Detroit auto engineers tear down BYD’s Seagull: “An extinction-level event”

Auto industry insiders were stunned when Caresoft, a highly regarded engineering consulting firm, tore down BYD’s mass-market EV, the Seagull. Priced around $11,000, the engineers found the Seagull to be well-designed, user-friendly, rich with options, and of surprisingly high quality and reliability. The US automakers reacted swiftly and produced reports insisting that BYD’s entrance into US car markets would be met with strong enthusiasm from buyers, and legacy carmakers would be unable to survive. Because of the Seagull’s low price point, US tariffs of 25% would be irrelevant: BYD could still make high profits even after the tariffs were paid. Or, BYD could simply place final assembly plants in Mexico and avoid them altogether. Aware of this, the Biden Administration in May jacked the tariffs up to 100% and announced that Chinese car plants even in tariff treaty countries would be cut off from US markets.

AI’s Influence on Influencer Decision-Making

Investments in influencer marketing are skyrocketing, but how do brands know if they’re choosing the right promotional partners? A new article in The New York Times points to the use of AI tools to grade social media influencers on the brand-friendliness of their content. Robert Rose sees this as a sign that developing a framework and measurement strategy for influencer programs will be a meaningful challenge for brands in the months ahead.

How Americans Are Losing Their Life Savings To Crypto Fraud

“Pig butchering” scams got its name from the idea that scammers “fatten up” victims by building trust, and the strategy has amassed billions in stolen funds—particularly in the form of cryptocurrencies. Losses from investment scams soared 38% to a new record high in 2023, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report. Of the $4.57 billion in funds reported stolen, $3.96 billion involved fraudulent crypto investments. So, why are these scams so successful and what is law enforcement doing about it?