The FDA investigates Neuralink, Ford picks Tesla chargers, and the 1% gets more exclusive

CoinBlock.Asia 2024-03-01 09:03

Good morning, Quartz readers!

Here’s what you need to know

Elon Musk’s Neuralink is under new scrutiny. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors reported quality control problems at Neuralink’s California animal research facility.

What inspired Elon Musk’s design for Tesla’s Cybertruck?

Ford EV drivers can now use Tesla chargers. F-150 Lightning pickups and Mustang Mach-E SUVs are getting free adapters to the North American Charging Standard. Meanwhile, Ford is being probed about its 2022 recall of 44,000 E-series vehicles.

The bitcoin billionaire Winklevoss twins have to give $1.1 billion back to crypto customers. It’s part of a settlement involving their cryptocurrency exchange Gemini.

OpenAI is reportedly being probed about whether it misled investors. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sought internal communications since its CEO Sam Altman was fired and then reinstated. Separately, OpenAI joined Microsoft in backing a humanoid robot startup.

Oprah Winfrey is leaving Weight Watchers after she acknowledged using a weight loss drug. The company said her departure from the board of directors will “eliminate any perceived conflict of interest” over weight loss drugs.

China’s influence on the global car industry, by the digits

4.91 million: Cars China exported in 2023

2023: Year China became the world’s top car exporter, beating Japan

2025: Year China’s Tesla rival BYD expects to pick a spot to build a new factory in Mexico

5,100: Terabytes of data an electric vehicle can collect annually

That last number the U.S. government is interested in, especially when it comes to smart cars from China. Read about why the White House sees them as a security threat.

Hims & Hers is looking healthier

While the telehealth sector in general isn’t looking too hot, millennial-skewed platform Hims & Hers has found its groove thanks to its focus on weight loss and personalized medicine.

Weight loss specifically has the potential to generate $100 million in revenue in 2025, the company’s CEO said this week. For now, that doesn’t include access to drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy — but that’s coming.

Pop quiz: The 1% club is getting harder to join

Gif: Giphy

In which country is it the hardest to join the 1% of earners?

A. Switzerland
B. The U.S.
C. Luxembourg
D. Monaco

Hint: They’re all among the top four.

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😬 …and the internet had a field day with it.

💸 Netflix, GM, and other big companies got big tax breaks from the Trump tax cuts

📈 The best bitcoin trade in February wasn’t bitcoin

Surprising discoveries

A lot of math goes into calculating which century years were leap ones. 1600 and 2000 were, but 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not, because they aren’t divisible by 400, and now our head hurts.

Nearly as many Americans played pickleball as baseball last year. The U.S. has a new favorite pastime, though tennis and basketball still dominate.

AMC’s CEO said fourth-quarter revenue was “literally all” from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. The economic power of the pop stars can’t be tamed.

A microplastics study found them in every human placenta that was tested. The tiny particles were also detected in all 17 of the human arteries that were studied.

A burnt down 18th century British pub has to be rebuilt lopsided. Long live the Crooked House!

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