Good morning. Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates made headlines late last month when he predicted that AI would lead to humans working just two days per week in a decade’s time.
TL;DR
- Tesla shareholders approved a $1 trillion pay package for Elon Musk.
- Musk must achieve ambitious goals like delivering 1 million Optimus robots and boosting Tesla's valuation.
- The Congressional Budget Office was reportedly hacked by a suspected foreign actor.
- Take-Two Interactive has postponed the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI to November 2025.
Predictions of increased leisure time afforded by technology have been around for generations, but today, it seems we’re plugged in more than ever—at least here in the U.S.
Alright, time for a quick test: Considering the multitasking capabilities of current technology, how many hours does the typical American's workday actually last? (As a clue, the figure might go beyond the total hours available in a single day.)
Take a guess, then find the answer in “Endstop triggered” below. Have a wonderful weekend. —Andrew Nusca
Head over to Coins2Day dot com immediately to check out the profile of Greg Brockman, written by my colleague Sharon Goldman, OpenAI’s “builder in chief.” It offers a glimpse into the world of an individual responsible for rapid progress and disruption, even seemingly defying the laws of physics.
Want to send thoughts or suggestions to Coins2Day Tech? Drop a line here.
Shareholders at Tesla have given their approval for a compensation package valued at $1 trillion for Elon Musk.
Shareholders of Tesla gave their approval on Thursday to a revised pay plan for Elon Musk, which could potentially grant the chief executive stock in the company valued at as much as $1 trillion.
That kind of payday—at a time when the compensation gulf between the C-suite and regular employees is staggering—has proven controversial, except among Tesla investors: Three in four favored the proposal.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, a consistent supporter of Tesla, referred to Musk “a wartime CEO as the AI Revolution takes hold.”
To secure his 423 million share bonus, the planet's wealthiest individual must achieve multiple objectives. These include delivering 1 million Optimus humanoid robots, deploying 1 million robotaxis, and boosting Tesla's market valuation to a staggering $8.5 trillion.
Tesla's market valuation reached $1.40 trillion today. Nvidia, the initial firm to surpass the $5 trillion mark, achieved this milestone only for a short period last month.
Beyond the financial aspect, Musk's ownership of Tesla stock will grant him over a quarter of the company's voting power. The chief executive stated last month that he “need[s] enough voting control to give a strong influence, but not so much that I can’t be fired if I go insane.” —AN
Suspected foreign entity breaches U.S. Government agency
The Congressional Budget Office says it’s been hacked.
By who? The CBO won’t say—though a Washington Post report says it was the work of “a suspected foreign actor.”
Regardless of who is responsible, this suggests critical government information might now be accessible to malicious actors—precisely the sort of in-depth details one would desire for orchestrating a significant social engineering operation.
The CBO, with a workforce under 300, isn't a massive federal organization. It generates a cost projection for nearly every bill that a committee approves, serving as a vital source for legislators needing unbiased assessments of proposed laws.
A spokesperson for the agency “has identified the security incident, has taken immediate action to contain it, and has implemented additional monitoring and new security controls to further protect the agency’s systems going forward,” stated. —AN
Take-Two postpones the launch of 'GTA VI' once more
Gamers will have to wait even longer for Grand Theft Auto VI.
The newest chapter in the well-liked game franchise was initially scheduled for release around this time. Subsequently, its launch was postponed to May 2026.
Now, according to its maker, Take-Two Interactive, it won’t arrive until November of next year.
(To paraphrase a memorable quote from a vintage GTA title: All we had to do was ship the damn game, CJ!)
Sad players aside, continued delays are a substantial business problem for Take-Two, which hopes and expects GTA VI to be one of the biggest moneymakers it’s ever launched.
How big is big? Konvoy Ventures said in May that it believes the $2 billion title will break even in one month and gross $7.6 billion in two months.
Following the announcement of the delay, the firm's stock value decreased by nearly 10%, reaching $228, before a partial rebound. —AN
More tech
—U.S. May block key Nvidia chip sales in China. The scaled-down “B30A” AI chip won’t receive a White House nod, per a new report.
—Meta’s 2024 projections show that 10% of its revenue would come from ads promoting fraudulent goods or services.
—Airbnb offers sunny Q4 outlook. The travel company expects revenue of about $2.69 billion, slightly above analyst expectations.
—OpenAI CFO walks back comments. Sarah Friar initially said a government “backstop” would help the AI company’s infrastructure commitments.
—Amazon tests AI-powered book translation. “Kindle Translate” will be used for self-published books.
—Affirm shares jump 11%. The fintech firm reports a 34% increase in quarterly revenue from a year ago, to $933 million.
—Anti-digital piracy measures are hurting digital trade, Cloudflare says.
Endstop triggered
Answer: 32 hours.
While Trey-Rock while he leisurely contemplates the planet's future from his long-established Xanadu 2.0 estate near Seattle, the rest of us are working overtime, at least mentally.
According to Activate Consultingthe proliferation of multitasking has resulted in the average American experiencing a 32-hour day, dedicating over 13 hours to technology and media use. (Regrettably, less than seven hours are allocated to sleep.)
Things will likely deteriorate before they improve. The advisory company anticipates this figure will increase by 15 minutes prior to the decade's conclusion.
For businesses, the positive aspect is that top multitaskers are more inclined to spend, engage, share, and advocate compared to others.
The bad news? Today’s attention spans couldn’t bridge two transistors on an AI chip.
…sorry, what was I saying again? —AN