Apple is on the verge of reaching an agreement with Hyundai-Kia to produce an autonomous vehicle, according to CNBC. Apple will reportedly invest $3.6B in Kia and hopes to produce 100,000 vehicles in 2024.

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• In December, it was reported the tech giant plans to launch an "Apple Car" in 2024. Apple was said to be working on its own battery technology for the vehicle.
• Apple's conditions for the agreement reportedly require the cars to be manufactured in North America and for the tech giant to have full control over the hardware and software used.
• It's important to note an agreement hasn't yet been reached, and Apple could decide to partner with another automaker.
• In 2018, Apple hired Doug Field, Tesla's former senior VP of engineering, to oversee its self-driving technology unit.
• The global mobility market is worth $10T, while the smartphone market is worth $500B with Apple owning a 33% market share.
• Apple would only need to control 2% of the mobility market to equal the performance of its smartphone business.
• In December, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed he once reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook about a potential acquisition, but the meeting request was rejected.

A prototype SpaceX Starship rocket burst into flames upon landing during a high-altitude test. Elon Musk's space company says that, for the most part, Tuesday's test was successful, because the SN9 rocket reached an altitude of 6.2 miles (10km), as planned, and then flipped sideways to return to Earth. But the rocket failed to slow down enough and crashed upon reaching SpaceX's test site at Boca Chica, Texas.

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• SpaceX principal integration engineer John Insprucker said that the test will provide the company with plenty of data to continue improving the Starship.
• "Again, we've just got to work on that landing a little bit," he also said.
• The company's strategy is based on developing different prototypes, with each new iteration improving on the last.
• In December, an earlier version of the Starship, the SN8, also exploded upon landing during a test flight.
• SpaceX engineers have already built the SN10 prototype, which is ready to start test flights soon.
• These three prototypes are all fitted with three Raptor engines.
• The Starship will eventually be lifted into space by a booster called the Super Heavy that will be fitted with 35 Raptor engines.
• Initially, the Starship will transport payloads to low-Earth orbit.
• However, SpaceX envisions building 100 Starships per year to send about 100,000 people from Earth to Mars.

This story first appeared in Inside Daily Brief. You can read the full issue here.

American Airlines will issue furlough warnings to 13,000 employees once the second round of federal aid expires on Mar. 31. CEO Doug Parker said the COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been slower than expected and travel restrictions have hurt demand.

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• The employees affected include flight attendants, pilots, maintenance workers, and passenger service workers.
• In December, Congress approved $15B in federal payroll support for airlines as part of a $900B stimulus package.
• American Airlines furloughed 19,000 employees when the first round of federal aid expired on Sept. 30, 2020.
• Airline labor unions have called on Congress to approve another $15B of federal aid to sustain jobs until Sept. 30. So far airlines have received $40B in federal payroll support.
• American Airlines has been hit hard by the pandemic as it lost a record $8.9B in 2020 and $2.2B in Q4.
• Last week, United Airlines announced it would furlough 14,000 employees once federal aid ran out.

Venture Capitalist Bill Gurley said Uber wasted $2.5B on self-driving technology in a recent interview with Newcomer. According to Gurley, Uber should have spent the money building out its food-delivery business, although he acknowledged there would have been huge risks.

Who is Bill Gurley:

• Bill Gurley's firm Benchmark Capital first invested in Uber in 2011, and he sat on the company's board until 2017.
• In 2017, Benchmark played a role in Uber's internal investigation, which revealed an unsafe company culture and led to the ousting of former CEO Travis Kalanick. Gurley felt his firm was "on the right side of history.”
• Shortly after Kalanick's resignation, Gurley praised the former CEO, tweeting, "very few entrepreneurs have had such a lasting impact on the world."

Uber in 2020:

• Kalanick believed autonomous vehicles were crucial to Uber's future, however current CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has focused its business around ride-hailing and food delivery.
• In December, Uber sold its self-driving unit, Uber ATG, to Aurora Innovation. The deal valued Uber ATG at $4B.
• Since last May, Uber has sold its electric bike division Jump and its air-taxi business to Joby Aviation.
• It acquired food delivery service Postmates for $2.65B in December and alcohol delivery service Drizly this week for $1.1B.
• Uber Eats' revenue surged during the pandemic, and during Q2 2020, its food delivery services generated more revenue than its ride-hailing business. Though the ride-hailing business is likely to return to pre-pandemic levels once outdoor activities and traveling resume.

The Senate voted 86-13 to confirm Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary. After being sworn in, Buttigieg said a new administration provides "a chance to build our transportation system back better than it ever was before.”

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• Buttigieg will oversee a department of 55,000 employees.
• During his campaign, Biden unveiled a $2T infrastructure plan centered around climate change. 
• He has called for significant investments to build electric vehicle infrastructure and expand zero-emissions public transport.
• During his confirmation hearing, Buttigieg pledged he would create jobs, address climate change, and reduce racial and economic inequality.

Online used-car marketplace Auto1 raised $2.16B during its IPO on Germany’s Frankfurt stock exchange. Auto1 priced its shares at $45, and they surged by 45% during its debut.

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• Auto1 sold more than 615,000 vehicles in 30 countries in 2019 and earned $4.19B in revenue.
• The company isn't profitable, but CFO Markus Boser said it has "demonstrated its path” to profitability.
• In 2018, Softbank invested $551.3M in Auto1 at a $3.5B valuation. Before going public, Auto1 had raised $1.4B since its inception in 2012.
• Auto1 will invest the money from its IPO into its retail business.

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• U.K. car sales fell by 40% to their lowest level in 51 years. The decline has been attributed to the closure of auto dealers due to COVID-19 restrictions.
• Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos announced he will retire as CEO of e-commerce giant Amazon and transition to an executive chairman's role.
• SpaceX revealed its Starlink internet service has surpassed 10,000 users.
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