Musk proposes Australian tunnel; Bird, Lime valuations drop slightly; Netflix sees subscriber and revenue boost.

Scooter Firms’ Valuations Questioned

Bloomberg’s latest analysis of e-scooter operators Bird Rides Inc. (based in Santa Monica) and Neutron Holdings Inc.’s Lime calls into question the valuation of each as they seek new funding. Bird recently raised a $300 million round, while Lime is said to be pursuing up to a $400 million raise. However, these recent funding rounds value the companies at $2 billion respectively, down from the lofty $3 million valuations reported several months ago. This is due to increased competition in the scooter space but also the weather, Bloomberg notes, as companies struggle to encourage customers to scoot in the winter months.

Netflix Subscriber Ranks Increase

Hollywood-based Netflix Inc. had a busy 2018, posting revenues up 27 percent to $4.19 million in the year’s final three months. The streaming outfit also grew its worldwide subscriber base by nearly 26 percent, totaling 139 million subscribers worldwide. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Netflix said it expects to add another 8.9 million subscribers during the first three months of 2019.

Musk Offers Australia a Tunnel

Boring Co. Chief Executive and prolific Twitter user Elon Musk offered Australian parliament member Jeremy Buckingham a tunnel to link Sydney to West Australia and decrease traffic, Futurism reports. According to Musk’s tweets, the cost of such a tunnel could be “about $15 million per kilometer, so probably around $750 million, plus $50 million per station.” In 2017, Musk installed the world’s largest lithium-ion battery plant in South Australia, which he touted as able to produce power for “more than 30,000 homes.” If formalized and accepted by Australia, this project would be the Boring Co.’s first dig outside the U.S.