Technology

CNBC reports: Tesla CEO Elon Musk sold nearly $5 billion in Tesla stock, according to financial filings out Wednesday evening. He still holds more than 166 million shares. Musk sold these shares in part to satisfy tax obligations related to an exercise of stock options. Before that sale plan was made public, Musk asked his 62.5 million Twitter followers to …

Axios reports: A bipartisan group of House lawmakers has introduced a companion to a Senate bill that would let people use algorithm-free versions of tech platforms, according to a copy of the text shared exclusively with Axios. Recent revelations about Facebook’s internal research findings have renewed lawmaker interest in bills that seek to give people more of a say in …

USA Today reports: Xfinity customers from California to New Jersey are experiencing extensive outages affecting their internet and cable. According to Down Detector, there are over 52,000 reports of outages as of Tuesday morning. KPIX 5 reported widespread outages across the San Francisco area Monday night. The outage led to the Marin County Sheriff to tweet for people to not …

CBS News reports: Elon Musk’s net worth has surpassed $300 billion, making him the first person on the planet to reach that milestone. It also means the Tesla chief executive is worth tens of billions more than the second-richest person on earth, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. Musk was worth $302 billion as of Thursday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. …

CNET reports: The world’s greatest rock and roll band has met its match in the world’s greatest robot dog. Boston Dynamics’ creepy-cute Spot whipped out its best moves-like-Jagger impression in a shot-by-shot video tribute to The Rolling Stones’ 1981 hit (and Windows 95 commercial jingle) Start Me Up. The video shows Spot mimicking the dancing and singing of front man …

USA Today reports: Own an iPhone? You can now keep a digital version of your COVID-19 vaccine card right in your phone’s Apple Wallet. On Monday, Apple released iOS 15.1, an update to its operating system for iPhones which will introduce features including SharePlay to share experiences like watching movies directly in FaceTime. The update also includes the option for …

The Hill reports: Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin on Monday announced plans to build a commercial space station for business and travel in low-Earth orbit. Blue Origin said it is working with Boeing and Sierra Space on a commercially developed, owned and operated space station known as “Orbital Reef.” The company said the space station will be operated as …

Reuters reports: Tesla Inc on Monday (Oct 25) neared US$1 trillion (S$1.35 trillion) in market capitalisation as the company founded by Elon Musk received its biggest-ever order – 100,000 electric rental cars for Hertz. Tesla shares were up 7.5% at US$978, hitting a new record high Monday, following the order. Shares were also buoyed by news of the company’s Model …

Posted today to Facebook’s corporate blog: Facebook is at the start of a journey to help build the next computing platform. Working with others, we’re developing what is often referred to as the metaverse — a new phase of interconnected virtual experiences using technologies like virtual and augmented reality. At its heart is the idea that by creating a greater …

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: The Social Security numbers of school teachers, administrators and counselors across Missouri were vulnerable to public exposure due to flaws on a website maintained by the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The Post-Dispatch discovered the vulnerability in a web application that allowed the public to search teacher certifications and credentials. The department removed …

The Drive reports: Ghost Robotics and SWORD International have teamed up to create a rifle-toting “robot dog.” Called the Special Purpose Unmanned Rifle, or SPUR, the system adds a 6.5mm Creedmoor rifle from SWORD to one of Ghost Robotics’ quadrupedal unmanned ground vehicles, or Q-UGVs. The SPUR made its debut on the show floor at the Association of the U.S. …

TechCrunch reports: Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company would be moving its headquarters from Palo Alto, California to Austin, Texas, a city that has recently seen a flood of tech companies and remote workers. Musk announced the news at the 2021 Tesla, Inc. Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which took place at the Tesla Austin gigafactory, rather than in the …

The Verge reports: Just as Facebook’s Antigone Davis was live on CNBC defending the company’s policies and its handling of research data suggesting Instagram is harmful to teens, its network of services suddenly went offline. On Twitter, Facebook communications exec Andy Stone says, “We’re aware that some people are having trouble accessing our apps and products. We’re working to get …

Ars Technica reports: Amazon is rolling out (literally) a robot that can help monitor your home. Powered by Amazon Alexa and a bunch of artificial intelligence (AI) technology while patrolling about on a set of wheels, the Astro robot can handle numerous tasks, from providing a view of inside the home when you’re out to delivering a message to Mom. …

CNBC reports: Facebook, which faced sharp criticism from lawmakers and users for its plan to develop an Instagram for kids, announced Monday it’s pausing work on the project. “While we believe building ‘Instagram Kids’ is the right thing to do, Instagram, and its parent company Facebook, will re-evaluate the project at a later date. In the interim Instagram will continue …

The Washington Post reports: Tesla began letting owners request its “Full Self-Driving” software early Saturday, opening up for wide release its most advanced driver-assistance suite and signaling that thousands of drivers will soon be on the road with the unregulated and largely untested features. It’s the first time the company has let typical owners upgrade to the software it terms …

USA Today reports: Apple will soon roll out COVID vaccination cards in its Wallet app, allowing people to demonstrate proof of vaccination through their iPhones and Apple Watches. With the launch of iOS 15 on Monday, users can link and store COVID-19 vaccination and test result records in the Health app. Apple has not publicly announced when the Wallet integration …

CNBC reports: After SpaceX completed a historic, private spaceflight on Saturday, CEO Elon Musk took a pot shot at President Joe Biden who had yet to remark on the company’s and the civilian flight crew’s accomplishments. One of Musk’s 60 million followers on the social networking platform Twitter asked him, “The President of the United States has refused to even …

The Verge reports: Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, told the Wall Street Journal that Tesla should address “basic safety issues” before the carmaker expands its so-called “full self-driving” (FSD) mode. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said earlier this month that the company was aiming for a wider release of FSD by the end of September, making a …

Los Angeles’s ABC News affiliate reports: A DUI suspect was taken into custody after her Tesla vehicle that was reportedly on Autopilot stopped on a freeway overpass in the Glendale area Thursday night. According to a California Highway Patrol incident log, the vehicle hit a roadside wall shortly after 11 p.m. and kept traveling as the driver was reportedly unconscious. …