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Federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the Justice Department are said to be investigating whether the crypto exchange knowingly permitted users to bypass U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Earlier this year, Tesla (TSLA) announced that it was raising its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to an eye-watering $25 billion.

It’s part of CEO Elon Musk’s plan to push the company to the next frontier, past its electric vehicle present, into an artificial intelligence and robotics future.

A large chunk of that money was to go to transforming production capacity, which the company previously allocated to its now-defunct Model S and Model X vehicles, into production lines for its humanoid robot project, Optimus.

Tesla eventually hopes to produce 1 million Optimus robots annually. While that plan has always been ambitious, considering the cost of those robots, the Chinese market is showing just how hard it will be for Tesla to achieve its ultimate goal.

China promotes humanoid robot growth

The foreign humanoid robotics market is much more mature than it is in the U.S., so when Unitree, China’s most popular robotics company, debuted on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in August, it was a perfect opportunity for U.S. observers to see what investors thought of the space.

Venture capitalists in China have described investment in the sector as “campaign-style innovation,” a Chinese phrase for money pouring into sectors that China’s Communist Party favors, according to a Reuters report.

Related: Tesla’s Optimus robot plan hits major snag

Party leaders have promoted “embodied intelligence” as a strategic emerging industry, leading to an inflow of investment dollars.

So that might help explain why Unitree jumped more than fivefold in its debut. Unitree wasn’t the first company in the space to go public, though it was seen as a bellwether, and it certainly would not be the last. There are at least half a dozen more Chinese humanoid robotics companies preparing to go public.

But since its debut, Unitree has dropped 55% from its all-time high, and now the same powers that encouraged investment in the sector are looking to pump the brakes.

China slows down humanoid robotics IPO push

Recently, The Information and The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese regulators are looking to slow down the number of humanoid robotics listings on public markets.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission recently held informal talks with some investment banks and institutional investors about the issue, the Journal reported.

The Information reported that the CSRC issued “window guidance” to some banks and firms that it is “lifting the bar for approving humanoid start-ups that plan to go public.” Now, companies must prove they can generate recurring revenue and can narrow their losses or “achieve real innovation” before IPO approvals are even considered.

The Chinese market is proving how challenging it will be for Tesla to achieve its humanoid robot goal.Cheng Xin / Getty Images

Regulators review revenue streams

Regulators are paying particularly close attention to whether the revenue robotics companies are generating through local, government-backed projects is sustainable, Reuters noted.

Robot data-collection centers where robots are trained, and joint ventures where local governments can provide between 80% and 90% of initial investment, have generated significant revenue for some companies.

Those companies then use their inflated balance sheets to meet the public listing requirements. But now regulators are questioning whether that revenue actually represents demand from independent customers.

One person interviewed by Reuters estimated that revenue at some robotics companies could fall between 60% and 70% if you stripped away that data-collection center portion.

While we’ve all seen the videos of humanoid robots dancing or breaking track and field records, such as this one posted on X (the former Twitter), the average consumer doesn’t have any need for a $30,000 appliance that does those things.

“What’s the use case? Is it just people’s robots ​dancing around? Is it working in factories?” an anonymous senior banker involved in Asian equity offerings asked, according to Reuters. “The volume hasn’t really caught up with the hype.”

Tesla’s humanoid future

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been extremely optimistic about Optimus, calling it perhaps “the most important product” in Tesla’s history, Futubull reported.

Lack of demand led Tesla to mothball the Model X and Model S, and the company is betting billions that demand for humanoid robots will be there to replace them. But there is scant evidence for this assumption.

“Tesla’s humanoid robots have hardly demonstrated any notable capabilities, but they’re supposed to cost tens of thousands of dollars each once they’re launched,” Zachary Shahan of CleanTechnica wrote recently.

Optimus robots cost $10,000 to produce at Giga Texas, according to Tesla Car World, and could retail for between $20,000 and $30,000, StandardBots noted.

“Normal people can’t plop down $30,000 on a robot companion, and how many super-rich people are really going to benefit from one? And $30,000 is probably an overly optimistic price. Who is going to spend $30,000 or more on what is basically a toy?” Shahan said.

Shahan points out that, despite the billions now being spent on the project, Optimus won’t be for sale until the end of 2027 at the earliest.

“Maybe I’ve missed something on how this makes much more sense than keeping the Model S and Model X production lines running,” Shahan concluded.

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Talks between the two kicked off late last year, with plans for the former to own 95% of the merged company.

Sen. John Curtis is pushing for a probe into the matter even as Trump Jr. and his wife defended their relationship with the Russian oligarch.

“My mother has a pension, Social Security, investments and a house probably worth over $1 million.”

Fear is the easiest thing in finance to sell, and the hardest to time.

For more than a decade, Robert Kiyosaki has told readers of “Rich Dad Poor Dad” that the biggest crash in history is coming. The prescription barely changes: own gold, silver, bitcoin, and real estate, and get out of cash.

Kiyosaki built the Rich Dad brand around that message, and he has repeated some version of it for years. His readers have learned to expect it, which is part of why the warnings land softly.

That last instruction is the one that reaches ordinary savers. Most people sitting on cash are not speculating on it. They are holding an emergency fund, a house deposit, or tuition due in the spring.

Where that money sits varies enormously. Some of it earns close to nothing at a big bank, and some of it earns a rate that beats inflation. Most savers never check which one they have.

On Sept. 15, Kiyosaki said the wait was over. The next day, the Federal Reserve did something it had not done since 2023, and the effect landed on the one asset he keeps telling you to dump.

Kiyosaki says the biggest crash has started

“BIGGEST CRASH IN HISTORY has started,” Kiyosaki wrote in a post on X (the former Twitter) on Sept. 15. “In 2026, that crash started, in Europe,” he added in the same post, tying the call to his 2002 book, “Rich Dad’s Prophecy.”

He blamed speculation in artificial intelligence, war in the Middle East, U.S. debt, and baby boomer retirements, according to IBTimes UK. People over 40 with a “401(k), IRA, or Superannuation” account “could be in trouble,” he warned, the outlet reported Sept. 15.

Kiyosaki sells Rich Dad books and courses, has said he bought a gold mine, and holds real estate, oil, gold, silver, and bitcoin instead of cash, according to the same report. “Just bought a GOLD mine in Utah,” he wrote in a March 2022 X post.

That detail belongs on the table when you weigh the advice. The man telling you to buy metals has his own money in producing them.

Kiyosaki said Sept. 15 that the historic crash he warned of has begun.TIMOTHY A. CLARY / Getty Images

Europe and Japan trade below records, still up for the year

Start with Europe, where Kiyosaki says the crash began. The Euro Stoxx 50 closed Sept. 18 at 6,228.55, down 1.49% on the day, according to Trading Economics. That leaves the index 5.37% below its August record of 6,582.30, and still up 14.11% for the year.

Japan has taken a harder hit. The Nikkei 225 finished Sept. 18 at 65,019, about 10.94% below its June peak of 73,007, according to Trading Economics’ Japan data.

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Even so, the Nikkei is up 44.34% in 2026. It rose 1.4% after the Bank of Japan lifted its benchmark rate to 1.25% from 1.0%, the highest in 31 years, the Associated Press reported Sept. 17.

At home, the S&P 500 closed Sept. 18 at 7,650.50, per Trading Economics’ U.S. data. That is 2.13% below its August record of 7,816.70 and 14.80% higher than a year earlier.

Each of those markets sits below a record while still up over 12 months. That is a pullback, and it is the ordinary cost of owning stocks.

Kiyosaki has called this crash before

He has made a “started” call before. His prophecy of the biggest crash in history “is coming true, in 2025. Markets are crashing,” he wrote on X on Feb. 8, 2025.

The S&P 500 has set several record highs since then, the latest in August 2026.

Related: Robert Kiyosaki sends blunt stock market warning

TheStreet has tracked the pattern, including his May warning of the worst crash since the Depression. He “has called for crashes that never arrived and issued warnings that proved years premature,” that piece noted.

His metals call deserves credit over longer stretches. Gold is up 18.96% from a year ago, according to Trading Economics’ gold data.

The timing is where it gets expensive. Gold closed Sept. 18 at $4,383.45 an ounce, 21.84% below its January record of $5,608.35. A $10,000 purchase at that peak is worth about $7,816 now.

Cash now pays 4.10% after the Fed rate hike

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate a quarter point to a 3.75% to 4% range on Sept. 16, its first rate hike since 2023.

The top savings rate is 4.10% APY at CIT Bank, about six times the national average of 0.64%, according to Bankrate. CIT requires a $5,000 balance to earn that rate.

The top 100 money market funds averaged 3.51% as of Sept. 15, CNN reported. Three-month Treasury bills yielded 4.08% on Sept. 18, per Trading Economics’ bill data.

Prices rose 3.4% over the 12 months through August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. That is the bar any cash yield has to clear.

Kiyosaki’s havens vs. your cash at a glance

Euro Stoxx 50, Sept. 18 close: 6,228.55, or 5.37% below its August record

Nikkei 225, Sept. 18 close: 65,019, or 10.94% below its June peak

S&P 500, Sept. 18 close: 7,650.50, or 2.13% below its August record

Gold, Sept. 18: $4,383.45 an ounce, or 21.84% below its January record

Top savings APY (CIT Bank): 4.10%

National average savings APY: 0.64%

Top 100 money market funds, Sept. 15: 3.51%

Three-month Treasury bill, Sept. 18: 4.08%

CPI, 12 months through August: 3.4%

What a 4.10% savings rate means for your money

I ran $10,000 through both rates. The national average pays about $64 a year. The top account pays about $410.

After 3.4% inflation, the average account costs you roughly $276 in buying power over a year. The top account leaves you about $70 ahead.

Kiyosaki has a point about idle cash. A savings account paying the national average quietly shrinks once inflation is counted.

The cheaper fix never shows up in his posts. Moving the same dollars into a top-yield insured account beats inflation at current rates, without taking on gold’s price swings.

Banks competing for deposits may raise CD rates “by more than a Fed rate hike,” First Bank CEO Patrick Ryan told CNN.

4 moves worth making this week

Check where your emergency fund sits. Shifting $10,000 from the national average to an insured high-yield account adds about $346 a year.

Keep contributing to your 401(k). The 2026 limit is $24,500, or $32,500 if you are 50 or older and $35,750 at ages 60 through 63, the IRS said. Stopping on a headline also forfeits any employer match.

Know what your account holds. Kiyosaki’s sharper question, what is actually inside your 401(k), matters most if you are near retirement and heavy in stocks.

Size any metals bet small. Gold’s 21.84% slide from its January peak shows why the amount matters more than the idea.

The next Fed decision sets what your cash earns

Sixteen of 18 Fed officials expect another hike before year-end, CNN reported. The next rate announcement is scheduled for Oct. 28, according to NerdWallet, and savings and money market yields could move again within days of it.

Kiyosaki may be right about a crash eventually. He has been saying so long enough that one will arrive on his watch.

My read is simpler. The cash he tells you to dump is paying you 4.10% to wait, and a patient saver can use that time to decide what to buy when prices really do fall.

Related: Robert Kiyosaki has a strong warning on 401(k)s for all Americans

“Mamma Mia!” star Amanda Seyfried and her husband, Thomas Sadoski, have split after nine years of marriage—just weeks after the actress put her longtime Los Angeles home on the market.

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Why we love this deal

Using smaller areas of storage throughout the house can help keep your items tidy, instead of sitting out all over the counter or side tables. A corner shelf can help keep your items put away while also keeping them easily accessible, making it a great option to hold books, small storage baskets of odds and ends like chargers and batteries, notebooks, the TV remote, or decor that you enjoy showing off. 

The Vimber 6-Tier Corner Shelf with LED Lights takes it a step further, featuring a separate strip of LED lights that can be fixed to the shelf, offering ambient light and allowing you to see your items better. For just $40, this deal offers a great discount ahead of Prime Big Day Deals.

Vimber 6-Tier Corner Shelf with LED Lights, $40 (was $55) at Amazon

Courtesy of Amazon

Shop at Amazon

Why do shoppers love it?

This corner shelf is a great addition to any room. The six shelves measure almost a foot wide, and can fit tons of different items depending on where you’re using it. Place it in the bathroom to hold small baskets full of makeup, put it in the entryway to light up the hallway as you get home at night and offer a place to set your purse, or use it in the family room to set small folded blankets for the sofa, electronics, or even as a side table to hold some morning coffee. It also works as a great night light and storage space for the kid’s room. It fits perfectly in the corner of the room, and features a wall-anchoring kit to keep it in place. 

Related: Walmart’s space-saving 3-tier corner shelf floor lamp is only $36

The shelf measures about 65 inches tall, offering a good amount of space for vertical storage, allowing you to place books, decorations, and other larger items upright. The space-saving design uses room that is usually overlooked or forgotten, offering storage space without taking up valuable floor space. It’s available in rustic brown and black or white, with other colors also available at higher prices. This shelving unit can hold up to 150 pounds, giving you peace of mind no matter what you’re storing. The LED light strip can change colors and comes unattached to the unit. This allows you to set it up how you like it, depending on where you want the light. 

Details to know

Sizes: This unit measures 11.8 inches deep and 65 inches tall.

LED lights: The lights are delivered unattached, allowing you to put them on however you prefer — they can be placed on the front or back of the unit, or along the underside of the shelving. 

Stability: This unit holds up to 150 pounds and features a wall anchoring kit for safety.

“I am so satisfied with this corner shelf,” one buyer wrote. “My kids also love it. It’s an excellent addition to the room, and assembly is super easy; it took only 15 minutes. It is sturdy after being fully assembled, and it fits in the 90-degree corner of the room properly. I’ve been using it for months. It’s an excellent value for your money. I definitely recommend it.”

Shop more deals

Yjsqoeoe Floor Lamp Side Table, $35 (was $50) at Amazon

Higdbfe 5-Tier L-Shaped Bookshelf, $65 (was $80) at Amazon

Hoobro Corner Light Cabinet with Shelves, $45 (was $60) at Amazon

The Vimber 6-Tier Corner Shelf with LED Lights makes storing small items or showing off decor, while also lighting up the space, convenient and easy. The LED lights change colors, allowing you to set the mood you want for the day, and the shelf offers a whopping 150-pound capacity of storage for just $40. 

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