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☆ Tesla's unique approach to sales is giving it headaches
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The big storyFor saleGetty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BIOne of Tesla's biggest assets is its willingness to try new things, but its unique approach to sales is also what's giving it headaches. AdvertisementA key issue is Tesla's inability to evolve its sales tactics as the EV market rapidly changes . Business Insider's Grace Kay spoke to more than a dozen current and former employees in Tesla's sales division about how the company has tried to kick-start its sales unit . Not unlike its cars, Tesla's sales approach is innovative compared to the rest of the automotive industry. It's a great strategy when the cars sell themselves — which Teslas did for a while — since you don't need to maintain a traditional sales structure.

Persons: —, Jenny Chang, Rodriguez, It's, Elon Musk, Insider's Grace Kay, There's, Teslas, Justin Sullivan, Fintechs, chatbots, Rebecca Zisser, Goldman Sachs, James Knightley, Andy Jassy, Mike Blake, Chelsea Jia Feng, Venu, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, Annie Smith, Amanda Yen Organizations: Service, Business, EV, Tech, Citadel, ING Economics, Big Pharma, Pfizer, Novo Nordisk, Department of Labor, Chevron, ExxonMobil Locations: New York, London

☆ Elon Musk's payday drama comes to a head today
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

It's always sunny at Business Insider when "Welcome to Wrexham" star Rob McElhenney is around. In today's big story, we're looking at the drama between Tesla shareholders over Elon Musk's bumper pay package that gets decided on today . As funny as that sounds, the battle over Elon Musk's pay package is no joke. One longtime Tesla investor said the EV maker is " kind of the bottom of the pecking pole of Elon's companies ." Vote here on if you're for or against Musk's pay package .

Persons: —, Rob McElhenney, Elon, Apu Gomes, Chelsea Jia Feng, Insider's Grace Kay, they're, he's, Brooks Kraft, Musk, it's, Gwynne Shotwell, Somodevilla, Blackstone, Dan Ives, Araya Doheny, Patrick Fallon, Jenny Chang, Rodriguez, Henrik, Fisker, VCs, that's, whittle, Mark Zuckerberg, de Haro, Gen Zers, Mike Verdu, Slack, Brad Smith, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, George Glover Organizations: Service, Business, Elon, Getty, Retail, Brooks Kraft LLC, Nvidia, Tesla, Wall, SpaceX, Federal Reserve, Big Apple, Apple, Microsoft, BI, Adobe Locations: Wrexham, Delaware, Tesla, Manhattan, New York, London

☆ A Tesla worker who was laid off a month after he joined says he can't pay his rent
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewAn employee who'd been working at Tesla for about a month learned he'd been laid off on Monday, local news station KVUE reported. This includes quietly removing inventory discounts for its EVs in the US, as Tesla investor Sawyer Merritt noted on X.AdvertisementMusk responded, "We are simplifying and streamlining the whole Tesla sales and delivery system. Musk announced his latest moonshot on X earlier this month and said Tesla would launch a self-driving taxi called "Robotaxi," which it would reveal on August 8. Tesla didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment made outside of normal working hours.

Persons: —, who'd, he'd, Ezekiel Love, Love, Elon Musk, Insider's Grace Kay, Sawyer Merritt, Musk, Dan Ives, Ives, Tesla Organizations: Service, Tesla, EV, Business Locations: Texas

☆ A Tesla worker who was hired and then laid off a month later says he can't pay his rent
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tesla laid off more than 10% of its workforce, a memo sent by CEO Elon Musk showed. One worker who lost his job a month after joining Tesla told KVUE he couldn't pay his rent. AdvertisementAn employee who'd been working at Tesla for about a month learned he'd been laid off on Monday, local news station KVUE reported. This includes quietly removing inventory discounts for its EVs in the US, as Tesla investor Sawyer Merritt noted on X.AdvertisementMusk responded, "We are simplifying and streamlining the whole Tesla sales and delivery system. Musk announced his latest moonshot on X earlier this month and said Tesla would launch a self-driving taxi called "Robotaxi," which it would reveal on August 8.

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk, KVUE, —, who'd, he'd, Ezekiel Love, Love, Insider's Grace Kay, Sawyer Merritt, Musk, Dan Ives, Ives Organizations: Tesla, Service, EV Locations: Texas

☆ Mark Zuckerberg's comeback is in full swing
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | Shona Ghosh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Mark Zuckerberg is revamping his image, showing off his martial arts skills on Instagram. Beating Elon Musk in a cage fight would strengthen his comeback. That also plays well to a certain kind of tech crowd — the kind that loves both Joe Rogan and Lex Fridman. No wonder he's accepted a cage-fight challenge from Elon Musk. In another vindication, Apple has fueled hype for Mark Zuckerberg's pet project, the metaverse, by launching the Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality headset.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Elon, —, Grace Kay, Zuckerberg, Joe Rogan, Lex Fridman, he's, Elon Musk, Zuck couldn't, Zuckerberg's Augustus, Meta, Apple, Mark Zuckerberg's, Musk, hasn't, Zuck, that's Organizations: Morning, Twitter, Apple Vision Locations: Instagram

☆ A Texas resident who lives near Elon Musk's construction sites says he wants the billionaire to 'do better' and be a good neighbor amid local pushback
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Chap Ambrose told The Washington Post he wants Musk to "do better" and be a "good neighbor." A Texas resident and self-proclaimed Elon Musk fan has been speaking out against the billionaire's construction projects in a rural area. The Boring Company has been working on a Bastrop facility since 2021 and Musk's private space company, SpaceX, has also started building a site there. Ambrose and representatives for The Boring Company and SpaceX did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside normal working hours. When contacted by Insider at the time, a spokesperson for The Boring Company did not respond.

☆ Elon Musk says 'other companies' should take note of the way Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky interacts with people on Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk praised Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky on Friday for the way he uses Twitter to gather feedback on his company. Chesky asked Twitter users what the booking platform should focus on as a top priority to improve it. Elon Musk praised Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky for using Twitter as a tool to gather feedback on his company. It introduced a new take on the foundational idea of the booking platform, "Airbnb Rooms" – staying in strangers' spare rooms. Musk and Chesky didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

☆ Bill Gates says pausing the development of AI systems will not 'solve' challenges ahead, days after Musk and others cautioned about 'risks to society' from the tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bill Gates said he didn't think a halt on advanced AI development for six months is practical. His comments came a week after an open letter called for a six-month pause on advanced AI development. Gates, however, isn't the only high-profile voice cautioning about pausing AI development. Last week, billionaire investor Bill Ackman warned that shutting down AI development for six months would allow bad actors six more months to catch up to current technology. Bill Gates did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent via the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation outside regular business hours.

☆ San Francisco's homicide rate is low compared to other big cities, but the killing of tech founder Bob Lee shows that doesn't tell the whole story
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The tragic killing of tech founder Bob Lee has reignited the debate over crime in San Francisco. Those stats compare relatively favorably to other big cities in the US, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing FBI data. Meanwhile, the homicide rate in San Francisco was 5 per 100,000 in 2020, the FBI's crime data shows, as analyzed by the San Francisco Chronicle. It's also lower than other cities of comparable sizes to San Francisco, including Columbus, Ohio. Additionally, the San Francisco Police Department must conclude its investigation before the DA's office can step in, Randy Quezada, communications director at the San Francisco District Attorney's office, told Insider's Grace Kay and Sindhu Sundar.

☆ Meta's latest round of layoffs could hit as soon as this week, as the company tries to finalize headcount before Zuckerberg goes on parental leave: Bloomberg
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

These cuts could happen as soon as this week before CEO Mark Zuckerberg goes on parental leave. Meta already laid off 11,000 workers or approximately 13% of the company's headcount in November. This fresh round of headcount cuts is happening because of Meta's financial targets, and is separate from Zuckerberg's push for "flattening" Meta's organizational structure, Bloomberg's sources — who were granted anonymity to talk about internal matters — said. A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on further layoffs, the expected number of job cuts, and which divisions might be impacted. The spokesperson did not immediately respond to Insider's follow-up query on when these reported job cuts might happen.

☆ A 17-year-old Seattle high schooler is tracking more than 150 private jets' emissions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Seattle teenager Akash Shendure runs Climate Jets, a website that tracks emissions of private jets. Using Sweeney's Ground Control Registration Database — which was developed to famously track Elon Musk's private jet — Shendure identifies and compiles carbon emissions from the private jets of more than 150 wealthy Americans and their families. Shendure is the latest to publicly keep tabs on the expenditure of private jets, following on the heels of Sweeney, now 20, who recently launched his own public-jet tracking database. Sweeney began tracking Musk's private jet in 2020 and created the Twitter account @ElonJet to share his findings, gaining thousands of followers and even job offers. "I don't mean any harm and that's never the intended purpose of the accounts," Sweeney told Insider in December 2022.

☆ OpenAI cofounder Elon Musk said the non-profit he helped create is now focused on 'maximum-profit,' which is 'not what I intended at all'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk said OpenAI has become a "maximum-profit," closed-source firm "effectively controlled by Microsoft." The billionaire said this is not what he "intended" when he co-founded the company in 2015. Musk wrote in response: "OpenAI was created as an open source (which is why I named it "Open" AI), non-profit company to serve as a counterweight to Google, but now it has become a closed source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft. The company announced a partnership with Microsoft the same year and welcomed a $1 billion investment from the tech giant. Speaking at the 2023 World Government Summit in Dubai this week Musk said "we need to regulate AI Safety."

☆ 2023 has barely started and Amazon, Salesforce, and Vimeo have already announced over 25,000 job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Media company Vimeo also said on Wednesday it will lay off 11% of staff. The massive job cuts — which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday — were far higher than Amazon's initial plans of 10,000 job cuts. Amazon employs 1.5 million workers and this round of job cuts is the largest in the company's history. Media company Vimeo also said on Wednesday it will lay off 11% of its total staff. The staff cuts will help Vimeo address economic concerns, a company spokesperson told Insider's Grace Kay.

☆ After banning the college student who tracked Elon Musk's jet, Twitter also banned sharing links to his jet tracker accounts on other social media platforms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The college student who tracked Elon Musk's jet on Twitter had over 30 of his accounts banned on Wednesday. Twitter also blocked anyone from sharing links to Sweeney's accounts on other platforms. In addition to blocking the Twitter account that tracked Musk's jet, the platform has also banned sharing links to Sweeney's @elonmusksjet Instagram account and his "Elon Musk's Jet" Facebook page. Twitter has blocked sharing links to Instagram and Facebook pages that track his private jet. Sweeney, who previously said his account had been "shadow-banned," also said he planned to continue tracking Musk's jet on other platforms.

☆ Construction workers who helped build Tesla's gigafactory in Austin file complaints claiming unpaid wages and fake workplace safety certifications
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Construction workers who helped build Tesla's gigafactory in Austin filed multiple workplace complaints on Tuesday. Workers accused their subcontractors of withholding wages and failing to keep workers safe, documents say. The construction workers accused their subcontractors — those who employed and paid the workers — of withholding wages from some workers, according to a complaint sent by an attorney at the Workers Defense Project, the nonprofit that's representing the construction workers. Even so, this isn't the first time that Tesla has faced complaints about its working conditions. The construction workers are seeking to recover their lost wages, according to the complaints.

☆ Elon Musk's plan to turn Twitter into a super app is a step closer now that he owns the platform
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

According to Musk, the Twitter acquisition will play a part in the creation of a super app called X. If Musk plans to turn Twitter into X, it will likely mean bringing in many new features. Although reports vary about Musk's full intentions, the billionaire has made repeated claims that the acquisition would play a part in the creation of a super app, or what he has also referred to as an "everything app." If Musk plans to create his everything app with Twitter it will mean bringing in many new features. 'Grand vision'Musk has stated that the Twitter acquisition may speed up the creation of his super app by three to five years.

☆ Billionaire hedge fund boss Ken Griffin paid $8 million to fly to space with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin — but will donate his seat to a New York schoolteacher, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-10 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Billionaire hedge fund boss Ken Griffin paid $8 million for a seat on a Blue Origin space flight. The $8 million Griffin paid represents a $20 million price drop from the first ticket sold for a crewed Blue Origin spaceflight — although one of the passengers on the first flight was Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos. Blue Origin didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. A Blue Origin ticket includes training days, on-site accommodation at Astronaut Village in the Texas desert, and the actual flight itself, Insider previously reported. On Monday, Blue Origin announced the passengers for its fifth crewed launch to the edge of space.

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