US regulators to Facebook: It's not us, it's you - CNN

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Today in business news: A landmark case against Facebook, more Elon Musk drama, and a wee correction to one of last night's stories. Let's get into it.

ARE WE BREAKING UP?

It's not us, Facebook, it's you.

The US government is calling for Facebook to be broken up and two of its most popular assets — Instagram and WhatsApp — to be spun off.

THIS IS A BIG, BIG DEAL

More than 40 states and the Federal Trade Commission filed parallel lawsuits that accuse Facebook — a company valued at around $800 billion — of being an illegal monopoly.

Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion, and WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014. The lawsuits say those acquisitions were aimed at quashing potential rivals and cementing Facebook's dominance.

"By using its vast troves of data and money, Facebook has squashed or hindered what the company perceived to be potential threats," New York Attorney General Letitia James said Wednesday.

KEY POINTS:

• The FTC is seeking a permanent injunction in federal court that could, among other things, require Facebook to divest assets, including Instagram and WhatsApp, effectively breaking up Facebook as we know it
• The lawsuits, filed after more than a year-long investigation, are an unprecedented challenge to one of Silicon Valley's most powerful corporations.
• Facebook said it was reviewing the complaints and "will have more to say soon." The company pointed out that the FTC cleared the Instagram and WhatsApp deals and now "wants a do-over with no regard for the impact that precedent would have on the broader business community or the people who choose our products every day."

THE BIG PICTURE

Global tech giants are lawyering up as antitrust fervor grows in Washington.

In October, the Justice Department and 11 states filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging that it had stifled competition to maintain its powerful place in online search and search advertising. (Google has called the suit "deeply flawed" and that consumers use Google's platform because they choose to, not because they are forced to.)

The last major tech antitrust suit before that, experts say, dates back to the US government's landmark case against Microsoft in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

DOORDASH'S BANANAS IPO

Food delivery is one of the undisputed winners of the pandemic economy, which is why DoorDash just knocked the socks off its Wall Street debut.

DoorDash's stock soared 85% above its IPO price Wednesday. The stock opened at $182 per share, valuing the company at around $70 billion. That's almost as much as FedEx.

DoorDash is the United States' biggest food delivery app, followed by Grubhub. Not bad for a seven-year-old startup launched by a group of Stanford students.

Shares finished the day at nearly $190.

WHY IT'S A SMASH

• Food delivery is a rare bright spot in the pandemic economy, and DoorDash became a lifeline for restaurants since lockdowns began.
• And investors are fired up about two things (OK maybe more than two but especially these two) right now: tech stocks and IPOs.
• But challenges lie ahead: Like all companies that took off quickly during lockdown, DoorDash will need to prove it has staying power once indoor dining resumes and life goes back to normal, or normal-ish.

STAY TUNED

DoorDash is the first of two highly-anticipated IPOs this week for the on-demand economy. Airbnb is expected to go public on Thursday. Sara Ashley O'Brien has more.

ESCAPING THE VALLEY

Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO who's one hairless cat away from becoming an IRL Dr. Evil, is finally done with California.

He's moved to Texas.

There are a few reasons for the move:

• Business is growing: Tesla and SpaceX are still based in California, but Musk is spending a lot of time in the Lone Star state lately, opening a Tesla factory near Austin and tending to his spaceship and rocket program in South Texas.
• The bottom line: It probably doesn't hurt that Texas doesn't collect state income or capital gains tax for individuals. Musk famously vowed to rid himself of material possessions and "own no house" earlier this year, but it's hard to imagine he doesn't have a mind to one day go from the world's second-richest person to the top spot (currently occupied by Amazon Supreme Leader Jeff Bezos).
• Pure spite: Like everything Musk does, there's a troll-y element. Leaving California for Texas is a big middle finger to Silicon Valley and the state's regulators with whom he has frequently butted heads.

Meanwhile, Tesla indicated that it will sell up to $5 billion in additional shares "from time to time" at market prices, the second such announcement made in a matter of months, CNN Business' Julia Horowitz writes. And that makes sense. After all, Tesla's shares have jumped 677% this year. They've rallied 363% since Musk tweeted in May that Tesla's stock price was, in his opinion, "too high."

RELATED: A giant experimental rocket built by SpaceX exploded in a massive ball of fire, failing to land after successfully soaring eight miles into the sky. The launch marked the highest test flight yet of the technology Musk hopes will one day ferry the first humans to go to Mars, and a fiery ending was not totally unexpected.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

• Starbucks is adding 22,000 locations in the next 10 years. I didn't realize Earth had any more space for more Starbucks, but apparently the company is doubling down on pandemic-fueled trends of smaller locations that cater to more digital orders and drive-thru options.
• Starbucks also announced that Mellody Hobson will be the new chair of its board of directors, the first Black woman to hold that position at the company.
• Amazon-owned Twitch is officially banning blackface, swastikas and the Confederate flag, in one of the most targeted and far-reaching guidelines issued by a major tech company.
• McDonald's is eliminating a longstanding deal with franchisees that subsidizes the price of Happy Meal toys for customers. That could mean pricier Happy Meals next year.
• The 'bubble' saved the NBA season from Covid-19. But another crisis was waiting inside. CNN Business' Julianne Pepitone looked into how a trio of NBA leaders managed to save the season while navigating dual dilemmas: How to safely return to play during a global pandemic while confronting a national reckoning on race.

About last night...

We had an oops in our "Number of the Day" story about restaurant closures in Tuesday's Nightcap. The United States has had 10,000 restaurants close in the past three months. We mistakenly reported that 10,000 were on the brink of closing in the next three weeks. And boy, do we regret that error.

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US regulators to Facebook: It's not us, it's you - CNN
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