Hello Readers, Welcome back to our regular newsletter format. If you are a new subscriber, welcome! Each weekday I curate the top business news around the world and provide more context to help you better understand what’s happening and why it is important. I love getting feedback from you all. Please let me know what else you would like to see in the newsletters. I can be reached at vanessa@inside.com. For the quickest response, tweet me @VanessaOmeo or connect with me on LinkedIn. If you missed my picks for the top business news of 2022, you will find them here. Also, here are my predictions for 2023. |
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Tesla reported its Q4 and 2022 full-year production and delivery numbers on Monday. The EV maker delivered 405,278 vehicles in Q4, up 31% YoY, and produced 439,701 vehicles, up ~44% YoY. For the full year, Tesla delivered 1.31 million vehicles, up 40% YoY, and produced 1.37 million vehicles, up 47% YoY. More: - The company began production at its Austin, Texas, and Brandenburg, Germany, locations in 2022.
- Tesla also boosted production at its original factory in Fremont, California.
- The company also ramped up production at its Shanghai location but faced several COVID-19-related delays and disruptions at the plant last year.
- Tesla shares were down more than 14% during afternoon trading on Tuesday.
- The company fell more than 60% last year, closing the year at $123.18 a share.
- In a recent companywide email, CEO Elon Musk encouraged Tesla employees to focus on delivering as many vehicles as possible before the end of 2022.
- Musk told employees to ignore the stock market craziness and focus on the company's long-term prospects.
- Tesla is scheduled to release its Q4 and full-year earnings on Jan. 25.
In Related News: - South Korea's antitrust regulator, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), fined Tesla 2.85B won ($2.2M) for failing to inform its customers about its vehicle's shorter driving range in lower temperatures.
- The KFTC accused Tesla of exaggerating various performance indicators on its website, including the driving range of its vehicles on a single charge and the performance of its Superchargers.
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FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to fraud and other criminal charges on Tuesday. Bankman-Fried is facing eight charges, including wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, money laundering, and violations of campaign finance laws. More: - Bankman-Fried’s trial is set to begin on Oct. 2.
- Bankman-Fried has apologized for the collapse of FTX, adding he did not intend to commit fraud.
- Former FTX and Alameda Research executives Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang pleaded guilty to fraud charges and are cooperating with the prosecutors’ investigation.
- Bankman-Fried was released on a $250M bond secured by his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California.
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Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder and president of crypto exchange Gemini, shared an open letter addressed to Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group, the parent company of Genesis, Grayscale, CoinDesk, and other firms. Winklevoss accused Silbert of withholding more than $900M of Gemini client assets and refusing to work with Gemini to recover these assets. More: - On Nov. 16, Genesis halted withdrawals days after FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- Genesis cited “unprecedented market turmoil” caused by the collapse of FTX, which led to “abnormal” levels of withdrawals that exceeded its liquidity.
- In the letter, Winklevoss accused Silbert of borrowing $1.675B from Genesis through its parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG).
- Winklevoss noted that this is the money Genesis owes to its Earn users, including Gemini clients.
- Winklevoss said Silbert used consumer funds to fuel greedy share buybacks, make illiquid venture investments, and kamikaze Grayscale NAV trades, all for personal gain at the expense of creditors.
- Winklevoss accused Silbert of engaging in “bad faith stalling tactics” and thinking the current situation would “magically go away.”
- Winklevoss gave Silbert until Jan. 8 to publicly commit to work with Gemini to find a resolution and recover consumer assets.
- Silbert responded to Winklevoss’ open letter in a tweet, denying that DCG borrowed $1.675B from Genesis.
- Silbert added that DCG delivered a proposal to Genesis on Dec. 29 and has not received any response.
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The University of California is investing $4B in Blackstone’s Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT). As part of the deal, the university will lock up its investment until 2028. The move comes weeks after Blackstone placed limits on investor withdrawals after redemption requests exceeded its internal thresholds. More: - Blackstone has promised the University of California a minimum annual return of 11.25% for six years.
- BREIT has posted 12.7% net annualized returns since its inception.
- Blackstone is also providing a $1B backstop if the fund does not achieve the 11.25% target.
- However, if Blackstone exceeds the target, the firm will receive an additional 5% incentive fee.
- Blackstone shares closed at $76.13 on Tuesday, up ~2.6%.
- The firm is down nearly 20% since announcing limits on investor withdrawals in December.
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Elon Musk’s SpaceX is raising $750M in new funding at a $137B valuation. Andreessen Horowitz is leading the round. SpaceX has raised about $10B in total financing; investors include Sequoia, Founders Fund, Valor Equity Partners, and Google. More: - Last year, SpaceX raised more than $2B; the company was last valued at $127B in May.
- In December, SpaceX surpassed 60 reusable rocket launches through its Falcon program.
- SpaceX is currently developing its Starship reusable and Super Heavy launch vehicle.
- Starship is expected to take humans and cargo to the moon and Mars.
- SpaceX is also building its Starlink satellite internet constellation in low Earth orbit.
- Last month, the satellite service surpassed 1 million subscribers.
- Musk’s stake in SpaceX is estimated at around $47B.
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General Electric is spinning off its healthcare business this week. The new firm, called GE HealthCare Technologies, will start trading this week. Current GE shareholders will receive three shares of the new healthcare firm for every GE share they have. The new firm will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker GEHC. More: - In 2021, GE announced it would split the company into three separate units focused on aviation, health care, and energy.
- After its healthcare spinoff, GE will be left with its jet engine business, natural gas-powered turbines business, and wind turbines business.
- The company plans to merge its natural gas-powered turbines, wind turbines unit, and other energy businesses to create a separate new energy company called GE Vernova.
- GE Vernova is expected to split off in early 2024.
- GE will be left with its aviation business after the splits.
- NYSE-listed shares of GE closed at $84.98 on Tuesday, up 1.42% for the day.
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- The U.S. House of Representatives adjourned for the day Tuesday without a Speaker after Republican leader Kevin McCarthy failed in three consecutive votes to secure enough support to be elected to the post.
- Apple’s shares closed at $125.07 on Tuesday, down 3.74%, giving the iPhone maker a market value under $2T. Apple briefly hit a $3T valuation in January 2022.
- Warner Bros. Discovery has signed a deal with audience measurement startup VideoAmp. The agreement comes ahead of this year’s upfronts when TV networks look to secure long-term commitments from advertisers.
- Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin, 24, is still in critical condition after suffering a cardiac arrest during a Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The NFL suspended the game and has not announced a new date for the game to resume.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a writer for Inside.com; she writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | 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 and 1972 Fords. | |
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