TOGETHER WITH
Hey there weekday warrior,
Here’s what’s on the docket today… Uber is giving robotaxis another go, Netflix does what Netflix does best, and Astronomer’s CEO is having a worse day than you. But first...
In the July 17, 2024 edition of The Water Coolest, we covered GE Vernova wind turbine debris washing up on beaches in Nantucket. Spoiler: the company was building an offshore wind farm nearby.
Turns out, killing more sea turtles than plastic straws is bad for business. Shares plummeted more than 9% on the news.
But, over the past year, shares of the General Electric spinoff have gone parabolic, jumping nearly 250%. GE Vernova has benefited bigly from big tech’s insatiable appetite for electricity to power its AI ambitions.
Enjoy the next 4 minutes and 31 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.
Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,
PS, loving The Water Coolest? Forward it to someone who exclusively drinks water out of a can. If you CC me ([email protected]), I’ll send you both something.
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Just when Uber thought it was out, they pull it back in
Don’t say I didn’t warn you, pedestrians…
The company that drew first blood in the autonomous vehicle game (you didn’t think we’d forget that you got your Donte Stallworth on, did you?) has decided to test the waters again…
This time around, Uber’s $UBER ( ▲ 1.61% ) not going it alone. Presumably so it can share the burden of legal fees related to future manslaughter charges. The OG ride-hailing company is collabing with Lucid $LCID ( ▲ 0.69% ) and Nuro to bring 20k robotaxis to a road near you over the next 6 years.
Lucid ripped on the news that it was finally going to sell some cars.
Here’s the deal…
Uber will pony up $300M for an investment in Lucid. Lucid will provide the cars. And Nuro will make the self-driving tech. And to put a bow on this little autonomous circle jerk, Uber will offer robotaxi rides via its app.
Wait, haven’t I seen this movie before?
Kinda.
Uber was developing its own self-driving tech before it was cool. Its Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) launched in 2015.
Of course, you might recall that one of its self-driving cars fatally struck a pedestrian in Arizona in 2018. There was a safety driver in the car… but she was watching Hulu. Imagine getting to the gates of heaven and finding out you died for Grey’s Anatomy re-runs…
But that wasn’t even the hardest headline to spin zone for the Uber PR team. The post-mortem showed the self-diving car didn’t even attempt to brake…
It probably didn’t help that ATG had reportedly lost $1B in its first 5 years of existence.
So it wasn’t exactly a shock that upon taking over as CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi’s went all “and for my first trick, I’ll unload the self-driving car biz at a massive loss.”
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+ “Hey dad, what was it like when Netflix used to report subscriber numbers?”
We’re only two quarters into NFLX $NFLX ( ▲ 0.34% ) not sharing subscriber numbers, and I really hope it gets easier not being able to watch the streamer dance on everyone’s grave.
The media giant still managed to do what it does best on Thursday: beat and raise. And Reed Hastings would like a word with everyone saying the “N” in FAANG is Nvidia.
+ You did it. The crazy son of a b*tch, you did it. Despite some hiccups earlier in the week, Republicans came together and got the GENIUS Act over the finish line. The Guiding And Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act establishes guidelines for… you guessed it… stablecoins.
The frameworks include some real day one stuff, like, you know, forcing stablecoin issuers to hold dollar-for-dollar reserves in cash or cash equivalents, with oversight by state or federal governments.
Next stop? The desk of President Donald J. Trump. POTUS is expected to sign the GENIUS Act into law.
+ Bah gawd, that’s Substack’s music…
The humble newsletter platform just reached unicorn status with a $100M cash injection from a who’s who of VCs. BOND and The Chernin Group led the round that also included Andreessen Horowitz. Perhaps you’ve heard of them?
+ In a move that feels kinda like if Four Loko brought back its old formula… but with only 2% alcohol, Liquid Death is rolling out self-proclaimed “unextreme” energy drinks. Think: afternoon-pick-me-up, not “smoking meth at a Limp Bizkit concert.” Liquid Death is adding just 100 mg of caffeine to its Sparkling Energy drink. They really had the chance to fill a void left by Panera’s Charged Lemonade and blew it…
+ Name a fate worse than the end of your career and marriage being narrated by the lead singer of Coldplay. You can’t.
It’s a tale as old as time… the CEO (who is married) and the head of HR (who is recently divorced) at an AI startup start banging, decide to go to a Coldplay concert together, and get exposed by Chris Martin on the Kiss Cam…
@instaagraace trouble in paradise?? 👀 #coldplay #boston #coldplayconcert #kisscam #fyp
+ US stocks “notched new record highs on Thursday as Wall Street filtered through a fresh wave of earnings while keeping an eye on President Trump's campaign against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.” (Yahoo! Finance)
+ The 10-year yield “moved higher on Thursday after key economic data releases, while traders kept an eye on Washington after President Donald Trump's denial of plans to imminently fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.” (CNBC)
+ Oil “rose $1 on Thursday after drones struck Iraqi Kurdistan oil fields for a fourth day, pointing to continued risk in the volatile region.” (Reuters)
+ The “smart” money thinks there’s a 53% chance Astronomer’s CEO will leave before the end of the month. (Kalshi)
⏪ Yesterday…
+ Taiwan Semiconductor, Pepsi, GE Aerospace, Abbott Labs, Cintas, Elevance Health, US Bancorp, and The Travelers Companies reported before the bell
+ Netflix and Interactive Brokers Group reported after the bell
+ It was the 70th anniversary of the Disneyland Resort Cali
+ We got the June Retail Sales report
⏩ Today we’re keeping an eye on…
+ Amex, Charles Schwab, 3M, Schlumberger, Ally, and Truist Financial Corp report before the bell
+ Elon Musk promised Grok will be coming to Tesla vehicles by the end of the week
+ The University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey for July drops
Yesterday, I asked, “You can only keep one Coke. The rest go away. Which one are you saving?”
24.4% of you said “Mexican Coke (cane sugar).“
Here’s what some of you guys had to say…
Mexican Coke (cane sugar): “I love my afternoon caffeine kick but I do not want the high fructose corn syrup.”
Classic Coke: “I like to live in the delusion that fake sugar doesn't also make me fat”
Diet Coke: “Diet Coke from an old fountain drink machine can't be beat. Even better with a earth friendly styrofoam cup”
Diet Coke: “You should do a poll on best way to enjoy your favorite soda (plastic bottle, glass bottle, can, fountain, etc.) Some people are even obsessed on where they get their fountain soda from.”
Diet Coke: “heard someone call Diet Cokes "fridge cigarettes" recently and its a perfect way to describe them.”
Here’s today’s question…
Is it ever a good idea to date someone at work?
The internet remains undefeated…
Oh, and one more thing…
What did you think about today's newsletter?
Sent from my Amazon Fire Phone. Please excuse any mistakes and typos.
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This is not financial advice. Nothing in this newsletter is an investment recommendation. All content is created for entertainment, educational, or informational purposes only. Do your own research, or do yourself a favor and hire a professional.