Tesla released its Q2 earnings on Wednesday, reporting a 42% growth in revenue. The EV maker generated $16.93B in revenue — $14.6M in automotive revenue, $1.47B from services and other revenue, and $866M from its energy business unit. More: - Tesla reported 709 stores and service locations, up 19% YoY, and 3,971 Supercharger locations, up 34% YoY.
- The company said it has converted about 75% of its Bitcoin holdings into fiat currency.
- In 2021, Tesla announced it had purchased $1.5B worth of Bitcoin.
- Net income came in at $2.62B, or $2.27 a share, up 62% YoY.
- This week Tesla surpassed 2 million vehicles produced at its factory in Fremont, California.
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The Senate on Tuesday voted 64-34 to advance a reduced version of its bill designed to increase U.S. semiconductor production. The bill would provide about $52B in subsidies to boost U.S. chip manufacturing and decrease dependence on Asia-based producers. More: - The vote paves the way for the Senate to hold a final vote to pass the bill later this week or early next week.
- The bill would then head to the House for a vote before it would head to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
- The Biden administration says a larger U.S. domestic chip industry would help ease supply chain disruptions that have impacted economic recovery from COVID-19.
- U.S. chip stocks rose on Tuesday in anticipation of the vote and on Wednesday.
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TikTok parent company ByteDance is down 25% from its private valuation of around $460B last year. Investors have been buying shares in the Chinese startup at valuations as low as $275B. ByteDance's IPO was one of the most anticipated public listings of a Chinese tech company, but it's unlikely to proceed until markets stabilize. More: - Tech stocks have fallen globally in recent months. Shares of Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group are down 24% and 13%, respectively, YTD.
- ByteDance, like other Chinese tech firms, has been forced to pause some of its risker expansion projects amid increased scrutiny from Beijing.
- Last month ByteDance scrapped plans to develop a key game studio and laid off more than 100 employees.
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Ford plans to cut as many as 8,000 jobs in the coming weeks to boost profits to fund its expansion into the EV market. Many of the job cuts will occur in the company’s newly created Ford Blue unit responsible for producing internal combustion engine vehicles. More: - The move would mark a significant step in CEO Jim Farley’s plan to cut $3B in costs by 2026.
- In March, Farley restructured Ford into two car-making units, one referred to as the Model e unit, responsible for scaling up the company’s EV offerings, and Ford Blue, focused on its traditional combustion engine vehicles.
- The job cuts are expected to be among Ford’s salaried employees in a variety of operational functions.
- Ford employs about 31,000 salaried workers in the U.S.
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The U.S. Justice Department unveiled a $1.2B healthcare fraud, charging 36 defendants with alleged fraudulent billing schemes tied to telemedicine, genetic and cardiovascular testing, and equipment. The charges target clinical laboratory owners, marketers, medical professionals, and telemedicine executives. More: - Prosecutors said the schemes intended to defraud Medicare of $1.2B, but actual losses were closer to $440M.
- The defendants are accused of using Medicare funds to purchase luxury items, submitting false and fraudulent claims for services patients did not need, among other crimes.
- The Center for Medicare Services also took separate but similar administrative action against 52 companies involved in a similar scheme.
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- The median sales price of an existing home in the U.S. climbed to $416,000 in June, up 13.4% YoY, its highest since 1999.
- The EU has told members to cut gas usage by 15% until March 2023 as an emergency step after President Vladimir Putin warned that Russian gas supplies to Europe could be cut further or stop completely.
- U.S. semiconductor manufacturer SkyWater Technology announced plans to invest $1.8B in a chip research and production facility in Indiana in partnership with the state and Purdue University.
- Lyft laid off 60 employees and closed its in-house car rental service. The layoffs account for about 2% of the ride-hailing service's workforce.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a Researcher at Inside. Her interests include finance, tech, and startups. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending music festivals, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or through email at vanessa@inside.com |  | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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