Amazon Putting on 100K for Seasonal Work; Microsoft Teams Milestone; Tesla Owns the Electric Top 10 for Mileage; Jon Stewart Heads to Apple TV+

Heading into the holiday season, Amazon is looking to add another 100,000 seasonal workers, as they expect a healthy bump in online ordering with the pandemic continuing to rage. Geekwire.com reports that while this is a big number, its about half what they did in 2019. That said, Amazon has already put on an extra 175,000 workers since COVID! Amazon later converted 125,000 of those seasonal positions from spring into full time positions. 

Microsoft released financials, but notable in addition was the growth in Microsoft Teams. According to venturebeat.com, Teams has passed 115 million daily active users. That’s a bump of 53% since April. Only 13 months ago, Teams just barely had 13 million daily active users. Comparing the big video conferencing platforms, Google Meet has seen a peak of 100 million meeting participants in a day, Teams has had over 200 million, and Zoom is still tops with 300 million. 

Nearly every auto maker is getting into the EV game, but for now…when it comes to mileage…Tesla still rules. The EPA’s tests of 2021 models have the EV maker holding down 7 of the top 10 spots for electric vehicle mileage. The Mini Cooper SE is 5th, Polestar 2 is 8th, and Volvo XC40 EV is 10th. Engadget.com says the Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD was the topper, with 134 MPGe, or 25kWh perf 100 miles. Tesla’s build quality may be iffy at times, and GM bested them with Super Cruise over Tesla’s ‘Auto Pilot,’ but their battery tech is still ahead of the curve. 

Jon Stewart will host a new Apple TV+ series. According to theverge.com, the shows “will feature focused looks at his advocacy work and “topics that are currently part of the national conversation.”  The episodes will run an hour, and feature a single topic. There is also a companion podcast planned. Apple hasn’t given a start date nor a name to the show ass yet. If it is half as successful as the Daily Show, it should be a big boost to Apple TV+.