Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today
Elon Musk unveils the Tesla truck… The all-electric semi is rumored to be powered by two electric motors and batteries weighing nearly 10 tons. It may also have some autonomous driving abilities; Musk called it “unreal.”
…and launches a secret SpaceX mission. The “Zuma” mission’s purpose is unknown, but involves a classified government satellite built by defense giant Northrop Grumman.
The Federal Communications Commission votes on media ownership. The FCC is expected to remove regulation that banned single entities from owning a newspaper and a broadcast station in the same market, which was designed to prevent local monopolies on information.
Walmart reports earnings. The world’s largest retailer announces its third-quarter figures (paywall), and investors will be looking for improvement in foot traffic and store sales, as Walmart invests in its physical locations.
While you were sleeping
A Leonardo Da Vinci painting sold for $450 million. In New York, “Salvator Mundi” broke the record for any work of art sold at auction. The previous record was held by Picasso’s “Women of Algiers,” which fetched $179.4 million at Christie’s in May 2015.
The Koch brothers backed a deal to buy the owner of Time magazine. The conservative billionaires are reportedly providing $500 million to support a renewed attempt by magazine publisher Meredith to buy Time Inc., the New York Times reported (paywall). The merger could be a lifeline for the magazine publishers, both of which have been hit by a plunge in print advertising.
Lebanon’s prime minister will take a time out in France. Saad al-Hariri suddenly resigned under mysterious circumstances in Saudi Arabia last week, triggering a political crisis. He will take president Emmanuel Macron up on his invite to come to Paris, and is expected to leave for France in the next 48 hours.
Volkswagen earmarked billions for e-mobility in China. The German carmaker will invest €10 billion ($11.8 billion) to develop 40 electric vehicles (paywall) in China by 2025. That tops Ford’s recent announcement that it would invest $753 million into electric cars in the country. Renault and Nissan are jockeying for position in China, too, as Beijing plans to ban all gasoline vehicles by 2040.
The World Anti-Doping Agency rejected Russia’s appeal. Just three months before the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, WADA said Russia remains non-compliant with the global anti-doping code. Kuwait, Equatorial Guinea, and Mauritius were also found non-compliant.
Quartz obsession interlude
Ilaria Maria Sala on the Ukrainian city that gave us the concept of “genocide.” “[A]s the horrors of the Holocaust unfolded, the two men, who had managed to take refuge far away from Lviv but were agonizing over members of their families who had been unable to escape the Nazis, experienced a sense of urgency over the need for an international court that could bring war criminals to justice.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
Obedient robots make it harder for us to handle relationships. Friction is what makes personal relationships interesting.
Companies literally know nothing about millennials. They don’t get that all their zealous efforts to connect with young people just look like they’re trying to make money by screwing people over.
What can we say to each other at work now? As sexual harassment scandals mount, we need to redefine appropriate behavior in the workplace.
Surprising discoveries
Cards Against Humanity bought a piece of land to thwart Trump’s border wall. The irreverent game is no stranger to publicity stunts, but this one required a lot of commitment.
Maroon 5 is the band of the century. It placed 13 singles in the US Billboard’s top 10 since 2000, more than any other group.
North Koreans play professional soccer in Italy. Pyongyang’s attempt to develop soccer players (paywall) might be bearing fruit.
A Japanese train didn’t run on time. A train company apologized after one of its trains left 20 seconds earlier than scheduled.
Sausage-roll Jesus is the latest scandal in the UK. Bakery chain Greggs had to apologize to Christian groups after replacing baby Jesus with a sausage roll in a nativity scene in a calendar.
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