• Ex-workers of a lithium tech startup have sued the company, alleging toxic chemical exposure.
• Lilac Solutions, a company bankrolled by Bill Gates, countersued for trade secret violations.
• An attorney for the ex-employees said Lilac's suit is a "pressure tactic to scare" his clients.

Four ex-employees of a lithium startup bankrolled by Bill Gates' climate investment firm have sued the company, accusing it of "recklessly" exposing them to toxic chemicals that left them sick and injured.

The former workers at Lilac Solutions say in a 60-page lawsuit they were fired after they repeatedly sounded the alarm to upper management about their "overexposure" to hazardous dust and fumes inside a poorly ventilated Oakland, California, warehouse.

Lilac hit back against the ex-employees with its own lawsuit in late January, alleging the ex-workers "intentionally misappropriated" the startup's trade secrets through their public court filings.

The company, which has said it raised more than $165 million in funding led by Gates' climate investment firm Breakthrough Energy Ventures, developed new technology to extract lithium, a crucial material in electric car batteries.

Gates is not personally affiliated with the lithium company. His investment firm is not named in the ex-workers' lawsuit.

A previous Business Insider review found companies are using trade secrets law as a legal strategy against workers who have accused them of wrongdoing.

Nick Yasman, an attorney with West Coast Trial Lawyers who represents the former employees, told BI that Lilac's countersuit is a "pressure tactic to scare" his clients into backing down, and called the suit "utterly unmeritorious.

A Lilac spokesperson, though, told BI that "the allegations against the company are completely without merit."

"Lilac Solutions will vigorously defend itself and its employees in this lawsuit, and we are confident that the legal process will vindicate us from these baseless allegations," the spokesperson said. "Our focus remains on delivering industry-leading technology that unlocks faster, cheaper and cleaner lithium production to meet growing industry demand."

Lilac 'sacrificed human health,' lawsuit says

The former employees' lawsuit against Lilac alleges that the company "sacrificed human health and safety in pursuit of its goals."

Plaintiffs Michael Mitchell, Khiry Crawford, Tyler Echevarria, and Anthony McCune worked out of Lilac's Oakland processing plant, assisting in the manufacturing of tiny ceramic ion exchange "beads" used in the company's process to extract lithium from brine, the lawsuit, filed in late November in California's Alameda County Superior Court, says.

The beads or ion exchange material, referenced in court papers as "IXM," "was comprised of many different toxic and hazardous chemical compounds," says the lawsuit, which highlights a specific chemical compound, only identified as "Compound A," containing "a toxic chemical" only referred to as "Chemical 1."

"While Compound A can be a benign material at small exposure levels, significant exposure to Compound A can lead to high levels of Chemical 1 in the human bloodstream," the lawsuit says. "High enough concentrations of Chemical 1 in the bloodstream can lead to Chemical 1 poisoning, which is a toxic condition caused by overexposure or chronic exposure to Chemical 1."

The plaintiffs allege Lilac stored its stock of "Compound A" in torn bags that were "carelessly" piled on the warehouse floor, allowing particles to escape into the air.

Test results eventually confirmed that the ex-employees were "actively being exposed to toxic and dangerously high levels of Chemical 1 every work day," the lawsuit says.

Prior to their employment at Lilac, the lawsuit says the plaintiffs were physically healthy. Yet when they were at the company and after they left, they experienced symptoms including severe respiratory pains, coughing, difficulty breathing, abnormal gastric pains, loss of balance, nervous system tremors, uncontrollable shaking in their hands and limbs, severe insomnia, anxiety, and depression, their lawyers allege in the complaint.

The plaintiffs say that throughout their employment with Lilac from 2021 to 2024, they were "regularly warned by colleagues about the danger of the materials they worked with," but were provided with "extremely minimal and grossly insufficient personal protective equipment."

The ex-workers say in the complaint their physical injuries were "substantially caused by LILAC's willful concealment of the identities of many toxic chemicals," as well as arsenic.

The former employees allege that their desks and workspaces were "constantly" covered in chemical dust and engulfed by fumes and that the "toxicity was inescapable."

As early as 2021 and through January 2024, the employees complained to management about the "grossly insufficient" ventilation system in the warehouse, the lawsuit says.

"Despite Plaintiffs complaints, LILAC took no measures to increase ventilation and air purity within its warehouse until January 2024, after Plaintiffs were terminated," it says.

On January 16, 2024, the workers were notified of their terminations and told it was the result of a "reduction in force," the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit argues that the plaintiffs' complaints about workplace health and safety and "whistleblower complaints" about Lilac's "noncompliance with state and local health and safety codes and regulations, substantially caused and contributed" to the company's decision to end their employment.

The lawsuit alleges California labor code violations, whistleblower retaliation, negligence, and discrimination.

"It's a whistleblower retaliation case where the people who complained the most were the same ones who were fired," Yasman told BI.

After their firings, the plaintiffs filed complaints of retaliation against Lilac with California's Labor Commissioner's Office and complaints with the state's Division of Occupational Safety and Health, resulting in OSHA issuing Lilac four citations, the lawsuit says.

Lilac alleges the ex-workers breached confidentiality agreements

Lilac filed its countersuit against the ex-employees on January 31, calling it " a case of clear and intentional misappropriation of trade secrets" in court papers.

The former workers, Lilac's lawsuit says, "gained access to Lilac's trade secret information relating to the chemicals and processes Lilac uses to manufacture certain ceramic beads."

It's a process that "none of its competitors do, know how to do" or were aware that Lilac does, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit, which also alleges breach of contract, says the ex-employees were made aware that the chemicals and processes used to manufacture the so-called "IX beads" were "highly confidential and that they were not permitted to be disclosed to anyone outside of Lilac."

Lilac alleges that the company "has been and continues to be irreparably harmed" as a result of the ex-workers' "misappropriation of its trade secrets."

Its lawsuit says a draft of the former workers' legal complaint included repeated references to "Chemical 1," which the company describes in the court papers as "the most important chemical in the manufacturing of the IX Beads."

Yasman, during an interview with BI, argued that the trade secrets Lilac has alleged can be found on the company's own website or in publicly filed patents.

The attorney and his team have filed a special motion to strike the case under California's anti-SLAPP law that's designed to curb meritless lawsuits and protect free speech rights.

Demoralized, stressed out, and struggling to take care of family members. Energized, efficient, and connected to their coworkers.

These are some of the feelings Amazon employees described in interviews with Business Insider as they adjust to its five-day return-to-office mandate.

We contacted dozens of employees to understand how the mandate was going 10 weeks into its rollout. Though most declined to speak, 11 people — including some who reached out on their own and two who were supplied by Amazon — gave us a detailed look at how RTO has affected their lives.

These are the experiences of those employees — including two who quit their jobs over the RTO mandate — told in their own words. Some requested anonymity citing fear of retaliation, and BI verified their employment. Quotes have been edited for length and clarity.

'My job isn't as good as it was two months ago.'

John Guballa, 40, is based in Seattle. He worked at Amazon from 2011 to 2016 before rejoining the company in March 2024 as a senior risk manager.

When I came back to Amazon, I understood that I'd work three days a week in the office and could pick which days. My preference was to be entirely remote, but I took the job because I felt wanted by the hiring manager.

I was irritated when I found out about five-day RTO — it feels like they're changing the rules.

Andy Jassy's statements on RTO have been around culture and collaboration, but I don't work closely with people in the same city as me. While I enjoy seeing some people at the office, we're not getting any value in terms of collaboration.

Someone near me in the office posted a sign for "quiet hours" every day from 1 to 4 p.m. My impression is that they might feel that having people around is actually impairing them from doing what they need to do.

Over the last several years, I've adapted and feel confident in my relationship-building with folks in a virtual environment. Collaboration wasn't a problem, or at least not one that RTO would resolve. If you want people to get to know each other, I don't think the method is dropping a cooler full of beers and saying, "Hey, socialize." It would be better if leadership organized intentional team-building activities, but I haven't seen that.

I've got two kids — a fourth grader and a kindergartner. They've got activities and doctor's appointments, and somebody's got to pick them up from the bus. I find myself having to push more of that toward my spouse, who works from home. We're very blessed and fortunate to be two parents raising kids together and can manage it, but it's adding a strain and inconvenience that I didn't expect when I joined the company.

Five-day RTO has impacted how I think about my future at Amazon. The simple fact is that the expectations have changed, and my job isn't as good as it was two months ago.

'I've made connections you just can't make virtually.'

Grace Cleveland, 37, is based in Boston and joined Amazon in 2017, focusing on privacy and data handling within Alexa. Today, she leads global AI and privacy compliance in the workplace. In a written interview, she shared her experience with RTO5.

My commute is around one hour door-to-door. Amazon increased our monthly public transportation subsidy and has partnered with local restaurants to provide on-site lunch options.

In January, I traveled between four different offices — Berlin, Paris, New York, and Boston — and ran into people I didn't know were in those offices, as they had transferred during the pandemic. These are connections you just can't make virtually.

The days feel a bit longer, but I'm reading more books during my commute. My husband and I have had to make more proactive decisions about how we handle certain situations with our two young kids, ages 3 and 4. With hybrid work three days a week, I had more flexibility to be a present parent AND a good employee; being in the office full-time, I sometimes have to prioritize being a present parent OR a good employee.

In my opinion, the main benefit of RTO relates to Andy Jassy's shareholder letter on building "primitives" — which in tech means that you're building in blocks that can be shared and reused between teams. If we're all virtual, it's harder to know what other teams are doing. With RTO, I've been in conversations where we realized that we're working on a similar solution, preventing duplicate work and connecting our teams to work toward a common path, which is better for everyone.

'I'd thought Amazon could be a company I stayed at forever.'

Jason Murray, 31, was a senior art director at Amazon based in New York. He spent three years at the company before leaving in January. His office's RTO5 plans were delayed until May 2025, but the mandate played a role in his decision to leave.

I moved to New York from Atlanta for this job. My wife and I had always wanted to try living in New York, and I thought I'd found the perfect blend of having a really creative job and work-life balance. I thought Amazon could be a company I stayed at forever.

I'm very introverted and have hyperhidrosis, which means I have the sweatiest hands on the planet, so any social interaction involving handshakes would make me very anxious. I'm a lot more productive at home, where I'm not being interrupted by spontaneous social interactions. I prefer to process and really dig into a problem first, and then send a note or swing by someone's desk once I have a plan of action.

When three-day RTO was announced, it felt like the vision I had for my long-term future was dying. I knew that wasn't my optimum lifestyle. My wife would text me pictures of our son, and I felt like I was missing so much.

I quit at the end of January to pursue freelance work. Since leaving, I'm still trying to find my rhythm with a more flexible schedule, and I've been rearranging my work to spend more time with my family. I love working from home and don't regret leaving Amazon.

I get what some companies and their leadership might be thinking with RTO, but they're ignoring their top talent. Not everyone performs and works their best in the office, and they're going to lose their top-tier people.

'RTO5 made me interested in applying to work at Amazon again.'

This employee in his 30s previously worked at Amazon, left for personal reasons, and returned last year. The five-day RTO announcement was a factor that influenced him to apply to rejoin Amazon, and he relocated to a major West Coast hub for the job.

When I heard about RTO5, I was curious and cautiously optimistic. It made me interested in applying to Amazon again.

When I was previously at Amazon, it was really difficult to get the attention of my coworkers and managers via Slack and Zoom. It's really hard to connect with people when you can't see them.

I was still pretty early in my career and had heard other former Amazon employees talk about the best part of the job being mentorship, coaching, and connections — I felt like I wasn't getting that.

For me, RTO has been great. I've been able to form relationships with my teammates and with my manager, and I feel like I'm having a lot more visibility on issues that affect me. I've gotten to meet important people, and I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to mentor others and help them level up in their careers.

It's been pretty flexible; they do want me there five days a week, but if I have a paper to write or if I'm studying for certifications, I've been able to do that at home or at study locations at some of the offices.

What makes Amazon so great is that they're willing to be misunderstood. If they understand that something is going to be valuable, they're going to do it, even if it's unpopular. I'm cautiously optimistic that RTO5 will inspire positive change in terms of collaboration and leadership principles, but I think people are still adjusting.

'This is no longer the company I signed up for.'

This employee in her 30s has been with the company for over 10 years and is based in the US. She worked remotely for several years prior to the RTO mandate. After the RTO3 mandate, she received an accommodation approval to work from home due to a disability affecting stress regulation.

Prior to these last two years, I didn't feel any judgment from my team or the pressure to explain why I wasn't in the office. I shouldn't have to explain that I have an invisible disability so that I have the same respect I had three or four years ago, before RTO mandates were a thing. Getting on a video call where everyone else except me is in the office makes me feel the need to divulge very personal information to my peers.

When my accommodation was approved, I thought it would mean that the company would have to honor what my body needs to function and for me to contribute at my best. But instead, I've felt that I'm viewed as offering no value if I can't be physically present. That's not the Amazon that I've known and loved for so long.

I used to have a very clear, specific path in mind: stay at Amazon for no more than five years, with long-term aspirations of writing, speaking, and further academic pursuits. But I loved it so much that I've stayed for five more years. I've grown up here; it changed my life positively in so many ways.

But this is no longer the company I signed up for. There's no recognition that one way of doing things doesn't work for everybody, and the people who are most negatively impacted are going to be women, minorities, and other historically excluded populations.

'There's a benefit to being in-person as a new hire, but sometimes it feels unnecessary.'

This employee in his early 20s was hired out of college and joined the company in the second half of 2024, based out of the Seattle headquarters.

When I received my job offer, I was given paperwork that essentially said that RTO5 was coming, and by accepting the job, I was expected to comply. Looking back, I wonder, what was I thinking? But I was so excited to get the job — it's a good salary and fun work at a great, well-respected company.

There's a benefit to being in-person as a new hire; you can just walk over to one of your teammates and say, "Hey, how do I do XYZ?" and they can help you right away. When you're virtual, it can take much longer to get past a simple problem.

I don't have it that bad in terms of commute — a 20-minute commute in the morning and a 30-minute commute in the afternoon. I adjusted my working hours to be from around 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. to beat traffic; otherwise, my commute time would double.

But there are many days when I go into the office, have one video meeting, and don't speak to anyone else. It feels like I wasted my time commuting into the office to do the exact same thing I could have done from home in the comfort of my sweats. It feels unnecessary.

RTO3 had been the perfect balance. On weekends, I used to hang out with friends or go on a hike. Now, I need my Saturdays to relax on the couch and Sundays to run errands that could've been done during the week.

Matt Garman touted that nine out of 10 people were excited to go to the office. I have no clue where he got that statistic because it doesn't feel that way at all.

Enforcement of the policy seems to be left up to various managers; I've heard of some who are strict and some, like mine, who are looser about it.

I really do enjoy my job, but RTO5 has absolutely influenced how I see my future here. I'm trying to get promoted and leave to work at a hybrid or fully remote company as soon as I possibly can.

'I was really itching to get back to having in-person interactions.'

Shane Marandi, 34, is a senior finance manager at Amazon. He has been with the company for over seven years and worked in the office five days a week until COVID-19 hit. Amazon made him available for an interview.

When I heard the RTO5 announcement, I was excited. I was really itching to get back to having in-person interactions and strong doses of our in-person office culture.

I manage seven direct reports, and I like to make sure that everybody feels empowered to use good judgment when making their own day-to-day decisions. Respect the spirit of Andy's note and of RTO5 and go from there; if that means you've got to work from home when your furniture's delivered or if you need to travel that day and it makes sense to go from home straight to the airport, by all means, go ahead and do that. Amazon does a really good job hiring bright, intelligent folks, so I assume they have good judgment.

My team is able to get things done faster and we have a lot more fun together, having picnics on the lawn and going on walks together. That camaraderie is difficult to get in a hybrid environment.

RTO5 has also added more structure to my life. I have to make an effort to carve out time for my personal life, like hobbies. I take jiujitsu classes and play chess with friends and family, and in a hybrid or work-from-home environment, sometimes work hours would blend into the personal and I might work a little bit later into the night. Before I knew it, my hobbies had taken the backseat.

My commute to the office is about 30 to 45 minutes each way. For those of us from LA, the commute is just in our DNA. On the way home, I pop in a podcast or call my parents or siblings; it's not as monotonous as one would think.

I empathize with people in different situations who struggle with RTO5 and hope that they can work through it. I think it's a matter of time before folks really find what works for them and their manager, and then we should be good from there.

'RTO5 might only attract one particular type of employee.'

This Amazon employee in his 20s is based in a major European city. He has worked at Amazon for over two years. His office's RTO5 timeline has been delayed due to office capacity issues.

Even though we're still under RTO3 at the moment, it's quite hard to get desks in the office on busy days, especially Wednesdays. You might end up on a different floor from the rest of your team. I once had to search the entire building for a desk.

I feel my productivity is getting worse toward the end of the day. When I was working from home, there were things I'd do during lunch to take the edge off and help me refocus, such as going to the gym or taking a 10-minute nap. And every office has those coworkers with extremely loud voices and you can't even hear your own thoughts.

There's a big cultural difference in what makes an employer attractive in Europe. It's more common here that people are aware that work only takes up part of your life, and it's not your entire existence. Some people I've spoken to are concerned that RTO5 might only attract one particular type of employee, which isn't what we're used to from Amazon. Everyone values an extremely diverse culture with people of different backgrounds; that also means people with different working styles and different levels of time to invest in the job. I feel like some people might shy away who otherwise would've been a great fit for the company.

I've found myself questioning the culture that I was taught to love and appreciate about Amazon. But the culture of my immediate team hasn't changed whatsoever; I still work with the kindest, smartest, and humblest people that I've ever had in my career. Everyone is trying to do the best within the realms that we can.

'Caregivers often get left out.'

Jay Gorsica, 47, was a design engineer at Amazon based in Columbus, Ohio. He joined the company in 2017 and worked there for seven years and eight months before leaving in January 2025.

In August 2022, my wife had a traumatic brain injury and was hospitalized for several months. She now has permanent disabilities; she can't use her right arm and has limited use of her right leg.

I take care of pretty much everything — cleaning and sterilizing her tracheostomy tube, helping her bathe, and cooking — every day.

When RTO3 was announced, I was very concerned. I joined Remote Advocacy, an internal Slack channel, and started to pay attention to other people's stories. I heard from military spouses, caregivers, parents of special needs kids, and people who were being asked to relocate.

For me, the issue was less about returning to office and more about the possibility of a relocation mandate. I didn't want the company to try to haul us across the country and have to find a whole new suite of doctors for Carrie.

When the RTO5 announcement dropped, I knew I had to find another job. I started posting on LinkedIn to drum up some engagement, broaden my network, and leverage connections. In late November, a recruiter reached out about a project management role, and I got the job.

I put my two-week notice in the second week of January. My boss had known about my situation and that I'd been looking; I didn't keep it a secret, and he was pretty supportive.

My new job is the best of all worlds. I had to take an 18% pay cut in base salary, but it was more important to me to have a job that allowed me to meet my obligations.

I think most of the arguments about collaboration and productivity in relation to RTO are disingenuous. There is a wealth of data that supports flexibility and the hybrid approach. Not to mention, there are DEI benefits in supporting neurodivergent workers, caregivers, single mothers, and other workers who need flexibility. Caregivers often get left out of arguments supporting the need for flexibility, but there are a ton of people who are caregivers for children, a spouse, or parents. There's going to come a point where there will need to be some sort of accommodation in work structure and flexibility because there will be such a huge amount of people in this bucket.

'It's been easier to really feel like a connected community.'

Cash Ashley, 37, works in sales as an enterprise account manager at Amazon Web Services. He is based in Washington, DC, and has been with the company for just over four years. Amazon made him available for an interview.

I was a remote COVID hire. I've worked in retail leadership for a big part of my life and have always been in environments where the community of people is what differentiates the experience, so I missed being around people.

I was happy to work at Amazon, but I felt like something was missing because we weren't in the office. You go out to Seattle and see all these crazy buildings and everything, but then you're hired and you're in your living room with a standing desk.

I started going into the office before we even had to. I'm just a talkative person, and I think a lot of people in the office know me.

I lead an employee affinity group — Amazon's Black Employee Network — in my office, and it's been exciting to be able to connect with people, host events, and do community service together. It's been easier to really feel like a connected community. In December, we hosted a local Boys and Girls Club; it was fun to fully activate this campus.

But I'm not a robot; it's not always amazing. There are some life routines I've had to shift, like waking up much earlier now. Three years ago, I might've had a boxing class at 9 a.m., but now I don't. But I'm an optimistic, positive person. Everybody deserves community — I think it's so powerful.

'A two-hour commute each way is unsustainable.'

An Amazon employee in his 40s lives over 50 miles outside the major North American city where his assigned office is based. He has worked remotely for over 10 years.

I never would've accepted this job if there was any possibility of it not being virtual. My commute takes well over two hours each way and involves driving, taking public transportation, and walking. Going in for a full workday would involve leaving the house before 6 a.m. and only getting home past 8 p.m. My kids come home from their school bus at 3:45 p.m., and I want to be with them by 5 p.m. I've been more irritable and my wife and I have had more tension in our relationship.

I have nothing against working in an office, but for my role, it just doesn't make sense, as the majority of the customer-facing work I do can't be performed in the office. Most of my peers in the same role are fully remote, but a few of us fell through the cracks and were assigned offices. I applied for an exception, but my request was rejected.

With RTO5, I've had to — with my direct manager's support — find ways to avoid needing to go to the office, like taking PTO, scheduling doctor's appointments, or doing tasks that require me to work from home. But I've still had to go in several times. I need to maintain this status quo until later this year when my next stock vests. If nothing is resolved by then, I might have to call it a day.

A spokesperson for Amazon referred Business Insider to the points in Andy Jassy's September 2024 RTO memo about strengthening the company's culture and remote work flexibility, and gave the following statement: "Business Insider declined to share the information needed for us to verify the details of these essays, which unfortunately makes it difficult to separate truth from fiction. We're excited by the innovation, collaboration, and connection that we've seen already with our teams working in person together." In regard to the struggle to find desks, the spokesperson said that Amazon has "heard ideas for improvement from a relatively small number of employees and are working to address those. With most employees working from the office each day, teams across the company are focused on ensuring the transition is as smooth as possible as we continue to deliver for customers."

Have a story or tip? Contact this reporter via email at [email protected] or Signal at janezhang.01. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• Chinchillas are cuddly and cute.
• Chinchilla is also an established way to build huge AI models using mountains of data.
• There's at least $3 trillion riding on whether this approach continues or not.

About five years ago, researchers at OpenAI discovered that combining more computing power and more data in ever-larger training runs produces better AI models.

A couple of years later, Google researchers found that adding more data to this mix produces even better results. They showed this by building a new AI model called Chinchilla.

These revelations helped create large language models and other giant models, like GPT-4, that support powerful AI tools such as ChatGPT. Yet in the future, the "Chinchilla" strategy of smashing together oodles of computing and mountains of data into bigger and longer pre-training runs may not work as well.

So what if this process doesn't end up being how AI is made in the future? To put it another way: What if the Chinchilla dies?

Building these massive AI models has so far required huge upfront investments. Mountains of data are mashed together in an incredibly complex and compute-intensive process known as pre-training.

This has sparked the biggest wave of infrastructure upgrades in technology's history. Tech companies across the US and elsewhere are frantically erecting energy-sucking data centers packed with Nvidia GPUs.

The rise of new "reasoning" models has opened up a new potential future for the AI industry, where the amount of required infrastructure could be much less. We're talking trillions of dollars of capital expenditure that might not happen in coming years.

Recently, Ross Sandler, a top tech analyst at Barclays Capital, and his team estimated the different capex requirements of these two possible outcomes:

• The "Chinchilla" future is where the established paradigm of huge computing and data-heavy pre-training runs continue.
• The "Stall-Out" alternative is one in which new types of models and techniques require less computing gear to produce more powerful AI.

The difference is stunning in terms of how much money will or will not be spent. $3 trillion or more in capex is on the line here.

The reason is "reasoning"

"Reasoning" AI models are on the rise, such as OpenAI's o1 and o3 offerings, DeepSeek's R1, and Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking.

These new models use an approach called test-time or inference-time compute, which slices queries into smaller tasks, turning each into a new prompt that the model tackles.

Reasoning models often don't need massive, intense, long pre-training runs to be created. They may take longer to respond, but their outputs can be more accurate, and they can be cheaper to run, too, the Barclays analysts said.

The analysts said that DeepSeek's R1 has shown how open-source reasoning models can drive incredible performance improvements with far less training time, even if this AI lab may have overstated some of its efficiency gains.

"AI model providers are no longer going to need to solely spend 18-24 months pre-training their next expensive model to achieve step-function improvements in performance," the Barclays analysts wrote in a recent note to investors. "With test-time-compute, smaller base models can run repeated loops and get to a far more accurate response (compared to previous techniques)."

Mixture of Experts

When it comes to running new models, companies are embracing other techniques that will likely reduce the amount of computing infrastructure needed.

AI labs increasingly use an approach called mixture of experts, or MoE, where smaller "expert" models are trained on their tasks and subject areas and work in tandem with an existing huge AI model to answer questions and complete tasks.

In practice, this often means only part of these AI models is used, which reduces the computing required, the Barclays analysts said.

Where does this leave the poor Chinchilla?

The "Chinchilla" approach has worked for the past five years or more, and it's partly why the stock prices of many companies in the AI supply chain have soared.

The Barclays analysts question whether this paradigm can continue because the performance gains from this method may decline as the cost goes up.

"The idea of spending $10 billion on a pre-training run on the next base model, to achieve very little incremental performance, would likely change," they wrote.

Many in the industry also think data for training AI models is running out — there may not be enough quality information to keep feeding this ravenous chinchilla.

So, top AI companies might stop expanding this process when models reach a certain size. For instance, OpenAI could build its next huge model, GPT-5, but may not go beyond that, the analysts said.

A "synthetic" solution?

The AI industry has started using "synthetic" training data, often generated by existing models. Some researchers think this feedback loop of models helping to create new, better models will take the technology to the next level.

The Chinchillas could, essentially, feed on themselves to survive.

Kinda gross, though that would mean tech companies will still spend massively on AI in the coming years.

"If the AI industry were to see breakthroughs in synthetic data and recursive self-improvement, then we would hop back on the Chinchilla scaling path, and compute needs would continue to go up rapidly," Sandler and his colleagues wrote. "While not entirely clear right now, this is certainly a possibility we need to consider."

• Ranpak makes sustainable packaging and automated packing systems.
• CEO Omar Asali says a "dark warehouse" devoid of workers is not the goal.
• He says that humans working in conjunction with robots "is a lot more compelling."

Omar Asali, CEO of sustainable packaging company Ranpak, says he's excited about what AI and automation can do for warehouse operations — but only if human workers are involved, too.

Ranpak makes paper packaging and automation systems that streamline the process of packing boxes before they are sent to customers.

Asali says that while robots in warehouses can help retailers save time and money, make their businesses more sustainable, and improve worker safety, he doesn't see humans being completely eliminated from the equation.

"I don't think automation is headed toward a dark warehouse with no labor," Asali said in a recent interview with Business Insider. "I think man and machine is a lot more compelling than machine alone."

He said that using automation in warehouses allows workers to transition from demanding, manual tasks, like loading and unloading boxes, to more skilled tasks they can do in conjunction with a robot.

"It will require upskilling and re-skilling, but I believe this is going to be a tool for further growth, further improvement with our customers, and more jobs down the road," Asali said.

Physical AI is modernizing warehouses

Ranpak is seeing the most demand from companies looking to use less plastic in packaging. Its flagship product is a biodegradable, renewable paper that keeps items from moving around inside boxes. Asali said the idea is to attract customers with sustainable packaging solutions and then keep them interested with automation that can help streamline their warehouse operations.

Ranpak's automated systems include a machine that optimizes package sizes by cutting cartons down to their highest point so that there is no excess room inside the boxes. It then glues the box lid in place.

It also has a system that uses computer vision to measure the amount of empty space inside a box, and then insert the appropriate amount of paper packaging material to fill it.

Asali said that physical AI is making robotic equipment more efficient and easier to use, and it's helping to make an older industry — packaging — more state-of-the-art. Ranpak, which was founded in 1972, can also give their customers more data than was possible before, on things like how many items should be packed in a box and how those items should be arranged.

"All this data is designed to make their packages smaller, more efficient, to make them use less energy," Asali said. "All these savings are going to go, ultimately, to these companies and to the consumer."

Ranpak also invests in other robotics companies that automate specific warehouse operations. Investments have included bets on Pickle Robot, which makes robots that can unload packages from trucks, and Rabot, which uses computer vision at employee packing stations to help optimize the process, improve safety, and reduce waste.

Amazon, Ikea, and Urban Outfitters are all customers of Ranpak. In January, Ranpak said in an SEC filing that it had issued Amazon a warrant to buy 18.7 million shares in the packaging company. The company says that Amazon is Ranpak's biggest customer, and Asali described the e-commerce giant as an "important strategic partner." An Amazon representative declined to comment further on their partnership.

Ranpak said in its March 6 earnings release that 142,700 packaging systems had been placed as of the end of 2024, a 1% increase year over year. More than 85,000 of those systems were machines that help workers fill boxes with paper more quickly. Its revenue grew 10% year over year in 2024, to $369 million.

• Colon cancer cases are on the rise, including in people under 45.
• Early symptoms include bloating and abdominal pain, which can be confused with GI disorders.
• Doctors shared why colon cancer can be misdiagnosed, and when to get a colonoscopy.

Years before she was diagnosed with colon cancer at 40, Tracy Robert chalked up her bloating to an IBS diagnosis. She was a personal trainer and nutrition coach who followed a clean diet but felt constantly uncomfortable.

"I remember feeling a sense of heaviness when I would go to the bathroom," Robert, now 50, told Business Insider.

She says she wishes doctors took her "symptoms and concerns seriously." She believes if they had screened her for colon cancer sooner, they might have caught it before it reached stage 2B-3A. By the time Robert was diagnosed, she needed to have part of her large intestine removed, replaced by a colostomy bag.

Robert's story is not uncommon. More people are being diagnosed with colon cancer under the age of 45, the age at which Americans start getting screened for it. In our peer nations, like Canada, screening starts at 50.

Symptoms that might warrant earlier testing can be easily overlooked. Common signs of colon cancer, like constipation or diarrhea, can also be caused by GI-related issues like celiac disease or gluten intolerance.

Take Shannin Desroches, a 27-year-old from Ontario, Canada who buckled in pain after every meal. She was pursuing bloodwork to check for celiac disease, but her symptoms got too severe and she checked into urgent care. Tests revealed multiple tumors throughout her body. At 26, she had stage 4 colon cancer.

For doctors, it's a tricky tightrope to walk when they're diagnosing young patients. About 45% of Americans have digestive issues, many of which have crossover symptoms with colon cancer. Because colonoscopies cost around $2,000 on average, doctors typically won't urge young patients to get a colonoscopy without serious symptoms or a family history of colon cancer.

As colon cancer rates continue to rise worldwide, being able to tell the difference can change the trajectory of a patient's treatment.

Early colon cancer symptoms can be mild

The most common colon cancer symptoms in people under 50 include abdominal pain, altered bowel movements, constipation, bloating, and diarrhea. In many cases, like Desroches', severe symptoms don't show up until later stages.

Depending on where the tumor is, those symptoms might be very mild at first, Dr. David Richards, a gastroenterologist at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, told Business Insider.

If a tumor grows in the center of the colon, it might go undetected or produce mild discomfort. "It hasn't yet gotten big enough or invaded into adjacent structures enough to start really causing symptoms," Richards told BI. On the surface, it might look like a gluten allergy or gastrointestinal issue.

Dietary changes can temporarily improve cancer symptoms

People diagnosed with GI disorders are often advised to make dietary changes.

Desroches started trying to offset her symptoms by eating smaller snacks, but her stools remained thin and she had constant pain in her abdomen. Robert, who was diagnosed with IBS at 20, remembers being told to "eat more fiber."

For some people, diet tweaks can temporarily reduce symptoms of colon cancer, creating "a false-positive response to diet change," Dr. Mohammed Najeeb Al Hallak, an oncologist specializing in GI malignancies at the Karmanos Cancer Institute, told Business Insider.

For example, following a gluten-free diet to treat celiac disease can make stools firmer by reducing inflammation in the small intestine. Less inflammation can also lessen colon cancer symptoms, he said.

If a person has colon cancer, he said these positive changes are temporary — and may delay the diagnosis.

How to spot the difference between colon cancer and digestive issues

The medical community is still debating about the best age to start annual screenings. Research on rising rates changed the recommended screening age from 50 to 45. "Some people argued about lowering it even more because we've been seeing colon cancer popping up more often in younger populations," Richards said.

If you're under 45, there are some "alarm symptoms" to look out for. Anemia, bright red or black stools, unexplained weight loss, trouble swallowing, and fever are all signs to take your symptoms more seriously.

Al Hallak said to always get a second opinion if you feel dismissed by your doctor. For example, celiac disease requires a biopsy and blood tests to confirm the diagnosis — never accept "it's probably celiac" without those tests. See someone who takes your pain seriously, especially if the symptoms don't improve.

• Investments in consumer social startups have declined, but some are still searching for the next big app.
• I spoke with 12 investors about the state of social networks and what they are looking for.
• They talked about how AI will spur new apps and how Gen Z and Alpha will shape what's ahead.

It's just a matter of time until the next big thing in social media drops.

TikTok's future hangs in limbo. Instagram feels less and less social. And more recent newcomers, like BeReal and Clubhouse, flourished and faded like fashion trends.

Where are venture capitalists and angel investors hunting for the new killer app? I spoke with 12 investors who have either backed buzzy social startups, recently launched funds focused on the category, or are angel investors with their own apps.

"We finally are at a tipping point because of frustration with policy changes, algorithmic feeds, privacy breaches, excessive commercialization," Alex Hofmann, CEO of mobile app conglomerate 9count and founding partner of early-stage venture firm Progression Fund, recently told me. "It's time for a change. It's time to build better products."

Startup founders have been seeing opportunities in areas like dating apps, where consumer disgust at the status quo has been the sentiment of a string of trend pieces. And rampant loneliness is also fueling a wave of new apps trying to connect people IRL.

It's not easy to snag investment in the consumer space, though.

VCs have generally cooled on consumer investments and are eyeing deals in AI and enterprise instead. According to data from Crunchbase, investments in consumer-focused social companies slumped from $3.1 billion in 2021 (with 487 deals) to $900 million in 2024 (with 128 deals). Just 6% of investments from top VC firms went to consumer tech companies in 2024, per an analysis of PitchBook data by Silicon Valley Bank.

A tougher market has made new social startups start out lean and focus on monetization earlier.

"It's when you're building in times of difficulty that makes you really creative," said Derek Chu, a partner at consumer-focused venture firm FirstMark. The firm invested in IRL events startup Posh in 2024 and previously backed Discord and Pinterest.

Here are five takeaways from my conversations with investors on the future of social.

1. Get ready for a whole lot of apps thanks to AI

Building off of AI tech from the likes of OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google Gemini, some startups are churning out mobile and web applications — often described as AI wrappers — that are consumer-facing.

"There is room for real, disruptive application-layer innovation," said Maitree Mervana Parekh, a principal investor at Acrew Capital. She's particularly interested in startups building consumer-facing developer tools that help anyone create their own app using LLMs, such as Websim or Lovable (neither are in Acrew's portfolio).

Websim, for instance, shared several social-media tools created by users to X (formerly Twitter) in February, including a way to share events, post hot takes, or vote on "would you rather" prompts. Meanwhile, Swedish startup Lovable recently announced it had raised $15 million in pre-Series A funding and said in a blog post that it had produced over 1 million apps since launching in 2024.

AI is already a "seismic" platform shift in consumer, FirstMark's Chu said, comparing it to the shift to mobile that defined the 2010s.

Hugo Amsellem, general partner at Intuition VC, has his eye on startups leveraging AI that can curate and match people, such as professional networking platform Boardy. Amsellem is betting that in the next two to three years, more "multiplayer" AI protocols will emerge and begin to see similar network effects to social media platforms.

Still, there are questions about scalability for this new wave of apps and where a winner could emerge.

"A lot of investors are trying to figure out, 'Is there an internet-scale consumer AI company to be built?'" said Charles Hudson, managing partner and founder of Precursor Ventures. "If there is, is it going to be something like a Character AI? What is it going to be? We don't know."

2. Gen Z and Gen Alpha are driving new trends

Younger internet users have a new way of interacting: sharing every single thing they watch, listen to, or do.

"Consumer social is evolving from sharing moments to sharing metrics," said Rhian Horton, an investor at Stellation Capital. "People are creating platforms where users can track, curate, and share their digital footprints automatically with friends."

Spotify Wrapped, the yearly summary of everything people listened to, is a cultural cornerstone for a lot of these platforms.

"Young people want to obsessively share what they were doing with all their friends," said Zehra Naqvi, an angel investor and founder building a fandom-focused AI platform Lore. She previously was an investor at VC firm Headline.

Both Horton and Naqvi listed Airbuds, a music-sharing platform that was one of my favorite apps in 2024, as an example of this. The feed lets users see every song their friends are listening to, regardless of what streaming service they use. It also summarizes who their top artists and albums are by the week.

Shelf, a landing page for everything you are watching, reading, and listening to, was also mentioned by Horton and Naqvi. Stellation invested in Shelf's parent company, Kudos.

3. Goodbye, mass algorithms. Hello, close friends and niche communities.

Naqvi said some internet users are feeling fatigued on legacy social networks. This could result in a "death of mass algorithms," which she thinks will spur more "highly personalized" platforms.

"What I've been seeing, especially in consumer around connection, is more niching down and products being built for people around certain interests," said TJ Taylor, who launched a pre-seed stage fund called Hobart Ventures late last year.

Niche-interest social apps are a category Progression's Hofmann has also focused on. His company, 9count, acquired the LGBTQ+ social app Lex in 2024 and recently invested in the real-life friends app Mozi.

Mozi, founded by Twitter cofounder Ev Williams and Molly DeWolf Swenson, launched in late 2024 and helps users find friends nearby.

James Joaquin, cofounder and managing director of Obvious Ventures, invested in Mozi as well (Williams is also a cofounder at Obvious).

"One of the consumer areas that my team and I have done a lot of work on is around mental health and around the loneliness epidemic that's happening worldwide," Joaquin said. "This is a big part of our thesis with Mozi, is it's a new kind of social network to actually help people build and strengthen in-person relationships."

Others aren't so sure this category can stand alone.

"I'm not yet convinced that's going to look like an entirely new platform," Mervana Parekh said. Instead, maybe a larger platform or network will add more features around this.

Nia Johnson, founder of Party Ventures (an investment DAO focused on pre-seed and seed startups), said that this category of social networks also faces hurdles in terms of monetization and retention.

"There isn't a lot of reach by design," Johnson said, and limited interactions could cause users to "get bored and churn out."

4. Dating is ripe for disruption, but investors aren't so sure there's promise for returns

As larger dating app companies face headwinds, there's a new generation of startups trying to disrupt the landscape.

Some new dating startups are leveraging AI as a way to differentiate themselves from the standard apps available right now. Amsellem pointed to the French dating app Gigi (he is an angel investor), which uses an AI agent that acts like a matchmaker.

Kathryn Weinmann, a principal investor at FirstMark, pointed to the similar AI matchmaking app Sitch.

Gen Z is also going to shape a lot of the new dating apps right now, Hobart's Taylor said. Taylor worked at Raya, a dating app known for its exclusivity, for several years. He's been interested in dating apps that are tapping into social niches like gaming, or trying to build products focused around "real-world interactions" and "community approaches" that feel more natural.

Younger people are also interested in apps that help them find any form of connection, whether that's a date or a new friend — especially IRL.

"The next platform that is going to be great for dating, or for even just friendships, will be in this category of 'utility first, community second' and obviously won't look like a traditional dating app," Stellation's Horton said.

And at the end of the day, any social network can be a dating app if it has profiles and DMs, Taylor added.

However, some investors have soured on dating apps, and a few told me they were either not interested in writing checks in the space or just hadn't seen anything promising yet.

"If we're looking for the multibillion-dollar outcomes though, as a venture investor, I don't think you're going to find it there," said Marlon Nichols, founding partner at MaC Venture Capital.

5. The biggest problem facing the next wave of social apps will be Big Tech

"The elephant in the room is watching what Meta and Apple and Google are doing," said Obvious Ventures' Joaquin.

When it comes to investing in new internet companies, Joaquin said the biggest challenge startups face is "flying too close to the sun."

Any hot new social app can quickly be copied by a giant. More recently, we've seen this happen with Apple launching its own event invite app for iCloud users, potentially cutting another slice into the pie for the next wave of events apps like Partiful, Posh, or Luma.

"The road is lined with skeletons of startups," Joaquin said.

• Tesla registered over 220 test drivers and 100 vehicles for an autonomous driving permit in California.
• It registered 59 drivers and 14 vehicles in a previous application from 2022.
• Obtaining the permit doesn't mean Tesla will use it. The last time it reported doing so was in 2019.

Tesla has ramped up its autonomous testing capabilities in California.

In December, the electric-car maker registered 224 in-house test drivers and 104 vehicles in the state for an autonomous testing permit, according to public records viewed by Business Insider.

It's an uptick from 2022, the last time Tesla filed for the permit. That year, it registered 59 drivers and 14 vehicles.

The surge in test drivers comes as the clock ticks for the company to fulfill Elon Musk's promise of bringing a Robotaxi to market within the year. Tesla's stock has continued to drop, and is down more than 40% year-to-date over lackluster sales numbers and Musk's polarizing role in the US government, after hitting an all-time high after Donald Trump's election victory.

The permit, first granted in 2015, allows the carmaker to conduct what's known as level 3 testing, which lets the autonomous driving software assume a greater degree of control over the vehicle. It still requires a licensed driver to monitor the vehicle and take over when needed, but testing it is one of the first steps Tesla must take to roll out its self-driving technology in the state.

Obtaining the permit doesn't necessarily mean Tesla will use it. Companies are required to report usage — measured by mileage and the number of times human test drivers take control of the vehicles — every year.

Tesla hasn't reported using the permit since 2019. The company has long maintained that it conducts level 2 testing, focused on unreleased versions of the driver-assist software already available in customers' cars.

Tesla submitted paperwork for the registrations to the California Department of Motor Vehicles in December. The registrations, which cost about $8,700 in total, are in effect for 2025 and 2026. The permit can be renewed every two years.

In November, after some test drivers told Business Insider they pushed Tesla's self-driving software to its limit, the California DMV asked Tesla whether its testing aligned with what the state permit allows, public records show.

In an emailed response to the DMV, Tesla's director of field reliability said the company was testing driver-assist software similar to what Tesla customers already have in their vehicles. Test drivers underwent "rigorous" training, per the email, including when to intervene in "unsafe" situations and when to avoid taking over during "safe but undesired vehicle behaviors" like missing a turn or frequently changing lanes.

A spokesperson for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Musk has said the carmaker plans to roll out robotaxis in some California cities by the end of the year. Bloomberg reported in February that the company had filed for a permit with the California Public Utilities Commission, which would allow the carmaker to operate an autonomous ride-hailing service.

The Tesla CEO has repeatedly emphasized that much of Tesla's value revolves around its self-driving technology. Tesla's stock has plummeted in recent weeks, and JP Morgan analysts said in a note to investors on Wednesday that the company had lost so much value since Musk took on his advisory role in government that they couldn't find another comparable drop in automotive history.

Even Tesla bull Dan Ives sounded an alarm: The analyst wrote on Tuesday that Tesla and Musk are facing a "moment of truth" as investors grow weary of Musk's focus on DOGE.

Tesla's dropping value puts pressure on the company's Robotaxi efforts. Ives said he puts "90%" of Tesla's value over the next few years on the company's autonomous technology and humanoid robot. Tesla has yet to file for a permit that would allow it to test the vehicle without a safety driver — a milestone that self-driving car startups Waymo and Zoox hit in 2020 and 2023, respectively.

The company has been on a hiring spree for test drivers across the country. In February, it hosted hiring events in Las Vegas and Dallas, according to a recruiter's post on X. It also posted openings for test drivers in several towns in Texas, Nevada, and California.

In Austin, Tesla has met with members of the city's autonomous vehicle taskforce and discussed robotaxi training for local emergency responders, according to emails viewed by Business Insider. Unlike California, Texas has few regulations around autonomous driving; vehicles are only required to be insured and capable of obeying traffic laws.

Do you work for Tesla or have a tip? Reach out to the reporter using a non-work email and device at [email protected] or via the encrypted messaging platform Signal at 248-894-6012.

• A luxury building in New York is selling what appears to be the city's most expensive wine cellar.
• 80 Clarkson's biggest wine cellar — a whopping 155 square feet — is priced at $1 million.
• The condo's 105 parking spots are set to hit the market for $750,000 each, a relative bargain.

One million dollars can buy a lot of real estate.

In Miami, you can get a two-bedroom home with a balcony overlooking Biscayne Bay. In Dallas, seven figures can easily purchase a house with over 3,000 square feet.

At 80 Clarkson Street in New York City, though, it'll get you a 155-square-foot room to store your wine — and that's after you've bought one of the condos upstairs, which start at $6.75 million.

80 Clarkson — a two-towered luxury building under construction in Manhattan's West Village set to have a squash court, Pilates center, and spa with hot and cold plunge pools — has revealed pricing for some of its apartments and amenities. The juicy details come from the offering plan, a disclosure document that developers are required to file with the state's attorney general.

The initial pricing for the first 26 units — out of a total of 112 — starts at $6.75 million for a two-bedroom with about 1,900 square feet and goes as high as $63 million for a five-bedroom with almost 7,000 square feet.

The most striking sums, however, are for the amenities: on-site wine cellars and parking spots.

While the cheapest of the 48 wine cellars for sale to homeowners starts at $40,000, the two most expensive units veer into the six figures. The most expensive cellar, with approximately 155 square feet, is listed for $1 million in the offering plan, while the second-most expensive, at 107 square feet, is priced at $750,000.

Other New York City buildings have offered homeowners the option to purchase wine cellars. As of February 2023, 180 East 88th Street on the Upper East Side had a 70-plus-bottle wine locker for $15,000, while 100 Barclay in Tribeca had 54 lockers that could hold about more than 100 bottles for $20,000, according to the New York Times.

Jonathan Miller — the cofounder of real-estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel who has analyzed New York City listing and sales data since the 1980s— told Business Insider that 80 Clarkson's wine cellar is the most expensive that he can recall.

Real-estate developers try to get more bang for their buck by making every square inch of the building available to buy, Miller added.

"Over the 15 or 20 years, there has been much more emphasis on monetizing every square inch of a building," he said. "The developer only has one chance, so any unused space is marketed."

The developers of 80 Clarkson are Zeckendorf Development and Atlas Capital Group with the Baupost Group. According to pro-development real-estate site New York YiIMBY, 80 Clarkson will cost $1.25 billion to build.

The parking spots at 80 Clarkson, while expensive, aren't record-setting. The building's 105 spots are going for $750,000 apiece. Around 2015, the priciest parking spaces in New York City were approaching $1 million.

80 Clarkson is currently on track for completion in December 2026.

German police said that four vehicles were set on fire in Berlin on Friday morning, and that political motives could not be ruled out.

Rory McIlroy is near the top of the PLAYERS Championship, but he had to earn his 5-under 67 the hard way as his struggles off the tee continue.

Steven Soderbergh blurs the lines between personal and professional in spy thriller "Black Bag," its stars tell Newsweek.

Ukraine surrendered its Soviet-era nuclear stockpile more than three decades ago and experts have questioned whether Kyiv miscalculated.

Fourteen years after Syria's civil war began, the nation's new Islamist government faces sectarian conflict on four fronts.

A China-born cryptocurrency billionaire with six passports is under scrutiny after paying Elon Musk's SpaceX for a mission to space

Austin-Travis County EMS said three adults and two children were among the dead.

• Cybertruck owners told BI about their experiences facing growing hostility and verbal harassment.
• The negative sentiment comes as anti-Elon Musk protests and calls to boycott Tesla have cropped up across the US.
• Despite harrowing incidents, some Cybertruck owners said they still experience mostly positive interactions.

Crude drawings of genitalia on your vehicle. Drivers getting out of their cars at stoplights to scream at you. A paintball gun letting loose in your direction. 18-wheelers refusing to let you merge.

It's not easy driving the most controversial vehicle in the world.

Business Insider spoke to 10 Cybertruck owners about their recent experiences with the vehicle. While some of the owners said their interactions are mostly positive, others said they've seen a notable spike in harassment or a continuation of negative interactions they encountered long before the "Tesla Takedown" protests began.

The Cybertruck has sparked mixed reactions since its release more than a year ago, with some owners previously describing getting flipped off as a right of passage of sorts.

But, for some owners, hostility has become more frequent and extreme in recent weeks as anti-Elon Musk protests and Tesla boycott movements gain momentum in response to Musk's political involvement with the Trump administration and DOGE.

Some of it has made headlines. There have been a number of vandalism incidents involving Molotov cocktails, suspected arson, and even gunshot damage at Tesla dealerships and charging stations, with some leading to arrests. Cybertruck owners have posted photos on social media showing graffiti on their trucks.

At the wheel of the vehicle most associated with Musk, the 10 Cybertruck drivers detailed some of the incidents they've encountered in recent months.

Insults, intimidation, and road rage

One Cybertruck owner who requested anonymity to speak freely told BI that his recent experiences have been "unsettling and disheartening."

The longtime Tesla owner said he was recently washing his new Cybertruck in his driveway when a stranger drove by and opened the car door to shout offensive remarks before speeding off. In addition to being yelled at, he said he's also recently been flipped off and honked at. The owner said his recent experiences led him to write a letter to his congressman.

"No one in America should feel threatened or targeted simply for driving a vehicle," the Cybertruck owner said.

None of the Cybertruck owners BI spoke to encountered the kind of lasting damage to their vehicles that has made headlines recently, like broken windows at a Mardi Gras parade. Still, several said they've seen strangers get too close for comfort.

Steven Minnick, a Cybertruck owner from New Jersey, said he recently went skiing in Vermont and came back to drawings of genitalia on his vehicle and derogatory insults.

While the drawings on the stainless steel washed off, Minnick said the crude drawing on his bumper was "scratched into the plastic," and didn't come off after several washes. He said it's now almost gone after using chemicals and buffing pads to remove it.

"I was kind of shocked," Minnick said, adding that he counted about 12 middle fingers, a thumbs down, and an "L," from people when driving through Vermont. He said he usually only gets flipped off once every couple of weeks in New Jersey.

Tommy Huynh, a Cybertruck owner, told BI that he's watched people on Sentry Mode flick the car with their finger when he's parked. He also said his Cybertruck got shot with a paintball gun in early January, although he said he hasn't noticed a particular increase in negative interactions since Trump's reelection.

After seeing repeated instances of vandalism in the media and online, some owners have become uncomfortable with leaving their vehicles unattended. One Cybertruck owner from Pennsylvania told BI he recently went to an auto show and left his Cybertruck at home because he thought someone "might do something" to it.

Solo Arnett recently got a Cybertruck and said he had an 18-wheeler truck refuse to let him merge when he was on the highway. Another Cybertruck owner said he's experienced two recent instances of people getting out at traffic lights and screaming at him to get out of the truck.

"The Cybertruck just seems to send people over the edge a bit," the owner, who asked to remain anonymous, told BI. "It makes no sense, I'm not Elon!"

In the months since Musk's endorsement of Trump and work with DOGE, some Tesla owners have decided to sell their vehicles due to the brand's close association with the company's CEO.

"Arrested Development" and "Ozark" actor Jason Bateman, for example, said last year that he got rid of his Tesla after Musk's endorsement of President Donald Trump because he felt like he was "driving around [with] a Trump sticker with that car."

Some Tesla owners have purchased bumper stickers proclaiming "I Bought This Before We Knew Elon Was Crazy."

Other Cyberturck owners told BI that they've been taunted verbally or in social settings.

Jay O'Brien, a Cybertruck owner from Kansas City, said he hears people talking in parking lots as he walks to and from his truck. At a recent trivia night, he also said several players made jokes about the Cybertruck parked outside.

O'Brien said most of the interactions are still "more good than bad" though, and that he found some of the jokes about Tesla funny.

Some Cybertruck drivers say they aren't phased

The Pennsylvania Cybertruck owner said within a week of the new administration, he started to notice increased negative interactions. He said he feels like it's now become cool and socially acceptable to flip off Tesla owners.

Several other owners told BI they haven't noticed a major difference in negativity since the election, and some said they've mainly seen it online.

Huynh and Minnick said that, for the most part, they've experienced a continued level of negativity from before and after the election, and while Minnick's experience in Vermont caught him off guard, it was isolated to that trip.

The Pennsylvania Cybertruck owner also added that even though the negative interactions he's experienced have increased, people's reactions mostly remain positive, with children, in particular, expressing excitement at seeing the electric truck.

For some owners, the positive moments are a bright spot amid the challenges that can come with driving the EV.

Arnett recalled an exchange in the last week when a man approached his Cybertruck and asked for a video with it for his bedridden son, who the man said is a huge fan.

"I let him get in the truck and everything. It was a touching experience," Arnett said.

Are you a Tesla owner who has recently experienced harassment or vandalism? We want to hear from you. Contact this reporter via a non-work email at [email protected] or through the secure messaging app Signal at aalt.19.

• In a letter to the US government, OpenAI slammed its fast-rising Chinese rival, DeepSeek.
• "While America maintains a lead on AI today, DeepSeek shows that our lead is not wide and is narrowing," OpenAI wrote.
• The letter also outlined policy recommendations to secure America's lead in AI.

OpenAI has launched an attack on its fast-rising Chinese rival, DeepSeek.

In a 15-page letter to the US government on Thursday, OpenAI called DeepSeek's latest model, R1, a "noteworthy" development — one that signals China's growing AI ambitions and underscores the tightening competition between the rival countries.

"While America maintains a lead on AI today, DeepSeek shows that our lead is not wide and is narrowing," Chris Lehane, OpenAI's vice president of global affairs, wrote to the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Founded in 2023 by Chinese entrepreneur Liang Wenfeng, DeepSeek shook up the AI industry and the US stock market with its low-cost reasoning model, R1, unveiled in January. The company said its R1 model rivals top competitors, like ChatGPT's o1, but at a fraction of the cost.

The company behind ChatGPT didn't hold back its criticism of the Chinese model. Lehane warned that using DeepSeek in critical infrastructure and other high-risk applications poses a "significant risk" because DeepSeek could be pressured by the Chinese government to manipulate its models.

The US Navy has warned service members against using DeepSeek, and Taiwan banned it in government agencies in February over security concerns.

"Because DeepSeek is simultaneously state-subsidized, state-controlled, and freely available, the cost to its users is their privacy and security," Lehane wrote.

Lehane also said DeepSeek's AI is "more willing" to generate responses for illicit and harmful activities, including identity fraud and intellectual property theft.

"The Chinese Communist Party views violations of American intellectual property rights as a feature, not a flaw," he wrote.

Lehane warned that China would use AI as a geopolitical tool by offering DeepSeek to countries needing AI tools and infrastructure funding — a move aligned with its existing Belt and Road initiative. For over a decade, China has used this program to spend more than $1 trillion on infrastructure programs globally.

OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman called DeepSeek's R1 an "invigorating" competitor in January, saying it would push his company to release "better models" faster.

Securing America's lead in AI

OpenAI's letter also outlined policy recommendations to secure America's lead in AI.

The letter was written in response to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy's request for public input in February.

In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the US to "sustain and enhance America's global AI dominance" while revoking the Biden administration's order demanding greater transparency from AI companies.

His administration is now tasked with developing an AI Action Plan by July.

Lehane on Thursday proposed a series of "freedom-focused" policies, including a regulatory strategy that would relieve American AI developers from complying with "overly burdensome state laws."

The company also said the US government could make it easier for AI companies to train on copyrighted material, arguing that strict copyright laws could slow innovation and restrict access to training data.

OpenAI and its peers have been criticized for using copyrighted content to train models. Authors and news outlets, including The New York Times, have sued OpenAI, saying the startup is breaking copyright law.

Lehane proposed a copyright strategy that would protect creators' rights while safeguarding America's AI leadership and national security.

"The federal government can both secure Americans' freedom to learn from AI, and avoid forfeiting our AI lead to the PRC by preserving American AI models' ability to learn from copyrighted material," he said.

The 88-year-old pope first entered hospital in Rome on February 14.

Allissa's two-year-old son and her dog Hudson have lots of common interests: zoomies, tennis balls, ice cream and, of course, snacks.

Deprived of all levers of federal power, and with their party's popularity at rock bottom, some Democrats are taking a polarizing new tack: Engaging with the enemy.

Why it matters: Backlash against cultural elitism — and a reluctance to take risks — fueled the party's loss in 2024. Ambitious Democrats are reckoning with the need to reach beyond their base as they try to claw out of the wilderness.

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Driving the news: None have been as daring as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has rankled the Democratic base by hosting a trio of hardline MAGA voices for the first three episodes of his new podcast.

• Other party favorites are itching to take the fight to Republicans on their home turf, sensing opportunity as President Trump's honeymoon fades and DOGE cuts grow more unpopular.
• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former VP nominee Tim Walz are touring red districts, filling a vacuum where some Republicans have refused to hold town halls.

The intrigue: Far from staging combative debates, Newsom — who's widely expected to run for president in 2028 — struck a conciliatory tone and sought middle ground in his debut podcast episodes.

• In a discussion with MAGA activist Charlie Kirk, Newsom broke with his party on trans athletes and owned up to "the dumbest bonehead move of my life" — dining maskless indoors at a French restaurant during COVID.
• With conservative radio host Michael Savage, Newsom slammed California's slow vote-counting process, complimented Tucker Carlson and called for protecting Ronald Reagan's legacy.
• With former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, Newsom was cordial and polite while giving Bannon ample time to promote his economic populist views — and his false claims that Trump won the 2020 election.

Between the lines: Other prominent liberals have ventured into the belly of the beast with a different mindset — engage in fierce but respectful debate with the goal of publicly exposing MAGA's flaws.

• A YouTube debate series by Jubilee Media — featuring titles such as "20 Trump Supporters Take on 1 Progressive" — routinely produces viral fireworks.
• Clips from this week's performance by left-wing commentator Sam Seder racked up tens of millions of views — hard currency in the war for online attention that's dominated by MAGA influencers.
• Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, another likely 2028 candidate, also has appeared on Jubilee's "Surrounded" series, as have several liberal streamers.

The big picture: Most Democrats have kept conservative media at arm's length, shunning the biggest MAGA platforms and personalities to avoid "normalizing" fringe rhetoric such as election denialism.

• Former President Biden never appeared on Fox News while in office, and the Democratic Party rejected the network as a primary debate host in 2020.
• "I think Democrats are afraid to talk to Trump voters," Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), whose victory was one of the party's few bright spots in 2024, told the New York Times.
• "I think Democrats are afraid to talk to people that are going to criticize them."

What to watch: With little to lose and a lot of ground to make up, that's beginning to change — for podcasters and politicians alike.

• Pod Save America's Jon Lovett welcomed Bill Maher, who challenged the left's prevailing support for transgender rights and gender-affirming care. His colleague Tommy Vietor went on Fox News with Jesse Watters.
• Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), a Fox News regular along with Buttigieg, has joined Truth Social, appeared on "The Joe Rogan Experience" and criticized the Democratic "Resistance" against Trump.

The bottom line: The right has built some of the country's most potent megaphones. Now Democrats are using them to try to climb their way out of a deep political hole.