Elon Musk is keeping investors’ dreams of a Tesla robotaxi alive

By just about every measure, Tesla’s first-quarter earnings report on Tuesday was dreary. The company missed estimates on the top and bottom lines. Revenue fell by 9% year over year, the worst decline since 2012. Auto sales dropped 13% from the same period in 2023. Free cash flow turned negative. But CEO Elon Musk downplayed most of that … Read more

Anthropic lining up a new slate of investors, ruled out Saudi Arabia

Deep-pocketed, sovereign wealth funds are among the investors clamoring to get a stake in Anthropic, the red-hot artificial intelligence startup that’s taking on OpenAI. One country that’s being left out: Saudi Arabia. As bankers line up a group of potential new Anthropic backers, the company has ruled out taking money from the Saudis, according to … Read more

Sam Altman’s Reddit stake worth over $600 million after NYSE debut

Reddit mascot Snoo is seen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as Reddit begins trading in New York on March 21, 2024.  Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says he has no equity in the $80 billion artificial intelligence startup he co-founded in 2015. His … Read more

Amazon and other retailers hit by refund fraud costing them billions

A UPS seasonal worker delivers packages on Cyber Monday in New York on Nov. 27, 2023. Stephanie Keith | Bloomberg | Getty Images Just before midnight on May 4, 2023, police were called to an Amazon warehouse in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to investigate a reported theft.  They were met by a loss prevention employee, who directed … Read more

Lyft 2023 Q4 earnings report

Air travelers walk toward a Lyft pickup area at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles on Aug. 20, 2020. Mario Tama | Getty Images Lyft shares initially soared in extended trading on Tuesday but pulled way back after the company’s finance chief acknowledged on an earnings call that the release included a major error. … Read more

Luxury Uber rival Wheely launches in Dubai to take on Careem

The Dubai skyline. Umar Shariff Photography Wheely, a luxury-focused competitor to ride-hailing giant Uber, is launching in Dubai as the company looks to reembark on an international expansion effort that was quashed by Covid in 2020. The company, founded by Russian-Swiss entrepreneur Anton Chirkunov, told CNBC it will offer rides in the United Arab Emirates … Read more

How the Apple iPhone changed the world

When Apple announced the iPhone in 2007, Steve Jobs called it a “revolutionary product” in a handset category that he said needed to be reinvented.  Now, nearly two decades and 42 models later, the iPhone is one of the world’s most popular phones. Apple has sold over 2.3 billion units of the iPhone and has … Read more

For 10-year GM CEO Mary Barra, 2024 is about change and crisis

Mary Barra, Chair and CEO of the General Motors Company (GM), speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, on May 2, 2022. Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images DETROIT — Monday marks 10 years of Mary Barra’s tenure as CEO of General Motors, ushering in a crucial year for … Read more

Tech stocks wrap up 2023 rally after last year’s slump

The Nasdaq MarketSite in the Times Square neighborhood of New York, on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images Tech stocks rebounded from a disastrous 2022 and lifted the Nasdaq to one of its strongest years in the past two decades. After last year’s 33% plunge, the tech-heavy Nasdaq finished 2023 … Read more

Startup bubble fueled by Fed cheap money policy finally burst in 2023

Scooters take over SXSW in Austin, TX As the last decade came to an end, it was easy for a young engineer to hop on a Bird scooter and ride it to a nearby WeWork office, home to the hottest new crypto startup. Then came Covid. Electric scooters and coworking spaces were no longer important, … Read more