🍏 How’s the Apple car project going?

PLUS: Rihanna’s fashion empire, explained. Brought to you by The Hustle together with StockCharts.com. February 12, 2021 [The Hustle] [The Hustle]( TOGETHER WITH [StockCharts.com]( Bumble, the dating app, surged 70%+ in its debut and is now valued at $14B+. Its co-founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd is the youngest female founder (31) to take a US company public… and is well into the “tres commas club.” Just in time for V-Day, too! The Big Idea [Apple Car] Apple has a plan to disrupt the $10T auto industry… that no one knows much about Few things are guarded more heavily than the Krabby Patty secret formula. Apple’s auto ambitions are among them. With Apple looking to enter a $10T industry, it would need only a [2%]( share of the market to reach the size of the iPhone business. Piece of cake. So, here’s what we do know Apple’s had an on-again-off-again [history]( with cars: - 2015-2017: The WSJ reports on Apple’s “Titan” project. Apple flip-flops between consumer cars and self-driving software, but it appears to double down on hardware when California’s DMV gives it a permit to operate on roads. - 2018-2019: A Lexus-built Apple test car is rear-ended -- somewhat ironically -- by a Nissan LEAF. The future for Titan looks bleak, but then Apple acquires an autonomous-driving startup. - 2020-2021: Apple continues to patent car parts and reportedly enters talks with auto manufacturers. It’s unclear how these talks are going Recent rumors revolved around an Apple-Hyundai deal to build cars at a Georgia plant by 2024. But those talks reportedly broke down, since Apple wanted complete control over brand, design, and development, and Hyundai didn’t want to be [another]( Foxconn. Now it seems Apple’s back to the drawing board, with analysts naming BMW, Magna, Nissan, and Stellantis as potential [partners](. What's unclear is whether Apple is working on a consumer car or a vehicle for last-mile, autonomous robotaxi services. Either way, Apple’s playing catch-up Tesla accounted for less than [1%]( of global vehicle sales in 2020, but its market cap is about equivalent to the 9 largest car brands combined. Likely the biggest advantages for Tesla -- as well as Google’s Waymo, GM’s Cruise, and Amazon’s Zoox -- are its millions of miles on the road, essential for self-driving tech. Apple’s test cars drove just ~[19k]( miles in 2020. Years ago, Elon Musk reportedly reached out to Tim Cook with an [offer]( to acquire Tesla at 1/10th its current value. Per Musk, Cook refused to take the meeting. We wrote about why the iPhone maker would never buy Tesla [here](. (TLDR: these types of deals -- acquiring brand or revenue -- are not in Apple’s DNA...but the longer Apple kicks the iCar down the road, the more questions we’ll be asking.) [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Apple+has+a+plan+to+disrupt+the+%2410T+auto+industry%E2%80%A6+that+no+one+knows+much+about%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F02122021-Apple-car%3Futm_campaign%3DApple%2BCar%2BProject%26utm_content%3D02122021-Apple-car%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Snippets - Facebook lowers the temp: The company announced [plans]( to limit the amount of political content on people’s news feeds. (FB’s [Instagram]( will now ban accounts that send racist DMs, after pro soccer players were targeted). - Disney+ hit [95m]( subscribers, compared to Netflix at ~200m. This revelation was a bright spot in earnings that included lagging Parks revenue. (We wrote about the state of the streaming biz [here](). - Microsoft sticks a pin in it: In recent months, the company reportedly held [talks]( with Pinterest in an attempt to acquire the $51B social network, but the talks are no longer active. - Shell goes green: The global gas conglomerate announced aggressive plans to [reduce]( oil production by 55% in the next decade and roll out 500k EV charging stations by 2025. - The nation’s oldest bank -- Bank of New York Mellon -- said it plans to start [financing]( cryptocurrencies over the financial networks it uses for traditional holdings. - Biotech startup Immunai raised $60m for its tech, which marries next-generation AI with large data sets from the “world-leading immunological research organizations,” per [TechCrunch](. What for? To enhance existing immunotherapies. - If you use Adorcam... this isn’t good news: Thousands of user [webcam]( videos from the app were left entirely exposed for public consumption.  Micromobility [Helbiz rides] Helbiz is scootin' onto the NASDAQ Micromobility will make its stock market debut next quarter. Per [TechCrunch](, Helbiz ($HLBZ) -- an electric bike and scooter company with a pretty incredible name -- will merge with a SPAC (GreenVision Acquisition Corp.), valuing the combined entity at $408m. Who the Hel(biz)? If you haven’t heard of Helbiz, you’re certainly not alone. The micromobility startup operates in only 6 US markets (Washington, DC; Arlington, Alexandria, and Richmond, Virginia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Miami, Florida) and has been steamrolled across North America by the popularity and media attention of its competitors, including Bird and Lime. CEO Salvatore Palella has instead set his sights on Europe, where Helbiz operates in 13 cities… all in his home country of Italy. The triple-threat trend TechCrunch reports the company has “tried to differentiate itself” with a diverse portfolio of vehicles, including e-bikes and e-mopeds. One hiccup: Helbiz's competitors have, quite literally, the exact same offerings. To really mix things up, Helbiz plans to introduce ghost kitchens in Milan and DC to provide “5-minute delivery.” If that works, it could be “one hell of a biz.” [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Helbiz+is+scootin%27+onto+the+NASDAQ%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F02122021-Helbiz%3Futm_campaign%3DApple%2BCar%2BProject%26utm_content%3D02122021-Helbiz%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SPONSORED Since 1999, this company has given people like us clarity into the financial markets By “people like us” we mean “the average investor.” Sure, some of us (Trung) might have a CFA, but more of us simply have some disposable income and a [vague understanding that we need to invest]( -- and with little idea of how, where, or why. Oh great. Here come the stress hives again… StockCharts.com was started to help regular joes like us out Ex-Microsoft engineer Chip Anderson bought the domain on a whim in 1999 (hey, it was the hot thing to do then), and it’s only grown from there. Since then, [StockCharts.com]( has expanded into a multi-dimensional platform offering tools and education to make investing accessible to all levels: - Master the basics with [ChartSchool]( - Keep tabs on the entire market with their 24/7 streaming channel [StockCharts TV]( - Access the best charting and analysis with [StockChartsACP]( The market is on fire this year -- and all the tools you need to tackle it are over at StockCharts.com. Check ‘em out: [Smarter investing →]( Rihanna’s Empire [Rihanna gif] Rihanna will always be #1 in our hearts (Source: YouTube / Vogue) How’s Rihanna’s fashion empire going? She’s not just a pretty face. Rihanna has a whole umbrella (🎶🎵 ella, ella 🎶🎵) of product lines under her eponymous brand Fenty. Even with no new albums since 2016, Rihanna has 90m+ followers on Instagram and is a brand unto herself. For instance, she recently spent 3 years as creative director at Puma. Yet Rihanna’s newest line, Fenty Fashion House, is [shuttering]( less than 2 years after launching with LVMH -- a French fashion giant with a $320B+ valuation. This was LVMH’s first brand launch since [1987](. Nowhere to go = less clothes bought The global fashion industry experienced a [93%]( drop in profit in 2020. With Americans [conscientious]( of discretionary spending, the brands they’re buying are often affordable and promote inclusion of all sizes and ethnicities. In contrast, Fenty pieces can cost [upwards of $500](. Its strategy of releasing [8 collections]( per year (common in high-fashion labels) wasn’t a match for Rihanna’s fan base. It’s blue skies otherwise for RiRi A few fashion categories, like [beauty and loungewear](, are doing well. In spite of a [crowded]( market of celebrity-founded brands, Rihanna’s other Fenty lines are performing well (and a net worth of [$600m+]( reflects this): - Fenty Beauty: Its revenue hit [$570m]( as recently as 2018 - Fenty Skin: Her skincare line saw [$30m]( in sales in ~4 months - Savage x Fenty: The lingerie line just announced a [$115m](funding round (it has recently grown [200%+]() The closing of Fenty Fashion House has downsized Rihanna’s empire. But Fenty’s other lines make it so that there are, ahem, “[no clouds in her stones](.” [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=How%E2%80%99s+Rihanna%E2%80%99s+fashion+empire+going%3F%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F02122021-Rihanna-Fenty%3Futm_campaign%3DApple%2BCar%2BProject%26utm_content%3D02122021-Rihanna-Fenty%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Just wow Wendy’s #NationalRoastDay It’s widely known that fast-food chain Wendy’s has one of the best corporate Twitter accounts out there. Well, yesterday was #NationalRoastDay which -- for the uninitiated -- is when other Twitter brands ask Wendy’s to roast them. For lack of a better phrase, Wendy’s was straight murdering corporate Twitter accounts with A++ one-liners. Here are brutal roastings of Microsoft Bing and Oreo… ...and of Triscuits and Outback Steakhouse (see more [here](). The Hustle Says Here’s how to invest in real estate without being a landlord: Caliber gives regular people like you and I access to the distressed real estate market -- [and you can get in on their mini-IPO right here](.* [GeoGuessr]( drops you in a random location on Google Earth, then makes you scan your surroundings to guess where you are. (Hint: look for street signs.) Want to take your startup to the next level? Newchip Accelerator has helped over 1K startups build, scale, and succeed -- collectively raising $150 million. Your biz could be next: [Apply to join here]([.](* Boost your career by learning a new language. Babbel (the #1 selling language app in the world) is giving you [up to 50% off with this special offer](, so you can start speaking a language in as little as 3 weeks.* *This is a sponsored post. Apple collab of the day [Motorola Steve Jobs Keynote] Apple’s collaboration history has always been spotty. The last time the iPhone maker gave up much design control was in 2005. Two years prior to the release of the iPhone, Apple partnered with Motorola on the Rokr E1 (AKA the “[iTunes phone](”). All you need to know is that it had a keyboard... which must have kept Steve Jobs up at all hours of the night. While the phone was a flop, Apple applied lessons it learned to take the iPhone to the moon. Shower Thoughts - [Wikipedia's writing has a surprisingly consistent tone considering how many people contribute to it.]( - [People in the Kool Aid universe probably need to buy Kool Aid Man insurance in case he destroys their house.]( - [It takes a lot of courage to list a piece of exercise equipment for sale and include “barely used” in the description.]( - [Hockey is a sport. Fighting is a sport. Hockey is the only sport that allows you to take a break and play another sport in the middle of a game.]( - [Nothing is stopping you from putting a bike lock on someone else’s bike.]( [via Reddit]( SHARE THE HUSTLE [Hustle Cons Greatest Hits ebook]( Over the years, we’ve learned… secrets. The business secrets, tips, and tricks that have helped founders go from zero to millions -- and even billions -- of dollars. Want to see ‘em? Just refer 3 more friends to The Hustle and we’ll send you our curated set of interviews with founders from brands like Zola, AWAY, Vungle, Bonobos, and more. Here’s a message you can use to share with your friends: Hey! Do you read The Hustle? It’s the best daily business newsletter out there -- only takes 5 minutes to read and you’ll sound like the smartest person in the room. Sign up here, it’s free: [ P.S. You can always check your referral count [here](. [Share The Hustle →]( How did you like today’s email? Today's email was brought to you by [@TrungTPhan](, [Jacob Cohen]( and [Shelley Tang](. Editing by: Brad “iMini-van” Wolverton, Juan Zapata (Bedtime Storyteller). [PODCAST]( [JOBS]( [ADVERTISE]( [CONTACT US](mailto:news@thehustle.co) [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [Trends]( 2131 THEO DR. STE F, AUSTIN, TX 78723, UNITED STATES • 415.506.7210 Never want to hear from us again? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](list=thehustle). [The Hustle](