HyperChange

Elliott Management/Billionaire Paul Singer have reportedly taken a stake in Twitter, and are pushing for Jack Dorsey to be removed as CEO. This is BS. Elliott Management doesn't even use Twitter, and they are completely ignoring the progress Jack has made since returning to Twitter in late 2015. In this video I break down the metrics justifying Dorsey's success and my argument for why he should remain on as CEO.

Interview with Jack Conte, about his journey from creative to CEO/Co-Founder of Patreon. By allowing artists to monetize their work, and build relationships with their closest fans, Patreon is empowering a new generation of creatives. I think the world desperately needs this artistic and creative energy, and Patreon has huge potential to build an incredible business around it. Kevin & I have been huge fans of Jack for years, and we were so thankful for this opportunity to hangout with one of the most inspirational entrepreneurs & creators in the world. Thank you Jack!!

Lyft shares are down ~37% from their IPO, as losses keep mounting and competitive pressure increases. Revenue growth has slowed dramatically from 100%+ a year ago, to 54% in Q4, to guidance for just 28% in 2020. Will the company survive and be able to fend off Uber? Or is Lyft a sweet acquisition candidate for Google/Waymo ... or even Amazon?

Elon Musk claims Tesla's battery modules are no longer necessary, and hints that cell to pack technology could be the future of batteries. This lines up with an October 2019 "aggregated battery system" patent filed by Tesla Cell Engineer Kevin Matthews. Additionally, Tesla is rumored to be working with CATL on a new battery supply agreement. In late 2019, CATL announced new cell to pack technology that greatly reduced the cost, complexity and increased the energy efficiency of its batteries. My guess is, Tesla will announce a redesigned battery pack without modules at April's Battery & Powertrain investor day.

Snap grew its userbase 17% in 2019 to 218M DAUs, revenue hit $1.7B (+45%), and profitability improved. What's next for 2020? If Snap can continue to grow its engagement, it will get very close to profitability. I'm waiting for a new version of Spectacles to be released, with more AR features. Do you think Evan Spiegel can compete with Instagram and TikTok?

Reuters is reporting that Tesla is partnering with Chinese battery supplier CATL, to build Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP), Cobalt-free, Prismatic battery cells for the Made In China Model 3. WHAT!? This is huge/totally unexpected news about Tesla's battery supply chains, and brings up far more questions than answers. Why is Tesla using less energy dense cells? Are they that much cheaper? Is Maxwell's DBE tech involved?!

Tesla surprises the market and announces a $2B+ capital raise. This will give the company capital to accelerate new Gigafactory plans (Texas?), and ramp battery production (Maxwell?), while only diluting by 1.5%. In its newly release 10K, Tesla has upped its CAPEX guidance to $2.5-$3.5B annually, for the next 2-3 years. Additionally, this raise will give the company a bigger cash cushion if a recession were to hit.

Louisville Colorado (just 20 minutes north of Denver), has become a hotbed for next generation EV batteries. Now Tesla is hiring for a 'Cell Technician' in the area to "assist anode development and optimization R&D." Additionally, the candidate is required to understand "electrode fabrication, delicate assembly of coin cells, cell dissection, running cell tests and data analysis & lab-scale electrode slurry mixing and electrode coating" .... Interesting! Could Tesla be partnering with one of these startups, Solid Power, Forge Nano or SilLion?

SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell hinted at a potential IPO/spinout of SpaceX's internet satellite project, Starlink, at a recent investor conference. This is incredibly exciting for all Elon Musk supporters, but begs the question ... why not just IPO SpaceX? In this off the cuff podcast, I discuss a potential strategy SpaceX could use to direct list its shares on a new private exchange like Carta, to make its equity accessible to its biggest supporters.

A breakdown of Rivian's self-driving hardware, and how the company plans to rollout autonomy features for its customers. With 10 cameras, 4 radars, 2 lidars, ultrasonic sensors and high-precision GPS, each Rivian is equipped with more tech than a Tesla! But does that mean they will be able to compete on true general autonomy???