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General Motors has hired former Apple executive Mike Abbott to lead a newly created software unit for the Detroit automaker.
Abbott, former vice president of engineering for Apple’s Cloud Services division, will join GM as executive vice president of software, effective May 22.
Software, specifically monetizing it, is a major focus for automakers such as GM, as it eyes reoccurring revenue opportunities such as subscriptions to boost profits.

A sign with the General Motors quality mission statement stands in the lobby at the GM Warren Tech Center in Warren, Michigan.
Rebecca Cook | Reuters

DETROIT – General Motors has hired former Apple executive Mike Abbott to lead a newly created software unit for the Detroit automaker.
Abbott, former vice president of engineering for Apple’s Cloud Services division, will join GM as executive vice president of software, effective May 22. He will report to GM CEO Mary Barra.

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Abbott’s newly created role will bring together three separate functions within the company: software-defined vehicle and operating systems; information and digital technology; and the company’s digital business.
Software, specifically monetizing it, is a major focus for automakers such as GM, as they eye reoccurring revenue opportunities such as subscriptions to boost profits.
GM has a target to grow profit margins and double its revenue to about $280 billion by the end of this decade. That includes significant growth in new business units and software.
“Mike’s experience as a founder and entrepreneur coupled with his proven track record creating and delivering some of the market’s most compelling software-defined solutions for consumers and companies make him an excellent fit at GM,” Barra said in a statement.
At Apple, Abbott was the top executive in charge of cloud initiatives, including iCloud and infrastructure for services like iMessage and FaceTime. It was reported in March that he planned to leave the tech giant.

Abbott, in a statement Tuesday, said: “I know that software is the catalyst for redefining experiences for consumers and enterprises like never before.”
He characterized software as a “massive” opportunity for the company. More

Electric vehicle startup Fisker on Tuesday reported a wider first-quarter loss than expected and cut its production guidance for the full year.
CEO Henrik Fisker told CNBC that the company expects regulatory approval to begin deliveries of the Ocean in the U.S. before the end of May.
It said it expects to build 1,400 to 1,700 vehicles in the second quarter, assuming its suppliers ramp up as expected.

Henrik Fisker stands with the Fisker Ocean electric vehicle after it was unveiled at the Manhattan Beach Pier ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show and AutoMobilityLA on November 16, 2021 in Manhattan Beach, California.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images

Electric vehicle startup Fisker on Tuesday reported a wider first-quarter loss than expected and cut its production guidance for the full year, both of which it blamed on last minute snags as it begins production of its Ocean SUV.
But CEO Henrik Fisker told CNBC that the company expects regulatory approval to begin deliveries of the Ocean in the U.S. before the end of May. The company began delivering vehicles to customers in Europe last week.

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Shares were down about 16% in premarket trading after the news.
Here are the key numbers from Fisker’s first-quarter earnings report, together with consensus Wall Street estimates as reported by Refinitiv:

Loss per share: 38 cents, versus a loss of 30 cents expected.
Revenue: About $198,000, versus $14.4 million expected.

Fisker’s net loss for the quarter was $120.6 million, or 38 cents per share, a wider-than-expected number that Fisker attributed to higher research and development expenses that it’s not expecting to repeat. A year ago, Fisker reported a net loss of $122.1 million, or 41 cents a share, with no revenue.
Fisker had $652.5 million in cash remaining as of March 31, down from $736.5 million at the end of 2022. The company raised about $47 million via direct stock sales during the quarter, it said.
Fisker said it had about 65,000 reservations for the Ocean as of May 8, roughly the same number it had when it reported its fourth-quarter results in February. It has over 6,000 reservations for its upcoming second model, a lower-cost EV called the Pear that will be built by Foxconn at the former Lordstown Motors plant in Ohio starting in 2025.

Fisker now expects its manufacturing partner, Magna International, to build 32,000 to 36,000 Oceans at its Austrian contract-manufacturing plant this year, down from 42,400 in its earlier guidance.
It said it expects to build 1,400 to 1,700 vehicles in the second quarter, assuming its suppliers ramp up as expected. After that, it expects to quickly increase production in the third quarter to a run rate of about 6,000 vehicles per month for the rest of 2023.
“We are ready to go full speed on production next week,” Henrik Fisker told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau on Tuesday. “[By the] end of this month, we are already going to produce 55 cars a day.” More

Boeing won an order from low-cost European carrier Ryanair for at least 150 of the manufacturer’s 737 Max planes.
The budget carrier’s order is its largest and the latest in a string of big sales for Boeing.
The manufacturer is in the process of ramping up production of its bestselling plane.

A Ryanair Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft as seen flying, landing and taxiing at Eindhoven Airport EIN.
Nicolas Economou | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Ryanair said it plans to buy at least 150 Boeing 737 10 Max planes with options for 150 more.
It’s the budget carrier’s biggest order and the manufacturer’s latest sizable deal for new planes as airlines replace aging jets and grow their fleets.

Shares of Boeing were up about 2% in premarket trading Tuesday after the company reported the order.
Ryanair plans to operate the Max 10s, which haven’t yet been certified by regulators, with 228 seats on board.
The 150 planes in the firm order are worth more than $20 billion at list prices, but airlines generally receive significant discounts for such big sales. Ryanair stopped negotiations for a big Max order in September 2021 because of a dispute over pricing.
Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, said the new planes will replace older 737 jets in its fleet. The 150 additional jets it has optioned would allow it to fly more than 300 million passengers a year by 2034, he said.
The ultra-low-cost airline flew 97 million passengers in the 12 months ended March 31, down from 149 million before the Covid pandemic, according to a company report.

The budget carrier’s order is the latest in a string of big sales for Boeing, which has reached agreements to sell hundreds of planes to customers including Air India, Saudia and United Airlines in recent months.
Boeing’s next challenge is ramping up production of the 737 Max. Last month the company said it aims to make 38 each month, up from 31. It also plans to increase its 787 Dreamliner production to five a month late this year, up from three. More

Electric heavy truck maker Nikola said that it’s “refocusing the company on North America” as it exited a European joint venture with its chassis supplier.
Nikola’s net loss for the quarter was $169.1 million, or 26 cents per share, adjusted, wider than year-ago figures.
Nikola produced 63 battery-electric trucks and delivered 31 to dealers in the quarter. Its dealers sold 33 trucks to end customers during the period.

Nikola Motor Company
Source: Nikola Motor Company

Electric heavy truck maker Nikola said that it’s “refocusing the company on North America” as it exited a European joint venture with its chassis supplier.
The news came as the company reported its first-quarter results. Here are the key numbers, together with Wall Street estimates as reported by Refinitiv.

Adjusted loss per share: 26 cents, versus 26 cents expected.
Revenue: $11.1 million, versus $12.5 million expected.

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Nikola’s net loss for the quarter was $169.1 million, or 26 cents per share, adjusted. A year ago, Nikola lost $152.9 million, or 21 cents per share on an adjusted basis, on revenue of $1.9 million.
Nikola had $121.1 million in cash remaining as of March 31, down from $233.4 million at the end of 2022.
As part of a realignment to conserve cash, Nikola announced overnight that it has sold its share of a European joint venture to its longtime partner, Italian heavy-truck maker Iveco Group, for $35 million in cash and 20.6 million Nikola shares that will be returned by Iveco. Under the deal, Iveco will continue to supply chassis and related components to Nikola and will remain an investor in the company.
“Manufacturing and energy are capital intensive businesses, and we need to remain focused where we have competitive and first mover advantages,” Nikola said in a statement.
Nikola produced 63 battery-electric trucks and delivered 31 to dealers in the quarter. Its dealers sold 33 trucks to end customers during the period. Production of Nikola’s next model, a longer-range fuel-cell powered version of its semitruck, is on track to begin in July as previously expected.

Nikola currently has orders for a total of 140 fuel-cell trucks for 12 fleet customers, it said.
Nikola said it will temporarily suspend production of the battery-electric truck while it reconfigures its assembly line to build both the battery-electric and fuel-cell trucks. While it expects the fuel-cell truck to become its primary product, it will continue to build battery-electric trucks to order after production of the fuel-cell truck begins, it said.
“As we move forward, we will be focusing on the North American market, hydrogen fuel cell trucks, the HYLA hydrogen refueling business, and autonomous technologies,” CEO Michael Lohscheller said. “We have the right products at the right time.” More

ThredUp announced it’s dual listing on the Long Term Stock Exchange on Tuesday, the same day as it’s set to release its first-quarter earnings report.
The Long Term Stock Exchange is designed to promote an emphasis on the long term among investors and businesses. 
The decision comes as the company is facing financial challenges.

The ThredUp application on a smartphone arranged in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.
Tiffany Hagler-Geard | Bloomberg | Getty Images

ThredUp, the clothing-consignment company, announced Tuesday that it’s dual listing its stock on the Long Term Stock Exchange, or LTSE, a national securities exchange designed to promote sustainable principles and a long-term focus among investors and businesses. 
“This is another indication of ThredUp’s commitment to the long term,” CEO James Reinhart told CNBC. “We’re here to make a difference. Not for two or three years, but for 20, 40, 50 [years].” 

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It’s just the second company currently listed with LTSE. Reinhart says he first read about the market a few years ago and started talks to list on the exchange over the past two years.
LTSE was founded by tech entrepreneur Eric Ries in 2016, but it took several years to get up and running. For a company to list with LTSE, it has to outline a set of principles to ensure that it will abide by certain long-term commitments, such as environmental improvements or corporate-governance standards.
In ThredUp’s LTSE listing, for instance, the company calls “the environment” one of its “most important stakeholders.” 
LTSE launched in a bid to address criticism that companies have been maximizing profits for shareholders above all else.
The new stock exchange wants to “reverse the epidemic of short-term thinking,” Ries told CNBC. “The incentives that we’ve created around finance, around the capital market, really make it difficult for companies to do the right thing.” 

Ries joins others, including billionaire investor Warren Buffett and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who have argued that such short-term thinking is hurting companies.
“People are going to realize that the definition of profit that we have been using the last 25 years is wrong, and that what it means to make a profit is to maximize human flourishing,” Ries said. 
For all its lofty ambitions, the path was never going to be easy for an exchange like LTSE — and it certainly hasn’t been so far. There are more than a dozen stock exchanges in the U.S., but the majority of all trading occurs on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market, making it difficult for alternatives to gain traction. 
LTSE first gained approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2019, and it started trading in September 2020. The market struggled to pick up steam, but it saw a distinct boost in 2021 when software company Asana listed with it.
LTSE functions similarly to other exchanges, with the same ticker symbol across all trading platforms. A company’s opening and closing price will be established the same way it has been since going public, typically giving weight to the primary exchange it’s on.
Like any public company, those that list on the LTSE still report quarterly earnings, but the exchange’s standards are designed so that the earnings reports are meant to give context to the long-term narrative of the listed company.
A company that’s dual listed on LTSE might list concurrently with an initial public offering or, like ThredUp, might be a public company that’s traded elsewhere initially and chooses to meet LTSE’s standards for listing. ThredUp first went public in March 2021 and is currently listed with Nasdaq.
Its LTSE announcement arrives at a tricky time, though, given an increasingly difficult retail environment. For 2022, the company reported a loss of $92.3 million, or 92 cents per share. 
But Reinhart noted those industry challenges speak to ThredUp’s commitment to long-term, forward-looking policies. “It’s always been easier to do these things later,” he said. “Sometimes companies need to lead and show people it can be done.” 
“It would have been really easy [for Reinhart] to call it off or to postpone because it’s a tough time,” Ries added, saying the dual listing lays a foundation “for future prosperity at a time when the natural human impulse is to be afraid.” 
One other company, the communication platform Twilio, did list on LTSE but it delisted in 2022, citing cost concerns. 
For its part, LTSE said it will continue to eye the long game from here.
“We’re not in a rush to make predictions about how [LTSE] is going to take over the world overnight, because ultimately, we only want the very best companies,” Ries said. “For us, this is about creating a real club of the best of the best to show that there’s a new way forward.”  More

Luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid Group on Monday reported a wider first-quarter loss.
Lucid said it has enough cash to continue operations into next year.
The company is still addressing demand concerns.

In an aerial view, a sign is posted on the exterior of Lucid headquarters on March 29, 2023 in Newark, California. Electric vehicle maker Lucid announced plans to lay off 1,300 workers, 18 percent of its workforce, as part of a restructuring plan. 
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid Group on Monday reported a wider first-quarter loss, but said that it still has enough cash to continue operations into next year.
Shares were down over 8% in after-hours trading following the news.

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“We are on track to produce over 10,000 vehicles in 2023, with companywide initiatives ongoing that will enable Lucid to pivot to higher volumes as market conditions allow,” CEO Peter Rawlinson said on Monday. Lucid guided to 2023 production of between 10,000 and 14,000 vehicles in February.
Here are the key numbers from Lucid’s first-quarter earnings report, along with Wall Street’s consensus estimates as reported by Refinitiv:

Loss per share: 43 cents
Revenue: $149.4 million vs. $209.9 million expected.

Analysts polled by Refinitiv expected a loss per share of 41 cents, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether the bottom-line results were comparable to that estimate.
Lucid’s first-quarter net loss was $779.5 million, or 43 cents per share, much wider than the $81.3 million, or 5 cents per share, it reported in the first quarter of 2022, when it was still ramping up production of the Air. Revenue, however, jumped year over year to $149.4 million from $57.7 million.
Lucid ended the first quarter with about $3.4 billion in cash and about $700 million in available credit lines. Finance chief Sherry House said cash should be sufficient to fund the company at least until the second quarter of 2024.

The EV maker had about $4.4 billion in cash and an additional $500 million in credit available as of the end of 2022.
Lucid has recently been moving to conserve cash. It said in March that it would cut about 18% of its workforce, roughly 1,300 workers, in a bid to lower spending.
The company is still addressing demand concerns.
The automaker’s expected 2023 production of “over 10,000” Air sedans is well below the “more than 28,000” reservations it recorded as of its fourth-quarter earnings report in February. And, in April, Lucid said it produced 2,314 Airs in the first quarter while delivering just 1,406 to customers during the period, a gap the company blamed on a “slow January” and changes to the U.S. government’s EV tax credits.
In another sign that demand for the Air may be weak, Lucid declined to provide an updated reservation number on Monday.
Lucid said on April 25 that its next model, a large electric SUV called Gravity, is on track to begin production in 2024. It plans to reveal the Gravity later this year.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates. More

Members of the Writers Guild of America headed for the picket lines a week ago and their walkout is already hurting Hollywood productions.
Several notable films and shows have halted or wrapped production early, including Netflix’s “Stanger Things,” Disney and Marvel’s “Blade,” AppleTV+’s “Severance” and Paramount’s “Evil.”
This is the first strike of its kind during the streaming era and hits many companies across different facets of their media businesses.

Members of the Writers Guild of America East hold signs as they walk on the picket line outside the Peacock NewFront in New York City, May 2, 2023.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

Members of the Writers Guild of America dropped their pencils and headed for the picket lines a week ago, and their walkout is already hurting Hollywood productions.
More than 11,000 film and television writers, who say their compensation doesn’t match the revenue generated in the streaming era, are on strike for the first time since 2008. Immediately, daily late-night shows went dark, alongside the weekly comedy staple “Saturday Night Live.”

Since then, several notable films and shows have halted or wrapped production early, including Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” Disney and Marvel’s “Blade,” AppleTV+’s “Severance” and Paramount’s “Evil.”
Beyond the delayed production and likely delayed releases of these titles, industry experts worry the work pause could have a financial toll greater than that of the previous writers’ strike.
Writers who manned the picket lines 15 years ago remained on strike for 100 days, leading to an estimated cost of $2 billion to the industry, according to data from the Milken Institute. It also had major economic repercussions for ancillary businesses such as hotels, restaurants and construction companies that often work with film and television productions.
This is the first strike of its kind during the streaming era and hits many companies across three different facets of their media businesses: theatrical, linear TV and streaming.
The WGA is seeking higher compensation and residuals, particularly when it comes to streaming shows, as well as new rules that will require studios to staff television shows with a certain number of writers for a specific period. The WGA is also seeking compensation throughout the process of preproduction, production and postproduction. Currently, writers are often expected to provide revisions or craft new material without being paid.

Several productions with finished scripts, such as Amazon’s “The Rings of Power,” have decided to continue filming without writers or showrunners on set. Others have opted to postpone production.
On Monday, Apple’s drama series “Severance” paused production of its second season after members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and Teamsters refused to cross the WGA picket line at York Studios in New York.
This is the second Apple TV+ series to shut down because of the strike, after Maya Rudolph’s series “Loot” paused filming last week in Los Angeles.
Over the weekend, “Stranger Things” creators Matt and Ross Duffer announced production on the fifth and final season of the show had been delayed because of the labor unrest.
“Writing does not stop when filming begins,” the duo tweeted. “While we’re excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it is not possible during this strike. We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work.”
Paramount’s “Evil” wrapped filming on season four earlier than anticipated, in part because of disruptions from picketing WGA members and, in part, because one of its cast members is taking a leave of absence due to a family matter. The season was slated to have 10 episodes, but it remains unclear whether the early end to production will affect those plans.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming show “Hacks,” Showtime’s “Billions” and Starz’s “The Venery of Samantha Bird” all stopped production.
On the theatrical front, Marvel has shut down production on its vampire thriller “Blade.” The film was set to begin shooting next month in Atlanta, Georgia. Nic Pizzolatto, creator of “True Detective,” was recently tapped to work on the script, but did not finish. Production is expected to restart once the strike is over.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, in a response to a request for comment on the halted production, declined to comment beyond statements issued last week with the organization’s stance on outstanding points of negotiation.

Ripple effects

The strike is already having ripple effects across the industry as stars and talent stand in solidarity with writers.
Drew Barrymore stepped away from her role as host of the MTV Movie Awards in support for the WGA. Several presenters, including Jamie Lee Curtis, also indicated that they would not attend the ceremony. The show ultimately canceled its live broadcast and aired a taped version of the event Sunday night.
At-home viewers may not notice the strike’s effect right away, as episodes of popular shows continue to be released. However, future seasons could experience significant delays or a shortened number of episodes.
The writers for ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” were supposed to convene on May 2 to begin work on season three of the popular comedy show. However, that room is closed for the strike.
Similarly, the writers room for Showtime’s “Yellowjackets” only met for one day to work on season three before breaking for the strike. At Warner Bros. Discovery, the “Game of Thrones” prequel, “A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight,” also closed its writers room for the duration of the strike.
Netflix’s “Big Mouth” was six weeks into writing its eighth and final season, but paused due to the labor dispute. The streamer’s hit “Cobra Kai” also saw its season six writers room shutter.
The longer the strike continues, the more productions are expected to be affected.
“A protracted strike is a definite possibility,” wrote Doug Creutz, analyst at TD Cowen, in a research note published Friday. He defined protracted as more than three months.
“Clearly, a significantly extended strike would impact the amount of new shows available to streaming services and linear networks, which eventually could start to drive up both SVOD churn and linear cord-cutting,” he said. More

Prompted by guest feedback, Disney is no longer requiring reservations for date-based tickets at its Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
The company is also reinstating its dining plans for hotel guests and extending early park hours through 2024.
Disney plans to address concerns with its Genie and Genie+ itinerary programs, which were launched during the pandemic.

Guests at Florida’s Walt Disney World.
Joe Burbank | Orlando Sentinel | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

Changes are coming to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Prompted by guest feedback, Disney is updating some park policies to better accommodate both local and out-of-town visitors, the company said Monday.

To start, Disney World will remove theme park reservation requirements for its date-based tickets beginning Jan. 9, 2024. This reverses a pandemic-era policy which required guests to plan visits before arriving at the parks by going through a two-step process, which included purchasing a ticket and then selecting a reservation date.
Now, there will be only one step: purchase a ticket for a specific date.
Annual passholders will be required to make reservations for most visits. However, Disney plans to roll out “good-to-go days,” which won’t require park reservations.
The change is in addition to the recently adopted rule that passholders can visit any of Disney’s Orlando-based theme parks after 2 p.m. without a reservation. The only exclusion is admission to Magic Kingdom on Saturdays and Sundays.
Disney’s most recent string of operational updates are part of its wider strategy to reduce friction points for guests. The company’s theme park division is one of the most lucrative segments of its overall business, and its success is driven by strong customer experiences.

The House of Mouse looks for ways to improve the guest experience, through new rides and attractions, better food options, magical moments with characters or updates to its resorts. The company aims to adapt to customer feedback — including concerns from some guests that the park reservation system was confusing or inconvenient.
As part of the changes announced Monday, Disney also said it is bringing back dining plans for those staying at its resort hotels after Jan. 9, 2024. Disney also announced that it is extending its early theme park entry for hotel guests through 2024.
The company said Monday that it could make more changes moving forward. Disney is looking to address concerns with its Genie and Genie+ itinerary programs, which were launched during the pandemic.
These digital offerings were designed to optimize guest experiences in the parks, allowing them to schedule their days more effectively, with access to estimated wait times and restaurant reservations. Coupled with Lightning Lane, guests also have the option to pay for a shorter wait for Disney’s top attractions.
Currently, guests can only access their Genie and Genie+ itineraries the day of their visit. Disney said it is working on ways for guests to make selections before their visit, so they can spend less time planning and more time enjoying the park. More