3. Netflix cracks down
It took a little longer than expected, but Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown has come to the U.S. after rolling out in other countries. On Tuesday, the streaming giant said it started emailing subscribers to lay down the law on passwords. “Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with — your household,” the emails read. Each account user outside of a household will cost an extra $7.99 a month. These users can also transfer their Netflix profile if they want to start their own account. Netflix, like other streamers, is in a profitability push as subscriber growth slows. Company executives have said the new password-sharing policy will probably result in fewer viewers at first, with many eventually coming back to start their own accounts.
4. It’s over
Virgin Orbit, the once-promising rocket company founded by Richard Branson, is now fully dead after selling off the bulk of its assets to aerospace companies Rocket Lab, Stratolaunch and Launcher. The company’s six remaining rockets, which are in various states of development, have yet to be sold, nor has the company’s intellectual property. Virgin Orbit once reached a multibillion-dollar valuation as its novel concept – launching space rockets from refitted airliners mid-flight – turned heads, but the company had problems executing quickly and raising money, eventually leading to its bankruptcy and liquidation.
5. The Ron and Elon Show
This is the day we stop calling Ron DeSantis a potential presidential candidate. The Florida governor is expected to announce his run 6 p.m. ET Wednesday on Twitter Spaces, in a discussion with the social platform’s owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, as well as Musk supporter and investor David Sacks. The political world has been eager to see DeSantis jump into the Republican primary after months of hype. While he’s widely seen as the strongest challenger to former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination in 2024, he’s nonetheless a distant second in the polls. DeSantis, though, will be banking on a strong network of donors to help him convince Republican voters that he should be the one to take on President Joe Biden next year.
— CNBC’s Mike Calia wrote this newsletter. Hakyung Kim, Christina Wilkie, Lillian Rizzo, Michael Sheetz and Brian Schwartz contributed.
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