Author: openjargon

• Tiny EVs like the Nissan Sakura and BYD's Seagull are challenging Tesla in Japan and China. 
• But these minuscule motors are unlikely to come to the US anytime soon.
• That's a shame, as data suggests drivers would quite like their EVs to be smaller and cheaper.

Tiny EVs are having a moment.

In markets like China, Japan, and Europe, ridiculously small EVs are selling in large numbers, with vehicles like BYD's Seagull and the Nissan Sakura challenging the likes of Tesla.

That's in contrast to the US EV market, where SUVs like the Tesla Model Y and pickups like the Ford F150 Lightning rule the roads.

This may be changing, with consumer data showing that US drivers are increasingly asking for smaller vehicles and automakers like Ford and Tesla vowing to build cheaper models.

Tens of thousands of cars manufactured in China are sold in the US every year, but it's unlikely anyone in the US will be able to get behind the wheel of a Seagull or Sakura anytime soon.

The government's tariff hikes on Chinese EVs and regulations restricting the ability to import smaller vehicles make it harder still.

Here are some of the tiny EVs making a splash in Asia and Europe.

BYD Seagull

BYD has rapidly eclipsed its rivals in China — and become Elon Musk's primary challenger in the country — thanks to its massive range of EVs, including several smaller, cheaper options.

Chief among those is the Seagull, a tiny EV that can go 305 km on a single charge and costs $11,000.

The Seagull, which launched last year, has proven predictably popular in BYD's home country — but it's unlikely to come to the US anytime soon after the US government hiked tariffs on Chinese EVs.

Hongguang Mini

The Hongguang Mini EV, which was developed by Chinese automakers SAIC Motor and Wuling Motor in partnership with General Motors, caused a sensation when it launched in 2020.

The diminutive people carrier was the bestselling EV in China in 2022, and continues to outsell the Tesla Model 3 four years after being unveiled.

It's not hard to see why. The Hongguang Mini has a range of around 170 km on a single charge and reportedly costs between 28,800-38,800 yuan, or $3,955- $5,375. Plus it's adorable.

Nissan Sakuru

Japan has long had a soft spot for tiny EVs, known as Kei cars — and the Nissan Sakura is one of the most popular.

The 11-foot-long electric car, which costs around $13,000, was Japan's best-selling EV in 2023.

Drivers previously told Business Insider the Sakura, which is only available in Japan, is perfect for navigating Tokyo's narrow streets and taking day trips to the countryside.

"It takes off like a rocket from a standing start and can climb hill and mountain roads like a full-sized car with all that torque," said one.

Citroen Ami

Technically speaking, the Citroen Ami isn't an electric car at all, but an "electric quadricycle."

The cute four-wheeler, which costs $12,285 in the UK, was first launched in France in 2020 and is widely available in Europe.

With a top speed of 28 miles per hour and a range of just 46 miles, the Ami (which means "friend" in French) is very much an urban vehicle — but it certainly turned heads when BI gave it a test drive in London.

Microlino

The best thing about this "bubble car" is how you get into it — the Microlino has a fridge-style door that allows you to enter and exit from the front.

The Microlino is designed by Swiss scooter company Micro. It offers a maximum range of 228 km and starts at $19,900.

The tiny microcar has been on sale in Europe since 2021, with a UK launch mooted for later this year.

You can't buy one in the US, but Micro has just unveiled a more stripped-back version dubbed the Microlino Lite, which CMO Merlin Ouboter told The Verge the company hopes to have on sale in the US by the end of 2024.

• I grew up in Miami and didn't think I'd end up staying in Florida for long.
• As an adult who's traveled around the US, I've grown to appreciate living in Florida.
• I love our culture and our cuisine — and I really like living so close to a beach. 

I grew up in sunny — and very hot — Miami. When I was younger, I dreamed of living anywhere else in the country that had four seasons instead of year-round heat.

Now that I'm an adult, and I've traveled all around the state and country, I've grown to appreciate where I'm from. I also get why people are moving to Florida in record numbers.

I spent the first 24 years of my life in Miami, and now live in a smaller Central Florida town off of the Space Coast. Although I wouldn't live in Miami again, I'll happily keep a quaint old Florida town near the beach as my forever home.

Here's why I wouldn't want to live anywhere else but Florida.

For half of the year, Florida is set to the perfect temperature

As a kid, I fantasized about living where it snowed and having to get bundled up in a coat, boots, hat, and gloves.

I thought those things were so stylish, but now that I've actually experienced having to pack on layers on cold vacations, I'll take a hard pass on having to do that for months every year.

Fortunately, I'd say it's really only brutally hot in Florida for three months out of the year, from July through September.

From November to April, the weather is perfect — the outside feels like I've set my AC to the ideal temperature. As an adult, I understand the appeal — and privilege — of being able to toss on a light sweater when it gets chilly instead of having to bust out puffer coats.

As much as I enjoy a trip to see fall foliage or a snowy getaway, I now know that I enjoy them on a temporary basis. Eventually, I always want to come home to Florida's warm weather.

Living near a beach is important to me

I'm embarrassed to admit that I used to take the beach for granted. Now, I think of visiting the beach as having a therapy session and I try to make it there at least every other week.

I like hiking up and down the shore, collecting shells, admiring the surfers, and birdwatching. I couldn't ever live far from the beach and I love living just 20 minutes from one.

Even at the center of the state, the closest beach is about two hours away at most. And if you live anywhere along the coast like I do, you'll often be no more than 45 minutes away from the nearest beach.

Florida cuisine is great — it combines seafood, Southern influences, and international flavor

I've lived in Central Florida for over 10 years, but I grew up in Miami. Fortunately, no matter where you go in Florida, you're going to find a wide variety of delicious food.

You'll find dishes with Southern influences from our neighboring states and cuisine with international flavors, as the Sunshine States attracts people from all over the world. We also have some pretty great seafood.

Although I've learned how to cook many of my favorite local comfort foods myself, dining out is one of my favorite things to do, and I've yet to find any other place where it's as pleasing to do as it is in Florida.

I've developed an affinity for our widely misunderstood culture

There are many misperceptions and preconceived ideas about Florida. Some say it's only home to snowbirds, who live here for just a few months a year to avoid their cold home states.

Others reference the "Florida Man" meme, which seems to suggest the people here are more likely to act strangely and do wild things. Some outsiders think going to Disney World is the only thing worth doing in Florida.

I used to hate the way other people thought of Florida, but I have actually come to like knowing that my state is far from what other people imagine it to be.

For starters, many don't even know about Florida's rich history — it's home to St. Augustine, which is considered the oldest city in America. Plus, the famous writer Ernest Hemingway wrote some of his best novels when he lived in Key West!

Florida is not for everyone, but between our swamp gators and intense hurricane season, you've got to be tough to tough it out here. And I'm proud of that.

• Boeing could be set to face more whistleblowers.
• A union for engineers at the firm is offering free training on federal whistleblower laws.
• It said union members continue to report being punished for speaking up about safety concerns.

Boeing could be set to face more whistleblowers because a labor union for engineers at the firm is offering guidance to its representatives on whistleblowing laws.

In a Wednesday post on its website, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) announced a Zoom webinar with free training on federal whistleblower laws.

The training is open for the union's shop stewards at Boeing and its supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which manufactured the door plug that came off an Alaska Airlines 737 Max in January.

It will be led by attorneys from Katz Banks Kumin, the law firm representing Boeing whistleblower Sam Salehpour.

SPEEA said it organized the training because it has spent two years "unsuccessfully trying to negotiate strong anti-retaliation language with the Boeing Co. in particular."

"Strong anti-retaliation measures are necessary because SPEEA members continue to report being punished by their managers for speaking up about quality and safety concerns," it added.

The union hopes the seminar will help those who are considering speaking up about problems at the planemakers but don't trust internal systems.

"When we find issues, we go as far as standing down a team to make sure that everybody on the team or everybody in the area is aware of the issue," Mike Fleming, a senior vice president at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a statement given to Reuters.

Salehpour, who's been an aerospace engineer for 40 years, went public with his concerns about Boeing in April. He said he observed "shortcuts employed by Boeing to reduce bottlenecks during the 787 assembly process."

In a Senate hearing last month, Salehpour said Boeing threatened him and other engineers to keep quiet about safety concerns.

Boeing has denied that Salehpour's allegations present safety issues. "We continue to monitor these issues under established regulatory protocols and encourage all employees to speak up when issues arise. Retaliation is strictly prohibited at Boeing," it said in a statement after Salehpour's comments.

The prospect of more Boeing employees coming forward with safety concerns could further harm the planemaker's reputation. Public awareness of the firm's problems has been heightened by the deaths of two whistleblowers in recent months.

The crisis at Boeing could also escalate further. The Justice Department said in a Tuesday court filing that Boeing is "subject to prosecution," alleging that it broke the terms of a 2021 agreement related to the deaths of 346 people in two 737 Max 8 crashes.

• Ray Dalio sees up to a 40% chance that political division in the US escalates into civil war.
• The hedge fund billionaire has repeatedly warned about US debt and internal and external conflicts.
• Dalio half-jokingly endorsed Taylor Swift for president, citing her ability to unite people.

Ray Dalio warned the probability of a US civil war is as high as 40% — and said he might back Taylor Swift if she ran for president.

"We are now on the brink," he told the Financial Times in a recent interview, raising the prospect of "much more turbulent times."

Dalio is the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund, and the author of "Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail."

He pegged the chances of a civil war at 35% to 40%, adding that it may not necessarily be a shooting war.

Dalio, the official mentor to Bridgewater's three co-chief investors, has been sounding the alarm on political polarization and economic upheaval in the US for years.

The financial historian has repeatedly underscored that extreme levels of government debt, massive wealth inequality, rising internal divisions, and raging external conflicts can pave the way for war, revolution, and a new world order.

In late 2020, he cautioned the US was "seeing a form of civil war" as masses of people moved states for reasons ranging from politics to taxes.

He bemoaned that America was in a "terrible financial state and terribly divided" in early 2021.

After the Israel-Hamas conflict ignited in October, he declared the risk of a world war involving the US and China had surged from 35% to about 50%.

No more bad blood

Dalio told the FT that after attending a Swift concert, he believed the pop star might be the solution to American division.

"I saw how she brought people of all sorts — and many nationalities — together," he said. "I say this partly as a joke, but if she ran for president and would listen to great advisers, I'd consider supporting her."

Dalio revealed himself to be a Swiftie when he posted a selfie from one of the singer's "Eras Tour" concerts in March.

He clarified in a follow-up post that he was joking about endorsing her. But he was serious that "she can bring people together a lot better than either of the presidential candidates."

Even if Dalio was just having fun with his talk of a T-Swift presidency, he clearly recognizes the need for a unifying leader at a time when the world is on edge and people seem further apart than ever.

• Ukraine may have launched its biggest drone attack ever, per the Kyiv Independent.
• Russia shot down a total of 102 aerial and six naval sea drones overnight, it said.
• Two of its major ports, Sevastopol and Novorossiysk, were affected, per reports.

Ukraine appears to have launched its biggest drone attack ever, with reports of explosions at two major Russian ports.

In a Telegram post, Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted 51 drones over Crimea, 44 drones over the Krasnodar region, and six drones over the Kursk region on Thursday night.

It also said its naval aviation and Black Sea Fleet patrol boats destroyed six uncrewed surface vessels, or USVs, in the Black Sea.

This would amount to a total of 102 aerial and six naval drones shot down in just one night, and if true, would be Ukraine's largest drone attack since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to the Kyiv Independent.

Business Insider couldn't independently verify these numbers.

The independent Russian media outlet Astra, citing its own sources and footage, reported drones hit at least two oil depots and two terminals in the port city of Novorossiysk and neighboring villages on Thursday night.

Novorossiysk residents told the outlet that more than 35 explosions occurred in the city, causing power outages. The outlet shared multiple videos of what appeared to be the blasts.

The outlet also shared a photo of a refinery on fire in Tuapse, east of Novorossiysk.

Veniamin Kondratyev, the regional governor, said Russian air defense forces shot down more than 10 drones over Novorossiysk on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, Russian forces shot down dozens of drones and more than five sea drones in the port of Sevastopol last night, with drone debris hitting the city's substation and causing power outages, Mikhail Razvozhaev, the Russian-installed regional governor, said in a Telegram post.

A video shared by Astra appears to show blasts in Sevastopol. BI could not independently verify the footage in the reports.

The Security Service of Ukraine SBU and Ukraine's intelligence agency GUR launched a joint operation to strike Russian military and logistics facilities in Novorossiysk and occupied Sevastopol, the Associated Press reported, citing an unnamed Ukrainian intelligence official.

Ukraine has ramped up attacks on Russian warships in occupied Crimea, inflicting significant losses on Russia's Black Sea Fleet and forcing it to relocate some maritime activities to Novorossiysk.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the head of the UK Armed Forces, said in February that 25% of Russia's Black Sea boats had been sunk or damaged.

The fleet was "functionally inactive" after Ukraine claimed to have struck two of its ships in March, the UK's Ministry of Defence said at the time.

Satellite images from April shared by the UK's MoD showed Russia upgrading the defenses of its Black Sea Fleet naval base in Novorossiysk, confirming that most of its ships and submarines have been relocated further eastwards.

Ukraine's GUR did not immediately reply to a request for comment by BI.

• An Arizona woman is accused of aiding North Koreans in securing US remote-work jobs.
• They gained employment at Fortune 500 companies, including a TV network and a Silicon Valley firm.
• Prosecutors say the scheme involved 300+ companies and led to $7 million being sent to North Korea.

An Arizona woman has been accused of aiding North Koreans in securing remote-work jobs in the US and funneling their wages back to North Korea, which is subject to US sanctions, according to federal prosecutors.

The US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia announced in a press release on Thursday that Christina Marie Chapman, 49, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with nine counts, including conspiracy to defraud the US.

According to prosecutors, the scheme began sometime in 2020 and used the stolen identities of about 60 US citizens.

They said it impacted more than 300 companies and generated more than $6.8 million in revenue, which was sent back to North Korea.

In the charging document, prosecutors allege that Chapman facilitated overseas IT workers posing as Americans using the stolen or borrowed identities of US citizens.

Chapman was first approached in March 2020 by an unknown individual asking her if she wanted to be the "US face" of their company, according to a recently unsealed indictment against Chapman and three North Korean citizens.

According to prosecutors, the scheme saw overseas workers apply for remote jobs at well-known US companies, including Fortune 500 companies.

These included a major television network, a leading Silicon Valley tech company, an aerospace manufacturer, and an American carmaker, the indictment said.

According to the indictment, the workers used IP addresses to make it appear that they were operating from Chapman's house and within the US.

Prosecutors said that Chapman received and forged payroll checks and that the wages of the foreign workers were paid into her bank account.

They added that much of the income, though to be at least $6.8 million, was falsely reported to the IRS and Social Security Administration under the names of US citizens whose identities were stolen or borrowed.

In exchange, prosecutors said in the indictment that Chapman charged the workers monthly fees for her services.

An attorney for Chapman was not listed in court documents.

In a separate criminal complaint, unsealed on Thursday, a Ukrainian man, Oleksandr Didenko, was also accused of operating "laptop farms."

In the press release, Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, said that these charges should serve as a "wake-up call" for American companies employing remote IT workers.

In 2016, the US passed the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act, which aimed to improve the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea.

It cut North Korea from the US financial system, which led to various schemes to try to circumvent it.

The assistant director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division, Kevin Vorndran, said in the press release that although the allegations may seem like "typical white-collar" crime, they represent a broader trend.

He described it as a "new high-tech campaign to evade US sanctions, victimize US businesses, and steal US identities."

• The US is in a white-collar recession with new $100,000 job openings being the lowest since 2014. 
• Data shows women are more likely to land these coveted roles, even if they are less likely to apply.
• Experts say this could be a sign of DEI efforts balancing the gender disparity in senior roles.

While women are less likely than their male peers to apply for six-figure jobs, they're more likely to be hired for high-paying roles.

This is according to new data from global recruiting software firm iCIMS. In an analysis of roughly 550 million applications, shared exclusively with Business Insider, the company found that the pattern goes back at least as far as 2020.

Fewer women apply for 6-figure positions

According to iCIMS's analysis, women have made up 41% to 44% of applicants for six-figure jobs across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South America, and the US since 2020. However, they represent between 49% and 52% of hires for those roles.

In other words, though they constitute less than half of applications for six-figure jobs, they are often hired for more than half of those jobs.

In the US, fewer people are getting hired for six-figure roles. Despite the lowest unemployment rate in decades, hiring rates for high-earners have dropped significantly since 2022 compared to lower-paying roles, according to recently published data by Vanguard. This has been dubbed a white-collar recession.

There are several reasons women are less likely to apply for these increasingly rare high-paying roles, but more likely to get them once they do.

An internal study from Hewlett Packard in 2014 indicated that while most men will apply for a job if they meet just 60% of the requirements listed, most women will apply only if they believe they meet all of them. This helps explain why fewer women apply but also hints at why female candidates are more successful: If women are more likely to rule themselves out, those who will apply will be higher-quality candidates.

Jemimah Njuki, the chief of the women's economic empowerment program at UN Women, told BI she's not surprised by the figures found by iCIMS analysts. She believes it could be a result of the way men and women apply for jobs differently: "We know that women are less likely than men to apply for a job when they feel that they don't meet all the listed requirements."

This means that the women applying for high-paying roles are likely more qualified than their male competition and, therefore, have a higher chance of landing the role.

Higher rates of successful female applicants signal that DEI is working

It could also indicate that diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are working.

Yana Rodgers, director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers University, told BI she considers it a supply and demand issue. Female applicants for high-paying jobs are in short supply because they self-select out of applying, while employers are actively trying to hire women for powerful positions.

As for why women are more likely to be hired over men in six-figure roles, "We believe it's diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at work," said Rodgers. The director also polled her peers at the university. They agreed: the data could indicate that efforts to correct gaps in gender representation at the top of businesses are working.

Njuki feels the same way. "We know that a lot of companies, because of historical imbalances in the gender composition of senior management teams, are aiming to increase those numbers," she said. "It is not surprising that companies would be looking for more female talent to fill those higher positions because they are currently underrepresented."

In the United States, DEI professionals have been early victims of layoffs, and some employers have been putting the brakes on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives after public and legal challenges from people and organizations who consider DEI practices to be a form of discrimination.

But plenty of companies have not abandoned their equity plans. In January, Morning Consult found that more than 80% of executives say DEI is critical to their business strategies, and more than 60% say they anticipate such strategies only becoming more important.

Beware of the 'glass cliff'

Some women hired into high-ranking roles may find it untenable to stay.

"They sometimes stack the odds against them before they even start the job," said Njuki, referring to the "glass cliff." The term was coined by researchers who studied the phenomenon whereby a person from an underrepresented background is promoted to a senior leadership position during a difficult time for a company and the risk of failure is high. It disproportionately impacts women. They are put in leadership roles when a company is in decline, which provides a justification when they are asked to leave a job.

Njuki added that while hiring women is important, "it is even more important that they be hired in companies that are doing well."

According to the 2023 Women in the Workplace report by McKinsey and LeanIn.org, gender representation in leadership remains imbalanced. Men hold roughly 52% of entry-level positions, and women about 47%. At the senior manager level, men constitute 60% of the workforce, while women make up 33%. With each jump in rank, the gap grows. Only 28% of executives are women.

More women in 6-figure jobs doesn't necessarily mean the pay gap is closing

Though equal representation in leadership may lag, could the data from iCIMS signal a change in the gender pay gap?

A six-figure salary doesn't mean a woman is paid equitably against her male peers. "The fact that they are applying for these six-figure jobs does not imply that the gender pay gap is narrowing," says Njuki. "This would require a comparison between the women in those six-figure jobs and the men in those six-figure jobs."

Rodgers is hopeful and believes the trend is a positive signal. "A big reason for the gender pay gap is not enough women in the higher-paid managerial and leadership positions. It's not going to eliminate the pay gap, but it should help to close it."

• Big Tech firms are reknowned for their unique and often large office spaces.
• Google's headquarters, Googleplex, is a top tourist attraction with state-of-the-art buildings.
• Take a look at some of the coolest tech firm offices. 

Big Tech firms are often commended for their striking offices, some of which have entire campuses.

Take, for example, Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California. The Googleplex campus is even counted as a top tourist attraction thanks to its state-of-the-art buildings.

The entrance to the main building has a T-Rex sculpture, which reminds employees not to become dinosaurs, CNBC reported.

Major tech companies use their office spaces to represent their corporate identity visually, and it's yet another way they can attract top talent, the Californian design-build firm Ingenuity says.

"If the goal is to appear cool and future-facing, which is the case with most tech companies, a drab and outdated office space will not do much to support this," the firm said in a website post.

A good office design has also been said to contribute to employee satisfaction and boost productivity.

Take a look at some of the coolest Big Tech offices.

Nvidia's 'Voyager' headquarters in Santa Clara.

The futuristic headquarters comprises a 500,000-square-foot building called Endeavor and a 750,000-square-foot building called Voyager. Both are "Star Trek" references.

Nvidia paid just over $374 million in May for the land, which includes eight buildings and two parking facilities where its headquarters is based, but it already owned the Endeavor and Voyager buildings, The San Francisco Standard reported.

The shape of the roof was designed to bounce sound without reverberation.

The project's design principal, Hao Ko, previously told Business Insider that its design concept is "rooted in that idea that people do their best work when they are provided with a choice."

Ko told BI the ceiling material was selected to help absorb noise. An expansive "four-acre workspace" also incorporates lush parks and "treehouses" designed for communal gatherings.

The interior looks like a future spaceship.

Ko also said Nvidia challenged the Gensler team to create spaces that are inspired by the surrounding nature.

There's plenty of greenery and outdoor space to work.

According to Ko, "By refining the design of the workplace based on how people use it, we will continue to drive more innovation and a more resilient future."

Spotify's office in New York.

The music and audio streaming platform occupies several floors of the World Trade Centre in New York.

There's even a space to listen to some records.

It has some fun features including a "that's so 90's" gaming room, a separate arcade games room, and an artist listening room.

The New York Business Journal reported that the office has several statues of cats around it called "The Podcats."

Mattias Stålhammar, Spotify's senior director and global head of workplace, told the publication that the statues are placed around the building as a nod to its pet playlist and its many podcast categories.

The building has several podcast recording booths.

There's also an arts and crafts room and a separate events space for new product launches.

The campus is spread out over 2 million square feet.

It's Google's second-largest square footage assemblage of the company's buildings after its 111 Eighth Avenue building in New York City, which is 2.9 million square feet.

Googleplex's architect Clive Wilkinson designed it after winning a competition in 2004, KQED reported.

He worked directly with Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to develop the plans.

The Googleplex campus is located in Mountain View, California.

The company set up bee hives around its headquarters in 2010 to support the local bee population.

Googlers also get access to fresh local honey and some of them even help with beekeeping and collecting honey.

It has a sand volleyball court.

Wilkinson told KQED in a 2022 interview that some of the cool on-site features have made Googlers overly dependent on the firm, which he said was "dangerous."

There's a small pool where Googlers can take a dip.

The Googleplex designer reportedly said, "This notion that you can provide everything that would support a worker's life on campus might appear to be extremely generous and supportive … but it also has a whole range of potentially negative impacts."

Apple's headquarters is referred to as the 'spaceship campus.'

Another tech giant that has an eye-catching office space is Apple. Its
Cupertino headquarters, Apple Park, is a marvel of modern architecture and design. With its sleek and circular design, it's no wonder people liken it to a spaceship.

There's an auditorium named after the late cofounder and former CEO Steve Jobs.

The complex, designed by architecture firm Foster and Partners, debuted in 2017 when the iPhone X came out. It's place on a hill and the highest point of Apple Park.

Arup, a structural engineering company that worked on the HQ, made headlines this year after reportedly being targeted in a deepfake scam.

"Our financial stability and business operations were not affected and none of our internal systems were compromised," Arup told the FT.

• Tesla is facing an uphill battle to get Elon Musk's $56 billion pay package approved, Tesla's chair said.
• Robyn Denholm told the Financial Times getting the necessary votes was like climbing "Mount Everest."
• A Delaware judge previously struck down the package, citing Musk's influence over the board.

Robyn Denholm says Tesla is facing an uphill battle to get Elon Musk's record $56 billion pay package approved.

The chair told the Financial Times that getting the votes needed to approve Musk's salary and move its legal entity to Texas was like climbing "Mount Everest."

"It's a huge hill to climb because getting 50% of the shareholders to vote, let alone what they vote for, is quite tough," Denholm said.

Tesla has been seeking shareholder approval for Musk's $56 billion planned pay package, which was struck down by a Delaware judge earlier this year. The judge claimed that Musk's undue influence over Tesla's board resulted in an "unfair price" because of his close ties to several directors.

After the package was struck down, Musk vowed to take Tesla out of Delaware. He announced he was relocating SpaceX to Texas and said in a social media post: "If your company is still incorporated in Delaware, I recommend moving to another state as soon as possible."

Denholm has previously called Musk's planned pay package "critical to the future success of Tesla."

When asked if Musk would leave Tesla if the planned compensation were not approved, she said: "There is always a risk, but he's not holding a gun to anybody's head."

She added he hadn't said "one way or another."

Tesla's board has been trying to appeal the judge's decision and get the package over the line, even paying for ads calling for investors to vote in favor of the compensation plan.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tesla showed that it had paid for some ads on Google and on Musk's social-media site, X. The EV maker has traditionally avoided advertising.

The task has been made more difficult by the slide in Tesla's share price this year. It's down almost 30% at about $175 at Thursday's close, but has been as low as $142.

The company is still worth close to $550 billion, but it was worth about twice as much in late 2021.

Representatives for Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

• Joe Biden signed into law the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.
• It stops airlines charging families to sit together, as well as other pro-consumer initiatives. 
• Safety measures include upping the cockpit voice recorder time, following criticism after January's blowout.

On Thursday, Joe Biden signed an extensive bipartisan bill that hopes to reform aviation.

The $105 billion legislation reauthorizes the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board until 2028.

It brings a range of improvements for travelers, mostly related to consumer protection.

The maximum civil penalty for airline consumer violations has been raised from $25,000 to $75,000, plus the bill makes it easier for passengers to file complaints.

It also says that within six months, a rule will be made making it easier for families to sit together on planes. That would include prohibiting airlines from charging passengers to seat a child under 14 next to an accompanying adult.

The bill says the FAA Administrator will decide within 60 days whether to mandate minimum seat dimensions on planes for safety reasons.

Safety is a prime focus of the bill, with an increased scrutiny of aircraft production.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell said: "Plane manufacturers will see more safety inspectors on factory floors and tougher safety standards from the FAA."

Notably, the bill also has new rules about cockpit voice recorders — which comes after criticism from the chair of the NTSB over January's Alaska Airlines blowout.

The data from the voice recorder in that incident was lost because it wasn't retrieved within two hours, so the NTSB called for increasing the holding time to 25 hours, in line with European requirements.

The bill says that all newly manufactured aircraft must have cockpit voice recorders that retain the last 25 hours of information, which will apply to all planes within six years.

"The bipartisan Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization is a big win for travelers, the aviation workforce, and our economy. It will expand critical protections for air travelers, strengthen safety standards, and support pilots, flight attendants, and air traffic controllers," Biden said in a statement.

He added: "Passengers shouldn't have to jump through endless hoops just to get the refunds that they are owed, and corporations shouldn't rip off hardworking Americans through hidden junk fees."

The bill comes days after several US airlines sued the Department of Transportation over rules requiring upfront fee disclosures. The DOT said in late April this could save consumers over $500 million a year.