Tesla’s market share in Europe continued to shrink in February as sales of the all-electric car maker dropped for a second month even as EV registrations overall on the continent grew.
As competition grows and a slowdown in European economies hampers total car sales, Elon Musk’s battery-electric (BEV) brand has sold 42.6% fewer cars in Europe so far this year, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) showed on Tuesday.
Tesla commanded 1.8% of the total market and 10.3% of the BEV market in February, down from 2.8% and 21.6% respectively last year.
It sold fewer than 17,000 cars in the European Union, Britain, and European Free Trade Association countries, compared to over 28,000 in the same month in 2024.
Tesla currently faces a number of challenges in Europe, ahead of the launch of its new Model Y midsize SUV this month. The EV maker has a smaller, aging lineup while traditional automaker rivals and new Chinese entrants alike continue to launch new, often cheaper electric models.
Musk, the company’s CEO, has also stirred controversy by courting far-right parties in Europe, which has added to Tesla’s sales slump.
“It will be interesting to see to what extent demand rebounds once the new Model Y hits markets across the region,” Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at JATO Dynamics, said in a report on Monday.
Overall, BEV sales in the same markets last month were up 26.1% versus February 2024, even as total car sales fell 3.1%, according to the ACEA.
A growing interest in electric cars in the world’s second-biggest EV market is largely due to new EU emission targets and the launch of cheaper electric models, market experts say, but it is not enough to compensate for shrinking demand for petrol and diesel cars.
“We continue to expect global auto volume essentially flat” this year, Citi analysts said in a note.
An EU filing showed last week that Tesla had formed a pool to sell carbon credits to more than half a dozen automakers as they try to meet European CO2 emission targets which came into effect in January.
While based on 2024 figures, analysts estimate that Tesla’s sales can more than compensate for those companies’ emissions, the situation might change if its sales continue to drop.
The EU introduced the targets to help EV pickup in the bloc, but it is expected to approve on Tuesday a relaxation of those measures, to allow a three-year averaging of fleet emissions.
While total new car registrations in the EU fell 3.4% in February, BEV sales jumped 23.7%, a second consecutive increase, while hybrid car (HEV) sales rose 19%.
Electrified vehicles – either BEV, HEV or plug-in hybrids (PHEV)sold in the bloc accounted for 58.4% of all passenger car registrations in February, up from 48.2% a year earlier.
“2025 has started really brightly for Europe’s electric car market,” E-Mobility Europe’s Secretary General Chris Heron told Reuters.
“We are seeing the early impacts from manufacturer plans to meet the EU’s scheduled CO2 limits”.
Among Europe’s top-selling brands, Volkswagen and Renault’s sales rose 4% and 10.8%, respectively, from a year earlier in the EU, Britain and European Free Trade Association countries in February, while Stellantis’ sales fell 16.2%.
Sales at SAIC Motor rose by 26.1% from a year earlier despite the impact of EU tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, while they were down 15% at Geely-owned Volvo.
The market share of brands not accounted for by the ACEA, including BYD and other Chinese carmakers, rose to 2.5% from 1.5% a year earlier.
Total car sales in Spain rose 11% year-on-year in the month, while they declined in other major markets, with registrations falling 6.4% in Germany, 6.2% in Italy, and 0.7% in France.
Alessandro Parodi and Greta Rosen Fondahn, Reuters
Lisa Sólrun Christiansen gets up at 4 a.m. most days and gets to work knitting thick wool sweaters coveted by buyers around the world for their warmth and colorful patterns celebrating Greenland’s traditional Inuit culture.Her morning routine includes a quick check of the news, but these days the ritual shatters her peace because of all the stories about U.S. President Donald Trump’s designs on her homeland.“I get overwhelmed,” Christiansen said earlier this month as she looked out to sea, where impossibly blue icebergs floated just offshore.The daughter of Inuit and Danish parents, Christiansen, 57, cherishes Greenland. It is a source of immense family pride that her father, an artist and teacher, designed the red-and-white Greenlandic flag.“On his deathbed he talked a lot about the flag, and he said that the flag is not his, it’s the people’s,” she said. “And there’s one sentence I keep thinking about. He said, ‘I hope the flag will unite the Greenlandic people.'”
Island of anxiety
Greenlanders are increasingly worried that their homeland, a self-governing region of Denmark, has become a pawn in the competition between the U.S., Russia, and China as global warming opens up access to the Arctic. They fear Trump’s aim to take control of Greenland, which holds rich mineral deposits and straddles strategic air and sea routes, may block their path toward independence.Those fears were heightened Sunday when Usha Vance, the wife of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, announced she would visit Greenland later this week to attend the national dogsled race. Separately, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright will visit a U.S. military base in northern Greenland.The announcement inflamed tensions sparked earlier this month when Trump reiterated his desire to annex Greenland just two days after Greenlanders elected a new parliament opposed to becoming part of the U.S. Trump even made a veiled reference to the possibility of military pressure, noting the U.S. bases in Greenland and musing that “maybe you’ll see more and more soldiers go there.”News of the visit drew an immediate backlash from local politicians, who described it as a display of U.S. power at a time they are trying to form a government.“It must also be stated in bold that our integrity and democracy must be respected without any external interference,” outgoing Prime Minister Múte Boroup Egede said.Greenland, part of Denmark since 1721, has been moving toward independence for decades. It’s a goal most Greenlanders support, though they differ on when and how that should happen. They don’t want to trade Denmark for an American overlord.The question is whether Greenland will be allowed to control its own destiny at a time of rising international tensions when Trump sees the island as key to U.S. national security.
David vs. Goliath
While Greenland has limited leverage against the world’s greatest superpower, Trump made a strategic mistake by triggering a dispute with Greenland and Denmark rather than working with its NATO allies in Nuuk and Copenhagen, said Otto Svendsen, an Arctic expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.Trump’s actions, he says, have united Greenlanders and fostered a greater sense of national identity.“You have this feeling of pride and of self-determination in Greenland that the Greenlanders are not, you know, cowed by this pressure coming from Washington,” Svendsen said. “And they’re doing everything in their power to make their voices heard.”Denmark recognized Greenland’s right to independence at a time of its choosing under the 2009 Greenland Self-Government Act, which was approved by local voters and ratified by the Danish parliament. The right to self-determination is also enshrined in the United Nations charter, approved by the U.S. in 1945.
U.S. national security
But Trump is more focused on the economic and security needs of the U.S. than the rights of smaller nations. Since returning to office in January, he has pressured Ukraine into giving the U.S. access to valuable mineral resources, threatened to reclaim the Panama Canal, and suggested that Canada should become the 51st state.Now he has turned his attention to Greenland, a territory of 56,000 people, most from indigenous Inuit backgrounds.Greenland guards access to the Arctic at a time when melting sea ice has reignited competition for energy and mineral resources and attracted an increased Russian military presence. The Pituffik Space Base on the island’s northwest coast supports missile warning and space surveillance operations for the U.S. and NATO.Before Trump’s reelection, Greenlanders hoped to leverage this unique position to help the country achieve independence. Now they fear it has made them vulnerable.Cebastian Rosing, who works for a water taxi firm that offers tours around the Nuuk fjord, said he’s frustrated that Trump is trying to take over just as Greenland has begun to assert its autonomy and celebrate its Inuit origins.“It’s so weird to defend (the idea) that our country is our country because it’s always been our country,” he said. “We’re just getting our culture back because of colonialism.”
Strategic importance
It’s not that Greenlanders don’t like the U.S. They have welcomed Americans for decades.The U.S. effectively occupied Greenland during World War II, building a string of air and naval bases.After the war, President Harry Truman’s government offered to buy the island because of “the extreme importance of Greenland to the defense of the United States.” Denmark rejected the proposal but signed a long-term base agreement.When Trump resurrected the proposal during his first term, it was quickly rejected by Denmark and dismissed as a headline-grabbing stunt. But now Trump is pursuing the idea with renewed energy.During a speech earlier this month he told a joint session of Congress that the U.S. needed to take control of Greenland to protect its national security. “I think we’re going to get it,” Trump said. “One way or the other.”
A model in the Marshall Islands?
Even so, Trump has his admirers in Greenland.And there is no greater fan than Jrgen Boassen. When he spoke to the Associated Press, Boassen wore a T-shirt featuring a photo of Trump with his fist in the air and blood streaming down his face after an assassination attempt last year. Underneath was the slogan, “American Badass.”Boassen works for an organization called American Daybreak, which was founded by former Trump official Thomas Dans an promotes closer ties between the U.S. and Greenland.The former bricklayer, who describes himself as “110%” Inuit, has a litany of complaints about Denmark, most stemming from what he sees as mistreatment of local people during colonial rule. In particular, he cites Inuit women who say they were fitted with birth control devices without their permission during the 1970s.Trump must act to secure America’s back door, Boassen says, because Denmark has failed to guarantee Greenland’s security.But even he wants Greenland to be independent, a U.S. ally but not the 51st state.What he has in mind is something more like the free-association agreement the Marshall Islands negotiated with the U.S. when it became independent in 1986. That agreement recognizes the Pacific archipelago as a sovereign nation that conducts its own foreign policy but gives the U.S. control over defense and security.“We’re in 2025,” Boassen said. “So I don’t believe they can come here and take over.”Whatever happens, most Greenlanders agree that the island’s fate should be up to them, not Trump.“We have to stand together,” Christiansen said, her knitting needles clicking and clacking.
This story, supported by the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, is part of an ongoing Associated Press series covering threats to democracy in Europe.
Danica Kirka, Associated Press
Big Bear’s internet-famous bald eaglesJackie, Shadow, and their three chickshave been a source of joy for millions of people during these unprecedented times.
Unfortunately, that did not protect our feathered friends from tragedy.
During a harsh late winter storm, the eldest chick died after the couple worked so hard to nurture it. This heartbreaking loss was a reminder of natures brutality and the ability to persevere.
Lets take a look at the timeline of this tragic event, the internets reaction to it, and how fans are moving forward, including with a chance to give names to the two surviving chicks:
What happened to the baby chick?
The week of March 9, California’s Big Bear Valley received two feet of snow. On Thursday, March 13, Jackie and Shadows instincts kicked in, sensing the upcoming storm, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV), the nonprofit that manages the bald eagle live cams.
Shadow delivered three fish, five sticks, and three piles of fluff to prepare. Sometime after the 6 p.m. feeding, Chick 1 passed.
Jackie covered up her babies for the snowstorm and did her best to protect them. Shadow perched nearby. The cameras revealed Chick 1 was not present during the first feeding the following day.
The exact details of the chicks death are unknown, according to the nonprofit. Even though the webcam operates 24/7, camera angles have their limits. Camera 1 was also damaged in the storm, with the nightlight and audio features taking the brunt of it.
BOBBV did not jump to an immediate conclusion. As observers of nature, the staff and volunteers have much practice being patient. The organization even dispelled several rumors that were widely circulated on the internet.
After more of the snow melted and the body of the deceased chick was spotted, the organization made a formal announcement on Sunday. At first it was not known which chick passed as it was hard to tell them apart because they were so close in size. Time eventually revealed that it was the eldest eaglet known as Chick 1.
In the midst of the sadness, we want to honor the life of this chick for its courage in getting as far as it did and for the joy it brought to us in its short time here, the nonprofit told its more than one million followers on Facebook and Instagram.
Jackie and Shadow appeared to be affected by the loss. On Sunday, Shadow moved the body from the nest bowl to the side of the structure. Jackie removed it from the nest altogether. The couple, however, do not have much time to mourn because they are kept busy raising the other two chicks.
Thankfully, these eaglets appear to be in good health and thriving.
How fans have responded to the loss
These bald eagles have a massive internet following, so fans were understandably devastated at this news. It seemed especially cruel since during the last couple of seasons the eggs didnt hatch, despite Shadow and Jackie doing everything right.
I wonder if Jackie and Shadow can feel the love of the thousands of us rooting for them day after day,” one fan mused on Instagram. “She was so brave throughout that storm, holding on for hours despite the high winds and pelting snow. What a gift it has been to watch these devoted eagles.”
Many teachers use the webcam footage in their classrooms and were now faced with the difficult task of breaking the news gently to their students in an age-appropriate manner.
“So tomorrow is the first day back to school after spring break and Im not quite sure how to handle that our third baby did not make it,” posted one Facebook user who identified herself as a Pre-K teacher in Alabama. “But Im sure I will find the words and Im sure that they will be sad, but will understand that thats just part of life.”
Death is part of life, but so is the resilience that Jackie and Shadow have demonstrated. If they can ride out the storms, so can we. One way to honor the feathered family is to band together in community and help FOBBV name the chicks.
Eagle naming contest ends on Friday
On Sunday March 23, FOBBV announced a contest to name the remaining chicks. The deceased chick formerly, known as Chick 1, will now be remembered as Misty. This moniker honors former FOBBV volunteer Kathi Misterly who died of cancer and is dearly missed by the organization.
It is tradition for Jackie and Shadows offspring to be named through a contest. The nonprofit asks for a small donation for suggestions to help offset the costs of running the webcam. It is $5 for one name, $10 for three names, or $25 for 10 names.
The organization asks for gender-neutral options as the sex of the eaglets is not known at this time. Additionally, it warns that offensive and obscene names will not be considered.
The deadline to get your entries in is Friday, March 28, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time. All the acceptable monikers will be compiled and a computer will randomly make a list of finalists.
While the world may seem more divided than ever, the enduring popularity of this family of bald eagles has proved that is simply not the case. These feathered friends have connected humans around the globe and inspired unity and compassion.
If that same empathy were channeled into our daily interactions with each other, think of the larger ripple effect it would have on the political, social, and economic challenges of the world.
Otter, the AI-powered meeting assistant and transcription service, is introducing a new AI agent capable of answering spoken questions from meeting participants in real time.The AI can also perform tasks like scheduling follow-up meetings and assigning action items to the meeting record stored on Otters platform. When responding to questions, it can draw on both publicly available information for quick research queries and knowledge gained from previous company meetings. The AI will only provide answers based on meeting records that all current participants have permission to view, ensuring confidential information remains protected.[Image: Otter]The tool can also be connected to other sources of information, like company knowledge bases or customer-relationship management (CRM) software, and its abilities will only grow over time. Its some simple tasks, but pretty soon, it can do more and more complicated tasks, Otter CEO Sam Liang says.Currently, the AI agent must be activated with a phrase like Hey Otter, similar to Alexa or Siri. In the future, though, it may also be able to chime in automaticallyanswering questions and offering information proactively, much like a human meeting participant would. The agent is being rolled out to all Otter users and is currently compatible with Zoom, with support for Microsoft Teams and Google Meet expected in the coming weeks.Otter, which recently announced it has reached $100 million in annual recurring revenue, is also rolling out other AI agents aimed at supporting sales teams. One of them, dubbed the Otter Sales Agent, can provide real-time guidance to salespeople during virtual meetings with customers, and can surface answers to product-related questions and suggest responses to customer objections on the fly.[Image: Otter]Once the meeting is done, the Sales Agent can assist with drafting follow-up emails to customers or entering data from the call into CRM tools. The tool is now available to Otter enterprise sales customers, with Otters team helping configure the agent using relevant product information from previous meetings and other data sources, Liang says.Initially, well provide white glove service to help them build the model, he adds. Gradually, it can become self-serve as well.A third new AI agentcalled the Otter SDR Agent (short for sales development representative)can be embedded into websites to conduct interactive live demos of products. The goal is to give potential customers a glimpse at how products work and ask basic questions at any time, without waiting for a human sales rep (though the agent gathers user contact information for a follow-up call). [Image: Otter]The SDR Agent is already live on Otters website, demonstrating the companys own features. Upon request, Otter can help set it up for customers to use to sell their own products. Otter, which first launched a chat-based AI assistant in 2023 to answer meeting-related questions and perform basic tasks, is likely to launch other AI agents geared at helping with other types of calls, including customer service, recruiting, marketing, and user research, perhaps with more launches as soon as this year, Liang says. And while plenty of other companies are building AI agents and assistants, Liang believes Otter has an advantage in meeting-focused domains, thanks to customers whove let the company use their meeting data for training.A lot of users actually contribute some data to us, allowing us to use that to train, he says. We actually have the advantage to build the best conversational AI agent that can participate in meetings compared to some of the other AI [companies].
Shares in Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (Nasdaq: DJT) are trending higher in premarket trading this morning after President Donald Trumps media company announced a partnership deal to start providing exchange-traded funds (ETF) on the cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com. Heres what you need to know about the deal.
Whats happened?
Yesterday, Trump Media and Crypto.com released a joint press statement announcing that the two companies will team up to launch a number of exchange-traded funds and products via Trump Medias Truth.Fi brand. Truth.Fi is Trump Medias fintech arm, which the company announced back in January.
As CNBC notes, the majority of the legwork of getting Trump Medias Truth.Fi ETFs off the ground and managing them will be done by Crypto.com, a Singapore-based company, and its U.S. broker dealer, Foris Capital US LLC.
The new Trump Media ETFs will reportedly launch alongside another Truth.Fi financial offeringSeparately Managed Accounts (SMAs), which are financial asset accounts that are professionally managed by professional investment firms, according to Investopedia.
What will the Trump ETFs contain?
An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a collection of assets that are traded together in one bundle. ETFs can contain things like stocks and bonds. However, Trump Media and Crypto.com were both light on the details of what exact assets the new ETFs may contain.
The press release states that the ETFs are expected to comprise digital assets as well as securities with a Made in America focus spanning diverse industries such as energy, while going on to say they are anticipated to include a unique ETF basket of cryptocurrencies incorporating Bitcoin, Cronos, and other crypto assets.
In the press release, Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said the partnership aims to create ETFs that incorporate firms that concentrate on rapid growth, technological innovation, and strengthening the U.S. economy.
When do the ETFs launch?
Despite announcing the ETFs today, their launch is still expected to be a ways off. In the press release, the companies stated that the financial instruments are planned to launch later this year subject to definitive agreement and regulatory approval.
The ETFs are said to be made available not just in the United States, but in Europe and Asia as well.
Once launched, these ETFs will be available on the Crypto.com App for our more than 140 million users around the world, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek said.
DJT shares have plummeted in 2025
After the new ETFs were announced after the closing bell yesterday, shares in Trump Media & Technology Group surged by around 9% in after-hours trading. At one point in premarket trading this morning, DJT shares were still up around the same amount.
However, as of the time of this writing, DJT shares have pulled back a little bit in premarket. Currently, DJT shares are up about 8.8% to $22.86 per share. That follows a closing price of just above $21 yesterday when the stock closed up about 3.75%.
The stocks gain in the past 24 hours will be welcome news to DJT investors, who have seen the share price get hit hard since 2025 began. Since the beginning of the year, DJT shares were down more than 38% as of yesterdays close. Over the past year, DJT shares have performed even worsedown 43% as of yesterdays close.
One reason for this is likely the fact that Trump Media & Technology Group just isnt making money. The company owns the Truth Social social media network, which is its main product. But as noted by CNBC, last month Trump Media reported a $400 million loss for 2024. It only generated $3.6 million in revenue during that period.
Han Jong-Hee, a senior Samsung Electronics executive credited with elevating the company’s television business, died Tuesday, the company said. He was 63.Han, a co-chief executive who oversaw the company’s consumer electronics and mobile devices businesses, died at a hospital after being treated for a heart attack, Samsung said.Han joined Samsung in 1988 and spent most of his career in TV-related divisions, during which the company became the world’s leading TV manufacturer. He was appointed co-vice chairman and CEO in 2022.Samsung, one of the world’s largest technology companies, has dual strengths in components and finished consumer products. The company had separate CEOs for its two major business divisions, the other being computer chips, which are all under the broader leadership of third-generation corporate heir and chairman Lee Jae-yong.Jun Young Hyun, the semiconductor chief executive, will now take over Han’s duties as the company’s sole CEO, Samsung said in a regulatory filing.
So, you landed a joband youre already way too good at it. Maybe you took it out of necessity, maybe it was meant to be temporary, or maybe you thought it would be more challenging than it is. Whatever the case, now youre stuck wondering how to stay motivated in a role that doesnt come close to tapping your full potential.
The good news? Youre not aloneand youre definitely not stuck. Being overqualified doesnt have to mean being overlooked or underutilized. In fact, with the right mindset and a few smart strategies, it can be a surprisingly powerful launchpad for growth, connection, and future opportunity.
We spoke to 10 professionals whove been thereand came out stronger. Heres how they made the most of roles they were technically overqualified for, and how you can do the same.
Cultivate cross-departmental relationships
The strategy I’ve seen transform this situation for many people time and time again is to cultivate relationships across departmental lines deliberately. Your advanced perspective lets you spot opportunities others simply can’t see.
Start by identifying colleagues in different teams whose work interests you. Drop by their desk or invite them for coffee with genuine curiosity about their challenges. Listen carefully as you’ll hear problems you’re uniquely positioned to solve.
I once noticed one of our senior analysts was feeling underutilized. After we talked about cross-departmental networking, she connected with our marketing team and discovered they needed help interpreting customer data. Her advanced skills perfectly filled their gap, and her job satisfaction soared within weeks, if not days.
This isn’t about showing off but finding pockets where extra skills create unexpected value while keeping intellectually engaged. People remember who made their work easier, and these connections often bloom into collaborative projects that perfectly match your capabilities.
Susan Andrews, HR consultant, KIS Finance
Engage in open conversations
As a founder, I believe that keeping overqualified employees engaged goes beyond simply assigning more work. It’s about creating an environment where they feel challenged, valued, and genuinely supported. People stay in companies where they see a future for themselves, where their skills are recognized, and where their well-being is a priority.
This is why open, ongoing conversations between leadership and employees are essential. Motivation isn’t one-size-fits-all. Some individuals thrive on new challenges and leadership opportunities, while others value better work-life balance, financial recognition, or deeper involvement in projects they truly care about. If we don’t take the time to ask and understand, we risk disengagement and ultimately losing great talent.
Beyond these fundamental strategies, I also believe companies should explore creative and forward-thinking approaches to employee motivation. Retaining overqualified talent isn’t just about avoiding disengagement, it’s about turning their expertise into a competitive advantage for the business. Here’s how we can take it further:
Allow employees to pitch and lead their own initiatives, whether it’s process improvements, new product ideas, or research that aligns with company goals. Giving them the autonomy to shape projects can be incredibly motivating.
Involve senior or highly skilled employees in strategic discussions, external industry panels, or mentorship programs. Recognizing their expertise beyond their immediate role gives them a greater sense of purpose.
When employees feel financially tied to the company’s success, they’re more invested in long-term growth. Offering stock options, profit-sharing, or performance-based incentives can help align their goals with the company’s vision.
Instead of generic training, allow employees to direct their own professional growth. Sponsoring executive education, certifications, or even providing a “personal development budget” empowers them to grow in ways that matter to them.
Some overqualified employees feel constrained by rigid structures. Offering hybrid work models, results-driven schedules, or even sabbatical opportunities can keep them engaged and refreshed.
At the core of all this is a culture of trust, respect, and recognition. Employees who feel heard, empowered, and rewarded are the ones who will drive the company forward, not just in their roles, but as true contributors to its long-term success.
Livia Oboroceanu, CEO and founder, Acadova
Anticipate needs and be humble
Long before I was a leader and organizational development consultant, I was completing my original nursing degree. One of the requirements was to complete a two-month stint working in the operating room. This stint began in fifth year, so we were reasonably knowledgeable by then.
As a “beginner” nurse in the OR, my role was to be a “gofer”to open packs, to fetch things that were needed, and to count used swabs to make sure nothing was left inside. Within a day, I had figured that it was going to be a pretty boring two months. So, I decided to pay deep attention and to figure out what was needed, before it was neededto make it interesting by thinking ahead, not waiting for instruction.
On my third day, I was rotated into the operating room of the chief surgeon whose scrub nurse was always the OR supervisor. For the rest of my two months, I was the OR supervisor’s gofer. If she was on duty, I was her right-hand man. She was feared by the other students, but I had a great relationship with her and we had fun.
Two months later, as I stepped out into the big wide world, she gave me a glowing reference which opened incredible career doors, and I had learned more than I ever thought I would working in a mundane job!
More than anything, I learned a few profoundly valuable life lessons! Motivation and contribution are a choice. Be humble even when you think you know it all. If all you take away is experience that’s okay, but you never know!
Janet du Preez (MSc MOTI), leadership and organisational development consultant, Engagement Dynamics
Create your own challenges
One method that I would recommend is to create your own challenges rather than waiting for them to come to you.
Being overqualified does not equate to sitting around idle. Put your skills to use by providing suggestions or streamlining processes that can be backed by your skills and what you know best about the business. For instance, if you notice inefficiencies in processes with data, you can design a more streamlined analytics dashboard that saves time and provides better insight to your team. This demonstrates you’re taking initiative and have leadership potential, and it keeps you engaged.
By setting a new standard for yourself and stepping outside your formal job description to challenge yourself, you transform a situation that may be frustrating into a platform for making contriutions and professional development. As I like to remind my staff, “Stagnation is a choicechallenge is progress.”
Peter Bajwa, director of technical development, App-scoop Solutions Inc.
Shift mindset to opportunity
I believe that every experience is an opportunity for growth, even when you’re in a job where you’re overqualified. One key strategy to stay motivated and contribute meaningfully is to shift your mindset from frustration to opportunityspecifically by focusing on how you can add value while building skills for your next level.
My tip: Treat it as a stepping stone, not a setback. Instead of seeing the role as beneath you, use it as a platform to sharpen leadership skills, expand your network, or master an aspect of the business you haven’t explored yet. I always encourage women to go beyond their job descriptionwhether it’s mentoring colleagues, optimizing processes, or taking initiative on projects.
I’ve seen many women, especially women of color, hesitate to take up space in roles that don’t challenge them enough. But I’ve learned that thriving in any job comes from owning your value and making strategic moves. If you position yourself as someone who elevates the team, opportunitieswhether inside or outside the companywill come knocking.
You may be overqualified, but you’re never above learning, leading, or leveling up.
Sheena Yap Chan, Wall Street Journal bestselling author, SheenaYapChan.com
Use the job as training ground
I know that being overqualified for a job can feel frustrating, but it can also be an opportunity. One way to thrive is to treat it as a low-stress training ground, a place where you can build new skills without the pressure of a high-stakes role.
A great strategy to stay motivated is to set a personal growth goal within the job. For example, if you’re in marketing but want to improve your data skills, use the extra time to master analytics tools like Google Data Studio or Power BI. You can apply what you learn to your current tasks, even if it’s not required, and provide insights your team wasn’t expecting.
By doing this, you stay engaged, add value in a unique way, and build skills that will help you in your next big role. Plus, leadership might notice your initiative and create new opportunities for you within the company. The key is to treat every job as a stepping stone, no matter where you are in your career.
Daniel Sanchez, cofounder and CEO, Influencity
Approach the role as consultant
One effective strategy to thrive in a job where you are overqualified is to approach the role as a consultant rather than just an employee. This mindset shift will help you see your role not as a limitation but as a platform for contributing meaningfully.
Try going above and beyond your assigned responsibilities and offer to become a mentor to colleagues or, utilize your knowledge, delivering in-house workshops. By carving out an unofficial role for yourself, whether it’s as a team advisor, or a problem-solver, you can build influence and showcase your abilities.
By approaching your role with the mindset of leaving a legacy through mentoring, or introducing new initiatives, you can ensure that your contributions have a lasting positive impact. In this way, being overqualified becomes a chance to create meaningful change while challenging yourself to grow.
Emily Maguire, entrepreneur and career consultant, Reflections Career Coaching
Invest energy in personal projects
When a job doesn’t challenge you in the traditional sense, it can give you the freedom to invest energy elsewhere. Instead of feeling frustrated, see it as an opportunity to perfect work-life balance. Use the extra mental bandwidth to work on personal projects, network, or build a side business. This way, the job becomes a stable foundation that funds your bigger ambitions without draining you.
I know someone who took a lower-level role after years in high-pressure management positions. With less stress, they finally had time to start an online business while still earning a paycheck. A year later, their side business grew enough for them to transition into full-time entrepreneurship. If you’re overqualified, it doesn’t have to be a limitationit can be a stepping stone to something even better.
Shane McEvoy, MD, Flycast Media
Master specialized software tools
When you’re overqualified, sometimes it’s best to just lean in and learn even more. Most industries have specialized software tools, and being an expert at them gives you an incredible competitive advantage against your peers vying for the same rolesit even opens up opportunities to consult other businesses later.
Learn the depths of your given tool until you become a master at it. Then, share your knowledge. Start with your internal teamhelp train them, create guides or learning modules, and serve as the unofficial go-to support person. This will give you something to strive for and challenge yourself in a role that doesn’t bring enough of that naturally, and it opens up a whole world of opportunities later.
In electrical contracting, for example, estimating software has a steep learning curve and is notoriously difficult to use. If someone learns all the shortcuts, how to create the most accurate bids, and how to troubleshoot any problems, they become invaluable.
Andrew Bates, COO, Bates Electric
Bide your time and save ideas
Keep your head down and bide your time. I was in a position where I was overqualified before starting my own business. Your well-meaning suggestions may come across as threatening if you’re more qualified than your boss who might think you’re after their job. My mom advised me to save my ideas in a notebook. When I later started my business, I was able to successfully implement many of my own ideas to scale my business rapidly.
Givona Sandiford, CEO and founder, Melospeech, Inc
You pay $75 more for your hotel room than the guest in an identical room next to yours. A friend is charged an extra $10 while online shopping for the same item. The difference in these prices isnt a result of simple supply-and-demand economics, but rather algorithms that analyze customers personal data in order to maximize what an individual will pay.
Traditional pricing is based on market forces. Price discrimination is different, explains Justin Kloczko of the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog. Its based on you: Did you keep that tab open on your phone for some medication you are thinking of buying? Does the retailer know you prefer expedited shipping? Congrats, youre going to pay more than someone else who isnt considered to want the product as badly.
These arent hypothetical scenarios: Retailers and platforms are doing this right now, a practice that critics call surveillance pricing. The issue was a focus of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission under former Chair Lina Khan.
In the final days of the Biden administration, the FTC released a study showing that third-party companies use AI tools to help retailers boost revenue by as much as 5%, either through cost savings or by hiking prices for customers. But under President Donald Trumps new FTC chair, Andrew Ferguson, the agency seems unlikely to pursue the matter. Ferguson abruptly shut down the public comment period on surveillance pricing in January, and just last week Trump illegally fired the two remaining Democratic FTC commissioners, both of whom had championed studying the issue.
With the federal government in retreat, California lawmakers are stepping up with a series of bills aimed at stopping companies from charging you based on who you are and what they know about you.
The practice relies on intermediary companies hoovering up your personal information as well as data about your online and offline habits, and using AI to predict what price youll pay. Based on your private data, they may decide that because it’s your payday, you’d be likely to pay more, explains Victoria Noble, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which sees surveillance pricing as a problem attributable, in large part, to failures inor the absence ofprivacy legislation. Or when you need something the most, such as in an emergency, you would also likely pay more.
California’s legislative package takes aim at different ways that AI is being used to set prices. One bill, advanced by Assemblymember Chris Ward and cosponsored by Consumer Watchdog, would block retailers from using a consumers personal information to adjust prices; another is aimed at algorithms that personalize prices based on explicit or perceived characteristics gathered from personal data. Yet another bill would prohibit algorithms from setting rental property prices and would allow tenants to sue landlords who use such technology.
Its not just consumers who are being targeted. A bill from California Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry addresses algorithmic price-fixing, which involves competitors using AI to collude to set higher prices. AI price-fixing is anti-competitive, restricts supply, and artificially inflates prices, she says, citing a case where, between 2022 and 2024, the price of frozen french fries rose by almost 50%, even though the underlying costs declined after manufacturers used a software program called PotatoTrac to share pricing data. A group of restaurant owners sued the manufacturers, alleging anti-competitive behavior.
As the California Legislature, where Democrats control both houses, weighs these bills, it remains unclear whether Governor Gavin Newsom, who has occasionally vetoed AI-related measures (including a notable safety-related bill last year), would support such legislation. Also unclear: how watered-down the bills might be before they make it to his desk. But if passed, they could force companies operating in California to charge everyone equally, at least within the states borders.
Now is the time to intervene on algorithmic pricing, say advocates. These technologies will only become more invasive, says Kloczko of Consumer Watchdog. AI is trying to hack our minds so it can predict our desires and fears in order to get us to buy more things for as much money as possible.
Regulators are just starting to understand how widespread these practices are and how they impact the everyday lives of consumers. The FTC investigation started under Khans leadership found about 250 businesses across retail sectors use consumer information to set prices. Companies track behaviors from location to mouse movements, and even monitor what products you leave unpurchased in online shopping carts to decide what to charge you.
Initial staff findings show that retailers frequently use peoples personal information to set targeted, tailored prices for goods and servicesfrom a person’s location and demographics, down to their mouse movements on a web page, Khan wrote in a statement last year.
But now the FTC is pulling back on the issue. After Ferguson shut down the request for information and public comment periods for surveillance pricing and several other issues, Alvaro Bedoya (one of the two commissioners fired by Trump last week) criticized the decision, saying, Chairman Ferguson seems uninterested in the challenges that regular human beings face.
Aguiar-Curry says federal inaction makes state action crucial, especially in California, the home of major tech companies: It’s more important than ever for California to lead on policies that make living more affordable, she said. Whether we have partners in Washington or not, protecting consumers and small businesses from illegal and unethical business practices is good policy and makes good sense.
For two decades, Wayfair has thrived by offering customers an abundance of trendy, inexpensive furniturearound 30 million options, specifically. But as an e-commerce company, Wayfair’s employees didn’t actually touch or feel any of the pieces on the site.
Our goal was to find suppliers of furniture and make them easily available online to our customers, Michael McCorry, director of curation strategy and operations, tells me. We only learned about the products later, through customer reviews and feedback. If a product got bad reviews, it would sink lower in the rankings.
For the customer, shopping at Wayfair presented something of a risk. With such an enormous selection, they would very likely find a piece of furniture that perfectly fit their desired aesthetic. But unless it had many reviews, there was no telling whether it was well-made or would fall apart after a few weeks.
Wayfair has heard this criticism loud and clear. Today, it unveils a new program called Verified that involves merchants painstakingly examining a selection of furniture on Wayfair’s site. The company has selected a small fraction50,000 pieces by the end of the yearthat will be verified for quality, durability, and value. The brand will highlight Verified furniture with a new purple check, and these pieces will surface higher in search results.
This curation process is designed to make the shopping process easier for customers, but it also streamlines operations for the company. Wayfair expects that these verified pieces will become bestsellers. McCorry says that in the soft launch of the verified program, the 10,000 pieces that were verified already made up 15% of Wayfair’s total revenue. When 50,000 pieces are verified, it could make up a much more significant chunk of the company’s earnings.
This new dynamic allows the company to ensure that the most popular products are in-stock and ready to ship quickly. But it could also make life more complicated for suppliers, who are likely to see an instant decrease in sales of non-verified items.
[Photo: Wayfair]
Inexpensive Furniture For Every Taste
Wayfair emerged in the early days of the e-commerce revolution. While Amazon offered a very wide array of product categories, Wayfair wanted to be a destination exclusively for homewares.
Wayfair doesn’t actually manufacture any products; instead, it sources furniture from factories around the world, styling the pieces in attractive ways, so that customers could easily find pieces that matched their aesthetic. (Many other retailers, including Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel, also source products from third-party factories.) Merchants go through each item, categorizing pieces by stylelike mid-century modern or traditionalto help make it easier for customer to find what they are looking for. Our role was to source these products and make it easier to find the pieces that would go perfectly with their style, says McCorry.
But over time, it became clear that customers were struggling to figure out what pieces were high quality and what pieces were not. This is also an issue of value, says Liza Lefkowski, VP, curation, brands, and stores. Customers want to know that the quality of the items corresponds to the price they’re paying for it. But in some cases, it was hard for them to tell.
For decades, with the rise of fast fashion and fast furniture, consumers were looking for products that were affordable and trendy. But after bad experiences with poor quality, many customers are now looking for well-made, durable products at fair prices.
[Photo: Wayfair]
Verifying 700 Pieces of Furniture a Week
McCorry says that part of the idea of the Verified program emerged when Wayfair began opening stores last year. For the first time, Wayfair employees were getting to see furniture in person, and recommending pieces to customers. We began to think we should do this with our online selection as well, he says.
There was no way that Wayfair would be able to individually verify all 30 million pieces of furniture it sells. So, the company has developed a way to pluck out pieces to verify.
Madeleine Gauthier, merchant manager, says the company’s team of merchants is at the frontline of this process. They’re familiar with the selection of products in their narrow category, such as outdoor furniture sets or bar stools. The goal is to verify several pieces of furniture across categories, styles, and price points. So, for instance, Wayfair will try to verify several brown leather sofas that cost around $1,200 price point, and several modern wooden vanities that cost around $300.
Merchants send products to Wayfair’s Boston headquarters for testing. They choose these pieces based on whether they have good reviews and how popular they are. Then, they spend about half an hour on each item. We start with the unboxing experience, to make sure everything is packaged well, says Gauthier. Then we check that the assembly process is not unreasonably difficult.
Next, they actually use the furniture, as a customer might. For an outdoor dining set, they will check if the pieces seem heavy enough that they wouldn’t blow away in a storm. They will sit in the chair and see whether it is the right height for eating a meal at the table. They will then compare the product to others they have tested. In the end, they will identify and promote the top products We want to have enough variety so that if you’re looking for something very specific, like a metal outdoor bar stool, you will be able to find a verified one, Gauthier says.
Wayfair creates a little video of each product, with a merchant talking about its selling points. At this pace, the company can review about 700 products a week. Today, at the launch, there are 10,000 products that are verified. But the brand expects to get to a total of 50,000 over time.
[Photo: Wayfair]
Winners and Losers
McCorry believes that many customers will gravitate towards the verified products. It makes the shopping process so much easier for them, which was the whole point, he says. They don’t need to go through all the reviews, because they know we have tested it and recommend it.
Some suppliers are likely to experience an immediate windfall as a result of this program. Sales of their Wayfair-verified sofas or side tables are likely to spike. But other products are likely to go down in sales. Lefkowski admits that this has caused some concern among vendors. In response, Wayfair is trying to be as fair about the process as possible. We gave them a lot of warning about this program and we are very transparent about what we are looking for, she says. If their product didn’t pass the test, we give them feedback about what went wrong so they can correct it.
And McCorry says that once Wayfair has verified all 50,000 products, its merchants will keep reassessing what is in the Verified program. If a supplier has an interesting new product that consumers seem to like, Wayfair might test and verify this product, displacing a similar verified product. Long term, our hope is that this encourages all suppliers to focus on quality and workmanship, says McCorry.
Waymo, Alphabets autonomous vehicle company, plans to expand its ride-hailing service, Waymo One, to Washington, D.C. in 2026, the company announced Tuesday.
While the nations capital currently prohibits fully autonomous operations, a Waymo spokesperson said the company will work closely with local policymakers over the coming year to help formalize necessary regulations.
This marks the first time Waymo is bringing its commercial ride-hailing service to a city that experiences regular snowfall. Waymo vehicles dont yet operate in winter weather, though the company has conducted cold-weather testing in upstate New York, Michigan, and parts of California. As a result, the service would temporarily pause for public riders in D.C. during snow or icy conditionsat least until winter capabilities are added to the fleet.
Waymo began as a stealth project at Google nearly 15 years ago, and has since grown into a leading player in self-driving technology. Co-led by Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov, the company reached full commercial deployment in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles last year. Waymo One completed more than 4 million rides in 2024, clinching more than 200,000 paid passenger trips each week. (The company also topped Fast Companys list of the Worlds 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025.)
Waymo vehicles briefly appeared on D.C. streets last year as part of its cross-country testing program and returned this January. More vehiclesequipped with safety operators behind the wheelare set to arrive in the coming weeks.
“Were excited to bring the comfort, consistency, and safety of Waymo One to Washingtonians, those who work and play in the city every day, and the millions of people from around the world who travel to the District every year,” Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in a prepared statement.
