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☆ Spirit Airlines passengers say they were told to prepare for an emergency water landing in a chaotic flight to Florida
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Passengers on a flight to Florida say they were told to prepare for an emergency water landing. The Spirit Airlines flight had to return to a Jamaica airport due to a suspected mechanical issue. Passengers say the flight descended into "total chaos" after they were told to put on life jackets. AdvertisementA Spirit Airlines flight reportedly descended into chaos after passengers were told to wear life jackets and prepare for an emergency water landing. Passenger Bettina Rogers told CNN the pilot had initially told passengers there was nothing to worry about when a beeping sound went off in the aircraft, before informing them the plane was returning to the airport.

Persons: —, Bettina Rogers Organizations: Spirit Airlines, Service, Airlines, CNN, Business Locations: Florida, Jamaica, Montego Bay

☆ Apple may finally be getting past its China slump
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Tom Carter | ) 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. AdvertisementResearch firm Counterpoint research estimated the Silicon Valley heavyweight had sunk from first to third place in the Chinese smartphone market earlier this year, after sales dropped 19% year-over-year in Q1. Apple CEO Tim Cook disputed third-party reports that iPhone sales in the country were struggling in Apple's most recent earnings call, telling investors that sales of Apple's smartphone grew in mainland China during the first quarter. Despite these challenges, China remains a crucial market for Apple. "We feel that the Chinese manufacturers are waged in extremely intense competition between themselves, but that won't necessarily move the needle against Apple," Wood said.

Persons: —, didn't, Tim Cook, Cook, Apple's, Ben Wood, Wood Organizations: Service, China Academy of Information, Communications Technology, Reuters, Business, Apple, Huawei, CCS Insight Locations: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan

☆ T-Mobile is buying most of US Cellular for $4.4 billion
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Telecoms giant T-Mobile is buying US Cellular's wireless operations for $4.4 billion. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementT-Mobile has struck a deal to buy "substantially all" of US Cellular's wireless operations for around $4.4 billion. T-Mobile will acquire US Cellular's wireless operations and around 30% of its spectrum assets. The company will also extend its leases on 600 US Cellular towers and sign long-term leases on around 2,100 more.

Persons: Ryan Reynolds, — Organizations: Mobile, Mint Mobile, Service Locations: Chicago

☆ T-Mobile is buying most of US Cellular for $4.4 Billion
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Persons: Ryan Reynolds, — Organizations: Mobile, Mint Mobile, Service Locations: Chicago

☆ Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are reportedly going head-to-head again — this time over a buzzy AI startup
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Meta and xAI are competing to partner with buzzy AI startup Character.AI, per the Financial Times. It's the latest twist in the rivalry between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. The two billionaires have been feuding for years, and are now both racing to build superhuman AI. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementThe rivalry between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg may be heating up again.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, —, Musk's xAI, Character.AI, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: Financial Times, Elon, Service, Meta, Financial

☆ RIP Kabosu, the celebrity canine who became the face of Dogecoin
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Kabosu, the Shiba Inu who became the face of Dogecoin, has died at the age of 18. Her quizzical expression went viral in 2010 and was later used as the cryptocurrency mascot. Elon Musk was one of Dogecoin's biggest fans, and Kabosu briefly became the Twitter logo in 2023. AdvertisementA diminutive Japanese dog who became the face of Dogecoin has died. The billionaire joked about Dogecoin on "SNL" and even briefly changed the Twitter home button to an image of Kabosu after buying the site in 2022.

Persons: Shiba Inu, Elon Musk, Kabosu, —, Dogecoin, Kabosu —, Atsuko Sato, Sato, Billy Markus, Jackson Palmer, Shiba Organizations: Service, Business Locations: Japan

☆ Elon Musk's X is making 'likes' private so people can like NSFW posts without worrying
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk's X is planning to make "likes" private by default, according to X's head of engineering. The move will apparently encourage more people to like "edgy" content on the site. AdvertisementIt looks like X wants you to post more like Elon Musk. The social media platform plans to make "likes" on the site private, according to X's director of engineering, who said the move would encourage people to like more "edgy" posts. "Yeah, we are making likes private," wrote Haofei Wang in a post on X.

Persons: Elon Musk's, —, Elon, Haofei Wang Organizations: Service

☆ I was an airline pilot for 11 years. The Singapore Airlines incident shows why you should always wear your seatbelt.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Singapore Airlines incident this week is a reminder that passengers should always wear a seatbelt when flying, even if the seatbelt sign is off. The interior of Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 is pictured after an emergency landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Singapore Airlines incidentThe damage on Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 saw panels and oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling. Obtained by Reuters/HandoutWhat happened with the Singapore Airlines flight was an extreme case. I don't ever worry about flying, and even after the Singapore Airlines incident, I wouldn't worry about flying because I know it's so unusual.

Persons: —, Emma Henderson, Stringer, it's, you'll Organizations: Service, University, Singapore Airlines, Business, REUTERS, Reuters, Pilots Locations: Bangkok, Geneva

☆ Elon Musk waded in on Scarlett Johansson's dispute with OpenAI and couldn't resist throwing shade at his tech rival
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Tom Carter | ) 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 previewElon Musk has waded into the dispute between Sam Altman and Scarlett Johansson. Musk has also started his own AI company, xAI, and launched a ChatGPT rival named Grok. AdvertisementAltman played into the speculation by posting the word "her" on X, but OpenAI executives denied the likeness was intentional. In a statement shared with Business Insider, Altman apologized to Johansson for not communicating better but reiterated that the Sky voice wasn't intended to mimic hers.

Persons: —, Elon, Sam Altman, Scarlett Johansson, Musk, Johansson's, OpenAI, she'd, Altman, Scarlett Johansson's, chatbot, Johansson, Jan Leike, OpenAI didn't Organizations: Service, Business

☆ Elon Musk waded in on Scarlett Johansson's dispute with OpenAI, and couldn't resist throwing shade at his tech rival
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Tom Carter | ) 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 previewElon Musk has waded into the dispute between Sam Altman and Scarlett Johansson. Musk has also started his own AI company, xAI, and launched a ChatGPT rival called Grok. AdvertisementSam Altman played into the speculation by posting the word "Her" on X, but OpenAI executives denied the likeness was intentional. However, on Monday, the company abruptly announced that "Sky," the voice used in the GPT-4o demo, would be temporarily removed.

Persons: —, Elon, Sam Altman, Scarlett Johansson, Musk, Johansson's, OpenAI, Sam Altman's, Altman, Scarlett Johansson's, chatbot, Johansson, Jan Leike Organizations: Service, Business, BI

☆ Tesla's chair confirms she's had tough conversations about Elon Musk's unexpected social-media posts
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Tom Carter | ) 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 previewElon Musk's social media posts have a history of getting him into trouble — and Tesla's chair has admitted they sometimes catch her off guard, too. Robyn Denholm, the chair of Tesla's board, admitted to the Financial Times that she has had "tough conversations" with CEO Elon Musk over his social media posts and said that if she had her way, Twitter, now X, wouldn't exist. Denholm became Tesla's chair in 2018 after Musk stepped down following a settlement with the SEC over the billionaire's infamous "funding secured" tweet. AdvertisementTesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment made outside normal working hours.

Persons: —, Robyn Denholm, Elon Musk, Denholm, Musk, you've, Tesla Organizations: Service, Elon, Financial Times, Twitter, Business, SEC, Wall Street Journal Locations: Delaware, Sydney

☆ These tiny EVs are making a big impact
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Here are some of the tiny EVs making a splash in Asia and Europe. AdvertisementChief among those is the Seagull, a tiny EV that can go 305 km on a single charge and costs $11,000. SOPA Images/Getty ImagesJapan has long had a soft spot for tiny EVs, known as Kei cars — and the Nissan Sakura is one of the most popular. BITechnically speaking, the Citroen Ami isn't an electric car at all, but an "electric quadricycle." The tiny microcar has been on sale in Europe since 2021, with a UK launch mooted for later this year.

Persons: —, Nissan Sakura, Tesla, Aly Song, Reuters BYD, Elon, HECTOR RETAMAL, Citroen Ami, Citroen Ami isn't, Ami, Merlin Ouboter Organizations: Service, Nissan, Tesla, Ford, Business, Reuters, SAIC, General Motors, Japan, Citroen, BI, Getty Locations: China, Japan, Europe, Asia, Guang, Shanghai, France, London, Swiss

☆ Elon Musk says Neuralink is looking for a 2nd participant for its brain implant
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk said Neuralink is accepting applications for the second person to get a brain implant. Neuralink reportedly wants to have thousands of people using its device by the end of the decade. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . He said that the brain implant startup wa now searching for the second person to receive Neuralink's "Telepathy" implant, after the device was successfully implanted into its first patient earlier this year. This is our Telepathy cybernetic brain implant that allows you to control your phone and computer just by thinking," Musk posted on X.

Persons: Elon Musk, Neuralink, Noland Arbaugh, —, Elon, Musk Organizations: Service, Business

☆ The impact of Instagram and Facebook on kids is under scrutiny once more
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The EU is investigating Meta over concerns its platforms are fueling addiction among minors. It comes as Meta faces growing legal pressure in the US over the impact of its platforms on kids. AdvertisementMeta is facing more questions over whether it's doing enough to protect kids on Facebook and Instagram. The European Commission, the bloc's regulatory body, said it would also investigate whether Meta's age-verification tools are stopping minors from accessing inappropriate content. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: — Organizations: Regulators, Service, Meta, Facebook, EU, European Commission, Business

☆ Biden announces a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The White House has announced it will impose tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese goods. The new measures target Chinese EVs, with tariffs rising from 25% to 100%. It comes as fears grow that a wave of cheap Chinese EVs could upend the US market. AdvertisementJoe Biden has hiked tariffs on Chinese electric cars as he looks to protect the US auto industry from a wave of cheap Chinese EVs. The White House announced early Tuesday that it was imposing tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese goods, including a 100% tax on Chinese-made electric cars.

Persons: —, Joe Biden Organizations: Service, White House, Business

☆ OpenAI gave Jensen Huang a shout-out at the GPT-4o launch in a nod to Nivdia's huge influence on AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

OpenAI CTO Mira Murati thanked Nvidia boss Jensen Huang as the company revealed its latest AI model. It's a sign of just how important Nvidia is to the AI arms race. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementOpenAI unveiled its latest model Monday — and the company gave a shoutout to AI's kingmaker. OpenAI CTO Mira Murati thanked Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, for providing the microchips that allowed the AI startup to demo its brand-new GPT-4o model.

Persons: Mira Murati, Jensen Huang, —, OpenAI, Jensen Organizations: Nvidia, Tech, Service, Business

☆ US regulators probe Amazon-backed Zoox after 2 of its cars unexpectedly braked and caused crashes
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewAnother self-driving car company is facing an investigation over safety concerns. Related storiesZoox is the latest company to face questions from regulators over the safety of its self-driving technology. Zoox unveiled its first electric robotaxi in 2020, a "carriage-style" vehicle without a steering wheel. The company has been testing it in California, with the ambition of launching an autonomous ride-hailing service in the future.

Persons: —, Tesla, Elon, Cruise, General Motors —, Zoox Organizations: Service, Traffic Safety Administration, Amazon, Reuters, Business, Toyota, NHTSA, General, Zoox Locations: California

☆ A Tesla supplier says it's still in limbo 2 weeks after Elon Musk fired the entire Supercharger team
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewElon Musk's recent firing of Tesla's entire Supercharger team seems to be causing chaos at some of its suppliers. Elon Musk's decision to lay off Tesla's entire Supercharger team, reportedly around 500 employees, shocked the EV industry. "It sounds like an existing Tesla team from a different department has been inserted to manage the charging division," said Pinter. His comments were echoed by Pinter, who described Musk's reorganization of Tesla as a "blessing in disguise" for Bullet EV Charging. Advertisement"We have already hired several members of the former Tesla charging team and are diversifying our customer base to focus more on fleet and auto dealership charging," Pinter said.

Persons: —, Elon, Aaron Luque, hasn't, Luque, haven't, Envirospark, Tesla …, Elon Musk's, Musk, Tesla, Andres Pinter, Pinter, we've Organizations: Service, Business, Bloomberg Locations: Canada, Luque

☆ Hybrid sales are booming — here's why drivers are buying them over EVs
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Hybrid sales are booming in the US. In his latest earnings report, the company blamed demand for hybrid vehicles for depressing global EV sales. "We believe this is not the right strategy, and electric vehicles will ultimately dominate the market," he added. "A lot of hybrid electric vehicles now are not far off from their internal combustion engine alternatives. "What we've seen historically is that when gas prices rise, hybrid electric vehicle price or acquisitions rise as well," he told BI.

Persons: —, Elon Musk, Nick O'Brien, O'Brien, EVs, Edmunds, Mark Singer, Tesla, Jeff Buchanan, Buchanan, Singer Organizations: Toyota, Service, EV, General Motors, Ford, Business, Jefferson Community College, Maverick, New York Times, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Soaring, Singer, US Locations: Edmunds, North America, Kentucky

☆ Lucid CEO says Chinese automakers are still 'years and years behind' Elon Musk's Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewChinese EV makers are challenging Tesla — but one of the company's rivals still thinks they're years away from overtaking Elon Musk's firm in one respect. Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson said that despite their success, Chinese automakers are still some distance behind Tesla when it comes to the underlying technology that powers EVs — but warned that they could catch up quickly. Related storiesHowever, Rawlinson warned that Western car makers must not "underestimate" the ability of their Chinese rivals to quickly catch up on core EV technology. After once laughing off Tesla's Chinese rivals, Musk now seems a lot more worried, telling investors that Chinese EVs are likely to "demolish" the competition if trade barriers aren't put in place. The company has slashed prices on its high-end Lucid Air sedan to compete with Tesla, and produced less than 10,000 vehicles last year.

Persons: —, Elon Musk's, Peter Rawlinson, EVs, they're, Tesla, Rawlinson, they've, They're, Warren Buffett Organizations: Service, Elon, Business, Financial Times, Geneva, Tesla, Saudi Public Investment Fund Locations: London, China

☆ Joe Biden is expected to unveil new tariffs on Chinese EVs. Here's what that could mean for the sector.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that the US government is set to impose new tariffs on a range of Chinese industries, including EVs. Chinese EV producers such as BYD have so far largely avoided the US market due to pre-existing trade barriers, such as a 25% tariff on Chinese auto imports previously touted by President Donald Trump. AdvertisementRelief for US firmsThe expected decision to target China's EV exports would come as a relief to US EV companies. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said earlier this year that Chinese EV firms would "demolish" their Western rivals if trade barriers weren't put in place.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, he's, Elon Musk, Trump Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Business, Reuters, EV, Chery Locations: Mexico

☆ An OpenAI rival says its new AI model is not only cheaper to run than GPT-4, but it's also more useful
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewOpenAI rival Cohere has unveiled an updated AI model it says is more useful and cheaper to run than GPT-4. The AI startup says it is rolling out the ability to fine-tune its Command R AI model, allowing it to outperform larger models like GPT-4 in some use cases while costing up to fifteen times less to operate. Similarly, when analyzing financial data Command R was 6.2% more accurate than GPT-4 and 5.3% more accurate than Claude. AdvertisementCohere said that as Command R, which initially launched in March, is significantly smaller than the likes of GPT-4, it costs much less to run. Related storiesFine-tuning on the Command R model is available on Cohere's platform from Thursday, with availability on other platforms coming in the near future.

Persons: —, Cohere, Nick Frosst, Claude Opus, Claude, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, Altman, they're, Frosst, It's, Emad Mostaque, Mustafa Suleyman, We're Organizations: Service, Business, Amazon, GPT, Command, Meta, Intelligence, Stanford University, Cohere, Big Tech, Stability, Microsoft Locations: GPT, Toronto

☆ 2 Chinese EV companies seem to be ganging up on Elon Musk's Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

EV company Nio is launching a new affordable EV brand in China. The alliance between the two companies will likely intensify pressure on Tesla in China. BYD will reportedly provide a small battery pack for one version of the Onvo EV, with Chinese battery maker CALB supplying a larger 85-kilowatt-hour battery pack. AdvertisementThe alliance between Nio and BYD will likely intensify pressure on Elon Musk in China, where Tesla sales have slumped amid brutal competition for EVs. Once again, however, he is likely to face stiff competition from BYD and Nio, who are developing their own driving assistance software.

Persons: —, Elon, BYD, confirmeded, Nio, didn't, Musk Organizations: Nio, Service, Tesla's, Elon Musk, Reuters, Business, EV, Elon, EVs, China's Passenger Car Association, Bloomberg, Baidu Locations: China, Europe, Nio, Tesla's Shanghai, Beijing, BYD

☆ These are the wildest EVs unveiled at China's biggest auto show
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewIf you need more evidence that China's EV market is booming, just look at the country's biggest car show. VCG/VCG via Getty ImagesBy far the biggest name in China's EV market is BYD, the Warren Buffett-backed firm that is probably giving Elon Musk sleepless nights. Xiaomi brings its Tesla rivalJADE GAO/Getty ImagesOne of the biggest draws of the auto show was the SU7, an electric SUV built by smartphone maker Xiaomi. JADE GAO/Getty ImagesThe number of companies trying to make it in China's EV market — at least 123, according to one auto consultant — has seen some firms branch out in unexpected directions.

Persons: —, PEDRO PARDO, Warren Buffett, Elon, BYD, Tesla, Xiaomi, JADE GAO, It's, Mercedes Organizations: Service, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Business, EV, Getty, China's EV, VW Locations: Beijing, China's, China

☆ Elon Musk's plan for a cheap EV seems to have hit another major snag
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla has quietly backed away from plans to build EVs with a revolutionary new "gigacasting" method, per Reuters. It raises further doubts over Elon Musk's plans for an affordable EV. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . The automaker has reportedly pulled back on plans to roll out a revolutionary new manufacturing method for its electric cars, per Reuters. A move that casts further doubt on Elon Musk's low-cost EV ambitions.

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk's, —, Elon Organizations: Reuters, Service, Elon Musk's, Business

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