Rivian says lower-cost second generation EVs to help in push for profitability

By Akash Sriram and Abhirup Roy (Reuters) -Rivian will be able to slash a fifth of its material costs from electric SUVs and pickups by the end of 2024, CEO RJ Scaringe said on Thursday, after a recent factory overhaul and a vehicle redesign to aid its push to profitability. Shares of Rivian fell 2% after the company stuck to its largely flat annual production growth forecast yet again. The stock had risen 23% after … Read more…

Elon Musk won $56 billion payday because of vote, Tesla argues in court

By Tom Hals WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) – Tesla is claiming Elon Musk won his legal battle over his $56 billion pay package because shareholders voted for the compensation, despite a judge rescinding it earlier this year, according to court filing made public on Friday. The company’s filing comes two weeks after Tesla shareholders voted to ratify the 2018 package of stock options. Tesla held the vote following a January ruling by a Delaware judge to … Read more…

Crypto firm Abra reaches settlement with US states for operating without licenses

By Hannah Lang (Reuters) – Financial regulators in 25 U.S. states announced on Wednesday a settlement with cryptocurrency investment platform Abra and its CEO for operating without required state licensing. As part of the settlement, Abra agreed to stop making cryptocurrencies available for buying and trading to U.S. Abra Trade customers as of June 15, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) said in a release. Abra had said last year that it was winding … Read more…

Biden awards up to $75 million in CHIPS Act grant to Entegris

(Reuters) – American Chip manufacturing supplier Entegris said on Wednesday that it has inked a preliminary deal with the Biden administration for funding of up to $75 million to aid the development of a new facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado. “We’re not just bringing leading-edge chip technology and (factories) to the United States, we’re also bolstering the suppliers that make leading-edge manufacturing possible,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement. The announcement … Read more…

Amazon hits $2 trillion in valuation on AI fervor, rate cut bets

(Reuters) -Amazon.com Inc hit $2 trillion in market value for the first time on Wednesday, becoming the fifth U.S. company to surpass that level as optimism around artificial intelligence and potential interest rate cuts this year drove demand for technology-related stocks. The stock rose 3.4% to $192.70, giving the e-commerce giant a market value of over $2 trillion and putting it in the same club as technology heavyweights Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp and … Read more…

Google to showcase AI, new Pixel phones at surprise Aug 13 event, the Verge reports

(Reuters) – Google will showcase artificial intelligence features, and updates to its Pixel devices and the Android platform at a special event on Aug. 13, according to invites shared online by the Verge and tech commentator Marques Brownlee. The event will be held at Google’s Mountain View headquarters, and have a keynote beginning at 10 am PT (5 pm GMT) followed by a “hands-on product experience”, according to the invite graphic. The Alphabet unit did … Read more…

RTX’s Collins in talks to drop ISS spacesuit contract with NASA, sources say

By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON (Reuters) – RTX Corp subsidiary Collins Aerospace is in talks with NASA to back out of its contract to build new spacesuits for astronauts on the International Space Station, setting back the agency’s bid to modernize its decades-old spacesuits, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The contract was part of $3.5 billion awarded to both Collins and Axiom Space by NASA in 2022. A breakdown of the contract was … Read more…

AI stocks to leave big impact on Russell reconstitution

By Chuck Mikolajczak and Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) – Investors are gearing up for the final reconstitution of the benchmark indexes by FTSE Russell on Friday, with the furious rally in artificial intelligence (AI) related stocks over the past year expected to leave an outsized imprint on their final shape. The Russell Reconstitution, an event that typically results in one of the busiest trading days of the year, will become official after the closing … Read more…

Electric-vehicle maker Rivian simplifies output, cuts costs, aiming for first profit

By Abhirup Roy NORMAL, Illinois (Reuters) -Electric-vehicle maker Rivian’s drive to cut costs and turn its first profit has removed over 100 steps from the battery-making process, 52 pieces of equipment from the body shop and over 500 parts from the design of its flagship SUVs and pickups. The result of Rivian retooling its manufacturing process is a 35% reduction in cost of materials for vans and savings of “similar magnitude” for its other lines, … Read more…

AT&T wants Big Tech companies to pay into telecom, broadband subsidy fund

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – AT&T CEO John Stankey said on Monday that Congress should give the Federal Communications Commission the power to require Big Tech firms to contribute to a government fund that subsidizes access to telecom and broadband services. Under current law, fees are assessed on wireless and landline telephone service subscribers to support the Universal Service Fund. “The seven largest and most profitable companies in the world built their franchises on the internet and … Read more…