Happy anniversary to the iPhone, which hit US markets on this day 15 years ago. Time flies.
I'm Jordan Parker Erb, and today I'll be guiding you through troubled mental-health startup Cerebral's fall from grace, and trying to figure out where Elon Musk went (Elon, blink twice if you're OK).
Without further ado…
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1. Leaked documents suggest Cerebral harmed hundreds of patients. More than 2,000 leaked incident reports and interviews with dozens of current and former employees illustrate a history of grave missteps at the troubled mental-health startup.
- Once considered a Silicon Valley success story, documents show Cerebral operated in flagrant disregard of clinical standards: It took on patients it didn't have the resources to treat, sometimes putting them in danger.
- In some cases, patients with complex conditions, such as bipolar disorder, were assigned to clinicians who lacked sufficient training, supervision, and support to treat them. Some clinicians told Insider they worried they'd lose their licenses.
- On occasion, medical providers prescribed potentially lethal combinations of drugs, or prescribed addictive drugs to patients with histories of addiction. One source said family nurse practitioners threw antipsychotics around like they were candy — but these drugs are "very serious medications with very serious side effects."
Read Insider's full investigation.
In other news:
2. Where'd Elon Musk go? The Tesla and SpaceX CEO (and prolific tweeter) has been noticeably absent from Twitter, having not sent any tweets for the past week — and no one knows why.
3. It's time for companies to rethink how they pick and evaluate bosses. Managers have been getting worse for decades. But with the Great Resignation and rise of remote work, companies have a chance to overhaul how they choose their bosses. Here's why corporate America is lacking good management — and how to fix it.
4. An FCC commissioner wants TikTok off app stores. After a Buzzfeed News report found that TikTok user data was accessed repeatedly in China, the commissioner urged Apple and Google to remove the app from their app stores, calling it a "national security risk."
5. A former Tesla worker describes being laid off after two months. When a meeting titled "Meeting-Tesla" mysteriously popped up on his calendar, the writing was on the wall for Quishon Walker. He told Insider what it was like to be let go without warning. As per Bloomberg, Tesla is also doing another round of layoffs, this time cutting around 200 workers in its Autopilot division.
6. Amazon is limiting Plan B purchases. Following the reversal of Roe v. Wade, Amazon will only let customers buy three units of the emergency contraceptive pills per week, making it the latest retailer to curtail purchases of the medication. Here's what you should know.
7. Meet 20 former Nike execs who started their own businesses. Some, including a few who were let go in recent layoffs, have gone on to create venture funds, non-profits, and media companies. Here's where they are now — and their advice for jumping into life as a startup founder.
8. Guess which company spent the most money on CEOs' private jets last year. One tech firm far surpassed the rest, spending a record $26.8 million on security for its CEO. If you guessed Meta, you're correct — the company dropped $1.6 million on Mark Zuckerberg's private planes.
Odds and ends:
9. Minivans are so last year. The SuperVan is the next big thing. In a spin on its commercial van, Ford just built an insanely powerful, all-electric concept van, and with more horsepower than a Bugatti, it can hit 62 mph in less than two seconds. Check out Ford's Pro Electric SuperVan.
10. Apple's annual back-to-school deal is now live. This year, people who qualify for education discounts can get an Apple gift card worth up to $150 with the purchase of an eligible Mac or iPad. Here's how to score the promotion.
What we're watching today:
- General Mills and others are reporting earnings. Keep up with earnings here.
- Music streaming company Deezer will hold a shareholder meeting to vote on its business combination with special purpose acquisition company I2PO.
Keep updated with the latest tech news throughout your day by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen here.
Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.
