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The California Department of Motor Vehicles will not suspend Tesla’s sales and manufacturing licenses for 30 days because the EV maker has stopped using the term “Autopilot” in the marketing of its vehicles in the state. The decision, issued late Tuesday, means Tesla can continue selling its EVs in California without interruption and officially settles a case that has been dragging on for nearly three years. California is Tesla’s biggest U.S. market. In November 2023, the DMV filed accusations that Tesla violated state law by using deceptive marketing of Autopilot, its basic advanced driver assistance system, as well as its…
Thrive Capital just raised $10 billion for a new fund — the largest fund it has ever raised and nearly double the size of its last fund. Of this, $1 billion is dedicated to early-stage investments, while the rest is for growth-stage investments, according to an announcement from the firm. Thrive told Bloomberg that this latest fundraise was oversubscribed. This is the firm’s 10th fund — called Thrive X — and comes as some of the firm’s biggest investments, including OpenAI, Stripe, and SpaceX, continue to soar in value. Some of the firm’s other notable investments include Databricks, Anduril, and…
Ford is promising to deliver an EV truck next year that starts at $30,000 and can compete with Chinese automakers without undermining profit margins. A combination of 3D-printed Lego-like parts, Formula 1 thinking, and a bounty program will help the company hit that target, Ford said Tuesday. It will have to. Ford took a $19.5 billion hit in December and ended production of its battery-electric F-150 Lightning. It can’t afford for this new EV business strategy to fall flat. Ford’s bet on a line of affordable EVs began several years ago with a skunkworks team led by Alan Clarke, a…
A government customer of sanctioned spyware maker Intellexa hacked the phone of a prominent journalist in Angola, according to Amnesty International, the latest case of targeting someone in civil society with powerful phone-hacking software. The human rights organization published a new report Tuesday analyzing several hacking attempts against local journalist and press freedom activist Teixeira Cândido, in which he was sent a series of malicious links via WhatsApp during 2024. Cândido eventually clicked on one and his iPhone was hacked with Intellexa’s spyware, dubbed Predator, Amnesty found. The new research shows again that government customers of commercial surveillance vendors are…
The IRS website has a helpful step-by-step guide to walk you through the process, and even has IRS-certified volunteers to help with your taxes if you have a disability or speak limited English.Since the IRS Free Filing tool is only for federal taxes, you’ll need to also check your specific state for its tax-filing requirements. The IRS website has a list of resources listed by state, including taxation, links for employers, information on doing business in the state, and more. Although this list hasn’t been updated since 2023, it’s also a good jumping-off point to find tax resources and forms…
The world is pretty heavy right now, and LinkedIn knows it. So the platform is taking a different approach: it’s getting funny. To reach employees and employers alike, LinkedIn has launched a new campaign that tells a unified story about its products and brand.“The Network That Works For You” focuses on two key areas for LinkedIn users: career growth and business owners. A series of spots — the first work for the brand by agency McCann NY — features comedic workplace vignettes paired with a relevant LinkedIn product.In “Grow Your Business,” a small business owner uses LinkedIn to run her company…
Jack Altman and Benchmark announced today that he would be joining the firm as a general partner. This news is a big deal, especially since Altman has been running his own VC firm, Alt Capital, since at least 2024. The fund raised a $150 million Fund I in early 2024 and then, just last September, announced a $274 million Fund II, raised in just a week. On LinkedIn, Altman called the past two years running Alt Capital as an investor “the most rewarding” of his life, adding that he loved “new ideas and being part of a team with a…
Artificial intelligence isn’t eliminating marketing jobs at scale, but it is changing what those jobs demand.According to proprietary data prepared for ADWEEK by the research firm NewtonX, most organizations report little to no AI-driven headcount reduction. At the same time, a majority of marketers say their day-to-day responsibilities have already shifted, with expectations rising around speed, complexity, and output.The survey collected responses from 501 advertising decision-makers in the U.S. and Canada, split between 82% brand marketers and 18% agency leaders. Twenty percent of respondents are at the C-level.The findings suggest a new reality for the profession: AI may be expanding…
Late last month, The Information reported that Apple was developing an AI wearable—an AirTag-sized pendant with cameras that could be pinned to a user’s shirt. Now, Bloomberg writes that the development of such a device—along with two other AI-powered items—is accelerating as Apple looks to stay competitive with other tech giants that are racing to release similar products. In addition to the AI pin, Apple is also speeding up the development of its upcoming AI-powered smart glasses, which have been code-named N50, the report claims. Apple obviously has competition in this space, as other companies—including Meta (which is arguably the…
Last month, Jason Grad issued a late-night warning to the 20 employees at his tech startup. “You’ve likely seen Clawdbot trending on X/LinkedIn. While cool, it is currently unvetted and high-risk for our environment,” he wrote in a Slack message with a red siren emoji. “Please keep Clawdbot off all company hardware and away from work-linked accounts.”Grad isn’t the only tech executive who has raised concerns to staff about the experimental agentic AI tool, which was briefly known as MoltBot and is now named OpenClaw. A Meta executive says he recently told his team to keep OpenClaw off their regular…
Kroger U.S. has named McCann as its creative agency of record, the agency confirmed to ADWEEK.The grocery retailer is one of over a dozen banners owned by The Kroger Company, which operates more than 2,700 stores including the Ralph’s, Dillon’s, and Pay-Less Supermarket chains. It wasn’t immediately clear whether McCann will be handling all brands and banners beneath The Kroger Company.“We are proud to be named U.S. creative Agency of Record for Kroger, an iconic brand known for its deep commitment to its people, customers and communities,” Amber Guild, CEO of McCann New York, said in a statement. “We look…
An internal research study at Meta dubbed “Project MYST” created in partnership with the University of Chicago, found that parental supervision and controls — such as time limits and restricted access — had little impact on kids’ compulsive use of social media. The study also found that kids who experienced stressful life events were more likely to lack the ability to moderate their social media use appropriately. This was one of the notable claims revealed during testimony at the social media addiction trial that began last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The plaintiff in the lawsuit is identified…
Tired of listening to crying babies and engines whirring on your flights? Our favorite pair of wireless headphones for traveling are currently marked down by $50. You can pick up the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 from Amazon for just $399 in both Black and Driftwood Sand, with the other colors remaining at their full price.Bose is known for incredible active noise canceling, and the latest generation of QuietComfort over-ear headphones is no different. Our reviewer Ryan Waniata was extremely impressed with the Bose, despite only minor upgrades, and considers them among the top three headsets when it comes to ANC,…
Anderson Cooper will be departing CBS News’ Sunday program 60 Minutes after a nearly 20-year run.“For nearly twenty years, I’ve been able to balance my jobs at CNN and CBS, but I have little kids now, and I want to spend as much time with them as possible, while they still want to spend time with me,” Cooper said in a statement released on Monday. He will continue his role at CNN.CBS News acknowledged Cooper’s departure in a statement.“For more than two decades, Anderson Cooper has taken 60 Minutes viewers on journeys to faraway places, told us unforgettable stories, reported…
It’s a challenge every startup faces: they’ve made a prototype and proven the thing works, but now have to sell the product and produce enough to get past the “valley of death” that kills so many companies. “They are chicken and egg stuck,” Josh Felser, co-founder and managing partner of early-stage venture firm Climactic, told TechCrunch. The hurdle is particularly high for companies making physical goods. Felser noticed it was a common occurrence among startups producing novel materials. Fesler, who previously founded and invested in software startups, said the problem they faced seemed a bit unfair. “Software companies sell at…
The curling ice at the Winter Olympics is often full of shouting—but not like this. Last Friday, in a match that Canada won 8-6, a verbal altercation broke out between the third throwers from each team. Near the end of the match, after a debate over minor rules reached its crescendo, Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson passive-aggressively accused Canadian vice-skip Marc Kennedy of cheating. Kennedy promptly declared that he “didn’t give a shit,” twice telling Eriksson to “fuck off.”Within hours, the dustup had been covered by nearly every major news outlet and had blown up on social media, inspiring scores of people…