Friday, April 11, 2025

Welcome to TC PM! Today we dive into a model changeup at OpenAI's ChatGPT; we learn how Elon Musk likes his private jet-flying experience; and ex-OpenAI employees file an amicus brief. Have a great weekend!

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: Silas Stein / picture alliance / Getty Images

👋 Moving on: OpenAI will soon retire its GPT-4 model from ChatGPT. The model was released in March 2023 and will still be available through OpenAI's API. GPT-4 will be "fully replaced" with GPT-4o on April 30. Enjoy your retirement, GPT-4!

💅 This diva: Elon Musk likes his private jet-flying experiences a certain way, according to documents made public in a security breach of NetJet, a private jet company. For one, Musk isn't concerned about conserving fuel and wants to arrive everywhere as quickly as possible.

👀 Mobile AI: OpenAI's ChatGPT app became the most downloaded app in the world in March — if you don't include games. This is notable because that spot is usually taken by popular social media companies like TikTok and Instagram.

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Afternoon must-reads

Image Credits: Parallel Systems

🚊 It's electric! Freight is a much more energy-efficient way to move cargo but goods in the U.S. are predominantly transported by trucks — especially over short distances. Parallel Systems wants to change that with its autonomous, battery-powered rail technology.

😬 Not everyone is happy: Elon Musk isn't the only person unhappy about OpenAI's plans to convert to a for-profit entity. A group of ex-OpenAI employees filed an amicus brief today that shows support for Musk's lawsuit.

🦙 Llamas, tariffs, and secret EVs: Today's episode of Equity dives into Meta's new AI models that were released last weekend — to little fanfare. The hosts also dive into the secretive EV startup Jeff Bezos backed, the tariff turbulence, and more.

🕵 Data drama: Ireland's data regulator, the Data Protection Commission, opened an investigation into whether Elon Musk's X used data collected from European users to train xAI's Grok. Remember, xAI just acquired X last month.

🇨🇦 EV layoffs: General Motors laid off 500 workers at one of its factories in Canada. These workers were involved with GM's electric BrightDrop vans. GM said the layoffs were caused by weak demand for that vehicle and were not related to the ongoing tariff skirmishes.

Around the web

🤐 Silence is deafening: Some of tech's biggest CEOs, like Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, and Sundar Pichai, have been very quiet this past week as tariffs slammed tech company stocks. Wired reports that their silence was likely strategic.

🥊 The girls are fighting: There is drama brewing in Brazil over whether ride-hailing services can be used to call motorcycles. While a popular option in most Brazilian cities, it is banned in São Paulo. Companies like Uber and 99 are both fighting the decision — and defying it.