Gm.  The Apple car? Crazy, right. It'd be like if Solana tried building a phone. Oh wait.

FRESH POWDER

Looking at three funds that recently topped up their coffers. 

 MILITARY

SpaceX or X-Men?

Elon is a man of many titles.

Chief Twit. Self-driving car guy. Wealthiest dude in the world. Brain chipper. 

We can now add military contractor to that list. 

That is because SpaceX has announced the launch of Starshield, their new division that will assist national security efforts by providing government entities with a secured satellite network. 

Government Starlink

When you hear space and military in the same sentence, you probably think about laser beams and astronauts flying through wormholes.

Unfortunately, Starshield is not that cool (yet).

It’s still a bit hazy on what exactly Starshield will do, but judging from the site, it appears that Starshield will use SpaceX’s Starlink satellites to survey the Earth, provide secure global communication, and host payloads. 

So Starlink, but make it military.

Kind of a letdown, but it’s probably for the best that we don’t have giant space death rays.  

Why Do This?

Starshield makes a lot of sense for SpaceX.

SpaceX has already been working with militaries for years now, most notably in Ukraine, where Elon was quite pissed about the cost of doing business. 

The military contractor business is also supremely lucrative, and it is especially so with Space technology. The Pentagon just paid $1.8 billion for 126 satellites. SpaceX just received permission to build 7,500 and is waiting on approval for 22,000 more.

We’ll let you do the math on that one. 

— Steve Flanders (@steveflanders22)

TRANSPORTATION

Apple's Self-Driving Car Isn't Self-Driving

Apple was supposed to debut a fully self-driving car in 2025.

Now, the vehicle is delayed until 2026. And it's not self-driving. So really it's just an oversized iPad with wheels.

Engineers on the project internally known as Titan think that the vision of a fully self-driving car with no steering wheel or pedals is impossible.

While we're all very excited about an iPad on wheels, maybe Apple should dedicate that budget to another project, something with a bit more use.

5 Things Apple Should Make Instead of a Car (With Pictures Generated by AI)

1. A Line of Restaurants

2. A Gym Franchise

3. A Bookstore / Co-Working Spot

Ok I'd pay good money to hang out and work here.

4. A Nightclub in NYC called APPLE

5. A Macbook that actually has a USB Port

Seriously, you can change your plugs. That's fine. But take away my USB ports, that's where I draw the line. Just kidding, everyone knows we'll still buy Apple's stuff even if they change the plugs 42 more times.

Btw, speaking of AI, we're hosting an AI Art Night in LA. RSVP and tell your friends!

— Jason Levin (@iamjasonlevin)

QUICK HITS

Seed Round

Stat: The iPhone 14 Pro shortage could reach up to 6 million units before production recovers. You’re getting an iPhone 13, and you’re going to like it!

Story we’re watching: Tim Cook announced the US is bringing chip production back to the states. Love to see it. Hate to see next year's iPhone prices tho.

Rabbit hole: Venture Capital Red Flag Checklist (Above The Crowd)

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

• Meta is threatening pulling all news from Facebook in the US if the upcoming Media Competition Bill passes. Eh, it’s all good; we got Twitter. 

• Crypto stablecoin issuer Circle called off its merger with the SPAC Concord Acquisition Corp, putting their plans to go public on hold. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire also said he's taking December off from Twitter. Ok, I'm slightly terrified.

• Apple Music is getting a karaoke mode. Just in time for the holidays. Yay….

• Telegram Premium now has over 1 million subscribers. Samuel Morse (inventor of the telegram) would be so proud.

THREE LIES AND A HEADLINE

3 headlines are satire. Which headline is true?

A. New Square Feature Allows Customers To Tip With Bible Quote

B. Detective Sued Over SWAT Raid Based on Wrong Location on Find My App

C. Bob Dylan Apologizes For Machine-Printed ‘Signatures’

D. Taco Bell Introduces New Cheesy Beef Dunk Tank

FOUNDERS CORNER

The best resources we came across that will help you become a better founder, builder, or investor.

☕️ Morning Brew founder Alex Lieberman launched Sherpa, a founder's guide to startups

📺 At 1AM on Saturday night, I randomly stumbled upon a talk called The Secret History of Silicon Valley. Highly recommend.

🥂 Twitter legend and former founder Nick Gray wrote a book called The 2-Hour Cocktail Party about how to throw parties with the purpose of building your network.

THREE HEADLINES ANSWER

 B. I guess that’s an honest mistake?