• An entity that appears to be affiliated with King Charles scooped up a $6.6 million NYC condo.
• It's located on Billionaires' Row, a neighborhood with south of Central Park.
• A building rep told BI that consulates have historically purchased in residential buildings.

An entity that appears to be affiliated with King Charles III has scooped up a lavish apartment on New York City's Billionaires' Row.

The buyer on closing documents for the almost 3,600-square-foot condo, which sold for $6.6 million on June 27, is listed as "His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs."

The deed was signed by Robert McCubbing, whose LinkedIn page identifies him as the senior trade commissioner and director of trade and investment for the Consulate General of Canada in New York.

The three-bedroom, 4½-bathroom apartment is on the 11th floor of 111 West 57th Street, a skyscraper just south of Central Park known for its slender design. That stretch of 57th Street and the surrounding area is home to some of the most expensive residential real estate on earth.

The sale was first reported by The Real Deal.

The Consulate General of Canada in New York and Buckingham Palace did not immediately to Business requests for comment from Business Insider.

Douglas Elliman's Erin Boisson Aries and Thomas Aabo repped the buyer, according to The Real Deal. They declined Business Insider's request for comment through an Elliman spokesperson.

Unit 11A was the last unit left for sale in 111 West 57th Street's landmarked Steinway Building section, a 111 West 57th Street spokesperson said. There are 14 condos in that lower part, which used to be the headquarters of iconic piano maker Steinway & Sons, and 46 apartments in the tower portion of the building.

The condo is ideal for someone who "enjoys modern conveniences within grand spaces reminiscent of the pre-war era," according to its listing on New York real-estate site StreetEasy.

Building amenities at 111 West 57th Street include an 82-foot, two-lane swimming pool with private cabanas, a private dining room and chef's catering kitchen, and an on-site padel court.

The deed for the transaction hit New York City's public records database on July 9.

It's far from the only NYC property tied to the crown, The Real Deal reported, noting it found 24 properties across the city affiliated with the Queen in the wake of her death — at which point King Charles became the sovereign of Canada.

• Rose Hanbury is a British noblewoman whose family has been linked to the royals for years. 
• She and her husband, David Cholmondeley, are neighbors of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
• Media reports have speculated about Hanbury's ties to William and Kate on and off since 2019.

Rose Hanbury found herself thrust into the spotlight in March as questions swirled about Kate Middleton's absence from the public eye, which Kate later confirmed was because of her cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Hanbury, 40, is a British noblewoman who lives in a stately home close to Kate and Prince William's countryside residence.

She's no stranger to royalty.

Here's a closer look at her aristocratic upbringing, career, relationships, and how Hanbury, who inherited the Marchioness of Cholmondeley title upon marriage, became part of rumors surrounding the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Rose Hanbury's family has moved in royal circles for generations.

Hanbury's maternal grandmother, Lady Elizabeth Lambart, was a childhood friend of Queen Elizabeth II's, the Daily Mail reported. She was also a bridesmaid at the Queen's wedding to Prince Phillip in 1947. In the above photo of the wedding party on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, she's the fifth bridesmaid from the left.

The Queen Mother also attended Lambart's wedding to Mark Longman in 1949.

After graduating from university, Hanbury worked as a model and political researcher.

Hanbury attended the prestigious Stowe boarding school, whose famous alumni include Prince Rainier of Monaco, Richard Branson, and Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend Chelsea Davy, Buckinghamshire Live reported.

Hanbury then studied at The Open University, which offers distance learning but is headquartered in Milton Keynes, England.

She signed with Storm Management, the same modeling agency that represented Kate Moss, when she was 23 years old, Tatler reported. She also worked as a researcher for the British member of parliament Michael Gove.

She's married to David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, and they have three children.

Cholmondeley — pronounced "Chumley" — is a lord-in-waiting to King Charles III, attending official functions with the monarch and occasionally representing him at events.

They have three children: Alexander Hugh George, who carries the title Earl of Rocksavage, Lord Oliver Timothy George, and Lady Iris Marina Aline.

Their son Oliver was a page of honor at Charles' coronation.

Oliver, second from the left in the above photo, helped carry the train of Charles' robe as he processed into Westminster Abbey for the coronation. He also appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace alongside Prince George after the ceremony.

Hanbury and Cholmondeley attended the coronation, as well.

The couple owns two historic homes, but they primarily live at Houghton Hall in Norfolk.

The couple's real-estate portfolio includes two historic homes in the UK: Cholmondeley Castle, a gothic country house in Cheshire that is Grade II* listed — meaning it's been designated of special interest or national importance — and Houghton Hall, a palladian-style mansion in Norfolk. Parts of both residences are open for public visits on select days.

The Financial Times reported that Cholmondeley inherited Houghton Hall, where he and Hanbury primarily live with their children, in 1990.

Built in the 18th century, the 106-room home is filled with renowned art and artifacts. It's roughly a 10-minute drive from Anmer Hall, a country home that Queen Elizabeth II gave Kate and William after their 2011 wedding. When they aren't in Windsor, the Wales' have been known to spend time there with their children.

Her charity work includes supporting East Anglia's Children's Hospices, the National Gallery, and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

In 2016, Hanbury and Cholmondeley hosted a fundraising gala for EACH at their Houghton Hall home, which William and Kate attended. Hanbury became a patron of EACH in 2018, Cambridge Network reported.

Kate is also a patron of the organization, occasionally visiting on royal engagements.

She and her husband have been friends with William and Kate for years.

The Cholmondeleys and the Waleses have run in similar circles for years and have even attended many of the same events. Kate and William were photographed being greeted by the Cholmondeleys as they arrived for a charity event hosted at Houghton Hall in 2016.

In 2023, the Daily Mail reported that Kate made an appearance at a music festival at Houghton Hall after attending a dinner hosted by the Cholmondeleys.

Stephen Colbert mentioned Hanbury on his late-night talk show while discussing Kate's absence from the public eye.

Kate underwent a "planned abdominal surgery" in January, after which Kensington Palace said she would be taking time away from royal duties to recover and would be expected to resume work after Easter.

In the months that followed, the internet was flooded with "Katespiracies," unsupported rumors about Kate's condition and whereabouts.

On March 13, Colbert waded into the ongoing discourse around Kate's absence from the public eye and mentioned Hanbury during his opening monologue on "The Late Show." He referenced unverified rumors from "internet sleuths" that William had an affair with Hanbury.

At the time, Hanbury's lawyers told Business Insider that "the rumors are completely false." Kensington Palace declined to comment.

On March 22, Kate said that she'd been taking time away from the public eye because she has cancer and is undergoing treatment.

William and Kate, who have been together for nearly 13 years, haven't indicated their relationship is in trouble. While discussing Kate's cancer diagnosis on camera in March, the Princess of Wales remarked that having William by her side was "a great source of comfort and reassurance."

Reports that Prince William had an affair with Rose Hanbury have been quietly deleted from some news websites.

Rumors about a relationship between Hanbury and William have been swirling since at least 2019.

According to the Daily Beast, lawyers representing William issued a firm warning to "at least one British publication" that allegations of any relationship were "false and highly damaging" and that to cover them would be to infringe upon his privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The talk about Hanbury and William ebbed and flowed in the years that followed, sometimes given a wider audience on social media as well as US and UK media publications.

However, a July 2024 Vulture investigation revealed that some UK news outlets have quietly deleted or substantially amended coverage related to the Hanbury-William relationship.

Vulture said it was unclear whether the outlets that erased or edited sentences or stories, including the Daily Mail and The Sun, did so at the request of representatives for William or Hanbury.

The outlets, Kensington Palace, and representatives for Hanbury didn't respond to July 10 requests for comment from BI.

• NASA aims to send astronauts to Mars by the 2030s. But with current technology, the journey will be years long.
• That's why NASA invested in a new type of rocket that could shorten the trip to just 2 months.
• Reducing the amount of time astronauts spend in spaceflight is critical to their health.

NASA has invested $725,000 in a new rocket system that could solve one of the major obstacles standing in our way of sending humans to Mars: travel time.

With current technology, a round-trip to the red planet would take almost two years. For astronauts, spending that much time in spaceflight comes with big health risks.

They'd be exposed to high levels of solar and cosmic radiation, the harmful effects of zero-gravity, and a long period of isolation.

Space radiation is arguably the biggest threat. Astronauts who spend just six months in space are exposed to roughly the same amount of radiation as 1,000 chest X-rays, and this puts them at risk for cancer, nervous system damage, bone loss, and heart disease, according to NASA.

The best way to reduce radiation exposure and other harmful health effects is to shorten the length of the trip, Troy Howe, president of Howe Industries, told Business Insider. That's why he's teamed up with NASA to develop the Pulsed Plasma Rocket (PPR): a new rocket system that could shorten a round-trip to Mars to just two months.

This technology "holds the potential to revolutionize space exploration," NASA wrote in a statement, and could one day take humans even further than Mars.

How a rocket could get us to Mars and back in 2 months

The PPR is a propulsion system that uses pulses of superheated plasma to generate a lot of thrust very efficiently. It's currently in phase two of development, funded by the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program.

This phase two study is scheduled to begin this month, and is focused on optimizing the engine design, performing proof-of-concept experiments, and designing a PPR-powered, shielded spaceship for human missions to Mars.

The big advantage of the PPR is that it can make a spacecraft go really, really fast. It has both a high thrust and high specific impulse. Specific impulse is how quickly a rocket engine generates thrust, and thrust is the force that moves the spacecraft along.

The PPR generates 10,000 newtons of thrust at a specific impulse of 5,000 seconds. That means a PPR-equipped spacecraft carrying four to six passengers could travel roughly 100,000 miles per hour, Howe told BI over email.

A spacecraft flying that fast would eventually have to slow down to reach its destination. Howe said the company has accounted for the additional energy and propellant this would require to land on Mars.

Even after phase two is complete, it will still be about a couple of decades before the PPR is ready to blast astronauts off to the red planet. But once it's available for spaceflight, Howe hopes that this technology will significantly expand the range of human space exploration, perhaps even aiding missions to Pluto one day.

"You can pretty much achieve anything you want in the solar system once we get this technology running in 20 years," he said.

• Past political gridlocks and the upcoming US presidential election have fueled concerns over future Ukrainian military aid.
• Donald Trump, a critic of NATO, has questioned the large amount of support the US gives Kyiv.
• NATO has a new initiative underway to keep the assistance flowing over the long run.

NATO is moving forward with a new initiative that will see it take greater control over Western efforts to arm and train Ukraine's military. The move comes as the alliance aims to solidify the long-term support for Kyiv as it battles the Russian invasion.

The development also comes as uncertainty surrounds American reliability. It follows a political fight in Congress that jammed up critical aid for months and comes ahead of a pivotal US presidential election, which could see former president Donald Trump — an outspoken critic of NATO and some of its allies and a skeptic of the large amount of security assistance that has been sent to Ukraine — back in the White House.

Growing concern about the potential change in US leadership has hung over the highly consequential NATO summit in Washington this week.

Top government officials from various allied countries insist that they are ready to work with whichever administration is in the White House come November, but ensuring that Ukraine will continue to enjoy lasting Western support is a significant priority.

Allied governments on Wednesday signed off on the decision to establish the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine, or NSATU, to coordinate the future supply of military aid and training for Kyiv.

This new NATO initiative's "aim is to place security assistance to Ukraine on an enduring footing, ensuring enhanced, predictable, and coherent support," the allies said of the initiative in their summit declaration.

"NSATU will not, under international law, make NATO a party to the conflict, they said, explaining that the purpose is to "support the transformation of Ukraine's defense and security forces, enabling its further integration with NATO."

How it works

NSATU will be headquartered in Germany with several logistics hubs along the alliance's front — in Poland, Romania, and Slovakia — and include a staffing of around 700 people reporting to a three-star general.

The initiative will focus on coordinating the training of soldiers, facilitating the delivery of equipment, and future force development on behalf of allies, and it is expected to roll out over the following months.

A NATO official who spoke to reporters Thursday on the sidelines of the summit said that the idea for the new initiative began to formulate earlier this year. The alliance essentially sought to "cohere" all the different ways that Ukraine has been supported throughout the war to make the different efforts more consistent and sustainable in the long run.

The new NSATU program will not replace the US-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coalition of nations that has met regularly for more than two years to coordinate the surge of security assistance from other countries to Kyiv. The NATO official said this group is more of a "diplomatic" forum.

"What we're aiming for with Ukraine is to get a certain set of its forces interoperable with NATO," the official said, adding that "if it was not wartime conditions, and if resources were unlimited, then maybe we could achieve that within the course of five, eight years — something like that."

"But during wartime, it's very difficult," they said.

Beyond NSATU, the alliance is also taking other steps to ensure long-term military equipment, support, and training for Ukraine — including a pledge of at least $43.4 billion in security assistance within the next year. They also announced the transfer of additional air-defense systems at the onset of the summit, a day after Russian missile strikes killed dozens of people in Ukraine and destroyed part of a children's hospital in Kyiv.

The Trump factor

The new initiative is NATO's attempt to help keep support flowing to Ukraine and has been referred to as a so-called way to "Trump-proof" long-term military aid should he win the upcoming presidential election. To what extent that's the case is unclear, but the former president's rhetoric has, at times, triggered concern.

"A big reason for the change is to Trump-proof the assistance effort to Ukraine," Ivo Daalder, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, told the Wall Street Journal recently.

"Rather than having Washington in charge of managing the training and assistance, NATO will be in charge," he said, explaining that "even if the US reduces or withdraws support for the effort, it won't be eliminated."

Trump has previously criticized NATO countries for not spending enough on defense, even going as far as to say that not only would he not protect countries not meeting their spending goals, but he would also encourage Russia to do whatever it wants with them.

The former president has also threatened to cut off military aid to Ukraine and has criticized its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for lobbying efforts to secure more support.

The US has provided over $53 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war, which is more than any single European country — one of Trump's grievances. However, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, European countries have collectively spent some $30 billion more than the US in support of Ukraine, underscoring the monumental effort across the continent to assist Kyiv.

Allies will undoubtedly be closely watching the high-stakes US election in the fall, and no matter who wins, they are certain to say that they intend to work with Washington so that it will continue to invest in European security — which they assert is ultimately dependent on the outcome of the Ukraine war.

There is no "safe and secure" Europe without US support, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, Lithuania's defense minister, said at an event hosted by Politico and German television outlet Welt on Tuesday. "We should be prepared to work with" Republican or Democratic leadership.

"There are 32 countries in the alliance," the NATO official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Thursday. "Governments change on a regular basis, and the NATO work continues."

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced articles of impeachment against Thomas on July 10 for influencing court decisions with "financial and personal entanglements."

• This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.
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Welcome back! President Joe Biden's reelection campaign is facing a critical moment. Sen. Peter Welch became the first Senate Democrat to publicly call for the president to drop out of the race — and some Democratic leaders might also now be open to ditching Biden. Hollywood, too, is starting to change its tune.

All eyes will be on Biden's solo press conference today closing out this week's NATO summit.

But for now, we're turning to Wall Street in our big story, as big banks gear up to report their earnings.

What's on deck:

• Markets: Unless the Fed starts to cut rates soon, millions of Americans could lose their jobs.
• Tech: Samsung just unveiled a host of new products, including an AI-powered fitness ring.
• Business: Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav would like a new president.

First, it's (almost) showtime.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Earnings to watch

Just like that, it's Wall Street earnings season once again.

To kick things off, JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo will be reporting their second-quarter earnings tomorrow.

We'll continue to hear results next week, with Goldman Sachs and BlackRock reporting on Monday, and Bank of America and Morgan Stanley on Tuesday.

To get a sense of what we could expect from these calls, I spoke with Kaja Whitehouse, a senior finance editor at Business Insider.

She told me that, among other things, bankers and investors will be keeping an eye out for updates on Jamie Dimon's retirement, news on banks' AI adoption, and whether more banks will start charging consumers for their checking accounts.

To really break it down for you, here's my Slack conversation with Kaja.

Is investment-banking activity coming back?

Wall Street banks have been waiting for M&A, IPOs, and other fee-generating corporate dealmaking to come roaring back for two years. There are finally signs activity is picking up.

When Jefferies reported Q2 earnings in June, it said investment-banking revenues grew 8.6% from the previous quarter and 59.4% from the same quarter last year across all business lines. Jefferies is much smaller than JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, but its earnings are still closely watched as an indication of what's to come.

Will Jamie Dimon share more details about his impending retirement?

In May, the CEO shocked Wall Street by saying he plans to step down in the next five years. As Wall Street's longest running and best known CEO, his replacement and what he plans to do next are big dinner-table topics.

Will banks start charging for everyday consumer products like checking accounts?

Last week, Marianne Lake, CEO of JPMorgan Chase's consumer and community banking, suggested banks could start charging for things that are currently free. That includes checking accounts and financial planning tools.

What's going on with AI?

We're always watching for news on AI adoption, including how the tech might help companies maximize their potential and cut costs. Last quarter, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said AI has helped the asset manager increase productivity without increasing headcount.

3 things in markets

1. We're at the edge of an unemployment cliff. The labor market's post-pandemic boom has cooled. Unless the Fed cuts interest rates, the recent unexpected rise in unemployment is going to get worse, economist Neil Dutta argues.
2. Private equity preps for commercial real estate grab. Investors have more than $250 billion in cash earmarked for North American properties. That's a sign the firms are gearing up for a well-timed pounce on the beleaguered sector, which is beset by high interest rates and vacancies caused by the remote-work shift.
3. After Tesla's big win streak, Elon Musk is once again the world's richest person. Musk's net worth grew by $67 million during Tesla's 10-day stock soar, bringing his overall net worth to $274 billion. He surpassed Jeff Bezos, the previous No. 1 Rich Guy, by $53 billion.

3 things in tech

1. No rizz? Big Tech might be to blame. A 35-year-old FAANG manager is ready to settle down, but the demands of his job have made dating in Silicon Valley a struggle. He described the last decade of dating ups and downs — including one dreaded situationship.
2. Samsung's ring to rule them all. The Korean electronics giant unveiled its shiniest new device, an AI-powered fitness tracking ring. The Galaxy Ring is a direct competitor of the Oura Ring, and a step away from the smartwatch, though Samsung still has plenty of those to go around. It also launched two more foldable phones.
3. Can these new social apps make their 15 minutes last? You've heard of Instagram and TikTok. Then there was BeReal, followed by Lapse, NGL, and most recently Noplace. If these last few don't ring a bell, it's because they largely haven't lived past the initial buzz. Alternatives to Big Social pop up often, but so far, none have stuck around long.

3 things in business

1. Locked out with nowhere to go. Illegal eviction complaints are on the rise, with tenants often left stranded. Those at the margins of the rental market — living in long-stay motels or informal trailer parks, for instance — are especially vulnerable. To make matters worse, police rarely crack down on the landlords.
2. David Zaslav would like a new president. The Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, like many tech and media bosses, isn't a fan of Joe Biden's antitrust policies. But while others in the biz shy away from saying it outright, Zaslav has made it clear: He wants someone else in charge.
3. Montana's housing crisis is a warning for older homeowners. Owning a home doesn't guarantee financial security in old age, as Montana's current housing issue shows. Though home values have skyrocketed, so have the costs associated with ownership, which can leave older homeowners with no choice but to downsize.

In other news

• Biden faces a closer race in deep blue New York, a huge problem for swing-district Democrats.
• Costco is raising its membership fee for the first time in 7 years.
• A brain expert explains the cognitive test used to assess a president's mental fitness. It's not easy.
• An exodus of investors is underway at Index Ventures on the back of a $2.3 billion fundraise.
• Microsoft and Apple may be playing the long game by ditching OpenAI board roles.
• Why Amazon wants you to pick up your Prime Day orders this year.
• Costco's hourly workers are getting a raise — read the CEO's memo.
• Fisker founder cuts salary to $1 to cover bankruptcy costs.
• Donald Trump threatens to send Mark Zuckerberg to prison if he is elected.
• Gen Zs are better at 'loud budgeting,' but nearly half still need financial support from family: study.
• Clarence Thomas accepted a free yacht trip to Russia and got flown out on a complimentary helicopter ride to Putin's hometown, 2 Democratic senators say.

What's happening today

• Delta Air Lines, PepsiCo, and other companies are reporting earnings.
• CPI data is released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• President Biden wraps NATO summit with a press conference.

The Insider Today team: Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Joe Ciolli, executive editor, in Chicago. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Annie Smith, associate producer, in London. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York.

• Tesla currently has six massive Gigafactories building batteries and electric vehicles.
• The company also has plans to build a seventh Gigafactory in Mexico.
• Here's a look at Tesla's Gigafactories, which Elon Musk said he wants to build 10-12 of in the next several years. 

Elon Musk's Tesla's Gigafactory network is set to grow as the company aims to meet his ambition to build as many as 20 million electric cars a year.

There are already six gigafactories around the globe where Tesla builds its Model S, Model X, Model Y, and Model 3 vehicles as well as the Cybertruck. A seventh, Tesla's first factory in Mexico, is also in the works, and more are likely to come as Tesla's sales volume increases.

"Ultimately, we will end up building, I don't know, probably at least 10 or 12 Gigafactories," Musk said at Tesla's annual meeting in 2022.  

Here's a look at Tesla's Gigafactories and why they're so critical to the company's growth plans. 

How many Tesla Gigafactories exist?

Tesla currently has six massive Gigafactories located in Fremont, California; Sparks, Nevada; Berlin, Germany; Shanghai, China; Austin, Texas; and Buffalo, New York. 

In March of 2023, Tesla confirmed plans to build a Gigafactory in Mexico. The plant will sit in the industrial hub of Monterrey. After initially lauding the addition of a Mexico factory, Tesla has pumped the brakes on the project amid a tougher electric vehicle market.

Do Tesla Gigafactories produce cars?

Tesla's Gigafactories do a mix of battery and electric car production, depending on the location. 

• Fremont, California — the first Tesla gigafactory — has manufacturing capacity for 550,000 Model S and Model X vehicles annually and 100,000 Model S and X vehicles.
• Tesla's Nevada factory is where it will eventually produce the Tesla 18-wheeler Semi, thanks to a $3.6. billion investment it announced in 2023. Right now, the Gigafatory produces batteries and electric motors.
• Tesla's Berlin Gigafactory, which opened in 2022, manufactures battery cells and has a capacity for over 375,000 Model Y cars per year. 
• In Shanghai, China, Tesla builds Model 3 and Y cars, with capacity to ship more than 950,000 cars annually, up from an original capacity of 750,000 vehicles.
• Tesla's Gigafactory near Austin Texas — the company's global headquarters — produces Model Y cars the Tesla Cybertruck. It has a production capacity of 375,000 vehicles a year.
• Buffalo, New York is home to Tesla's Gigfactory where it produces batteries alongside its partner Panasonic. 

Musk has said he hopes to build 10 to 12 more Tesla Gigafactories to reach his goal of making 20 million cars a year by 2030.

Tesla says its Berlin Gigafactory is its "most advanced, sustainable and efficient facility yet." The plant was initially met with opposition from local environmental groups who decried the loss of forest land for the factory. Activism around the Berlin plant reignited this year over a planned expansion of the plant. Despite pushback, the German government recently gave Tesla the go-ahead on its expansion plans.

How much electricity does a Gigafactory use? 

Ahead of the Nevada Gigavactory's construction, state officials estimated it would need up to 2,300 GWh of electricity annually. For context, an average American home uses only about 10,000 KWh annually, according to the US Energy Information Administration. 

How many batteries will a Gigafactory produce? 

From its opening in 2014 through the start of last year, The Gigafactory Nevada produced:

• 7.3 billion battery cells (37 GWh+ annually)
• 1.5 million battery packs
• 3.6 million drive units

In Berlin, Tesla currently builds 6,000 cars per week. It took the company a year to reach the 5,000 car-per-week milestone. It's a model Tesla's set to copy for new factories and helps support the company's goals of 25,000 cars per year per factory. 

How expensive is a Gigafactory to build? 

Tesla's Gigafactory planned in Mexico would cost $10 billion, making it the most expensive Gigafactory yet. For comparison, the Berlin Gigafactory — the second most expensive facility — cost around $5.5 billion, according to Reuters. 

• Intuit's CEO wrote in an email to staff that 1,050 of 1,800 cut employees didn't meet expectations.
• The company plans to hire a roughly equal number of workers in roles in engineering and prudcut.
• The company is moving forward with a reorganization plan to focus on "key growth areas" like AI.

Intuit announced Wednesday that it's cutting 1,800 employees, 1,050 of whom weren't meeting expectations, according to an email from the CEO.

"We've significantly raised the bar on our expectations of employee performance," the CEO wrote in the email included in an SEC filing.

CEO Sasan Goodarzi added in the email that the company believes the staff would find more success elsewhere, the report said. Intuit did not respond to a request for comment.

The company is also reducing the number of executive employees by about 10% and will cut 300 employees to "streamline work and reallocate resources toward key growth areas," the email said. The tax-preparation software company, which offers products like Credit Karma and TurboTax, is moving forward with a "reorganization" plan to focus on these areas, according to the SEC filing.

The CEO noted in the email that the cuts aren't a cost-reduction measure. In fact, the company plans to hire a "nearly equivalent number of employees in fiscal 2025 " and expects its overall head count to grow, the filing stated.

"We do not do layoffs to cut costs, and that remains true in this case," Goodarzi said in the letter.

Some of the key areas include its AI-powered assistant Intuit Assist, according to the filing. The CEO also stated plans to make investments in data and AI, accelerate money solutions, and expand its international growth, the filing detailed. The company is consolidating 80 tech roles in sites with growing technology teams, like Tel Aviv, Toronto, and Bangalore.

The CEO said in the email that the "era of AI is one of the most significant technology shifts of our lifetime" and companies that don't take advantage of it will fall behind. Intuit plans to hire for roles in engineering and product, and customer-facing roles like sales and marketing, according to the filing.

Intuit isn't the only company shifting its staffing to make way for AI advancement. A number of tech companies have done the same, and CEOs at companies like Google, Microsoft, and Dropbox have cited AI in their reasoning for layoffs.

The cuts could cost the company up to $260 million, including severance, employee benefits, and charges related to share-based compensation and site closures. However, these estimates could vary, the company noted in the filing.

US employees who were cut will receive a minimum of 16 weeks of pay and two additional weeks for each year of employment. Employees will have 60 days before ending their time at Intuit, and international employees will receive similar support, with variations depending on local requirements.

"This timing allows everyone leaving to reach their July vesting date for restricted stock units and the July 31 eligibility date for annual IPI bonuses," Goodarzi said in the email.

• Elon Musk offered his sperm to seed a settlement on Mars, anonymous sources told The New York Times.
• Secretive teams at SpaceX are investigating options for a Mars colony, including reproduction, according to the report.
• It's unclear whether it's possible to have babies on Mars due to high radiation and low gravity.

Elon Musk's obsession with Mars has reached new heights.

The billionaire SpaceX CEO is so enamored with his vision of starting a colony on the red planet that he's offered to donate his sperm to the cause, according to a report The New York Times published on Thursday.

According to the report, which is based on over 20 interviews the NYT conducted and internal SpaceX documents, Musk has quietly directed SpaceX employees to investigate the details of how a Mars colony would work, with one team focusing on dome habitats, another team on spacesuits, and another on reproduction. Two anonymous sources told the Times that Musk had volunteered his sperm.

Musk has long touted a thriving Mars settlement as his life's top ambition, saying it's necessary to make the human species interplanetary in case of an extinction event like an asteroid impact.

But Musk has also been waging a personal battle against his fears of underpopulation — which he has called "the biggest danger civilization faces" — by fathering a lot of children.

He has had 12 known children with three different women, including with Shivon Zilis, one of his top executives.

It's only fitting that Musk might take that mission to Mars. However, it's not yet clear whether human reproduction is possible on the red planet.

Making babies in space

"Studies have shown that you can send freeze-dried sperm into space sealed, like freeze-dried coffee effectively," Adam Watkins, associate professor of reproductive biology at the University of Nottingham, previously told Business Insider.

"You would then do something like IVF with those sperm and eggs and transfer the embryos into females who are already established at the other end," such as in a Mars settlement, he explained.

At that point, though, things get complicated and risky. Being in space, with reduced gravity and lots of radiation, is tough on the human body.

"We don't even know if it's possible for someone to become pregnant in space," Dr. Kris Lehnhardt, who leads research at NASA on medical systems for deep-space exploration, previously told BI.

Even if a person could become pregnant beyond Earth, the intense radiation in space could be harmful to a developing embryo or fetus. Mars offers little protection from solar and cosmic rays. It's atmosphere is just 1% the volume of Earth's.

Musk has previously indicated that giant glass domes and possibly even living underground could help protect Mars residents from harmful radiation, but by how much is unclear.

A person standing on the surface of Mars would also experience only 38% of the gravity on Earth. It's uncertain how that would affect a pregnancy.

Musk isn't the only one trying to figure this out. A company called SpaceBorn United is researching the feasibility of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in space, planning to try space IVF on mouse embryos. Eventually, the initiative aims to test on human embryos.

"When you look at what will be needed for us to be an off-planet species, that starts to stick out as one of the really, really big unknowns," David Cullen, a professor of space biotechnology at Cranfield University who is working with SpaceBorn United, previously told BI.

Musk and SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment.