The long road: As Tesla has gone mainstream, its prices have dropped

10/21/23 8:00PM

Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear

‍The eyes of the automotive world were on Tesla last week. The world’s leading electric vehicle maker reported its Q3 amidst a backdrop of strikes and layoffs at the three automotive giants of General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, as well as rising competition from Chinese competitors like BYD.

‍Tesla reported a 9% jump in revenue, a fraction of the staggering 56% year-over-year growth the company achieved during the same period last year, as price cuts and production difficulties squeezed the company’s margins, sending its shares down ~15% over the last week.

‍The long road

‍To understand Tesla today, it helps to revisit its beginnings. Since its founding 20 years ago, by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, Tesla has been shocking an industry resistant to change into action. The duo, disheartened by General Motors' recall of its EV1 electric cars in 2003, wanted to create their own electric sports car.

There weren’t just a few things they had to figure out how to do differently, there were a few hundred. More than a century since Carl Benz built the Benz Patent-Motorwagen — cars have changed dramatically, but the core mechanics remain similar: fuel goes in, combustion in the engine powers the crankshaft and drives the gears, and eventually, the wheels. Going electric meant starting from scratch — and that meant enormous expense.

The company set out to secure funding, eventually finding it in part from Elon Musk, a PayPal co-founder who was awash with cash after selling to eBay. Musk saw the promise in accelerating a transition away from fossil fuel dependence, investing ~$6m, joining as chairman of the board of directors and, eventually, becoming the company’s CEO in 2008.

Although the vision was to produce mass-market EVs that could rival internal combustion engines, Musk and co. decided to begin at the higher-end of the market, launching the Roadster, a 2-door sports car, in 2008. The desire to keep prices towards the premium end of town has been one that, until very recently, the company had maintained.

In its early days, Tesla could command such high prices because it had the EV market largely to itself. Today, motorists can choose from around 500 EV models, with over 200 estimated to have launched just this year. All told, Tesla’s average selling price has fallen from more than $85k in early 2018, to just over $40k in its latest quarter, after the company’s latest round of heavy discounting.

Tom Jones6/24/26

Prime Day is here again and Amazon’s subscription service has never been more popular

Well, it’s that time of year again: many have made their wish lists, people are scraping together the money they’ve saved to pick out a perfect gift, some are presumably leaving out refreshments for the weary delivery drivers and, more and more, drones.

It’s Amazon Prime Day — meaning that it’s the second day of the four-day promotional event that Amazon still calls Prime Day — of course, and it’s even come early this year, with the company bringing the period into late June from July, when it’s been traditionally held for the last five years.

The Prime Age

Alongside the eyes and endless clicks that the arbitrary stream of listicles on “The Best Prime Day Deals” that almost every media outlet pours into, Amazon will also be cheering the fact that there’s now more Prime users than ever before to devour the retailer and its sellers’ sometimes-contested “discounts.” Indeed, according to the latest annual estimates from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), there were just over 200 million American shoppers using Amazon’s massive subscription service at the end of 2025.

Max Knoblauch6/15/26

Electronic Arts launches a platform to put more ads in its games

Video game publishing giant EA launched a new platform on Monday designed to make the process of selling immersive ad space in its popular games easier.

The company says the platform, called EA Advertising, allows brands to “integrate directly into gameplay through dynamic, real-time placements, from stadium signage to custom in-game content.”

More so than other studios, EA has incorporated advertising into its most popular titles. As Kotaku points out, the company’s ad efforts stretch as far back as 2006. Several of its sports franchises already feature partnerships with brands like Visa, Lowe’s, Red Bull, and PepsiCo.

In-game advertising hasn’t exactly been embraced by fans, but industry experts expect it to ramp up as companies seek more revenue to offset higher games budgets and surging memory costs. EA rival Take-Two has taken a different approach, with CEO Strauss Zelnick recently saying the company was “not at risk of doing brand partnerships” in the forthcoming “Grand Theft Auto VI,” and that ads in full-price games seems “unfair.”

The $55 billion deal to take EA private, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is set to close at the end of this month. Being the largest leveraged buyout in history, EA will likely look for more ways to boost revenue to cover interest payments.

Electronic Arts Makes Push for Ad Dollars Tied to Sports

Millie Giles6/11/26

JM Smucker says it sold $1 billion worth of Uncrustables in FY2026

After years of booming sandwich sales, JM Smucker has finally earned a billion-dollar crust.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for fiscal year 2026, highlighting better-than-expected profits driven by higher prices for coffee and sweet baked goods. However, at another point on the earnings call, CEO Mark Smucker pointed to one particularly jammy figure: in line with previous forecasts, the company sold $1 billion worth of its (almost always) crustless sandwiches, Uncrustables, in the last year alone.

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”