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By Abhirup Roy and Harshita Mary Varghese (Reuters) -Tesla rolled out "affordable" versions of its best-selling Model Y SUV and its Model 3 sedan, but the starting prices of $39,990 and $36,990 were too high, some said, to attract a new class of buyers to the electric vehicle brand. CEO Elon Musk has touted the car as a way to tap a wider swath of buyers, saying last year that a price below $30,000, after incentives, was the key. Tesla is trying to reverse falling sales of its aging lineup amid rising competition in Europe and China, and the loss of a $7,500 U.S. tax credit. The new cars drop some premium finishes and features but offer driving ranges above 300 miles (480 km). Tesla's stock closed down 4.5% and Tesla bull Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, said he was disappointed the cars were only about $5,000 cheaper than the next-level trims of the models. The new Standard versions cost more than the cheapest U.S. models in September, when the now-expired tax credit was included. Musk has for years promised mass-market vehicles, though last year he canceled plans for an all-new $25,000 EV, Reuters first reported. Instead, he chose to build lower-priced versions based on Tesla's current models, sparking concerns among investors and analysts that the cheaper cars would cannibalize sales of existing vehicles and limit growth. "It's basically a pricing lever and not much of a product catalyst," said Shay Boloor, chief market strategist at research firm Futurum Equities. "I don't see it as unlocking new demand at scale." Fearing a drop in demand after losing the tax credits, some automakers in the U.S. have already cut prices while some others have figured out mechanisms to effectively extend the benefit of the incentives. Investors and analysts said dropping the price below $40,000 will help drive sales as the latest offerings compete next year with Chevrolet's Equinox, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia's EV4. Some, though, expected a bigger slash by Tesla to below $30,000. "I just don't know that this is enough," said Shawn Campbell, an advisor at Camelthorn Investments. "Longer term, this news doesn't solve the problem posed by lower cost Chinese competitors in global markets. In my opinion, Tesla needs a sub-30k EV." In Europe, where Musk's far-right political views have undermined brand loyalty, the new entries will be up against more than a dozen electric and plug-in-hybrid models with price tags below $30,000. Sales in the September-ending quarter rose to a record as consumers rushed to take advantage of the EV tax credit before its expiration on September 30, but expectations are that they will slow down for the rest of the year, unless the affordable car comes to the rescue. "The desire to buy the car is very high. (It's) just (that) people don't have enough money in the bank account to buy it," Musk said in July during Tesla's second-quarter earnings call. "So the more affordable we can make the car, the better." 'A WALMART HOODIE' FOR TESLA Both Standard versions offer 321 miles (516 km) of range and less powerful acceleration than the current higher trims, called Premium. Tesla has reduced the size of the battery on both cars, according to its website and some influencers who got a preview. Both cars can be ordered immediately, with deliveries set to start between December 2025 and January 2026 for many locations, Tesla's website showed.  The Standard versions do not come with Autosteer, Tesla's driver assistance system, touchscreens and seat heating for rear passengers. Tesla has also removed the LED lightbar in the cheaper Model Y. Both come with manually adjusted side-view mirrors and textile seats, with vegan leather available for the Model 3.  Musk has been pivoting the company toward artificial intelligence, focusing on robotaxis and humanoid robots, but the new cars are key to hopes of near-term revenue growth. "For the market, this is Tesla dropping its Steve Jobs turtleneck and slipping into a Walmart hoodie," said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point. "It's no longer the cool rebel at the edge of innovation – it's the establishment trying to play both Tesla and Toyota at once." (Reporting by Abhirup Roy in San Francisco and Akash Sriram and Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Henderson, Richard Chang, Sriraj Kalluvila, Alan Barona and Lincoln Feast.)

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SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian internet provider Desktop confirmed on Tuesday that it had held preliminary talks about a transaction with telecom operator Claro, following a media report that it could soon be acquired by Claro. Desktop, which specializes in fiber optic internet, said in a securities filing the discussions for a "potential transaction" were non-binding and no agreement had been reached on price, structure or other key terms so far. News outlet Brazil Journal reported earlier in the day that Claro was in "advanced talks" for a full takeover that would take Desktop private. News of the potential acquisition sent Desktop shares surging as much as 16% in Sao Paulo on Tuesday, before they settled 10% higher. In contrast, Brazil's benchmark Bovespa stock index fell 1.6%. Brazil Journal reported, citing two sources, that Claro was conducting due diligence but had not yet submitted a binding offer. Claro is owned by Mexican telecommunications firm America Movil, which declined to comment. This is not the first time Desktop has been an acquisition target. In 2024, Claro rival Telefonica Brasil also held talks with the internet provider about a potential purchase. Meanwhile, America Movil and Chilean firm Entel are weighing a joint offer for Telefonica's operations in Chile, they said on Monday. (Reporting by Andre Romani; additional reporting by Luciana Magalhaes in Sao Paulo and Cassandra Garrison in Mexico City; Editing by Kylie Madry, Natalia Siniawski and Jamie Freed)

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(Reuters) -Toymaker Mattel is partnering with OpenAI to test the ChatGPT maker's artificial-intelligence video model Sora 2, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said at the company's Developer Day conference on Monday. "Mattel has been a great partner working with us to test Sora 2 in the API (application programming interface) and see what they can do to bring product ideas to life more quickly. So one of their designers can now start with a sketch and then turn these early concepts into something that you can see and share and react to," Altman said. Monday's moves are the latest in a stream of announcements for OpenAI, which sparked the modern AI boom with the launch of ChatGPT about three years ago. Many of CEO Sam Altman's ambitions are bold and expensive, even by Silicon Valley standards, sparking some concern among tech investors about whether or not AI investments are a bubble. (Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru, Deepa Seetharaman and Kenrick Cai in San Francisco; Editing by Pooja Desai)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)