Tesla Just Unveiled The Quickest Car You Can Actually Buy

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc <TSLA.O> Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday the company will offer a larger upgraded battery pack for performance versions of its Model S and X vehicles that will extend range and allow for super fast acceleration.

The new 100 kilowatt hour battery pack means high end versions of the Model S sedan, called the P 100D, will be the world’s fastest accelerating car in production, the Silicon Valley automaker said.

“These are very profound milestones and I think will help convince people around the world that electric is the future,” said Musk on a conference call with journalists.

The new battery extends the range of performance versions of the new Model S beyond 300 miles (482.8 km), Tesla said. Musk said that if the weather is not too hot, a driver could travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles without recharging.
After rising 2.1 percent to $227.71 in afternoon trade, shares dipped from session highs to $224.87, up less than 1 percent.

News of the upgrade comes as the all-electric car maker lays the groundwork for a controversial buyout of SolarCity Corp <SCTY.O>, while it also prepares for next year’s launch of its high profile Model 3 mass-market vehicle.

SolarCity agreed to Tesla’s $2.6 billion offer to buy the solar panel installer earlier this month, clearing one obstacle in the way of Musk’s ambitious goal to create a carbon-free energy and transportation company.

Both companies are still trading below where they were when SolarCity’s approval for the deal was announced.

In May, Tesla said it was stepping up production plans for its upcoming Model 3 mass-market sedan and would build a total of 500,000 all-electric vehicles in 2018, two years ahead of schedule, but it warned that spending will ramp up as well.

Tesla earlier this month reported a steeper than expected quarterly loss on higher spending at its vehicle and battery factories.
 
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Tom Brown)

 

 

Looks Like Ivanka Trump Doesn't Pay Her Interns

Ivanka Trump, who markets herself as a champion of working women and learned about business by walking her father’s construction sites, apparently does not pay interns at her namesake fashion and jewelry company in New York City, according to a blog post on IvankaTrump.com that also appeared on her official Twitter page on Thursday.

How to make it work as an unpaid intern: https://t.co/pwMIYWh4kw #nomoneynoproblems #interntips #internships pic.twitter.com/BRoWuO6bq7

— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) August 18, 2016

Yes, that actually says #nomoneynoproblems, and comes from the Twitter account of the daughter of self-proclaimed billionaire and Republican nominee for president Donald Trump.

In the post, unpaid intern Quincy Bulin offers tips and includes advice from three of her unpaid colleagues ― all women, two named Mackenzie.  

The advice includes finding a part-time job that actually pays, saving money during the school year, setting a budget and socializing cheaply.

Of course, Bulin leaves out the real key to surviving an unpaid internship: having well-off parents. Kids with families that can support them while they take on jobs for nothing are more likely to take on jobs for nothing. 

Unpaid internships at for-profit companies are not legal in New York City, where Ivanka’s workers are based ― unless the positions are for college credit. And even then, there are a host of restrictions around how the job is structured. Regulations regarding unpaid interns at nonprofit organizations are slightly less strict.

Ivanka Trump is certainly not the only employer to use unpaid interns. In an email, Chief Brand Officer Abigail Klem told The Huffington Post, “We strive to create a fulfilling learning opportunity tailored to the unique interests and career goals of each intern. It is our goal that at the end of the program, our interns leave with experiences that will help guide them into choosing a fulfilling career path.”

The company didn’t respond to requests for comment on whether those interns also leave with school credit or some other kind of reimbursement. And Trump herself likely didn’t even send out the tweet yesterday. She’s vacationing in Croatia while her father’s campaign goes into full meltdown mode. 

The notion that she would employ women without paying them is newsworthy for a couple of reasons, though. 

@IvankaTrump what the hell do you know about being an unpaid intern? Or making it work? Why all your emojis black women?? #TrumpPence16

— bodhizwanya (@malikazwanya) August 18, 2016

Ivanka and her brothers sold themselves as in-touch with working-class people at the Republican National Convention last month, talking up their experience on their father’s construction sites when they were growing up. 

Unpaid internships just aren’t the province of working-class people. An unpaid internship is “a handout that, best intentions aside, accelerates a cycle of privilege and reward,” Darren Walker, the president of the Ford Foundation, pointed out in a piece for The New York Times recently. Companies should get rid of unpaid internships, Walker argues, because they reinforce a lack of diversity. Unpaid interns land jobs eventually at these companies, and you wind up with a pretty homogenous workforce, which leads to all kinds of problems.  

.@IvankaTrump is this a joke? Is all of this some sort of Kaufman-esque performance art piece?

— Chris Bea (@CJosephBea) August 18, 2016

Not paying these women for their work also looks off, coming from Ivanka, who is a self-proclaimed supporter of women’s equality in the workplace. Indeed, her website bills itself as the “ultimate destination for women who work.”

Unpaid internships lead to lower-paying jobs, according to research from the National Association of Colleges and Employers. For these unpaid interns, that first lower-paying job would start a cycle of under-earning of the sort that reinforces pay gaps between men and women.

Speaking of supporting women: Ivanka reportedly gives 8 weeks paid parental leave to her employees. That’s not terrible, considering the United States has no paid leave policy. Yet, it falls short of what most proponents of paid leave and maternal health researchers consider optimal. She recently came under fire because her label works with companies that do not offer any paid leave.

In all, not a great look for a fashion company.

This article has been updated to include additional information about regulations surrounding unpaid internships, and with a comment from the company.

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.

The Dreaded Annual Review -- 5 Ways To Fix Them

While reviews come and go, all too often behaviors, and performance, don't change. So it makes sense that companies are now asking, why continue this painful and often pointless exercise? Companies of all sizes, but certainly noticeably industry-leaders like Gap, Adobe and Deloitte are eliminating them altogether.

SAP recently made its own headlines on this as we pilot using our SAP SuccessFactors continuous performance management capabilities. The headlines have been pretty provocative, but what I've written here is our reality. It's less about "ditching" an annual process completely and more about ongoing and in the moment feedback. I like to think of it as similar to taking golf lessons. The point is to keep making the adjustments you need to improve, and not having your instructor wait six months to tell you your swing is all wrong.

The answer to effective performance management in my view is not doing away with reviews altogether. It's institutionalizing effective, actionable feedback - something managers and colleagues should contribute to throughout the entire year. Here are five ways to make it work.

Understand the motivation
Before you start to appraise an employee's performance, you need to understand both their behaviors and your role in shaping them. People don't always do things just because you ask. Most people do things because they have the capabilities and confidence to be successful at them. So your job as a manager, and even more so as a leader, is less about developing people and more about creating an environment where they can develop themselves. Head into the review process with the knowledge that being a great leader is not about what you do, but rather what you inspire and enable others to achieve.

Get on the same page
The foundation of effective feedback is establishing clear goals and expectations. It may seem obvious that people need to understand expectations in order to meet them, but it's easier than you might think to cross signals on what someone's job goals are. Discussing goals and progress should be a regular event or you'll likely find you're nowhere near on the same page. A good way to measure whether you are aligned is to ask people on your team what their top five priorities are and compare that to what you think they should be. Is it a match? Make this exercise a jumping-off point to discuss where your expectations align and where there may be inconsistencies - and then agree on what to do about it. 

Look ahead, not just back
Resistance to feedback is natural when we don't believe it comes from someone who has our best interests at heart. Make knowing what people on your team want, what they are good at and where they want to go in their careers a priority when assessing performance. Look for ways to tie your assessment not just to performance, but to future development.

No surprises
As a manager, you are failing your employees if you hold out until an annual review to level-set on things that are detrimental to their career. If an employee is on the wrong path, don't wait weeks or months to let them know. Most of us don't see our own shortcomings. Don't only focus on the negative though, or you'll lose your audience right away. Talk about what is working, and encourage employees to focus on those areas. I think we've moved away from worrying about how to improve what people aren't good at; instead, focus on having them spend time on what they do well so they'll get even better.
 
Support success
I talked about development being an individual responsibility with leaders owning the creation of a culture that supports learning and growth. Make sure people on your teams have access to resources, training, coaching or other things you can provide to help them improve their performance and develop in their careers. Today we are all lifetime learners and teachers. Connect people to each other and to resources.

Today we have the technology to support effective, "always on" feedback loops. Think about how much more successful you are when you have a chance to course correct along the way and not have to wait until an entire year is behind you to find out if you were doing the right things and doing them successfully. Ultimately though, it's about the old adage that says "people don't leave companies, people leave managers." Those of us who lead have the responsibility to enable all-in - committed, motivated and inspired - people. If we fail, it's our own performance review we should dread.
 

One Of Donald Trump's Quietest Critics Just Called Him Out On Diversity

Marc Benioff doesn’t want to talk about Donald Trump. Rather than give more airtime to the bombastic Republican presidential nominee, the Salesforce chief prefers to plug Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate for whom he raised $500,000 earlier this year.

But on Wednesday, Benioff called Trump out for holding a televised campaign meeting about security with about two dozen people, almost all of whom appear to be white men. The move came a day after he delivered a speech aggressively appealing to black voters. 

This table reflects how @realDonaldTrump sees America : homogeneous. pic.twitter.com/odI2AeyWNp

— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) August 17, 2016

Two women do appear to be sitting at the end of the table, according to Reuters footage of the meeting. Still, Trump’s tone-deafness a day after he attempted to woo African-Americans by speaking in a 94.8 percent white Milwaukee suburb underscores the extent to which Trump’s campaign as a whole ― and not just the candidate’s crass rhetoric ― has gone out of its way to alienate minority and female voters. 

Benioff, for his part, isn’t a perfect beacon of inclusivity. The workforce at his cloud computing giant remains 67 percent white. Hispanics make up 4 percent, and African-Americans just 2 percent, of Salesforce employees.

But that’s not a problem that’s unique to Salesforce ― it reflects hiring trends in the tech industry, which began grappling with its lack of diversity a few years ago. In the past year, Benioff spent $3 million to eliminate the gender pay gap at Salesforce and publicly protested against laws that discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. 

Benioff did not respond to a request for comment from The Huffington Post. Neither did Hope Hicks, Trump’s campaign spokeswoman. 

Kevork Djansezian/Reuters

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has been a vocal advocate for women and LGBTQ people. 

Until recently, Benioff has stayed fairly quiet about the Republican nominee to amplify his reasons to vote for someone ― in this case, Clinton ― rather than his reasons to vote against someone else.

Benioff’s relative silence seemed to signal a departure from his usual style. He comments on progressive political issues almost daily, mostly to his roughly 244,000 Twitter followers. He has spearheaded almost every corporate charge against state laws that either legalize discrimination against queer people based on “religious freedom” or prevent trans individuals from using bathrooms associated with their gender identities. 

In response to a HuffPost article probing his low-profile opposition to Trump, Benioff said he preferred to advocate against the Republican behind the scenes. When other CEOs and entrepreneurs email him to ask how to deal with Trump, he said he answers, “If you want to defeat Donald Trump and you’re that upset about him, then you should support Hillary Clinton, which is what I’m doing.” 

On Wednesday, in an apparent attempt to get his faltering campaign back on track, Trump named Breitbart News Executive Chairman Steve Bannon as his new chief executive. This has been widely interpreted as a sign that Trump will intensify his uncivil, scorched-earth campaign tactics. And if that happens, even Trump’s quietest critics may be tempted to weigh in before November’s votes are cast.

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.

Amazon Adds 19 Million US Prime Members Since Prime Day 2015

Majority of US Customers Are Prime Members for First Time

Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) today released second quarter 2106 analysis of buyer shopping patterns for Amazon, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).

This analysis indicates that Amazon Prime now has 63 million US members, spending on average about $1,200 per year, compared to about $500 per year for non-members. The current membership estimate compares to an estimated 44 million US members at the end of the June 2015 quarter, or an increase of 43%.

As of June 30, 2016, CIRP estimates that in the US, 52% of Amazon customers are Prime members, the first quarter where a majority of US Amazon customers were Prime members (Chart 1).

Chart 1: US Amazon Prime Members

US Amazon Prime membership continued its strong growth over the past 12 months. Amazon added a net 19 million members since July 2015, compared to an increase of 16 million members in July 2014-June 2015 period. Amazon promoted the service aggressively starting with the first Prime Day in July 2015, and continuing with exclusive product offers and enhanced services throughout the year.

In the April-June 2016 quarter, US Amazon Prime membership grew 9%, compared to 7% in the same quarter last year.

Prime is a somewhat different service than it was two years ago. Amazon has expanded its media offerings greatly, including exclusive video content, HBO programs, streaming music, and now personal photo storage. Prime also offers a much richer environment for Amazon device owners, with access to free Kindle books, the improved video library for Fire TV, and Prime music and shopping tightly integrated into the Alexa service on Echo devices. In addition, Amazon recently introduced a monthly payment option, which may succeed in opening the market to a new a group of potential members. About 22% of Prime members that joined Amazon Prime in the quarter opted for the monthly payment plan.

CIRP bases its findings on surveys of 500 US subjects who made a purchase at Amazon.com in the period from April-June 2016. For additional information, please contact CIRP.

3 Must Attends at eTail East 2016

It's that time of year again. eTail East is kicking off next week bringing together eCommerce and Omni-Channel Retail Innovators. I sit back and think of what the first eTail was like in 1999 right before the .com bubble burst and find it amazing the transformation retail has undergone since then. Responsive site design- what was that? Shop online and pick up in store- come again? Can anyone say Cartwheel App?

eTail East is happening August 15-18, 2016 at The Sheraton in Boston, MA. It will bring together 900 retailers, 100 speakers and many service and solution providers under one roof. Working for one of the retail industry's most trusted eCommerce agencies, Echidna, I love following industry events like this. Not only for the purpose of future partnerships, but being able to learn how other brands are taking on their online presence through eCommerce and digital marketing. Being able to celebrate what is working and learn from what is not is invaluable.

At eTail East last year it toted some great presentations from industry leaders like Jason Goldberger from Target, Stormy Simon, now former President at Overstock.com and Marshall Porter, now former SVP and GM, International of Gilt Groupe. This year promises some amazing keynotes, sessions and networking opportunities. So how can you pick just the cream of the crop? In the end, it depends where your brand sits today and their goals for tomorrow, but as usual I took the time to pick my top 3 Must Attend's.

1. Panel Discussion: Turning Traffic Into Sales: Making The Mobile Experience Better For Today's Consumers

This made my Top 3 for obvious reasons. More consumers are shopping on mobile devices and it is predicted this will continue to increase. Make sure your brand is ready and join the panelists to hear their thoughts around taking your mobile strategy from soup to nuts and firing out what updates you need to really see a difference in conversion on these devices. The panel that they have brought together to talk on this topic should make for a great discussion. All with extensive experience in various facets of eCommerce, digital marketing, IT management and User Experience.

Industry Experts Speaking:

Eileen Shulluck, VP of eCommerce for luxury boutique Kirna Zabete.

Michael Zuccato, Director of Online Marketing for Sourcebooks

Mike DiMiele, Director of Marketing for Pampered Chef

Damon Burgess, Web Development for One Way Furniture

When: 3:25pm, Tuesday, August 16 (Track C)

2. Keynote: The Future Of Retail And The Convergence Of Customer Centricity, IoT And Omnichannel

First of all, if you aren't familiar with Thoryn Stephens, you should be. He has an incredibly interesting background as a business professional and web analytics guru. As the Chief Digital Officer of American Apparel, he manages their digital business across a global network of 17 websites. During the holiday season, his digital transformation resulted in American Apparel’s highest holiday season in history. This keynote will be discussing how to leverage customer centricity as the foundation of your consumer strategy, practical applications of omnichannel and how IoT is shaping the consumer experience. I'm looking forward to hearing his thoughts on what is considered a loaded topic for many retailers in this can't miss keynote.

When: 9:55am, Wednesday, August 17th

3. Retailer Only Chats and Cocktails

I stated it earlier, but a huge part of this conference is learning what has (or hasn't) worked for other brands. We are all in this together, so network with fellow retailers before the actual conference kicks off! With several tables to choose from, this is a great time to mingle with fellow retailers and also learn from them.

Industry Experts Hosting:

Table 1: Achieving Omni-Channel Success with Eileen Shulock, VP eCommerce, Kirna Zabete

Table 2: Jumpstart Your Start Up with Christine Monaghan, Director/VP eCommerce, Villa

Table 3: Hosted By: Rosie Manfredi, Director, User Experience, Digital Commerce, Harry and David

Table 4: Attribution Best Practices with Amy Boaz, Sr. Manager Global Digital Marketing, Global eCommerce, Lenovo

When: 5:00pm, Wednesday, August 17th

What sessions are you excited to attend? What speakers are not-to-be-missed in your book?

5 Frugal Ways Every Entrepreneur Can Start And Grow A Business On The Cheap

I should start by clearing the confusion, just in case you are wondering. Being cheap and being frugal are two entirely different things. The first is just plain silly if you are trying to run a business, but the later is being smart when applied in the same context.

Starting and growing a business can be a very stressful period in the life of an entrepreneur. Among the key things that he/she has to worry about are payroll, insurance, spreading the word (marketing) while also seeking to make and keep employees satisfied. Add the burden of proper financial management to that list and the burden seems almost too much for anyone to bear.

Money management is one of the factors that is key in launching a business that has a solid foundation. Being unnecessarily tight fisted when it comes to money will almost certainly drive your business into the ground. On the flip side, being unnecessarily generous with spending has not helped anyone either. This are the two extremes of money management that should always be avoided.

Every smart entrepreneur knows that the answer lies in striking a balance somewhere in the middle - the sweet spot if you can call it that. That balance is what I call 'being frugal'.

So if you own a business or you are about to start one, here are a few tips that will ensure you tow the line of entrepreneurial success without burning a hole through your money bag.

1. Take advantage of free advice

Every person knows - or should know - the value of advice, especially in the business world. This becomes even more evident if you are running your business on a very tight budget and cannot allocate money to pay for consultation on matters such as legal, accounting and other major business issues.

This is the time when you capitalize on all the contacts you have made in your business journey. By this, I mean your mentors and advisors; people who you look up to that have been in business longer than you. Another vital resource would be your network of entrepreneurs, perhaps in a mastermind group or any other kind of group.

These people want to see you succeed in business and so will most likely give you professional, actionable advice that you can capitalize on to grow your business.

The best part is that these invaluable pieces of advice are free.

2. Use coupons for purchases whenever possible

Here is a fun fact: American households with average earnings of $100,000 and above use coupons for purchases more than families making $35,000 and below.

Purchasing with coupons is a smart business move that will save your business tons of money, especially when you use it to buy stuff that you normally would not be able to afford because of its original value.

You can find coupons online for almost anything, from accessories to culinary masterpieces and everything in between. Also, you can find reputable coupon dealers all over the globe such as from coupons.com in the US to promocodeclub.com in India.

So no matter your location and your major trade currency, utilizing coupons for your business purchases will not be a problem.

3. Use distributors, Reps and affiliate partners

This strategy of marketing your goods and/or services is widely used by many industries. You can have distributors, representatives of manufacturers and affiliate partners who will market and distribute your products to their customer base via their own distribution channels.

The advantage of this method is that it helps you to thin down your marketing budget and grow sales faster. It also ensures that you always make money because you do not pay these partners until your products are sold, which means you only sign payouts from your profits; no loss incurred.

4. Outsource occasional jobs

In every company, there are certain tasks that are not part of its day-to-day activities. It is not a financially wise move to have someone on full time salary for such jobs.

The outsourcing industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and is extremely diverse in the range of services offers. Outsource jobs that you cannot afford to have a fulltime salary staff for and save more money doing so. Outsourcing runs on a pay as you work system; this is good because it means you only have to pay for the service when you need it.

5. Buy efficiency, not aesthetics or luxury

You do not have to buy the best of everything for your business; always go for efficiency and effectiveness over aesthetics or luxury.

Say, for instance that you are shopping for some PCs for your office and your business is one that manages a small size database of customers and partners. It will be silly to go purchase the latest in PC technology when a few, simple, non-sophisticated PCs will do the trick. Luxury does not grow a business, productivity does. You are not buying office equipment to flaunt it; you are buying it to use it.

So take your time to study equipment you want to buy and read reviews about them. This will help you pick the best and most effective piece of equipment for your office that is every bit your money's worth.