My morning reads:
• Tesla’s Cratering Cybertruck Sales Evoke Ford Edsel Comparisons: Both automakers expected consumers to buy hundreds of thousands of their futuristic models per year. Tesla’s pickup is missing the mark by a wider margin. (Bloomberg)
• Bitcoin is a Zeppelin: It is impossible to convey to you, dear reader, how exciting the airship future was. HG Wells capitalized on his War of the Worlds fantasy novel with 1908’s The War in the Air, in which America is invaded by Zeppelins (we lose). Some considered it his masterpiece. (History Helps)
• China AI Companies Rush to Raise Funds and Close Gap With U.S. Raising capital at a frenetic pace before American export controls make the compute gap permanent. Startups plan IPOs and get private investment, but American rivals still bring in far more investor cash (Wall Street Journal)
• Flock Is in Serious Trouble After Massive Backlash: At least 53 cities have ended their contracts with the company so far. (Futurism)
• You’re obsessing over the wrong Peter Thiel conference: Forget Dialog. Bilderberg is where the actual masters of the universe meet. Three guesses who secretly funds it? (How to Survive the Broligarchy)
• The Curse of Cow Clicker: How a Cheeky Satire Became a Video Game Hit: Video game designer Ian Bogost meant Cow Clicker to be a satire with a short shelf life. Instead, the hit game enslaved him for more than a year. (Wired)
• This Conversation Is Being Recorded. They All Are.: AI recording apps and wearables are capturing every meeting, every call, every hallway chat. The Wall Street Journal on the workplace where nothing is ever off the record again. People in tech use AI apps to record and transcribe meetings, workplace chats and even dates—all in the name of productivity (Wall Street Journal)
• Three World Leaders. Three Incredibly Bad Decisions.: Trump, Netanyahu, and Putin — three catastrophic choices in 2026, each making the world measurably worse. (New York Times)
• How to keep cool in this year’s extreme summer heat even without air conditioning: Lessons from Uttar Pradesh, India, where temperatures easily soar upward of 120 degrees — and few people have access to an air conditioner. (NPR)
• These famous movies are secretly versions of ‘The Odyssey’ Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is just the latest retelling of Homer’s poem. See the movies and books inspired by the enduring classic. (USA Today) see also Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey Is Going to Drive the Right Wing Completely Insane: The Oscar winner’s latest is a Trojan horse of a film: a rip-roaring blockbuster secretly carrying a sober meditation on civility and intolerance. And Elon Musk is going to despise it. (Vanity Fair)
Video of the day: Will Ferrell | Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this weekend with Lori Heinel, Global Chief Investment Officer of State Street Investment Management, the money management arm of investing giant State Street. She oversees over $5.7 trillion in assets (as of year-end 2025), which includes everything from index funds and ETFs to active strategies, multi-asset solutions, and alternatives. She was named to Forbes’ 2025 “50 Over 50” list.
The AI investment race: The Fondues and Don’ts of Dating
Source: Jim Reid, Deutsche Bank
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