Hello! Tesla disclosed in a recent SEC filing that the DOJ is expanding its investigations into the carmaker, issuing subpoenas for information rather than just requesting it — check out our deep dive on the company from Sunday here. Today we’re exploring:
Complicated airflow
Talk is meant to be cheap, but OpenAI, the force behind the viral hit ChatGPT, has turned it into an absolute goldmine, with the company currently in discussions to sell shares at a valuation of $86 billion.
That's a remarkable three-fold increase from just 6 months ago, with the WSJ reporting an initial range of $80-90bn, before Bloomberg narrowed the figure to around $86bn, citing sources familiar with the matter.
That would place OpenAI among the most valuable tech startups in the world, only behind giants like ByteDance (TikTok owner) and SpaceX. For context, it’s also roughly equivalent to the value of 12 of the biggest consumer brands in America combined — a theoretical corporate frankenstein including SNAP, The New York Times, Etsy, Domino’s and 8 others.
Hype house
The launch of ChatGPT in November attracted more than 100 million active users in just 2 months, making it the fastest-growing app in history at that time. It wasn’t just the extremely online community that was excited either, as everyone seemingly raced to either develop, invest in, or use the chatbot for everything from coding to cover letters.
Over the summer, it looked as if the hype was maybe just starting to fade — though when you spark a tech revolution almost overnight, and hit a $1.3bn revenue run-rate with your first major product, it's fair to say you have a "position of strength" for any valuation negotiations.
Road to nowhere?
The share of borrowers who are currently off track with their car repayments hit an almost 3-decade high in September, as 6.1% of Americans with subprime car loans fell 60+ days behind on their dues.
According to data from credit rating agency Fitch Ratings, as reported by Bloomberg, the figure hasn’t risen above the 6% mark since the start of 1994 — when the share sat around 1% — with borrowers increasingly squeezed by a heady mixture of rising vehicle prices and interest rate hikes.
Fear the repo
Pandemic savings and stimulus checks helped drivers to splash out on pricier vehicles than they’d perhaps originally had their eyes on, but those decisions increasingly appear to be coming back to cost some of them. As expected, with more car owners becoming delinquent, tow trucks have become a more common sight on America’s roads, with the rate of vehicle repossessions in the US reportedly up more than 20% earlier this year.
Flying high
If you’ve made plans to fly over Thanksgiving, we have bad news: your flight is going to be busy. In fact, if the latest passenger volumes are anything to go by, it’s going to be busier than ever.
Data from the TSA reveals that an average of 2.48 million people passed through their airport screening every day over the week ending October 23rd, up 10% on the same week in 2019. That's the first time since Covid that the figures have diverged significantly — air travel isn’t just back, it’s booming.
We probably don't need to remind you that the pandemic was devastating for the $1.17 trillion travel market. What's surprising is how long it has taken to return to pre-pandemic numbers. Reopening attempts were hampered by new Covid variants, understaffing caused chaos during the summer of 2022, and winter storms caused thousands of cancellations.
• From the Spotify DJ to 3D-printed sneakers, check out Time’s 200 best inventions of the year.
• A “super fog” that descended near New Orleans caused a 160+ car pileup, leading to the tragic deaths of 8 people and leaving at least 63 injured.
• Germany is reportedly set to overtake Japan as the world’s third-largest economy by the end of 2023.
• Well done to the London restaurant serving the UK’s most expensive steak: the mouth-watering cut will set customers back an eye-watering ~$1100.
• Visualizing how abortion rates have changed in each state post-Roe.
• Charting how the AI buzz is tracking against previous hype cycles.
Off the charts: Which company were we charting about last year? Hint: This week, it revealed it had gained 9 million daily users in the last 3 months.
