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☆ A Volkswagen plant in Germany sends staff off on their big summer break with a chorus of 'trumpets, trombones and drums'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Volkswagen closes its Wolfsburg factory for three weeks every summer when workers go on vacation. Unlike the US, it's common in European countries to take a long summer vacation. A Volkswagen factory in Germany shuts down for a three-week summer vacation each year, kicking off the long summer break with a "chorus of trumpets, trombones and drums," Bloomberg reported. It's common for workers in some European countries such as France, Sweden, and Italy, to take a long summer vacation, even for an entire month. Usually for Europeans, peak summer vacation season starts from mid-June, till the end of August.

Persons: —, It's, “, — Samuel Pollen, 🇪 (@ ANda Organizations: Volkswagen, Wolfsburg, Bloomberg, Morning, company's, Volkswagen Philharmonic Locations: Germany, Wolfsburg, France, Sweden, Italy

☆ Mark Zuckerberg says people should assume Elon Musk's comments about their cage fight 'has not been agreed on'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mark Zuckerberg suggested that people should take Elon Musk's comments with a pinch of salt. He said on Threads on Friday that people should "assume anything he says has not been agreed on." The Meta chief made the quip after Musk claimed that an "epic location" had been agreed upon. Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have renewed their intense rivalry as both billionaires continue to exchange jabs. "Until then, please assume anything he says has not been agreed on," Zuckerberg wrote.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk's, Musk, Elon Musk, Zuckerberg, he'll, Elon, I'm, Chan, Gennaro Sangiuliano, Musk brazenly, X didn't Organizations: Morning, UFC, Initiative, Musk Foundation, Culture, Italy's, Twitter, Meta Locations: Rome

☆ Robotaxis get the green light to roam the streets of San Francisco at any hour of the day
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cruise and Waymo got the go-ahead from state officials Thursday to offer driverless rides 24/7. Robotaxi companies Cruise and Waymo have been given the go-ahead from state officials to offer driverless rides in San Francisco at any hour of the day. Before it got the green light from officials, Cruise and Waymo had been authorized to offer its services from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m in limited areas of San Francisco. "Today's permit marks the true beginning of our commercial operations in San Francisco," Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in a blog post . San Francisco firefighters were forced to smash the front window of a Cruise driverless taxi in January to stop it from running over their hoses as they were engaged in active firefighting.

Persons: Cruise, Waymo, CPUC, Kyle Vogt, Tekedra Mawakana, Darcie Houck, Francisco firefighters, AVs, John Reynolds, Waymo didn't Organizations: California Public Utilities, Morning, California Public Utilities Commission Locations: California, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Mountain, Francisco

☆ The tech exec who is spending $2 million a year to reduce his biological age used to drink alcohol for breakfast
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson said he used to drink 3 ounces of wine for breakfast. The biotech founder takes 111 supplements a day in order to help reverse his biological age. Tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson revealed that he used to drink 3 ounces of alcohol every morning. "Then I got rid of it because it was too expensive from a calorie perspective," Johnson told the podcast host Steven Bartlett. The 45-year-old previously said he has a "biological age" of 37, thanks to the anti-aging program Project Blueprint that he created.

Persons: Bryan Johnson, Johnson, Steven Bartlett, Bartlett, Oliver Zolman Organizations: Tech

☆ Elon Musk suggests cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg is on, and will be live-streamed on X
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk appeared to confirm this his cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg is on. Elon Musk appears to be pressing ahead with his plans to fight Mark Zuckerberg. "Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on X," Musk wrote. An X user asked Musk what the point of the fight is and whether it is simply to motivate him to work out. An X user warned him to "be careful" because Zuckerberg practices jiu-jitsu and Musk fired back that he's "up for a cage match."

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, X, Musk, Dana White, Elon Musk didn't Locations: Italian, Rome

☆ Mark Zuckerberg said its Threads community is 'on the trajectory I expect' despite its plummeting daily user base
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mark Zuckerberg said its Threads user base is "on the trajectory I expect" despite many users leaving already. The Meta chief said it has been a "good week for Threads" in a post on the text-based app. Mark Zuckerberg said it has been a "good week" for Meta's new social network Threads in spite of its daily active user base plummeting since its launch. The data showed it had 8 million users at the end of July, down from a high of 44 million days after Threads launched on July 5. Zuckerberg wrote in a Threads post: "A good week for Threads.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Instagram, Adam Mosseri, Meta didn't

☆ Elon Musk says X will keep ad revenue from content creators who don't have a Blue premium subscription
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk said X will keep ad revenue from content creators who don't have a premium subscription. X rolled out its ads revenue-sharing program last month — and some users have reported big payouts. Elon Musk said that content creators on X, formerly known as Twitter, have to be premium subscribers to be eligible for its new ads revenue-sharing program. "The ad money will otherwise be kept by X if you are not an X Premium (Blue) subscriber," Musk said in a post. The price of an X premium subscription starts at $8 per month, or $84 a year, and it gives users access to extra features such as "Edit."

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Andrew Tate, Dogecoin, Billy Markus, X Organizations: Twitter Locations: Romania

☆ Some British Airways passengers could go hungry as it will stop loading flights with enough food for all flyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

British Airlines will stop loading flights with meals for all passengers to reduce food waste. Last month the airline brought back free tea and coffee for passengers on short-haul flights. British Airways is trialing a new catering system where it won't load enough food for all passengers on a flight in a bid to tackle food waste. This included scrapping free beverages for passengers on its short-haul economy flights, the Sunday Times reported. Last month it started giving passengers free tea and coffee again on its short-haul routes.

Persons: Willie Walsh, Walsh, Alex Cruz, Sean Doyle Organizations: British Airlines, Morning, British Airways, KFC, Passengers, Former British Airways, Financial Times, Sunday Times Locations: London, Caribbean, Iberia

☆ Adidas plans to keep 'carefully' moving more Yeezy stock after making $437 million from its first post-Kanye West sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Polly Thompson | Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Adidas said it made $437 million from the first sales of Yeezy shoes since cutting ties with Kanye West. A second batch of Yeezy items dropped Wednesday as Adidas keeps trying to shift leftover stock. The company kicked off another round of Yeezy sales Wednesday, including the popular sneakers Yeezy Boost 250 V2, 500, 700 and the Yeezy Slide and Foam Rnr lines. Demand for the remaining Yeezy stock has helped to bring the company's expected annual loss down from $764 million forecast in March to $491 million. In line with Gulden's promise that the company will "continue to carefully sell off more of the existing Yeezy inventory", a second batch of Yeezy sneakers went on sale this week.

Persons: Bjørn Gulden, Robert Kraft's, Ye, Gulden Organizations: Adidas, Kanye, Service, Associated Press, Fox News, Defamation League, Keeta Floyd Institute for Social, Robert Kraft's Foundation, Combat Locations: Wall, Silicon, German

☆ Elon Musk's giant 'X' sign is going to cost his landlord fees for building without a permit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The San Francisco landlord of X's headquarters will be charged fees over Elon Musk's sign antics. Elon Musk is causing more headaches for the landlord of the San Francisco, California, headquarters of X, the social media giant formerly called Twitter. Workers prepare to dismantle a large X logo on the roof of X headquarters on July 31, 2023. A building permit was required to remove the "X" sign but, "due to safety concerns," the permit can be obtained after the fact, Hannan said. City officials had issued a notice of violation on Friday after the "X" sign was put up on the building's roof without a permit.

Persons: Elon Musk's, Musk, Elon Musk, Justin Sullivan, Patrick Hannan, Hannan, it's Organizations: Elon, Twitter, Morning, San Francisco's Department, Inspection, SRI, Department of, Workers Locations: San Francisco, San Francisco , California

☆ Blind and other anonymous forums are 'places of pure misery,' says Redfin's CEO – but also let workers 'speak truth to power'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The CEO of real estate brokerage Redfin said anonymous forums are "places of pure misery." "Anonymity lets us slander one another without consequences, but it's also the only way to speak truth to power," Kelman said. "That led us to think there's a need for a third-party forum where people have the freedom to talk honestly about work," Kim said. "I was living there for six months and met with Amazon employees and signed them up in person – that's how we started flying." He also hosted parties and barbecues and invited Amazon workers so Blind could get more signups through word-of-mouth.

Persons: Redfin, Glenn Kelman, they're, Kyum Kim, it's, Kelman, Kim, Andrew Bosworth, Christian Charisius, Redfin didn't Organizations: Service, Meta, Twitter, Microsoft, Google, Korean, Amazon Locations: Wall, Silicon, Korea, California, Seattle

☆ After 17 years at Walmart, I wanted an adventure – so I quit and sold my condo to go live in an RV
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Lee Jeyes left his job as Walmart's head of innovation after almost 17 years. Jeyes sold his condo and most of his belongings to start a new life traveling and working in an RV. In February, I left my job at Walmart as its head of corporate innovation after almost 17 years at the company. I sold or donated most of my possessions — everything from my car to my condo — and bought an RV for $40,000 in May. I then sold my condo for $925,000 in April and freed myself from a mortgage for the first time in a decade.

Persons: Lee Jeyes, Jeyes, I'd, Lee, Wally, Lee Jeyes I've, I'm Organizations: Service, Walmart, Artists Locations: Wall, Silicon, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

☆ Peter Thiel paid staff an extra $1,000 a month if they lived close to the office so they were more likely to work late, book says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Peter Thiel paid staff an extra $1,000 a month if they lived near the office, a former worker said. The billionaire investor offered it so staff "were more likely to stay late," Michael Gibson wrote. Gibson made the claim in his book "Paper Belt on Fire: The Fight for Progress in an Age of Ashes." Peter Thiel offered his staff a monthly bonus of $1,000 if they lived close to the office, according to a former employee of the billionaire investor. It also offered employees with families a one-off payment of at least $15,000 for housing.

Persons: Peter Thiel, Michael Gibson, Gibson, Thiel, Meta, Davis Polk, Wardwell, they're, Insider's Aaron Mok, Meta didn't Organizations: Employees, Palantir Technologies, Guardian, Bloomberg, Facebook, Street Journal, ARC Locations: San Francisco, Menlo Park, Silicon Valley, ZipRecruiter

☆ Elon Musk just put a huge X logo on Twitter's San Francisco HQ – and may have broken some rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk had a huge X logo put on the roof of its San Francisco headquarters on Friday. It comes after Musk ordered the Twitter sign to be removed from the building on Monday. Elon Musk had a huge "X" logo put on the roof of its headquarters in San Francisco Friday as part of his overhaul of the company formerly known as Twitter. The X sign lights up at night. The Notice of Violation said the "@" symbol on the Twitter sign was "dangling" and could cause harm to pedestrians if it fell.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Patrick Hanna, Noah Berger Organizations: San Francisco, San Francisco Friday, Twitter, Associated Press, Department of, Inspection, Monday, San Francisco Police Department, Apple Locations: San Francisco

☆ Tupperware might just be the latest meme stock after its shares tripled in a week
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Ryan Hogg | Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tupperware might be the latest meme stock after more than tripling in value within a week. Shares in the embattled food container maker more than tripled since July 20 to just over $3, leaving many to wonder whether it might be the latest "meme stock." According to data from Marketwatch, 27% of Tupperware shares that are available to trade have been "shorted" by investors. The amount of short interest in Tupperware has indeed fallen more than a quarter this year amid apparent interest from retail investors. On r/WallStreetBets, the birthplace of the meme stock craze, members were giddily comparing the stock to Bed Bath & Beyond, the now-bankrupt homeware chain that had captivated certain investors since 2021.

Persons: Earl Tupper, didn't, Neil Saunders, Saunders, I've, Tupperware Organizations: Marketwatch, Orlando Business Journal, BlackRock, Orlando Business, Bed Locations: freefall, Tupperware

☆ I gave up my 6-figure journalism job to become a high school teacher. It was a huge culture shock — and nothing like 'Dead Poets Society.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

She gave up her six-figure salary to retrain as a teacher and set up the charity Now Teach. My mum was a great school teacher and when she died when I was in my forties I briefly thought about becoming a teacher like her. Ten years later when my dad died, I thought I needed to do something radical with the time I had left of my working life. So for me to leave readers with the impression that my life is like "Dead Poets Society" couldn't be further from the truth. I knew from writing about working life that many people in their fifties who were lawyers or worked in other corporate roles get bored with it and want to do something more useful.

Persons: Lucy Kellaway, I've, we've, We've Organizations: Financial Times, Service, JPMorgan, Oxford University, View, Poets Society, Penguin Locations: Wall, Silicon, Gateshead, England, Bracken House, City of London, Hackney, London

☆ Elon Musk said speaking to a man whose voice sounded just like his on Twitter Spaces was 'next-level'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk said it was "next-level" after he spoke to someone who sounds like him on Twitter Spaces. as the man sounded just like him. Some X users quipped "we live in a simulation" after Elon Musk spoke to a man who sounded eerily like him on a Spaces session hosted by an Elon Musk parody account. Other users who tweeted about the interaction said they've heard Dittmann speak in other Spaces and argued that he always sounded like Musk. Musk tweeted last year: "I'd like to meet this guy (if he is real).

Persons: Elon Musk, Elon, Adrian Dittmann, Dittmann, Musk, elon, they've, It's, Yilong Ma Organizations: Twitter, Morning

☆ About 40% of the world's population is now on Facebook — but most of the new users came from outside the US and Canada
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Facebook now has 3 billion monthly users, but most of the growth came from outside the US and Canada. And while the app's monthly users have more-or-less increased quarter on quarter, there were panic signals when Facebook's daily active users shrank for the first time in the app's history in the last quarter of 2021. Facebook's monthly active users in the US and Canada increased by only around one million, while it actually dropped by two million in Europe, per the company's earnings presentation. The largest increase in Facebook users came from the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world, at around 25 and 16 million monthly active users, respectively. The app amassed over 100 million users within its first five days.

Persons: That's, it's, —, Meta, Insider's Jyoti Mann Organizations: Facebook, Meta, Twitter, Bloomberg Locations: Canada, Europe, Asia, Pacific

☆ Jeff Bezos is ripped now. Here's how the Amazon founder went from scrawny to brawny — even though he still cheats with pancakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Jyoti Mann | Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has had a "glo-up" in recent years since stepping back from the company. He went from eating a tin of biscuits for breakfast every morning to putting in hours in the gym. Jeff Bezos was a pretty scrawny guy when he founded Amazon in 1994. She said that Bezos "stole" her personal trainer, Wes Okerson, who has also trained celebrities like Tom Cruise and Gerard Butler. Beyond his personal diet and fitness regimen Bezos has reportedly also invested in anti-aging research company Altos Labs.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sanchez, Sanchez, Wes Okerson, Tom Cruise, Gerard Butler, Jeff, Bezos, Bezos's, MacKenzie Scott, Betty Crocker Organizations: Amazon, Wall Street, Pillsbury, Altos Labs

☆ I dropped out of college and now make up to $5,000 a month as a 'meme lord'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jason Levin dropped out of college and turned his content creator side-hustle into a full-time job. He now makes between $2,000 and $5,000 a month by making memes and copywriting for startups and VCs. The growth came mostly from writing Twitter threads on marketing case studies and by making funny memes. While I made about $75 in crypto from the first few memes, I'm now earning between $2,000 and $5,000 a month from between three to five clients. I'm proud to say I'm a "meme lord" now, getting paid to make memes and silly content for companies.

Persons: Jason Levin, weren't, that's, I've, it's, I'm Organizations: Service, Rutgers University, Twitter, Union Square Ventures Locations: Wall, Silicon, New Jersey

☆ 'Concerning': Mark Zuckerberg trolls Elon Musk on Threads with one-word responses, just like the Twitter owner
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared to make fun of Elon Musk for the second time this week. He responded to Threads posts with one word – "concerning" – in the same way Musk often tweets. Mark Zuckerberg appeared to take another jab at Elon Musk on Threads, his new Twitter rival. The Twitter owner has responded to tweets with "concerning" at least 26 times, Insider found after reviewing his past replies. A few hours after the rollout of Threads, Zuckerberg appeared to mock Musk when he tweeted for the first time in a decade and posted a Spider-Man meme.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Zuckerberg, Elon, Nikita Bier, Philip Fung, Musk Organizations: Morning, Twitter, Meta

☆ Threads might be annoying Elon Musk no end – but he's still $137 billion richer than Mark Zuckerberg
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk's net worth is more than double Mark Zuckerberg's, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Musk has become $106 billion richer this year and is now worth $243 billion. Zuckerberg is worth $106 billion after adding $60 billion to his total this year as Meta stock rose. Musk's net worth soared by $106 billion this year to $243 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Zuckerberg, however, got just $60 billion richer, with his net worth now standing at $106 billion.

Persons: Elon, Mark Zuckerberg's, Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, tweeting, Meta, Musk Organizations: Bloomberg, Twitter, Meta, Tesla

☆ Jack Dorsey says 'running Twitter is hard' but tells Elon Musk it's 'critical to preserve the open internet' after data scraping crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Jack Dorsey said "running Twitter is hard" as users hit out at Elon Musk for imposing "rate limits." Dorsey said "I don't wish that stress upon anyone" after Musk capped how many tweets users can see. Musk said the limits were "temporary" and walked back on the numbers several times on Saturday. The Twitter co-founder said Saturday that "running Twitter is hard" after Elon Musk sparked a backlash by announcing "rate limits" on viewing tweets. Musk said Saturday that Twitter was placing temporary tweet-viewing rate limits restricting how many posts users can see.

Persons: Jack Dorsey, Dorsey, Musk, Elon Musk, Parag Agrawal Organizations: Elon, Twitter

☆ Elon Musk says Twitter users are being forced to sign in because of 'extreme levels' of data scraping by AI companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk said Twitter users have to temporarily sign in to view tweets to stop AI data scraping. Musk threatened companies that "stole" Twitter data with legal action and said he's open to ideas. Elon Musk said Twitter had to take "drastic and immediate" action to restrict access to tweets because AI companies were stealing its data. The Twitter CEO said Friday he took action to stop AI firms from "extreme levels" of data scrubbing. Hundreds of companies were "scraping Twitter data extremely aggressively", Musk said, adding that social media companies without an authentication process were at risk of becoming "bot-strewn hellscapes."

Persons: Elon Musk, Twitter, Musk, Tim Sweeney, Sweeney, OpenAI Organizations: Epic, Oracle, SpaceX, Twitter, New York Times

☆ A 43-year-old entrepreneur with terminal cancer set up a charity to help children who lose a parent and named it after his 2-year-old daughter
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An entrepreneur who now has just weeks to live set up a charity called Elizabeth's Smile last year. Nick Hungerford founded the charity to help children who lose a parent to a terminal illness. An entrepreneur who has terminal cancer and just weeks left to live has set up a charity to support children who lose a parent to a terminal illness. He came up with the charity idea in January 2022 after being told there were no resources to help grieving children who lose a parent. "I said 'I'm not going to accept this,'" Hungerford told The Telegraph.

Persons: Nick Hungerford, Elizabeth's, it'd, It's, I've, Hungerford, I'm, he's, Elizabeth Organizations: JPMorgan, Morning, BBC Radio, BBC, London Tech Locations: British

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