Turns out xAI’s “anti-woke,” “politically incorrect,” “rebellious” AI bot is not very good. After the Trump assassination attempt, Grok, which is supposed to write headlines and summaries based on posts from X users, pretty much did what the rest of the bots on the platform do: spread misinformation. That included falsely stating that Vice President Kamala Harris was the one shot and that the shooter was a member of antifa.
When Apple releases its iPhone 18 next year, there will be a Pro model and a foldable model, but no iPhone Air, The Information reports. That’s because demand for the newest, thinnest iPhone has been exceptionally low even as iPhones generally have sold above expectations. Indeed, Apple notched an iPhone revenue record for the September quarter.
While the company had set aside only 10% of its manufacturing capacity for the iPhone Air, even that portion has remained unsold, The Information reports. Meanwhile, early sales of the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro have handily beaten last year’s version, and have been driving overall iPhone sales. Nikkei Asia previously reported that Apple was “drastically” cutting back manufacturing of the iPhone Air “end of production” levels. A KeyBanc survey also recently found “virtually no demand for iPhone Air,” which people have criticized for its lower battery life among other compromises for its small size.
As of yet, there’s no new release date for the next iPhone Air, but Apple has yet to explicitly cancel it.
While the company had set aside only 10% of its manufacturing capacity for the iPhone Air, even that portion has remained unsold, The Information reports. Meanwhile, early sales of the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro have handily beaten last year’s version, and have been driving overall iPhone sales. Nikkei Asia previously reported that Apple was “drastically” cutting back manufacturing of the iPhone Air “end of production” levels. A KeyBanc survey also recently found “virtually no demand for iPhone Air,” which people have criticized for its lower battery life among other compromises for its small size.
As of yet, there’s no new release date for the next iPhone Air, but Apple has yet to explicitly cancel it.
Tesla sold just 26,000 vehicles in China last month, down 36% from the more than 40,000 it sold in October 2024 and the lowest it’s been since November 2022. China is Tesla’s second-biggest market after the US, where sales are expected to fall following the end of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit. Sales also fell in a number of countries in its third-biggest market, Europe, in October.
In China, Tesla faces increased competition from companies like BYD and XPeng, which is also getting into the robotaxi and robot markets. Notably, China also saw lower car sales overall in October amid weaker consumer sentiment.
Fortunately for Tesla, which is now focusing more on its robot, autonomous taxi, and AI goals, analysts are also placing less of an emphasis on its car business.
In China, Tesla faces increased competition from companies like BYD and XPeng, which is also getting into the robotaxi and robot markets. Notably, China also saw lower car sales overall in October amid weaker consumer sentiment.
Fortunately for Tesla, which is now focusing more on its robot, autonomous taxi, and AI goals, analysts are also placing less of an emphasis on its car business.
Anthropic has reportedly been upping its revenue forecasts, and appears to be catching up to market leader OpenAI.
Anthropic’s thriving API business is juicing its revenues, and it has made some strategic moves that are boosting its margins.
Unlike OpenAI’s all-Nvidia strategy, Anthropic has diversified to also use chips from Amazon and Google, according to a report from The Information.
The cheaper, more efficient chips may be part of the reason that Anthropic is projecting that it will be profitable in 2027.
The report also notes that OpenAI’s expensive $40 billion “backup” server build-out is part of its plan to eventually monetize hundreds of millions of nonpaying ChatGPT users, while Anthropic is generating 80% of its revenue from paid API access and isn’t spending as much to serve its much smaller base of free users.
Unlike OpenAI’s all-Nvidia strategy, Anthropic has diversified to also use chips from Amazon and Google, according to a report from The Information.
The cheaper, more efficient chips may be part of the reason that Anthropic is projecting that it will be profitable in 2027.
The report also notes that OpenAI’s expensive $40 billion “backup” server build-out is part of its plan to eventually monetize hundreds of millions of nonpaying ChatGPT users, while Anthropic is generating 80% of its revenue from paid API access and isn’t spending as much to serve its much smaller base of free users.
After a record sales quarter, analysts expect Tesla sales to fall in the current quarter, as the end of the government’s $7,500 EV tax credit crimps electric vehicle sales in general.
Tesla has a plan: it’s now renting Teslas from select dealerships, starting in Southern California, for up to a week at a time, starting at $60 a day.
The company has thrown in freebie features like Supercharging and Full Self-Driving (Supervised), and is giving those who choose to buy a Tesla within a week of their rental experience a $250 credit.
Will that help keep Tesla sales from falling? (Analysts polled by FactSet forecast sales in the fourth quarter to be down 9% and the full year to fall 7%, compared to the same period a year earlier.) Probably not, but supposedly car sales don’t really matter anymore to Tesla anyway: Tesla has its sights set on owning a future without poverty or crime but with driverless robotaxis and robot surgeons.
Shares of Tesla were up 2.3% in premarket trading as broader markets rose. Through Friday’s close, they were up 13% for the year, slightly underperforming the S&P 500.
The company has thrown in freebie features like Supercharging and Full Self-Driving (Supervised), and is giving those who choose to buy a Tesla within a week of their rental experience a $250 credit.
Will that help keep Tesla sales from falling? (Analysts polled by FactSet forecast sales in the fourth quarter to be down 9% and the full year to fall 7%, compared to the same period a year earlier.) Probably not, but supposedly car sales don’t really matter anymore to Tesla anyway: Tesla has its sights set on owning a future without poverty or crime but with driverless robotaxis and robot surgeons.
Shares of Tesla were up 2.3% in premarket trading as broader markets rose. Through Friday’s close, they were up 13% for the year, slightly underperforming the S&P 500.
Amazon is expanding its low-cost Amazon Haul experience to a new stand-alone app called Amazon Bazaar.
Amazon launched its Temu and Shein competitor a year ago as a US mobile storefront on its website and has since expanded to about a dozen markets. Consumers could purchase many items for under $10, as long as they were willing to stomach longer delivery times.
Now, thanks to success in those places, the programming is expanding to 14 new markets — Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Nigeria — with a new app and name: Amazon Bazaar.
“Both Amazon Haul and Amazon Bazaar deliver the same ultra low-price shopping experience, with different names chosen to better resonate with local language preferences and cultures,” the company said in a press release.
Now, thanks to success in those places, the programming is expanding to 14 new markets — Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Nigeria — with a new app and name: Amazon Bazaar.
“Both Amazon Haul and Amazon Bazaar deliver the same ultra low-price shopping experience, with different names chosen to better resonate with local language preferences and cultures,” the company said in a press release.
