Business
business
Tom Jones

Taco Bell’s drive-thru is really quick but often wrong

One of our favorite annual datasets, QSR Magazine’s Drive-Thru Report, dropped yesterday and saw Taco Bell crowned as the fastest drive-thru in the industry for the 4th year in a row. But just how fast is the fastest food vendor in the business?

Well, Taco Bell customers could expect to spend just under 4 minutes and 15 seconds to complete the whole process (queuing for, placing, waiting on, and receiving their order) in 2024. But, although the Live Más chain is the fastest of the chains tracked, what it gains in speed it seems to lose in accuracy — according to the QSR report 15% of Taco Bell drive-thru orders were wrong.

Drive thru speeds
Sherwood News

Still, Taco Bell, which celebrated National Taco Day yesterday after recently swinging a deal with the organizers to ensure it always falls on a Tuesday, will be broadly happy with the results… and even happier when a fleet of new AI assistants start fitting into its already industry-leading system.

The 2024 QSR® Drive-Thru Report

The 2024 QSR® Drive-Thru Report

Well, Taco Bell customers could expect to spend just under 4 minutes and 15 seconds to complete the whole process (queuing for, placing, waiting on, and receiving their order) in 2024. But, although the Live Más chain is the fastest of the chains tracked, what it gains in speed it seems to lose in accuracy — according to the QSR report 15% of Taco Bell drive-thru orders were wrong.

Drive thru speeds
Sherwood News

Still, Taco Bell, which celebrated National Taco Day yesterday after recently swinging a deal with the organizers to ensure it always falls on a Tuesday, will be broadly happy with the results… and even happier when a fleet of new AI assistants start fitting into its already industry-leading system.

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Tom Jones14h
business
Max Knoblauch

Sony and Honda are scrapping Afeela, their joint EV that you could play PlayStation in

Less than two weeks after Honda said it would take an up to $15.7 billion write-down as it restructures its EV business, the automaker is scrapping an electric vehicle made in a joint venture with Sony.

The Afeela 1, a $90,000 EV with PlayStation 5 integration, was set to begin deliveries later this year.

A nearly six-figure EV that you could play “The Last of Us” in doesn’t exactly sound like a bestseller in the current electric vehicle landscape, but the announcement is still surprising given how far along the joint venture was. The JV had a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the grand opening of its delivery hub in California on March 21. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the JV teased a crossover SUV prototype as a second model.

In Honda’s EV write-down announcement earlier this month, the automaker canceled three models planned for production in the US.

Sony-Honda JV Abruptly Scraps Afeela EVs After Honda's $15.7 Billion Writedown | EV

Sony-Honda JV Abruptly Scraps Afeela EVs After Honda's $15.7 Billion Writedown | EV

A nearly six-figure EV that you could play “The Last of Us” in doesn’t exactly sound like a bestseller in the current electric vehicle landscape, but the announcement is still surprising given how far along the joint venture was. The JV had a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the grand opening of its delivery hub in California on March 21. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the JV teased a crossover SUV prototype as a second model.

In Honda’s EV write-down announcement earlier this month, the automaker canceled three models planned for production in the US.

business
Max Knoblauch

Disney ends its OpenAI deal after Sora video app is shuttered

Disney is exiting its first-of-its-kind deal with OpenAI now that the AI giant is winding down its AI video app, Sora, according to reporting by The Hollywood Reporter.

The news comes just three months after the deal — which included a reported $1 billion Disney investment in OpenAI and a license for the AI giant to use some Disney characters — was first announced.

“We appreciate the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we learned from it, and we will continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect IP and the rights of creators,” a Disney spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter.

Disney Exits OpenAI Deal After AI Giant Shutters Sora

Disney Exits OpenAI Deal After AI Giant Shutters Sora

“We appreciate the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we learned from it, and we will continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect IP and the rights of creators,” a Disney spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter.

business
Max Knoblauch

United CEO says airfares would have to go up another 20% to “break even” if fuel prices remain elevated

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby expects oil prices to stay higher for longer and warned that airfares, which have already gone up by double digits in the past few weeks, will need to climb another 20% in order for the airline to “break even” on fuel.

“Airfares are up 15% to 20% in the last few weeks, but that’s sort of covering half to 60% of the inflationary increase, so I think we have some room to go,” Kirby said in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday. “If oil prices stayed where they are today, that’s $11 billion of expense for us. And that would require prices to be up 20% to break even.”

Kirby said that he is sure there will be some consumer pushback to increased fares, but added, like several other airline execs recently, that Q1 demand is still strong.

“Demand is the strongest it’s been, ever. The top 10 booking weeks of the year have all been in 2026 so far,” he said.

Jet fuel costs have remained elevated amid the US war with Iran, with prices cracking the $4 mark last week, according to the Argus US Jet Fuel Index. Since US airlines have virtually all given up the practice of fuel hedging, they’re more exposed to volatility.

Last week, United issued a worst-case oil pricing forecast of $175 per barrel, with prices trading above $100 through 2027.

“It’s reasonable for us to plan for that regardless, because the downside is pretty limited,” said Kirby. “Like, [if] we leave a little bit of demand on the table by not flying quite as much this summer, so what.”

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