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We will make mistakes, said Elon Musk during an Oval Office press conference last week, a toddler son slung on his shoulders like a shield. But we’ll act quickly to correct any mistakes.” His remarks came in response to a reporter whod noted Musks previous incorrect claim that the U.S. had spent $50 million on condoms for Gazans. (On X, Musk even suggested this money had actually ended up with Hamas.) Since then, his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has made severe mistakes, some of which are reportedly still being corrected as of this writing. Slipups are, of course, expected in the heady early days of a startup, and perhaps even in a new administration. But the mistakes Musks DOGE are making are the kind that have catastrophic consequences hanging in the balance, seemingly without any corresponding appreciation of their magnitude. What happens when his team makes one that cant quickly be corrected? As if we never said goodbye Just days after Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins acknowledged that Musks DOGE team had been working with the department for weeks, the USDA announced on Tuesday that it had mistakenly fired “several” agency employees over the weekend. Those employees had been working on the government’s response to the current, increasingly worrisome bird flu outbreak. The agency has since realized its error, and is now in the process of reversing those firings. Still, it seems like an extraordinary lapse in judgment to fire such essential workers in the first placeand evidence of profoundly misguided and underinformed cost-cutting efforts. It was not an outlier, however. The USDA firings marked the second announced instance of DOGE mistakenly cutting essential personnel just since last weeks press conference. On Friday, the Trump administration scrambled to reinstate a group of nuclear safety employees it had let go the day before, halting the firings of 350 federal employees (or those whose correct contact information it could find, anyway). Although DOGE has been cleaning house throughout the government since Trumps January 20 inauguration, last week was a particularly busy one, as DOGE executed mass firings across multiple federal government agencies. But only after workers with sensitive jobs involving, say, the U.S. nuclear arsenal were let go did anyone at DOGE seem to understand that those roles might be important. As the Associated Press reports, National Nuclear Security Administration deputy division director Rob Plonski described the firings on LinkedIn as undermining the very systems that secure our nations future. Plonski also added: Cutting the federal workforce responsible for these functions may be seen as reckless at best and adversarily opportunistic at worst. “”The previous week, a few hundred employees at the Small Business Association (SBA) were also “accidentally” fired . . . three days before they were then officially fired. Why this sounds so familiar All of these mistakes echo what happened at Twitter after Musk took over in 2022, when it turned out that some of the people he mass-fired were actually keeping Twitter functional, and he had to hire some of them back. (Babies got thrown out with the bathwater is how he later described those indiscriminate firings.) Musks recent mistakes, though, arent just limited to firings. A 25-year-old DOGE staffer named Marko Elez was mistakenly given “read/write” access to part of the payments system for the U.S. Treasurya system that disburses trillions of dollars every year. Elezs access was quickly rescinded, but its unclear whether his receiving it actually was a mistake, or if DOGE simply got caught. (Apparently, keeping on a worker who trumpeted his flagrant racism online is not considered a mistake by Musk. When Elez resigned after the Wall Street Journal exposed his racist tweets, Musk made a public display of hiring him back.) And what are all these mistakes even in service of? When will the supposed spoils from the great austerity push make a demonstrable difference? Musk claims DOGE has already uncovered tremendous fraud, but the proof does not support those claims. Most recently, on Sunday, he declared, This might be the biggest fraud in history, when tweeting about a perceived discrepancy in Social Security records. His claim proved easily debunkable. Musk and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt mainly seem to apply the fraud label to anything they find merely disagreeable, like $57,000 worth of spending relating to climate change in Sri Lanka. And some of DOGEs line-item savings announcements are riddled with mistakeslike an $8 billion contract for the Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agency that turned out to be $8 million. It should be no surprise that Musk has already walked back his earlier vow that DOGE would cut about $2 trillion from the federal budgetor that these cuts may not be as beneficial as advertised. Musk has a long track record in the tec world of overpromising and under-delivering. In 2019, for instance, he confidently predicted Tesla would produce a million autonomous Robotaxis by the end of 2020. He reiterated that done-by-next-year promise in an earnings call last year, when he promised that Robotaxis would be coming in 2025. Even accounting for pandemic-related delays, and assuming his latest promise even holds up later this year, Musks original pledge is still off the mark by miles. For now, its mainly just Democratic politicians, critical press outlets, and massive public demonstrations sounding alarm bells over Musk and DOGEs recklessness. No elected Republican officials who might hold any sway seem to be pushing back. (At least not officially; reports describe Republican lawmakers privately warning Trump officials about reckless DOGE cuts.) The question now is whether it will take a true catastrophe for top lawmakers to realize it was a mistake to ever toss Musk the keys to the U.S. governmentand whether well even be able to afford it if that does come to pass.
Category:
E-Commerce
Amid a month of skyrocketing stock prices and unprecedented social media buzz, Hims & Hers is expanding its territory into at-home blood testing and diagnostics. Hims has acquired at-home lab testing facility Trybe Labs, the telehealth company said Wednesday. Using at-home blood draws, Hims will now offer over 70 at-home diagnostics tests, ranging from heart health to certain cancer detection tests. All these can be arranged through the app, without a doctors visit. At-home lab testing is one more exciting step towards elevating the personal, comprehensive care customers in this country should expect, Dr. Patrick Carroll, Hims & Hers chief medical officer, told CNBC. Trybe Labs is based in New Jersey, and Hims & Hers will use these labs to process blood tests at low-cost for Hims & Hers members, using state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment, according to its webpage. Pricing information for these tests will come out within the next year, according to the company. Hims & Hers stock was up 23% during midday trading on Wednesday, following the news of the acquisition. By offering at-home testing, Hims & Hers now puts itself in competition with industry juggernauts like Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics. Shares of Hims have jumped 230% in the last three months, while Labcorps and Quests have grown only by 4 and 6%, respectively. The move comes during what has seemed like a month of Hims & Hers domination. The telehealth company, which vows to let its members skip the awkward doctors visits, recently entered the public consciousness with a viral and controversial Super Bowl ad. The ad criticized the pharmaceutical industry while promoting itself as a cheaper alternative. Within the ad, a spokeswoman says: There are medicines that work, but theyre priced for profits, not patients. After the ad aired, Hims & Hers saw a 650% increase in website traffic and an 11% increase in stock price.
Category:
E-Commerce
President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday ordered a halt to New York Citys congestion pricing system, which thins traffic and funds mass transit by imposing high tolls on drivers entering some parts of Manhattan. Launched on January 5, the citys system uses license plate readers to impose a $9 toll on most passenger cars entering Manhattan neighborhoods south of Central Park. In its early days, transit officials say the toll has brought modest but measurable traffic reductions. That charge comes on top of what drivers already pay to use bridges and tunnels to get onto the island. Drivers who take a tunnel in from New Jersey during peak commuting hours now pay $31.81, or a discounted rate of $22.06 if they are enrolled in the E-ZPass toll collection program. In a statement, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced the federal government has rescinded its approval of the program, calling it slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners. Duffy said his agency will work with the state on an orderly termination of the tolls. Similar tolling programs intended to force people onto public public transit by making driving cost-prohibitive have long existed in other global cities, including London, Stockholm, Milan, and Singapore, but the system had never before been tried in the U.S. Trump, whose namesake Trump Tower penthouse and other properties are within the congestion zone, had vowed to kill the plan as soon as he took office. He previously characterized it as a massive, regressive tax. It will be virtually impossible for New York City to come back as long as the congestion tax is in effect, Trump said in November as New York prepared to implement the plan before he took office. Revenue from the tolls is intended to raise billions of dollars in revenue for the citys creaky and cash-strapped transit system, which carries some four million riders daily. The tolling system has been divisive. Transit advocates and environmentalists have heralded it as an innovative step to reduce air pollution from vehicle exhaust, make streets safer for pedestrians and bikers, while speeding up traffic for vehicles that truly need to be on the road, like delivery trucks and police cars. But the high tolls are hated by many New Yorkers who own cars, particularly those that live in the suburbs or parts of the city not well-served by the subway system. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, had fought the tolls and court and wrote a letter Trump on Inauguration Day imploring him to kill the program. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also had misgivings. Last June, she abruptly halted the tolling systems planned launch, citing concerns about its impact on the local economy. The Democrat then revived the toll in November following Trumps election, but reduced the toll for passenger vehicles from $15 to $9. Since then, she has lauded it as a win for the city and has discussed the issue multiple times with the president. The tolling plan was approved by New York lawmakers in 2019, but stalled for years awaiting a required federal environmental review during Trumps first term before being approved by the administration of President Joe Biden. As in other cities, the New York congestion fee varies depending on the time and the size of the vehicle. Trucks and other large automobiles pay a higher rate, and the fee goes drops to $2.25 for most cars during the quieter overnight hours. The toll survived several lawsuits trying to halt it before its launch, including from the state of New Jersey, unionized teachers in New York City, a trucking industry group and local elected leaders in the Hudson River Valley, Long Island, and northern New Jersey. Philip Marcelo, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
Starbucks is shaking things up with a new approach to its cold drink cups. Instead of the usual clear plastic, many locations are now serving iced drinks in cold compostable cupsa big step toward cutting down on plastic waste. The switch officially rolled out on February 11 across 14 states, according to Fox Business. A Starbucks spokesperson confirmed that the company “switched to commercially compostable cups and lids as part of our efforts to reduce waste and meet local market requirements.” Right now, about 580 stores have made the change, which is just a small fraction of Starbucks 17,000+ locations in the U.S. But if you’re grabbing an iced coffee in California, Washington, Hawaii, Minnesota, Arizona, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Michigan, Maryland, Connecticut, Virginia, South Carolina, Colorado, or Georgia, you might notice the new cups in action. Starbucks explained the purpose of the new cups, which were redesigned with a strawless lid, in a note on its website called “A Better Cup for All.” “Weve set an ambitious goal for our cups to be 100% compostable, recyclable, or reusable; sourced from 50% recycled materials; and made using 50% less virgin fossil fuel derived sources by 2030. In the U.S. and Canada, were rolling out a more sustainable and accessible cold cup made with 10-20% less plastic just one way were driving single-use packaging innovation.”The chain also mentioned other ways it’s working towards sustainability, such as the use of “for here” cups, which are coffee mugs and glasses that can be used for orders being consumed in the store and personal cups. The brand also explained that it’s testing reusable cups in more than 30 markets. “For instance, in Petaluma, California, we piloted a program that makes reusables the default option for to-go drinks across an entire city,” it said.According to a December 2024 CBS News report, about six million cold Starbucks drinks are sold each day, adding up to about 2.2 billion plastic cups a year. In April, Starbucks announced the invention of the new cold cups, and explained they could eliminate 13 million pounds of plastic wastemost of which ends up in landfills. The waste-reducing moves are, of course, good for the environment. But Starbucks cups have always been a hot-button issue. Whether it’s disagreements over holiday designs, or pushback over sustainability efforts, changes rarely go unnoticed, and they haven’t this time, either. Social media users were quick to critique the new compostable design, especially the new lid. “Trying to sip cold foam through them is awful,” one Reddit user shared. “The lid has an odd taste and texture and the hole is too small.”Many customers shared the insight that they prefer to see their drink before consuming it, especially drinks with layers, or that are meant to be aesthetically pleasing. And several comments pointed to the fact that it will be tough for TikTokkers to show off their drinks in the new cups, which are not see-through. “No more Tiktok drinks. Can’t flaunt a drink if it’s hidden,” the commenter lamented. While the change certainly will be noticeable on TikTok, as posting food and drink reviews is a wildly popular pastime, plenty of customers applauded the move. Because while the cup isn’t clear, the environmental impact sure is. “I’m all for that. I think we need more paper cups and less plastic ones,” one customer wrote. Another echoed the sentiment, writing, If it means dramatically reducing the amount of plastic cups, we should all be rejoicing.”
Category:
E-Commerce
Nikola Corporation (Nasdaq: NKLA), a once-promising electric vehicle startup, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday after failing to secure a buyer or raise additional funds to sustain operations. The Phoenix-based company, known for its hydrogen and battery-electric trucks, announced that it will pursue a structured sale of its assets under Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Nikola enters Chapter 11 with approximately $47 million in cash to fund ongoing activities, including the sale process and an orderly wind-down of its business. The company has filed customary “first day” motions to ensure limited operations can continue, including employee obligations and certain HYLA fueling operations through March 2025. However, the long-term future of its service network and fueling infrastructure depends on securing new partners. Not enough “With the dedication of our employees and support from our partners, Nikola has taken significant steps to move zero-emissions transportation forward, including bringing the first commercially available Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks to market in North America and developing the HYLA hydrogen refueling highway,” said Nikola President and CEO Steve Girsky. “Unfortunately, our very best efforts have not been enough to overcome these significant challenges, and the Board has determined that Chapter 11 represents the best possible path forward under the circumstances for the Company and its stakeholders.” The company’s collapse follows years of financial and legal troubles. Founder and former CEO Trevor Milton was convicted of securities and wire fraud in 2022 for misleading investors about Nikola’s technology. Production of its core productsbattery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell semi-trucksbegan in 2022, but only 600 units had been produced by late 2024. Recalls and manufacturing issues further drained its resources. Failed Expectations Adding to its difficulties, Nikola has faced an increasingly uncertain regulatory landscape. The suspension of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) programa federal initiative designed to subsidize EV charging infrastructurehas raised concerns about the long-term viability of hydrogen and battery-electric trucking. Additionally, proposed rollbacks on EV tax credits have introduced further instability, potentially dampening demand for zero-emissions commercial vehicles. Despite months of seeking alternatives, Nikola determined that a structured sale process was the best way to maximize the value of its assets. The proposed bidding procedures, pending court approval, will allow interested partiesincluding strategic and financial buyersto submit binding offers. Girsky had previously stated in October that Nikola was actively talking to lots of potential different partners who value what we do and value what weve built. However, despite its efforts to secure financing, the company warned investors in late 2024 that it lacked the capital to continue operations beyond early 2025. Nikola’s stock, which once peaked at around $80 per share in 2020, is now trading for under $0.50 per share, reflecting the company’s significant financial struggles. As of February 2025, the stock price is approximately $0.46 per share. The company now joins a growing list of EV startups that failed to meet initial expectations, underscoring the sector’s financial volatility and dependence on shifting regulatory policies.
Category:
E-Commerce
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