Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Tesla layoffs gutted some departments

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Good afternoon, and welcome back to TechCrunch PM. Today I bring you updates on what's going on at Tesla, why Boston Dynamics is retiring its humanoid just when the sector is heating up and a possible crypto scam involving iMessage. Enjoy!

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TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: Getty Images / Toru Hanai/Bloomberg

Tesla departments hit hard: We are beginning to see more effects of Tesla's layoffs this week. Sources told Rebecca Bellan and Sean O'Kane that many of those laid off were high performers. Another said 20% of their department was cut. We're sure there will be more forthcoming. Read More

Even humanoids retire: Now that humanoids are all the rage in the robotics industry, hardware editor Brian Heater writes that Boston Dynamics decided to officially retire its humanoid. "The Hyundai-owned firm has always marched to the beat of its own drummer. Even so, it's an odd decision as funding pours into the category by the hundreds of millions," Brian reports. Read More

Zypsy gets tipsy over helping startups: The design firm launched a new and somewhat unique venture investment program. Zypsy is offering 10 startups up to $100,000 of brand and product design services in exchange for 1% equity of their companies. Read More

Afternoon must-reads

Image Credits: TechCrunch / Bryce Durbin

A bug or a scam?: Trust Wallet said hackers might be trying to target people with an iMessage "zero-day" exploit, recommending iPhone users turn off iMessage. However, reporter Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai writes no evidence shows that "this" exists at all. Read More

Apple relaxes download policy in EU: Apple is opening up web distribution for iOS apps targeting users in the European Union. Developers who opt in and meet certain criteria will be able to offer iPhone apps for direct download to EU users from their own websites. Read More

How to secure a government contract: This kind of thing can be difficult to navigate, which is why Tim Goltser, Curtis Mason and Sean Doherty decided to form the contract proposal workflow tool GovDash. Read More

It's a match: Like securing that government contract, finding your next investor can be equally challenging. Jaclyn Johnson and Angeline Vuong started Cherub to alleviate some of that by matching founders and angel investors in a similar way to online dating. Read More

Give me the music: Amazon Music is following in Spotify's footsteps with an AI playlist generator called Maestro. Read More

Trump turns to TV: Donald Trump caught the social media bug with Truth Social and now he's going after a live-streaming service. Read More

"SaaS for witches": That's how Bay Area artist Danielle Baskin, known for her viral, immersive art installations and jokes, describes her latest project, Moonlight, which is a free online tarot platform. Read More

Embracing AI: Betaworks' latest "Camp" incubator trained up and funded nine AI agent startups they hope will take on today's more tedious tasks. Read More

Money, money, money

Attention, startups, the money is flowing from these new funds:

Bay Bridge Ventures is raising $200 million for a new climate fund, filings show. Read More

Evolution Equity Partners raises $1.1 billion for new cybersecurity and AI fund. Read More

SOSV founder says climate investing is a "war effort" as firm closes $306 million fund. Read More

Consumer tech investing is still hot for Maven Ventures, securing $60 million for Fund IV. Read More

Around the web

The IMF forecasts the United States will grow at double the rate of its G7 peers, but it's still spending too much. Financial Times has more.

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift did it. Or should we say her Eras Tour brought to light that Live Nation and Ticketmaster may have gotten too big for their britches. Now the U.S. Department of Justice is taking a look, The Verge reports.

And Business Insider talks about three smartphone makers that Apple should keep an eye on.

TechCrunch Minute

Why Tesla's big layoffs happened, and what comes next: Tesla's layoffs and executive departures took a bite out of its share price this week. And with price cuts, falling deliveries, increasingly sophisticated competition, and now mass layoffs, Tesla is starting to look more like a traditional company than a company that can avoid traditional business rules and trade like its peers. Hit play, and let's talk!