Car Buying Harder In October, Cybertruck Day Supply, OpenAI’s Operator

The Automotive Troublemaker w/ Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier

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It’s Thursday, and we’re almost halfway through November. Today, we’re talking about a CDK study that says car buying got harder for consumers in October, how Tesla has exhausted its Cybertruck reservation list and OpenAI’s autonomous Operator that’s coming to a computer near you.

Show Notes with links:

• According to a recent CDK Global study, shoppers struggled a bit more in October with finding the right car as inventory disruptions such as stop sales, model turnovers, and natural disasters took a toll on the Ease of Purchase.
  • 87% of buyers reported an easy car-buying experience, down from September’s 89% and August’s record 93%.
  • Only 49% of shoppers could buy their preferred vehicle on the lot, down from 54% in September, with the test-drive ease rate also slipping to 78%—a rare dip below 80%.
  • Complaints about "too many things to choose from" and excessive paperwork led to a slight drop in ease for form completion, falling to 70% in October from 72% in September.
  • The time it took to finalize purchases increased for 32% of buyers, up from 25% in September. Just 15% experienced a quicker purchase process, a significant drop from last month’s 25%.

• Tesla has begun offering Cybertrucks directly from new vehicle inventory, indicating that its once-massive reservation backlog may have dwindled.
  • U.S. buyers can now order and receive a Cybertruck in roughly a week, suggesting Tesla has exhausted its initial backlog.
  • Despite over a million initial reservations, Tesla has only delivered approximately 50,000 Cybertrucks in the United States so far.
  • Changes in the production model, including a higher price and lower range than originally promised, may have deterred some reservation holders.
  • Tesla has expanded Cybertruck deliveries to Mexico and Canada to match rising production capacity.

• OpenAI is set to release a new AI agent, codenamed "Operator," designed to take actions on users' computers, like writing code or booking travel. The tool is expected to launch as a research preview in January.
  • Operator will be available through OpenAI’s API, allowing developers to integrate it into various applications.
  • The tool aligns with an industry trend toward AI agents capable of completing complex, multi-step tasks autonomously.
  • Competitors like Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google are also developing similar agent tools to manage tasks for users.
  • OpenAI’s Sam Altman has hinted at this shift, calling it the next “giant breakthrough” in AI during a recent Reddit AMA.

Hosts: Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier
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