• Rivian plans to cut over 600 jobs, affecting around 4% of its workforce.
• The layoffs come amid administrative changes affecting the electric vehicle industry.
• The removal of a $7,500 federal tax credit presents challenges for companies like Tesla and Rivian.

Rivian plans to cut more than 600 roles, according to an internal memo shared with the company on Thursday that was viewed by Business Insider.

The electric vehicle maker’s decision to lay off around 4.5% of its workforce of 15,000 comes as administrative changes loom over the EV industry.

The reduction is one of several rounds of layoffs that Rivian has conducted over the past three years.

Although EV sales in the US hit a record high in the third quarter of 2025, EV makers are facing the Trump Administration’s elimination of a $7,500 federal tax credit. Americans had until September 30 to capitalize on the tax credit before the blow hit the EV industry, affecting companies like Tesla and Rivian.

The layoffs, which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal, come as Rivian prepares to launch the R2, which is poised to be the EV maker’s cheapest SUV release to date with a target price of $45,000.

In an interview with Business Insider on Wednesday at the unveiling of Rivian’s e-bike spinoff, ALSO, CEO RJ Scaringe said the R2 is a critical moment for the company.

“I’d call it an inflection point for us to become a company of the scale we aspire to be, which is producing many millions of cars a year,” he said.

Rivian has yet to reach the same level of scale as its leading US contender, Tesla — but the company has shown potential for growth.

Earlier this month, Rivian reported 13,200 vehicle deliveries, a 32% year-over-year increase. Still, the company narrowed its 2025 delivery guidance to 41,500-43,500 vehicles, amid the end of the tax credit incentives and as it prepares for R2 production.

Read the memo Scaringe sent out to employees below:

Hi Team,

I am writing to share a difficult update.

With the launch of R2 in front of us and the need to profitably scale our business, we have made the very difficult decision to make a number of structural adjustments to our teams. These changes result in a reduction in the size of our team by roughly 4.5%.

These are not changes that were made lightly. With the changing operating backdrop, we had to rethink how we are scaling our go-to-market functions. This news is challenging to hear, and the hard work and contributions of the team members who are leaving are greatly appreciated.

To ensure we move forward with clarity, I want to summarize the areas most impacted.

• Streamlining the Customer Journey: To provide a seamless experience for our customers, we are integrating the Vehicle Operations workstreams into the Service organization to create fewer customer handoffs and clearer ownership. We are also integrating the Delivery and Mobile Operations into the Sales organization to ensure the purchase experience is as seamless as possible with a single touchpoint throughout the entire sales process and to delivery.
• Elevating Our Marketing Efforts: Historically we have had multiple functions that collectively capture what would typically be housed in a single marketing organization. We have made the decision to form a single marketing organization, and while we recruit our first Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), I will be acting as Interim CMO. Our Marketing Experiences team, led by Denise Cherry, and the Creative Studio team, led by Matt Soldan, will both report directly to me for now.

These changes are being made to ensure we can deliver on our potential by scaling efficiently towards building a healthy and profitable business. I am incredibly confident in R2 and the hard work of our teams to deliver and ramp this incredible product.

Thanks again everyone.

RJ

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English singer-songwriter and former One Direction member Louis Tomlinson is returning to the road for his highly anticipated third solo concert tour. The tour, entitled “How Did We Get Here?”, supports his recent studio album “How Did I Get Here?” and is set to run for 54 shows, beginning in March 2026. If you’re eager to see the artist live on stage, I’ve broken down how to get Louis Tomlinson tickets below.

Since One Direction’s hiatus in 2016, the “Back to You” singer has seen success as a solo artist, beginning with his debut single and collaboration with Steve Aoki, “Just Hold On.” Tomlinson has been praised for his lyrics, unique musical style, and philanthropic efforts, often donating millions to charity. The star has proved himself as a success, and his fans have eagerly been awaiting his upcoming tour, quickly buying up tickets since it was first announced on October 1.

If you’re looking to see Louis Tomlinson live and grab tickets for his coming How Did We Get Here? Tour, we’ve got you covered. We’ve broken down all things ticket-related to Tomlinson’s coming performances, including show schedules, purchasing details, and price comparisons between tickets. You can also look at ticket details at your leisure on StubHub and Vivid Seats.

• See also: Is StubHub legit? | Ed Sheeran tickets | Lollapalooza tickets | Lorde tickets | Katy Perry tickets | Sabrina Carpenter tickets | Kesha tickets | Dua Lipa tickets | Eagles tickets

Louis Tomlinson’s 2026 tour schedule

The How Did We Get Here? Tour is set to kick off on March 23 in Europe, with Tominlinson traveling to 26 international stops before coming to North America in June. The tour is currently set to wrap up on July 24 in Miami.

North America

International

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How to buy tickets for Louis Tomlinson’s 2026 concert tour

Original standard tickets for Louis Tomlinson’s 2026 tour are available for purchase from Ticketmaster and AXS. Availability will depend on the date, location, and demand for each show. As the tour is highly anticipated, many dates already have a limited number of original tickets remaining.

Tickets are also available from verified resale vendors such as StubHub and Vivid Seats. Depending on the demand for the specific show you are looking to attend, you may find more suitable seating options and pricing from these sites instead.

How much are Louis Tomlinson tickets?

There are still original standard tickets available for purchase in limited quantities from Ticketmaster and AXS. Prices vary depending on the location, but the general range for original tickets at present is $50 to $200. Some tour stops, such as St. Louis, Fort Worth, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia (among others), even have general admission/pit original tickets available in the range of $80 to $180, which is fairly reasonable considering standing room pit tickets often fall into the realm of over $1,000 for other artists.

Resale vendors StubHub and Vivid Seats offer similar pricing to original standard tickets, with some more options in terms of seating availability, as well as some shows which are slightly more affordable than remaining original tickets.

On StubHub, the most affordable options currently range from $36 for Tomlinson’s April 21 show in Paris to $493 for his June 3 concert in Vancouver. Vivid Seats offers similar ranges, with the most inexpensive options at $59 for the July 2 show in Independence, to $720 for the March 23 show in Hamburg. Overall, Vivid Seats has more limited availability, with many international performances unavailable on the platform, so prices tend to fluctuate more than StubHub at the moment.

There are currently no VIP ticket packages available on Ticketmaster for Louis Tomlinson’s upcoming 2026 tour.

Who is opening for Louis Tomlinson’s tour?

It has been confirmed that The Aces and The Beaches will support select dates of Louis Tomlinson’s 2026 How Did We Get Here? tour. Currently, there is no information available on exactly which dates will have what openers or about any other artists who may be supporting the tour. As the tour kickoff grows closer, however, more information is likely to become available.

Will there be international tour dates?

Louis Tomlinson’s How Did We Get Here? World Tour currently has 26 international tour dates scheduled. This includes stops in Germany, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, and Ireland. Louis Tomlinson also has three shows scheduled in Canada.

When did Louis Tomlinson tickets go on sale?

Presale for the How Did We Get Here? Tour began on October 8, with the general sale following on October 10.

• Betting scandals could ramp up as gambling restrictions continue to loosen, researchers say.
• The NCAA is allowing its athletes to bet on professional sports starting in November.
• “Once people start to develop problems, they gamble on everything,” one researcher said.

Get ready for more sports betting scandals.

On Thursday, the FBI arrested two current members of the NBA — Miami Heat player Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups — as part of a long-term investigation into illegal sports betting and poker schemes. Billups’ charge wasn’t basketball-related. Former NBA player Damon Jones was also charged.

“Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight,” Rozier’s lawyer said in a statement.

Sports betting scandals have been occurring for over a century, but researchers say they could become more prevalent if US gambling restrictions continue to loosen.

“This is the tip of the iceberg — and the inevitable outcome when you rampantly legalize sports wagering,” said Lia Nower, the director of Rutgers’ Center for Gambling Studies.

Next month will see another move in that direction, as the NCAA lifts its restriction on college athletes betting on pro sports.

“The more accessible, the more acceptable gambling becomes, the more people actually do it,” Nower said.

Nower said high-risk problem gambling was three times more common in places where sports betting was legal than the national average of about 2%, citing research on New Jersey from her and her colleagues that was published in 2023.

Sports betting began to ramp up on a state-by-state basis after the US Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that a nationwide ban on sports gambling was unconstitutional. There have been several high-profile scandals since, including former NBA player Jontay Porter being banned for life from the league in 2024.

Young people — particularly young men — are especially at risk for problem gambling. The Rutgers researchers found that 19% of all 18- to 24-year-olds had a high risk of developing a gambling problem. College athletes, who will soon be allowed to bet on pro sports, are squarely in that demographic. (The NCAA banned three college basketball players last month for sports betting and is also investigating 13 former hoopers.)

“Once people start to develop problems, they gamble on everything,” Nower said.

She said that some college athletes would be tempted to bet on what they know best: college sports. And if college athletes get hooked on pro sports betting and then make it to the majors themselves, they could continue to wager on their sports, though it would be against league regulations.

It’s no secret that sports betting companies are targeting college-aged men, said Shane Kraus, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who’s the director of its Behavioral Addictions Lab.

“Look at the type of ads, who they’re sending ads to — they’re not sending them to grandma and grandpa in their 80s,” Kraus said.

The ocean of money in sports betting right now will likely lead to more gambling scandals, Kraus and Nower said.

Another wrinkle is the increased popularity of “prop” bets, where gamblers can craft player-specific wagers that athletes could influence more easily than the outcome of a game.

Once problem gambling develops, loan sharks, or those in organized crime, can enter the picture. For college athletes, there are also temptations that are seemingly less nefarious but can still lead to scandal, such as getting friends to bet on their behalf to circumvent rules.

“All of this is completely foreseeable,” Nower said of how problem gambling can turn into a sports betting scandal. “It’s like watching a car crash.”

• Servicers are sending some student-loan borrowers emails confirming their balances are wiped out.
• Borrowers eligible for the relief have completed their qualifying payments on the income-based repayment plan.
• The Department of Education previously confirmed that it would begin processing the relief.

Halloween just got a little less spooky for student-loan borrowers.

After receiving emails earlier this month that they are eligible for student-loan forgiveness, borrowers on income-based repayment plans are now seeing the relief: their servicers have zeroed out their balances and confirmed the forgiveness.

Income-based repayment plans give borrowers monthly payments based on their income, with the promise of loan forgiveness after 20 or 25 years, depending on when they first enrolled in the plan. An email from the Department of Education told eligible borrowers that their servicers would notify them when their discharges have been processed, and those notifications are now starting to trickle in.

The emails are coming after the department paused processing of IBR applications earlier this summer due to ongoing litigation over income-driven repayment plans.

“Congratulations! The U.S. Department of Education has forgiven your federal student loans,” the emails dated October 23, multiple of which were reviewed by Business Insider, said.

The email also clarified that this relief is not considered taxable income due to a 2021 provision in the American Rescue Plan that made student-loan forgiveness tax-free through 2025. Borrowers who received the Thursday emails that Business Insider viewed had forgiveness “effective” dates marking the final payments needed under the IBR plans as early as January 2025. That means that even if servicers do not finish processing the relief until next year, borrowers would not be taxed due to the 2025 effective date.

The servicers added that they notified, or will notify, national credit bureaus of the student-loan forgiveness, and that they will refund any payments made after the forgiveness effective date.

The Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The relief is a rare nugget of good news amid a tumultuous year for student-loan borrowers. Over the summer, the Department of Education paused processing of IBR applications, citing ongoing litigation regarding repayment plans that required the department to update borrowers’ payment counts. The American Federation of Teachers also sued the department earlier in the year, accusing it of failing to process borrowers’ income-driven repayment applications.

Last week, the department reached an agreement with the AFT to process forgiveness for borrowers who reached the payment threshold on income-driven repayment plans. It also agreed to allow the date the borrower made their final payment to be considered as the effective date to avoid new taxes, but it added that the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of the Treasury will have the “final say” on whether the relief is considered taxable income.

A department spokesperson previously told BI that the agreement allows it to “process legitimate loan cancellations once again for borrowers who have been making payments for the requisite number of years.”

Earnings day is here for Tesla, and the stakes are high.

After a roller coaster ride for the stock in 2025, shares are now up 95% in six months, but even with such a massive gain, that only amounts to a rise of about 10% year-to-date.

Now, investors will get a sense of whether the rally that’s taken hold in the latter half of the year can continue. They’ll be laser-focused on updates on Tesla’s robotaxi rollout, which many on Wall Street see as the justification for the EV maker’s premium valuation.

There will also be questions about the outlook for vehicle sales after Tesla reported deliveries earlier this month that crushed estimates. However, with the federal EV tax credit now off the table, some have wondered if sales will wane in the coming quarters.

Tesla will publish its results shortly after the 4 p.m. ET closing bell, with the analyst call scheduled for 5:30.

The Cybertruck’s waning popularity

It’s worth keeping an eye out for any commentary about the Cybertruck, the distinctive vehicle that has struggled to sell as well as expected.

Tesla sold 5,400 of them in the second quarter — down 62% from the same period last year, according to data from Cox Automotive.

Back in 2023, Musk said Tesla could expand production to 250,000 a year. But just 16,000 Cybertrucks have been sold so far this year.

Investors will want a progress report on the robotaxi launch

Tesla began a limited rollout of its highly anticipated robotaxi service in Austin in June, with safety drivers present in the passengers’ seat, and investors will want a status check on the rollout’s progress and possible expansion.

Musk previously shared plans for the robotaxi service to be in many cities by the end of 2025, and also predicted there would be “millions of Teslas operating fully autonomously in the second half of next year.”

Investors will also want an update on when owners will be able to add their vehicles to the Tesla robotaxi fleet. In Tesla’s last earnings call, Musk said owners would be able to do so “next year.”

Some say the more affordable models don’t do enough to fend off Chinese competition

Coming without features like Autosteer and rear screens, the high price tags of the more affordable models underwhelmed some commentators.

Andy Palmer, a former Nissan executive often called the “godfather of EVs” told Business Insider the models don’t do enough to fend off competition from China’s EV giants. BYD, whose cheapest model starts at less than $10,000 in China, sold more EVs than Tesla in Europe for the first time in April.

“If you take out the features — and Tesla has taken out an awful lot of features — then that creates a new price point, but that new price point doesn’t make it competitive with the Chinese

Tesla’s new “more affordable” models will likely be a hot topic

Earlier this month, Tesla revealed its long-awaited lower-cost Model Y and also surprised the world by announcing a more affordable version of its Model 3. Both are referred to as the “standard” version of the models and drop a number of features offered in the higher-end models, including the radio and Autosteer.

The Standard version of Tesla’s most popular Model Y will cost $39,990, and the Model 3 Standard costs $36,990.

While customers and investors eagerly awaited the more affordable model’s release, Wall Street analysts largely expressed disappointment at the vehicles’ price points.

“We are relatively disappointed with this launch as the price point is only $5k lower than prior Model 3’s and Y’s,” Tesla bull Dan Ives wrote in a note to investors after the announcement.

Analysts and investors will be looking for an update on Semi and Cybercab production

Tesla said in its second-quarter earnings release that the Semi and Cybercab production were both expected to reach volume production in 2026. With just a few months left of 2025, investors will want to know if the EV giant is still headed toward that timeline.

Tesla recalls over 12,900 vehicles

Tesla recalled nearly 13,000 vehicles built this year, due to a defect that regulators said can cause a sudden loss of battery power and increase the risk of a crash. The issue involves 2025 Model 3s and 2026 Model Ys, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration filing on Tuesday.

While many past Tesla recalls were remedied through over-the-air software updates, impacted owners this time around will have to take their vehicle in to replace the part in question, the battery part contactor. The part replacement will be free of charge.

Tesla’s Field Reliability team began investigating identified incidents in August, and as of October 7, it had identified 36 warranty claims and 26 field reports related to the condition, the recall report said. There were no collisions, injuries, or deaths related to the issue.

Cantor says focus will be on near-term catalysts for the stock

Andres Sheppard of Cantor Fitzgerald wrote this week that the focus will be on the biggest catalysts for the stock price. Specifically, he cited “several upcoming key material potential near-term catalysts, including: continued rollout of Robotaxi in Texas and California, ramp up of the Model 3/Y standard (lower-cost vehicle), FSD adoption in China and Europe, launch of the cybercab in 2026, and an update on the timeline for its humanoid Optimus Bot.”

Cantor has a $355 price target for the stock, implying downside of about 20% from current levels.

Goldman says watch for 5 big items from tonight’s earnings call

Analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote earlier this month that they’re eyeing a handful of key updates from the carmaker.

• The outlook for vehicle deliveries
• Automotive profit margins
• Progress on robotaxis and full self-driving
• Growth in its energy business
• Fresh updates on the Optimus robot

The bank has a price target of $425 a share and a “Neutral” rating on the stock. The analysts said they expect Tesla to deliver 475,000 vehicles this quarter, down slightly from nearly 500,000 delivered in Q3

RBC sets a $500 price target for Tesla stock on “sum-of-the-parts” methodology

Analysts at RBC have a price target of $500 for Tesla stock, representing 12% upside from Wednesday’s price. Their thesis hinges on a “sum-of-the-parts” methodology that values the company on revenues related to all of its business units, with its auto unit ranked lower than things like AI and robots.

The bank’s Tom Narayan upped his Tesla price target after speaking with the company’s management team about production of its humanoid robot, Optimus, which they say has a total addressable market worth $9 trillion.

Morningstar wants updates on Robotaxis and cheaper car models

Morningstar’s Dave Sekera thinks the big updates from the call will be around robotaxis, but news on the company’s cheaper Model 3 and Model Y cars should also be on investors’ radar. The company unveiled the lower-priced versions of its most popular cars earlier in October, and Wall Street is eager to hear if the move has stimulated more demand for Teslas.

Morningstar is relatively bearish on the stock.

“We think generally the market is overestimating the amount and speed of earnings growth here. We think that to some degree, the market is really pricing in Tesla more as an AI stock rather than as an operating company,” Sekera said.

Wedbush says listen for the AI updates

The outlook for car sales is important, but AI is the bigger update that investors should be looking for from this report, Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives said this week.

“We continue to strongly believe the most important chapter in Tesla’s growth story is now beginning with the AI era now here,” Ives said. “It starts with autonomous then robotics as we believe the autonomous valuation is worth $1 trillion alone to the Tesla story over the next few years that will start to get unlocked over the coming months.”

Wedbush has a $600 price target for Tesla stock, representing 37% upside from Wednesday’s price.

Wall Street expects Tesla to report revenue of $26.3 billion, EPS of $.042

THIRD QUARTER

• Adjusted EPS estimate 54c (Bloomberg Consensus)
• EPS estimate 42c
• Revenue estimate $26.36 billion
• Gross margin estimate 17.2%
• Operating income estimate $1.65 billion
• Free cash flow estimate $1.25 billion
• Capital expenditure estimate $2.84 billion

  YEAR

• Production estimate 1.72 million
• Deliveries estimate 1.63 million
• Capital expenditure estimate $10 billion

Source: Bloomberg

• Google is flattening management layers in one of its most important business divisions.
• It’s eliminating a middle management layer in US ad sales, per an internal memo.
• Google has been reducing managerial roles in an effort to speed up decision-making.

Google is once again stripping back management layers, this time by flattening teams in its core US ad sales unit, Business Insider has learned.

US employees in the Google Customer Solutions (GCS) division were informed last month that several changes to the leadership structure would take effect in January, in a memo sent by its vice president, John Nicoletti.

This latest restructuring shows how even the most profitable corners of Big Tech are moving to run leaner and faster. Google’s ad business, which still accounts for the bulk of its revenue, is flattening management layers to speed up decisions and reduce bureaucracy as growth slows and competition from AI-driven rivals intensifies. In an all-hands meeting in August, Google leaders told staff that the company had reduced the number of managers overseeing small teams by 35% over the previous year.

The changes inside GCS, which serves midsize advertisers, reflect a wider trend across the tech industry: the end of cushy managerial hierarchies in a cost-conscious era.

One change will be to remove the layer of “Managers of Managers,” or MoMs, across several teams, Nicoletti said in the memo, which was reviewed by Business Insider. No layoffs were mentioned in the email, which said the affected employees would move into other roles. The exact number of manager roles being removed could not be learned

“Unlocking our next stage of growth means building our team strategy and structure for the long term,” Nicoletti wrote.

A Google spokesperson confirmed the changes to Business Insider.

“Our teams have continued to make changes to operate more efficiently, remove layers, and better serve our customers,” the spokesperson said.

Nicoletti said the changes in ad sales in January would “Empower our teams, with a focus on agility to accelerate decision-making, and keeping leadership close to the work by simplifying our organizational structure.”

Ad sales is a critical part of Google’s business, and GCS — which focuses on midsize clients — is the central engine. In the September memo to staff, Nicoletti described GCS as “managing a portfolio the size of a Fortune 100 company.”

As part of the upcoming January changes for GCS, Nicoletti said all managers across select teams would become “Heads of business” and report directly to directors with no management layer in between. This would include removing a layer within its mid-market sales group — a role known as account strategy management — that previously stood between account executives and managers, and the heads of business.

He also told staff that Google would reopen account executive roles “to continue investing in capacity for deep customer partnerships.”

“One of the reasons that we’ve been so successful is that we’re outstanding at driving momentum through continuous change,” Nicoletti wrote. “This will be no different.”

Google is not alone in reducing management layers. In recent years, tech giants such as Intel, Amazon, and Microsoft have also flattened their management structures in an effort to become more efficient.

GCS was the only division mentioned in Nicoletti’s memo, but it’s not the only team in ad sales. It also has teams working on Large Customer Sales (LCS), which focus on the biggest and most complex customers.

In January 2024, Google’s chief business officer, Philipp Schindler, told staff that GCS would become the “core channel for scaling growth” as the company pared back teams on LCS.

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