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☆ Tesla owner says his app unlocked a stranger's car — and let him drive off with it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tesla owner Rajesh Randev says he accidentally drove off in someone else's Tesla. Sometimes, you can even jump in and drive somebody else's electric car, according to Canada-based Tesla owner Rajesh Randev. As he sees it, his Tesla phone app granted him access to someones else's Tesla, he told the paper. The other Tesla driver involved in the mixup was able to unlock Randev's parked car using his Tesla key card, according to the Post. That way, he was able to find Randev's phone number on a document inside the car and inform him of the snafu.

☆ Why EV dealers might try to coax you into a 6-month lease
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Only used electric cars priced under $25,000 can qualify for a used EV tax credit. Automakers might offer shorter lease terms on new EVs to get those cars into the used market sooner. And automakers and dealers, in anticipation of what the used EV tax credit can do for them in terms of spurring demand with customers who might not consider an EV otherwise, might adjust their EV lease contracts accordingly. But for other, cheaper models, automakers want to profit off those cars as much as possible, so that might mean some unconventional lease terms. That gives customers the opportunity to lease an EV for a short period of time and makes the used EV market more accessible.

☆ 'Zoom rooms' and hideaway offices show how remote work is changing the way we design new homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Family homes with two offices and "Zoom rooms" with camera-ready lighting are popular. The real-estate site Zillow told Insider offices were mentioned in 11.5%% of all listings in February 2023, up 4.5% from February 2022. Amanda Pendleton, Zillow's home-trends expert, told Insider a home office was no longer a "nice-to-have luxury." "When people don't have enough space or cash for two full-sized offices, they're replacing rooms," Hester said. She told Insider Veev's homes had LED strips around the edge of the ceiling to make even lighting that works well on camera.

☆ The tech world is thrown into chaos as Silicon Valley loses faith in its go-to bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

At the time of the email, Musk was battling a cave rescue diver who was suing him for defamation. Before grabbing some ice cream — I'll probably get cookies and cream — let's dive into today's tech. The tech world was thrown into chaos as Silicon Valley lost faith in its go-to bank, SVB Financial. If startups are worried the bank can't give them all their money back, then they might pull their accounts. Investors are sinking millions into startups like MARZ and Runway to bring AI tech to film and TV.

☆ Elemy is ditching autism care to sell healthcare software instead.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

At the time of the email, Musk was battling a cave rescue diver who was suing him for defamation. Before grabbing some ice cream — I'll probably get cookies and cream — let's dive into today's tech. The tech world was thrown into chaos as Silicon Valley lost faith in its go-to bank, SVB Financial. If startups are worried the bank can't give them all their money back, then they might pull their accounts. Email dsiu@insider.com or tweet @diamondnagasiu) Edited by Matt Weinberger (tweet @gamoid) in San Francisco and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.

☆ Meet the brothers building massive spacecraft to leverage SpaceX’s Starship
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

What we're finding is that, with the new launch capabilities of vehicles like Starship, there's actually an interesting opportunity to go the opposite direction," Karan Kunjur told CNBC. Los Angeles-based startup K2 Space, co-founded by CEO Karan Kunjur and CTO Neel Kunjur, is setting out to build satellite buses — the physical structure of a spacecraft that provides power, movement and more. A pair of brothers is aiming to challenge the way spacecraft are built, by going against the industry trend and designing massive satellites in a bet that towering rockets such as SpaceX's Starship are the way forward. K2 Space, a play on the brothers' surname and a nod to astronomer Nikolai Kardashev's scales of civilization, marks Karan and Neel's first venture together and fuses their previously divergent careers. For K2, the company is targeting prices that would be unheard of for satellite buses of these sizes.

☆ Tesla alums have created a futuristic $125,000 electric RV trailer that'll save your EV's range during road trips
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Brittany Chang | Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

This design, as well as its electric drivetrain that takes the load off of the towing vehicle, then drops the range loss down to nearly zero, according to the team.

☆ Antigua and Barbuda is preparing to auction off an 'abandoned' $81 million superyacht linked to a Russian oligarch, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Marielle Descalsota | Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An $81 million superyacht linked to a Russian oligarch is reportedly set to be auctioned off. The 81.2-meter Alfa Nero has been linked to Russian chemicals magnate Andrey Guryev. An Antigua and Barbuda government minister reportedly said the "abandoned" yacht risks becoming a "hazard." The 81.2-meter Alfa Nero was built by Oceanco and can accommodate 12 guests in six staterooms and 28 crew, according to Boat International. The Treasury department said in August that the Alfa Nero was a "blocked property" of Guryev's, and that he reportedly bought the yacht for $120 million in 2014.

☆ London court allows 'unprecedented' stranded Russian share sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Naomi Rovnick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - London's High Court has ruled that the administrators of Sova Capital, a collapsed London broker formerly controlled by Russian banker Roman Avdeev, can employ a novel deal structure to swap a portfolio of Russian shares. The broker collapsed a year ago as Western sanctions hit businesses with Russian ties. In his ruling, the judge noted that "MOEX prices for the Russian Securities are no more than nominal for Sova". Another constraint, he said, was Sova's ability to get cash from a sale of securities that were "effectively trapped". ($1 = 0.8338 pounds)Reporting by Naomi Rovnick; Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ That shiny new electric car you bought will cost more to insure — here's why
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Car-buyers should understand the nuances of EV insurance and why it might cost more. Right now, new EVs cost more on average. The latest estimate from NerdWallet said the national average cost of car insurance stands at about $2,148 per year. Plus, there aren't as many shops with technicians trained to fix electric vehicles versus traditional vehicles." Where EV insurance and upfront costs look more than with a gas-powered car, drivers could see substantial fuel and maintenance costs-savings from going electric.

☆ Medvedev ends Djokovic run to book Dubai final with Rublev
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 3 (Reuters) - Daniil Medvedev handed Novak Djokovic his first defeat of the year, beating the world number one 6-4 6-4 on Friday to reach the Dubai Tennis Championships final where he plays holder Andrey Rublev for a third title in as many weeks. Every time you play Novak, it's physically tough. Earlier, Russian Rublev reached the final with a first career victory against Alexander Zverev, closing out a 6-3 7-6(9) win on his sixth matchpoint. "I was thinking it was going to be a third set," Rublev, who will be gunning for his 13th ATP title on Saturday, said. But a determined Rublev recovered from a dip in his level to ensure there was no late drama.

☆ Tesla stock 'gets boring' as the market drills into the EV's company metrics and treats it more like a traditional automaker, investment research firm says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tesla stock "gets boring," Bespoke Investment Group said after the EV maker's update. Wall Street's expectations for Tesla look more like those for a traditional carmaker and less like a disruptor, it said. Bespoke spotted the highest correlation between Tesla stock and other automakers since 2016. Despite the latest sell-off, Tesla stock is still up more than 50% so far this year, while GM is up 16% and Ford is up 6%. About Tesla's update: "Some key takeaways, in general, are that [Tesla is] still in the rapid growth phase, in our opinion," Mahoney said.

☆ AB InBev upbeat on 'resilient' beer, China recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

AB InBev's sales and earnings declined in China due to a strict zero COVID policy that was suddenly dropped in December. In the United States, AB InBev's largest market, profit and revenue increased, largely because of price increases, although those same increases, along with harsh winter weather in December, cut into beer sales in volume terms. REUTERS/Toby Melville 1 2Brewers have raised beer prices in response to higher energy and raw materials costs, and both Heineken (HEIN.AS) and Carlsberg (CARLb.CO) have warned of reduced beer consumption in Europe because of the increases. For the whole year, core profit growth was 7.2%. AB InBev also increased its full-year dividend to a proposed 0.75 euros from 0.50 euros in each of the past two years.

☆ A Russian oil depot caught fire hundreds of miles from Ukraine, the possible result of a daring Ukrainian drone attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A fire broke out at a Russian oil facility on Tuesday night, far from the country's borders. Neither Ukrainian nor Russian authorities verified the incident as an attack, though Russian outlets said drones were seen near the oil facility, run by government-controlled oil giant Rosneft. Russia's Ministry of Defence said that there was a drone attack on a site in Krasnodar, though it claimed to have foiled it. "One where NATO is allegedly directly helping Ukraine to attack Russia." Ukraine has previously struck Russian territory with the same modified drones, unnamed Kyiv officials told Politico in December last year.

☆ Russian father had his daughter taken away after she drew an anti-war picture in art class, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Russian sixth-grader drew an anti-war painting in her art class, Meduza reported Tuesday. He fears he will permanently lose custody of his daughter if he is jailed, his lawyer told OVD-Info. Moskalev's lawyer told OVD-Info that he was interrogated and told that his daughter had also made anti-war comments on the Russian social media outlet VKontakte. Moskalev was able to retrieve Masha from the children's center a few days later and both have since left Yefremov, Meduza reported. Under Russian law, using the words "war" and "invasion" can land someone in prison for up to 15 years.

☆ Googlers are begrudgingly testing Bard and making memes out of their new task.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Since it's a tough time in the tech industry right now, I hope this resonates with some of you, too. Thomas Maxwell/InsiderGooglers are begrudgingly testing their company's ChatGPT competitor. CEO Sundar Pichai asked every employee to spend multiple hours testing Google's new chatbot Bard. They were tasked with improving Bard by asking it questions and flagging bad answers, in addition to their normal responsibilities. Some made memes from the conversations they've had with Bard, continuing a trend of internally mocking the chatbot.

☆ Americans still aren't sold on electric cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But EV adoption is still a challenge; less than one-third of US car buyers said they want to go EV. Car buyers are weighing a lot of factors like EV resale value and recycling plans. Car buyers are also weighing resale value, a pretty standard factor to consider, especially before going electric. In the US, 61% of buyers are either very or somewhat concerned about an EV's resale value, compared to 55% that are very or somewhat concerned about a gas-powered vehicle's resale value. The concern over EV resale is "likely due to rapidly evolving EV and battery technologies," according to Deloitte's report.

☆ Russia's Medvedev says arms supplies to Kyiv threaten global nuclear catastrophe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 27 (Reuters) - Russia's former president and an ally of President Vladimir Putin said in remarks published on Monday that the continued arms supply to Kyiv risks a global nuclear catastrophe, reiterating his threat of nuclear war over Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev's apocalyptic rhetoric has been seen as an attempt to deter the U.S-led NATO military alliance and Kyiv's Western allies from getting even more involved in the year-old war that has dealt Moscow setbacks on the battlefield. "Of course, the pumping in of weapons can continue .... and prevent any possibility of reviving negotiations," Medvedev said in remarks published in the daily Izvestia. "Our enemies are doing just that, not wanting to understand that their goals will certainly lead to a total fiasco. Reporting by David Ljunggren and Lidia Kelly; Writing by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, Feb 20(Reuters) - Administrators of Sova Capital, a collapsed London broker formerly controlled by Russian banker Roman Avdeev, are seeking UK court approval to sell a pile of Russian securities to Avdeev in a complex and novel attempt to shift illiquid Russian assets. Teneo lawyer Mark Phillips told the court that the portfolio of Russian stocks had become "trapped" inside Sova, which had offered foreign investors access to Russian markets. "There is a substantial portfolio of Russian securities," Phillips said, "significantly impacted by legal restrictions and sanctions imposed by authorities around the world." Russian financial institutions, meanwhile, were mostly "subject to sanctions or asset freezes," which severely limited the "universe of potential buyers," Philips said. Lawyers expect wealthy individuals and institutions to continue seeking court approval for ways of exiting Russian investments while complying with sanctions.

☆ Kazakhstan challenges large asset transfer by ex-president's foundation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But according to a statement by the prosecutor general's office, the company through which the foundation owned the bank transferred its shares to Jusan Technologies, a British company, in 2020, "endangering public interest". A spokesperson for the Jusan Group said that Nazarbayev had "never had any role or connection - directly or indirectly - with Jusan". The Nazarbayev foundation, run by former education minister Aslan Sarinjipov, acquired Jusan in 2019 after it was bailed out by the state. According to prosecutors, the foundation asked them this month to look into the case, describing the ownership transfer as a result of illegal actions by several entities. Neither the foundation, which runs a university and a network of prestigious schools, nor Nazarbayev's spokesman could be immediately reached for comment.

☆ East Germany's last Communist premier dies aged 95
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz/File PhotoBERLIN, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Hans Modrow, who as the last Communist prime minister of East Germany oversaw democratic reforms that opened the way to German reunification, has died at age 95, Germany's hard-left Die Linke party said on Saturday. With this, our party loses an important personality," the party, successor to the East German Communist Party, said in a statement. Modrow saw himself as a reformer who had wanted to change the communist party from the inside and make it more democratic. He also served in the East German parliament for more than three decades. Modrow became East Germany's de facto leader after Egon Krenz resigned as SED leader on Dec. 5, 1990, leaving Modrow holding the highest state post.

☆ From battery health to tax credits, there's a lot to consider when buying a used electric car. Here's how to shop smart.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Tim Levin | Nora Naughton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Driving habits can also impact which type of used EV you should shop for. Aside from wondering which car to buy, used EV shoppers might be wondering if their (used) battery can die. The good news is that an EV's battery is unlikely to fail completely or render the car useless. The used EV tax credit is your friendAt the start of the year, a new used electric vehicle tax credit went into effect as part of a larger EV incentive program in the Inflation Reduction Act. Vehicles that qualify for the used EV tax credit must have a sale price of $25,000 or less and must be at least two model-years old.

☆ A Russian officer who brandished the skull of a Ukrainian soldier at a heavy metal concert was shot in an 'execution-style' hit: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian captain was shot "execution-style" in the head on Saturday, according to reports. Igor Mangushev was filmed last year brandishing the supposed skull of a slain Ukrainian soldier. An expert said the "hit" on Mangushev may have been a proxy attack on the head of the Wagner Group. According to The New Voice of Ukraine, citing unverified doctors' reports, Mangushev was shot "execution-stye" at a checkpoint in the Russian-occupied region of Luhansk Oblast. Last summer, Mangushev was filmed brandishing the skull during a heavy metal concert.

[1/3] Andrei Medvedev, a former commander of Russia's Wagner mercenary group poses for a picture during an interview in Oslo, Norway February 1, 2023. REUTERS/Janis LaizansOSLO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Norwegian police said on Friday they intend to continue to interrogate former Wagner mercenary group commander Andrei Medvedev, who fled from Russia to Norway last month after fighting in the war in Ukraine. "Medvedev gives the impression that he wants to continue to say more" about his time with Wagner, police said. Wagner forces have been locked in a bloody battle of attrition against Ukrainian forces in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Wagner has said Medvedev had worked in a "Norwegian unit" of Wagner and had "mistreated prisoners".

☆ You don't need an electric vehicle with a long range — buy one you can afford instead
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Many prospective electric car buyers worry about an EV's range, or how far it goes on a charge. But with new battery tech and more available charging, range shouldn't be a prime factor. But some experts say that in picking the right electric car, that last question of range is becoming less important — and less helpful. That's because in reality, most drivers don't need long-range EVs. "You don't need batteries that go 800 miles when it's convenient and easy and quick to recharge every 300 miles.

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