ItikaSPunit

Deputy Editor @restofworld. Earlier @qzindia, @bsindia, Network18, Ma Foi.
Aspiring minimalist.
Connect at [email protected].

[Michael Zelenko @mvzelenks]

Meet India's Elon Musk: Bhavish Aggarwal built a rideshare and EV scooter empire.

Now plagued by customer complaints, erratic leadership, surging competition, and a CEO with a penchant for Twitter spats, it's crumbling to dust.

https://t.co/f4Sewo58Ob

[Rest of World @restofworld]

How Tesla blew its lead

New from @ItikaSPunit and @_ananyaaa:
https://t.co/wF8tHqzHRy

[Ferial Haffajee @ferialhaffajee]

Note! Starlink enters Indian market with local partner Airtel - the same/similar localisation that would apply in SA.

Airtel, Starlink announce India deal weeks after Musk met Modi - Rest of World https://t.co/JWbqe9aR9l

[Rest of World @restofworld]

In India, buying a gun is a WhatsApp message away

New from @yashjournals
https://t.co/heIuHvkHAz

[rinachandran @rinachandran]

EV users in Ecuador are struggling with prolonged energy crisis, but many still prefer dealing with the hassle to the high cost of gas: @restofworld
https://t.co/thTAybFnUj

[ItikaSPunit @ItikaSPunit]

Frequent electricity cuts have left hundreds of EV users in Ecuador struggling to charge their vehicles. But EV sales still grew more than 400% between 2022 and 2024, thanks to government incentives and affordable Chinese EVs.

https://t.co/8RkDDQeSnT

[Joanna Chiu @joannachiu]

WhatsApp is the world’s most popular messaging app. Can it become a major moneymaker for Meta without alienating 2 billion users?

Read @issielapowsky's new @restofworld feature on how WhatsApp became a global behemoth — and what comes next

https://t.co/WpGWlGgSrK

[Techmeme @Techmeme]

How WhatsApp has evolved from a messaging app into a comprehensive business platform, aggressively luring businesses to its suite of paid messaging products (@issielapowsky / Rest of World)

https://t.co/NY0FyTXjHI

https://t.co/7BeIAB3rJ1
https://t.co/ZOzeer2dpR

[rinachandran @rinachandran]

WhatsApp is the most widely used messaging app, with 2 bln daily users who send 100 bln messages every day in 60 languages across 180 countries. A look at how it grew so big and what comes next reports ⁦⁦@issielapowsky⁩ for ⁦@restofworld⁩ https://t.co/7V9Z7FEF0P

[Joanna Chiu @joannachiu]

Loved working on this with @selina_cheng! She's a genius for pulling data on global tariffs on Chinese tech in one explainer with geopolitical context & analysis!

With additional research by @khadijaalam_, @ItikaSPunit and @_ananyaaa! https://t.co/KivdodwuhI @restofworld

[ItikaSPunit @ItikaSPunit]

How far are you willing to go to get your hands on #ElonMusk's #Tesla?

In Uruguay, private car dealerships are importing Teslas directly from China because the company does not have sell directly in the country.

https://t.co/AZsXlq9SyN

[ItikaSPunit @ItikaSPunit]

Indian artisans say #Amazon failed to understand how to represent and promote their work, and did not help them find any customers.

@restofworld's in-depth and visually delightful ground report from #kutch by @Nipun_Prabhakar.

https://t.co/ePshR6d8n9

[ItikaSPunit @ItikaSPunit]

There are only a handful of electric taxi manufacturers in India today, potentially slowing the country’s #EV revolution - @_ananyaaa writes for @restofworld

https://t.co/WTK5v0pkE4

[ItikaSPunit @ItikaSPunit]

South African taxi driver unions started an app to compete with #Uber and #Bolt. The service has poor customer ratings and a reputation for violence - @RMwareya reports for @restofworld from Johannesburg.

https://t.co/m9cFhVpek1

[Parth MN @parthpunter]

How far-right Hindu nationalists use WhatsApp to target Christian families when they’re most vulnerable — by preventing them from burying their dead.

My ground report from Bastar for @restofworld
https://t.co/ZTAqHFVVhE

[ItikaSPunit @ItikaSPunit]

Earlier this week, #Ola received a notice from India's consumer protection agency following 10,000 complaints against the company over issues such as delayed and unsatisfactory after-sales services and inaccurate invoices.

https://t.co/V1tLJRcEm1

[ItikaSPunit @ItikaSPunit]

Trends from @Forbes India rich list 2024:

* Over 80% of India’s 100 richest are wealthier than they were a year ago.
* Mukesh Ambani tops the list.
* Only 9 women made it to the top 100 richest Indians.

https://t.co/osVW7NwOm4

[dámiláre dòsùnmú @tarykuh]

the majority of Libya’s working population — almost 85% — is employed in the public sector. that means most of Presto’s employees and delivery drivers are also government workers.

my latest looks at what it took presto to build a delivery app in Libya.

https://t.co/kfMlwEBLMX

[ItikaSPunit @ItikaSPunit]

This food delivery startup in Libya — which has seen massive political & economic turmoil — is profitable, a feat that its heavily-funded global peers can only dream of!

Presto's story is one of local innovation & problem solving — via @restofworld

https://t.co/NqMGVoukCr

[Joanna Chiu @joannachiu]

EXCLUSIVE: This is exactly when China blocked ChatGPT, Hugging Face and other AI sites.

I received first access to a platform that can track the precise timing of Chinese censorship, when previously this was difficult.

Explore our interactive graphic:
https://t.co/rlZAJa3WfZ