Hello October!
Want to know how the deal with Elon Musk and Twitter went up in smoke?
All you have to do is read Musk’s texts and DMs discussing bits and pieces of the deal and you can put the puzzle together. Yes, it’s all there and it’s pretty wild.
Here’s an example of him doing a dig at Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal when all hell broke loose at the company.
Elon Musk: By the way, Parag is still on a 10-day vacation in Hawaii
Jason Calacanis: Shouldn’t he be in a war room right now?!?
Elon Musk: “Does it mean zooming in every now and then while drinking fruity cocktails at the Four Seasons?
Yeah, it doesn’t look like they’re golfing or banding after all of this because of their love of technology.
Anyway…
Here’s a soundtrack to get you in the mood
The Waltz by Viraaj Arora
If you have a soft spot for some uplifting instrumental music, you will love this song recommended by our reader Shruti Rajput.
What struck us this week
The Apple Signal
There’s a new recession indicator in town and it’s Apple sales. Not the fruit, but the technology company, duh.
Okay, it’s not an official indicator. But people are closely monitoring iPhone sales to get a sense of whether people are tightening their wallets. After all, the company has a cult following among the fans. And since a new iPhone comes out every year, you can track it consistently. And if demand for a new one falters, that could indicate a slowdown.
So, now that the new iPhone 14 has launched, what’s the verdict? Is the world heading for a recession?
Well… at first glance you would say there is definitely a delay. Apple has already asked its suppliers to cut production because the iPhone 14 isn’t flying off the shelves exactly as they imagined. And it’s not just Apple. The global smartphone market is expected to slump by 6.5% this year. People don’t seem to be in the mood to spend money on a new phone.
But wait… there’s something else going on. The more expensive iPhone 14 Pro? Well, it seems that more people are choosing to buy that model. Maybe because they want the fancy ‘Dynamic Island’ feature? And according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple has asked its manufacturers to increase production of the Pro by 10%.
And since the “superior,” eye-wateringly expensive model is the one that sells like hot cakes, that pushes up the iPhone’s average selling price (ASP). In fact, the ASP is expected to cross the $900 mark this year. It will be a record!
So yes, economic slowdown or not, it doesn’t seem like times are hard for Apple.
infographic
Another thing that caught our attention this week
The 10 lakh EV barrier has been broken
In March, Maruti Suzuki announced that it would finally enter the electric car space. And it announced a massive investment of ₹10,400 crores to fuel the EV ecosystem. The target for a launch was 2025.
At the time, we wrote that Maruti Suzuki was a little late for the EV party. But that the company had another trump in store:
Maruti Suzuki understands Indian consumers better than most people. They almost know 80% of car buyers in India store in “lower than ₹10 lakhs” category. And the only way to entice people and sell the desired 10,000 EVs a month is to make a car that is really affordable. In fact, except for Mahindra’s e20, there is not a single EV below the range of ₹10 lakhs. This is a market waiting to be tapped and it becomes all the more important when you consider that the prices of rare earth metals (such as lithium) are rising.
Well, it seems that potential benefit is also being lost.
Being the biggest threat, Tata Motors has launched the Tiago EV and broke the intimidating 10 lakh barrier! And apparently it’s only 25% more expensive than a petrol-powered Tiago with an automatic transmission.
Can breaking this price barrier push electric vehicle adoption in India to the next level? And will Maruti Suzuki be able to catch up?
Time will tell.
Money Tips
Don’t let the Zeigarnik effect strangle your pension.
See, retirement planning is difficult. I would even go so far as to say that it is probably one of the hardest things to do in this world. How are we supposed to know what our lives will look like in 20 or 30 years? How do we accurately figure out how much money we need to save before we can get out of the rat race and live a peaceful life?
But we have to grit our teeth and do some counting.
And one day, finally, we open a spreadsheet. We start by recording our bank balances and details of the ad hoc investments we have made. We then turn to one of those online retirement calculators. We input every little detail and it spits out some – ₹10 crores!
The number scares us. We panic. We feel overwhelmed. And we turn off the laptop and try to push the thought of retirement to a galaxy far away. Instead, we’ll start bingeing on a TV show because it’s just easier. We don’t have to use our minds.
But when you go to bed at night and you keep tossing and turning. You can’t get the thought of your retirement plan out of your head. The stress builds up.
Friends, you have just fallen prey to the negative effects of the Zeigarnik effect. It is our brain’s tendency to dwell on unfinished tasks. Like that retirement planning spreadsheet you set aside.
But here’s what you need to know: You don’t need the perfect retirement plan. Heck, I don’t think ‘perfection’ is even possible. Sure, the ₹10 crore figure can be scary, but if you don’t start, it can get harder and harder to save for that end goal. So take the small steps today and complete the retirement plan now.
It is well. You’ll be fine.
Readers recommend ️
We’ve got a fascinating podcast recommendation for you today. It is called Lazarus Robbery.
Here’s what our reader Mayank Kansas had to say about it:
“It’s a podcast series about a group of hackers who committed some of the biggest heists and cybercrimes around the world, including central banks, corporations and even hospitals. And like me, you will also be quite surprised to know the real culprit behind all this, as it thrives from a geography where only elites have access to the internet.
Who do you think is behind such a robbery?”
(Hint: the hackers come from a country whose official name is DPRK)
Let us know what you think of the 10-part podcast series. Is it binge gesture?
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Anyway, that’s it for us today. Have a great podcast/documentary/film/TV series about the business world in mind? Reply to this email (or if you’re reading this on the web, message us: [email protected]) and let us know.
Oh, and there’s just one little thing…within just 1.5 years of operations, Ditto Insurance was included in LinkedIn India’s Top Startups list of 2022!! 🥳 We’re ranked 12th behind some pretty big names like Cred and upGrad and we’re pretty excited about it. We wanted to take a moment and thank you for your continued support.
And if you want to experience our expert insurance advice for yourself, visit our website —click here. Read our content or schedule a meeting with our advisors. It’s all free!
As always, see Sunny Side Up next Sunday!