• Renjie Zhu, director of manufacturing engineering at Tesla's Austin Gigafactory, said he left the company.
• The executive came to the US to help launch Tesla's Cybertruck.
• Zhu's departure follows a series of layoffs and executive exits at Tesla.

The director who helped launch Tesla's latest project is leaving the company.

Renjie Zhu, the director of manufacturing engineering at Tesla's Austin Gigafactory, announced he'd left the company on Sunday.

The executive wrote on LinkedIn that "after triumphing the epic launch of Cybertruck program," his "adventure with this great company has come to an end."

It's unclear whether Zhu was part of a recent series of layoffs at Tesla or resigned on his own. At least seven executives at Tesla have departed over the past month. Last week, Tesla's former head of product launches said he'd chosen to leave because the recent layoffs had damaged morale and thrown the company "out of balance."

In his announcement, Zhu struck a more cheery note.

"Every single day in the past 5 years we brought the world a little closer to the transition to sustainable energy, not just with our incredible products Model 3/Model Y/Cybertruck, but the innovative ways in which we built those high volume production lines with an unprecedentedly high efficiency and delivered the products to our customers with impeccable quality," he wrote, adding that he's ready to "start a new journey."

Zhu worked at Tesla for more than five years and came over from the company's Shanghai site in January 2023 to launch the Cybertruck program, according to his LinkedIn profile. Tesla began deliveries for the electric pickup truck in November after several years of delays.

The executive and a spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk kickstarted a series of layoffs on April 15 when he told staff he planned to cut more than 10% of the company's workforce. Tesla workers are currently facing their fifth straight week of layoff notices.

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 or 248-894-6012

• USNS Alan Shepard was run aground off Bahrain's coast after the ship's captain left to eat dinner.
• A junior officer tried to turn the Shepard to avoid a fishing vessel, but it got stuck on a shoal.
• The Navy supply ship was freed from the sand the next day and only sustained minor scratches.

A Navy supply ship was run aground by a junior officer off the coast of Bahrain shortly after the ship's master — or captain — left the bridge to eat dinner, an investigation revealed.

The USNS Alan Shepard had finished up a maintenance period on July 15 and was on the way to a port in Bahrain when she was directed to an area just off shore to wait on a pilot. The master took the ship there and then went to eat dinner, leaving the ship in the hands of a much more junior third officer.

Less than 30 minutes later, the Alan Shepard was grounded on a shoal.

The investigative summary that was provided to Military.com found that after the ship's master — as well as the navigator and the chief mate — left to eat, the ship's third officer "became distracted by a fishing vessel" and tried turning the Alan Shepard to avoid it.

However, the officer, who was not identified in the summary, "was not cognizant of the ship's position in relation to the shoals and shallow water while he was maneuvering the vessel."

It wouldn't be until the next day when, helped by rising tide and tugs, the ship would be freed from the sand.

The investigation noted that the Alan Shepard's standing orders dictate "the master will be on the bridge" when the ship is in shallow water. It cited the failure of the ship's top officers to follow their own rules as one of the factors that led to the incident.

The Alan Shepard was launched in 2006 and has space for a crew of more than 120, all of whom are typically civilian mariners licensed by the US Coast Guard. The ship is used to transport cargo and supplies for Navy vessels at sea.

The investigative summary provided by the Navy made no mention of any disciplinary measures taken in the wake of the incident, and Stars and Stripes, which was the first to report on the investigation's results, found that the master in charge of the ship that day still holds a valid merchant mariner credential.

The summary said that a later diver inspection and evaluation found that the ship suffered only minor scratches to the paint on its hull and no other damage.

In contrast, the Navy typically relieves warship commanders of their command for even minor grounding incidents.

Just weeks after the Alan Shepard incident, the Navy fired the skipper of the USS Howard, Cmdr. Kenji Igawa, after the ship suffered a "soft grounding" on August 10 as it was pulling into Bali, Indonesia, for a port visit. The ship was able to free itself.

The Alan Shepard is currently operating in the Middle East, according to public ship trackers, and has been supporting the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the rest of that strike group.

• Last year's job cuts weren't the end of layoffs. Further reductions have begun in 2024.
• Companies like Tesla, Google, Microsoft, Nike, and Amazon have announced plans for cuts this year.
• See the full list of corporations reducing their worker numbers in 2024.

A slew of companies across the tech, media, finance, and retail industries made significant cuts to staff in 2023. Tech titans like IBM, Google, Microsoft, finance giants like Goldman Sachs, and manufacturers like Dow all announced layoffs.

This year is looking grim too. And it's only May.

Nearly 40% of business leaders surveyed by ResumeBuilder think layoffs are likely at their companies this year, and about half say their companies will implement a hiring freeze. ResumeBuilder talked to about 900 leaders at organizations with more than 10 employees. Half of those surveyed cited concerns about a recession as a reason.

Another major factor is artificial intelligence. Around four in 10 respondents said they'll conduct layoffs as they replace workers with AI. Dropbox, Google, and IBM have already announced job cuts related to AI.

Here are the dozens of companies with job cuts planned or already underway in 2024.

Nike's up-to-$2 billion cost-cutting plan will involve severances.

Nike announced its cost-cutting plans in a December 2023 earnings call, discussing a slow growth in sales. The call subsequently resulted in Nike's stock plunging.

"We are seeing indications of more cautious consumer behavior around the world," Nike Chief Financial Officer Matt Friend said in December.

Google laid off hundreds more workers in 2024.

On January 10, Google laid off hundreds of workers in its central engineering division and members of its hardware teams — including those working on its voice-activated assistant.

In an email to some affected employees, the company encouraged them to consider applying for open positions at Google if they want to remain employed. According to the email, April 9 will be the last day for those unable to secure a new position.

The tech giant laid off thousands throughout 2023, beginning with a 6% reduction of its global workforce (about 12,000 people) last January.

Discord is laying off 170 employees.

Discord employees learned about the layoffs in an all-hands meeting and a memo sent by CEO Jason Citron in early January.

"We grew quickly and expanded our workforce even faster, increasing by 5x since 2020," Citron said in the memo. "As a result, we took on more projects and became less efficient in how we operated."

In August 2023, Discord reduced its headcount by 4%. According to CNBC, the company was valued at $15 billion in 2021.

Citi will cut 20,000 from its staff as part of its corporate overhaul.

The layoffs announced in January are part of a larger Citigroup initiative to restructure the business and could leave the company with a remaining head count of 180,000 — excluding its Mexico operations.

In an earnings call that month, the bank said that layoffs could save the company up to $2.5 billion after it suffered a "very disappointing" final quarter last year.

Amazon-owned Twitch also announced job cuts.

Twitch announced on January 10 that it would cut 500 jobs, affecting over a third of the employees at the live-streaming company.

CEO Dan Clancy announced the layoffs in a memo, telling staff that while the company has tried to cut costs, the operation is "meaningfully" bigger than necessary.

"As you all know, we have worked hard over the last year to run our business as sustainably as possible," Clancy wrote. "Unfortunately, we still have work to do to rightsize our company and I regret having to share that we are taking the painful step to reduce our headcount by just over 500 people across Twitch."

BlackRock is planning to cut 3% of its staff.

Larry Fink, BlackRock's chief executive, and Rob Kapito, the firm's president, announced in January that the layoffs would affect around 600 people from its workforce of about 20,000.

However, the company has plans to expand in other areas to support growth in its overseas markets.

"As we prepare for 2024 and this very exciting but distinctly different landscape, businesses across the firm have developed plans to reallocate resources," the company leaders said in a memo.

Rent the Runway is slashing 10% of its corporate jobs as part of a restructuring.

In the fashion company's January announcement, COO and president Anushka Salinas said she will also be leaving the firm, Fast Company reported.

Unity Software is eliminating 25% of its workforce.

Around 1,800 jobs at the video game software company will be affected by the layoffs announced, Reuters reported in January.

eBay is cutting 1,000 jobs.

In a January 23 memo, CEO Jamie Iannone told employees that the eBay layoffs will affect about 9% of the company's workforce.

Iannone told employees that layoffs were necessary as the company's "overall headcount and expenses have outpaced the growth of our business."

The company also plans to scale back on contractors.

Microsoft is reducing its headcount by 1,900 at Activision, Xbox, and ZeniMax.

In late January, nearly three months after Microsoft acquired video game firm Activision Blizzard, the company announced layoffs in its gaming divisions. The layoffs mostly affect employees at Activision Blizzard.

"As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business," Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in a memo obtained by The Verge.

The cuts come a year after the tech giant announced it was reducing its workforce by 10,000 employees. It then slashed a further 1,000 roles across sales and customer service teams in July 2023.

Salesforce is cutting 700 employees across the company, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Salesforce announced a round of layoffs that the company says will affect 1% of its global workforce, The Journal reported in late January.

The cuts followed a wave of cuts at the cloud giant last year. In 2023, Marc Benioff's company laid off about 10% of its total workforce — or roughly 7,000 jobs. The CEO said the company over-hired during the pandemic.

Flexport lays off 15% of its workers.

In late January, the US logistics startup laid off 15% of its staff which is around 400 workers.

The move came after Flexport founder and CEO Ryan Petersen initiated a 20% reduction of its workforce of an estimated 2,600 employees in October.

Flexport kicked off 2024 with the announcement that it raised $260 million from Shopify and made "massive progress toward returning Flexport to profitability."

iRobot is laying off around 350 employees and founder Colin Angle will step down as chairman and CEO.

The company behind the Roomba Vacuum announced layoffs in late January around the same time Amazon decided not to go through with its proposed acquisition of the company, the Associated Press reported.

UPS will cut 12,000 jobs in 2024.

The UPS layoffs will affect 14% of the company's 85,000 managers and could save the company $1 billion in 2024, UPS CEO Carol Tomé said during a January earnings call.

Paypal CEO Alex Chriss announced the company would lay off 9% of its workforce.

Announced in late January, this round of layoffs will affect about 2,500 employees at the payment processing company.

"We are doing this to right-size our business, allowing us to move with the speed needed to deliver for our customers and drive profitable growth," CEO Alex Chriss wrote in a January memo. "At the same time, we will continue to invest in areas of the business we believe will create and accelerate growth."

Okta is cutting roughly 7% of its workforce.

The digital-access-management company announced its plans for a "restructuring plan intended to improve operating efficiencies and strengthen the Company's commitment to profitable growth" in an SEC filing in February.

The cuts will impact roughly 400 employees.

Okta CEO Todd McKinnon told staff in a memo that "costs are still too high," CNBC reported.

Snap has announced more layoffs.

The company behind Snapchat announced in February that it's reducing its global workforce by 10%, according to an SEC filing.

Estée Lauder said it will eliminate up to 3,100 positions.

The cosmetics company announced in February that it would be cutting 3% to 5% of its roles as part of a restructuring plan.

Estee Lauder reportedly employed about 62,000 employees around the world as of June 30, 2023.

DocuSign is eliminating roughly 6% of its workforce as part of a restructuring plan.

The electronic signature company said in an SEC filing in February that most of the cuts will be in its sales and marketing divisions.

Zoom is slashing 150 jobs.

The latest reduction announced in February amounts to about 2% of its workforce.

Paramount Global is laying off 800 employees days after record-breaking Super Bowl.

In February, Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish sent a memo to employees announcing that 800 jobs — about 3% of its workforce — were being cut.

Deadline obtained the memo less than a month after reporting plans for layoffs at Paramount. The announcement comes on the heels of Super Bowl LVIII reaching record-high viewership across CBS, Paramount+, and Nickelodeon, and Univision.

Morgan Stanley is trimming its wealth management division by hundreds of staffers.

Morgan Stanley is laying off several hundred employees in its wealth-management division, the Wall Street Journal reported in February, representing roughly 1% of the team.

The wealth-management division has seen some slowdown in recent months, with net new assets down by about 8% from a year ago. The layoffs mark the first major move by newly-installed CEO Ted Pick, who took the reins from James Gorman on January 1.

Cisco slashes more than 4,000 jobs amid corporate tech sales slowdown.

In February, networking company Cisco announced it was slashing 5% of its workforce, or upwards of 4,000 jobs, Bloomberg reported.

The company said it was restructuring after an industry-wide pullback in corporate tech spending — which execs said they expect to continue through the first half of the year.

Expedia Group is cutting more than 8% of its workforce.

Cutbacks part of an operational review at online travel giant Expedia Group are expected to impact 1,500 roles this year, a company spokesperson told BI.

The company's product and technology division is set to be the worst hit, a report from GeekWire said, citing an internal memo CEO Peter Kern sent to employees in late February.

"While this review will result in the elimination of some roles, it also allows the company to invest in core strategic areas for growth," the spokesperson said.

"Consultation with local employee representatives, where applicable, will occur before making any final decisions," they added.

Sony is laying off 900 workers

The cuts at Sony Interactive Entertainment swept through its game-making teams at PlayStation Studios.

Insomniac Games, which developed the hit Spider-Man video game series, as well as Naughty Dog, the developers behind Sony's flagship 'The Last of Us' video games' were hit by the cuts, the company announced on February 27.

All of PlayStation's London studio will be shuttered, according to the proposal.

"Delivering and sustaining social, online experiences – allowing PlayStation gamers to explore our worlds in different ways – as well as launching games on additional devices such as PC and Mobile, requires a different approach and different resources," PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst wrote.

Hulst added that some games in development will be shut down, though he didn't say which ones.

In early February, Sony said it missed its target for selling PlayStation 5 consoles. The earnings report sent shares tumbling and the company's stock lost about $10 billion in value.

Bumble is slashing 30% of its workforce

On February 27, the dating app company announced that it would be reducing its staff due to "future strategic priorities" for its business, per a statement.

The cuts will impact about 30% of its about 1,200 person workforce or about 350 roles, a representative for Bumble told BI by email.

"We are taking significant and decisive actions that ensure our customers remain at the center of everything we do as we relaunch Bumble App, transform our organization and accelerate our product roadmap," Bumble Inc CEO Lidiane Jones said in a statement.

Electronic Arts is reducing its workforce by 5%

Electronic Arts is laying off about 670 workers, equating to 5% of its workforce, Bloomberg reported in late February.

The gaming firm axed two mobile games earlier in February, which it described as a difficult decision in a statement issued to GamesIndustry.biz.

CEO Andrew Wilson reportedly told employees in a memo that it would be "moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry."

Wilson also said in the memo that the cuts came as a result of shifting customer needs and a refocusing of the company, Bloomberg reported.

IBM cutting staff in marketing and communications

IBM's chief communications officer Jonathan Adashek told employees on March 12 that it would be cutting staff, CNBC reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

An IBM spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement that the cuts follow a broader workforce action the company announced during its earnings call in January.

"In 4Q earnings earlier this year, IBM disclosed a workforce rebalancing charge that would represent a very low single-digit percentage of IBM's global workforce, and we expect to exit 2024 at roughly the same level of employment as we entered with," they said.

IBM has also been clear about the impact of AI on its workforce. Last May, IBM's CEO Arvind Krishna said the company expected to pause hiring on roles that could be replaced by AI, especially in areas like human resources and other non-consumer-facing departments.

"I could easily see 30% of that getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period," Krishna told Bloomberg at the time.

Stellantis is slashing 400 white-collar jobs

On March 22, the owner of Jeep and Dodge announced it's laying off employees on its engineering, technology, and software teams in an effort to cut costs, CNBC reported.

Workers learned they were being let go through video calls after the car company ordered them to work remotely for the day. The cuts are set to occur on March 31.

Amazon is laying off hundreds in its cloud division in yet another round of cuts this year

Amazon is cutting hundreds of jobs from its cloud division known as Amazon Web Services, Bloomberg reported on April 3.

The reduction will impact employees on the sales and marketing team and those working on tech for its retail stores, Bloomberg reported.

"We've identified a few targeted areas of the organization we need to streamline in order to continue focusing our efforts on the key strategic areas that we believe will deliver maximum impact," an Amazon spokesperson told Bloomberg.

On March 26, Amazon announced another round of job cuts after the company said it was slashing 'several hundred' jobs at its Prime Video and MGM Studios divisions earlier this year to refocus on more profitable products.

"We've identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact," Mike Hopkins, SVP of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, told employees in January.

This year's cuts follow the largest staff layoff in the company's history. In 2023, the tech giant laid off 18,000 workers.

Apple has cut over 600 employees in California

Apple has slashed its California workforce by more than 600 employees.

The cuts follow Apple's decision to withdraw from its car and smartwatch display projects.

The tech giant filed a series of notices to comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification program. One of the addresses was linked to a new display development office, while the others were for the company's EV effort, Bloomberg reported.

Apple officially shut down its decadelong EV project in February. At the time, Bloomberg reported that some employees would move to generative AI, but others would be laid off.

Bloomberg noted that the layoffs were likely an undercount of the full scope of staff cuts, as Apple had staff working on these projects in other locations.

Representatives for Apple did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside normal business hours.

Tesla is laying off over 10% of its workforce

Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent a memo to employees Sunday, April 14, at nearly midnight in California, informing them of the company's plan to cut over 10% of its global workforce.

In his companywide memo, Musk cited "duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas" as the reason behind the reductions.

An email sent to terminated employees obtained by BI read: "Effective now, you will not need to perform any further work and therefore will no longer have access to Tesla systems and physical locations."

On April 29, Musk reportedly sent an email stating the need for more layoffs at Tesla. He also announced the departure of two executives and said that their reports would also be let go. Six known Tesla executives have left the company since layoffs began in April.

Grand Theft Auto 6 publisher Take-Two Interactive is reducing its workforce by 5%

Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games, said on April 16 that it would be "eliminating several projects" and reducing its workforce by about 5%.

The move — a part of its larger "cost reduction program" — will cost the video game publisher up to $200 million. It's expected to be completed by December 31.

As of March 2023, the company said it employed approximately 11,580 full-time workers.

Peloton is reducing its staff by 15% as the CEO steps down as well

Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy is stepping down, the company announced May 2. Along with his departure, the fitness company is also laying off about 400 workers.

McCarthy is leaving his role just two years after replacing John Foley as CEO and president in 2022. Peloton said the changes are expected to reduce annual expenses by over $200 million by the end of fiscal 2025 as part of a larger restructuring plan.

Microsoft-owned Xbox is cutting more jobs

Xbox is offering some employees voluntary severance packages in May after shutting three units and absorbing a fourth earlier in the month. Microsoft had already made cuts to the division at the start of 2024.

According to Bloomberg, the offers were extended to producers, quality assurance testers, and more staff at Xbox-owned ZeniMax. Others across the Xbox organization were told that more cuts are coming.

Xbox president Matt Booty told staff in a May 8 town hall that the studio closures are part of an effort to free up more resources, Bloomberg reported.

Indeed is cutting 1,000 workers after laying off 2,200 a year ago

Careers site Indeed says it will lay off roughly 1,000 employees, or 8% of its workforce, as it looks to simplify its organization.

CEO Chris Hyams took responsibility for "how we got here" in a memo in May but said the company is not yet set up for growth after last year's global hiring slowdown caused multiple quarters of declining sales.

Hyams said the latest cuts will be more concentrated in the US and primarily affect R&D and Go-to-Market teams. That's in contrast to last year's across-the-board reduction of 2,200 workers.

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The best Amazon Fire TV devices deliver easy access to popular streaming services. Fire TV products are some of our favorite streaming solutions thanks to their snappy speed and affordable prices, and you can choose between stick, cube, and full-fledged smart TV models.

Entry-level Fire TV options, like the standard Fire TV Stick, offer full HD playback, while the best Fire TV models, like the latest Fire TV Stick 4K Max, support Ultra HD video and Dolby Vision for enhanced color and contrast. Amazon also sells its own smart TVs that have the Fire TV operating system (OS) built in. Though these sets don't rank among the top TVs you can buy, they're decent budget options for fans of Amazon's ecosystem.  

But with so many different Fire TV models to consider, it can be tricky to determine which is right for your needs. To help you pick the best Fire TV for your setup, we've detailed all the ins and outs of each model.

How to get a great deal on the best Fire TV devices

The best Fire TVs and Fire TV Sticks often drop to all-time low prices during sales on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon Prime Day, though smaller discounts pop up throughout the year outside these big events.

When on sale during major holidays, you can snag Fire TV Sticks for as much as 50% off. The next big deal event will be Amazon Prime Day, which historically occurs in July. 

Fire TV Stick Lite

The Fire TV Stick Lite is the best Fire TV you can snag on a budget. Like the company's other stick models, this compact dongle plugs into your TV's HDMI port. Once powered on, you can navigate through the stick's interface to access all of the best streaming services. 

The Fire TV Stick Lite matches the video quality of the more expensive standard Fire TV Stick. The only notable difference between this model and the regular Stick is its remote. The Lite includes an Alexa Voice Remote Lite, which lacks TV controls, like power and volume buttons. Other than that, both models are essentially the same.

The Fire TV Stick Lite can stream videos at up to 1080p resolution, which makes it ideal for an HDTV. The device also supports high dynamic range (HDR) using the HDR10 and HDR10+ formats. This feature delivers enhanced colors and contrast when streaming HDR videos through apps like Disney Plus. That said, most TVs that support HDR are 4K models, and if you have a 4K TV, we highly recommend you pay a bit more for one of Amazon's 4K sticks.

If your TV doesn't support 4K, the Fire TV Stick Lite will suit your streaming needs just fine. Keep in mind, however, that the standard Fire TV Stick occasionally goes on sale for even less than the Lite. When that happens, there's no reason to consider this model.

Fire TV Stick

The standard Fire TV Stick matches the 1080p streaming quality of the Lite model but has an improved remote with controls for your TV, like power and volume.

The base Fire TV Stick will meet the HD streaming needs of most people unless you own a 4K TV, in which case we recommend spending the extra money on one of Amazon's more advanced 4K streaming devices.

Fire TV Stick 4K

As the name suggests, the Fire TV Stick 4K streams at a higher resolution than the Fire TV Stick or Stick Lite. With 4K support, you'll get a sharper, more detailed image when watching 4K videos on a 4K TV. 

This model also carries over HDR playback but adds support for the more advanced Dolby Vision format, which is missing on the Lite and standard Fire TV Stick. Dolby Vision can give your TV more detailed guidance for displaying HDR images, but only when watching Dolby Vision content on a compatible display. Check out our HDR TV guide for more details about different HDR formats.

The latest version of the Fire TV Stick 4K was released in September 2023, and it has a slightly tweaked design with rounded edges, more memory, and an improved processor. Amazon says it's around 25% faster than the first-gen model. It also now supports WiFi 6 when used with a compatible router. 

This model is a good fit if you have a 4K TV. However, if you're willing to spend $10 more, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max offers slightly better performance.

Fire TV Stick 4K Max

The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is one of our picks for the best streaming devices you can buy. It carries over everything you'll get on the regular Fire TV Stick 4K while offering a faster processor and GPU, as well as more storage. This makes navigation a little snappier and lets you save more apps and games.

Amazon released the latest version of its Fire TV Stick 4K Max in September 2023, and compared to the previous-generation edition, this new model has an upgraded processor, double the amount of storage, and new support for WiFi 6E routers. It also has a revised design with rounded edges. And unlike other Fire TV Sticks, the 4K Max supports Amazon's Fire TV Ambient Experience, which lets you display art, photos, and widgets for things like the weather and your calendar. 

The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is typically just $10 more than the standard Fire TV Stick 4K, so we think it's the best Fire TV option for people with 4K TVs.

Fire TV Cube

The Fire TV Cube is the best Fire TV for pure processing power. It incorporates all the features of the Fire TV Stick 4K Max but has a beefier CPU and is meant to be a more traditional home theater device. Instead of a dongle that hangs out of your TV's HDMI port, the Cube is a compact box that sits on your TV stand. 

One of the Fire TV Cube's biggest benefits is its support for hands-free Alexa voice control without a remote. In other words, the Cube can act like an Echo device. The newest model also has an HDMI passthrough port to control cable boxes, twice as much storage space as the stick models, 4K upscaling to make HD videos look better, and overall faster performance.

The Fire TV Cube is a premium streaming box designed to compete with devices like the Apple TV 4K and the Roku Ultra, so it's best suited for home theater enthusiasts who want the brand's absolute best quality and fastest technology.

Fire TV 2-Series

Amazon also sells its own lineup of full-fledged smart TVs, which all use a built-in version of the Fire TV OS. This means you can stream your favorite apps without an extra device. Though Amazon's displays don't make our guide to the best TVs, they're still worthwhile budget options if you're a fan of the Fire TV ecosystem. The 2-Series is Amazon's entry-level HDTV model designed for people who just want a basic smart TV for casual viewing. 

The 2-Series is available in 32 inches with a 720p screen or 40 inches with a 1080p screen. Both models support HDR processing using the standard HDR10 format, but the 2-Series can't deliver the brightness or color needed to really take advantage of high-dynamic-range playback. For this reason, we only recommend this model for people who want a cheap TV that doesn't take up too much space.

Fire TV 4-Series

The 4-Series steps things up from HD to Ultra HD with a 4K resolution screen. Models are available in 43-, 50-, and 55-inch sizes. 

Though it supports 4K playback, the 4-Series is still limited to ver basic HDR performance and lacks advanced features like wide color support and Dolby Vision. It's a decent TV for buyers who want a smaller, affordable 4K display for a bedroom, but it's not suited for home theater use.

Fire TV Omni Series

The Omni Series Fire TV adds support for hands-free Alexa voice control without using the remote. You can control power, volume, navigation, and search with spoken commands through the TV's built-in microphones. And the TV can also serve as an Alexa smart home hub even when the display is off. 

Models range in size from 43 to 75 inches. Every model supports 4K resolution and HDR10, and the 65- and 75-inch models add support for Dolby Vision.

Unfortunately, the TV's picture quality and navigation speed are underwhelming for its price. There are simply better-looking displays from brands like TCL and Hisense that cost around the same. That said, the Omni is a decent buy when it's on sale during deal events like Black Friday and Prime Day. We only recommend picking up the 65-inch model when you can snag it for under $500. 

Check out our Amazon Fire TV Omni review.

Fire TV Omni QLED Series

Amazon's Omni QLED is the best Fire TV display you can buy, and it offers a big step up from the regular Omni Series. It carries over hands-free Alexa support while adding advanced picture features like quantum dots and local dimming. These features enable it to deliver much better color and contrast performance. 

The TV also has an ambient mode that can display art and widgets when it senses someone has walked into the room. Sizes range from 43 to 75 inches, but the 43-inch model does not include local dimming.

The 65-inch model's list price of $800 is high for what you get, and the set doesn't match the overall performance of the very best 4K TVs in this class. However, we've seen it drop to $600 during big sales events, offering much better value at that price. 

Check out our full Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED review.

Fire TV Soundbar

Amazon's latest Fire TV-branded product isn't actually a streaming device at all. Instead, it's a soundbar.

The Fire TV soundbar is a compact 2.0-channel speaker designed to rest in front of your TV. It features an HDMI eARC and optical port for easy connection to most modern displays, and it also supports Bluetooth for wireless music playback from a mobile device.

At 24 inches wide, the soundbar is relatively small, which should make it easy to set up on most TV stands. Though it doesn't include a subwoofer or offer advanced features like up-firing audio drivers with Dolby Atmos support, the Fire TV Soundbar does support DTS Virtual:X to simulate surround sound. That said, at this price range and performance class, buyers shouldn't expect too much from this feature.  

And despite the Fire TV branding, this is a soundbar only. It does not feature built-in support for streaming video apps. The base model only includes a standard remote, but you can pay more for a package with an Alexa Voice Remote Pro. 

Based on the specs and affordable $120 price tag, Amazon is positioning this as an entry-level soundbar for people who just want a simple, compact, and inexpensive upgrade for their TV's speakers.

But if you're looking for something with more oomph, check out our guides to the best soundbars, best Dolby Atmos soundbars, and best budget soundbars. 

• Disney wants to unmask an Instagrammer who leaked portions of its new "Captain America" film.
• So it wants to subpoena Instagram. 
• Bob Iger has pledged to reduce Marvel's output to focus on quality. 

Disney isn't taking its latest leaks lying down.

The company and its Marvel subsidiary want to subpoena Instagram to obtain the identity of an account holder who's leaked portions of its upcoming "Captain America: Brave New World" film, according to a petition filed in federal court.

The subpoena request was first reported by Torrent Freak.

The account @canwegetsometoast has 15,000 followers on Instagram and is known for leaking footage of superhero movies. Now, Disney and Marvel want to get to the bottom of who's behind the account.

"The purpose for which this subpoena is sought is to obtain the identities of the alleged infringer(s) who have exploited MVL's exclusive rights in its copyrighted works," reads a court declaration from Disney's VP of global security and content protection Matthew Slatoff.

The studio has taken great pains to protect its IP in the past, according to The Wrap. Last year, it issued a copyright takedown to Google after the script for "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" was shared on Reddit. The script was removed.

Disney, Marvel, and Instagram's parent company, Meta, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Disney chief Bob Iger unveiled this month the company's plans for Marvel during an earnings call: quality over quantity.

The only MCU movie set for release this year is "Deadpool & Wolverine."

"Brave New World" was initially supposed to premiere this month, but was pushed to February 2025.

• At the SBC Summit in May, gambling influencers broke down how they make money from content.
• They described their revenue from affiliate marketing and YouTube advertising.
• The creators also opened up about the challenges of promoting gambling and working with operators.

The expansion of legal gambling in the US has kickstarted the growth of gambling influencers who play and promote sports betting, slots, and other casino games online.

Josh Duffy, known for his gaming channel Slotaholic, plays slot machines on YouTube for his 27,000 subscribers. Kelly Koffler, who has nearly 60,000 subscribers across her YouTube channels Casino Kelly and Beyond Blackjack, plays casino games such as slots and Blackjack. And, Jon Della Terza, also known as the "NJ Slot Guy," creates content on high-limit slots.

On Wednesday at the SBC North America Summit in New Jersey, the three gambling influencers broke down how they make money from their content and the challenges of promoting gambling online.

The creators said they generated revenue mainly from affiliate-marketing deals with gambling brands and advertising on their YouTube channels.

Unlike some other content niches, restrictions on gambling content can limit the ways influencers earn and how much they can make. Platforms like YouTube and Twitch restrict gambling on certain sites, while others, including Instagram and TikTok, limit how gambling content is distributed.

With affiliate deals, where influencers are paid for referring customers to gambling operators, the creators said they preferred to be paid flat fees instead of signing revenue-share agreements. They said they did not want to profit directly from someone's losses.

"It's a flat rate for me," said Koffler. "I did not personally want to take a rev share or a per click because I just felt gross about that. I felt like it would be me preying on my audience."

Even with flat rates, the influencers said affiliate contracts typically brought in more revenue than YouTube, which requires creators to have at least 1,000 subscribers and a certain number of watch hours to earn a cut of the ad revenue from their videos.

"You typically get maybe $8 to $12 per a thousand views, depending on your content and what commercial ads get placed," Duffy said.

While YouTube can be a steady revenue source, the revenue these influencers generate from the platform doesn't always cover the cost of creating the content — they're gambling, after all.

Duffy said he has two affiliate deals to supplement his YouTube income, for example. He creates game-review videos for Light & Wonder's SidePlay, which makes instant-win games for lottery and gambling operators. He also does weekly livestreams where he plays casino games on sites like McLuck.com and Wow Vegas, which pay him a flat monthly fee.

The pros and cons of affiliate deals for gambling influencers

Duffy said he likes doing affiliate deals because he can be a positive influence in the industry.

"It shows us that we're appreciated in this arena, that they can rely on us to be a good influence and market their product," Duffy said. "I feel like I'm doing a service to the industry that's respected and my viewers understand it's coming from a good place."

But, while affiliate jobs can be fruitful, the influencers said some contracts could promote activities that are ethically murky.

For example, the companies often include time restrictions in contracts that dictate how long the influencer has to spend gambling, which could encourage harmful gambling behaviors.

"It takes away from the responsible gaming aspect, for sure, because let's say you lose within 30 minutes your full bankroll that you started with, you're having to keep rebuying and rebuying. And as a gambler, we all know you can't predict the outcome," said Koffler. "So putting those time restraints on whoever you are working with is not the best idea."

Koffler said gambling companies should instead trust their influencer partners more to create content that benefits them, the brand, and the audience.

• A 10-foot-wide, one-bedroom home was built in Washington, DC, on what used to be a driveway.
• Zoning law changes forced tight measurements for the 0.02-acre property, requiring many iterations.
• The home is listed for $581,903 and is attracting investors who may use it as a rental property.

A developer in Washington, DC, had a small canvas — about the width of a driveway — to build a modern home that's on the market for $581,903.

Now, there's a 10-foot-wide, one-bedroom home on what used to be a driveway.

According to the listing agent, Jennifer Young of Keller Williams Chantilly Ventures, the zoning laws changed shortly after the developer purchased the 0.02-acre property, so they had to scrap the idea of building a home or tighten their floor plan.

"It literally came down to sometimes a centimeter of getting the exact measurements right to both comply with DC zoning and build a really nice home that was functional," Young told Business Insider.

Nady Samnang, the contractor tasked with figuring out how to build a home on a driveway in between two alleys, told the Washington Post that the design went through many forms and took nearly seven months to get approved by the city permit office.

"I wanted to quit so many times," he told the Washington Post.

While the price has fluctuated since being listed for $799,900 in July 2023, according to Zillow, it's garnered interest from many across the country.

"It's one of the most-viewed homes on Zillow that I've ever seen in my career," Young said. "We do have quite a bit of looky-loos, but we have a lot of first-time buyers looking and investors — people that want to Airbnb it or rent it to college kids."

Nady Samnang and his brother Dean purchased the 700-square-foot lot at the beginning of 2021 with plans to build a four-story home.

According to Zillow, they purchased the lot for $200,000.

Originally, they were going to build a four-story house, double the width, but DC zoning restrictions changed shortly after he bought the land.

"They changed zoning right after he bought it so they were kind of screwed and they either were going to scrap a deal or try to build a tiny home," Young said.

Construction was difficult with such a narrow space, and the materials had to be brought in by hand.

"All the materials had to be brought in by hand versus pulling a truck up to the site because it is a very condensed area," Young said. "There's a road, but big work trucks can't come through and it's a very tight space to work in."

Even with a width of six feet at it’s most-narrow point, there are still a number of amenities that you would find in any modern home.

It even has a fenced patio big enough for an intimate seating area.

Bringing materials in was not the only challenge. Samnang also had to get creative when finding space for basics inside.

Samnang told the Washington Post that the powder room under the stairs was an "extreme challenge" due to DC code requiring toilets and sinks to be at least 15 inches apart. He had to opt for a skinny sink to fit.

Lucky for the future buyer, the skinny home comes fully furnished.

No need to haul in a bed upstairs or search for a couch that fits — those items come with the home.

"They just went pretty modern and they chose all the right finishes that are popular now," Young said. "They had to do something that made it as luxury and contemporary and high-end as they could within these restrictions."

It first hit the market at $799,900, according to Zillow, making it $1,333 per square foot.

It's 45 feet long and 10 feet across at its widest point.

The price has since been dropped to as low as $581,903 in April.

"It's definitely hard to price," Young said. "There's not one single comparable because everything around it is condos — and it's not comparable to condos.

The Zillow listing has nearly 50,000 views and over 900 saves — numbers that Young say are rare for the area.

"It's probably the most-viewed DC listing in years right now," Young said.

Investors have taken an interest in using the house as a rental unit for students or as an Airbnb.

There are no condo or HOA fees, according to Young, which could be enticing to someone renting it out.

People are drawn to the spectacle, Young said, but there are plenty of interested buyers as well.

"It's a very popular building," she said. "I think half the people are looky-loos, and half are very interested."