Amazon dominated retail in 2018 — and no one else even came close to touching it (AMZN)

• Amazon had a killer 2018 in nearly all respects, but its retail performance defied expectations.
• The company is projected to close the year netting half of all online shopping done in the US with staggering sales growth online.
• No other retailer came close, which is why we're naming it the most impressive retailer of 2018.

For retail in 2018, there was really only one word that was on everybody's lips: Amazon.

Just a mere mention of the online shopping giant sends other companies into a flurry of speculation — whether Amazon competes directly or not.

It's easy to see why: Amazon is seeing incredible growth for a company of its size, making it one of the biggest retailers in the US and the world both online and off.

In the US, Amazon will close out the year nabbing nearly half of all online sales, according to analysis by Emarketer, up from a 43.5% in 2017. Amazon will generate $258.22 billion in online retail sales in the US by the end of the year, a staggering increase of almost 30% from the year prior.

Read more: Amazon reveals the top-selling items of the season as it announces record-breaking holiday sales

But impressive sales aren't the only thing that Amazon got right in 2018.

Amazon Web Services and Amazon Advertising are both also experiencing phenomenal growth, and its Alexa-enabled products remain the most popular smart devices. It's moving increasingly offline with Amazon Go stores, and its new 4-Star concept.

As a company, it was able to perform to this impressive standard despite a growing set of detractors, both from elected representatives and the public. Despite a glitchy Prime Day that made customers upset. Despite HQ2 backlash. Despite competitors like Walmart nipping at its heels. Despite a trade war waged between China and President Trump and shipping costs becoming incrementally more expensive.

Despite it all, Amazon will head into 2019 more confident than ever that nothing will hold it back. Now that is impressive.

SEE ALSO: Making returns on Amazon isn't usually free, but it can be if you follow a simple rule

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Tesla had a wild 2018 — here's every bizarre thing that happened (TSLA)

• Tesla had a tumultuous 2018, full of both major accomplishments and challenges that threatened the automaker's existence.
• Elon Musk, Tesla's mercurial CEO, attracted attention for his erratic behavior, which led to lawsuits from investors and investigations from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
• Tesla heads into 2019 with cause for optimism and concern as it seeks to maintain stability in its finances and vehicle production, while preparing to build a new factory and expand its product lineup. 

 

Tesla had a tumultuous 2018, full of both major accomplishments and challenges that threatened the automaker's existence. A grueling production ramp for the Model 3 sedan led to production records during the second and third quarters, debt and cash flow concerns preceded a surprise profit, and a glowing safety rating for the Model 3 was tempered by quality and delivery issues.

Read more: I tried Tesla's Navigate on Autopilot feature to see if it lives up to the hype — here's the verdict

Elon Musk, Tesla's mercurial CEO, attracted attention for his erratic behavior, which led to lawsuits from investors and investigations from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). While Musk's ambition and candor on social media have endeared him to his fans, seemingly impulsive decisions this year showed the downside of his unconventional approach to being a CEO.

Tesla heads into 2019 with cause for optimism and concern as it seeks to maintain stability in its finances and vehicle production, while also preparing to build a new factory and expand its product lineup. 

These are the highlights of Tesla's eventful year.

Have a Tesla news tip? Contact this reporter at mmatousek@businessinsider.com.

SEE ALSO: These were the 13 biggest car stories of 2018

Elon Musk sends a Tesla Roadster to Mars

SpaceX, Musk's rocket company, launched in February its largest rocket, Falcon Heavy, into space with a 2008 Tesla Roadster as its payload.

The launch was designed to show that the company could transport cargo for future clients and eventually carry people and supplies to colonize Mars.

"Test flights of new rockets usually contain mass simulators in the form of concrete or steel blocks. That seemed extremely boring," Musk wrote in an Instagram post in December 2017. "Of course, anything boring is terrible, especially companies, so we decided to send something unusual, something that made us feel."

Amazon account hacked to mine cryptocurrency

In February, Tesla's Amazon Web Services account was hacked to mine cryptocurrency. The hack, which was brought to Tesla's attention by the cybersecurity startup RedLock, also reportedly exposed some of Tesla's proprietary data related to mapping, telemetry, and vehicle servicing.

According to Fortune, Tesla paid RedLock over $3,000 as part of its bug bounty program, which rewards people who find vulnerabilities in the company's products or services that could be exploited by hackers.

"The impact seems to be limited to internally-used engineering test cars only, and our initial investigation found no indication that customer privacy or vehicle safety or security was compromised in any way," a Tesla representative told Business Insider.

A Model S recall

In March, Tesla issued the largest recall in its history. The recall involved power-steering systems in 123,000 Model S sedans. Tesla said five bolts responsible for holding the power-steering motor in place could corrode, break, or come loose, which could result in the loss of power steering.

But the company also said the problem was rare and most likely to happen in colder areas that use a specific kind of salt to lessen the amount of ice and snow on the road. According to Tesla, the problem was only relevant to Model S vehicles built before April 2016 and had affected just 0.02% of Model S vehicles at the time the recall was announced.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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7 people you never realized were early investors in Uber

• Uber is prepping for a 2019 IPO — at a rumored $120 billion valuation.
• Its last funding round valued the company at $68 billion. But in 2010, 32 different investors bought a chunk of the company for much less.
• Uber's seed round valued that company at just $3.86 million.
• These are seven of Uber's most surprising seed investors.

If Uber goes public as planned in 2019, nine years and billions of dollars worth of investments will be returned to investors smart enough — or lucky enough — to have made a bet on the company's success.

But some of those investors are luckier than others.

Investors in its most recent round, a $1.25 billion Series G1 led by SoftBank, bought their shares at a $68.33 billion valuation. But it was just nine years ago that Uber raised a $1.57 million seed funding round, which valued the company at $3.86 million. 

That means investors who bought a chunk of Uber in 2010 will see much larger returns now that the company is valued by bankers at a rumored $120 billion. 

There were 32 investors in Uber's seed funding round, which was led by First Round Capital, with participation from venture capital firms Founder Collective, Lowercase Capital, and Kapor Capital.

But that total also included dozens of individuals who made the history-altering decision to participate in Uber's earliest raise, according to data compiled from PitchBook.

These are seven people you never knew had a stake in Uber's planned 2019 IPO:

SEE ALSO: Uber, Lyft, China, and more — top tech investment bankers share their biggest hopes and fears for IPOs in 2019

DON'T MISS: Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi insists that leaders say they have 'the D' in meetings — and bewildered employees aren't sure if he gets the other meaning

1. Lady Gaga's former manager

Troy Carter had a busy career managing A-list musical talent like Lady Gaga and John Legend before joining Spotify as its global head of creator services.

He left Spotify in September to focus on his talent management and production company, Atom Factory.

But if all goes as planned, he may never have to work another day of his life.

 

2. The CEO of Amazon

Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, is already a multi-billionaire who invested early in startups like Google, Domo, Airbnb, and (yours truly) Business Insider.

A big exit on his early Uber investment will make him that much richer.

3. The CEO of Airbnb

Airbnb cofounder and CEO — and early Uber investor — Brian Chesky is prepping for his own IPO in 2019. 

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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These were the 25 most popular Alexa Skills of 2018, according to Amazon

• Smart home devices saw record sales during the 2018 holiday season, with Amazon's Alexa-enabled devices leading the charge.
• Alexa is Amazon's virtual assistant, capable of controlling an array of smart devices and executing unique tasks called "skills." 
• Since Alexa launched in November 2014, developers have created more than 70,000 skills for Alexa. Skills can range from games and trivia to meditation routines.

It's been a big year for smart home technology, as more people adopt smart speakers, appliances, and other connected devices for everyday use. Amazon said the 2018 holiday season delivered record sales for smart home devices, and their own Alexa-enabled Echo smart speakers were among the most popular items. 

Amazon's Alexa is one of the few virtual assistants capable of managing a wide range of smart home devices, and after four years of development, users can now ask Alexa to perform more than 70,000 programmed tasks, which Amazon refers to as skills.

Alexa skills are basically apps you can control with your voice, and they help customers enhance and personalize their experience. Skills can help users learn something new, enjoying a new game, or be more productive at home.

As 2018 draws to a close, Amazon announced the top Alexa skills used in the U.S. during the last year. The list is comprised of the most popular, engaging, and innovative skills and spans across several categories, including games,  wellness, daily habits, family-oriented, and more.

You can check out the list of the top skills below and find them on Amazon's Skills of the Year page. You can also ask Alexa, "What are the skills of the year?"

SEE ALSO: Amazon's Alexa suffered outages on Christmas Day as people around the world started using their new Echos

SEE ALSO: Amazon won Christmas again this year

Beat the Intro (Musicplode Media Ltd.)

Beat the Intro is a straight-forward music game. The goal? Simply guess the song title and artist as fast as possible.

Heads Up! (The Ellen DeGeneres Show)

Pick a category and Alexa will provide up to three fun facts and clues to help you guess the word — you'll have 90 seconds to see how many you can get right.

National Geographic Geo Quiz (National Geographic Society)

Inspired by the legendary magazine, the National Geographic Geo Quiz puts your geography knowledge to the test.

 

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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How Facebooks tracks non-users via Android apps

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It’s time for Nepal to adapt to organic farming - The Kathmandu Post

It’s time for Nepal to adapt to organic farming  The Kathmandu Post

Following in the furrows of his father and grandfather, Japanese national Shinzo Tanabe, 47, has been working in organic farming for 24 years now.

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How musician Kris Gruen went from New York City punk clubs to a Vermont organic farm - BurlingtonFreePress.com

How musician Kris Gruen went from New York City punk clubs to a Vermont organic farm  BurlingtonFreePress.com

Kris Gruen grew up in the seedy New York music-club scene captured in famous photos by his father, Bob Gruen, and now balances music career, farm life.

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The Lands We Share exhibit collects stories on diverse farming - Gazettextra

The Lands We Share exhibit collects stories on diverse farming  Gazettextra

The UW-Whitewater-based Lands We Share initiative is collecting the histories of culturally diverse farms across the state and sharing their stories to start ...

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Hope for Small Farming Sustainability to host free Micro-Farming Business Classes - Valley morning Star

Hope for Small Farming Sustainability to host free Micro-Farming Business Classes  Valley morning Star

HARLINGEN — From squash and peppers to cauliflower and spinach, cool weather conditions in October through June create ideal conditions for growing a ...

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What Maine farmers can expect in 2019 — Homestead — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine - Bangor Daily News

What Maine farmers can expect in 2019 — Homestead — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine  Bangor Daily News

For farmers, there's been an important change here in the Pine Tree State in recent years: Maine's growing season is, well, growing. According to the University ...

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#TBIYearEnders: Farmers Whose Ideas Are Changing Agriculture - The Better India

#TBIYearEnders: Farmers Whose Ideas Are Changing Agriculture  The Better India

India : 2018 is wishing us goodbye, it has shed light on farmers and innovative sustainable farming techniques that are changing the face of agriculture.

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Oganic Agriculture - Technology Times Pakistan

Oganic Agriculture  Technology Times Pakistan

Agriculture can be defined as process of cultivation of land for production purpose. Out of total about 70% population is related to organic agriculture.

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Allocate more funds for crop cover: Panel - The Tribune India

Allocate more funds for crop cover: Panel  The Tribune India

TheTribune: NEW DELHI: Noting that there were several “problems”, including lack of transparency, in two crop insurance schemes run by the government, ...

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In an year of breaches, data leaks, and reports of starvation deaths due to faulty implementation, India's Aadhaar had its constitutional status upheld in 2018 (Aria Thaker/Quartz)

Aria Thaker / Quartz:
In an year of breaches, data leaks, and reports of starvation deaths due to faulty implementation, India's Aadhaar had its constitutional status upheld in 2018  —  After almost a decade since its launch, India's controversial biometric identity programme, Aadhaar, finally got a measure …

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