Plus, Tools for Humanity, a tech startup founded by Sam Altman, hires its first head of privacy as it faces regulatory scrutiny. And sales of Chinese electric vehicles rally in June. Zoe Thomas hosts.
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[00:00:00] Here's your TNB Tech Minute for Tuesday, July 2nd. I'm Zoe Thomas for The Wall Street Journal. Tesla's vehicle sales have slid for a second straight quarter, though not as much as expected, keeping Tesla ahead of rival BYD as the world's largest seller of EVs.
[00:00:19] The company said it delivered just under 444,000 vehicles globally in the three-month period — that's a 4.8 percent decline from the same quarter a year ago. It comes as Tesla is contending with lukewarm demand for its cars and intensifying competition. Sticking with EVs, Chinese EV makers had robust sales in June.
[00:00:41] Sales were helped by government subsidies, tax breaks, and steep discounts that brought buyers back into showrooms after a sluggish start to the year. BYD, NIO, Leap Motor, and Zeker all posted sales volume records during the month.
[00:00:56] The auto recovered from lackluster numbers early in the year, with a 47 percent on-year rise in vehicles delivered in June. And Tools for Humanity has named former ex-executive Damien Kiran as chief privacy officer. Tools for Humanity was founded by open AI CEO Sam Altman.
[00:01:15] The tech startup is facing growing regulatory scrutiny over its world coin venture that scans people's eyes in exchange for cryptocurrency tokens. Kiran left his role as chief privacy officer at what was formerly Twitter following Elon Musk's takeover of the platform.
[00:01:32] He now faces the task of liaising with regulators globally and addressing their concerns over how world coin handles biometric data. Tools for Humanity is a separate entity from open AI, which has a content licensing partnership with Wall Street Journal owner News Corp.
[00:01:47] For a deeper dive into what's happening in tech, check out Wednesday's Tech News Briefing podcast.