Pics du jour

🇸🇦 Saudi money does have limits. Nadhmi al-Nasr, CEO of Saudi Arabia’s futuristic city project Neom since 2018, abruptly left his role in recent days, according to multiple reports. No reason was given for the departure. The project, a priority of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that calls for a mountain ski resort, floating business district, and two 106-mile-long skyscrapers taller than the Empire State Building, has been plagued by delays, cost overruns, and staff turnover, and will now be handed over to the country’s ~$1 trillion Public Investment Fund to manage. On a semi-related note: some tough decisions lay ahead for Saudi officials. The country has greenlit $1+ trillion in mega-projects designed to quickly pivot its economy away from oil (including Neom) – but is struggling to attract foreign investment and doesn’t have enough money to see them all through.

😋 Road trip: Michelin traverses the Lone Star State. The first Texas version of the famed Michelin Guide – launched in 1900 as a way for drivers to literally burn rubber and, eventually, buy more tires – was unveiled this week, with a focus on five cities: Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. 15 restaurants were awarded a Michelin Star, while dozens of others were recognized. All in all, it was a costly effort: getting the guide to Texas cost the state’s tourism board and the cities a collective $900,000.

🚘📲 Autonomous ride-sharing hits LA. Starting yesterday, anyone in Los Angeles is able to use the Waymo One app to hail a self-driving robotaxi – no more waitlist. It marks yet another milestone for Waymo, which started as a secret project at Google 15 years ago; its ride-hailing service also operates citywide in Phoenix and San Francisco. The company now sees 150,000+ paid rides/week across its three markets, up from 100,000 in August, and recently raised a $5.6 billion funding round to expand its operations across the US.