoric on the
front of it saying that pipeline will not happen. Olaf Scholz is not saying that, but says he will go along the Americans.
QUEST: But what would they do? I mean, they're not going to bomb an ally's -- the over ground bits of it. I suppose they could sanction those who
would take gas from it. They can certainly restrict its exports. But I mean, when you use words like it will not happen, you're being pretty
definitive.
PLEITGEN: I think you are being pretty definitive, but I think also that what President Biden is describing there is essentially the reality in
relations between the United States and Germany.
If there was an invasion of Ukraine, it's pretty hard to see the Germans saying: Look, we're not going to go along with the U.S. policies and
against the U.S.'s wishes, we are going to have this pipeline operate. They are not going to risk a conflict with the United States in order to try and
put through a pipeline project with Russia.
But I do think what the Biden administration is trying to do is it is really trying to give Germany alternatives, possibly not long-term
alternatives, but certainly ones that could ease the blow if something like that were to happen.
One of the things, of course, that the two leaders spoke about yesterday was the fact that the U.S. is looking for alternative routes or alternative
supply places to get gas to Germany. The Germans, of course, have a giant economy. It needs a lot of energy. They need gas right now. They need gas
from Russia badly.
The US is trying to help them out in any way they can, but there is no way that Germany would risk a confrontation with the United States if there was
an invasion of Ukraine and the U.S., obviously has a very clear position on that -- Richard.
[15:30:11]
QUEST: Thank you, Fred Pleitgen in Berlin tonight.
It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS from New York. The Super Bowl in the U.S. is almost as important to advertisers as it is to sports fans. And this year,
Nissan is returning to the game. It's a very big and expensive move. The company's chief marketing officer is with me in a moment. QUEST MEANS
BUSINESS.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
QUEST: Could be close to the end of the road in the era for the Nissan gas-powered vehicles. Nikkei (ph) is reporting that Nissan will cease
developing new internal combustion engines, making exceptions for the U.S. market, where its gas pickup trucks are popular.
We'll talk about that in a second after we talk about the upcoming Super Bowl ad that Nissan is putting forward, stressing the gasoline powered
thrills of its latest Zed or Z sports car.
It's the first time the company has run a commercial during America's biggest sporting event for some seven years and it picked a good time. TV
ratings for American football are heavily higher and a 30-second spot for the game sold for $7 million. Nissan's ad is a minute long but it looks
like a star-studded blockbuster.
(VIDEO CLIP, NISSAN COMMERCIAL)
QUEST: All right. Allyson Witherspoon is the chief marketing officer for Nissan US.
I'm going to start, I'm just going to trust my luck on this first question.
[15:35:00]
The advert, well, it's a 60 second advert, so that will have cost you, I don't know, $12 million, give or take. But you had to make the commercial.
What is the budget, if you added everything, including the coffee served, what was the budget for Super Bowl ad?
ALLYSON WITHERSPOON, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, NISSAN US: We don't disclose the actual --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: Ha!
WITHERSPOON: -- production or the media. But I can tell you it is a very considerate investment obviously. And it's not something that, at Nissan,
that we go into or we take that very lightly.
So that is the reason why, when we go into the Super Bowl, we want it to be with a purpose and that's why we haven't been there for seven years. We
want to make sure we have the right story to tell, we have the right products we can promote. And we feel that we have that this year.
QUEST: Right but when you go to the CEO and thinking about spending, my number, not yours, I'll absolve you from that, $20 million or $50 million
or whatever it is, on this, we think it's good, it'll give us some publicity, that nice chap Quest on CNN will do an interview with us.
What is your rationale for doing it?
Why do you do this particular high profile event?
WITHERSPOON: Well, obviously, for this interview.
(LAUGHTER)
WITHERSPOON: But second to that, actually there are really three main reasons why we wanted to take on that considerable investment.
And the first one is that, at Nissan, we have been investing in the brand in the U.S. over the last year and we have been running a year-long brand
campaign. So we felt like this was a nice amplification moment for that.
The second one is that we're on a massive product transformation you've seen over the last couple years and we have one of the freshest lineups in
the automotive industry.
And third one is, in 2002 -- or 2022 -- we're going to be releasing two amazing vehicles, they are behind me. This is the model year 2023 all-new
Nissan Z and the all-new Nissan Aria.
QUEST: So they look gorgeous, the vehicles behind you. But they are, if we talk about their, the sustainability question. I know you've got an entire
raft of the statistics you can give me to show the way you're moving toward EVS. And I'm sure you have.
But you're not going to go to EVs as fast, not going toward EVs at the same speed in all markets, are you?
WITHERSPOON: So I mean, I can speak specifically for the U.S. We have had -- we were the very first company to have the mass produced Nissan Leaf and
that was 11 years ago.
This year we will be launching the all-new, all-electric Nissan Aria. So this is an amazing crossover. It is everything you love about
electrification and it also has incredibly advanced technology focus, especially on the interior and all of the driver capabilities that you have
in the vehicle.
QUEST: All right, behind you, the two cars. I can't decide.
Do I go for the yellow one or the, well, taupe or beige or -- which one?
WITHERSPOON: Why do you have to choose?
You can have both. You can have both.
(LAUGHTER)
QUEST: I think you stumped me on that one. Thank you, thank you very much.
WITHERSPOON: You're welcome.
QUEST: And I guess, if you can afford to do an advert at that sort of cost, good luck with the Super Bowl ad. I think it's amazing when people do
these sort of events, for better or worse, richer or poorer, it gets us all talking and makes us all feel a lot better. Thank you for joining us today.
Now talking of feeling better, the stage is set for the 94th Academy Awards, the Oscars as we know them better. Here's a look at the Best
Picture nominees. No surprise these days to see streamed movies, Netflix has two contenders.
It's "The Power of the Dog" and "Don't Look Up." "CODA" from Apple made the list, the closest nominee to a box office as we know it is "Dune" from
Warner. Its worldwide gross was nearly $400 million, its part of WarnerMedia, parent company of this network.
Brian, Brian, (INAUDIBLE). At least our own company's got one in there.
Chief media correspondent, are the Oscars still relevant?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: The Oscars are still relevant, because they are the organizing principle for -- where did I go?
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: About to ask you the same question.
(LAUGHTER)
QUEST: We can still hear you, Brian.
(CROSSTALK)
STELTER: I'll go ahead and tell you why. The top organizing principle for the movie industry, they are the most important night of the year. So when
Netflix gets 27 nominations, that's a statement.
And that happens at the same time Netflix's stock is down, investors are worried about the future and yet the story they're telling at the Oscars is
going to be a very strong one.
QUEST: OK.
Did they get those nominations because the films were good or because they simply produced so many that eventually you were going to get one something
out of it?
STELTER: Well, they produce a lot and they also spend a lot on trying to win awards. But Netflix has never won a Best Picture nomination. This is
the year they could do it.
[15:40:00]
"The Power of the Dog" and "Don't Look Up," two Best Picture nominees, they have a very strong chance to win one for the first time.
But Netflix, this is the third year in a row, where they've been the most nominated streaming service or the most nominated of them all.
So Netflix's dominance is really important to recognize, as THR said today, it's Netflix's world and we're all just living in it. So yes, there are
deep concerns from investors. Yes, a lot of questions about the future. But this is a moment for Netflix to feel really strong.
QUEST: So are there other what one would describe as policy issues concerning the Oscars this year, either the number of African Americans who
have been nominated or the voting jury?
Are there issues about the Oscars that we should know about?
STELTER: There's always snubs, complaints about certain movies and actors not making it. But the idea of Oscars so white, the controversies in past
years, those have mostly faded away. The Oscars have finally, belatedly started to bring in a more diverse group of voters.
And so they are starting to move away from that problem that has plagued them for years, Richard.
QUEST: Well, I haven't seen most of the Best Pictures.
Who's going to get it, Brian?
STELTER: "Don't Look Up," which is a very controversial film, people either love it or hate it, that Netflix film has a very strong chance. Of
course, it's about climate change, about Hollywood, it has a lot of people behind it.
The other film I would watch is "CODA," the Apple film, a really groundbreaking film about a family of deaf people and a child who can hear,
a remarkable film. And that's a big moment for Apple to get a Best Picture nomination.
QUEST: And of course, there's more, they increased the number of Best Pictures. Ah, your background. There you are, we can see your visage and it
is good to see. Thank you sir, I appreciate it. I'll go and watch them myself now. Thank you.
And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS on this Tuesday, the top of the hour, together, we'll do a dash for the closing bell. The market is up heavily,
so it could be a strong close. Look at that, nearly the best of the day. And "CONNECTING AFRICA" is next. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
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QUEST: I'm Richard Quest, a dash to the closing bell. Two minutes away. Nvidia's failed bid to buy Arm and the upheaval in the Peloton market
didn't rattle the markets. The Dow was up all day and we're up nearly 400 points toward the close.
Quick look at the Dow 30 and you can see which way we're going along with the Dow. The triple stack, there you have Amgen at the top; don't see that
every day of the week. Chevron at the bottom, similarly not one of our regular sort of days, gives you an idea of how the day went.
And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, I'm Richard Quest. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable.
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