Tech: Musk's smoke and mirrors
Would you look at the time, it's tech o'clock. I'm Jordan Parker Erb, and today I'll be taking you inside Elon Musk's latest acts of smoke and mirrors.
Let's get started.
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1. Elon Musk's recent outbursts might just be smokescreens. Insider columnist Linette Lopez writes that Musk's recent rants — which range from the recession to Twitter bots to Joe Biden — could just be covers for more serious problems at Tesla.
- Musk only lashes out like this when something is deeply wrong at Tesla, Linette writes. The last time we saw him like this was in 2018, when he sent the infamous "funding secured" tweet, just as the company was on the verge of bankruptcy.
- Right now, Musk is spending a lot of time talking about Twitter bots (the latest: Twitter will give him access to a "firehose" of data), the perils of working from home, and a looming recession — all as Tesla's competition closes in and the China market crumbles.
- Musk's sporadic and gloomy tweets, according to Linette, are all just misdirection by a master magician.
Why Tesla might be headed for a meltdown.
In other news:
2. Bill Gates just released his reading list for the summer. The books, which tackle matters like gender equality, political polarization, and more, are "pretty heavy for vacation reading," Gates said. See the five books on his list.
3. Some influencers are ditching Amazon's live shopping feature — even if they're getting paid. The e-commerce giant has plans to become the internet's live-shopping destination, but a number of creators told Insider that Amazon Live just isn't worth their time. Why Amazon Live hasn't gone mainstream.
4. Electric scooter startup Bird is the latest tech company to lay off staff. The company is laying off almost a quarter of its workforce, or about 140 of its 600 employees. Everything we know about the cuts at Bird.
5. Could Netflix acquire Roku? As Roku's stock drops, employees at the video-streaming platform operator are buzzing about the possibility of an acquisition — and their hopes are pinned on Netflix. Why a Roku acquisition "makes sense with where Netflix wants to go."
6. Elon Musk pushed back SpaceX's Starlink public offering again. CNBC first reported that Musk told employees in an all-hands meeting that Starlink won't go public for another three to four years. Get the full rundown here.
7. Amazon is building a local ads business. The company is advertising for roles in cities like New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. to form a team that would build relationships with local media companies and agencies — a move that could dent Google and Facebook's ad dominance.
8. Affirm's CEO said he isn't worried about Apple Pay Later. The cofounder of the buy now, pay later unicorn said he's "genuinely excited" about Apple's decision to enter the market, despite the threat it may pose. Here's what he said.
Odds and ends:
9. Review: The Hyundai Ioniq 5 vs. Ford Mustang Mach-E. An Insider transportation reporter test drove the two electric SUVs to figure out which one is the better choice. Here's what he decided.
10. Father's Day is coming up. We have gifts that will make his life easier. What dad doesn't need a robotic vacuum to help clean up messes or a smart speaker (or a smart coffee heater, for that matter)? Shop our 53 picks for Father's Day.
What we're watching today:
- Facebook will begin trading under the stock ticker symbol "META" today.
- Benjamin Dunham is set to step down as WeWork's chief financial officer.
- Summer Game Fest 2022, an event on the future of video games, kicks off today.
- CoinDesk's 2022 Consensus festival starts today in Austin.
Keep updated with the latest tech news throughout your day by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen here.
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.