Tag: Tesla

A federal jury in Oakland rejected Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI co‑founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, finding the case weak and filed too late. Musk, who accused the duo of breaching a charitable trust and unjust enrichment, called the judge a “terrible activist” on social media before announcing plans to appeal. The verdict also highlighted testimony that Musk had asked OpenAI researchers to assist Tesla’s autopilot team without reimbursement, underscoring the blurred lines between the nonprofit's mission and Musk’s for‑profit interests. Leggi di più

Andre​j Karpathy, one of OpenAI’s original co‑founders, announced Monday that he has joined Anthropic’s pre‑training team. Tasked with building a group that uses Anthropic’s own Claude model to speed up the costly pre‑training phase, Karpathy brings a résumé that spans Stanford, Tesla’s Full Self‑Driving program and a brief stint at his own AI‑education startup. The hire arrives as OpenAI grapples with a wave of senior departures, while Anthropic, valued at roughly $800 billion, eyes an IPO by late 2026. Industry observers see the move as a sign that Anthropic can attract top talent and may usher in a new era of recursive model improvement. Leggi di più

In a California courtroom, Elon Musk spent hours recounting his life story and positioning his business ventures as safeguards for humanity. Testifying against OpenAI co‑founder Sam Altman, Musk argued that artificial intelligence could either usher in a utopian future or trigger catastrophic ruin, and that his companies—from SpaceX to Tesla—were built to protect the species. The testimony, which painted Altman as a charitable thief, underscored Musk’s broader narrative that his entrepreneurial pursuits are driven by existential concerns rather than profit. Leggi di più

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Tesla groups have contacted semiconductor equipment giants Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, Lam Research and Samsung Electronics for price quotes and delivery timelines on tools needed to build a U.S. AI chip fabrication complex dubbed Terafab. Bloomberg says the outreach reflects Musk’s “light‑speed” ambition to create a vertically integrated supply chain that could rival TSMC, Samsung and Intel, moving the project beyond concept into early procurement. Leggi di più

Intel announced Tuesday that it will partner with Elon Musk’s Terafab venture to design and construct a massive AI chip fabrication plant in Austin, Texas. The facility will supply custom chips to Musk’s aerospace and automotive firms, SpaceX (now merged with xAI) and Tesla, supporting ambitions ranging from autonomous vehicles to space‑based data centers. Intel’s involvement eases Musk’s earlier pleas for a partner capable of delivering a trillion‑watt‑year of compute power, while the chipmaker expands its U.S. manufacturing footprint amid a broader industry race to meet soaring AI demand. Leggi di più

All of Elon Musk’s original co‑founders at his artificial‑intelligence startup xAI have now left the company. Business Insider reports that the final two members of the founding team, Manuel Kroiss and Ross Nordeen, have each announced their departures. Musk has said the venture was “not built right the first time around” and is being rebuilt from the ground up. The exits come shortly after xAI was absorbed into Musk’s SpaceX corporate umbrella, which also includes X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, as SpaceX prepares for a possible public offering. Leggi di più

Elon Musk announced that Tesla and SpaceX will jointly build a semiconductor fabrication facility, called Terafab, in Austin, Texas. The plant aims to produce chips at scale for robotics, artificial intelligence and space‑based data centers that support Musk’s enterprises. While Musk emphasized the necessity of the fab to secure future chip supply, industry observers note the complexity, massive capital requirements and Musk’s lack of semiconductor experience. No timeline was provided for construction or production, leaving questions about when the facility might become operational. Leggi di più

Elon Musk's xAI is experiencing a wave of departures among its original co‑founders, leaving only two of the eleven founders remaining. Staff report that constant upheaval is hurting morale, while Musk reorganizes projects such as the "Macrohard" effort and redeploys talent from Tesla. The company is also reaching back to previously rejected candidates and poaching engineers from rivals to fill gaps, but the ongoing turnover underscores challenges in maintaining stability. Leggi di più

Physical AI embeds artificial intelligence in machines that can sense their surroundings, make real‑time decisions, and act in the physical world. From autonomous vehicles and warehouse robots to surgical assistants and smart‑city systems, these technologies blend sensors, computer vision, machine learning, and reinforcement learning to close the perception‑decision‑action loop. While early deployments already exist, challenges around safety, reliability, edge‑case handling, and costly real‑world training remain central as the field pushes toward broader, embodied AI applications. Leggi di più

Google is constructing a new data center in Texas that will employ advanced air‑cooling technology to sharply reduce water use, limiting consumption to essential campus operations such as kitchens. The project follows the company’s previously announced two‑year, $40 billion investment in the state and includes contracts for roughly 7,800 megawatts of net energy generation to support the Texas grid. While the initiative arrives amid growing public concern over the environmental impact of data centers, industry figures like OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Tesla’s Elon Musk have voiced differing opinions on the water‑use issue and the potential of space‑based facilities. Leggi di più

Elon Musk's lawsuit alleging breach of contract by OpenAI and its co‑founders is set for a jury trial in March after a U.S. judge found sufficient evidence to support his claims. Musk, an early backer and former board member, says OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit mission in favor of a for‑profit structure, violating original agreements. The case highlights tensions over OpenAI's shift to a capped‑profit model, its later conversion to a public benefit corporation, and Musk's broader criticism of the firm’s direction. OpenAI calls the suit baseless, while the court prepares for the upcoming trial. Leggi di più

Following shareholder approval of a new compensation package, Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted two AI-generated videos on his X platform using xAI's Grok Imagine tool. The first video featured a synthetic woman reciting a love message, posted at 4:20 am EST, and was followed 24 minutes later by a second clip of actress Sydney Sweeney delivering a quirky line in a fabricated voice. The posts sparked a mix of amusement and criticism from X users, including commentary from author Joyce Carol Oates, highlighting the growing intersection of AI creativity and public figures’ social media activity. Leggi di più

Tesla posted a record‑high vehicle delivery figure for the quarter, driven by strong U.S. demand as the federal EV tax credit expired. Despite the sales surge, profit fell sharply from a year earlier, pressured by higher operating costs tied to AI research, robotics development and restructuring charges. CEO Elon Musk used the earnings call to stress the company’s long‑term focus on full‑self‑driving, a robot‑taxi network and the Optimus humanoid robot, while also defending a proposed $1 trillion compensation package that would give him expanded voting control. The mix of short‑term sales strength and long‑term strategic bets created a volatile outlook for investors. Leggi di più

Tesla has revived a controversial driving mode called Mad Max for its Full Self-Driving system. Marketed as a faster, more aggressive option than the existing Hurry mode, Mad Max was originally part of the 2018 Autopilot suite. Within hours of its return, the feature was observed ignoring stop signs and exceeding speed limits by more than 15 mph (24 km/h). The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation after receiving over 50 reports of traffic safety violations and numerous crashes linked to the system. Critics describe the move as reckless and arrogant, highlighting Tesla’s ongoing safety challenges. Leggi di più

A newly formed advocacy group called Safe Autonomous Vehicles Everywhere in the United States (SAVE‑US) is urging state lawmakers to adopt tougher regulations for autonomous vehicle technology. The group focuses on Tesla's vision‑only approach, calling for clearer disclosures, public crash reporting, and the use of multiple sensor types. Led by physicist Shua Sanchez and former Zoox engineer Bob Somers, SAVE‑US aims to influence legislation in large states such as Illinois, New York, and New Jersey. The effort comes amid a federal investigation of Tesla’s Full Self‑Driving software and broader concerns about safety standards across the industry. Leggi di più

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an investigation into more than 2.8 million Tesla vehicles equipped with the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. The probe focuses on traffic safety incidents, including red‑light violations, wrong‑way travel, and railroad‑crossing failures, encompassing 58 reported events, 14 crashes and 23 injuries. The inquiry arrives as Tesla seeks regulatory approval for its robotaxi service. Leggi di più

OpenAI has released a standalone social app that uses its Sora 2 video‑generation model to create AI‑produced vertical videos, offering a TikTok‑like feed where users can generate avatars of themselves after identity verification. The platform includes safeguards that block nudity and restrict the use of other people’s likenesses without permission, while copyright rules remain fluid. In parallel, Tesla’s Full Self‑Driving system has begun prompting drowsy drivers to stay focused with the feature, raising safety questions. Researchers also reported a breakthrough in creating human eggs from skin cells, a development that could impact infertility treatment but also sparks ethical debate. Leggi di più

A growing number of senior staff at Elon Musk's AI venture xAI and at Tesla have left the companies, citing concerns over Musk's free‑speech absolutism, lax safety practices, and aggressive product timelines. The exodus includes former executives, engineers, and product leaders who have moved to rivals such as OpenAI or started their own safety projects. Internal tensions have also been highlighted by remarks about Musk's decision‑making style and the integration of controversial AI features, fueling uncertainty about the future direction of the firms. Leggi di più

Social network X said it will appeal a Karnataka High Court decision that upheld the Indian government's Sahyog portal for content takedowns. The company called the portal "secretive" and argued it lacks legal basis, claiming it bypasses Section 69A of the IT Act and threatens free expression. X maintains that the ruling denies the platform’s right to free speech under Indian law. The appeal follows X's broader effort to challenge the system, which other tech firms have joined, while Elon Musk continues expanding his businesses in India, including Tesla and Starlink. Leggi di più

Tesla’s latest software update adds in‑car prompts that tell drivers who appear drowsy or drifting to activate the Full Self‑Driving (FSD) feature. While the automaker argues the messages are meant to keep drivers focused, safety experts warn that encouraging reliance on a supervised system during moments of inattention could increase risk. The move comes as Tesla faces ongoing legal scrutiny over its driver‑assistance claims and continues to position FSD as a cornerstone of its autonomous‑vehicle strategy. Leggi di più