May 16
The fabled Sonos Sub Mini has appeared in yet another leak, this one accompanied by details that reinforce what we heard back in November 2021.
May 16
Tesla’s long-delayed Semi just took an important step toward becoming a practical reality. As CNETreports, the automaker has started taking reservations for its electric big rig. You’ll need to place a $20,000 deposit ($15,000 of it by wire transfer), and Tesla still hasn’t narrowed down the launch beyond the expected 2023 production window. Still, this is notable when early commitments have largely been limited to bulk orders from the likes of PepsiCo and Walmart.
The Semi was unveiled in 2017 alongside the second-generation Roadster. The machine was meant to up-end conventional trucking with a maximum 500-mile range, fast “Megacharger” top-ups and a 20-second 0-60MPH time at a loaded weight of 80,000lbs. It’s still expected to start at $150,000, making it potentially viable for companies that want inter-city haulers without the usual fuel costs or environmental impact.
As with the new Roadster, though, the launch didn’t go according to plan. Tesla has delayed the Semi multiple times, most recently to grapple with chip shortages and limited production capacity for the necessary 4680 battery cells. Reservations at this stage are less about imminent delivery and more about locking in future income, just as Cybertruck deposits (estimated at 1.3 million as of November 2021) helped Tesla secure billions in revenue whenever the pickup arrives.
Still, Tesla might not be too worried about the wait. Rival Nikola is only just ramping up production of its electric semi-truck, and established brands like Freightliner haven’t found runaway success with their EVs. The Semi will still enter a relatively young field with both name recognition and technology as advantages.
May 16
It’s been a record hot May in parts of Texas, and the state is in for more of the same this week. On Friday, because of the heat, six power plants in Texas went offline, taking 2,900 Megawatts off the grid, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Texans were asked to curb their electricity…
May 16
How many times do you think your privacy gets violated every day you spend surfing the web? Maybe once? Twice? A few dozen times? It turns out that daily number is in the hundreds, according to a new report from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL). On average, a European user’s data is shared with…
May 16
Now that Google’s developer conference is over, it’s time to shift our focus to Apple’s reveal circus. WWDC 2022 is happening in three short weeks, beginning on June 6. Expectedly, the rumor mill has started ramping up, and the first significant bit seems to be related to what’s coming in the next version of the…
May 16
Luna Foundation Tried to Prop Up Terra’s Crumbling Base With Billions in Bitcoin, But It Still Failed
Posted in: Today's Chili
As a kid, I remember when my father tried to use a broom handle in a last ditch effort to support a roof that was collapsing from the weight of nearly three feet of snow. You can guess how well that went. In a similar vein, Terra blockchain reportedly spent $3.5 billion to keep the roof from collapsing in on itself.…
May 16
More than three decades after McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in Moscow in 1990 and served a staggering 30,000 customers, the fast food giant has decided that it will no longer do business in Russia. The company will begin the process of “de-Arching,” or removing all its brand elements, including its iconic…
May 16
Even crypto boosters want new laws, but some experts say regulators already have the legal tools they need.
May 16
Is Blue Light Bad For Your Skin?
Posted in: Today's ChiliIt’s well known that blue light may damage your vision over time and cause sleep disturbances, but could it have similar consequences for your skin?
May 16
Each Tesla car features many high-tech gizmos — but when it comes to making the car more efficient, few do more work than the Aero Wheels.
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