The indictment of 13 Russians for interfering with the Presidential election has intensified the pressure put on Facebook, which uncovered about three-thousand Russian-linked ads on its platforms before and after November 2016. Cheddar Senior Reporter, Alex Heath, breaks down the the latest developments.
Facebook's Vice President for ads, Rob Goldman, tweeted about Russia's disinformation effort. President Trump then cited him. Facebook did not intend for Goldman’s tweets to be quoted by Trump. They thought the tweets would only be seen by a contextually-aware audience of techies and media types who follow Goldman.
Heath believes that the tweeting from Goldman and other execs is part of a carefully orchestrated PR campaign by Facebook to make itself appear more transparent and relate-able through engaged spokespeople on Twitter.
Beyond direct competitors Hulu and Amazon, more companies will jump in to give Netflix a run for its money. "The competition is intensifying across all fronts," says Paul Verna, principal analyst at eMarketer. The streaming service posted strong earnings Tuesday, with a massive growth in subscribers and better-than-expected revenue.
The streaming service added more than 7.4 million new users in the first quarter. The fact that so much of that growth is coming from the international market is a positive for investors, says Kyle Robertson, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of StartU.
Tesla is temporarily suspending production of its Model 3 vehicle in an effort to reduce manufacturing bottlenecks. The pause in production was planned and is expected to last less than a week. However, this is the second time Tesla has paused Model 3 production since February, leading many to worry about whether the company can deliver on its ambitious production targets.
Netflix is off to a strong start this year. The stock surged after the company reported first-quarter earnings, disclosing that the company added 7.4 million subscribers in the first three months of this year. Netflix now has 125 million subscribers globally.
A recent report by the investigative news site Reveal found that Tesla's factory is ridden with safety hazards, and that the carmaker categorizes workplace injuries as "personal medical issues" to decrease its rate of injuries. The company puts "production of cars over worker safety," said Will Evans, one of the reporters who wrote the article.
The delivery service will help the retailing giant crack the "last mile problem" with speed while driving down costs, says Dan Mosher, SVP and Merchant Lead at Postmates.
Since its redesign, publishers on Snapchat's Discover channels have seen their engagement numbers plummet. That's not a coincidence, says Madison Malone Kircher, Associate Editor at New York Magazine's Select All.
After Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's testimony on Capitol Hill this week, all eyes are on the kinds of regulation that may come for the tech industry. If Congress is serious about data protection, then questioning "Google is the next logical step," says Molly Wood, host of Marketplace Tech.
Plated meal kits are now in Albertsons grocery stores. That means getting its offerings in front of people who want single portions or last-minute meals, says CEO and co-founder Josh Hix, something online subscriptions can't offer.
Elon Musk, CEO of the electric car maker, tweeted that Tesla would be profitable and cash flow positive by the end of the year. Though many investors rejoiced, Gene Munster, Managing Partner at Loup Ventures, thinks it will take Tesla nearly three years to pull off that feat.
James Comey's new book "A Higher Loyalty" officially hits stores on Tuesday, but juicy details are already leaking out. The former FBI Director likens President Trump to a mob boss in the book. Trump criticized Comey on Twitter on Friday, calling him an "untruthful slime ball." Comey will do an interview this Sunday ahead of the book's release.
President Trump issued an executive order late Thursday night calling for a review of the U.S. Postal Service. The president wants a task force to look into the financial troubles facing the USPS. In recent weeks, Trump has criticized Amazon for contributing to the USPS's financial downfall. Even though Trump didn't specifically mention Amazon in the executive order, it's implied that he wants the task force to look into his claims against the tech giant.
And Cheddar CEO Jon Steinberg sits down with two-time NBA all-star Baron Davis to chat about his life as a tech investor. He's the founder of Sports and Lifestyle in Culture, or SLIC, a company that features and promotes original content from athletes.
