The auto industry has placed big bets on the future being electric—but a compromise solution is gaining traction of late: the humble hybrid.

Hybrid vehicles pair combustion engines with electric motors, offering the best of both worlds, according to some. Hybrids have been enjoying a hot streak, capturing more than 8% of the US new-vehicle market last year. Amid an electric identity crisis playing out in the industry, automakers are putting a renewed emphasis on gasoline-electric vehicles—bolstering sales and earnings.

Strong hybrid sales recently boosted Toyota to blockbuster profits. General Motors announced plans to reintroduce hybrids into its vehicle lineup. And Ford CEO Jim Farley told investors during the company’s Q4 earnings call that hybrids “will play an increasingly important role in our industry’s transition,” as the automaker forecasts a whopping 40% jump in its hybrid sales this year.

So what’s driving this trend?

Keep reading here.—JG

You’re already reading the newsletter, but did you know you can also listen to and/or watch the wittiest and smartest takes on business news?

Morning Brew Daily hosts Neal Freyman and Toby Howell have you covered on everything you need to know before your cup of coffee, from the latest headlines on the economy to explanations of viral TikTok trends.

You’ll look so smart in front of your friends.

New episodes are released every weekday at 7am ET. Check ’em out on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

If you recently saw a social media post in which Jennifer Aniston promised to sell you a MacBook Pro for just $10, we have some bad news about your new computer.

A report from software company Bitdefender dug up a slew of scam videos on Facebook and Instagram in which audio deepfakes of celebrities like Elon Musk, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Kylie Jenner, and Vin Diesel purport to offer product giveaways and investment opportunities. The voices generally play over real footage of the given celebrity.

The batch of videos analyzed by Bitdefender were targeted at more than 1 million users in the US and Europe, and at least one of the posts reached over 100,000 people, according to the report. It noted that the scammers also attempted to bolster credibility by creating “lookalike websites of popular news outlets” like the New York Times and linking the posts to those fraudulent websites.

While the report doesn’t attempt to quantify the potential number of these scam ads out there, Bitdefender Security Analyst Alina Bizga said the team has seen “some upticks on this trend” in the past few months.

Keep reading here.—PK

Beep beep—it’s the FCC. They want to know what’s going on with those green text bubbles.

A Federal Communications Commission Republican called for his agency to probe why Apple started blocking the Android app Beeper Mini, which lets non-iPhone messages pop up in signature “blue bubble” texts.

Speaking at the State of the Net conference on Monday, Commissioner Brendan Carr said the lack of interoperability is not just an issue of convenience—it’s ultimately about accessibility. This angle could give the FCC a toehold to investigate the practice under its Part 14 rules that stem from a “landmark disability rights statute,” Carr said.

Beeper Mini “enabled people on Android devices, whether Google or Samsung phones, to communicate directly with iMessage users in a blue-bubble fashion, meaning it wasn’t low contrast,” Carr said. “In my view, it promoted accessibility and usability by people with disabilities.”

Keep reading here.—KG

Usually, we write about the business of tech. Here, we highlight the *tech* of tech.

Let’s review your mistakes! Over at sister publication CFO Brew, Courtney Vien interviewed Duolingo CFO Matt Skaruppa about how “the company’s growth reflects its cultural presence.” Those of us trying to brush up on high-school German before a trip to Vienna and Hamburg know that presence all too well.

The more you know: The Cut’s financial-advice columnist penned a jaw-dropping tale of how she got scammed out of $50,000. It’s worth a read for the oh-my-God of it all, but also to keep in mind so you don’t fall victim to the same tactics.