Tech billionaires and media moguls will descend upon Sun Valley, Idaho this week
Welcome back, readers. Jordan Parker Erb here, taking you inside the annual "summer camp for billionaires," and sharing the latest position in tech: "Director of Vibes."
Ready? Let's get started.
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1. "Summer camp for billionaires" begins today. Some of the most influential figures in tech and media will touch down this week in a small Idaho town for the Sun Valley conference, an annual meet-and-greet for industry moguls.
- Over the years, the conference has been the backdrop for a number of major media mergers: Jeff Bezos' purchase of The Washington Post, Disney's plan to purchase ABC, and the sale of NBC to Comcast all started in Sun Valley.
- Variety reported that Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and Elon Musk were invited this year, as were Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg. Execs from Slack, YouTube, and Spotify are also on the list; Jeff Bezos and Rupert Murdoch are not.
- Last year, Sun Valley's airport became so overrun with private jets that the FAA had to delay incoming planes.
See what the conference is all about.
In other news:
2. Fifteen Black employees are suing Tesla. Alleging racial harassment, the current and former workers say the automaker created a racially hostile work environment in its factories. One plaintiff said he was tackled at work and told to "suck it up and be a man" — here's what we know so far.
3. Web 3.0 firms are dropping corporate culture managers for "directors of vibes." Insider spoke with several chiefs of vibes, who shared how they got the job (and what it means, exactly), what it takes to manage a firm's vibes, and why maintaining the vibes is more important than ever.
4. Embattled crypto lender Celsius is reportedly laying off 150 staff. As per Calcalist, the company now faces possible insolvency following "extreme market conditions." It comes after reports that Goldman Sachs is looking to put together a $2 billion deal to buy Celsius assets if it goes bankrupt.
5. A freelance virtual assistant shares how she stays organized. Hannah Dixon became a virtual assistant nine years ago, and now makes six figures. From "Me First" days to tech tools like Trello, she shared three tricks for staying on top of the work.
6. Elon Musk is back online. After a mysterious nine-day hiatus from Twitter, Musk broke his silence to tweet a meme, some personal musings, and the announcement that he and four of his teenage children met Pope Francis.
7. Internal Amazon documents show a new policy barring employees from warehouses during off hours. Some employees and labor leaders told Insider the new policy could restrict employees' union organizing activity. How the policy could hamper union organizing.
8. GM is only making 12 electric Hummers a day. Despite a waiting list of 77,000 buyers, the company's Detroit factory is producing the cars at an unusually slow pace, according to The Wall Street Journal. Why the Hummer EV is taking so long.
Odds and ends:
9. The new Apple Watches could tell you if you have a fever. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, body-temperature detection will be added to both the standard Series 8 model and its more rugged counterpart, each coming later this year. Here's the latest.
10. A Tesla Model S Plaid hit its fastest speed on record. A video shows the Tesla hitting 216 miles per hour, a feat made possible by a company that hacked the car's software. Get a look at the super-fast Tesla.
What we're watching today:
- Special purpose acquisition company I2PO expects to complete its business combination with music streaming company Deezer.
- The annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference starts today.
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Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.