GEXTOUPEE January 8, 2024 NEWS REMIND

Musk responded to drug abuse: he only took one puff; Glodon was exposed as forcing all employees to clear their performance and cut their salaries in disguise, the latest response; Ma Huateng responded to WeChat voyeur photo album丨GEXTOUPEE Morning News

1.Nvidia special chip in China is cold: Ali, Tencent can not see the downgraded version
Large Chinese cloud computing companies such as Alibaba Group and Tencent have been testing samples of NVIDIA's special-supply chips since last November, people familiar with the matter said. They have indicated to NVIDIA that the number of chips they will order from NVIDIA this year will be far less than the number of banned NVIDIA high-performance chips they had planned to buy. In the short term, the performance advantage of NVIDIA's downgraded chips over local Chinese products is shrinking, making domestic chips increasingly attractive to buyers. Ali and Tencent are shifting some of their advanced semiconductor orders to local companies and relying more on chips developed in-house, people familiar with the matter said. The same is true of Baidu and Beatrice, the other two major chip buyers.--moomoo

2.Guanglianda was exposed in order to make up enough stock release profit target, forced all staff year-end performance zero, the latest response
Recently, a number of Quanta employees broke the news on social media, in order to protect the executive stock release profit target of 925 million, the whole staff received a verbal notification of the whole end of the year performance zero, and began layoffs. It is reported that its recruitment of external claims 15 salary, the end of the year accounted for 20 percent of the total salary package. according to an employee who joined Quanta revealed that when joining Quanta signed an offer of 14 salary, 15 salary, for more than 12 of the part of the general is placed at the end of the year issued. The employee said this means that tens of thousands of employees will not be able to get the year-end bonus they were entitled to, which is equivalent to a 20 percent cut in salary.
Then the office of the president of Quanta released an "open letter to all employees" in response. Quanta stated that due to the company's 2023 operating results failing to meet expectations, Quanta decided to adjust its performance bonus policy to adapt to the current operating conditions. Considering that the previous decision did have a greater impact on all partners, the company will incentivize employees accordingly based on the performance results. The company's management team is responsible for the overall business results, and the annual bonus of the company's management team is zero. At the same time, Quanta calls on all employees to understand the current predicament and work together to overcome the difficulties.

3.Tesla was exposed to real-time monitoring of Chinese sales staff, not active enough employees will be fired on the same day
Tesla's strategy of real-time, proactive management of its sales force in China has given its stores an edge over dealers selling cars from BYD and other brands in the world's largest auto market, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Tesla lost its title as the world's biggest EV sales champion to BYD in the fourth quarter of last year, but both companies have increased their share of China's EV market in the first 10 months of 2023.

Tesla sold an average of more than 1,500 EVs per store in China in the first 10 months of 2023, up from 1,300 in 2022, according to CMBI.

By comparison, BYD sold fewer than 600 units per store over the same period, including plug-in hybrids, which is similar to its performance in 2022. However, because its best-selling models are half the price of Tesla's, BYD's total EV sales far exceed Tesla's, and BYD has 11 times as many local dealers as Tesla.

In the first 10 months of 2023, Tesla's share of China's EV market rose to 12% from 10% in 2022, while BYD's share rose to 27% from 21%, according to data from Shanghai-based consultancy Automobility and the China Passenger Car Association.

Tesla's strong sales performance in China, its second-largest market, provided a rare bright spot for the electric car maker. The company has warned that high interest rates are affecting car buyers in other key markets like the U.S. and has slowed plans to build a factory in Mexico.

Tesla, which has pioneered the direct-sales model globally, monitors its 2,800 salespeople at 314 stores in China hourly to assess their effectiveness and efficiency in persuading potential consumers to visit stores, arrange test drives and place orders, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The sources declined to be identified because such information about Tesla's China sales strategy is considered confidential and has never been reported before.

They said such real-time data collection informs the company's pricing strategy, allowing it to influence demand for certain models and leading to seven price increases and three price cuts in China last year. Tesla can then develop cost-effective production plans based on raw material prices and availability.

One of the people familiar with the matter said Tesla's management of its employees is similar to that of Chinese takeout giant Meituan, which measures delivery time in minutes and seconds.

The person familiar with the matter added that Tesla has had salespeople fired the same day because they were deemed not motivated enough.

Tesla has attracted employees from industries known for aggressive sales tactics, such as English-language tutoring and insurance, by offering a higher base salary than its electric-car competitors and allowing top performers to earn up to 30,000 yuan a month, including bonuses, the person familiar with the matter said.

Although Tesla is ahead of its rivals in terms of sales efficiency, analysts warned that it faces growing headwinds as competition intensifies.

Analysts at China Merchants International predict that the widening gap with BYD could force Tesla to focus further on margin improvement in 2024, raise prices on its improved models, and expand further into China's second- and third-tier cities, even as its rivals compete to lower the price of its new electric cars.--moomoo

4.Azera cell phone head Yin Shujun will leave, Azera vice president Bai Jian take over the cell phone department
According to reports, Azera's internal mail shows that the person in charge of cell phone Yin Shujun will leave, cell phone related business by Azera's vice president, hardware in charge of the Bai Jian concurrently. In two years, Yin Shujun is mainly responsible for the cell phone business landing, earlier, Yin Shujun in the beauty of the cell phone as the president of the post. 6 pm, Bai Jian through personal microblogging text said, has now taken over the cell phone department, and voted to "to the handheld interconnections to do a good job, to do a good job of the cell phone".
Bai Jian said that these days "a little busy", or alluding to busy work handover. He recognized Yin Shujun's work, "When Shujun first came to Azalea, cell phones were in the scope of intelligent hardware. I was watching him build the team step by step while fighting the war. To now form a fighting, formed team." At the same time, he said that the mass production of the first generation of Azure cell phones is "a successful reversal." (Interface News)

5.Musk responded to foreign media reports of long-term drug use, "just a puff."
Elon Musk Claims “Not Even Trace Amounts” Of Drugs In His System After Report Detailed Drug Concerns From Tesla, SpaceX Execs.OPLINE Elon Musk denied using illegal drugs on Sunday, claiming “not even trace quantities” of drugs or alcohol were found in his body over three years of random drug tests, after a report in the Wall Street Journal detailed how the Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder’s drug use worries colleagues in leadership positions at his companies.
Musk smoked marijuana on video during a recording session of the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast in 2018—a move that landed him in hot water with NASA, who demanded assurances SpaceX was a drug-free workplace in order to retain their status as the only government contractor approved to transport astronauts to the International Space Station.

The billionaire has since downplayed the stunt on Rogan’s show, claiming he only took “one puff” of marijuana on the podcast and telling biographer Walter Isaacson, “I really don’t like doing illegal drugs.”

According to Musk, he agreed to undergo random drug testing for three years after his appearance on the podcast—and claimed “not even trace quantities were found of any drugs or alcohol” have been found in his body since.

Alex Spiro, an attorney for Musk, also confirmed to the Wall Street Journal the billionaire has “never failed a test,” and said the newspaper’s report included “false facts”—but did not disclose what those were.

In the past, Musk has also admitted to taking ketamine—a dissociative drug—to treat depression.

Ketamine is only approved for use by the FDA as an anesthetic, but clinical trials for “off-label” use of the drug to treat depression and other mood disorders have grown in recent years.

On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal published a detailed report on Musk’s drug use—which is reportedly concerning executives at SpaceX and Tesla. According to the report, Tesla board members have spoken informally about Musk’s drug use for years, and even approached his brother Kimbal Musk with concerns about his behavior. Musk has also allegedly taken drugs with executives at his companies—sources told the Journal that Musk took recreational ketamine with his brother Kimbal, who sits on the boards of Tesla and SpaceX, as well as unnamed illegal drugs with SpaceX board member Steve Jurvetson. The newspaper also reported that former Tesla director Linda Johnson Rice left the company in 2019 due to his drug consumption and volatile behavior.

FORBES VALUATION
We value Elon Musk’s net worth at $243.5 billion, making him the wealthiest person in the world. Musk’s wealth is based on his ownership stakes in Tesla and SpaceX.
---forbes

6.Apple has been downgraded twice this week, and its market value has evaporated by $1.17 trillion this year.
Jan 4 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O) continued its struggle in the new year on Thursday, plumbing an eight-week low after Piper Sandler handed the tech giant its second downgrade this week on worries about iPhone demand.
The rating action knocked Apple shares down 1.4% at $181.6, causing its market value to decline nearly $170 billion so far in the opening week of 2024.
Despite the downgrade from Piper, and Barclays two days earlier, there are still at least 27 analysts who have a "buy" or higher rating on the company.
"We are concerned about handset inventories entering into 1H24 and also feel that growth rates have peaked for unit sales ... deteriorating macro environment in China could also weigh on handset business," Piper Sandler lead analyst Harsh Kumar wrote in a note to clients.
Apple still remains the most valuable company by market value worldwide with a capitalization of over $2.8 trillion. Its recent declines put it only 8% below an all-time high closing price in mid-December.
Apple has been grappling with a demand slowdown since early last year and forecast holiday-quarter sales below Wall Street estimates.
The company has been dealing with weak demand in China due to strained consumer spending in the country, as well as the revival of local rival Huawei.
Apple could also face headwinds due to an ongoing patent dispute involving its new Apple Watches and a strong U.S. dollar, according to Kumar.
Piper Sandler downgraded the rating on Apple's stock to "neutral" from "overweight" and cut its price target by $15 to $205.
The brokerage's comments echo those from Barclays, which downgraded Apple to a rating equivalent to "sell", making it the most number of bearish recommendations on the stock in at least two years, according to LSEG data.
Analysts, on average, have a target price of $200 on Apple.
Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Krishna Chandra Eluri.

7.Microsoft announced that the Windows keyboard will add a new AI key: users said "too chicken ribs".
Recently, Microsoft announced that the Windows keyboard will usher in the most significant change in 30 years - adding a dedicated AI Copilot key to all new PCs. Judging from Microsoft's official demonstration, the dedicated AI Copilot key is located between the Alt key and the left direction key. Yusef Mehdi, executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer at Microsoft, said the introduction of Copilot keys marks the first major change to Windows PC keyboards in nearly three decades.
According to reports, this decision was boycotted by many netizens after it was announced. Many people believe that Microsoft has "imposed" artificial intelligence on users. For users who do not plan to use AI (or are unable to use it), this button is useless. (Quick Technology)

8.Google announced the abolition of cookies, this year will completely end the cookie
According to multiple media reports, Google plans to ban third-party cookies for all Chrome browser users by the end of this year. Some media commented that this will be one of the biggest changes in the history of the Internet advertising industry. Cookie is a technology that records Internet users' activities on various websites. Its function is to facilitate advertisers to deliver relevant advertisements to users.
Starting this Thursday, Eastern Time, Google will conduct a test on 1% of Chrome browser users, restrict their use of third-party cookies, and gradually cancel all third-party cookies on Google browsers by the end of this year. (Interface News)
Google killing third-party cookies in Chrome and what this means
Let’s make it very clear: the end of third-party cookies is not the end of tracking.
Google ending Chrome’s support of third-party cookies is also not the end of tracking in Chrome.
Third-party cookies are far from the only technology used today for persistent and pervasive tracking of users across the Internet, and it won’t be the last either.
Existing technologies that can track users just like third-party cookies include –

Local Storage

IndexedDB

Web SQL

and any other technology that makes it possible to save data on a user’s device from browsers (as cookies do).

Other browsers (like Safari) have been blocking third-party cookies for years, and we’ve seen repeatedly that trackers simply resort to workarounds, other methods and new technologies that make them able to track users just the same.

Try Cookiebot consent management platform (CMP) for free today

The damning report by Cookiebot CMP about third-party tracking on EU government and health websites from 2019 revealed that Facebook bypassed third-party cookies by instead using first-party cookies combined with a pixel tracker to ensure continued, unconsented surveillance of EU citizens.

First-party cookies will still function by default in browsers that block third-party cookies (also in Google Chrome), and they will continue to require consent in most cases, unless the purpose of a cookie is ‘strictly necessary’ to the basic operation of a website.

Google’s plan to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome is part of a larger strategy of creating a privacy sandbox with open standards for tracking users while protecting their privacy (e.g. through new browser APIs like trust tokens), but it’s facing heavy challenges in the forms of antitrust investigations from both the EU Commission and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Some of these new standards could very well end up strengthening tracking, since the new technologies (like trust tokens) will ensure an even greater level of certainty around reidentification of users, and thereby only fix issues in tracking precision and ad fraud by bots that remain two major headaches for the adtech industry today.

Even though they might replace third-party cookies in Chrome, trust tokens won’t exist in a vacuum.

There are numerous ways for trackers to determine a user’s identity across sites, which means that unless Chrome and other browsers not only discontinue support of third-party cookies, but also of any other kind of similar tracking techniques, trust tokens will most likely not provide a greater level of privacy protection and only benefit the ad tech industry itself.

Consent – now and in the future

That’s why consent remains the central requirement of the world’s major data protection laws, led by the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and reflected in emerging laws like Brazil’s LGPD.

The end of third-party cookies also doesn’t mean the end of consent.

On the contrary, your website will still need to ask for and obtain the explicit consent of users before any data is allowed to be stored, on a user’s browser, regardless of what technology is used; be it third-party cookies, Local Storage or trust tokens.

Your website will still be required to inform its end-users about whatever technology you use to collect personal data, including its provider, purpose and duration, and to document safely the obtained consents, and to renew them at least annually.

Consent is the platform for compliant tracking today and in the future.

Consent not only remains fundamental to most data privacy laws, it is also becoming more and more central to the adtech industry itself – a movement solidified by Google’s launch in September 2020 of Google Consent Mode that lets websites run all Google-services based on the consent of their end-users – balancing compliance and tracking on the ground of consent.

Google Consent Mode is a clear signal of intention from one of the world’s biggest tech companies to move the adtech industry in the direction of consent, and to balance digital advertisement with data privacy.

So, while third-party cookies in Chrome might fade out of use within the next few years, consent is poised to take center stage, at Google and beyond, integrating even closer and more seamlessly with the tracking technologies of tomorrow and the adtech industry itself.

Source：1.cookiebot  2. twitter  3.nytimes 4.gextoupee