Axios Closer

The feverish competition among teeth straightening services has one of the industry's biggest players struggling to survive, Nathan writes.

Why it matters: SmileDirectClub filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday, having failed to profitably corner the promising but highly competitive world of removable, clear-plastic teeth aligners.

The big picture: The bankruptcy filing casts a pall over the company's strategy of selling its braces alternative directly to consumers.

• After launching in 2014, SDC quickly took off as an affordable alternative to rival Align Technology's Invisalign, which is more expensive and typically requires office visits and physical brackets.
• SDC allowed customers to avoid office visits while having their cases remotely directed.

What they're saying: "I think the direct-to-consumer model, as far as orthodontics goes, has come and gone as a real legitimate way to move teeth," Jefferies analyst Brandon Couillard, who tracks the teeth alignment industry, tells Axios.

• "It just proved to be not the right way to go."

State of play: SDC says it'll cut debt and use a new injection of at least $20 million from its founders with a goal of stabilizing its business and emerging as a sustainable enterprise.

• But liquidation is a real possibility if the company can't achieve a going-concern transaction in the next two months, CFO Troy Crawford said in a court filing.

The bottom line: SDC's 1,800 employees — and the 1,150+ orthodontists and dentists it partners with — are hanging in the balance while the future of the company is decided.

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The UAW strike targets the traditional Detroit Three automakers, but suppliers are feeling the pain, too, Nathan writes.

• Workers are now on strike at 43 facilities for GM, Ford and Stellantis. As a result, the automakers are buying far fewer parts — from seats to door handles.

By the numbers: Auto industry suppliers lost about $1.3 billion in the first two weeks of the strike, according to Anderson Economic Group estimates released Monday.

• That tops the estimated $1.1 billion lost by the automakers themselves.

Threat level: The publicly traded suppliers with the most exposure to the UAW — in order, as a percentage of their revenue — are American Axle, Magna International and Lear, according to Barclays estimates.

🚗 Tesla missed market expectations for Q3 sales. (Reuters)

🏈 Former CNN boss Jeff Zucker is investing in Front Office Sports. (Axios)

Are sandals good for roadshows?

Driving the news: Birkenstock will soon find out, this morning filing to sell 32.26 million shares at between $44 and $49 in its IPO.

• At the top of its range, the German footwear company would raise $1.58 billion at around a $9.2 billion valuation, Axios' Dan Primack writes.

The intrigue: Birkenstock's listing was nearly a casualty of the government shutdown. In the end, of course, there was no shutdown, so it's academic.

Yes, but: Other companies seeking to go public this year are looking at Congress' 45-day continuing resolution, which has a Nov. 17 deadline

• For prospective December issuers — and there are several — that means either accelerating the process or preparing for the very real possibility of delay.

Queen Bey is coming to a theater near you, Nathan writes.

What's happening: AMC Entertainment announced today that Beyoncé's new concert film, "Renaissance: A Film," will hit North American theaters Dec. 1.

• Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" concert film is heading for theaters Oct. 13 — and advance ticket sales are hot.

The intrigue: Both superstars negotiated distribution deals directly with AMC, bypassing the traditional studio system.

• Instead, AMC is serving as the distributor of the films, meaning they will also be available in non-AMC theaters.

Details: Tickets to see the movie version of the Renaissance World Tour will be $22 plus tax for standard showtimes, plus more for premium viewings like IMAX.

💭 Nathan's thought bubble: If it isn't clear by now, Taylor and Beyoncé run the world.

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"A lot of people wanted there to be a Sam."

The criminal fraud trial of "SBF" kicks off tomorrow in New York. Follow it with our Axios Crypto newsletter.