Power Cheese, as we all know, is not in fact a cheese, but a strain of weed. That said, it's the only cheese pun we could go with, this morning, because we interviewed Flavor Flav from Public Enemy! Its stench is super musky and pungent with a cheesy, creamy overtone that gets stronger the more you…burn. (Just like this newsletter.) To the cheddlines! Enjoy a slightly tingly state of bliss. —Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor P.S. We've got Elon's Robovans on the 'gram! |
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"Every woman loves a man who has a fresh-smelling body." — Flavor Flav |
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1. Tesla's New Robotaxis Underwhelm Investors (and Non-Investors) |
We couldn't get Elon Musk on Cheddar to talk about his new robotaxis, unveiled last Thursday. But the cyber cab, with no steering wheels or pedals, appears to have underwhelmed investors, with Tesla stock down 10% on Friday after the launch.
We did, however, talk to a guy named Ray from the Bay Area about the huge potential for these mechanical puppies. OK, he's not just Ray—he's Ray Wang from Constellation Research, who bought a Tesla when they first came out, and owns the company's stock.
"I think he's got a $400 billion opportunity for taxis," said Ray, who knows a thing or two about a thing or two. "There's two phases. Phase one is, let's take your Model Y, your Model 3, and you can loan it out if you want to be part of the program. And then phase two is, hey, you can pick up a cyber cab on your own for $30,000 and put it into the fleet. If it's successful, it will actually give Uber a run for their money. It'll give public transportation a run for their money because they're operating somewhere between 20 and 30 cents a mile. And public transportation is running a dollar per mile. So this is a very interesting piece of business disruption that he's about to unleash."
Are the deaths caused by Teslas a concern?
"I mean, you don't want cars killing people," said Ray, who has apparently never seen the movie Christine. "You want to make sure the fatality rates are lower than what the normal fatality rates are."
Words to live by. Or die by, as the case may be. The new Robovan is a good idea, though, Ray said, because "you could live like 200 miles out from work and actually wake up at work, right?" And who hasn't dreamed, while in the comfy confines of their Cybervan, of waking up at work? Read More |
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2. Harris Slams Trump for "Playing Politics" Over Hurricanes |
The presidential campaigns are at odds over the federal response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. At a town hall in Las Vegas, Vice President Kamala Harris criticized Donald Trump for his attacks on FEMA and suggested he was wrongly trying to turn the deadly storms to his political advantage.
Asked about complaints that federal officials have bungled disaster recovery efforts, Harris responded, "In this crisis — like in so many issues that affect the people of our country — I think it so important that leadership recognizes the dignity" to which people are entitled. "I have to stress that this is not a time for people to play politics," Harris added.
Trump repeatedly spread falsehoods Monday, despite claiming not to be politicizing the disaster, as he toured hard-hit areas in south Georgia.
The former president and Republican nominee claimed that President Joe Biden was "sleeping" and not responding to Georgia's governor, Brian Kemp, who he said was "calling the president and hasn't been able to get him." He repeated the claim at an event with reporters even after being told Kemp said he had spoken to Biden. Read More |
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| As Elon Musk said, "The future should look like the future." At the "We, Robot" event, Tesla's CEO unveiled a passenger van. The Tesla Robovan is designed for autonomous transport of passengers or cargo, using advanced camera systems and AI technology. Its sleek, train-engine-inspired design has no visible wheels, and Musk said it can carry up to 20 passengers or be used for transporting goods. |
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3. TD Bank Helped Criminals Launder Millions for Years |
Pity the comms team for the Boston Celtics, who've probably been in crisis meetings for days, trying to figure out what to do about the fact that they play in the TD Garden, an arena named for TD Bank, which has agreed to pay approximately $3 billion in a historic settlement with U.S. authorities after allowing drug dealers, terrorists and human traffickers to launder money for years.
In one case, a man moved more than $470 million in drug proceeds through TD Bank branches, bribing employees with more than $57,000 in gift cards. Those employees should probably have asked for more money, no?
"TD Bank created an environment that allowed financial crime to flourish," attorney general Merrick Garland said. "By making its services convenient for criminals, it became one."
Employees openly joked about how easy it seemed to be for criminals to launder money at the bank, Garland said. "From fentanyl and narcotics trafficking to terrorist financing and human trafficking, TD Bank's chronic failures provided fertile ground for a host of illicit activity to penetrate our financial system," said Treasury deputy secretary Wally Adeyemo.
"We know what the issues are, we are fixing them," said TD Bank Group CEO Bharat Masrani, who was paid $10 million last year. "As we move forward, we're ensuring that this never happens again, and I'm 100% confident that we get to the other side and emerge even stronger."
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Read More |
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4. Flavor Flav Is 65, Wearing Old Spice, and Still Keeping It Real |
Flavor Flav—founding member of the radical hip-hop group Public Enemy, passionate supporter of U.S. women's water polo, timepiece aficionado, and, now, the face of Old Spice—joined us at the New York Stock Exchange for a chat.
"I have four daughters," said the 65-year-old. "And I know what it's like when a woman wants to feel recognized for the good and hard work she does. A lot of women that's playing these sports, once they do good and they achieve goals, all they want to do is be recognized for what they do. So, I'm here to enhance and help these girls get the recognition that they deserve."
That's such a great thing. He's also a huge fan of Taylor Swift.
"Let me say this: Real recognizes real," he said. "You know what I'm saying? And I'm always going to support what's real. You know, when it comes down to Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift, she keeps it real. You know what I'm saying? I studied the lyrics. You know what I'm saying?"
Now he's teamed up with Old Spice, a brand of cologne his father would wear, and which he would wear as a young man in school, and ever since "to try to look razzle dazzle with the girls and stuff."
"Everybody should want to smell good, from head to toe, from the armpits all the way down," he said. "I mean, every woman loves a man who has a fresh-smelling body. In the whole night. So Old Spice gives you all of that, you know what I'm saying? That total body freshness, you know."
We know. And why does he wear a clock around his neck?
"Everything that I wear represents the time right now that we're in," he said. "Just remember, every second that goes by will never, never, ever see that again in life. So, every second that you have ahead of you, you've got to make the best. You've got to make the best out of each second."
Now, he is wearing a clock branded with Old Spice's logo around his neck. I honestly do think this means he is making the best of every second. Old Spice is owned by Proctor and Gamble, which bought the brand when Flavor Flav was 31, for $300 million. In 2022, Old Spice had nearly $666 million (ahem) in sales in the United States, making it the second-best-selling deodorant brand in the country, after Dove. I wonder how much they're paying Flav? Read More |
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5. Mountain Dew Bringing Back the Mountain in Highly Imaginative Rebrand |
In news that probably made somebody at an advertising agency a fortune, Mountain Dew is calling itself Mountain Dew again.
The drink, as we all know, has been calling itself "MTN" since 2009. No longer. And it'll have a mountain back in the logo. (Wait, why did they remove the mountain when it was called MTN? —ed.) It'll feature stylized images of spruce trees, flowing streams and waterfalls, snow-capped mountains and sun-streaked skies, "synonymous with adventure," evoking "the great outdoors and good times with friends," the company said. It is, after all, the imagery you want to contemplate when you're high, the company did not add.
Mauro Porcini, SVP and chief design officer at PepsiCo, the brand's parent company, says that, with the new "timeless" look, Mountain Dew is "reclaiming its legacy." Read More |
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