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Tesla earnings Q1 2025: What we're watching for
TechCrunch· 2025-04-22 19:15
Core Viewpoint - Tesla is facing significant challenges, including declining stock prices and global sales, attributed to CEO Elon Musk's political involvement and increased competition in key markets [1][2]. Financial Performance - Analysts expect Tesla's revenue for the upcoming quarter to be approximately $21.41 billion, which represents no growth year-over-year and a decline from $25.7 billion in Q4 2024 [3]. - The company is anticipated to report the lowest margin expectations in 12 years, raising concerns about its profitability compared to competitors like Volkswagen [2]. Delivery and Demand - Tesla's Q1 2025 delivery numbers were disappointing, with only 336,681 vehicles delivered, marking the worst quarterly performance in over two years [4]. - There are concerns about weak customer demand, partly influenced by Musk's political stance [4]. Strategic Initiatives - Tesla has reportedly abandoned plans for a low-cost electric vehicle, although some sources suggest the rollout has merely been delayed [6]. - The company plans to launch a paid ride-hailing robotaxi service in Austin, with initial operations expected to use Model Y and Model 3 vehicles [7][8]. Production and Technology - Updates on the production timeline for the Cybercab, which lacks federal approval for mass production of autonomous vehicles without human controls, are anticipated [9]. - The company is expected to provide insights into the use of Optimus humanoid robots for internal tasks and the timeline for high-volume production [10]. AI Developments - There has been little communication regarding the Dojo supercomputer, while updates on the Cortex AI training supercluster have been shared [11][12]. Leadership and Focus - Investors are looking for indications that Musk will prioritize Tesla's core business over his political engagements, as analysts express concerns about the impact of his political activities on the Tesla brand [13].
Meta releases its CapCut rival Edits globally
TechCrunch· 2025-04-22 16:30
Core Insights - Meta has officially launched Edits, a video-creation app similar to CapCut, available globally on iOS and Android, allowing creators to track video ideas, gain inspiration, and utilize effects and AI tools for free at launch [1][2][3] Product Features - Edits includes tools such as "Ideas" for jotting down video concepts, "Projects" for organizing creations, and "Inspirations" for browsing trending audio [8] - The app features a "Green screen" option for background replacement, a "Timeline" for clip arrangement, automatic captions, and music from Instagram's library [9] - AI capabilities allow users to turn static images into videos with the "Animate" feature and isolate objects using the "Cutouts" feature [9] Competitive Positioning - The launch of Edits positions Meta to attract creators away from CapCut, especially given the uncertainty surrounding TikTok's future in the U.S. [2][3] - Edits allows for watermark-free video exports, contrasting with CapCut, which requires a paid subscription for this feature [7] Future Developments - Meta plans to introduce new features for Edits, including a "Modify" tool for AI-driven video alterations and a "Keyframes" feature for precise clip adjustments [19][20] - Upcoming enhancements will include collaboration options for creators, additional fonts, text animations, transitions, voice effects, filters, sound effects, and music choices [20]
Mark Zuckerberg once suggested spinning out Instgram as a solution to its ‘cannibalization' of Facebook
TechCrunch· 2025-04-21 18:56
Core Insights - Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed concerns about Instagram potentially cannibalizing Facebook, which could lead to a "network collapse" of Facebook, a more engaging and profitable product [1][6][18] - Zuckerberg proposed strategies to mitigate this risk, including creating stronger integrations between Meta's apps and considering the possibility of spinning out Instagram as a separate business [2][10][18] Group 1: Concerns about Cannibalization - Zuckerberg highlighted that Instagram's growth negatively impacted Facebook's engagement, with internal data indicating a significant decline in Facebook usage as users joined Instagram [6][7] - He noted that promoting Instagram to grow as large as Facebook could have unforeseen negative effects on Facebook's overall engagement [7][8] - The internal email indicated that Instagram's growth was primarily driven by Facebook's distribution, raising concerns about replacing a more profitable product with a less engaging one [8][9] Group 2: Strategic Recommendations - Zuckerberg recommended reducing promotions for Instagram and enhancing integrations to encourage cross-engagement between Facebook and Instagram [9] - He suggested that branding should emphasize Facebook's association with Instagram and WhatsApp to maintain Facebook's prominence [15][16] - The email also mentioned the challenges of product development within Instagram and WhatsApp due to their independent leadership, which could hinder open discussions about concerns [15] Group 3: Potential Outcomes of FTC Case - The FTC's case against Meta aims to prove that the company maintains a social networking monopoly through acquisitions like Instagram and WhatsApp [3] - If the FTC succeeds, Meta may be forced to spin out Instagram and WhatsApp, a scenario that Zuckerberg had previously suggested as a potential strategy to preserve Facebook's growth [18] - Zuckerberg warned that there was a "non-trivial chance" of being compelled to separate these acquisitions, which could undermine the company's strategy of building a family of apps [18]
Mark Zuckerberg once suggested spinning out Instagram as a solution to its ‘cannibalization' of Facebook
TechCrunch· 2025-04-21 18:56
In an internal email surfaced as part of the Meta antitrust trial, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg fretted about the potential that the company’s Instagram acquisition may cannibalize Facebook. Were that to happen, it could lead to the “network collapse of the more engaging and profitable product,” a worried Zuckerberg told other Meta executives in a confidential message.Zuckerberg proposed multiple ways to prevent this cannibalization from occurring, including building more bridges between Meta’s apps to make the ...
Reddit briefly down for users worldwide
TechCrunch· 2025-04-21 16:33
Popular social network and forum site Reddit reported significant outages on Monday morning. The connection errors started at around 11:20 a.m. ET, according to the website Downdetector, which collects anecdotal reports from impacted users globally. At its peak, more than 90,000 users logged an outage report with the downtime tracking website.  At 11:52 a.m. ET, Reddit Status, the company’s website tracking its own outages, confirmed it was investigating “elevated errors” across the website and app. A few ...
Tesla reportedly delays launch of new low-cost model by months
TechCrunch· 2025-04-21 13:14
In Brief This all comes as Tesla's sales are tumbling in many parts of the world thanks to a combination of an aging lineup of vehicles, Musk's far-right politics and involvement in the U.S. government, and the underperformance of the Cybertruck. CEO Elon Musk first teased the idea of making a $25,000 Tesla at the company's "Battery Day" event in 2020. Tesla was developing a new platform that would be 50% cheaper to build, which it planned to use to power this new model, often colloquially referred to as th ...
Uncovered emails showed how Meta struggled to keep Facebook culturally relevant
TechCrunch· 2025-04-20 14:00
Core Insights - Meta is facing challenges in maintaining Facebook's cultural relevance, as highlighted by internal communications and ongoing antitrust trials [1][4][6] - The company aims to restore Facebook's relevance by returning to its original format and launching a revamped Friends tab [2][5] Group 1: Concerns about Cultural Relevance - Internal emails from 2022 reveal executives' worries about Facebook's declining cultural relevance and the need for a unique vision to ensure sustainable growth [6] - Mark Zuckerberg expressed that Facebook's engagement remains steady, but its cultural relevance is diminishing, which could indicate future health issues for the platform [6] - The current structure of Facebook's "Friends" feature is seen as outdated compared to other platforms that focus on "Following," leading to discussions about potential changes [3][6] Group 2: Proposed Solutions - Zuckerberg suggested refreshing Facebook's graph structure to regain cultural relevance and improve long-term prospects [6] - A strategy is needed to ensure that Facebook and Instagram do not compete for the same audience, as Instagram currently holds more cultural relevance [6] - Ideas discussed include adopting a following model instead of friending, which may involve significant changes to the platform's structure, including potentially wiping existing friend graphs [6][7]
Netflix is revamping search with AI to improve discovery
TechCrunch· 2025-04-18 12:27
Core Insights - Netflix is enhancing its search experience using AI technologies to improve content discovery for users [1][2] - The company acknowledges that only 1% of traffic is driven by its most popular titles, indicating a need for better discovery and recommendation systems [2] - Netflix has been testing OpenAI-powered search features with select customers in Australia and New Zealand, alongside a new homepage design for its TV app [3] Company Developments - The new homepage redesign is the first major structural change in over a decade, aimed at significantly improving the discovery experience [4] - In the first quarter, Netflix reported a revenue increase of 12.5%, reaching $10.54 billion compared to the previous year [4]
Judge rules Google illegally monopolized ad tech, opening door to potential breakup
TechCrunch· 2025-04-17 15:03
A federal judge has found that Google has violated antitrust laws by “willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power” in the advertising technology market, rounding out a two-year saga after the U.S. and eight states filed its initial complaints against the Alphabet-owned company.The court will set a briefing schedule and hearing date to determine appropriate remedies for the antitrust violations, per a Thursday filing.  The remedies could include forcing Google to break up its advertising business, li ...
Mark Zuckerberg says TikTok slowed Meta's growth
TechCrunch· 2025-04-17 14:28
Core Insights - Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified that TikTok poses a significant competitive threat to Meta's business, labeling it a "top priority" since its emergence in 2018 [1] - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's trial could lead to Meta being required to separate Instagram or WhatsApp into independent companies if the FTC's case is successful [2] - Zuckerberg acknowledged that TikTok's popularity has directly affected Meta, causing a "dramatic" slowdown in growth for the company [3] Competitive Landscape - The acquisition of Musical.ly by ByteDance in 2017 and its merger with TikTok in 2018 coincided with Meta's decision to stop reporting Facebook's user numbers, opting for a "family of apps" metric to obscure slowing growth [4] - Zuckerberg noted a shift in social media dynamics, stating that apps now primarily function as discovery engines rather than relying on personal connections for growth [5] - Despite this shift, Meta is attempting to re-emphasize network effects by introducing new features aimed at enhancing connections among friends, with a goal to return to its original social networking roots by 2025 [5]