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• Fisker employees are using parts from pre-production vehicles and inventory to fix some customers' cars, eight sources said.
• The practice has been ongoing since Fisker began deliveries in June 2023, some sources say.
• Experts say the practice can be acceptable to avoid long wait times, but customers should be informed of part swaps.

Fisker employees have been taking parts off pre-production vehicles and existing inventory to fix some customers' cars, according to several people familiar with the issue.

In response to a backlog of customer service requests and a shortage of available parts, Fisker technicians have stripped parts off what some have called "donor cars," which include Fisker Ocean pre-production and production vehicles that are sitting in the company's facility in La Palma, California, according to three current and five former Fisker employees. The workers spoke to Business Insider on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak on company affairs. Business Insider also viewed several photos of Fisker Oceans with missing parts that sources say were used for customer vehicles.

A spokesperson for Fisker told Business Insider the information was false.

"No parts have been taken off these vehicles for use in customers cars," the spokesperson said, adding that parts may have been taken off engineering vehicles "for analysis or to retrofit other engineering vehicles, but never customer vehicles."

One current Fisker employee with knowledge of the issue said technicians have resorted to taking parts off other cars to address customer service requests in about 10% to 15% of fixes over the past few months, particularly for customers near the company's La Palma site.

"It only happens if there's a dire need for the part," the worker said. "Technicians are just doing this to help customers. Customers are basically begging for parts, and the mentality is: If we have parts available, let's use them."

Typically, the parts are pulled from a back area at the La Palma site, where there is a lineup of pre-production vehicles that some have dubbed the "graveyard," five of the individuals told BI. Pre-production cars are made after prototypes and are essentially beta versions of the vehicle and are not intended for customer use, just testing and demos, while production vehicles are the final product that customers are delivered. Some of the vehicles at the site are Fisker Oceans that had been returned by customers, two current and one former worker said.

"It was a place where you just parked cars that were cannibalized. They were pushed into a space where it wouldn't cause traffic, and it became a place to check for parts," one former worker said. "It became evident at some point that you couldn't really put these things back together anymore," they added.

The company started taking parts off pre-production and production vehicles when it began deliveries in June of 2023, three former employees said.

When the company delivered its first 22 Fisker Oceans some of the cars had to be outfitted with outside parts after a pre-delivery inspection found at least four of the cars had some faulty parts, including new door handles, seat sensors, and a body control module, three former workers said.

'Every day was a fire drill'

One former worker said that parts swapping became a daily occurrence after the vehicle was launched in June 2023. Six employees close to the situation said that supervisors were aware that this practice was happening.

"Every day was a fire drill of what car has this part that I need," a former employee told BI. "The first or second time people were super careful about it and then eventually it was done so often that it became second nature and people weren't asking if they could do it anymore, they were just doing it."

One former worker compared the process to creating a "Frankenstein" car.

A Fisker spokesperson said: "The "Frankenstein" term was invented by our former CTO and applied to engineering vehicles that were testing multiple versions of software."

Two other workers said that technicians were careful to make sure the parts that were going between the vehicles weren't too different, especially if a part was going from a pre-production vehicle into a production car.

It's unclear whether every customer who received a car with swapped-out parts was notified of the switch. Patrick Burrell, a Fisker Ocean owner based in California, said he was told by a Fisker employee that the company would fix a minor paint and trim issue with his car by using a part that was taken off one of Fisker's other cars, but the repair has yet to be complete. Business Insider viewed an email exchange between a Fisker employee and Burrell that showed the employee offered to fix Burrell's car using a part off another Fisker car.

The email shows that a Fisker employee told Burrell and a repair shop employee that the company had "offered to have the mechanic install parts from another car that are good as new."

"These trim pieces are being pulled off a brand-new vehicle so they are basically brand new," the worker said in a later email to the customer.

A Fisker spokesperson declined to comment on the email exchange.

Burrell said his car has been waiting at a Fisker-approved repair shop for about 10 weeks.

The technicians have taken anything from door handles and windshields to tires, seat sensors, or body control modules out of the vehicles to put on customers' cars, according to three of the employees.

To date, no customer safety issues have been publicly linked to the issue.

The process of taking parts from cars off one vehicle to use for a different one is not unheard of in the automotive industry. Michael Crossen, an automotive technician at Consumer Reports, told BI he's seen it happen occasionally over the years — typically as a courtesy for customers to avoid long wait times for parts.

"It's certainly not a daily occurrence, but I've seen it a few times over the years," Crossen said, adding that parts that are coded to a car's Vehicle Identification Number or VIN would be more difficult to swap between cars.

Daniel Blinn, managing attorney of Consumer Law Group in Connecticut, told BI that depending on the situation, it can be acceptable for an automaker to use parts from another vehicle to avoid long wait times for customers. But, the process could become murky if the customer is not informed of the swap or a part is not matched perfectly to a vehicle, according to Blinn.

Fisker has been facing headwinds in recent months. The EV startup has delivered about 6,000 Fisker Oceans to date, according to an internal metric viewed by BI. Earlier this year, Fisker lowered its prices by as much as 39%.

The company has warned it could go out of business by the end of the year. Last week, Fisker said in a regulatory filing it had just $54 million in cash as of April 16 and the company is currently trying to pay off a loan that it has defaulted on. On Monday, the company notified staff that they could face layoffs in two months. Fisker's CEO previously told staff that the startup was in talks with four different automakers regarding a potential buyout.

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

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• FTX's former head of Europe bought the most expensive Titanic relic ever auctioned.
• The gold watch sold for $1.5 million, and belonged to John Jacob Astor IV. 
• Gruhn bought the timepiece for $1.5 million, and plans to exhibit it in US museums, he told the WSJ.

The buyer of a gold-plated pocket watch owned by a wealthy Titanic passenger has been identified as former FTX executive Patrick Gruhn.

The timepiece sold at auction Saturday for roughly $1.5 million, the highest price a piece of Titanic memorabilia has ever fetched.

Gruhn is a German crypto law veteran who formerly served as the head of FTX Europe. The Wall Street Journal was first he was the watch's new owner.

Gruhn told Business Insider he wanted the watch because he felt a sense of connection with its owner, John Jacob Astor IV, the richest man aboard the ill-fated ship and one of the titans of industry in the 1910s.

Gruhn said his family, like the Astors, has German roots and found success in America. He purchased the watch as a gift for his wife. They met the same year the movie premiered, he told BI, and she has long been fascinated by the Titanic.

Gruhn added he wants "to ensure that this important piece of history remains in the United States where it belongs."

The Waltham watch is engraved with Astor's initials, and was found on his body when it was recovered a week after the crash, according to auction house Henry Aldridge & Son.

Astor, who died at 47, helped his pregnant wife (who would survive) onto a lifeboat and was last seen smoking a cigarette on deck as the ship sank.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said in a statement that auction prices of pieces like the watch reflect the "enduring appeal" of Titanic lore.

"112 years later, we are still talking about the ship, and the passengers and the crew," he said.

Gruhn told BI he bought the watch with money from the sale of two IT companies he sold in 2006 and 2014.

Gruhn is now readying the launch of a new crypto trading venue called Perpetuals, and said he plans to restart FTX Europe under a different name.

Gruhn said he wasn't interviewed by any law enforcement agencies or regulators about the FTX implosion, which led to former executive Sam Bankman-Fried being convicted of fraud and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

"From all the facts it was clear that FTX Europe did not and couldn't know about the fraud from SBF," he said.

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• Kids should be barred from using smartphones until 13 and social media until 18, a report said.
• The French government-backed report said social media should be limited to those with "ethical thinking."
• It said the tech industry is making children "commodities" and "targets of endless notifications."

Children should be barred from using smartphones until they turn 13 and social media until they are 18, according to a report commissioned by the French president.

The 142-page report was released on Tuesday, three months after President Emmanuel Macron asked a commission of experts to assess the impact of screen exposure on young people and to make recommendations.

The report, "Children and Screens: In Search of Lost Time," said that children should not be allowed to have cellphones before the age of 11, should be barred from social media before they turn 13, and that between 15 and 18, social media access should be "limited" to those with "ethical thinking."

As for toddlers, it recommended against exposing those under 3 and advised to move toward moderate, controlled exposure only after age 6.

The commission also "insisted" that the 29 proposals it issued must be taken as a whole and that it would be a "mistake" to consider only a few of them.

The Élysée Palace didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Policymakers around the world have tried to come to grips with technology usage by children, some by trying to impose bans on social media access or forcing kids to get parental consent.

Social media can have a strong impact on young people in particular, leading, in some cases, to suicide and exposure to dangerous content.

A recent study found that young people who owned smartphones in elementary school reported worse mental health in adulthood.

The 10-member French commission met with almost 150 youngsters and interviewed more than a hundred experts and professionals, including Google, Meta, TikTok, X, YouTube, Snapchat, and Samsung spokespeople.

The commission called on researchers to further their studies on the impact of screens on the neurodevelopment of children and addictive algorithms, saying the notion of "screen addiction" is not yet recognized by science.

It also said that kids need to be better protected from the tech industry's tactics to grab their attention and exploit their cognitive biases.

"We cannot accept that children become commodities, targets of endless notifications, glued to reward systems designed by behavioral scientists to be irresistible, with free time becoming highly digitized," the commission said.

It added: "Wherever children fall prey to enclosing mechanics, we must reject them."

It also said that its findings are meant to be a first step toward the emergence of an "offensive" and "coherent" public policy.

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• Reports that the US purchased 81 combat aircraft from Kazakhstan are likely false, experts said. 
• They cited Kazakhstan's deep economic ties to Russia and the report's sources.
• Kazakhstan has denied selling aircraft to Ukraine, saying foreign companies were not allowed to bid.

Reports that the US acquired 81 obsolete Soviet-era combat aircraft from Kazakhstan are likely false, according to military analysts.

On Sunday, the Kyiv Post reported that Kazakhstan had auctioned off 117 Soviet-era fighter and bomber aircraft for a reported fee of one billion tenge, or $2.26 million, of which 81 were purchased by the US.

The outlet cited reports from the Ukrainian Telegram channel Insider UA and the Russian news site Reporter.

The Kyiv Post said the reason for the US purchase was not made public but that the aircraft would "likely" be transferred to Ukraine, which is fighting back against Russia's full-scale invasion.

But Kazspetsexport, Kazakhstan's state-owned weapons importer and exporter, denied selling military airplanes to Ukraine in a later statement, saying that foreign companies were not allowed to bid.

According to Francisco Olmos, a research fellow at The Foreign Policy Center specializing in Central Asian Affairs, it's "very" hard to establish whether the sale actually happened.

But he said that Kazspetsexport's denial "lends weight to the fact that such a purchase by the US did not take place."

He also said he doesn't see why Kazakhstan would indirectly provide spare parts for Ukrainian jets.

Given Ukraine's reliance on Soviet-era weapons, the Kyiv Post had suggested that the aircraft could either serve as a source of spare parts or be strategically deployed as decoys at airfields.

"Astana has kept a balanced stance during the conflict, and this would significantly change that," Olmos said. "Let's not forget Russia and Kazakhstan continue to have close ties, politically and economically."

Alexander Libman, a professor of Russian and East European Politics at the Free University of Berlin, said he would "seriously" doubt that such a deal could take place.

"Kazakhstan was extremely cautious about not creating tensions with both Russia and the Western countries, and supplying weapons to Ukraine would be a clear violation of this strategy," he told BI.

The Pentagon declined to comment.

The Embassy of Kazakhstan in the US told BI in a statement that Kazakhstan does not export or sell arms and military equipment to any country, including the US, under a moratorium in place since August 2022.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, its neighbors, including Kazakhstan, have trod a fine line, trying to keep an officially neutral position while, in some cases, strengthening their ties with the West.

Some Central Asian countries, like Kazakhstan, have even offered humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

However, out of fear of a backlash from Russia, they have declined to provide military equipment, Mark Temnycky, a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center, told BI.

He said these countries saw Russia's invasions of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014 and 2022, and with large ethnic Russian and Russian-speaking populations of their own, fear they could be next.

Russia has also deepened economic ties with the countries, especially Kazakhstan, with Russia-Kazakhstan trade valued at $26 billion and $27 billion in 2022 and 2023, record numbers.

Balancing economic ties with Russia and closer relations with the West puts Kazakhstan on an "increasingly difficult tightrope," Kate Mallinson, an associate fellow of Chatham House's Russia and Eurasia Programme, told BI.

She also suggested that reports of a US-Kazakhstan deal are likely part of a disinformation campaign from Russia aimed at "driving a wedge" between Kazakhstan and its neighbors, and putting more pressure on the country to toe the line.

Wednesday, May 1, 2024: This article has been updated to include a statement from the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the US.

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• In 2022, footage went viral of Mike Tyson repeatedly punching a fellow passenger on a JetBlue flight.
• Two years later, the passenger,  Melvin Townsend, is suing Tyson for damages
• Tyson's representatives told Business Insider he will "be 100% refuting these ridiculous claims."

A man who was punched repeatedly by Mike Tyson in first-class on a flight in 2022 has filed a lawsuit against the former boxing champion and airline JetBlue.

The incident occurred on a late-night flight from San Francisco to Florida on April 20, 2022 and went viral after video footage filmed by another passenger was shared by TMZ.

Tyson's reps told the Associated Press at the time that the man seated behind Tyson was "an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat."

In an episode of his podcast a month after the incident, Tyson said the passenger was "fucking with me," adding that he shouldn't fly on "public planes."

Around the same time, the San Mateo County District Attorney said it would not file criminal charges against the former world heavyweight champion, citing "the circumstances surrounding the confrontation."

"It is simply a case that does not belong in the criminal court. If they want to sue each other, that's their business," the DA said.

In December 2023, the passenger, Melvin Townsend, sent a "pre-litigation settlement demand" requesting $450,000 to resolve the incident without taking it to court, the LA Times reported.

Tyson's lawyer told the Times there would be no "shakedown payment."

On April 19, 2024, Townsend filed a complaint with the San Mateo County Superior Court, one day before a two-year statute of limitations came into effect for some of the claims.

Per Townsend's account of the incident in the complaint, he and a friend noticed they were seated directly behind Tyson as they boarded the plane.

Townsend, then 36, claims he initiated a conversation with the star, expressing admiration for Tyson's "illustrious boxing career" and buying alcoholic drinks for him and themselves.

He describes himself as "a fan of Mr. Tyson who was happy to be speaking to one of his childhood heroes."

Tyson offered them psilocybin mushrooms, the complaint claims, which the pair declined.

According to the court documents, the boxer then turned to his companion, a man he referred to as his manager, asking for some psilocybin mushrooms for himself. His companion declined to give him them.

"Suddenly and without warning or provocation," Tyson stood up from his seat, turned around, and began punching Townsend repeatedly while standing over him.

"Mr. Tyson punched Plaintiff numerous times in the head, face, and neck, tore the neck of Plaintiff's shirt, and caused Plaintiff to bleed from both sides of his head," the complaint says.

The boxer's companion tried to stop the attack by putting his body between the two men and taking some blows himself before Tyson eventually stopped, the suit says.

Townsend stated he was punched about 10 times.

Describing himself as 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds, he said he had no way to defend himself "due to Mr. Tyson's extraordinary strength and decades of professional fighting training and skill."

The incident has left Townsend with physical and emotional distress, according to the complaint.

The lists seven complaints for damages. Three are against Tyson, claiming assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Four are against JetBlue, claiming negligence, common carrier liability, premises liability, and negligent hiring, retention, and supervision.

Townsend is requesting a trial by jury to decide the outcome.

Tyson's representatives told Business Insider he "will be 100% refuting these ridiculous claims."

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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• Google wants the US to change immigration rules to help it hire AI talent.
• It told the US Department of Labor that the list of roles considered scarce must be broadened.
• The company said its need for AI roles will "increase significantly" in the coming years.

As the AI wars heat up, Google says immigration rules must change if the US is to attract the talent needed to stay ahead.

The search giant on Wednesday filed a letter to the US Department of Labor arguing for changes to rules on which types of jobs are considered scarce in the US.

To get an employment-based green card, foreign-born employees often go through a permanent labor certification process (often referred to as PERM), where their employer must make the case that there is a shortage of available workers in the US to fill the role.

However, the US Department of Labor has a list of "pre-certified" occupations for which it considers there to be a lack of available talent. The list includes physical therapists and professional nurses, as well as immigrants of "exceptional ability" in the arts and sciences. If you're in one of these roles, the route to a green card is easier and faster.

Google is arguing that the list, referred to as Schedule A, needs to be broadened to include "critical" AI and cybersecurity-related fields. Google says the list, which was last updated in 2005, needs to be updated more frequently to adapt to changing labor needs.

"[The] Department originally intended Schedule A to be a tool for responding to labor shortages," the company wrote. "Since it has not been updated in 20 years, Schedule A does not reflect current labor shortages."

Of course, Google spends a lot of time in the letter underlining the massive opportunity in artificial intelligence and why it's crucial that the immigration rules adapt accordinly.

"We project that our need for AI Engineer roles, including Software Engineer, Research Engineer, and Research Scientist roles, will increase significantly in the coming years," Google wrote.

It later added: "AI advancements offer incredible promise, but the lack of skilled professionals threatens to hinder their full potential."

The Department of Labor previously announced it was considering expanding the list of pre-certified roles to particularly account for STEM occupations (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), and called for input from companies.

As Google and just about every other tech company realign themselves around artificial intelligence, there is a red-hot talent war taking place to hire the best and the brightest minds. Google is arguing that it needs to look abroad to close the gap and that there is a shortage of US cybersecurity and AI talent.

The bar to hiring employees on green cards has also become harder for tech companies that have spent the last two years laying off employees. Companies have to prove that laid-off employees aren't suited for roles offered to foreign workers. They must also notify recently laid-off employees who are potentially suitable for a role before filing a PERM application for a foreign worker.

Consequently, companies have cut back on offering to put employees on US green card tracks. Amazon recently suspended new green card sponsorships until the end of 2024. Google also hit pause in January 2023 and told employees earlier this year that applications wouldn't open again until Q1 2025 at the earliest, according to an employee with direct knowledge of the matter.

Are you a current or former Googler with a tip? You can contact Hugh Langley through the encrypted messaging apps Signal and Telegram (628-228-1836) or email.

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• Some white-collar parents are leaving their jobs to take family gap years.
• They say it's a reprieve from American life and a way to spend time with their children.
• Immersive travel is key as parents prioritize local experiences to teach their kids other ways to live.

Claire Williams and her husband Matt had what you might call a Cadillac problem.

They were trying to figure out how to best use some money they'd saved. They thought about buying another home or adding an extension to their current one, but while spending time with their kids in quarantine, they realized what they needed more than anything was time.

"We thought, how do you buy time?" Claire, 40, told Business Insider. "The answer we came up with was stepping off the hamster wheel out of the daily grind."

So, Matt left his job of 11 years at an architecture and engineering firm and they set off in June 2022 to travel the world for a year with their then 13-,10-, and 7-year-olds to bond, broaden their worldview, and show the kids "that there are many different ways to live, work, and be happy," said Claire, a stay-at-home mom.

From surfing in Sri Lanka to riding camels in the Sahara, they traveled to six continents and 26 countries. They rented out their Bay Area house, cooked a lot while on the road, and meticulously budgeted for each country, estimating that they spent just shy of $100,000 living abroad for a year, excluding flights, insurance, and back-at-home costs like a storage unit.

Family gap years like this are a chance for 30- and 40-something white-collar parents who have enough cash to leave their jobs behind to show their kids a different way of life. It's a sabbatical with a twist — the kids are in tow and they're leaving their schools behind, too. Parents said they typically mix homeschooling on the road with worldschooling, which prioritizes immersive travel as education.

For a certain set, making a non-traditional move like leaving it all behind to take your kids around the world became even more appealing when the pandemic forced us to rethink life's possibilities.

It's sticking around as the world somewhat normalizes; Reddit is littered with threads looking for family gap year advice, which posters can easily find in various blogs. Travel with immediate family is the top travel trend for 2024, per travel network Virtuoso's Luxe Report. Parents said that while traveling for a year makes finding alone time hard and planning on the go is tiring, the family time is priceless and it can be an escape from the stresses of the modern American economy.

'We wanted to enjoy our kids while we were still their favorite people'

The 2020s economic landscape sent some families packing their bags. More than 50 million Americans quit their jobs in 2022 as burnout and work stress soared. Inflation hit a 40-year high, leading to the Federal Reserve trying to fight back by raising interest rates.

At the same time, those who owned real estate and stocks saw a major spike in wealth, and those who worked from home found increased flexibility, both sparking new possibilities in lifestyle.

Jennifer Spatz, founder of Global Family Travels, said she started receiving requests two-and-a-half-years ago in a newly vaccinated world from families looking to travel and educate their children for a year. She now offers a family gap year and extended travel planning service for $80 to $100 an hour. Once itineraries are approved, she works with travel partners to collect commissions on hotels and experiences.

"It could expand into a big business," she said, adding that her family gap year clients typically have disposable income and kids around 8 to 11 years old. Parents agreed that pre-high school years are the prime time, while kids are young enough to still value family time and old enough to absorb new experiences.

"We wanted to enjoy our kids while we were still their favorite people," said Amy Chang, 44. "If we took time off when they get to high school or college, that doesn't do us any good in building relationships with them because they're going to have their own lives by then."

Chang and her husband Allen were among the 63% of physicians burned out after working through COVID-19. She said their jobs put them in a privileged position to save money, as did having few student loans, living in a house they could afford on one salary, and driving the same car for 12 years. With a solid financial cushion to cover a year's mortgage and traveling, they left central Massachusetts with their then 9- and 7-year-olds in August 2022 for a road trip around the US to visit national parks before heading off to Asia and Europe.

They rented an RV from a local family, cooked on the go, and stayed in Airbnbs. They stayed under budget, which included their savings plus room for an emergency fund after returning home.

"Even though it was a huge expense, it was worth it…even if it means working a little longer on the tail end of our careers," she said.

World lessons, no classroom required

No family gap year is complete without immersive travel. Parents said they've read "The Iliad" while in Greece, attended worship services from different religions, and taught their kids how to navigate a foreign city — all parts of their desire to provide their kids with real-world schooling.

They typically value regenerative tourism, which involves giving back and positively impacting places as you travel. They want a local's experience rather than a cruise or all-inclusive resort, Spatz said. She often plans trips that involve work and education aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, like gender equality or access to clean water. For example, one of her families will be wrapping up their gap year in July in a remote Nepal village, working with a woman who started a school.

"It's learning about the different cultures and history, but taking the kids out of that traditional classroom," she said.

Claire wanted to "get beyond the surface" by participating in Workaway, in which they stayed with local families in exchange for helping them around the home. In Sydney, Australia, they helped a family clean chicken coops on a 300-acre cattle farm. In Santiago, Chile, they helped care for baby quails on a poultry farm. It allowed them to save money and live with locals side-by-side, she said.

Marisa Vitale, 47, has been experiencing different ways people live around the world, often choosing non-touristy areas to understand how the neighborhood works. She and her family lived in a Spanish-intensive homestay in Guatemala, with an indigenous Hmong family in Vietnam, and in an Argentine estancia to learn how the gauchos work the land.

For her 11-year-old-twins, she said has been "a masterclass in history and anthropology," adding that her kids write reports and create art projects for each country they visit.

"Right when they're on the cusp of becoming young adults, what better way to understand who they are and how they feel in their skin than to take them through a wide variety of ways to live," she wrote over email from "deep in the desert" of Jordan, where they were staying in a Bedouin cave. "Empathy, kindness, and patience are the main things I take away from traveling. We wanted our kids to see those in so many different faces and places across the globe."

Her family plans to return to their Los Angeles home, which they rented out, this July. She halted her work as a self-employed photographer and her husband is on a yearlong sabbatical from his 15-year government job. While their monthly budget changes depending on where they're traveling, she estimates that they spend about $10,000 a month between lodging and general expenses, with a small amount of leeway for splurging on an experience.

A year later

A gap year also proves educational for parents. It helped Chang and her husband recalibrate their work lives. She's now doing shift work as an OB-GYN hospitalist — a better work-life balance than her previous work in private practice — and her husband is doing a fellowship to figure out how physicians can use AI.

"He wouldn't have been able to research or think about that at all if he hadn't had the time off," she said.

Re-entry was a little harder for Claire, despite Matt returning to his previous job. She said traveling cost them an average of $261 per day, less per day than their daily life in California. That included food and beverage, lodging, entertainment and experiences, ground transportation and fuel, and miscellaneous living expenses like medicine or SIM cards.

"When you remove your mortgage, gas, insurance — there are so many little things that are gone when you're on the road," she said.

Right now, they're living in Salt Lake City for two years as they contemplate what's next and prepare to launch a podcast about their travels. She hopes to keep the adventure going.

"Our time abroad felt not overwhelmed by consumerism," she said. "In the U.S., everything from highways to shopping to grocery stores is just really big and loud. So much of our gap year was really quiet and authentic and simple."

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• Austria-based Migaloo is offering to build luxury submersible yachts for the ultra-rich.
• It says the M5 will be able to travel 820 feet underwater and stay submerged for a month.
• Despite the high upfront cost, CEO Christian Gumpold says they're in talks with multiple buyers.

Forget megayachts. Forget billionaire basements. If you're unfathomably rich and want a new toy, there's an Austrian company that says it will build you a fully submersible yacht.

And this is no rickety Titan submersible.

The Migaloo M5 concept, the company says, involves a 540-foot base model superyacht that can travel about 820 feet underwater and stay down there for up to a month.

"The needs of superyacht owners for their vessels are more complex than ever," Migaloo CEO Christian Gumpold told BI, adding: "These wishes do not just include performance, length, or design."

Gumpold said that yacht owners are "looking for privacy, security and protection for themselves, their guests and their valuables, or for the fulfillment of unique experiences up to scientific desires as well as for the greatest possible exclusivity."

According to its marketing materials, Migaloo says the vessel's layout and features can be designed around whatever priorities the customer has, whether that's security, thrill-seeking, research, or simply vacation.

The company offers potential buyers a checklist of possible features, including LED exterior lighting with a laser show, a helipad, a hot air balloon, and — for the aspiring Bond villain — an underwater shark feeding station.

The vessel can potentially host a wealth of supplemental vehicles, including mini-submarines, exploration vehicles, and working boats, it said.

It's envisioned as being able to house up to 20 guests and around 40 staff.

The Migaloo concept clearly aims to cater to an increasing desire for privacy and security among the world's richest people.

The most expensive megayachts ever sold now run into the half-a-billion-dollars range or more, with at least three $600 million yachts afloat, owned by various oligarchs and oil-state royalty.

Bobbing about underwater in a Migaloo M5, Elon Musk wouldn't have to worry about a jet-tracking student any longer.

Gumpold told BI he has specialized in yacht design since 2008, and he promised that all the complex arrangements of the Migaloo project — working with shipyards, flag states, and classification societies — would be taken care of by his company.

Much of the marketing material for Migaloo runs to possibilities that sound science fictional, addressing problems that will either only ever apply to the ultra-rich, or which the rest of us will be too dead to care about.

Saying it works with security company SAFE, Migaloo claims it can create a "private submersible fortress," offering protection from EMP pulses, cybercrime, piracy, solar flares, asteroids, and polar shifts.

That's on top of a gamut of features that any megayacht owner might feasibly expect, including spas, gyms, a gaming room, a wine cellar, an art gallery, and a panic room.

The cost, however, is the ultimate "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" test.

Gumpold told Fast Company that the price depends on the scope of what the client asks for, comparing it to the price ticket on large superyachts, which can run into hundreds of millions of dollars.

According to Fast Company's estimation, there are only 50 people in the world who can afford to purchase a luxury submergible megayacht.

It remains to be seen if and when any prospective buyers will bite.

Gumpold told BI his company is "still in close contact with several potential owners worldwide" and is "very close" to executing the first project steps.

But he didn't elaborate on any concrete steps and wouldn't name any of his prospective clients.

With a turnaround time of about four to seven years, it's also going to be a while before any of them take to the seas.

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• Tesla registrations dropped again in California last quarter, according to a California Auto Outlook report.
• The report says Tesla saw a 7.8% dip in sales in the state while Rivian's increased by 87.1% and GMC shot up by 24,700%.
• Tesla still leads the EV market in California, but CNCDA's president said the registration drops are notable. 

Californian drivers appear to be losing some enthusiasm for Tesla.

A California Auto Outlook report shows year-over-year Tesla registrations are down again in the state. The report, published on Monday by the California New Car Dealers Association, summarizes first-quarter vehicle registration figures statewide.

The report said Tesla saw a 7.8% dip in sales in California in the first quarter, down from 54,265 in the last quarter of 2023 to 50,025 in Q1. The drop follows last quarter's 9.8% decline.

Meanwhile, EV startup and Tesla competitor Rivian saw an 87.1% increase in California registrations, according to the report. Other brands also saw major increases in EV sales, according to the data, including Mercedes, which saw EV sales increase by about 125%.

Tesla's California market share also dropped to an estimated 11.6% while other brands shot up, with Toyota leading with 16.6% of the market in the state and Honda capturing 10.5%, the report said.

With Tesla's market share in the Golden State is shrinking, established car companies are making a comeback by introducing new electric and hybrid vehicles, according to the report.

This can be reflected in a 14% increase in BEV sales by traditional dealerships compared to last year, although direct sellers experienced a slight decline, the report said. Franchised dealerships also hold over two-thirds of the market share for alternative fuel vehicles, which the report said highlights consumer trust in local dealerships and traditional brands as the landscape evolves.

CNCDA Chairman and owner of multiple car dealerships said in a statement announcing the report that "the Tesla sales model is ineffective," and cited layoffs and general dissatisfaction with the brand's service. Tesla famously snubbed car dealerships and opted to sell directly to consumers.

Tesla is still the No. 1 EV seller in California

But while Tesla sales in California may have dipped, it remains a top seller for EVs in California, according to the report.

Tesla dominated 2024 rankings for fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids for 2024, with the Model Y, Model 3, and Model X holding the top three spots out of 15.

Tesla also ranked first for top-selling luxury high-end sports cars, near luxury cars, luxury compact SUVs, and top-selling light trucks. Tesla came in second for luxury mid-size SUVs and went from first ranked to third for top-selling passenger cars.

Tesla's Model 3 may have remained in the top three rank for top-selling passenger cars, but CNCDA president Brian Maas told BI the downgrade is significant.

Maas, who acknowledged that sales fluctuate quarter to quarter, said that Tesla has previously seen continued growth in California — and the drop in registrations, market share, and passenger car ranking is indicative that the company is plateauing and "dwindling" in the state.

"What you're seeing overall is there are more and more choices for electric vehicles," Maas said. "And that competition is eating into Tesla's numbers."

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• A millennial in California is secretly working a second remote job so he can afford weight-loss drugs.
• He said taking Mounjaro and Zepbound has helped him lose 45 pounds. 
• He's on track to make $166,000 this year and said he doesn't work more than 60 hours a week. 

Last August, George decided he wanted to try to work a second remote job — and not tell his employers he was job juggling.

The California–based millennial was bored with his contract finance gig in the biotech industry, he told Business Insider via email. And he thought the extra income would help him afford rent, pay down credit card debt, and travel more.

But there was another big reason he wanted to be "overemployed:" It would help him afford weight-loss drugs.

"I wanted to start on Mounjaro and knew I couldn't afford the out-of-pocket cost without a second job," said George, whose identity is known to BI but has been withheld due to his fear of professional repercussions.

Mounjaro is among the appetite-suppressing GLP-1 drugs that have helped some people manage their weight. The Eli Lilly-produced drug received FDA approval in 2022 as a diabetes treatment, and last November, the FDA approved Zepbound — a weight-loss-specific version of the drug with the same main ingredient. Mounjaro and Zepbound are in the same class of drugs as Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy.

Weight-loss drugs have grown in popularity over the last year, but their costs have kept them out of reach for some people. Zepbound and Wegovy each cost over $1,000 a month, require weekly injections, and may need to be taken on a long-term basis to sustain any weight loss. What's more, many insurance plans don't cover them.

In late September, George started a second full-time remote job in the same industry. He's on track to earn roughly $166,000 this year across his jobs, according to documents viewed by Business Insider. The contract roles pay a combined $80 an hour, and George said occasional overtime pay offsets the lack of paid vacation time. He said he's only told his family and a few friends about his overemployment.

George said roughly doubling his earnings has had a huge impact on his life. He was able to afford Mounjaro and said he's dropped 45 pounds — from 220 lbs to 175 lbs — since he started taking it in October. The extra income has also helped him pay down credit card debt and made his monthly bills much more manageable.

"I don't stress about every little cent anymore," he said. "It has been tremendously freeing."

George is among a niche group of remote workers secretly holding multiple jobs and earning well over six figures a year. These people have used their extra income to pay off mortgages, save for an early retirement, and take lavish vacations. While some bosses may be fine with employees taking on extra work, being caught doing so without company approval could be a fireable offense.

For George, his overemployment has been worth the risk.

Working efficiently is the key to avoiding burnout as an overemployed worker

When George began looking for a second job, he said he didn't know anything about the overemployed community or the subreddit where job jugglers share tips and tricks. He said his job search consisted of working with a few recruiters and staffing firms and applying for jobs on his own.

After a roughly monthlong search, he started his second job and was able to afford Mounjaro.

Between October and the end of 2023, George paid over $3,200 for three months of Mounjaro injections, according to a document viewed by Business Insider.

But when Eli Lilly rolled out its new weight-loss drug Zepbound in November, it began offering discounted prescriptions of Zepbound to patients whose insurance didn't cover the drug. George switched to Zepbound and said he's now paying roughly $550 a month for his weight-loss medication, though this discount could expire at the end of 2024.

George hasn't had too much trouble juggling multiple jobs — he said he typically gets all his work done in less than 60 hours a week. While one of his teams goes into the office every once in a while for a happy hour, he said this isn't mandatory.

His main piece of advice for job jugglers: Stay on top of your workload.

"I have had a few extremely late nights trying to get everything done because I didn't allocate time correctly during the week," he said.

If his overemployment regularly required him to work 60-plus hour weeks, he said it wouldn't be sustainable.

Going forward, George said he plans to continue taking Zepbound, but that he's open to trying a different drug if it's more affordable. He has no plans to give up his overemployment, in large part because it's made his recent weight loss journey possible.

"If one contract ends for some reason, I will definitely be seeking another to replace it," he said.

Are you working multiple remote jobs at the same time and willing to discuss details about your pay and schedule? If so, reach out to this reporter at jzinkula@insider.com.

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