Guy waving an American flag in a tiny Tesla Cybertruck

A person waving a US flag drives a toy Tesla Cybertruck (Frederic J. Brown/Getty Images)

Tesla could sell a record number of vehicles in the US this quarter

That won’t be enough to keep full-year global sales from falling.

Tesla is widely expected to have a bad year, but it could have a very good third quarter.

A popular analyst who goes by the name Troy Teslike currently expects Tesla to sell a record 178,000 vehicles in the US this quarter, which is two-thirds of the way through, up from 156,000 a year ago. (Tesla doesn’t break out vehicle deliveries by region, so Teslike backs those numbers using Vehicle Identification Number data.)

The surge, he says, is due in part to pulled-forward demand from subsequent quarters, as EV buyers generally try and purchase vehicles before the government’s $7,500 credit ends on September 30. Tesla is also trying to get ahead of the incentive deadline, since it’s expected to hurt both the company’s top and bottom lines, by offering steeper discounts than other EV makers. The effort appears to be working, as Tesla is running out of inventory in the US.

But while the US is Tesla’s biggest market, just one quarter of sales growth isn’t going to smooth out the declines from earlier this year, and presumably gains in Q3 will come at the expense of Q4 sales, after the incentive expires. Nor will it undo continued declining sales in Tesla’s other major markets, including China and Europe.

Globally, Teslike estimates Tesla sales will be 466,000 in the third quarter — less than a percentage point higher than Q3 2024 (though quite a bit higher than the FactSet analyst consensus of 433,000). For the full year, Teslike is estimating 1.6 million deliveries, a 9% drop in sales compared with last year, about the same as analysts.

“We’re in this weird transition period where we will lose a lot of incentives in the US,” CEO Elon Musk himself recently told investors, adding that Tesla "could have a few rough quarters” ahead.

Jon Keegan

17m

Report: Microsoft adds Anthropic alongside OpenAI in Office 365, citing better performance

In a move that could test its fraught $13 billion partnership, Microsoft is moving away from relying solely on OpenAI to power its AI features in Office 365, and will now also include Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4 model, according to a report from The Information.

The move is a tectonic shift that boosts Anthropic’s standing, heightens risks for OpenAI and has huge ramifications for the balance of power in the fast-moving AI field.

According to the report, Microsoft executives found Anthropic’s AI outperformed OpenAI’s on tasks involving spreadsheets and generating Powerpoint slide decks, both crucial parts of Microsoft’s Office 365 productivity suite.

Microsoft will have to pay the competition to provide the services —Amazon Web Services currently hosts Anthropic’s models while Microsoft’s Azure cloud service does not, according to The Information.

OpenAI is also reportedly working on its own productivity suite of apps.

Microsoft to Buy AI From Anthropic in Partial Shift From OpenAI

The move is a tectonic shift that boosts Anthropic’s standing, heightens risks for OpenAI and has huge ramifications for the balance of power in the fast-moving AI field.

OpenAI is also reportedly working on its own productivity suite of apps.

Jon Keegan

Apple announces extra-slim iPhone Air, iPhone Pro with longer battery life, updated AirPods Pro 3 with live language translation, and refreshed Apple Watch line

At today's "Awe dropping" Apple event, the company announced its yearly refresh of the iPhone lineup. The new iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max were joined by a brand new iPhone — the iPhone Air — a super-thin model with tougher glass, and faster processors.

Apple shares dipped on news of the products releases and is down about 1.4% on the day in afternoon trading.

The company also announced an updated Apple Watch line — Series 11, SE3, and Ultra 3 —with new features like 5G, high blood pressure detection, 24 hour battery life and satellite communication.

Apple iPhone 17 — Apple’s iPhone 17 (Photo: Apple)

Here’s a breakdown of the new products Apple announced.

The ultra-thin iPhone Air that was described by Apple as “A paradox you have to hold to believe”. The sleek 5.6mm thin iPhone features a crack and scratch resistant front and back, “Macbook Pro-levels of compute,” which you can pair with a weird $59 “crossbody strap.” Starts at $999
The iPhone 17 has a faster A19 chip, an improved smart selfie camera, and a higher-resolution screen. Starts at $799
The iPhone 17 Pro has a new design, ever-faster A19 Pro chip, a tougher "ceramic shield" on the front and back, better cameras and and a bigger battery that gets an extra 10 hours of video playback compared to its predecessor. It costs $100 more than the previus generation, but the minimum storage has doubled to 256GB. Starts at $1,099.
iPhone 17 Pro Max Starts at $1,199
AirPods Pro 3 with AI-powered live translation, a new hear rate sensor, and 8 hours of battery life with improved active noise cancellation. The new AirPods can also track workouts, and Apple says they are built to fit more peoples’ ears with a new design and new foam ear tips. $249
Apple Watch Series 11 which has 5G, a new high blood pressure detection feature, improved sleep tracking, a more scratch-resistant face and 24 hours of battery life.
The entry level Apple Watch SE 3 gets 5G, new health tracking features and an always-on display. Starts at $249.
The chunky Apple Watch Ultra 3 has an impressive 42-hour battery life, satellite communications for emergencies, and a brighter and bigger display. Starts at $799.

Claire Yubin Oh & Jon Keegan

11h

Nebius soars after signing a 5-year deal with Microsoft to supply nearly $20 billion worth of AI computing power

Artificial intelligence infrastructure group Nebius jumped more than 50% in early trading on Tuesday after the company announced after the close on Monday a major deal to supply computing power for Microsoft’s AI operations.

Under the agreement, Nebius — which rose from the ashes of Russian tech giant Yandex — will provide Microsoft “access to dedicated GPU infrastructure capacity in tranches at its new data center in Vineland, New Jersey over a five-year term.” The New Jersey data center has a capacity of 300 megawatts. The total contract value through 2031 is $17.4 billion, though, if further capacity is required, the contract value could rise to $19.4 billion.

The deal represents a sizable portion of Microsoft’s proposed annual capital expenditure on AI, which is expected to reach $120 billion by the end of fiscal 2026.

Nebius and competitor CoreWeave are both on the short list of startups that Nvidia has invested in. Nvidia’s small stake in the former is now worth about $120 million.

Nebius announces multi-billion dollar agreement with Microsoft for AI infrastructure

The deal represents a sizable portion of Microsoft’s proposed annual capital expenditure on AI, which is expected to reach $120 billion by the end of fiscal 2026.

Nebius and competitor CoreWeave are both on the short list of startups that Nvidia has invested in. Nvidia’s small stake in the former is now worth about $120 million.

President Trump hosts tech executives and their guests to a dinner at the White House in the Oval Office.

Here are the Trump ties among the tech leaders who had dinner at the White House

Many of the attendees have donated to, vocally supported, or even worked for the president.

Jon Keegan9/8/25

Rani Molla

9/8/25

Tesla’s EV market share declined to 38% in August

In August, Tesla’s share of the US EV market fell to 38%, according to new data from Cox Automotive reported by Reuters. Tesla’s market share fell below 50% for the first time last year, as competitors’ EVs began hitting the market. Now, as Tesla’s own sales slip more drastically than they had last year, it’s giving up even more ground. Tesla’s market share fell from 48.7% in June to 42% in July to 38% in August, according to Reuters. That slide has come even as buyers rushing to take advantage of the federal tax credit that ends this month provide a near-term boon for sales at Tesla and other EV makers.