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What's on deck
Markets: Wall Street executives share tips for standing out when you're getting started.
Tech: The mounting anxiety over tech jobs is getting ugly.
Business: We got our hands on a recording of a training session at Tesla discussing company culture.
But first, no more freebies.
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The big story
Times up for TikTok sellers
Tiktok; BI
The "For You" page is now for a fee.
TikTok is shifting away from sending traffic to US merchants for free. Instead, businesses will need to pay for TikTok ads to get the type of views they might have previously enjoyed, insiders tell BI's Dan Whateley.
It's been a particularly difficult transition for small businesses, which viewed TikTok as a cheat code for getting their products in front of a massive audience without breaking the bank.
Initially, TikTok was happy to play ball as it established its e-commerce business, TikTok Shop. Those freebies weren't going to last forever, though. While TikTok makes a commission from products sold on its app, the real value comes in getting companies to pay it to promote their stuff.
And after a difficult 2024 and not-so-great start to 2025, TikTok is starting to play hardball.
ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images.
TikTok's pay-to-play approach to e-commerce is part of a bigger pivot.
Dan has reported on TikTok following in the efficiency footsteps of its Big Tech peers. TikTok Shop, in particular, has looked to keep costs down, staffers told Dan, including conducting multiple layoffs.
The approach is getting adopted outside the tech world, as retailers like Walmart look to flatten and simplify their orgs.
TikTok's growing pains are also reminiscent of the changes many popular apps have undergone. The "millennial lifestyle subsidy" was the idea that startups could offer below-market prices, thanks to plenty of VC cash, hoping they'd attract a big enough user base to eventually be profitable.
As time went on, and investors started asking questions, up-and-coming apps like Uber, Airbnb, and Instacart increased prices. For some, the bet has paid off, and the customers remained. Others … not so much.
TikTok's clampdown on freebies is unique, though. It's trying to get companies to shell out cash for ads while its future in the US is unclear.
If companies were hesitant to spend already, the threat of the TikTok ban certainly isn't helping things.
3 things in markets
Joe Ciolli/BI
1. The safest bonds might not be so safe. The US Treasury market has become volatile amid concerns over the growing US deficit, making investors hesitant to buy bonds with long maturities. Top fixed-income firms have been staging a "buyers' strike" of 30-year debt in favor of shorter-dated bonds.
2. Hedge funds' May report cards are in. Citadel's flagship fund, Wellington, was up 0.2% this month, pushing the fund's gains to just 0.8% this year, a person close to the firm told BI. AQR Apex, meanwhile, had another strong month (2.4%) in what has been a great year for the fund. Here's how other big-name firms stacked up.
3. Dear junior bankers: You should sweat the small stuff. Goldman Sachs' CFO and a top Morgan Stanley exec spoke to BI about how to get ahead early in your career on Wall Street. If you want to make an impression, say yes to tasks from the people you respect, even if it's as small as sharpening pencils.
3 things in tech
Kacper Pempel/REUTERS; Blind; BI
1. On the techie social app Blind, everyone has gotten super mean — and the site's infused with racism. In 2022, Blind was a chill place for tech workers, ID'd only by their companies, to talk smack about their employers. Amid a brutal job market, though, it's descended into a bad-vibes cesspit where users attack each other.
2. Why AI acts so creepy when it's about to be shut down. Models by OpenAI and Anthropic have tried to sabotage users who try to pull the plug. Researchers say that's because reward-based training can lead to deceptive, power-seeking behaviors. Here's what that means for everyday users' safety.
3. Even in the AI age, you should still study STEM. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said it'll still be important for students to understand the fundamentals of science and tech and how AI systems work. He thinks students should be tinkering with the latest AI tools to get ahead.
3 things in business
SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images
1. How Tesla internally discusses its company culture. During a training session that BI exclusively obtained a recording of, an instructor encouraged staff to take some responsibility for Tesla's company culture and play a more active role in improving it. "A lot of people leave this company, and they have kind of a negative taste in their mouth," the instructor told the group, but added: "At the end of the day, it's us as the people on the ground that are the reflection of the culture."
2. Now's the time to network. Between economic factors and AI, desk workers these days don't have as much leverage as they did during the pandemic. That's why networking is more important than ever. And you should start before you're unemployed.
3. Layoffs come to Disney. The company is eliminating several hundred roles, mainly in film and TV marketing in its Disney Entertainment division. Disney is grappling with a shift away from traditional TV and toward streaming and has had several layoffs in recent years.
In other news
- Five ways Ukraine's audacious 'Spiderweb' drone attack marks a new threat for top militaries.
- Sam Altman said AI agents are acting like junior employees — and he's betting that your AI colleague could soon 'discover new knowledge.'
- A data-center stock is up more than 50% today after sealing a lucrative AI partnership.
- He said he'd ban stock trading in Congress. He's made more than 530 trades since taking office.
- Why Morgan Stanley thinks a mild recession could actually be bullish for stocks.
- The five biggest takeaways from Netflix's Tudum fan event.
- MrBeast says he's borrowing money from his mom to pay for his wedding. There's a simple explanation.
- Mark Cuban says businesses are stuck in a tariff guessing game — and that's keeping prices in check.
- Hollywood's new obsession is a twist on the classic soap opera.
What's happening today
- South Korea holds a snap presidential election.
- GM annual shareholder meeting.
HP reports earnings.
The Business Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.