NewsBytes Briefing: Reddit makes Wall Street bleed billions, and more
What began as a price war between Reddit's army of trading enthusiasts and the Wall Street billionaires over the GameStop stock, saw the hedge funds lose more than $10 billion. Not surprisingly, Silicon Valley billionaires have come to the defense of their fellow oligarchs and clamped down on the working class Redditors. Here's what else happened in the technology world.
Apple continues to thrive even as global economy shrinks
For its first quarter of 2021, Apple posted an all-time record revenue of $111.4 billion. The company revealed that there are a billion active iPhones globally, up from 900 million reported same time last year. This is surprising because iPhones have become more expensive, even as people's purchasing power declined drastically owing to a shrinking global economy. This honestly doesn't make any sense.
Tesla continues to make electric vehicles look desirable
Separately, Tesla is doing what it's best at. Even as electric vehicle owners struggle with range anxiety, Tesla continues to take the battle to traditional gas guzzlers' turf. The company has announced a new powertrain dubbed Plaid (a nod to the movie Spaceballs) that promises to leave the competition in the dust. It will make the upcoming Model S the fastest accelerating production car.
WhatsApp's competitors continue to make hay with app updates
Like a school of piranhas gnawing at a bleeding prey, WhatsApp's rival messaging services have left no stone unturned in their quest to lure away users alienated by its recent privacy debacle. Telegram is the latest example of messaging services updating their apps to either add WhatsApp like features or outright make it easier for its users to switch over to their app.
Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg shows human trait of remorse
After making billions interfering with elections and influencing voters, Facebook has suddenly become cognizant of the fact that peddling too much political content might not be a good idea. The social media giant is now considering steps to reduce the amount of political content in our newsfeed. The real takeaway here is the disturbing fact that just three Silicon Valley companies dictate public discourse.
