A similar cut was also applied in the US last Friday, where the Model S, X, and Y were given price cuts of $2,000 each. Prices for Tesla's new Cybertruck and Model 3 remain unchanged in the US.
Tesla's moves didn't go unnoticed by Chinese automakers, who responded in kind. On Monday, Li Auto introduced price cuts of between $2,485 to $4,144 across all its models.
Chinese automaker BYD also slashed prices back in March when it launched a cheaper version of its Yuan Plus car. The vehicle was sold at $16,600 and was about 12% cheaper than its predecessor.
"Other cars change prices constantly and often by wide margins via dealer markups and manufacturer/dealer incentives," Musk wrote.
The wave of price cuts comes at a tough time for Musk's car company, which laid off more than 10% of its staff globally last week. Musk told staff in an internal memo that the layoffs were necessary to keep Tesla "lean innovative, and hungry for the next growth phase cycle."
On April 2, Tesla said it delivered 386,810 cars in the first quarter of this year, a 20.1% drop from the last quarter. Tesla's performance in the latest quarter was also its worst quarterly performance since 2022.
Besides slowing sales, Tesla has to deal with increased competition from China.
In January, Musk acknowledged the threat posed by Tesla's Chinese counterparts when he said that Chinese automakers "are the most competitive car companies in the world." In fact, Musk went so far as to frame his Chinese rivals as an existential threat to all automakers.
"If there are no trade barriers established, they will pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world," Musk told investors during an earnings call in January.
Representatives for Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.
The FTC announced a lawsuit that blocks a merger between luxury brands Tapestry and Capri.
The FTC claims Tapestry's acquisition of Capri could make more affordable luxury bag options expensive.
Tapestry and Capri argue the luxury handbag market is too saturated for that to happen.
The FTC is trying to stop a merger between brands Tapestry and Capri that would put labels Coach, Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, and Versace under one luxury house.
Tapestry, Inc., which owns Kate Spade and Coach, announced in August its intent to acquire Capri Holdings, which owns Michael Kors, for $8.5 billion. Regulators in the European Union and Japan are on board with the acquisition — but US regulators are taking a different approach.
The FTC announced that it filed a lawsuit Monday to block the merger. The commission said in a press release it believes the action would give Tapestry "a dominant share of the 'accessible luxury' handbag market."
If Tapestry took over Michael Kors, the FTC claims, it would make the brand's luxury options more expensive.
"With the goal to become a serial acquirer, Tapestry seeks to acquire Capri to further entrench its stronghold in the fashion industry," Henry Liu, director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, said in the press release. "This deal threatens to deprive consumers of the competition for affordable handbags, while hourly workers stand to lose the benefits of higher wages and more favorable workplace conditions."
Both Tapestry and Capri Holdings released statements opposing the FTC's accusations and vowed to fight the lawsuit in court. The companies disagreed with the FTC, saying that they operate "intensely competitive and highly fragmented industry."
"The bottom line is that Tapestry and Capri face competitive pressures from both lower- and higher-priced products," Tapestry said in its statement. "In bringing this case, the FTC has chosen to ignore the reality of today's dynamic and expanding $200 billion global luxury industry."
Tapestry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Capri Holdings directed BI to its public statement, and the FTC declined to comment further.
The FTC, under the guidance of chair Lina Khan, has gone after a series of mergers and acquisitions over the past few years, including Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard and Meta's purchase of VR company Within. Both of these lawsuits failed to block these purchases.
This is the FTC's first lawsuit in the fashion accessories sector, according to Bloomberg.
More recently, the agency filed a lawsuit to block the $24.6 billion merger of grocery chains Albertsons and Kroger, which it said was the "largest proposed supermarket merger in US history." The companies responded by pledging to sell hundreds of stores to competing grocery chain C&S Wholesale Grocers.
Parts of a Russian S-400 missile-defense system are unloaded from a Russian plane at Murted Airport, known as Akinci Air Base, near Ankara, Turkey in 2019.
Turkish Military/Turkish Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
Turkey may deploy its Russian S-400 Triumf air defenses on the Iraqi border.
US officials have warned Turkey against "activating" it.
The missile attacks between Israel and Iran may also be a rationale to deploy the S-400.
Turkey may deploy its advanced Russian S-400 Triumf air defenses on the Iraqi border for its planned summer offensive against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK, in Iraqi Kurdistan. Such a move would mark the first operational deployment of the missile system since Ankara received it in 2019 to Western reproach.
Turkiye newspaper reported earlier this month that Turkey's S-400s may be deployed on the border, implying it will defend against drones allegedly acquired by the PKK. But the system is effective against bigger threats than crude drones. It's designed to shoot down cruise and ballistic missiles like those fired by Iran in its unprecedented April 13 attack against Israel, and its deployment could worsen tensions with other NATO allies incensed that Turkey even has them.
The deal for the S-400 cost Turkey an estimated $2.5 billion. Indirectly, it has cost it far more than that in losses of over $9 billion it could have made from manufacturing over 900 parts for the global F-35 supply chain.
Washington banned Ankara from buying F-35s over concerns it would give Russian technicians data that spoils the fighter's stealth. On top of all that, the US slapped sanctions on Turkey's arms procurement agency.
While enduring these penalties, Turkey never put the S-400 into service. Following the system's delivery, US officials warned Turkey against "activating" it. Turkey tested its F-16s and F-4 fighters against the S-400's radar in late 2019. Washington strongly rebuked Ankara in October 2020 for announcing it was testing the system.
Since then, there has been no indication that Turkey's S-400s have been put into operation. In November 2022, then-Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Ankara has "no problems with the S-400" and that the system "is in place and ready for use."
Its purported upcoming deployment on the Iraqi border would be the first time Turkish S-400s have been put into use five years after Ankara received them.
Ali Bakir, a Turkey expert at Qatar University's Ibn Khaldon Center and nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, is skeptical of the report but doesn't outright dismiss the possibility.
"This could be a trial balloon, an operational requirement due to the foreign threat in Northern Iraq, where Turkish troops are stationed, or simply untrue news," Bakir told Business Insider. "If the S-400 is deployed for operational needs, it could be to counter the potential threat of Iran's ballistic missiles."
Even though Turkey's other air defenses are capable of combating aerial threats from the PKK, Turkey requires an advanced system for intercepting ballistic missiles fired from Iran.
"Considering that Ankara has stationed troops in Northern Iraq, it would be more logical to deploy such a system to protect them during regional escalation or confrontation," Bakir said. "Iran has used missiles lately against Northern Iraq."
Bakir said that the recent missile attacks between Israel and Iran may be a further rationale to deploy the S-400 in Turkey's east."Such deployment will serve Turkey's security as well as the security of Iraq, which is improving its ties with Ankara lately in an unprecedented way," Bakir said.
Deploying S-400s as a contingency to counter Iranian missiles could create "an extremely complex situation" for Turkey, said Suleyman Ozeren, a lecturer at the American University and senior fellow at the Orion Policy Institute."Such a move might mean that Turkey would be using the Russian weapon system against Russia's most loyal ally in the Middle East," Ozeren told BI. "However, Turkey may use the potential threat of Iran-linked militia groups or PKK as a pretext to deploy S-400s."
He predicts a deployment would serve three primary objectives.
"First, the S-400s have been one of the most expensive yet least productive policy decisions," Ozeren said. "By deploying them and making a lot of noise about it, the AKP may aim to silence critics at home."
The AKP is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party, which decided to buy the S-400 in the late 2010s and has defended the contentious purchase ever since.
"Second, Ankara may want to prove to Moscow that its military cooperation still stands," Ozeren said. "Third, such a decision may aim to send a message to the West — primarily to the US — that Ankara's position vis-à-vis Russia and NATO remains unchanged."
He noted the Turkish S-400 is a "standalone system" incompatible with NATO systems, limiting its use and confirming its "high cost and lack of functionality."
A Turkish deployment could escalate the lingering dispute with the US.
In January, then-Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said Washington could discuss readmitting Ankara into the F-35 program if it resolves the S-400 issue.
"The problem is not about where Ankara deploys S-400s but about the S-400 remaining in Turkey's possession," Ozeren said.
Bakir argued that weapons are purchased "with the intention of use" for either "offensive or defensive purposes." "Even if Turkey were to hypothetically trade the S-400, the US could still mishandle the case of the F-35," Bakir said. "There is no guarantee that Congress will not attempt to pressure Ankara in the future."
Ozeren, in contrast, reiterated that the fundamental problem is Ankara's "purely political" decision to purchase S-400s, which he argued was motivated by the AKP's desire to distance Turkey from NATO.
"Such a goal was unattainable and unrealistic given the extent of Turkey's integration into the NATO defense system," Ozeren said. "The S-400 decision has left Ankara in a precarious situation that has remained unchanged."
"No matter the AKP's motivations back then, reality dictates that the ruling party reverse its course and go back to a stronger alliance with NATO."
The Hessen as it departs for deployment in the Red Sea on Feb. 8, 2024 in Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
Photo by David Hecker/Getty Images
A German warship that was part of a European Union security mission has left the Red Sea.
The frigate Hessen spent weeks in the Middle East protecting commercial ships from Houthi attacks.
Its sailors were on watch for 12 hours a day, Germany's military said on Monday.
Sailors aboard a German warship that was recently deployed to the Red Sea were on watch for 12 hours a day, and in the "worst" situations, they might've only had seconds to respond to the deadly Houthi threats endangering ships in these waters.
The Hessen, a Sachsen-class frigate, left the Red Sea and entered the Suez Canal on Saturday after spending nearly 60 days operating in Middle Eastern waters, Germany's military said Monday.
The warship was deployed to the region as part of the European Union's Operation Aspides security mission, which has been tasked with protecting commercial vessels sailing off the coast of Yemen from unrelenting Houthi missile and drone attacks.
Around 240 crew members aboard the Hessen were on "a permanent war march" during the mission, the German military said in a statement, according to a translation. These sailors were on guard for six hours, then had six hours off, and then went back on guard for another six hours.
"This very high state of readiness was due to the constant three-dimensional threat" that the Houthis posed to the ships in the area, the German military said. "In the worst case scenario, the ship and crew would only have had about ten seconds to bring their own defensive weapons into effect."
The Hessen sailing next to a merchant ship.
German military photo
The short timeframe underscores how fast some of the Houthi threats are. One sailor aboard a US Navy warship that has engaged the rebels told Business Insider during a visit to the Red Sea earlier this year that their response time to an inbound threat could be anywhere from minutes to just seconds.
Throughout its time in the area of operations, which included the strategic Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Hessen repelled four Houthi attacks and escorted more than two dozen commercial ships through the volatile waters, Germany said.
"This mission has demanded more from the ship and crew than ever before," the Hessen's Capt. Volker Kübsch said, adding that his warship "worked like clockwork and impressively demonstrated its combat value — right down to its ability to prevail in battle."
"Especially in combat situations, we were able to gain valuable, even unique experience not only for ourselves, but also for the entire German Navy and beyond," Kübsch added, highlighting how these engagements are a learning opportunity and a chance to test and improve capabilities. US Navy commanders have expressed similar thoughts on intercepts of anti-ship ballistic missiles.
The bridge of the Hessen after an aerial threat was identified.
German military photo
While the Hessen's presence ultimately proved to be a valuable asset for the EU security mission, there was an incident at one point during the warship's deployment involving an allied asset.
In late-February, the Hessen accidentally targeted a US MQ-9 Reaper drone that was operating around the Red Sea and fired several missiles at the aircraft. A technical error in the warship's radar system, however, spared the American combat drone.
The Hessen is one of several European warships to see combat in the Red Sea this year, alongside the US Navy, which has had an aircraft carrier and multiple other warships stationed in the region since last fall. Beyond intercepting Houthi missiles and drones in the air, American forces, sometimes with partners, have also struck the rebels on the ground in Yemen.
The Hessen is due back to the German port city of Wilhelmshaven in early May. The gap it left in Operation Aspides is expected to be filled in early August by the Sachsen-class frigate Hamburg, Germany said.
Chanel opened a watches and fine jewelry store in Manhattan.
Samantha Grindell/Business Insider
In February, Chanel opened a watches and fine jewelry boutique on Fifth Avenue in New York City.
Peter Marino designed the store with nods to Coco Chanel in mind.
The store is bathed in black and gold, drawing the eye to the one-of-a-kind jewelry in the space.
As I walked down Fifth Avenue, I was surrounded by the hustle and bustle I've come to expect from one of the most famous streets in New York City.
Home to an abundance of luxury stores like Bergdorf Goodman and Tiffany & Co., the avenue is constantly flooded with shoppers from far and wide, and the day I headed to see one of its latest additions was no different.
My destination was Chanel's watches and fine jewelry flagship, dedicated to exclusive and vintage jewelry from the brand. According to Robb Report, it's only the fourth Chanel store in the world like it, and renowned architect Peter Marino designed the boutique.
I wanted to see what the boutique was like without all the celebrity glitz and glamour, so I used a free Monday to head to the store.
The exterior had a luxe look.
Samantha Grindell/Business Insider
It was hard to miss the two-story boutique thanks to its asymmetrical checkerboard look made of black and textured gold paneling in massive windows. Jewelry sat on busts in the bottom corner under a gold Chanel sign.
The store looked luxurious even from a distance, and I felt eager to go inside after I spotted it.
A close-up shot of the window display.
Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images/Getty Images
Stepping inside was like being transported to another world
When I entered the store, the sounds of chattering tourists and honking cars immediately disappeared. Two doormen lingered by the entrance while several other employees waited nearby to assist shoppers. An employee immediately welcomed me inside as I took in my surroundings, and when I asked for a tour of the space, he seemed more than happy to help.
The boutique was mostly empty as I made my way through it, with just a few shoppers milling around and another sitting with an employee discussing watch options. I got the impression most people came to the store with an appointment in place, though the workers I interacted with were welcoming of me even though I didn't have one.
The exterior color scheme continued inside, with black floors, gold walls, and rugs blending both colors. The ceilings stretched high, adding to its spacious feel that contrasted with the stores I typically frequent in New York.
Anna Weyant and Eileen Kelly at the opening of Chanel's watches and fine jewelry store in February 2024.
Sean Zanni/WireImage/Getty Images
Between the gold detailing and sparkling chandeliers, I had the impression I had stepped inside a bottle of Chanel No. 5 as I wandered through the store. Every inch of the place seemed to sparkle.
The boutique's distinct scent helped to create the perfume bottle illusion, which an employee told me was unique to the store and couldn't be bought, adding to the exclusivity the space exuded.
Marino told The Hollywood Reporter that texture and luxury were crucial to the store's aesthetic.
"Everything is tactile and gold and special; even the carpets are three-dimensional, a mixture of silk and wool, while the stucco texture on walls was made with people's hands — including my own, you'll find that in the elevator," he told the outlet.
Marino also looked to Coco Chanel's interior design aesthetic for the store's design, which blended the simplicity of black and white decor with "ornate Venetian mirrors," he said to The Hollywood Reporter.
The boutique emanated luxury
As an employee showed me around, my eyes were drawn to the jewelry arranged in free-standing cases and glass displays built into the walls of the store's first floor, which was split into three spacious rooms.
Of the three rooms on the main floor, one held watches, one had more accessible pieces from Chanel's jewelry line, and the third held rarer pieces from its collection. Workers were waiting to help shoppers in each room, and they all offered me a friendly greeting as I walked by them.
Amandla Stenberg at the Chanel watches and fine jewelry opening in February 2024.
Sean Zanni/WireImage/Getty Images
The space felt more like a cozy gallery than a store. Bottles of Chanel No. 5 were displayed alongside jewelry pieces, some of which aren't for sale. According to W Magazine, several historic Chanel pieces are currently exhibited in the boutique, like the 55.55 necklace. I was reminded of hours spent at museums with priceless art as I took it all in.
The second floor featured private VIP rooms where buyers could meet with Chanel staff for more intimate appointments. They were just as lush as the first floor, with built-in TV screens for remote meetings and plush furniture.
As I turned to walk back downstairs, a group of shoppers were settling into one of the rooms with an employee, appearing at ease in the luxe space. I didn't know if they were used to being in high-end stores or if the staff just made them feel comfortable, but I could see either being true because the space was somehow both luxurious and inviting.
Chanel's careful curation of its new space — from a custom scent and attentive staff to the shades of gold bathing the property — made it feel comfortable and inviting. Visiting Chanel's watches and fine jewelry boutique is an experience, which you just can't get online.
So, if you plan to walk down Fifth Avenue anytime soon, it's worth popping into Chanel for the look of the store alone.
Car company GAC displays its Gove eVTOL flying car in Guangzhou, China, on April 12, 2024.
Chen Jimin/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images
China is pulling ahead in the flying car industry.
Chinese regulators are fast-tracking approval for eVTOL vehicles.
Chinese company AutoFlight received the world's first certification for an eVTOL over 1 tonne.
China is leading the pack as the flying car industry tries to take off.
Chinese regulators are racing to approve eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) vehicles. These aircraft take off like helicopters but can also fly like planes at higher speeds.
Kellen Xie, the vice president of Chinese eVTOL company AutoFlight Group, told the Financial Times that the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has been "quite supportive" of the growing industry.
Xie told FT that CAAC regulators "work longer hours" and "are determined to actually speed up the process of bringing this new technology into reality."
China became one step closer to that reality in March when the CAAC granted certification for AutoFlight's unmanned CaryAll aircraft, the first time regulators have approved an eVTOL over 1 metric ton for flight, FT reported.
AutoFlight is still awaiting regulatory approval in Europe, according to FT.
In the US, several smaller eVTOLS have already received the green light.
As of March, the company had already received more than 2,850 reservations to purchase the $300,000 vehicle, which is expected to hit the streets (and the skies) as early as the end of 2025.
A month later, California-based startup Aska became the second eVTOL company to earn FAA certification, but Aska's prototype is more like an aircraft than a car.
Russia and China are investigating ways to disable US satellites, raising defense concerns.
China is testing satellite grappling technology that can move objects in space without debris.
Russia is believed to have tested projectile weapons for use in orbit.
Russia and China appear to be actively looking into ways to watch and potentially incapacitate US satellites in space, and defense analysts are concerned.
"China and Russia are both operating satellites that attempt to better understand high-value U.S. government satellites" and engaging in other alarming activities, analysts at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said in the think tank's 2024 Space Threat Assessment report. "These developments are concerning and will likely continue in the coming years."
China has been testing technology and mechanisms that allow satellites to grapple onto other satellites. Analysts at CSIS drew this conclusion after it was reported that China successfully used its SJ-21 satellite to grapple and direct an inoperative satellite to a new location in orbit.
The potential grappler satellites China could be testing have an "unfriendly" connotation as they are capable of hijacking and moving objects like satellites in space "without generating any debris."
In a February hearing, US Space Command leader Gen. Stephen Whiting described the pace of China's space expansion as "breathtaking."
Beijing, Whiting said, is "growing its military space and counterspace capabilities at breathtaking pace to deny American and Allied space capabilities when they so choose."
Russia likely has at least two satellites conducting "an espionage mission but may also perform other functions." Experts also believe that at points within the past decade, Russia has tested projectile weapons to be used in Low Earth orbit.
"All of these unfriendly behaviors in space have become commonplace," the analysts wrote.
And earlier this year, the White House sounded alarms about a Russian system that US officials told reporters involved putting some sort of nuclear capability into outer space.
Security experts have often said that China and Russia would take down satellites as their first course of action in the event of war.
The US currently has thousands of satellites in space. Some are capable of tracking ballistic missile threats, some serve commercial endeavors, others provide critical GPS services, and others gather intelligence.
These satellites serve US economic and national security interests, and in a great power conflict, these space assets are critical. But they're at risk as rivals China and Russia advance their respective counterspace capabilities.
A senior Marine Corps officer in information, Lt. Gen. Matthew Glavy, warned last year that the US has to be ready for challenges in space. "I'm telling you right now: We don't win the space domain? Don't even bother," he said. "No space, no chance."
Meta acquired a horde of GPUs in order to change its algorithm, not to build generative AI tools.
However, Mark Zuckerberg decided to buy twice as many GPUs as Meta needed just in case
"Our normal principle is there's going to be something on the horizon that we can't see yet."
When Mark Zuckerberg started amassing a large amount of GPUs in 2022, it was not for anything related to generative AI.
Instead, the Meta CEO and co-founder was still focused on the metaverse and thought the graphics processing units, mostly from Nvidia, would be used for ranking content and a big change to its algorithmic system for Reels, Instagram, and Facebook.
The algorithm went from one based on a user's following to one based on "unconnected content," or a system that shows a user content from all over an app, typically based on anything they've interacted with. It's an algorithmic style made famous by TikTok, which for a time was growing faster than Meta's apps.
Zuckerberg started to buy up GPUs and change Meta's algorithms and related training infrastructure so Reels could "catch up to what TikTok was doing," he told the podcaster Dwarkesh Patel in an interview where the CEO promoted last week's expanded release of the Meta AI chatbot tool and Meta's Llama 3 model.
"Did I think then that it would be about AI, well, we thought it was going to be something that had to do with training large models, but at the time…I was so deep into just trying to get the recommendations working for Reels and other content," Zuckerberg said. "That's such a big unlock for Facebook and Instagram, being able to show people content that's interesting to them, from people they're not even following."
Despite generative AI not being on Zuckerberg's mind until OpenAI's ChatGPT tool exploded onto the tech scene, he did what he could to be ready for the unexpected. Having been caught off guard amid other step changes in tech — the shift to mobile, political manipulation of content, short-form video — Zuckerberg did not want to be unpleasantly surprised, yet again.
"I basically looked at [needing to catch up with TikTok] and I was like, 'Hey, we have to make sure that we're never in this situation again,'" Zuckerberg said. "'So let's order enough GPUs to do what we need to do on Reels and ranking content and feed, but let's double that.' Because again, our normal principle is there's going to be something on the horizon that we can't see yet."
The CEO admitted that doubling Meta's investment in GPUs on the off chance the company would need them "was a good decision in retrospect," — one that he made because of so many perceived mistakes in the past.
"It came from being behind…it wasn't like, oh, I was so far ahead," Zuckerberg added. "Actually, most of the time, I think where we kind of make some decisions that end up seeming good is because we messed something up before and just do not want to repeat the mistake."
Are you a Meta employee or someone with a tip or insight to share? Contact Kali Hays at khays@businessinsider.com or on secure messaging appSignal at 949-280-0267. Reach out using a non-work device.
Danielle Schulz, 36, is a dancer with The Metropolitan Opera.
Devin Cruz
Danielle Schulz is a professional dancer and runs her own corporate wellness business.
Schulz is one of many Americans who don't work a typical 9-to-5 and leans on side hustles for income.
Her business, The Triangle Sessions, has landed contracts with Google, Meta, and Deloitte.
When Danielle Schulz has rehearsal at The Metropolitan Opera, she starts her commutefrom Philadelphia to New York City at 7 a.m.
The 36-year-old professional dancer catches up on work emails on the train, picks up an egg sandwich at her favorite New York breakfast cart, then heads to ballet class. Sometimes she doesn't arrive back home until after midnight.
Dancing is just one of Schulz's jobs. She also runs her startup The Triangle Sessions, which offers corporate wellness and team-building events. But for her, it's all worth it.
"I got really creative with how I could support myself," Schulz said. "I have done a lot and always have a hustling mentality to make ends meet."
Schulz is one of man Americans who have careers outside the traditional 9-to-5. Thirty-nine percentof Americans have a side hustle, and half of Gen Zers and millennials have more than one stream of income, according to a survey of 2,505 US adults conducted by YouGov Plc — and commissioned by Bankrate — in April 2023.
Freelancing, side hustles, gig work, and overemployment have become popular as people look to boost their income on a flexible schedule.
Schulz has been dancing with The Metropolitan Opera for a decade, working part-time in shows like "The Magic Flute" and "Der Rosenkavalier," along with taking regular training classes. She has always had to supplement her dance income, she said. In the past, she's done this through work in restaurants, as a cruise ship performer, and as a yoga teacher.
She planned her first event for The Triangle Sessions in 2019, and the business took off during the pandemic as companies were looking for virtual employee activities. When she's not at dance rehearsal, Schulz teaches Triangle Sessions classes on topics like relaxation and terrarium building. She also helps companies plan their corporate retreats.
The Triangle Sessions now makes up between 60% and 80% of Schulz's annual income, she said, and the business books between five and six figures a year from contracts with major companies like Google, Meta, and Deloitte. Her income breakdown fluctuates each year depending on how much time she spends on dancing versus The Triangle Sessions, she said.
"I've learned that no experience is wasted," Schulz said. "And sometimes, when you feel a little bit lost or you're not on a traditional path, it just makes your life a little bit richer and more interesting."
Danielle Schulz, 36, is a dancer with The Metropolitan Opera and runs her own corporate wellness business.
Robert Nickelsberg / Getty Images
Balancing two careers takes patience
Schulz typically knows which shows she will be cast in at The Met a year in advance, she said, and the intense rehearsal period usually last for a few weeks at a time. She plans her work with The Triangle Sessions around her show seasons.
Schulz largely grows her business through word-of-mouth and companies usually hire her to lead employee team-building activities — both virtually and in person. For example, Schulz recently taught a workshop where she connected the history of bonsai trees to employee milestones.
Although Schulz will sometimes hire outside contractors to teach workshops she doesn't specialize in, most of Triangle Sessions content is created and taught by her. She has worked with insurance companies, law firms, technology companies, and healthcare workers.
As some companies shift from virtual to hybrid or in-office work, she said many of her events and planned retreats have become popular.
"There's this universal need to connect with one another, all while taking care of ourselves individually," she said.
Schulz has had to learn to be patient with herself and the continuous changes in her career, she said. But the flexibility of Triangle Sessions allows her to continue performing, spend time with her two young children, and take a break when she needs one.
"Nothing is ever 50/50," she said. "It's not going to be in perfect balance, especially if you want to make progress in any one direction."
Retirement is on the horizon
Schulz encourages others thinking about nontraditional careers to embrace both the busy times and quiet times.
When her schedule is packed, Schulz said she is grateful to keep building her business. And, when her rehearsals and Triangle Sessions events slow down, she said she spends extra time with her family and focuses on keeping herself healthy.
"That is going to be a guiding compass for the rest of my life," Schulz said.
Schulz loves her career at The Met, but said she plans on retiring soon. After that, she would work for Triangle Sessions full-time. But, Schulz even if she's no longer on stage, she won't stop dancing.
"I will always keep moving," she said.
Do have a career that isn't a traditional 9-to-5? Are you willing to share how you make and spend your money? Reach out to this reporter at allisonkelly@insider.com.
Correction: April 22, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misspelled Danielle Schulzsurname.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the amount of feed Acipenser produces each month. It is about 60 metric tons per month, not kilograms. Business Insider also misstated that Acipenser released male Sturgeon into Lake Mantasoa. This has been removed.