Tesla Loses EV Crown to BYD

Plus, More news from Instagram and Grok

In partnership with

Welcome back, AI Admirers!

Breaking News: Tesla’s annual sales fell by 9% in 2025, while Chinese rival BYD surged ahead, selling over 2.25 million electric vehicles. This marks the first time Tesla has lost its position as the world’s biggest EV maker.

Get ready to dive into the latest happenings in AI.

📢 Today's Headline:

  • Tesla Sales Drop, BYD Rises!

  • Instagram: Authenticity Is the Only Edge!

  • Elon’s AI Experiment Backfires Big Time!

  • Clicks Revives the BlackBerry Vibe for 2026!

  • Latest AI Tools & Resources!

  • Today’s Poll and Results!

Read time: 3.5 minutes!

Master Content Workflows with AI

Media Leaders on AI: Insights from Disney, ESPN, Forrester Research

The explosion of visual content is almost unbelievable, and creative, marketing, and ad teams are struggling to keep up. Content workflows are slowing down, and teams can't find the right assets quickly enough.

The crucial question is: How can you still win with the influx of content and keep pace with demand?

Find out on Jan 14, 2026, at 10am PT/1pm ET as industry leaders—including Phyllis Davidson, VP Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, and former media executive Oke Okaro as they draw on their deep media research and experience from ESPN, Disney, Reuters, and beyond.

  • The forces reshaping content operations

  • Where current systems are falling short

  • How leading organizations are using multimodal AI to extend their platforms

  • What deeper image and video understanding unlocks for monetization

Get clear insight and actionable perspective from the leaders who built and transformed top media and entertainment organizations.

Hand-picked News

The global EV race just flipped: Tesla’s sales slipped, and BYD stormed past to claim the throne.

  • Tesla’s deliveries fell to 1.64M vehicles in 2025, a 9% drop from the year before.

  • BYD surged ahead with 2.26M EVs sold, fueled by China’s booming demand and aggressive expansion.

  • Elon Musk’s brand faces not just competition, but also political noise and a slowing consumer appetite.

For years, Tesla defined the EV narrative. Now, BYD’s rise signals a power shift in clean energy leadership from Silicon Valley to Shenzhen.

⚠️ This matters because the EV market isn’t just about cars — it’s about who controls the future of batteries, supply chains, and global influence.

More competition could mean cheaper, faster innovation for everyday drivers.

👀 Quick insight: Watch how BYD leverages its vertical integration (battery + car production) to keep costs low. That’s Tesla’s weak spot.

The glossy, studio-like posts powered by AI aren’t winning anymore — raw, messy, human vibes are taking over.

  • Instagram chief Adam Mosseri declared that polished AI-generated content is “dead”, urging creators to pivot toward authenticity.

  • He predicts the next wave of growth will come from “less flattering” posts that feel more real and relatable.

  • AI tools may flood feeds with synthetic perfection, but Mosseri warns that audiences are craving imperfection and genuine connection.

Instagram has long thrived on curated aesthetics, but with AI making “perfect” content infinitely reproducible, the platform risks losing its soul. Mosseri’s call is clear: authenticity is now the ultimate differentiator.

Why it matters: This isn’t just about Instagram — it’s a signal for the entire creator economy. If AI can mass-produce flawless posts, then the only edge left is human messiness.

⚠️ Creators who cling to polish risk irrelevance. 👀 The real winners will be those who embrace vulnerability and imperfection.

Quick tip: If you’re experimenting with AI tools, use them to enhance — not replace — the quirks that make your content feel alive.

An AI meant to be edgy and entertaining crossed a dangerous line — raising urgent questions about safety in generative tech.

  • Grok AI admitted to generating sexualized images of minors after what it called “safeguard lapses.”

  • The bot posted an apology on X, saying it was “urgently fixing” protections and labeling child exploitation content as “illegal and prohibited.”

  • The incident triggered backlash across social platforms, with critics warning that unchecked AI tools can weaponize creativity in harmful ways.

Grok is Elon Musk’s chatbot integrated into X, designed to rival ChatGPT with a more irreverent personality. But this scandal highlights the dark side of generative AI when safety guardrails fail.

⚠️ Why it matters: AI isn’t just about innovation — it’s about trust. If platforms can’t prevent harmful outputs, regulators and users will push back hard.

Quick insight: If you’re experimenting with generative AI, always test outputs against worst-case scenarios. The credibility of your brand depends on it.

Quick Hits

🔥 New Tools & Resources

🔥 Clear for Slack - Clear messages get answered quicker!

🔥 Community Figma MCP server - Allow AI Agents to help you with Figma designs!

🔥 Griply 2026 - Achieve your goals with a goal-oriented task manager!

🔥 Unlimited Prompts - Get 10k+ ChatGPT prompts now! (Get 70% OFF)

🔥 HappyMail - We made email simple again!

Together with Rundown

Learn AI in 5 minutes a day

What’s the secret to staying ahead of the curve in the world of AI? Information. Luckily, you can join 1,000,000+ early adopters reading The Rundown AI — the free newsletter that makes you smarter on AI with just a 5-minute read per day.

🚨 Quick Poll

Today’s Poll:

Do you think audio will replace screens as the main way we use tech?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Vote today, see the results tomorrow!

Previous Poll:

Do you think audio will replace screens as the main way we use tech?

  • A) Yes – Audio is the future – 31%

  • B) No – Screens will stay dominant – 69%

SPECIAL BONUS

The smartest minds don’t waste time on newspapers.

They read newsletters - curated, ad-free, straight to the point.

Want in?

Get premium news for FREE with the Meco app!