“This would be a huge step forward in easing U.S. rules for self-driving cars and be a significant tailwind for Tesla’s autonomous and AI vision heading into 2025,” says Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. New federal rules under discussion would not only ease regulations around self-driving vehicles but also raise the cap on the number of autonomous vehicles allowed on public roads, according to the report. Under current rules, each manufacturer is allowed to deploy up to 2,500 self-driving vehicles per year in the U.S. Previous efforts to allow up to 100,000 vehicles have so far failed. Regulators, such as the…
Author: Olsi
Well, the days of being able to count on a $7,500 rebate on EV purchases may be coming to a close. The federal EV tax credit has long been a way for many customers to justify the purchase of an electric vehicle over a traditional gas-powered one, especially considering the fact that EVs are typically more expensive upfront (though they cost less to maintain and power over time). Many of the most popular EV models have qualified for the credit over the years, including the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5, and so on. With…
Honda just unveiled the production line for these next-gen batteries, which are being made in Sakura City, Japan. From there, the automaker plans to establish a mass production process in early 2025. It will then start applying its all-solid-state batteries to new EVs due out in the second half of the 2020s. “The all-solid-state battery is an innovative technology that will be a game changer in this EV era,” said Keiji Otsu, president of Honda R&D, in a statement. Solid-state battery cells are much more energy-dense than the cells with liquid electrolytes currently used in most EVs. That means the…
It may be hard to remember, but George Clooney and Brad Pitt co-starred in a movie, “Wolves,” that Apple released just two months ago. On Friday, the film’s writer and director, Jon Watts, said Friday that a sequel is no longer happening; in a follow-up interview with Deadline, he explained that he “no longer trusted [Apple] as a creative partner.” The company is reportedly scaling back its movie strategy. “Wolfs,” for example, was supposed to get a big theatrical release, but instead, it played in a limited number of theaters for just one week before launching on Apple TV+. Watts,…
The European Union looks to have clinched political agreement on the team of 26 commissioners who will be implementing President Ursula von der Leyen’s policy plan for the next five years. A final vote is still pending next week, but on Thursday, Politico’s Brussels Playbook newsletter reported a deal in the European Parliament on the appointments, suggesting it’s “now all but guaranteed” that the next European Commission will kick off on December 1. We’ve picked out three commissioner-designates to watch for tech policy moves as the next Commission takes up its five-year mandate, which runs into 2029, with responsibilities across…
You know you live in the space age when solar storms knock out farmers’ GPS-reliant tractors and a camera in Earth’s lofty orbit films a rocket launching through the atmosphere. This camera attached to the International Space Station — the SpaceTV-1 instrument operated by the Earth-monitoring company Sen — captured the launch of SpaceX’s colossal Starship rocket on Nov. 19, the nearly 400-foot-tall vehicle’s sixth test flight. Such footage, showing the rocket’s plume from 250 miles up, is rare, if not unprecedented. “This is believed to be the first time ever a rocket launch has been filmed in real time…
The end of LinkedIn’s Audio Events LinkedIn launched Audio Events in 2022. The feature was the business professional-oriented social network’s answer to Twitter’s Spaces feature or the Clubhouse app. Streaming audio-only platforms became quite popular during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Clubhouse, for example, was valued at $1 billion at one point. However, the audio streaming boom quickly ended as industry trends recalibrated following the end of lockdowns and the release of the COVID-19 vaccines. By 2023, Clubhouse was laying off half of its employees. LinkedIn’s announcement says that the company is simply “unifying” its Audio Events and LinkedIn…
Digital wallets and payment apps like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, and PayPal are facing stronger regulations under the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the nation’s bank and financial service watchdog. Through a new rule passed Thursday, the agency will have the power to supervise the behavior and policies of nonbank companies offering digital funds transfer and payment wallet apps recategorizing these processors and their Big Tech owners under similar rules to banking institutions. Under its new powers, the CFPB can keep a closer eye on data collection and sharing, monitor fraudulent transactions and disputes, and act as a…
Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis are recalling about 208,000 EVs in the United States due to an issue that could cause the vehicles to suddenly lose power, according to several filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall was first reported by Reuters. The problem originates with the integrated charging control unit (ICCU), which may become damaged and stop charging the 12-volt battery and can result in a loss of drive power, according to the filing. Hyundai Motor is recalling about 145,235 of its EVs, which includes some Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 vehicles. The recall also covers three…
Tesla and Rivian may have resolved a lawsuit in which Tesla accused Rivian of poaching employees and stealing trade secrets. Bloomberg reports that Tesla told a California statement judge that the companies have reached a “conditional” settlement, and that it expects to seek dismissal of the lawsuit by December 24. Tesla filed the suit, which was set to got to trial in March, back in 2020. The EV maker alleged that it had discovered an “alarming pattern” in which Rivian was recruiting Tesla employees and encouraging them to take proprietary information with them as they left. In response, Rivian filed…
