Annual General Meeting: Tesla is said to have two new products in the pipeline

At the same time, CEO Elon Musk warned of difficult times and announced advertising. Also: ChatGPT developer boss calls for strict AI regulation and Bolt to explore acquisition of Tier.

Good morning! While you slept, work continued elsewhere in the digital scene.

The top topics:

TeslaCEO Elon Musk announced new products at the electric car maker’s annual shareholder meeting in the US state of Texas, while warning of near-term economic challenges. A new electric vehicle is said to be under construction. According to Musk, Tesla will advertise in the future because of the difficult economic times. The billionaire revealed more details after the shareholders’ meeting in an interview with the US broadcaster CNBC, in which he spoke about Tesla’s ability to survive difficult economic cycles. For example, Tesla can use its “real-time information on demand” to effectively adjust the prices of its vehicles.

He also spoke about his work ethic in the interview – he would only give himself two to three days off a year and works seven days a week – and his personal tweets: “I say what I want and if that means I if I lose money, then so be it.” [Mehr bei Wall Street Journal, Handelsblatt und CNBC]

On Founder scene: Our colleague Lara Jäckel found out for you which startups from the mobility sector could be the next big winners. We call such companies „Rising Stars“. For that she has with the Mobility experts Jan-Christoph Rickers spoken, which focuses on early-stage financing of mobility start-ups. [Mehr bei Gründerszene+]

And here are the other headlines of the night:

OpenAI-CEO Sam Altman has called for federal regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) at a US Senate hearing. The head of the ChatGPT developer even suggested the creation of a new government agency. Above all, Altman worries about the possible spread of misinformation. [Mehr bei Wall Street Journal]

Tier is, according to a media report, in takeover talks with the competitor Bolt. The talks, which are taking place amid a wave of consolidation in the micro-mobility sector, are said to be well advanced. Tallinn-based Bolt is already conducting due diligence on Tier. The Berlin e-scooter startup is also said to be in talks with the US competitor Lime have led to a takeover. [Mehr bei Sifted]

Aleph Alphaan artificial intelligence (AI) startup from Heidelberg that like OpenAI has developed a language model attracts the interest of international investors. According to a report by the “Handelsblatt”, the investment arm of the chip company wants to Intel participate in the company. Intel Capital wants to come on board as lead investor in the current Series B financing round. [Mehr bei Handelsblatt]

Apple revealed for the first time which companies in Europe it works with. According to Europe boss Cathy Kearney, the continent is becoming increasingly important for the iPhone manufacturer. The purchasing volume has increased by half in the past five years and amounted to 20 billion euros in the past year. Apple now has more than 4,000 European companies, including 800 from Germany, among its suppliers. In Germany, for example, the chip manufacturers deliver Infineon and the traditional Swabian company Trump card to. [Mehr bei Handelsblatt]

Meta Platforms hat CUSTOMERS spun off, an enterprise software company it acquired for $1 billion last year. The Facebook parent decided to sell to cut costs and focus on its business priorities. As part of the spin-off, Meta disclosed shares in Kustomer Redpoint Ventures, Battery Ventures and Boldstart Ventures ab, three venture capital firms who were among Kustomer’s early backers. Meta only retains a minority stake. [Mehr bei Techcrunch und Wall Street Journal]

Wework-CEO Sandeep Mathrani resigns. The office space broker is still struggling to increase sales after the pandemic and a number of scandals wreaked havoc on the company. Mathrani will be succeeded, at least temporarily, by telecommunications manager David Tolley. He joined the board at the beginning of the year. WeWork shares fell 7.5 percent to 35 US cents after the news. [Mehr bei The Information]

Our reading tip on Gründerszene: After the case of the Finn founder, another Metoo case shakes the startup scene. What is said to have happened on the night of December 1, 2022 in the Friedrichshain bar “Süß war yesterday” is the story of a company offsite that escalated. The founder of the health tech startup Cara Cara is said to have harassed, sexually harassed and threatened several employees at a party. We spoke to people who were there that evening – and we also asked the founder and the company about it. [Mehr bei Gründerszene+]

Don’t want to miss anything? Then subscribe to our Gründerszene newsletter! It appears every morning at 8:30 a.m. and brings you all the important news straight to your inbox.

Happy Wednesday!

Your Gründerszene editors