Tuesday newspaper round-up: Elon Musk, John Lewis, Mike Lynch

(Sharecast News) - Jeremy Hunt could offer striking public sector workers a bigger pay rise before his budget next month by cancelling plans for a fuel duty freeze costing £6bn, according to a leading tax and spending watchdog. With waves of fresh strike action planned across the public sector next month, the director of Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), Paul Johnson, said the chancellor faced a "straight choice" between subsidising car driving and helping public sector workers cope with the cost of living crisis. - Guardian Elon Musk is facing yet another lawsuit as shareholders of Tesla accuse the chief executive and his company of overstating the effectiveness and safety of their electric vehicles' autopilot and full self-driving technologies. Shareholders have alleged in the proposed class action lawsuit that Tesla defrauded them over four years with false and misleading statements that concealed how its technologies - suspected as a possible cause of multiple fatal crashes - "created a serious risk of accident and injury". The case was filed Monday in a San Francisco federal court. - Guardian

Dame Sharon White has sacked the head of John Lewis's department stores as the business fights surging prices and the threat of a resurgent Marks & Spencer. Pippa Wicks is stepping down from the company with immediate effect after less than three years in the post. - Telegraph

Some of Britain's most prominent business figures have called on the prime minister to block the prospective extradition of Mike Lynch, the software tycoon, to the United States. Entrepreneurs including Brent Hoberman, a co-founder of Lastminute.com, along with City veterans such as Lord Stevenson of Coddenham, the former chairman of Pearson and HBOS, have written to Rishi Sunak complaining about America's "unreasonable" use of an extradition treaty. - The Times

Bosses at public companies are expecting to embark on more acquisitions this year as an improvement in economic conditions sets the stage for a wave of dealmaking in the City. In a poll of FTSE 250 chief executives by Numis, 94 per cent expected to make acquisitions in 2023, compared with 86 per cent last year. The investment bank also found that 88 per cent of FTSE directors regard British companies as vulnerable to takeovers. - The Times