Welcome back to review week! There’s a lot of news this week. Slate EVs were found in the wild. Airbnb pricing updates. Hack with Blue Shield. And more. Let’s go!
Get Clue: Cluely is an AI-based tool that can help you cheat on exams, sales calls, and even job interviews. One of the co-founders has been kicked out of Colombia with a similar tool, and one of the company’s ads is short, but boasts arr of $5.3 million per month. Do you think scammers win sometimes?
I’m curious: EV Maker Slate keeps its relative secrets secret until TechCrunch releases a report revealing Bezos’ financial involvement and announcing plans to price the EV for around $25,000. The company currently planted concept cars around LA, attracting interest.
Watch Red: Tesla called for first quarter revenue on Tuesday, and we saw how the company was doing. In short, it doesn’t work. Tesla’s net profit reflected a 71% decline from the same period last year, marking the worst quarter for Tesla delivery in more than two years.
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No more hidden fees: Airbnb automatically displays the total cost of a particular property, including all the fees, when people search for properties.
Just Vibe: Adaptive Computer’s “Vibe Coding” platform makes it easier for non-programmers to build apps using text prompts. The company recently announced a $7 million seed round led by PebbleBed.
But that’s still a bad thing. While the government is about to pass legislation aimed at changing teen experiences online, a new study from Pew Research shows that some teenagers feel a positive impact on social media. According to the survey, 74% of our teens felt that social media was more connected to their friends, and 63% said that online platforms give them a place to express their creativity.
Great, Great: California Blue Shield notified its customers this week of data breach. The insurance giant said it used Google Analytics to track how customers used the website, but misunderstandings have also allowed them to collect personal and health information.
Bad: BlueSky went down for users on Thursday nights, and I started to wonder how distributed networks go down in the first place. On Friday, Bluesky confirmed it had been hit by a DDOS attack.
Checkmate! Chess.com boasts that it currently has 200 million members. Chess.com’s Chief Growth Officer, Albert Cheng, has been praised for its continued product innovation as one of the reasons he saw strong and sustained growth.
Use Flow: Former Wework CEO Adam Neumann’s Proptech Company Flow has secured over $100 million in funding and raised its valuation to about $2.5 billion. This certainly raised an eyebrow considering the problematic history of our work.
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Tesla Trouble: The backlash against Elon Musk has risen to such a level that Tesla lawyers feel the need to warn investors that it could damage the company’s brand and business. Risk factors are usually written as broad and overly cautious, but sometimes new (or old language removal) can show that the most important issues and developments are important for businesses like Tesla.