Apple CEO Tim Cook poses for selfies (Timothy Clary/AFP via Getty Images)

Slow iPhone sales are weighing on AT&T, too

No good news for Apple from the telecoms just yet.

10/23/24 8:29AM

AT&T doesn’t seem to have seen a surge in iPhone sales for the latest model, either. The telecom reported that its mobile-equipment operating revenue was down nearly 6% in the third quarter compared to a year earlier. The quarter goes through the end of September and would include, but is not limited to, early iPhone sales, since those went on preorder midway through the month. Those declines offset higher services sales and contributed to a slight revenue miss.

That’s similar to Verizon, which reported yesterday that its mobile-equipment sales were down 8% in the third quarter. T-Mobile reports after the bell, so we’ll see if there’s a telecom trifecta.

The reports let some more air out of the idea that Apple’s iPhone 16 will drive a super-cycle of upgrades.

“You might even argue whether or not everything that Apple is offering right now on this device really requires a hardware change,” AT&T CEO John Stankey said during a Goldman Sachs technology conference last month. “It’s entirely possible other software and other apps show up on the device; it does many of the same things that they’re offering in Apple Intelligence that can be done somewhere else on the deck.”

As we’ve mentioned before, people don’t really buy new iPhones for new features. Instead they get one when their last phone breaks or is lost or is too old to hold a charge. At the same time, phones, especially iPhones, are lasting much longer than they used to. Meanwhile, hardware upgrades are more incremental, meaning there’s less difference in a phone’s capabilities from one year to the next. Therefore people are holding onto their phones longer.

Bullish analysts had hoped that Apple’s incorporation of AI in its latest iPhone would be such a sea change that consumers would need to upgrade. Seeing as Apple Intelligence capabilities are only coming out in underwhelming dribs and drabs, it’s not causing the masses to rush the Apple stores — or AT&T’s or Verizon’s — for a new iPhone just yet.

Jon Keegan2h

Sora’s ghoulish reanimation of dead celebrities raises alarms

OpenAI’s video generation app Sora has spent its first two weeks at the top of the charts.

The startup’s fast-and-loose approach to enforcing intellectual property rights has seen the app flooded with videos of trademarked characters in all sorts of ugly scenarios.

But another area where Sora users have been pushing the limits involves videos that reanimate dead celebrities.

And we’re not talking just JFK, MLK, and Einstein. Videos featuring more recently deceased figures such as Robin Williams (11 years ago), painter Bob Ross (30 years ago), Stephen Hawking (seven years ago), and even Queen Elizabeth II (three years ago) have been generated. Some of the videos are racist and offensive, shocking the relatives of the figures.

OpenAI told The Washington Post that it is now allowing representatives of “recently deceased” celebrities and public figures to request that their likenesses be blocked from the service, though the company did not give a precise time frame for what it considered recent.

AI videos of dead celebrities are horrifying many of their families

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But another area where Sora users have been pushing the limits involves videos that reanimate dead celebrities.

Rani Molla3h

Tesla is selling unsold Cybertrucks to Elon Musk’s other companies

Sales of Tesla’s Cybertruck, once expected to reach hundreds of thousands per year, are currently in the low tens of thousands range and falling. Last quarter in the US, Tesla sold fewer than 5,400 of the “apocalypse-proof” vehicles, for a total of about 16,000 this year, Business Insider reports, citing Cox Automotive data.

That’s a 63% drop from the same quarter a year ago, even as Tesla as a whole notched its best quarterly sales ever, spurred by the expiration of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.

With sales lagging, the company has dialed back production of the stainless steel behemoths, but there’s still been an excess.

Fortunately for Tesla, Electrek reports that CEO Elon Musk has other uses for Cybertrucks within his other companies, which often share resources and personnel. Tesla is delivering truckloads of the EV to both xAI (which Tesla shareholders will vote next month on whether to invest in) and SpaceX, where Cybertrucks are replacing internal combustion engine support fleets.

There’s a lot of chatter about “circular deals” in the billion-dollar pacts announced in the AI space on a weekly basis. But it doesn’t get much more circular than this, with production and buying activity kept within the Musk corporate family.

Elon Musk's SpaceX and xAI are buying Tesla's unsold Cybertrucks

That’s a 63% drop from the same quarter a year ago, even as Tesla as a whole notched its best quarterly sales ever, spurred by the expiration of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.

With sales lagging, the company has dialed back production of the stainless steel behemoths, but there’s still been an excess.

Rani Molla5h

Tesla has begun selling the Model Y Standard in parts of Europe, where it has lots of cheaper competition

Days after rolling out “Standard” trim levels of its Model Y and Model 3 in the US, Tesla has started selling the Model Y Standard in some European countries. Standard Model Ys begin at about 40,000 euros, depending on the country, roughly 10,000 euros cheaper than the current Premium versions. In the US, Standard versions are about $5,000 cheaper than their souped-up peers. The model isn’t yet on sale in the UK or Ireland, where cars are driven on the left-hand side of the road.

While the Standard Teslas are cheaper, they pale in comparison to the many affordable EV options available in Europe, including those from China’s BYD, some of which start below 25,000 euros. CEO Elon Musk has called Europe the company’s “weakest market,” blaming the lack of approval for Tesla’s full self-driving technology for the shortfall.

Model 3 Standards don’t appear to be available yet in Europe.

Jon Keegan10/10/25

OpenAI commits up to $25 billion for 500-megawatt “Stargate Argentina” data center

OpenAI has reportedly signed a letter of intent to invest up to $25 billion on “Stargate Argentina,” a new 500-megawatt AI data center.

Reuters reports that the deal would involve tax incentives.

In a video announcing the project, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said:

“Our vision for Stargate Argentina is to deliver a major boost to the country’s AI infrastructure, creating a foundation for new capabilities from smarter public services to tools that help small businesses compete globally.”

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

You may remember the name “Stargate” from the megaproject that tech giants and the Trump administration announced earlier this year to build a huge number of data centers in the US. And you may remember Argentina as the nation the Trump administration is now bailing out with a $20 billion currency swap.

Millie Giles

BORN TO SCROLL

10/10/25

Nearly 40% of kids under 2 years old interact with smartphones, according to their parents

A new Pew Research study outlines just how pervasive technology use among US children has become.