ReportWire

Tag: Tesla

  • Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Tesla, Inc. $TSLA

    [ad_1]

    Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA – Free Report) by 2.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 90,247 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,820 shares during the quarter. Tesla comprises about 1.2% of Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Tesla were worth $40,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

    A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Tesla in the second quarter worth $11,839,824,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its position in Tesla by 581,880.5% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 6,436,704 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $2,044,683,000 after purchasing an additional 6,435,598 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Tesla by 1.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 251,390,681 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock worth $79,856,764,000 after purchasing an additional 4,502,976 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Tesla by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 16,771,882 shares of the electric vehicle producer’s stock valued at $4,482,789,000 after purchasing an additional 3,814,610 shares during the period. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Tesla during the 1st quarter valued at about $469,339,000. Institutional investors own 66.20% of the company’s stock.

    Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

    TSLA has been the topic of a number of research reports. President Capital raised their price objective on shares of Tesla from $373.00 to $529.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $307.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Tesla in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Roth Capital set a $505.00 price objective on Tesla and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $510.00 target price on Tesla and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and nine have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tesla presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $404.14.

    Get Our Latest Analysis on TSLA

    Insider Buying and Selling

    In related news, CFO Vaibhav Taneja sold 2,637 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $443.93, for a total value of $1,170,643.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,107,145.01. The trade was a 16.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kimbal Musk sold 56,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.66, for a total transaction of $25,606,501.20. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,391,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $627,145,215.90. This trade represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 19.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

    Tesla Stock Down 0.4%

    TSLA opened at $481.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 320.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $439.98 and its 200 day moving average is $380.55. Tesla, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $214.25 and a fifty-two week high of $495.28.

    Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The electric vehicle producer reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $28.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.98 billion. Tesla had a return on equity of 6.61% and a net margin of 5.51%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Tesla, Inc. will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

    Key Headlines Impacting Tesla

    Here are the key news stories impacting Tesla this week:

    • Positive Sentiment: Analysts are lifting targets and reiterating bullish views, providing near‑term support for the rally — Deutsche Bank bumped its target to $500 and other firms (Mizuho, CICC, Truist) have issued bullish notes. Article
    • Positive Sentiment: Tesla committed ~$1.2B to battery cell production in Germany (8 GWh target from 2027), a strategic capex that supports localization, margin improvement and long‑term EV supply. Article
    • Positive Sentiment: Robotaxi and Cybercab testing appears to be accelerating (production‑ready units seen in streets), keeping momentum behind Tesla’s high‑value autonomy thesis that investors are pricing in. Article
    • Positive Sentiment: Tesla avoided a potential ~€11M fine in Italy over range claims, removing a modest legal overhang. Article
    • Neutral Sentiment: The Delaware Supreme Court reinstated Musk’s 2018 pay package, ending a years‑long legal dispute and removing uncertainty — but the scale of the award (now valued far higher) raises governance and dilution debates. Article
    • Neutral Sentiment: Large institutional repositioning: ARK/active managers have trimmed holdings recently (profit‑taking), which can amplify intraday volatility but doesn’t necessarily change the structural bull case. Article
    • Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and safety pressure persists: California actions on Autopilot/FSD marketing, a proposed federal/state focus on autonomy rules, and consumer safety complaints (e.g., door‑handle issues) keep legal/regulatory risk elevated. Article
    • Negative Sentiment: Core EV metrics remain mixed: U.S. vehicle sales have softened and operating expenses have risen as Tesla spends on autonomy/robotics — analysts warn near‑term margins and volumes could pressure sentiment if growth stalls. Article

    About Tesla

    (Free Report)

    Tesla, Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) is an American company that designs, manufactures and sells electric vehicles, energy generation and energy storage products. Founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, Tesla grew into a vertically integrated mobility and clean‑energy company with Elon Musk serving as its chief executive officer. The company’s stated mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, reflected in its combined focus on electric drivetrains, battery technology, renewable energy products and software.

    Tesla’s automotive business includes a lineup of battery‑electric vehicles and related services.

    Read More

    Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TSLA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA – Free Report).

    Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)



    Receive News & Ratings for Tesla Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Tesla and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.

    [ad_2]

    ABMN Staff

    Source link

  • A Battery Startup Raised $330 Million on the Promise of Charging EVs in 5 Minutes—It Just Filed for Bankruptcy

    [ad_1]

    A fast charging EV startup is filing for bankruptcy protection amid broader disruption across the electric vehicle industry. San Francisco-based Ample filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week, citing a “deteriorating commercial and capital environment,” regulatory delays, and liquidity challenges, according to a filing.

    Although the broader political and economic environment in the U.S. has certainly proven difficult for the EV industry, other failed battery swapping concepts hint there may be other factors at play in Ample’s demise, Electrek reported.

    Ample was founded in 2014 with a goal of “solving slow charging times and infrastructure incompatibility” for commercial EV fleets such as those in logistics, ride-hailing, and delivery, the filing states. To-date, Ample has raised more than $330 million across five rounds of funding to finance research and development and deployment. Rather than tackling fast charging, its strategy involved developing “fully autonomous modular battery swapping,” capable of delivering a fully charged battery in just five minutes. The technology requires purpose-built “Ample stations” that look a little like carwashes. A car is guided into the bay and elevated on a platform. A robot then identifies the location of a car’s battery module, removes it, and replaces it with a charged module, Canary Media reported.

    The company also boasts partnerships with Uber, Mitsubishi, and Stellantis, and notes it has deployed its technology—or is pursuing deployment—in San Francisco, Madrid and Tokyo. Even so, it ran up against funding issues.

    In its filing, Ample attributed its bankruptcy to macroeconomic and industry headwinds, such as  “severe supply chain disruptions,” “contraction in both public and private investment in renewable energy” and the “reduction, delay, or redirection of government incentives intended to accelerate EV adoption.” The filing notes that regulatory and permitting delays slowed its launch in international markets, after which access to capital foiled its scaling efforts.

    The company eliminated all but two full-time, non-executive employees after formerly employing about 200. 

    Ample did not respond to Inc.’s request for comment.

    [ad_2]

    Chloe Aiello

    Source link

  • Tesla used deceptive language to market Autopilot, California judge rules

    [ad_1]

    Tesla’s sales in California should be suspended for 30 days because its marketing around Autopilot and Full Self-Driving misled consumers, a California administrative law judge has ruled. Back in 2022, the California DMV accused the automaker of using deceptive language to advertise those products and making it seem like its vehicles are capable of level 5 autonomous driving. Tesla has since added the word “Supervised” to the name of its Full Self-Driving assistance technology.

    As Bloomberg notes, the DMV asked the administrative law judge if a suspension is warranted based on the evidence it presented. Even though the judge has agreed that it is, the agency will give Tesla 90 days to explain its side and remove any untrue or misleading language in the marketing materials for the products. Tesla’s sales and manufacturing in California will only be suspended if it doesn’t comply within that timeframe.

    “We’re really asking Tesla to do their job, as they’ve done in other markets, to properly brand these vehicles,” said California DMV director, Steve Gordon, in a statement.

    A suspension in California could be devastating for the automaker. While new Tesla registrations in the state plummeted earlier this year, Reuters says California accounts for nearly a third of the company’s sales in the country. In addition, Tesla only manufactures its Model S and X vehicles in its Fremont plant, where it also produces Model 3 and Model Y units.

    [ad_2]

    Mariella Moon

    Source link

  • Congress would target China with new restrictions in massive defense bill

    [ad_1]

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration may have softened its language on China to maintain a fragile truce in their trade war, but Congress is charging ahead with more restrictions in a defense authorization bill that would deny Beijing investments in highly sensitive sectors and reduce U.S. reliance on Chinese biotechnology companies.

    Included in the 3,000-page bill approved Wednesday by the House is a provision to scrutinize American investments in China that could help develop technologies to boost Chinese military power. The bill, which next heads to the Senate, also would prohibit government money to be used for equipment and services from blacklisted Chinese biotechnology companies.

    In addition, the National Defense Authorization Act would boost U.S. support for the self-governing island of Taiwan that Beijing claims as its own and says it will take by force if necessary.

    “Taken together, these measures reflect a serious, strategic approach to countering the Chinese Communist Party,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. He said the approach “stands in stark contrast to the White House’s recent actions.”

    Congress moves for harsher line toward China

    The compromise bill authorizing $900 billion for military programs was released two days after the White House unveiled its national security strategy. The Trump administration dropped Biden-era language that cast China as a strategic threat and said the U.S. “will rebalance America’s economic relationship with China,” an indication that President Donald Trump is more interested in a mutually advantageous economic relationship with Beijing than in long-term competition.

    The White House this week also allowed Nvidia to sell an advanced type of computer chip to China, with those more hawkish toward Beijing concerned that would help boost the country’s artificial intelligence.

    The China-related provisions in the traditionally bipartisan defense bill “make clear that, whatever the White House tone, Capitol Hill is locking in a hard-edged, long-term competition with Beijing,” said Craig Singleton, senior director of the China program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank.

    If passed, these provisions would “build a floor under U.S. competitiveness policy — on capital, biotech, and critical tech — that will be very hard for future presidents to unwind quietly,” he said.

    The Chinese embassy in Washington on Wednesday denounced the bill.

    “The bill has kept playing up the ‘China threat’ narrative, trumpeting for military support to Taiwan, abusing state power to go after Chinese economic development, limiting trade, economic and people-to-people exchanges between China and the U.S., undermining China’s sovereignty, security and development interests and disrupting efforts of the two sides in stabilizing bilateral relations,” said Liu Pengyu, the embassy spokesperson.

    “China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this,” Liu said.

    US investments in China

    U.S. policymakers and lawmakers have been working for several years toward bipartisan legislation to curb investments in China when it comes to cutting-edge technologies such as quantum computing, aerospace, semiconductors and artificial intelligence. Those efforts flopped last year when Tesla CEO Elon Musk opposed a spending bill.

    Musk has extensive business interests in China, including a Tesla gigafactory in the eastern city of Shanghai.

    The provision made it into the must-pass defense policy bill, welcomed by Rep. John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

    “For too long, the hard-earned money of American retirees and investors has been used to build up China’s military and economy,” he said. “This legislation will help bring that to an end.”

    Biosecurity protections

    Congress last year failed to pass the BIOSECURE Act, which cited national security in preventing federal money from benefiting a number of Chinese biotechnology companies. Critics said then that it was unfair to single out specific companies, warning that the measure would delay clinical trials and hinder development of new drugs, raise costs for medications and hurt innovation.

    The provision in the NDAA no longer names companies but leaves it to the Office of Management and Budget to compile a list of “biotechnology companies of concern.” The bill also would expand Pentagon investments in biotechnology.

    Moolenaar lauded the effort for taking “defensive action to secure American pharmaceutical supply chains and genetic information from malign Chinese companies.”

    Support for Taiwan

    The defense bill also would authorize an increase in funding, to $1 billion from $300 million this year, for Taiwan-related security cooperation and direct the Pentagon to establish a joint drone and anti-drone program.

    Another provision supports Taiwan’s bid to join the International Monetary Fund, which would provide the self-governing island with financial protection from China.

    It comes amid mixed signals from Trump, who appears careful not to upset Beijing as he seeks to strike trade deals with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Chinese leader has urged Trump to handle the Taiwan issue “with prudence,” as Beijing considers its claim over Taiwan a core interest.

    In the new national security strategy, the White House says the U.S. does not support any unilateral change to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and stresses that the U.S. should seek to deter and prevent a large-scale military conflict.

    “But the American military cannot, and should not have to, do this alone,” the document says, urging Japan and South Korea to increase defense spending.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Elon Musk Said Grok’s Roasts Would Be ‘Epic’ at Parties—So I Tried It on My Coworkers

    [ad_1]

    We can debate the worthiness of Elon Musk’s accomplishments—building up Tesla, hollowing out the government, shooting for Mars—but we can all agree that his insistence on being seen as funny is his most grating quality.

    From the constant 4:20 references to his quote tweet “dunks” to awarding “Certified Bangers” badges to silly X posts, Musk’s desperation for validation knows no bounds. It can get pretty annoying when the richest guy on earth makes a joke and then awkwardly eyes the room waiting for everyone to laugh.

    But over the weekend, I was intrigued when a clip emerged of Musk telling Joe Rogan that using Grok’s Unhinged Mode to deliver an “epic vulgar roast” is a surefire way to “make people really laugh at a party.”

    “Point the camera at them, and now do a vulgar roast of this person … then keep saying, ‘no, no, make it even more vulgar. Use forbidden words,’” Musk excitedly tells Rogan in the clip taken from their three-hour-plus conversation published on Rogan’s podcast in October. “Eventually it’s like, holy fuck, you know. I mean it’s trying to jam a rocket up your ass and have it explode. It’s next level. Beyond fucking belief,” he continues, chuckling and even raising his arms above his head at the mere thought.

    The best roast jokes tend to be smart, reflect a familiarity with the person being roasted, and contain just the right amount of mean. It’s not a task one would think a large language model would be great at. But, with Thanksgiving and holiday season on the horizon, I figured why not test Musk’s claim that Grok can deliver a foul-mouthed razz with the best of them? I gave it a test spin at the office by turning Grok loose on my colleagues. (I do not recommend anyone else do this at work.)

    Three of my coworkers and I set up shop in my boss’s office so I could privately undertake the embarrassing task of telling Grok to roast all of us one by one. I used Musk’s exact instructions, “forbidden words” and all.

    Admittedly, we all burst out laughing when Grok told me my bangs looked like “pubic hair.” But it got tedious fast, with all four of us getting variations of the same sophomoric disses including: looking like a lumberjack’s “discard pile” or “crusty asshole” depending on the amount of vulgarity I encouraged; looking like a “goddamn librarian”; looking like a “thrift store tragedy”; wearing glasses from a “hipster’s landfill.” Eventually, these common themes culminated in one of us being described as a “tweed-wearing hipster who fucked up a lumberjack audition.” Grok advised the roastee to sit up straight “before those jeans rip open and expose your sad, corduroy-loving ass.”

    For all the talk of being “unhinged”—keep in mind this is a chatbot that knows how to take things off the rails; it once referred to itself as “MechaHitler”—these results are downright boring. In fact, when I started a draft of this story, my autocorrect changed the Google Doc name from “Grok roast” to “Grim roast.” I didn’t bother correcting it.

    [ad_2]

    Manisha Krishnan

    Source link

  • Tesla design flaws caused fiery crash that killed woman, severely injured husband, lawsuit alleges

    [ad_1]

    Design flaws caused a Tesla Model 3 to suddenly accelerate out of control before it crashed into a utility pole and burst into flames, killing a woman and severely injuring her husband, a lawsuit filed in federal court alleges.

    Another defect, with the door handle design, thwarted bystanders who were trying to rescue the driver, Jeff Dennis, and his wife, Wendy, from the car, according to the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

    Wendy Dennis died in the Jan. 7, 2023, crash in Tacoma, Washington. Jeff Dennis suffered severe leg burns and other injuries, according to the lawsuit.

    Messages left Monday with plaintiffs’ attorneys and Tesla were not immediately returned.

    The lawsuit seeks punitive damages in California since the Dennis’ 2018 Model 3 was designed and manufactured there. Tesla also had its headquarters in California at the time before later moving to Texas.

    Among other financial claims, the lawsuit seeks wrongful death damages for both Jeff Dennis and his late wife’s estate. It asks for a jury trial.

    Tesla doors have been at the center of several crash cases because the battery powering the unlocking mechanism shuts off in case of a crash, and the manual releases that override that system are known for being difficult to find.

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in September it was looking into reports that faulty electronic door handles on 2021 Tesla Model Y SUVs prevented owners from entering and exiting the vehicles, according to filing on the regulator’s website. In several cases, parents describe situations in which they were unable to access children inside the car. 

    Last month, the parents of two California college students killed in a Tesla crash sued the carmaker, saying the students were trapped in the vehicle as it burst into flames because of a design flaw that prevented them from opening the doors. In September, federal regulators opened an investigation into complaints by Tesla drivers of problems with stuck doors.

    Jeff and Wendy Dennis were running errands when the Tesla suddenly accelerated for at least five seconds. Jeff Dennis swerved to miss other vehicles before the car hit the utility pole and burst into flames, the lawsuit says.

    The automatic emergency braking system did not engage before hitting the pole, the lawsuit alleges, even though it is designed to apply the brakes when a frontal collision is considered unavoidable.

    Bystanders couldn’t open the doors because the handles do not work from the outside because they also rely on battery power to operate.. The doors also couldn’t be opened from inside because the battery had shut off because of the fire, and a manual override button is hard to find and use, the lawsuit alleges.

    The heat from the fire prevented bystanders from getting close enough to try to break out the windows.

    Defective battery chemistry and battery pack design unnecessarily increased the risk of a catastrophic fire after the impact with the pole, the lawsuit alleges. 

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • D4vd Case: Internet Sleuths Zero In on “Second Suspect”

    [ad_1]

    A wave of internet sleuths believe they’ve uncovered who moved the Tesla where Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s body was found; plus TMZ unearths disturbing information about her corpse

    On the November 22nd episode of the “2 Angry Men” podcast, Harvey Levin and Mark Geragos indicated that LAPD may have their sights set on a “second suspect” in connection with the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, found in the frunk of singer D4vd’s Tesla on September 8, 2025. The second person may not be directly connected to the actual homicide of Rivas Hernandez (Levin claims that although the M.E.’s office hasn’t officially classified the case as a homicide, his LAPD sources confirmed it has been investigated as one thus far); however, previous reports from October indicate that a person was identified moving D4vd’s Tesla without the singer present. Los Angeles PI Steve Fischer, who was hired by the Hollywood Hills homeowner where D4vd previously resided, told host Jesse Weber on Law & Crime that he had neighbors’ surveillance footage showing the Tesla being moved. More specifically, Fischer stated “he believes he knows who drove the car to the final parking spot.” He confirmed that this information was relayed to the LAPD.

    In the comments section of the podcast, multiple online sleuths surmise that the second person is a close friend of D4vd (real name David Anthony Burke), known as “Neo the Asian.” Click here to review the comments in their entirety for many more questions surrounding Neo.

    Credit: YouTube/TMZ
    Credit: YouTube/TMZ

    Both D4vd and Neo no longer follow each other on Instagram, and Neo appears to have reportedly wiped any trace of D4vd from his Instagram account. D4vd, however, has a July 30th, 2025, Instagram post with photos of himself and Neo at his Hollywood Hills home, with the caption, “TOUR STARTS TODAY BABY I’M GETTING NAKED ON STAGE.”

    While D4vd’s “Withered Tour” did officially begin on July 30th, sleuths have speculated that the photos were taken the day prior on July 29th. Fischer told Weber on Law & Crime that the Tesla was last moved in “late July,” and not by D4vd, leading many to guess that it was Neo based on prior knowledge of their friendship and the fact that he was at the singer’s home in late July. Fischer also stated that he did not see anyone coming or going from the Hollywood Hills home via surveillance footage after the Tesla was moved. Neo did not respond when Los Angeles reached out for a comment. Threads on Reddit have also made claims that Neo was a possible personal assistant for D4vd, and is currently out of the country.

    Additionally, according to a TMZ exclusive on November 22nd, sources connected to the investigation say the body of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez was discovered in a partially frozen (it had been thawing), dismembered state inside the front trunk of a Tesla registered to D4vd. Pieces of the torso and limbs reportedly showed the victim had been frozen for a period before being left in the car, with her head detached as well. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office may be unable to determine an official cause or manner of death, with a permanent listing as “undetermined” because the body was in such bad shape.

    Scroll to continue reading

    This past week, TMZ’s Harvey Levin revealed new and unsettling details, claiming an LAPD source confirmed that investigators have “tracking information” placing Burke in a remote area of Santa Barbara County in the middle of the night during spring 2025-an unexplained trip now under a microscope for a possible connection to the teen’s disappearance and the later discovery of her remains. Some are speculating that Rivas Hernandez may have died around that time, and that the trip could be a critical piece of the timeline. Levin added that his source said something along the lines of “logic doesn’t exist when it comes to this case.”

    Rivas Hernandez, a 14-year-old from Lake Elsinore reported missing on April 5, 2024, was last seen in photos in early 2025, according to private investigator Steve Fischer. Her decomposed remains were located on September 8, 2025, inside the front trunk of a Tesla registered to Burke after the vehicle sat abandoned on a Hollywood street for weeks, collecting parking tickets before being towed. Early reports suggested the body was “wrapped in plastic” and possibly dismembered, though the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has deferred both cause and manner of death pending toxicology, which could point to overdose, foul play, or something in between. LAPD has released very little information, and the case remains active and developing. D4vd previously cancelled his tour, his “Withered” album release, moved out of his Hollywood Hills home, hired celebrity attorney Blair Berk, transferred his Houston TX homes to his mother, and has not made any public statement since the discovery of Rivas Hernandez’ body.

    [ad_2]

    Lauren Conlin

    Source link

  • Tesla Cybercab Crisis: Elon Musk Announces AI5 Chip Delays

    [ad_1]

    The entire foundation of Elon Musk’s technological empire rests on a tiny chip named AI5, which is set to power Tesla’s Full Self Driving mode, Optimus robots, and data centers. Musk has been talking about the chip for more than a year now, but now the timeline to commercial scale has slipped…significantly.

    Musk first announced that Tesla had “completed design” on the AI5 chip—originally called the Hardware 5 chip—last year at a June 2024 Tesla shareholder meeting, noting that “AI 5, will be in Optimus and in all cars in about 18 months.”

    Well, it’s been almost 18 months. Where’s the chip?

    Still in design review apparently.

    Musk posted on X on November 15 that, “Just wrapped up the AI5 Saturday chip design review a few hours ago. We’re starting to do some work on AI6 too,” adding, “Btw, AI5 will not be available in sufficient volume to switch over Tesla production lines until mid 2027, as we need several hundred thousand completed AI5 boards line side.”

    Mid-2027?

    What the Delay Means for Tesla—and Musk’s Other Companies

    Morningstar notes that, “All of Tesla Inc. depends on making a tiny silicon chip that will power everything from driverless technology to robots.”

    The delay means that major upcoming products, like the Cybercab, the highly anticipated robotaxi planned for 2026, will debut using the current AI4 hardware instead of the new AI5 chip.

    This means Tesla’s flagship autonomous taxi will essentially operate with the same computing brain as a Model 3. As a result, it will almost certainly require a steering wheel, remote human oversight, operational limits similar to competitor Waymo.

    It also means that the Cybercab will likely be confined to tightly geofenced areas until upgraded hardware becomes available.

    And that’s if 2027 is a realistic new deadline. A move from mid 2025 to mid 2027, in Elon-speak, often implies a much longer horizon.

    Musk floated the idea of building a chip production facility to scale production at a November 6 shareholder meeting: “Even when we extrapolate the best-case scenario for chip production from our suppliers, it’s still not enough,” Musk said at the Nov. 6 annual meeting. “I think we’re probably going to have to build a gigantic chip fab.” But Morningstar notes that it can take 5-7 years to build such a facility.

    What does this mean for Tesla’s future?

    Tesla’s valuation which rests heavily on technology rather than automotive fundamentals. That means the company’s perceived technological lead is in many ways more important to its valuation than its actual technological lead.

    You only need to look at Tesla’s 274 price to earnings ratio versus Toyota’s 8.5 to infer that investors tend to treat Tesla as a technology company rather than an automotive company.

    Elon Musk reinforces that perception every chance he gets. When earnings disappoint, he pivots the conversation to autonomy, chips, data centers, and robots with unlimited market potential.

    So what happens next?

    Will competitors use this window to showcase taxis and robots that appear similarly capable? What will this mean for Tesla’s perceived technological lead?

    It is difficult to predict… because Musk remains one of the most persuasive storytellers and futurists in business. But this small announcement about a small chip could have unusually large consequences.

    Tesla’s stock has always been the company’s fuel. It let Musk finance every ambitious project because the market values Tesla on what it might become, not what it is now. As long as he nudges timelines forward without breaking the spell, belief stays intact and Tesla floats above the entire auto industry in value.

    This time the promise is different. You can delay autonomy and robots. You cannot delay the physics of making chips. Semiconductor production is visible to the entire supply chain. TSMC, Samsung, ASML, everyone can see exactly what Tesla is or is not building. There is no way to fake progress here.

    Musk knows this, which is why he wants Tesla to become a chip maker. But that path takes years and follows a pace set by the entire global semiconductor ecosystem, not by narrative or ambition.

    So the question is simple. How long before Tesla’s market cap, the engine of every dream so far, starts to wobble. This time the future comes with a timestamp. And the world can read it.

    The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

    The final deadline for the 2026 Inc. Regionals Awards is Friday, December 12, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply now.

    [ad_2]

    Dave Sokolin

    Source link

  • Rivian CEO’s $4.6B Pay Plan Mirrors Elon Musk’s—But Tesla’s Playbook Is Hard to Repeat

    [ad_1]

    RJ Scaringe’s award plan echoes Tesla’s model but arrives amid layoffs, missed earnings and a tougher EV climate. PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

    Earlier this month, electric carmaker Rivian unveiled a $4.6 billion compensation plan for its founder and CEO, RJ Scaringe—a package that has drawn comparisons to Tesla’s $1 trillion deal for Elon Musk. Like Musk’s award, Rivian’s plan hinges on a series of highly ambitious performance targets over the next decade, including lifting Rivian’s stock price to $140 (it currently trades around $15). In a softening EV market, and without the financial momentum or investor fervor that once buoyed Tesla, those targets appear particularly steep.

    In an SEC filing, Rivian’s board said the package is designed to retain Scaringe as the company enters a “critical next phase” and prepares to launch production of its new electric SUV, the R2. The compensation plan doubles his annual base salary from $1 million to $2 million and gives him the right to buy up to 22 million shares across 11 tranches if Rivian’s stock hits specific price milestones. Scaringe can acquire an additional 14.5 million shares if Rivian meets profit and cash-flow targets before 2032. He can exercise his first tranche at $40 per share. Scaringe currently owns about 1 percent of Rivian. If the plan vests fully, he could add roughly 3 percent more.

    Unlike Musk’s plan, Scaringe’s award does not require a shareholder vote, because it was issued under an already approved 2021 incentive program. Rivian’s board ultimately deemed the original performance goals as unrealistic, including a target that envisioned the stock hitting $295.

    The Tesla story is hard to replicate

    Much of Scaringe’s windfall hinges on the success of the new $45,000 R2 SUV and the smaller R3, which is expected to be priced in the mid-$30,000 range and has already generated significant consumer interest.

    Rivian faces a very different landscape than Tesla did during its early ascent. Tesla benefited from low interest rates, abundant capital, and an early-adopter boom in EV enthusiasm. Musk also rode a wave of unique tailwinds—from meme-stock mania to rapid early profitability and a cult-like following—that helped him meet some of the lofty targets in his famously controversial 2018 pay package.

    And a successful EV business is far from enough. Since reaching profitability in 2019, Tesla’s high stock price has been increasingly buoyed by optimism on its non-vehicle products, such as software and robotics.

    Rivian’s non-EV prospect is less clear and appears to be reliant on external partnerships. Earlier this year, the company formed a joint venture with Volkswagen Group to develop a scalable “software-defined vehicle” architecture, with winter testing of a reference vehicle planned for early 2026. This technology underpins the upcoming R2 and R3 lines, which Rivian hopes will move the company into more affordable, higher-volume segments.

    But Rivian’s financial picture remains strained. The company recently missed Wall Street earnings expectations, laid off 4.5 percent of its workforce in October, settled a $250 million lawsuit over R1 price hikes, and restructured top leadership. Although Scaringe is well-liked by Rivian owners, he lacks the cult-of-personality advantage Musk enjoys. Meanwhile, Rivian faces the same nationwide cooling in EV demand—exacerbated by cuts in EV tax credits—that is weighing on every major automaker.

    Rivian CEO’s $4.6B Pay Plan Mirrors Elon Musk’s—But Tesla’s Playbook Is Hard to Repeat

    [ad_2]

    Abigail Bassett

    Source link

  • Elon Musk Claims Money Won’t Exist in the Future (and Jensen Huang Would Like a Heads Up)

    [ad_1]

    Elon Musk made some wild claims at the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, insisting that his Optimus robot would fix poverty, people wouldn’t have to work in the future, and money would eventually become irrelevant. Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, was also on stage and joked that he’d like Musk to give him a heads up just before currency no longer becomes a thing.

    “AI and humanoid robots will actually eliminate poverty,” Musk claimed on Wednesday. “And Tesla won’t be the only one that makes them. I think Tesla will pioneer this, but there will be many other companies that make humanoid robots. But there is only basically one way to make everyone wealthy, and that is AI and robotics.”

    The Tesla CEO has frequently insisted in recent months that his robots will deliver a kind of post-scarcity future where nobody has to work. The billionaire said it explicitly on Wednesday when asked about what he thinks the future holds for those who are concerned about AI and robots replacing jobs.

    “My prediction is that work will be optional,” Musk said, noting that he was talking about 10-20 years from now.

    The billionaire went on to take his now-common prediction even further, claiming that in such a world where robots are doing all the labor, money won’t exist anymore.

    “I’d always recommend people read Iain Banks’ Culture books to get a sense for what a probable positive AI future is like. And interestingly, in those books, money is no longer… doesn’t exist. It’s kind of interesting,” Musk said.

    “My guess is, if you go out long enough, assuming there’s a continued improvement in AI and robotics, which seems likely, the money will stop being relevant at some point in the future,” Musk continued.

    The moderator of the discussion asked, “Jensen, any thoughts?” as the crowd laughed. “By the way, the Nvidia earnings call is later today,” Musk said, joining the laughter.

    Huang shifted uncomfortably in his seat and laughed to himself with a kind of bewildered look. “And by the way, since currency is irrelevant…” Huang joked, trailing off. “Elon just wants to share with you breaking news.”

    After a good laugh, Huang got serious again and sort of hedged on what Musk was saying. Huang has previously taken the opposite view of the crowd that insists there won’t be any work in the future. Back in August, Huang said that AI and automation will actually make everyone busier. Huang acknowledged that things would be different, including things like how students learn and how people do their work. But he stuck to his guns in predicting that people will actually just be busier because they can accomplish more of their goals.

    “It is my guess that Elon will be busier as a result of AI. I’m gonna be busier as a result of AI,” said Huang. “And the reason for that is because we have so many ideas we wanna pursue, so many things that we still have in our backlog inside our company that we can go pursue. If we were more productive, we can get to those things faster, and so in the near term, I would say that there’s every evidence that we will be more productive and yet still be busier because we have so many ideas.”

    Huang then joked that since he texts with Musk often, he hopes the Tesla CEO will give him a heads up before currency is no longer relevant. Musk said, “You’ll see it coming.”

    Musk is constantly talking about how the robots he’s developing at Tesla, known as Optimus, are the key to eliminating poverty. But, as we’ve written before, this is probably his most ridiculous lie. Improving efficiency doesn’t redistribute wealth. Musk never addresses who will be paying Americans to just sit around and do nothing while billions of robots actually perform the labor. Is it the government? Because that would require a massive change in political and economic structures.

    And why should we believe Musk, of all people, wants to pay people for sitting around? This is the man who stormed into the federal government earlier this year with his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and decided that too many people were taking advantage of government benefits. He’s also the guy who has called the word homeless a “propaganda word” for “violent drug addicts.”

    Musk frequently tries to suggest that people experiencing homelessness don’t have jobs, even though somewhere between 40 and 60% of people who don’t have housing are employed, according to government estimates. He does not give a fuck about poverty. He cares about making more money and is on track to become the world’s first trillionaire. And he never talks about the mechanism by which his utopian idea for a leisure society would actually work.

    The ideas Musk promotes were extremely common in 20th-century futurism. And it’s clear that’s where he’s drawing his inspiration, even citing Iain Banks and his utopian Culture series of books on Wednesday. But none of it makes sense unless you establish some kind of radical socialist or communist entity at the heart of this vision to distribute the necessities to live.

    Musk wants to sell you his robots, and that makes sense in our current economic system. But after he sells you a robot, it doesn’t follow that the person who owns that robot would no longer have to work. It’s a bit like imagining that all of the appliances in your home right now are somehow paying for themselves. They’re not. They may improve your life, but they don’t institute a political or economic system whereby people no longer have to work. If all wealth is derived from robots in this imaginary system Musk creates, he would have to be the one redistributing his wealth to pay for everyone else not working.

    The end of the discussion with Musk and Huang was a good reminder of where we’re actually situated here in 2025. The Saudi moderator said “my boss and your bosses is going to talk next,” referring to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and President Donald Trump. The two tech executives didn’t vocally object to Donald Trump being called their “boss.” But it stripped away the fantasy Musk seemed to be engaged in about robotics and AI delivering utopia anytime soon.

    Trump and MBS have no plans to let people sit around and get paid for doing nothing. And they’re building a future where that could never conceivably happen.

    [ad_2]

    Matt Novak

    Source link

  • Tesla wins bid to decertify class action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination

    [ad_1]

    Tesla has secured a ruling to strip a claiming a racist work environment of its class-action status, as reported by . California Superior Court Judge Peter Borkon, appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021, ruled that the lawsuit could not proceed with class-action status because the plaintiffs’ attorneys had failed to find 200 class members willing to testify. The judge said he could not assume that the experiences of a select group of workers could be applied to the entire class of would-be plaintiffs.

    The 2017 lawsuit began with a single employee who filed suit alleging Tesla’s Fremont production floor was a “hotbed for racist behavior,” and that over 100 employees had experienced racial harassment.

    In 2024, a lower court judge ruled the case could move forward as a class action, a decision that Tesla had been appealing since. A trial in the case was scheduled to begin in April, though now that the case has lost its class-action status, each plaintiff would have to bring their case against Tesla separately.

    This is not the first time that Tesla has found itself in court over alleged racial misconduct. In 2023, the automaker by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over allegations that Black employees were subjected to racial slurs and retaliation.

    Last year, Tesla with a single employee who said he faced discrimination at the same California plant, reporting that his coworkers left drawings of swastikas and racist figures on his workspace.

    [ad_2]

    Andre Revilla

    Source link

  • TechCrunch Mobility: The robotaxi expansion that really matters | TechCrunch

    [ad_1]

    Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility!

    It seems like a day doesn’t go by without Waymo making some kind of expansion announcement. Detroit, Las Vegas, Nashville, San Diego, and Washington, D.C., are just a few of the cities the company plans to bring its robotaxi to in the coming months. But as I have argued in this newsletter before, there is another “expansion” I think is more important. 

    Freeways. 

    And now after years of testing and development, the company’s commercial robotaxi service is using freeways around the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. 

    This is a critical expansion for the company. It’s the concrete and asphalt connective tissue in sprawling metro areas like the Bay Area. This new freeway access is fueling Waymo’s expansion in that region, which is now 260 square miles and encompasses Silicon Valley and San Francisco. 

    Robotaxi rides can have more efficient routes too. Waymo told me it will reduce ride times by up to 50%. 

    And using freeways is also essential for Waymo to offer rides to and from the San Francisco Airport, a location the company is currently testing in. 

    Techcrunch event

    San Francisco
    |
    October 13-15, 2026

    That freeway-to-airport moment will be the big unlock for Waymo. But will it be enough to help push it in the black? Until someone over there slides me their balance sheet, I can’t say. It will certainly be a popular option for travelers. That doesn’t mean the economics will pencil out. 

    Read on for more news, including Einride’s SPAC bid, deals for Harbinger and Teradar, as well as how Via fared in its first earnings and a looming shutdown for Rad Power Bikes. Plus! Scroll down to get the results of the Tesla poll. 

    A little bird

    Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

    It’s been nearly nine months since Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson abruptly resigned, leaving the company without a permanent replacement. That may be about to change, though.

    A few little birds told us Lucid Motors has zeroed in on a candidate for the top role. It’s expected to be someone outside the organization, which is perhaps no surprise; in August, we shared here that the company and the executive hiring firm it’s using had cast a very wide net and was even cold-calling some candidates. This would likely mean that Marc Winterhoff, who’s been serving as interim CEO, would slide back to the COO role he occupied before Rawlinson left.

    Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com. 

    Deals!

    money the station
    Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

    Another SPAC has entered the AV world! Mergers with special acquisition companies may not be officially “back,” but they are certainly popular among autonomous vehicle companies. 

    Einride, the Swedish electric and autonomous truck startup, plans to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, just six weeks after it raised $100 million from investors. The SPAC merger with Legato Merger Corp. values Einride at $1.8 billion in pre-money equity.

    Einride does generate revenue, which may sound obvious but there have been plenty of pre-revenue transportation companies that have SPAC’d in recent years. 

    For now, its primary source of revenue is coming from its software-as-a-service product and a fleet of 200 heavy-duty electric trucks used by companies like Heineken and PepsiCo. Its unusual-looking autonomous podlike trucks are still in pilot mode. 

    The merger is expected to close in the first half of 2026, with Einride making its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

    Other deals that got my attention this week …

    Forterra, a company developing autonomous tech for defense, raised $238 million in equity and debt funding. Moore Strategic Ventures led the equity piece of the funding, while Crescent Cove provided the debt financing. 

    Gopuff, the rapid-delivery startup, raised $250 million in a round led by Eldridge Industries and Valor Equity Partners. Baillie Gifford, Robinhood, Equalis Capital, George Ruan, Yakir Gabay, and Gopuff’s co-founders. The funding put its valuation at $8.5 billion, according to Bloomberg, a significant markdown from its last raise in 2021. 

    Harbinger, the Los Angeles-based electric truck startup, raised $160 million in a Series C funding round co-led by FedEx. As part of the investment, FedEx ordered 53 of Harbinger’s electric truck chassis.

    Octopus Electric Vehicles, a U.K.-based electric vehicle-leasing business, has struck a deal with lenders, including Lloyds Banking Group, Morgan Stanley, and Credit Agricole, to take its total funding line to £2 billion ($2.6 billion), Sky News reported.

    Teradar, a Boston-based startup developing a solid-state sensor, raised $150 million in a Series B funding round from investors Capricorn Investment Group, Lockheed Martin’s venture arm, mobility-focused firm Ibex Investors, and VXI Capital, a new defense-focused fund led by the former CTO of the U.S. military’s Defense Innovation Unit.

    Upway, an e-bike refurbishment startup, raised $60 million in a Series C funding round led by A.P. Moller. Galvanize, Ora Global, and Sequoia Capital also participated. The company has raised more than $125 million since its founding in 2021.

    Vay, a German startup that remotely pilots rental cars to customers, announced a $60 million investment from Singaporean tech heavyweight Grab. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval and expected to close by the end of the year, may be followed by “an additional $350M as joint milestones are achieved within the first year.”

    Notable reads and other tidbits

    Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

    Ford is expanding the availability of its BlueCruise hands-free highway driving technology in Europe. The automaker will make the system available in several vehicles, including the Puma, Puma Gen-E, Kuga, and Ranger PHEV 5 models starting in spring 2026.

    Joby Aviation conducted the first flight of its turbine electric, autonomous VTOL aircraft. This demonstrator shouldn’t be confused with its all-electric air taxi, although it was built off that platform. This aircraft has a hybrid turbine powertrain and is designed for defense applications.

    Lyft has partnered with Curb, a ride-hailing platform for licensed taxis. Under the deal, Lyft riders will be connected with Curb’s network of drivers through an integration with the Curb Flow platform, which is already in Los Angeles. Other cities will soon follow. 

    Rad Power Bikes, one of the more popular e-bike companies, may not be long for this world. The company has informed its employees that it will shut down in January if it is unable to find new funding or get acquired, according to an internal staff email viewed by TechCrunch.

    Tesla might bring Apple CarPlay to its EVs. But at this point, should it? Meanwhile, the company’s energy storage division is dealing with an expanded recall of its consumer-based Powerwall 2 product after reports of fires.

    The Boring Company, an Elon Musk company, is under scrutiny again. This time because of reports that firefighters performing a safety drill at one of The Boring Company’s construction sites in Las Vegas received burns from chemicals used in the tunnel-excavation process. And the controversy doesn’t stop there. 

    Toyota started production at a new $13.9 billion battery plant in North Carolina. While Toyota has several facilities in the U.S., this is its first battery plant to be built outside of Japan. And it’s not done investing in the U.S. The company said it plans to invest up to $10 billion more than previously expected over the next five years.

    Uber has quietly begun piloting in-app video recording for its drivers in India. The ride-hailing company is also seeking more premium customers through new efforts like Uber Ski, which lets riders schedule a vehicle in advance to nearly 40 popular ski destinations in North America and Europe, including Vail in Colorado and Park City in Utah.

    Via had its first earnings since it became a publicly traded company, and, welp, it lost money. The tech transit software company reported a loss of $36.9 million in its third quarter, a 73% increase since the same period last year. Its revenue grew to $713 million, an 11% increase YoY.

    One more thing …

    Remember the poll in last week’s newsletter? I asked which product goal is Tesla most likely to achieve by 2035? The options are based on real goals laid out in Musk’s $1 trillion compensation package:

    • 20 million Tesla vehicles delivered
    • 10 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions
    • 1 million robots delivered
    • 1 million robotaxis in commercial operation
    • None of these will be reached

    And y’all are split between two options: Tesla delivering 20 million vehicles, which received 34.7% of the vote, and “None of these will be reached,” which received 32% of the vote. 

    The one item you seem to agree on is that Tesla is unlikely to deliver on the other three goals. About 9.5% of readers picked the 1 million robots option, 12.6% chose 10 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions, and 10.5% picked 1 million robotaxis in commercial operation within 10 years.

    Note: If you want to participate in our polls, sign up for the Mobility newsletter here!

    [ad_2]

    Kirsten Korosec

    Source link

  • Cash App’s Moneybot might know your spending habits better than you do

    [ad_1]

    NEW YORK (AP) — Imagine if your bank could move money for you with only the slightest of digital nods for your approval. Or that could tell you that you’re overspending but more importantly know how to address that overspending and put you on better financial footing.

    That’s what you’ll get with Moneybot, a new financial services chatbot shown off this week by Cash App that will be slowly introduced into its banking app this winter. Unlike existing bank chatbots, which can handle routine tasks like changing an address, Moneybot can take advanced actions for a customer like creating a savings plan, buying or selling stock, or even evaluating a customer’s spending habits.

    Moneybot is part of the next generation of chatbots using what the tech industry calls “agentic” AI, which turns tools like ChatGPT into an “AI agent” that can take action online on a person’s behalf. That means, instead of just writing text, answering questions or recommending products found online, an “agentic” chatbot could also buy a product.

    Amazon now has Rufus to go with Alexa, which both either provide information on products or can buy things on customers’ behalf. Walmart is rolling out “Chat & Buy” and Microsoft has Copilot Shopping.

    Agentic AI, for being so new, is already causing some controversy. Amazon is suing an AI chatbot company, Perplexity, for alleged computer fraud over AI shopping agents that Amazon says are disguising themselves as human buyers to access customer accounts without Amazon’s permission. Perplexity has denied the claims.

    Traditional banks have had chatbots for a while, notably Bank of America’s “Erica” or “Ask Amex” from American Express, but have hesitated to roll out agentic AI. They worry about possible liability if a chatbot buys a product by mistake for a customer or is maliciously used to buy things it is not supposed to.

    “Our top priority is to keep our customers’ and clients’ data safe above all else,” said Mark Birkhead, chief data officer at JPMorgan Chase, in an interview with the consulting firm McKinsey back in June on the issue of why the bank hasn’t rolled out agentic AI yet to customers.

    Cash App on the other hand is diving in head first.

    One notable feature of Moneybot is its prompts and suggestions. When Moneybot launches, it does an analysis of the the customer’s transactions and spending and gives them independent recommendations on actions they could take. Unlike other bank chatbots, which take you to other parts of a banks’ website, Moneybot’s transactions and analysis happen inside a single screen. Cash App’s executives see Moneybot becoming the primary way people interact with CashApp in the future.

    Want to know your biggest spending categories instantly and how to cut your spending? Moneybot gives several suggestions in a matter of seconds, showing you the merchants you spent with. Need to save $1,000 toward a vacation in six months? Moneybot creates an automated savings plan for you with only a couple of prompts.

    Want to put money into the stock market? It takes only a request and confirmation in Moneybot, which will buy Tesla stock for you or even bitcoin. Moneybot will remind you, however, that it does not give investing advice.

    Moneybot may even anticipate why the customer is opening up the app in the first place.

    “We have such a deep understanding of who you are that it’s almost a failure if we have to rely on customers to ask right questions,” said Owen Jennings, executive officer and business lead at Block, in an interview.

    Company officials pointed out that, despite having these agent abilities, Moneybot will still need active confirmation from the user to do its money-moving tasks. But that confirmation is often just a simple push of a button or a “yes” in a chat box.

    Cash App executives say Moneybot uses three different AI models, choosing the most appropriate one for the customer’s question. Some are easier to recognize, including the eager-to-please tone that often comes with ChatGPT 5.

    A Cash App employee demo’ing Moneybot, much to his chagrin, showed that he spent heavily at Nordstrom last month. Moneybot kindly suggested he might want to cut back on his clothing purchases if he needs to save money.

    There are things Moneybot cannot do because of the legal and privacy questions that have yet to be answered. Moneybot won’t offer you a loan but feels like it could do so if the toggle were ever turned on.

    Because of the way the prompts are written, Cash App employees acknowledged there could be privacy and legal implications with what Moneybot suggests if appropriate guardrails are not put into place.

    Policymakers have raised concerns about how these chatbots could steer customers into one product or another, even if one product may not be in the best interest for the customer. For instance, what’s to stop a future version of Moneybot from favoring a buy now, pay later loan from AfterPay — also owned by Cash App’s parent company Block — for purchases instead of Affirm or Klarna?

    “If firms cannot manage using a new technology in a lawful way, then they should not use the technology,” said Rohit Chopra in 2024, when he was director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Chopra spent much of his tenure at the bureau raising concerns about the adoption of AI in financial services.

    In the meantime, asking for a loan inside Moneybot will transfer a customer to a human agent.

    Not surprisingly, Moneybot has the usual disclosure found at the bottom of most chatbots these days: Artificial intelligence can make mistakes. Somehow, that feels a bit more important in banking than an AI chatbot accidentally providing the wrong amount of cumin in a fajita recipe or buying the wrong size of shirt.

    __

    An earlier version of this story misspelled Moneybot.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Billie Eilish Calls Elon Musk A ‘F**king Pathetic P***y Bitch Coward’! See Why! – Perez Hilton

    [ad_1]

    Billie Eilish does not give a F**K!

    Just weeks after the Birds of a Feather songstress took to the stage of the WSJ Innovator Awards, she’s calling out the world’s richest people again — this time going right to the top and targeting Elon Musk in particular!

    In case you didn’t hear, late last month the 23-year-old was accepting her Music Innovator Award, where it was announced she was donating $11 million of her own money to charity. In her speech, she took a moment to slam the ULTRA rich, calling them to be more charitable with their wealth:

    “… Love you all, but there are a few people in here who have a lot more money than me. If you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? No hate, but give your money away, shorties.”

    Of course, names like Taylor Swift (because of other whispers of beef) arose. And Mark Zuckerberg because he was in the actual room! But now she’s naming names, and clearly Elon is at the front of her mind on this. In her Instagram Stories on Thursday, the Ocean Eyes singer reposted a post saying what Elon “could do with” his TRILLIONAIRE status. Yes, you read that right — the man is the first in history to reached trillionaire status with his latest Tesla deal… Wild.

    Related: Elon Getting DESTROYED On Twitter By Author Joyce Carol Oates!

    The post shared some things he could be donating towards and helping with his mega trillions instead of keeping the cash for profit, including ending world hunger, saving endangered animal species, and rebuilding Gaza amid the attacks from Israel.

    See for yourself (below):

    (c) Billie Eilish/Instagram
    billie eilish elon musk instagram stories
    (c) Billie Eilish/Instagram
    billie eilish elon musk instagram stories
    (c) Billie Eilish/Instagram
    billie eilish elon musk instagram stories
    (c) Billie Eilish/Instagram

    Billie’s final Stories post is what REALLY showed her thoughts on the Tesla founder, though. She wrote her own big finale:

    “etc…. f**king pathetic p***y bitch coward”

    billie eilish elon musk instagram stories
    (c) Billie Eilish/Instagram

    DAMN!!

    She’s not afraid to stand up for what she believes in, that’s for sure! Even if it means making an enemy of the richest man alive!

    Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments (below).

    [Image via MEGA/WENN]

    [ad_2]

    Perez Hilton

    Source link

  • Tesla Recalls Powerwall 2 Units After Fires and Property Damage

    [ad_1]

    Tesla has recalled over 10,000 Powerwall 2 units in the U.S. because the lithium-ion battery cells in some of them can stop functioning, causing them to overheat, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

    The federal safety agency has received 22 reports of overheating units and six reports of smoking units. There have also been five reports of fires that have caused “minor property damage.”

    “Consumers should ensure their Powerwall 2 system is online and check the Tesla App for a notification about whether their unit is included in the recall,” the CPSC said in a recall notice posted online. “Tesla has remotely discharged (or removed energy from the battery of) affected Powerwall 2 systems that are online to prevent overheating until the replacement is installed.”

    The units were installed by certified Tesla installers across the country from November 2020 to December 2022 and retailed for about $8,000, according to the CPSC.

    On its website, Tesla says the recall only impacts a “subset” of the Powerwall 2 units currently installed in homes around the U.S. “due to a third-party battery cell defect.” The company also says the recall doesn’t affect Powerwall 3 customers at all.

    As the Verge notes, the Powerwall 2 recall actually started in Australia in September, when the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued a very similar notice to the one issued in the U.S. on Thursday. Customers in the U.S. with Powerwall 2 units impacted by the recall will be notified in the Tesla app. The units will be removed and replaced at no cost, according to the company.

    Tesla explains that solar generation with the Powerwall will still work, but backup power is temporary unavailable until a replacement unit is installed. The company says the first person customers should contact is their certified installer to get a replacement. But if the installer is unavailable customers can contact Tesla directly through email at [email protected] or by phone at 1-877-961-7652.

    The Powerwall was first launched in 2015 as a way to increase the capacity for a house with solar panels, and for use during power outages. The Powerwall 2 went into production in 2017, and the Powerwall 3 was released in late 2023.

    Tesla announced in September that it had sold 1 million Powerwall units worldwide and “in early 2025, Gigafactory Nevada produced a record 1,500 Powerwalls in a single day, scaling production to make clean energy accessible to more households worldwide.”

    [ad_2]

    Matt Novak

    Source link

  • Tesla is reportedly testing Apple CarPlay in its vehicles

    [ad_1]

    Tesla may finally be capitulating to the calls of iPhone users wanting what practically every other major automaker offers them, Apple CarPlay. is reporting that the EV giant is working to add Apple’s car infotainment integration to its vehicles, according to the outlet’s sources. The feature has reportedly begun internal testing and could be ready for release in the coming months. Of course, development and testing of the feature is not a guarantee that it sees the light of day.

    An about-face of this magnitude would be truly surprising given Tesla’s years of steadfast commitment to its own infotainment solution, which doesn’t require connecting a smartphone. In the past, there has been a somewhat frosty relationship between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the iPhone maker. Musk once said that he offered to when the Model 3 program almost bankrupted the company, but said Tim Cook refused to take the meeting. Apple had also previously key Tesla employees for its failed project.

    Tesla will reportedly be including CarPlay in a separate window within its existing software interface, ensuring it won’t be fully replacing the existing Tesla system. Bloomberg also reported that Tesla would be using the standard version of CarPlay, as opposed to the newer that integrates with the vehicle’s instrument cluster.

    This would be an interesting time to jump on the bandwagon as Apple CarPlay may be just past its peak. GM recently announced it would be phasing out support for both CarPlay and Android Auto in favor of a system , which seems to go directly against the of the platform. Ford’s CEO recently in Apple’s latest beefed up version of the tool. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment on the report, and at the time of publication Elon Musk has not commented either.

    [ad_2]

    Andre Revilla

    Source link

  • Why Are We All Still Carrying Around Car Keys?

    [ad_1]

    My iPhone Wallet stores theater and transit tickets and all of my credit and debit cards, and it lets me sashay like a boss through my gym’s turnstile. The tech works flawlessly, requiring only my proximity or the merest tilt of the device toward my face. Biometric goodness means I have few worries about security, even accessing my bank accounts.

    So … why am I still opening my EV with a key?

    OK, it’s more than just a metal key; it’s a passive electronic fob with proximity-based radio signaling, which means I don’t have to press anything to unlock my car. But it’s nevertheless a bacteria-rich, easily lost, marque-branded plastic blob that, in truth, I no longer need. And I haven’t needed it for some years.

    BMW 5 Series owners have been using smartphones to unlock, start, and digitally share access to their luxury vehicles since 2021, the year after Apple’s introduced its plainly titled Car Key. Audi, Kia, and Hyundai later implemented support for ‌the feature. During the WWDC 2025 keynote in June, Apple said that 13 additional vehicle brands would “soon” join them, including Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, and Porsche. “Soon” appears to mean 2026.

    Tesla Model 3 owners have had digital key access since 2017, when the midsize sedan launched without a fob; it could only be opened with a smartphone. Subsequently, digital-native carmakers Rivian and Polestar also enabled digital key use. (“Digital Key has been removed from the upcoming 2025.34 software update for further testing,” noted a recent update from Rivian. The company’s comms team tells WIRED it’ll be available again “soon.”)

    Owners of the latest high-end Ford vehicles can use digital keys. Still, the Dearborn, Michigan, company clearly isn’t ready to ditch fobs—in October it launched the $200 Truckle, an ornate Western-style belt buckle with a cavity to fit the oversized F-150 fob, so it need never get lost or spoil the line of your jeans.

    Courtesy of Ford

    Digital for All

    Phone-as-a-key functionality isn’t just for select luxury cars. The wire-in MoboKey device turns a smartphone into a digital key and can be fitted by an auto electrician to almost any modern car, gas or electric.

    Similarly, KeyDIY, a Chinese smart key maker, sells a USB-powered box of tricks that allows almost any car to operate with a digital key. The box grabs car connectivity signals–Flipper-Zero-style–emulating the rolling codes that key fobs use to foil signal boosting “relay” attacks where criminals use antennas and extenders to capture the signals from a car’s key fob. (Always store your fob in a Faraday cage.) KeyDIY’s box, which lives in the car, is actuated by a device connected momentarily to the vehicle’s onboard diagnostic port.

    The Key to Meaning

    In short, the picture here is that digital key tech is mature and (mostly) secure, and we’re perfectly happy using Bluetooth Low Energy, near-field communication (NFC), and ultra-wideband (UWB) in the rest of our life—unless you’re a conspiracy theorist who clings to cash, that is—so why are so many of us still seemingly so attached to our physical car fobs?

    “Most people are reluctant to go without the physical backup of an actual key,” says Sean Tucker, managing editor of automotive research company Kelley Blue Book. And, he adds, picking up a fob is now an ingrained habit. There are also emotional factors to consider.

    “A car key is full of meaning,” says Stefan Gössling, a professor at Linnaeus University, Sweden, and author of The Psychology of the Car. “Jingling them gives some motorists the opportunity to show off their automobile, even if the car is not close by. Car keys are also comforting to some, a physical reminder that your vehicle is there to take you away; to protect you.”

    [ad_2]

    Carlton Reid

    Source link

  • Elon Musk says Tesla owners can ‘text and drive’ very soon

    [ad_1]

    Elon Musk went on stage on Thursday night during Tesla’s annual shareholders meeting and made some big claims and promises. The company is “almost comfortable” letting owners with Full Self-Driving (FSD) “text and drive,” he said. At the moment, its vehicles are still strictly monitoring drivers to make sure their eyes are on the road, but Musk said that Tesla will enable unsupervised FSD that will allow texting and driving within “a month or two.”

    To note, Tesla’s FSD is currently capable of level 2 autonomous driving. Musk is promising at least a level 4 capability, in which the driver can be disengaged as the car performs all driving tasks for them, within a short span of time. While he said that Tesla will look at its safety data first, he didn’t discuss the steps it’s taking to enable texting while driving and whether it’s already discussing the legalities of it with regulators.

    Talking about the Cybercab, Musk said production of the robotaxis will begin by April next year. Since it will be specifically built with autonomy in mind, it will not have pedals, a steering wheel and even side mirrors. The Cybercab’s manufacturing process, he explained, is vastly different from typical car production and is more comparable to phone manufacturing. That’s why he thinks the company will be able to produce one unit every 10 seconds.

    Musk also talked about the flying car he teased on Joe Rogan’s show. When asked at the event, he said the demo will now take place on April 1, 2026, instead of this month or the next like he told Rogan. It remains to be seen whether we’re going to get April Fooled, but Musk claimed that production of Tesla’s flying vehicle will happen a year or so after its unveiling. As always, take Musk’s claims with a grain of salt, as he’s pretty infamous for being overly ambitious with his timelines.

    While Musk was on stage talking about Tesla’s plans, an Optimus humanoid robot was standing by the side. The CEO said Optimus is bound to become the “biggest product of all time,” bigger than cellphones, “bigger than anything.” Tesla will start with a 1-million production line and then a 10-million production line, but he said the company expects to eventually produce 100 million to a billion Optimus robots a year. He envisions a world wherein the humanoid machines will provide people with medical care… as well as a world wherein instead of being jailed, Optimus follows criminals around to stop them from committing more crimes.

    Before Musk went on stage, Tesla’s shareholders had voted to approve his pay package worth up to $1 trillion over the next 10 years. Tesla has to hit several goals for Musk to become the first trillionaire, though, including reaching a market value of $8.5 trillion from its current worth of $1.4 billion and selling a million Optimus robots.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Tesla delays reveal of production Roadster 2 to April Fools’ Day | TechCrunch

    [ad_1]

    Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Thursday the company will reveal the production version of its second-generation Roadster supercar on April 1, 2026 — nearly nine years after he first revealed the project.

    Musk, who is famous for missing deadlines, said during Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting that he chose April Fools’ Day in part because it affords “some deniability.”

    “Like, I could say I was just kidding” if it happens to be later, he said.

    Revealing the production version of the new Roadster next year is in itself a delay. Just one week ago he appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast and repeated his claim that he wanted to show off the car by year’s end.

    Musk stressed Thursday the car “will be very different from what was shown previously,” and again teased that the demo will be the “most exciting, whether it works or not, demo ever of any product” — a not-so-sly nod to the fact that he’s spent years trying to make the new Roadster fly in some fashion, possibly with SpaceX-built thrusters.

    Musk went on to say that he believes the second-generation Roadster won’t go into production until 12 to 18 months after the April reveal.

    During the Q&A portion of the meeting, one shareholder asked Musk if customers who preordered the “Founders Series” version of the new Roadsters could be invited to the reveal event. Those were the customers who plopped down $250,000 to secure special versions of the car in 2017.

    Techcrunch event

    San Francisco
    |
    October 13-15, 2026

    “Sure, absolutely,” Musk answered. “It’s the least we can do for our long-suffering Roadster reservation holders.”

    OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was one of those long-time sufferers who recently attempted to cancel the reservation — and initially failed to get a refund — for the long-promised EV.

    Earlier this month, Altman posted on X a “tale in three acts,” which was comprised of several screenshots showing his initial reservation, a request for a refund of the $50,000 reservation fee, and his email bouncing back.

    “I really was excited for the car!” Altman wrote. “And I understand delays. But 7.5 years has felt like a long time to wait.”

    Musk, who has openly sparred with Altman for years, went on the attack. “And you forgot to mention act 4, where this issue was fixed and you received a refund within 24 hours,” Musk wrote. “But that is in your nature.”

    [ad_2]

    Sean O’Kane

    Source link

  • Toyota’s Hybrid-First EV Strategy Pays Off Even as Tariffs Bite Into Profit

    [ad_1]

    Koji Sato, CEO of Toyota Group, speaks at a press briefing during the Japan Mobility Show 2025 on Oct. 29, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. Zhang Xiaoming/VCG via Getty Images

    Toyota has long been criticized for its cautious embrace of electric vehicles. But amid slowing demand, tariffs and the phase-out of tax incentives, the world’s largest automaker’s deliberate approach looks increasingly like a smart hedge.

    The Japanese automaker reported yesterday (Nov. 5) that it sold 4.78 million vehicles globally between April and September, up 12 percent from the same period last year. That included 2.27 million hybrid electric vehicles, a record high. Still, U.S. tariffs took a toll: operating income fell by $3.3 billion from a year ago to $12.5 billion for the fiscal half-year.

    Despite those geopolitical headwinds, demand for Toyota’s reliable passenger cars remains robust. CFO Kenta Kon told investors the company is struggling to keep up with demand, saying it can “barely cover the demand.” According to Kelley Blue Book, dealers typically aim to hold about 60 days of inventory on their lots. Toyota’s U.S. inventory, by contrast, is hovering around 30 days.

    Toyota has long been hesitant to fully commit to battery-electric vehicles, but the company is a leader in the hybrid vehicle space, touting its more conservative, balanced approach to electrification as the right path forward. Battery-electric vehicles are only a sliver of Toyota’s global mix (just 1.4 percent of total sales in 2024). The long-term risk, of course, is that markets like Europe and China, which are racing toward a fully electric future, could leave Toyota lagging behind. 

    The company’s best-selling model, the RAV4, will be offered only as a hybrid or plug-in hybrid beginning in 2026. Retooling factories for the new powertrains will require temporary shutdowns, potentially tightening supply even further. A slimmer dealer inventory could also push up vehicle prices for U.S. consumers in early 2026.

    Toyota’s small steps toward software-driven cars

    The next-generation RAV4 also marks another turning point: it will be Toyota’s first software-defined vehicle (SDV). While startups like Tesla and Rivian built their cars around software from the start, Toyota’s move represents a major step into that domain. The new RAV4 will feature Arene, a Woven by Toyota software platform enabling over-the-air (OTA) updates—an early signal of Toyota’s digital ambitions and a reminder of how far it still has to go.

    In typical Toyota fashion, the rollout is cautious. The 2026 RAV4 will debut features that rivals have offered for years, such as a smartphone-like cockpit interface, conversational voice commands and OTA updates. But those updates will be limited to ADAS systems and cockpit displays, not the deeper vehicle functions that Tesla, Lucid and others regularly tweak via software. The strategy underscores Toyota’s effort to catch up with competitors, especially those in China, which have already made software a core part of their vehicles.

    Toyota now finds itself straddling two eras of the auto industry: one built on mechanical excellence and another driven by software, connectivity and climate regulations. Its hybrid-first strategy has cushioned profits as global EV momentum slows and tariffs rise. But the clock is ticking. If Toyota can extend its hybrid playbook into the software-defined, electrified era it’s hinting at with the new RAV4, it may retain its crown. If not, the conservative approach that once protected it could soon become its greatest liability.

    Toyota’s Hybrid-First EV Strategy Pays Off Even as Tariffs Bite Into Profit

    [ad_2]

    Abigail Bassett

    Source link