Friday Nov.22, 2019

Tesla's "Cybertruck" is shaped like a trapezoid

_"We're cool with the tariffs, right?"_

Hey Snackers,

Want to know how your Snacks creators got into podcasting and our 5 ingredients to whip up your own digestible pod?

We're crafting this Snacks newsletter on our way back from recording our first live pod straight outta Spotify's new stage in New York.

While markets were busy dipping yesterday, Apple and Tesla demanded your attention. More on both below.

Futurify

Tesla unveils (and starts taking pre-orders for) a rad-looking "Cybertruck"

It's a trapezoid... Just days after Ford unveiled its Mustang e-SUV, Tesla hit Detroit below the belt with its first pickup truck. "Cybertruck" was unveiled last night by a proud Elon Musk. Starting at $39,900, it looks like a senior graphic design student's art project.

Blade Runner (2049)... Elon claims Cybertruck's design was inspired by the 1982 Harrison Ford flick that took place in a dust-filled futuristic November 2019. But we're wondering if it'll even see the streets by 2049. Tesla's Model Y crossover still isn't available and there's even more than that in the backlog.

The Tesla Roadster: Unveiled November 2017 with an insane 1.9-second 0-60 mph acceleration — still not available for sale.
The Tesla Semi: The tractor trailer looks Terminator-villain inspired, unveiled November 2017 — still not available for sale.
The Tesla Cybertruck: Unveiled November 2019. Available late 2021 (allegedly). But Elon claims its "exoskeleton" is bulletproof."

Pickup trucks are like diamond rings... the more you spend on them, the more you'll brag about them. Other Teslas look sporty, this looks spooky — and it's aiming for sales from pickup truck buyers who may go function-over-fashion. But if they come around, Elon could mess with Ford, General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler's profit puppies: pickup trucks.

Relationships

Apple's biggest lobbying move yet: Tim Cook + President Trump

Designed in Cupertino. ~~Assembled in China~~... Assembled in Austin. Apple makes almost all its devices in China — except fancy priced-like-a-car Mac Pro computers. Those come out of a Texas factory owned by a company called Flex. And Apple CEO Tim Cook just hosted President Trump there (+ Ivanka + Treasury Secretary Mnuchin) to show off future Apple expansion plans in the USA.

Apple got shined... That presidential factory visit didn't boost Apple's stock (although it's already incredibly close to a record high). But the mi casa e su casa tour earned Tim Cook these 2 surprise quotes from the President:

"When you build in the United States you don’t have to worry about tariffs:" Apple's Chinese-made goods aren't exempted from tariffs (yet), but any exemption would save some profits.
"I asked Tim Cook to see if he could get Apple involved in building 5G in the U.S." Apple isn't building out the powerful wireless network your future life runs on — but this captures their positive relationship with the President.

Arguably the best lobbyist in America... is Tim Cook. It may not be fair, but policy comes down to relationships. Right now, it's transactional relationships. Apple's CEO charmed up one with the President that most Big Tech won't:

What other tech execs do: Amazon's Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post and pushes back on Trump. Facebook's Zuck hates putting on suits and isn't getting any love from anyone in Washington.
What Tim does: He attends White House dinners, serves on tech-ish advisory councils, and then joins more dinners.
What the President gets: This photo opp and this stat that Apple will add $350B to the economy over 5 years. And when he incorrectly claims responsibility for opening that Texas factory, Tim doesn't mention it's actually 6 years old.

What else we’re Snackin’

Lit: Cannabis stocks rise after the House Judiciary Committee moved a bill forward to legalize marijuana nationwide
Learn: Sonos acquires a voice assistant startup to prevent its speakers from becoming a lifeless and personality-free commoditized hardware
Combo: Schwab and TD Ameritrade stocks fly higher on reports they're planning to merge up after slashing trading commissions
Abroad: Walmart's doubling down in China, launching 500 new stores across the Great Wall by 2023
Contract: WeWork is officially cutting 2,400 WeWorkers as the WeTurnaround begins

Friday

The Consumer Sentiment poll tells us how we're all feeling
Earnings from Foot Locker

Disclosure: Authors of this Snacks own shares of Amazon and Tesla.

ID: 1019373

Latest Stories

Pop Quiz!

Sales of what are up 136% since 2019?

Don't be a sucka

$70B

Alphabet shares are soaring in the after-market session, with a initial jump of more than 10% implying a gain of upwards of about $200B in market value when the stock opens tomorrow morning.

Google’s parent company crushed earnings expectations, initiated a cash dividend for the first time, and authorized a fresh $70B in share repurchases for good measure. The market likes it very much.

What’s up doc?

HOP TO IT

Joshua Topolsky

We get results!

This earnings season is fully operational

Balancing Act

Acrobatic Accounting

So, you want to join the circus?

Megan DeMatteo

No, Apple hasn’t cut its Vision Pro production estimates in half

Quite a few news outlets are reporting that Apple thinks it’s only going to sell 400,000 to 450,000 Vision Pros in 2024, compared a “market consensus” of 700,000 to 800,000. They’re all citing a note from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Obviously there’s no question that Apple’s $3,500 face computer will have a limited audience and could be a huge flop, but this also doesn’t seem like accurate news.

The issue is that 1) this 400,000 number isn’t new. Back in July of 2023, the Financial Times reported that Apple planned to make fewer than 400,000 units in 2024, reducing its initial projections of 1M units, citing two people close to Apple and, the Chinese contract manufacturer assembling the device. 2) It's unclear who was estimating 700,000-800,000 Vision Pros in the first place, but it appears that it was Ming-Chi Kuo himself?

Apple reportedly cuts Vision Pro production due to low demand

Seriously, relax

Economy keeps on humming along

Meta exhaustingly tries to merge the metaverse and AI

Gonna have to rename the company... again

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4/24/24

Chipotle continues to go on a tear, hitting a sales record

Hey it might not be the kind of AI stock investors are all hot and bothered over, but don’t sleep on the burrito business.

Chipotle posted much better-than-expected results on Wednesday, with sales rising 14% to a record $2.70B in the first quarter, which is like a billion additions of guac.

Profits jumped 23% to $359M.

Chipotle has quietly cruised higher over the last year. It’s up 63%, compared to the 24.5% gain for the S&P 500 over the 12 months through Wednesday’s close. Not bad for a rice-and-beans based business model.

Rani Molla

4/24/24

Facebook had great earnings, the market hates it

Facebook reported impressive earnings. Record first-quarter revenue thanks to AI! Profit up 117% compared to a year earlier! But at the same time, its capital expenditures are going up and it’s expecting second quarter revenue potentially lower than analyst estimates. So in other words, the future doesn’t look as bright as the present.

All in all the stock is down more than 10%. (Basically the opposite of what happened with Tesla yesterday).

Net net

4/24/24

Earnings can’t stop, won’t stop

Rani Molla

4/24/24

Why Tesla investors are holding on to hope for a cheap car

Despite terrible earnings numbers last night — declining vehicle sales, disappointing revenue and profit, enormous spending — Tesla stock is up more than 10% as of midday. That’s a welcome move for the car company, that’s been among the worst performers this year in the S&P 500.

Why the about face?

While Reuters reported earlier this month that Tesla is no longer making its long-awaited $25,000 mass-market car — news sent the stock, already suffering from headwinds across the EV industry, down even further— Tesla reported during its earnings that it’s going to make cheaper cars than it currently has.

Before the second half of next year, Tesla said it will release “more affordable models” that “will utilize aspects of the next generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms, and will be able to be produced on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle line-up.”

So rather than release the $25,000 Model 2, Tesla is incorporating some of that technology into its existing models. UBS called it the Franken-3Y2.