Hello, N2K’ers!

Donald Trump and Fed Chair Jay Powell had an amusing disagreement about the cost of renovating Powell’s Fed-quarters in front of TV cameras yesterday. It reminded me of an old married couple arguing about the cost of renovating their kitchen — only it cost a few billion bucks. The pair of them wearing identical hard hats made the scene extra comical:

Meanwhile, our Cheddquarters cost billions of dollars to build, let alone renovate, and that’s all good because nobody disputes the high value of this newsletter as a result. Do you? 🧀

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Uber launches new ‘woman driver’ option

• Google will spend yet another $10 billion on AI

• AI boss warns of coming wave of…AI fraud

• What’s next for Nextdoor? We asked the CEO!

• Let’s talk a bit about Tesla’s terrible results

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▲ 0.08% ) $DJI ( ▲ 0.05% ) $NDX ( ▲ 0.56% )

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter*

$UBER ( ▼ 0.13% )  $LYFT ( ▼ 1.14% )  $GOOGL ( ▲ 0.77% ) OpenAI Nextdoor $TSLA ( ▼ 2.59% )  $MORN ( ▼ 0.55% )  

*We’re mentioning private companies here now, too.

Uber launches new ‘woman driver’ option

Uber $UBER ( ▼ 0.13% ) is piloting an addition to its app that allows female passengers to request women drivers — a move aimed at addressing long-standing safety concerns. The feature, imaginatively called “Women Preferences,” will debut in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit in the coming weeks.

“Across the U.S., women riders and drivers have told us they want the option to be matched with other women on trips,” said Camiel Irving with Uber. The feature not only allows female riders to select women drivers but also enables women drivers to opt for female passengers using a new “Women Rider Preference.”

Safety has been a critical issue for Uber, with the company confronting serious challenges. Its safety report revealed nearly 6,000 sexual assault incidents from 2017 to 2018, though the number dropped to 2,717 by 2022. While Uber has introduced features like app-based safety hubs, the new option aims to foster an even safer and more comfortable environment for women.

This step aligns Uber with female-focused rideshare apps like HERide and Just Her Rideshare, as well as up with similar efforts by rival $LYFT ( ▼ 1.14% ) . The California Public Utilities Commission fined Uber $59 million in 2020 for not handing over sexual assault data, but that fine was slashed to $150,000 after the company cut a deal requiring it to provide anonymized data on sexual assault incidents.

Song of the day: Jonas Brothers, ‘I Can’t Lose.’

The Jonas Brothers continue their feel-good pop streak with “I Can’t Lose,” a stomping anthem that finds the trio celebrating the power of love. Its hook declares “I can’t lose when I’m with you,” and it’s true. Their combined net worth is thought to be around $150 million at this point. Stick it all on red, boys, if you’re so confident?

Google will spend yet another $10 billion on AI

Google announced a significant increase in its capital expenditures for 2025 this week, climbing to a whopping $85 billion, which is up from its previous forecast of a paltry $75 billion. The decision, revealed during the company's second-quarter earnings report, reflects surging demand for cloud services and AI-powered tools, both of which are reshaping the tech landscape.

“Strong and growing demand for our Cloud products and services” is driving the revised forecast, said Alphabet CFO Anat Ashkenazi in a post-earnings call. Cloud revenues rose by an impressive 32% in Q2, reaching $13.6 billion. However, growing demand has led to a $106 billion backlog, highlighting the "tight supply environment" for Google's cloud services, he said.

Can you imagine if you were $106 billion late on paying your credit card? My guess is the good people at the credit agencies would ding you a few points on your score…

A significant portion of the capital will go toward strengthening Google's technical infrastructure. While these investments demonstrate Google’s commitment to growth, they will affect short-term profits. “Obviously, we’re working hard to bring more capacity online,” Ashkenazi said. Obviously.

Today on the ‘gram: Keith Richards must be nervous

Post of the day: He needed the cheddar

Quote of the Day

AI boss warns of coming wave of…AI fraud

This is awkward. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has delivered a stark warning about the growing risks of (checks notes) his company’s products. A wave of AI-powered fraud is coming, he said, cautioning that the technology’s ability to mimic human voices and faces could soon create a “significant, impending fraud crisis.” Speaking at the Federal Reserve, Altman critiqued outdated authentication methods like voice prints, which remain in use by some financial institutions. “AI has fully defeated most of the ways that people authenticate currently, other than passwords,” he said, calling these methods “a crazy thing to still be doing.”

Altman’s comments come as AI deepfake scams are already on the rise. The FBI recently reported incidents of AI being used to clone voices, tricking victims into thinking loved ones were in distress. In one case, someone impersonated Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s voice in phone calls to foreign officials. “Right now, it’s a voice call; soon it’s going to be a video or FaceTime that’s indistinguishable from reality,” Altman warned.

To combat these risks, Altman is backing Tools for Humanity’s “The Orb,” a device aimed at offering “proof of human” in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. While OpenAI continues to push the boundaries of AI innovation, Altman urged policymakers to focus on balancing innovation with safeguards, calling the challenge “one we must confront soon.”

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👍️ 

Indeedy-doodley-doo, neighbor!

What’s next for Nextdoor? We asked the CEO!

Nextdoor aims to be “the essential app for your local life," CEO Nirav Tolia told us this week, rolling out a redesign. Tolia highlighted three key pillars: local news, alerts, and recommendations.

Historically, Nextdoor was "just user-generated content from neighbors," Tolia said. Now, it's "bringing in local news publications," with "3,500 publishers...publishing 50,000 articles a week" to keep users informed. For safety, a new alerts feature activates during emergencies, allowing neighbors to "easily connect with the information" and each other.

The third pillar leverages AI, with recommendations "trained on an LLM that creates almost a good neighbor AI in every neighborhood." This redesign signifies a "refounding moment," Tolia said, transforming the platform to "achieve what we think is achievable."

Let’s talk a bit about Tesla’s terrible results

Tesla’s $TSLA ( ▼ 2.59% ) stock plunged nearly 9% yesterday following weak Q2 financial results and CEO Elon Musk’s warning of “potentially rough quarters” ahead. The company reported a 12% decline in revenue and a 16% drop in profits for the April–June quarter, raising investor concerns about its near-term outlook. Musk admitted Tesla is facing “a weird transition period,” marked by reduced U.S. incentives, increased global competition, and political headwinds.

Musk also warned on the earnings call yesterday that the board could fire him “if I go crazy.” Some commentators responded with the simple question: “If?”

One major obstacle stems from the recent federal budget bill, which eliminates the $7,500 EV tax credit — a significant benefit Tesla customers previously relied on. Additionally, tariffs imposed by the U.S. on China and Mexico are projected to cost Tesla hundreds of millions of dollars.

Unexpectedly, President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of Musk, struck a supportive tone yesterday. “The better [Tesla does], the better the USA does, and that’s good for all of us,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Despite the turmoil, Musk remains optimistic about Tesla’s future. He cited growth areas like robotaxi services and humanoid robotics, stating that “autonomy at scale” could deliver “very compelling” economics.

According to Seth Goldstein, Senior Equity Analyst at Morningstar $MORN ( ▼ 0.55% ) , the revenue plunge was largely expected. "We saw deliveries fall 13% year over year for the second straight quarter," Goldstein explained, adding that "lower deliveries hits the bottom line harder and we see a sharper drop in profit."

While auto deliveries are down, market enthusiasm is shifting towards Tesla's robotaxi business. Goldstein noted, "This quarter we saw the robotaxi business move from product concept to actually testing real rides with real consumers. And so that was a big step forward towards the long-term vision of Tesla transitioning the company away from just being an automaker to an AI and robotics company."

Tesla is also addressing price competitiveness with a new, more affordable vehicle set for production in the second half of 2025, although that’s sorta started already, and we still don’t know anything more about this apparently imaginary car. The move aims to compete with popular models like the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CRV. However, Goldstein emphasizes that key questions remain: "I would want to see what the vehicle is, is it a sedan or is it an SUV and then what's it going to be priced at and what's the range going to be," he said.

I would want to see what this vehicle is, too, Seth, before getting too excited. Meanwhile…

Poll of the Day: Are you long or short on Tesla?

Poll Results: Delta’s AI pricing

Yesterday we reported on news that Delta is using robots to set ticket prices in line with what the robots think you’ll be able to pay. Let’s just say you’re not in love with the idea.

Delta's AI price setting: Genius or abomination?

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Genius (30)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Abomination (628)

658 Votes via @beehiiv polls