Musk’s Twitter buyout plan calls for new CEO, monetization strategies and job cuts – TechCrunch

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Friday, rather Friday-yay! It’s April 29, 2022, we’re here with the latest titles, but honestly, our brains are mostly focused on all the hardcore fun we’re going to be having this weekend. Like doing the laundry, taking a nap, playing with our pets, reading a book for a while, and sleeping. I know, we’re old and boring, do it. — Christina and haje

TechCrunch’s top 3

• Sell ​​Tesla, get a nice tweet deal: Everyone’s favorite billionaire social media acquirer is selling $4 billion worth of Tesla stock and supposedly has a new Twitter CEO lined up. He also shared that he had the beginnings of a plan on how to monetize tweets.
• Wait, companies need to make money? Robinhood’s stock price is plummeting as competition intensifies and its business model becomes increasingly skewed.
• Home is where the benefits are: Airbnb employees received a fun surprise this week when the company told employees it was instituting a “live anywhere, work anywhere” philosophy. Want to work in the office? You got it. Do you want to continue working from home? No problem. Do you want to move to a foreign country and work there? Yes, but only up to 90 days per year. We even assume that they must have drawn a line somewhere.

Startups and VCs

Civilian drone maker DJI and the Ukrainian and Russian governments continue their feud. More recently, DJI suspended sales to Ukraine and Russia in an apparent attempt to appear more neutral.

We were particularly captivated this morning by Jim Motavallifeature article on two-way charging. In other words: in the event of a power outage, what does it take to power your home from your car batteries?

Johnny’s in the basement mixing drugs, I’m on the sidewalk reading the news in wonder:

• They grow so fast: That feeling when you really want to invest money in a startup, but it’s just a little too young? Yeah, Techstars hates that too, and it’s launching a new fund aimed at investing in early-stage companies.
• Do I seem to know what a JPEG is: Revise raises $3.5 million to give NFTs powers beyond just being a pretty picture.
• The telephone game: Vercom, which wants to be a competitor like Twilio and Sinch, acquires MailerLite marketing automation for $90 million.

Loaded with billions of capital, meet today the 9 startups that are developing the batteries of tomorrow

In his first TechCrunch+ article, Senior Climate Writer Tim De Chant looked at nine startups leveraging EV battery technology that have collectively raised just over $4 billion in the past 18 months.

Improving technology like solid-state batteries, replacing specific chemical components, and using hybrid chemistries are just some of the techniques startups are deploying to unlock benefits like weight reduction while increasing range and speed. security.

“But cars and trucks will not be the only ones affected by the battery revolution that will occur over the next few years,” he writes.

“Like many advances, better, lighter and longer lasting batteries will bring changes to our lives that are both unexpected and welcome.”

(TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams grow. You can register here.)

Big Tech inc.

We’re going to be on a bit of a rollercoaster ride in terms of good news versus bad, so keep your hands and legs inside the newsletter, and you’ll be fine.

• Amazon crown slips: In the realm of the public cloud, we note that Amazon is an “undisputed king”, but Microsoft is preparing to storm the castle. Amazon continues to hold the court, controlling a third of the public cloud for years, but Microsoft has quietly amassed a public cloud army that now stands at 22%, up from 20% last year.
• And Amazon’s earnings, not so good: The company’s shares fell to a two-year low following news that the company announced a first-quarter loss attributed to “inflationary and supply chain pressures”.
• Apple has a different revenue socket: In today’s Fruit News, Apple reported record services revenue numbers that rose 17% year-over-year to $19.8 billion. There are many reasons for the good quarter, including the sale of a large number of iPhones, computers and watches.
• Netflix made a few layoffs: Part of Tudum’s editorial staff found themselves fired yesterday. Tudum, you may recall, is Netflix’s internal publication that only started five months ago. While Netflix has said Tudum isn’t closing, it’s moving forward without an editorial director and at least seven others.