Hey, I'm so happy to see you. I'm Jordan Parker Erb, and I have a question for you: What do driverless cars, hoverboards, and space elevators have in common?

Each of these ideas is a "moonshot," or a radical, potentially world-changing project that Big Tech companies have worked on in recent years.

But recently, amid a gloomy economic climate, companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are backing away from these kinds of ambitious long-term projects — and the golden era of moonshots may have run its course.

All of this, and more, below.

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1. Is the era of Big Tech moonshots over? For years, companies like Amazon, Google, and Facebook dumped money and energy into radical, potentially world-changing projects. But recently, Big Tech firms have been scaling back their ambitions — and have instead turned to a Wall Street-appeasing pragmatism.

• At Google, moonshot ideas have included driverless cars (now the self-driving startup Waymo) and internet balloons (the now-shuttered Loon). For Snap, it was the abandoned Pixy drone. Facebook attempted a speed-dating app and Hotline, a tool for creators and fans to interact.

• But thanks to a tough market and some projects not paying off after years in the works, these companies are being forced to become more efficient — and cutting moonshots as a result.

• Google has slashed projects that don't align with its CEO's broader mission to pursue artificial intelligence, Snap has turned to focus on its "core strengths," like messaging and its popular filters, and Facebook has shrunk its experimental products group. The group is now dedicated to short-form video, attempting to keep up with TikTok.

Inside the death of the moonshot.

In other news:

2. Apple nixed plans to increase iPhone 14 production. According to Bloomberg, Apple ditched plans to make more of the new iPhones this year because it hasn't experienced the surge in demand it originally anticipated. Get the full rundown here.