Author: openjargon

• Tesla sent an internal memo to Cybertruck employees recently. 
• The memo describes shorter hours at the Austin Gigafactory.
• The new schedule follows Tesla's first year-over-year quarterly sales decline since 2020.

Tesla told employees who work on the Cybertruck that shifts will be shorter on the production line at the Austin Gigafactory, according to an internal messaged viewed by Business Insider.

Previously, workers clocked 12 hour shifts from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.. They will now be working 11 hour shifts during the day and 10.5 hour shifts at night — from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. — the memo said.

The new schedule was communicated internally on Thursday and will kick in on Monday, according to the memo.

It's unclear whether Tesla is implementing the new schedule on other production lines, or at other factories. Tesla makes the Cybertruck at the Austin Gigafactory, but it also makes its Model Y there and is working on its next-gen vehicle at the location.

Some workers at other Tesla factories in Sparks, Nevada, and Fremont, California, told BI they were still scheduled for full 12 hour shifts. Factory workers at the electric-vehicle maker typically work three to four days per week.

A spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tesla has begun to feel the impact of slowing demand for EVs. Earlier this month, the company's first-quarter delivery numbers fell significantly below Wall Street expectations. The company saw its first year-over-year quarterly decline in deliveries since 2020.

On Saturday, some Tesla employees told BI they are concerned about big layoffs that may come as soon as this weekend.

It's unclear how many Cybertrucks Tesla has delivered to date. During Tesla's latest earnings call in January, Elon Musk said the Cybertruck was almost sold out for 2024.

"This is a production-constraint situation, not a demand-constraint situation," Musk said at the time.

Tesla released the Cybertruck in November. The company's Austin factory handles production of the vehicle, which Musk has said requires a high level of precision due to the truck's sharp lines.

Ahead of the vehicle's launch, Musk warned that Tesla had "dug its own grave" with the Cybertruck and that it would take years to ramp up production. Tesla aims to produce 250,000 Cybertrucks per year by 2025, according to Musk.

Do you work for Tesla or have a tip? Reach out to the reporter via a non-work email and device at gkay@businessinsider.com

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• Iran launched an airborne attack toward Israel on Saturday.
• The White House confirmed the attack was underway and underlined American support for Israel.
• Iran has threatened retaliation for an earlier strike by Israel on Iranian military targets in Syria. 

Iran has begun an airborne attack against Israel, the White House confirmed on Saturday.

Iranian state television confirmed in a ticker that the attack came in the form of an "extensive drone operation," Radio Free Europe reporter Kian Sharifi noted in a post on X. An IDF spokesperson indicated dozens of drones had been launched from Iran, according to Times of Israel reporter Emanuel Fabian.

The attack follows months of escalating tensions in the region.

"President Biden is being regularly updated on the situation by his national security team and will meet with them this afternoon at the White House," NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. "His team is in constant communication with Israeli officials as well as other partners and allies. This attack is likely to unfold over a number of hours. President Biden has been clear: our support for Israel's security is ironclad. The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran."

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

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• Donald Trump's views on abortion are muddled at best and threatening at worst.
• GOP lawmakers are targeting access to IVF, IUDs, birth control pills, and emergency contraception.
• So some women are stockpiling abortion pills and contraception, activists say.

Donald Trump's views on a national abortion ban have not exactly been transparent.

In March, the repeat presidential candidate seemed to support the idea: "The number of weeks now, people are agreeing on 15, and I'm thinking in terms of that, and it'll come out to something that's very reasonable," he said during an interview."

Previously, he floated a 16-week ban because he liked the roundness of the number.

But then, last week, after Arizona's Supreme Court revived a near-total abortion ban dating back to 1864, Trump said the court had gone too far and that he wouldn't sign a national abortion ban if it came across his desk. "It's all about state's rights, and it will be straightened out," he said after the ruling.

The flip-flopping probably has something to do with the line Trump is trying to walk between many within his base who support a national ban on abortion and the women voters he'll need to show up for him on election day if he wants to defeat President Joe Biden in November.

But some women are not waiting to find out whether Trump will win and which side of the abortion issue he'll land on. Instead, they are preparing for the worst.

Merle Hoffman, a longtime abortion activist, told Business Insider that some women have started to stockpile abortion pills like Mifepristone.

"Individuals may have to stockpile, and I've heard of people starting to do that, but not everybody can," Hoffman said.

How to stockpile abortion pills

Debbie McNabb, a retired gynecologist based in Texas, told Business Insider she only knows of one online source that will give patients abortion medication if they're not currently pregnant: AidAccess.

"You can get it ahead of time. You can stockpile. It is expensive," McNabb said. "I want to say it's $150, but if people had the financial resources, they could do that. In the United States, I don't think you can go to an out-of-state clinic and get medication unless you personally are pregnant."

People can also stockpile emergency contraception, which is easier to access because it is available over the counter, McNabb said.

"The only other option I'm seeing, there are women who have set up self-help groups that are bringing in Mifepristone. They're basically trafficking it under the radar, and they go to great lengths to keep their operation a secret," she said. "They acquire the pills at pharmacies in Mexico where you don't have to say that you're pregnant."

Beyond that, McNabb said, people are choosing to limit their reproductive options surgically by getting their tubes tied.

"We've already seen women going ahead and getting tubals and their partners going ahead and getting vasectomies. Maybe they thought they'd have a pregnancy in the future, but then they realize, 'No, I really don't want a pregnancy, and let's pull the trigger on that,'" she said.

The abortion rights movement is on the defensive

Aside from discussions on a nationwide abortion ban, the US Supreme Court is due to issue an opinion this summer on a case that could limit access to the abortion pill nationwide.

Though the justices appear skeptical of limiting access to the pill, their discussions have alluded to the potential revival of the Comstock Act of 1873, which banned the mailing of materials considered to be "obscene." That could be used to criminalize mailing abortion pills across state lines.

In this climate, Hoffman said the abortion rights movement is in an "extremely defensive political position" and is fighting for their rights state by state.

"So how much more will we have to do — in the richest country in the world with all the medical ability, scientific information, and knowledge — to be able to control our own fertility and determine our own life's course?" Hoffman asked.

The anti-abortion movement won't stop at 15 weeks, she added.

"The purists are not going to be happy with a 15-week ban. They're not going to be happy with anything except a total ban," Hoffman said, adding that reproductive destiny is "embedded in our bodies."

"And because it's within women's bodies, it's open to manipulation and control by the state."

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• The latest New York Times/Siena College poll showed a tightening race between Biden and Trump.
• Trump now leads Biden 46% to 45% among registered voters, a decline from February's 48% to 43% lead.
• Biden is winning over more of his 2020 supporters and boasts leads with women and suburbanites.

President Joe Biden has gained ground on former President Donald Trump in the latest New York Times/Siena College poll, cutting into a persistent lead that the ex-president has held for months.

Last month, both Biden and Trump secured enough delegates to become the presumptive nominees ahead of their party conventions and the November election. And Biden, who has so far struggled to rally young voters and minorities around his reelection bid, has seemingly clawed back some of his 2020 support in that time.

In the latest Times/Siena poll, Trump led Biden by a razor-thin 46% to 45% margin among registered voters, a tightening from the 48% to 43% advantage the former president enjoyed in a February poll.

How Biden gained ground on Trump

The poll showed that Biden is now winning 89% of his 2020 backers, an increase from February when 83% of the incumbent's 2020 supporters said they'd vote for him again in November.

In the survey, 94% of Trump's 2020 supporters said they'd vote for him again, a slight decline from the 97% of 2020 backers who in February indicated that they'd cast a ballot for him in the fall.

Despite Biden's 38% job approval rating, he boasted sizable leads with female voters (53%-37%), voters aged 65 and older (51%-42%), Black voters (69%-16%), and suburban voters (51%-40%).

Meanwhile, Trump held advantages with men (57%-37%), rural voters (62%-29%), voters aged 45 to 64 (52%-43%), and white non-college graduates (62%-30%).

Trump benefits from having stronger numbers on the economy (64% approved of him on the issue) and immigration (50% approved of his handling of the issue).

Despite low unemployment and a strong jobs market, 63% of respondents disapproved of Biden's handling of the economy, an issue that is perhaps the most serious threat to his reelection bid.

In recent weeks, Biden has ramped up his campaign schedule, appearing in Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. He is seeking to tout his administration's record and boost his visibility as more voters start to pay closer attention to the presidential race.

Abortion rights, which was always poised to be a major issue this year, has taken on greater urgency in Arizona, where the state's conservative Supreme Court this week ruled that a near-total abortion ban from 1864 could be enforced.

Biden, along with Vice President Kamala Harris, are running hard on abortion and continue to point to Trump's appointment of anti-abortion conservatives to the US Supreme Court as the reason why Roe v. Wade was struck down — which has subsequently created a patchwork of abortion laws across the country.

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• Airbnb plans to help renters list their homes to earn additional income.
• The company says it could help mitigate the impact of skyrocketing rental rates.
• Airbnb's new effort comes as some cities pass 'renter-friendly' policies.

Airbnb is on a mission to help renters earn a little extra income — and probably keep a little for itself, too.

The company announced plans on Friday to help renters list their rental homes on its platform. Airbnb plans to work with city and state governments to "advocate for short-term rental rules that allow renters to share their home."

Despite the stories of Airbnb hosts who turn millions in profit by renting out their properties, Airbnb said that more than 40% of homeowners in the United States who rent properties on the platform have used the extra money just to stay in their homes. About 10% said the money helped them avoid eviction or foreclosure.

So, as rental rates skyrocket across the country, Airbnb said its new initiative could also help renters "stay in their homes."

In 2022, a record 22.4 million renter households were cost-burdened, meaning they spent more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities, according to a report from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, which Airbnb cited. The report also noted an "all-time high" of 12.1 million renter households were severely cost-burdened, meaning they spent more than half their income on housing costs. As a result, those with the lowest incomes spent 39% less on food and 42% less on healthcare than their "unburdened counterparts."

One of the roadblocks to Airbnb's renter initiative is that "a lot of the early laws that were made limited short-term rental to homeownership," Theo Yedinsky, the vice president of public policy at Airbnb, told CNN.

More recently, towns and cities across North America have begun cracking down on short-term rentals, requiring licenses and, in some cases, asking short-term rental owners to live in the property as their primary residence.

One promising sign — for Airbnb, at least — is that Virginia signed a law earlier this week that requires localities that issue short-term rental permits to property owners to issue the same permit to tenants — provided they have permission from the property owner. Cities like Raleigh, San Diego, and Tulsa have also passed "renter-friendly" policies, Airbnb said.

"Homeownership should not be a barrier to entry when it comes to sharing your home," Mike Signer, Airbnb's North America policy director, said in the company's announcement. "The vast majority of Hosts in the US share their space to help cover the rising cost of living, and we want to partner with cities to develop sensible short-term rental policies that grant renters the opportunity to do the same."

Airbnb did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

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• Tesla employees fear potential layoffs may begin as early as this weekend.
• This follows earlier rumors in February when Tesla temporarily delayed performance reviews.
• Tesla's deliveries dropped below Wall Street expectations during its first quarter.

Some Tesla employees are concerned that layoffs are imminent, possibly as soon as this weekend.

Rumors are circling at Tesla's offices that cuts are on the horizon, seven engineers — including from the Austin gigafactory and the Fremont factory — told Business Insider. While there has not been any official communication to teams, some workers said they'd heard cuts could begin as soon as Sunday.

Two other workers said they hadn't heard the chatter about layoffs, while others said they weren't taking them too seriously.

"There've been some whispers and some people are concerned, but you know how fast false rumors can spread at a company this big," one engineer said.

A spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is the second time in a matter of months that anxiety over possible layoffs has set in at Tesla. In February, the carmaker reportedly called for managers to begin identifying the most vital roles for the company. At the same time, Tesla also delayed some workers' performance reviews, Bloomberg reported. The reviews were later rescheduled, three sources told Business Insider.

Workers across the tech industry are likely on high alert for any sign of a potential layoff. Several Big Tech companies, including Google and Microsoft, have already made cuts this year. EV rivals like Rivian and Fisker have also laid off staff in 2024.

And Tesla has faced some strong headwinds recently.

Tesla's first-quarter delivery numbers revealed a slump in sales, for instance. The carmaker's deliveries fell 20% from the previous quarter and over 8% from the same time the previous year, marking the company's first year-on-year sales decline since 2020.

Do you work for Tesla or a tip? Reach out to the reporter via a non-work email and device at gkay@businessinsider.com

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• Fast food giant McDonald's launched a new marketing campaign this week.
• It produced a series of blank yellow and red billboards in the Netherlands.
• But the seemingly empty messages smell like the chain's iconic fries.

Fast food giant McDonald's released a new and quirky marketing campaign this week.

The company has found a novel way to leverage some of its iconic products by making the billboards smell like their fries.

It released a series of blank yellow and red billboards in the Netherlands that don't even carry the McDonald's golden arches logo. But the marketing creatives behind the campaign don't reckon you need to be told what is being advertised; the smell alone will get the message across.

"The prints appear to be empty at first glance, but as passers-by approach within five meters, they are greeted with the distinct aroma of McDonald's French Fries, coming from inside the billboard," the company said in a press release.

The statement says the billboards were "strategically placed" within 650 feet of some of its restaurants.

Stijn Mentrop-Huliselan, CMO of McDonald's Netherlands, added: "We are well known for our distinctive brand assets that are mostly visual. Smell has been proven to be more effective at sparking clear and emotional memories than images. With the inclusion of this next sense in our advertising, we found a new way to remind people of Good Times at McDonald's."

It also comes after news that the company has partnered with Krispy Kreme to offer its products at its stores across the US.

The partnership is set to kick off later this year and will see Krispy Kreme donuts in stores nationwide by 2026.

The company has not specified how many of its stores will be participating, however.

Earlier this month, McDonald's announced that it was taking over ownership of its franchised stores in Israel due to a global sales fall sparked by boycotts over the Israel-Gaza conflict.

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• A jury has found that Todd Chrisley defamed an ex-Department of Revenue investigator, say reports.
• His defamatory statements on social media and his podcast have cost him over $750,000.
• The "Chrisley Knows Best" star was incarcerated in 2022 on bank fraud and tax evasion charges.

Todd Chrisley, the disgraced reality TV star who is currently incarcerated for bank fraud and tax evasion, has been hit with fresh legal and financial issues, reports said.

The 54-year-old Atlanta-based businessman and television personality, best known for appearing on the USA Network reality show "Chrisley Knows Best," has been ordered to pay $755,000 to a former Georgia Department of Revenue investigator for making defamatory statements against her.

A Georgia judge on Thursday found Chrisley liable for two claims of libel and slander against Amy Doherty-Heinze, according to multiple reports.

According to documents obtained by The Los Angeles Times and People, Doherty-Heinze was awarded $350,000 in compensatory damages, $170,000 in punitive damages, and $235,000 in attorney fees from Chrisley.

Chrisley, who is 15 months into his 12-year sentence, testified remotely from FPC Pensacola during the trial.

According to the investigator's suit, Chrisley shared several defamatory statements about Doherty-Heinze on his podcast and social media accounts after the Georgia Department of Revenue began their investigation into him and his wife, Julie Chrisley, in 2017.

On a 2020 episode of the couple's now-defunct weekly podcast, "Chrisley Confessions," the real estate mogul accused Doherty-Heinze of corruption and of "illegally accessing" a government program to pull information on his wife and children, the lawsuit said.

The plaintiff initially asked Chrisley to retract his defamatory statements, which he declined. She filed her lawsuit the following year in July 2021, alleging that Chrisley had accused her of "a multitude of crimes and wrongdoing," per legal documents.

Doherty-Heinze said that Chrisley "repeated false accusations" about her "criminal misconduct in her post as an investigator for the Georgia Department of Revenue's Office of Special Investigations."

According to the law suit, Chrisley continued to "defame" Doherty-Heinze in a September 2021 episode of their podcast after he attempted to have the case thrown out.

At the weeklong trial, which concluded on Thursday, an eight-person jury found Chrisley liable for the two claims of libel and slander made in 2020 and 2021 but not liable for a third claim of slander made in a 2022 podcast episode as they didn't believe he acted with "malice" on that occasion.

In response to the ruling, Chrisley's attorney, Leesa Guarnotta, said in a statement to USA Today: "Although we are pleased the jury recognized that not all of Mr. Chrisley's statements were defamatory and awarded the plaintiff a fourth of the damages she requested, we are concerned about the state of the First Amendment where such a case could make it to trial in the first place."

According to his lawyer, Chrisley will be filing an appeal, and he is "optimistic" about its outcome.

Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison in 2022 after he and his wife were found guilty of defrauding banks out of more than $30 million by providing fake financial statements, giving the appearance they were wealthier than they were.

Meanwhile, His wife was handed a seven-year sentence. They are serving their sentences at two separate facilities in Florida and Kentucky.

As Business Insider reported in September, the pair have already had time shaved off their sentences.

According to federal prison records, Chrisley is scheduled to be released on October 9, 2032. Meanwhile, Julie's release has been moved to July 6, 2028.

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• Russian forces have deployed a new cruise missile, the Institute for the Study of War said.
• The Kh-69 was used in an attack on a major power station near Kyiv this week.
• The Kh-69 is a leap forward in Russian tactical munitions.

Russian Forces are deploying a new, long-range cruise missile, known as the Kh-69, as it steps up attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

The Washington DC-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), noted in its Friday report that the new air-to-surface missiles were part of Russia's "continued efforts to improve strike packages and penetrate Ukraine's degraded air defense."

Russia has renewed its attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure in recent weeks, exploiting Kyiv's dwindling air defense systems.

"We need air defense systems and other defense assistance, not just turning a blind eye and having lengthy discussions," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

The post was in response to a Russian missile attack overnight on April 11 that destroyed the Trypillia Thermal Power Plant. The plant is one of the primary energy suppliers to Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. The plant was hit by the new Kh-69 missiles, according to the Ukrainian military.

"ISW has not previously observed the Russian use of Kh-69 missiles in Ukraine," it said.

"Russian forces have reportedly launched Kh-69 missiles from 400 kilometers away from their targets, exceeding a previous estimated range of 300 kilometers and the 200-kilometer range of the most recent Kh-59MK2 variant," wrote the ISW.

Illia Yevlash, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Air Force, confirmed on Friday that Russia had launched the new missiles during its massive aerial assault on Thursday.

"This is an improved system of the Kh-59 version," Yevlash said.

"We are currently establishing what kind of missile it was, what type it was. These are fresh missiles with parts manufactured in 2023. That is, we can see that Russia is constantly trying to produce new missiles."

Yevlash said Russia was manufacturing the Kh-69 domestically, but that continued production relied on the ability to source key components from abroad. ISW analysts noted that while the Russian stockpiles and production capability of these Kh-69 missiles are unclear, "Russia is unlikely to be able to produce them at a significantly greater speed or quantity than its other domestically produced missiles."

The Kh-69 is Russia's latest cruise missile

Reports that Russia was employing the Kh-69 first appeared on Ukrainian Telegram channels in early February.

On February 7, a Ukrainian military blogger posted a photo on Telegram purporting to show the destroyed rear fins of a Kh-69. A Ukrainian war monitor account, which tracks Russian aviation activity, claimed that three Kh-69s were fired at Ukraine overnight on February 7-8.

In September last year, the UK-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) think tank reported that the Kh-69 was still undergoing testing. It described the missile as an "air-launched land-attack cruise missile likely akin to the European Storm Shadow or Taurus KEPD 350 missiles."

According to The War Zone, the Kh-69 was developed by Raduga, part of Russia's Tactical Missile Corporation. The missile weighs around 1,700 pounds, has an operating speed of up to 621 miles per hour, and has the option of either a penetration or a cluster warhead weighing up to 680 pounds. The missile's shape offers some degree of reduced radar signature.

Russian forces can launch the missiles from Su-34 and Su-35 tactical aircraft rather than solely from strategic bombers.

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• Ford is offering Tesla owners a special discount on its F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E.
• The discount is reportedly called "Tesla Competitive Conquest Bonus Cash."
• This move comes as Ford reportedly faces challenges in offloading its electric cars.

Ford is taking aim at Tesla.

The automaker launched an initiative earlier this month to give Tesla owners a special discount on some of its cars.

Ford is offering Tesla owners who purchase a F-150 Lightning or Mustang Mach-E an extra $1,500 off.

Ford Authority was the first to report on the discount. A spokesperson from the company confirmed the incentive and told Business Insider the program launched on April 3.

People who choose to use the discount don't have to trade in their Tesla, only prove they own one, a source told Yahoo!Finance. The publication said the discount is titled the "Tesla Competitive Conquest Bonus Cash" and will be available up until July 8.

Separately, Ford dropped prices for some of its F-150 Lightning trucks on Thursday, according to a report from CNBC. The publication said Ford dropped its prices between $2,000 and $5,500, depending on the trim level of the vehicle.

The 2024 models of the vehicles currently have starting prices of $54,995 and $39,995, respectively. Tesla's cheapest vehicle, the Model 3, has a starting price of $38,990, while its Cybertruck electric pickup truck starts at $60,990.

Ford has faced pressure from Tesla's aggressive price cuts over the past year.

There have also been signs the automaker has been struggling to offload its electric cars. Last year, BI reported Mustang Mache-E SUVs were piling up on dealer lots. Ford also postponed about $12 billion in planned spending on its EV ventures in 2023.

In December, Ford announced it was reducing production of its electric pickup truck, the F-150 Lightning. In February, the company halted F-150 Lightning shipments over an undisclosed quality issue. And on Thursday, the company resumed shipments, according to CNBC.

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