Welcome back to Week in Review. This week, we’re breaking down Bluesky’s big surge in users, Elon Musk co-leading Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” and Mark Zuckerberg’s latest foray in extreme wife-guy behavior. Let’s go.
Bluesky is seeing a major surge as X users unhappy with the platform’s latest policy decisions make the move to the competitor social network. The decentralized social media platform has grown to more than 16 million users, including Swifties. If you’re making the switch — or at least wanting to see if the grass is greener (or bluer) on the other side — we’ve put together a guide on how to get started.
Tesla’s Cybertruck is facing its sixth recall in a year, affecting 2,431 units. A report from Tesla found that those trucks are or were equipped with a faulty drive inverter. Unlike October’s Cybertruck recall, which could be solved with an over-the-air update, Tesla will need to physically replace the recalled drive inverters for this batch. The EV maker said it would do so free of charge.
Elon Musk will co-lead President-elect Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, the acronym of which references Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency. Musk will lead the department with biotech entrepreneur and former presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy to help Trump’s administration “dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.”
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Mark Zuckerberg 🤝 T-Pain: Mark Zuckerberg enlisted T-Pain to write and record an acoustic cover of Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz’s “Get Low” as a gift for his wife, Priscilla Chan. Please note that he does, in fact, sing the infamous “to the window, to the wall” lyric. Read more
Standing desks aren’t as healthy as you think: Sorry to standing desk users, but a new study found that standing for more than two hours a day doesn’t protect against cardiovascular risks, and it actually heightens an individual’s risk of circulatory problems. Read more
Talk Tuah dating coach: Social media star Haliey Welch has launched Pookie Tools, an AI-powered dating advice app for Gen Z singles. The app’s chatbot helps write conversation starters, while another tool predicts if a potential match is lying about their height. Read more
Writer nabs $200M: The generative AI startup has raised $200 million at a $1.9 billion valuation to expand its platform. CEO May Habib says the new cash will be used for product development and “cementing the company’s leadership in the enterprise generative AI category.” Read more
Amazon takes on Temu: Amazon has rolled out the Amazon Haul store, a storefront that offers discounted and mass-produced items, most of which ship from China, to better compete with highly popular competitors Temu and Shein. Read more
Just Eat sells off Grubhub: The Netherlands-based food delivery company is selling Grubhub to Wonder Group in a deal valued at $650 million. It’s a stark 91% less than the $7.3 billion Just Eat Takeaway paid for the company just four years ago. Read more
SBF is headed to the big screen: Lena Dunham is working with Apple and A24 to adapt Michael Lewis’ book “Going Infinite,” which chronicles the life of Sam Bankman-Fried and the implosion of FTX. Now to wonder who will be cast as SBF… Read more
Prepare to see more AI-video slop: InVideo is launching a generative AI-powered video creation feature that lets people use prompts to make videos in a variety of styles, including live-action, animated, or anime. Read more
Apple’s wall-mounted tablet: Apple is reportedly planning to release a tablet that mounts to your wall, controls smart home appliances, and does video calls, as early as March 2025. Of course, the device will feature Apple Intelligence. Read more
Ads are coming to Perplexity: The AI-powered search engine is experimenting with ads. The site will be showing ads in the U.S. to start, and they’ll be formatted as “sponsored follow-up questions” from partners like Indeed, Whole Foods, Universal McCann, and PMG. Read more
You can now play “Hot Cross Buns” on your phone: Artinoise’s latest product is reimagining the classic plastic recorder. The portable device can be plugged into any smartphone, tablet, or PC with a USB-C port, effectively transforming it into a musical instrument. Read more
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