Category: Technology

Between its ongoing supply chain constraints, brutal rounds of layoffs and a plummeting stock price, the past year has been a glass case of emotion for Tesla and its embattled CEO, Elon Musk. Still, the company managed to produce nearly 440,000 vehicles and delivered over 405,000 of them — year over year increases of 47 and 40 percent, respectively — Tesla announced on Wednesday during the Q4 2022 earnings call. Those are both records for Tesla, as was the full-year deliveries of 1.31 million. Profits for the year totaled $12.6 billion.

“Despite the fact that 2022 was an incredibly challenging year due to forced shutdowns, very high interest rates, and many delivery challenges,” Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, said during the call. “It’s worth noting that all these records were in the face of massive difficulties. a credit to the team for achieving that.”

The final quarter of 2022 was especially volatile for the electric automaker following the finalization of Musk’s Twitter acquisition in late October. While the billionaire sought to split his attention between his EV company, his spaceship company and his new social media platform, Tesla shareholders revolted, furious that the automaker had lost some $620 billion in market capitalization that year. Musks antics at Twitter combined with his sale of Tesla stock to fund the acquisition sent the EV company’s ticker tumbling, resulting in drastic price cuts — by as much as $20,500 in some cases. This, in turn, saw customers in China, angry that they had just purchased their vehicles at a higher price, raid Tesla showrooms to demand answers and restitution.  

“The most common question we’ve been getting on investors is about demand,” Musk said. “I want to put that concern to rest. Thus far in January, we’ve seen the strongest orders here today then ever in our history, we currently are seeing orders at Almost twice the rate of production.”

“It’s hard to say whether that will continue at twice the rate of production,” he continued. “Orders are high and we’ve actually raised the Model Y price up a little bit in response to that. We think demand will be good despite, probably, a contraction in the automotive market as a whole.”

Those price cuts will continue into the new year. “In the near term we are accelerating our cost reduction roadmap and driving towards higher production rates,” the company announced Wednesday. “In any scenario, we are prepared for short-term uncertainty, while being focused on the long-term potential of autonomy, electrification and energy solutions.”

Musk also discussed recent developments regarding the company’s “Full Self-Driving” beta ADAS during the call. “As of now we’ve deployed FSD beta to… roughly 400,000 customers in North America,” he said. “Our published data shows that improvement in safety statistics is very clear. So, we would not have released FSD beta if these safety statistics were not excellent.”

Despite the turbulence, Tesla continues to expand its regional production capacities. In January, the company announced its $3.6 billion investment in two new factories, one of which will produce the long-awaited, repeatedly-delayed Semi electric 18-wheeler. The company aims to produce 1.8 million vehicles in total this coming year.

 

Following the recent announcement of the HomePod and new M2 MacBook Pros, as noted by MacRumors Apple has quietly adjusted the trade-in values it offers for its own devices. In the US, iPhone models are now frequently worth less than before. For instance, if you plan to trade in an iPhone 13 Pro Max anytime soon, Apple says it will offer up to $570 towards purchasing a new device. Previously, you could get as much as $650 for the company’s 2021 flagship. Other iPhone 13 models have similarly decreased in value. As of this week, an iPhone 13 Pro will net you up to $470 toward a new purchase, down from the up to $550 you could expect before. Meanwhile, iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini trade-ins are now valued at a max of $400 and $350, down from $450 and $380, respectively.

Not every iPhone has seen its trade-in value decline. For example, you can get up to $200 for an iPhone 11, just like you could before this week. The same is true of even older models like the iPhone X and iPhone 8. The value of iPad trade-ins hasn’t declined either. Bring an iPad Pro to your nearest Apple Store and the company will offer you up to $445. Interestingly, Apple is now offering more for most Mac trade-ins. Specifically, an old MacBook Pro model can now net you up to $670 on your next purchase, up from $630 previously, while you can expect up to $460, up from $440, for an older MacBook Air. You can find the complete list of trade-in values on Apple’s website.

 

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is developing a new system to help military personnel perform complex tasks. Perceptually-enabled Task Guidance (PTG) technology uses sensors to see and hear what the user sees and hears, guiding them through AI-produced instructions displayed in augmented reality (AR).

PTG combines sensors (a microphone and head-mounted camera) with AI and AR headsets to integrate into the user’s environment. The idea is to help soldiers and other military personnel enhance their skills, complete complicated tasks and perform them better. DARPA has narrowed its focus to three areas: battlefield medicine (like untrained personnel helping medics in the field), sustainment (keeping military equipment up and running) and co-piloting (especially helicopters).

However, DARPA’s training demos use something more pedestrian: cooking. Dr. Bruce Draper, the program’s manager, describes it as the ideal proxy task. “[Cooking is] a good example of a complex physical task that can be done in many ways. There are lots of different objects, solids, liquids, things change state, so it’s visually quite complex. There is specialized terminology, there are specialized devices, and there’s a lot of different ways it can be accomplished. So it’s a really good practice domain.” The team views PTG as eventually finding uses in medical training, evaluating the competency of medics and other healthcare services.

The personnel demoing the tech appear to be using a variant of Microsoft HoloLens. The government recently halted plans to buy more “AR combat goggles” from Microsoft, instead approving $40 million for the company to develop a new version. The reversal came after discovering that the current version caused issues like headaches, eyestrain and nausea.

DARPA is the Department of Defense’s “mad science” division. Founded by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1958 to develop cutting-edge tech for the US, many of the agency’s projects have trickled down into non-military products, including GPS, speech recognition, self-driving cars and robotics. Oh, and a minor technology called “the internet” also stemmed from DARPA’s late 1960s ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) program. It’s easy to imagine some form of PTG eventually following their lead into our everyday lives.

 

It’s arriving several months later than expected, but Arkane’s next big game is (relatively) close at hand. The studio has confirmed that Redfall will be available on May 2nd for Xbox Series X/S and Windows PCs, with launch day access through Game Pass. As before, the vampire-slaying shooter is an expansion of the formulas behind Dishonored and Prey — it’s a stealth-friendly game built with multiplayer and unpredictability in mind.

Like other Arkane titles, Redfall hinges on player choice. You can directly fight the vampires taking over the game’s namesake town, but you’ll also be rewarded if you take the stealthy approach or make clever uses of your gear. The open world concept isn’t strictly new (Prey had it), but the choice of characters and online play are. You can choose a hero that reflects your play style, and up to four people can take down the villains in co-op mode. Certain tactics only work when you’re playing as a team.

The free-ranging gameplay adds some variety, but you can also expect weapons with randomized stats and customization. Some mechanics will be familiar. You’ll find activities beyond the main story missions (such as rescuing survivors), skill trees and other systems that encourage doing more than the essentials.

It’s too soon to say if Redfall will maintain Arkane’s reputation. However, it’s evident the developer is happy to build on its better-known gameplay mechanics rather than take some chances like it did with Deathloop. If you tried Prey and wished your friends could join in, though, you might be happy.

 

More than two years after Meta extended former President Donald Trump’s “indefinite” suspension from Facebook, the company has opted to reinstate his account. In a statement, Meta said Trump would be able to access his Facebook and Instagram accounts in the “coming weeks,” but that there would be “new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses.”

The decision comes after Trump’s campaign had reportedly pushed for the former president to be allowed back on Facebook ahead of the upcoming presidential primaries.

Trump was originally booted from Facebook in the aftermath of the attack on the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021, after publicly praising the rioters. Meta’s handling of the initial suspension, which it quickly extended from a 24-hour ban to an “indefinite” suspension, was heavily criticized, including by its own Oversight Board. In its decision weighing in on Trump’s suspension, the board slammed Meta for not following its own rules and trying to “avoid its responsibilities.”

Meta then revisited the suspension, and said it would last for at least two years. However, the company confirmed that Trump would eventually be allowed back on Facebook. Nick Clegg, Meta’s top policy official, said at the time the former president would be “subject to new enhanced penalties” for future policy violations.

Now, Clegg says that Trump and other public figures who have been reinstated following suspensions “related to civil unrest” will face new suspensions, lasting for at least a month, for future offenses. He added Meta would also continue to take steps to limit the reach of Trump’s posts if they contribute “to the sort of risk that materialized on January 6th, such as content that delegitimizes an upcoming election or is related to QAnon.”

While Meta may not remove those posts entirely, he said the company would consider removing the share button and blocking them from the company’s advertising and recommendations systems.

Developing…

 

Forza Motorsport, the eighth mainline entry in Turn 10 Studios’ long-running simulation racing series, will arrive later this year, the developer announced during Microsoft and Bethesda’s Developer Direct showcase. The release date constitutes something of a delay, as Microsoft announced last June it would release the game in the spring of this year. Moreover, if you were hoping to play the game on an Xbox One console, you’ll need to turn to the company’s Xbox Game Pass service to do so; Microsoft plans to release Forza Motorsport on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox Game Pass and PC via the Microsoft Store and Steam. 

On Wednesday, Turn 10 promised Forza Motorsport would take full advantage of the latest Xbox and PC hardware to deliver the franchise’s most immersive racing experience yet. The game will feature more than 500 cars for players to collect, including 100 vehicles that are new to the series. To make those cars look their best, Turn 10 used a spectrophotometer to scan the paint jobs of the cars featured in the game. “With this new sourcing technique, our paint models have a more realistic light response across colors, metal flake and gloss levels,” the studio said in a blog post published after the showcase. Each car will now also feature context-aware damage and dirt buildup that Turn 10 says is “authentic and unique” to each vehicle.   

During the showcase, the studio showed off Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in South Africa, one of the five new racing tracks featured in the game. With the help of photogrammetry and laser-scanned images, Team 10 says the environments in Forza Motorsport feature 10 times more realistic detail than past entries in the series. With the addition of dynamic time of day and weather simulation, Turn 10 says fans can expect no two laps around a track to look or play the same.    

Expect Microsoft to share more details about Forza Motorsport later this year.

 

Here’s a pleasant surprise from Xbox and Bethesda’s Developer Direct showcase: a full game you can download (almost) right away. The Evil Within studio Tango Gameworks has unveiledHi-Fi Rush, a combo-driven brawler with rhythm game elements. You play Chai, a would-be rockstar who fights a robotics company with the help of the beat. Think Devil May Cry or Bayonetta crossed with a music game, or a very pretty spiritual sequel to Crypt of the NecroDancer. You aren’t forced to play to the beat, but you’re rewarded for staying in sync with high-powered combo moves and finishers.

Not surprisingly, style plays an important role. The game revolves around its anime-inspired cel-shaded look, its non-stop humor and a mix of both licensed and original music. Streamers don’t have to panic about copyright violations — there’s an “alternate audio mode” to keep the soundtrack legal during broadcasts.

The title will be available later today for Xbox Series X/S and Windows PCs (through the Epic Games Store, Microsoft Store and Steam). It’s also available through Game Pass on these platforms. This is a distinct change of pace for Tango, which is better known for dark, moody titles like Ghostwire: Tokyo. You might not mind, though, particularly if you’re looking for something more upbeat.

 

Senator Joe Manchin, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has introduced a new bill that squashes a small loophole around the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) $7,500 EV tax credit. The new credits are restricted to cars with final assembly in the US, as well as those with a certain amount of North American battery content (an amount that increases every year). But, the U.S. Treasury has delayed its final rules on battery guidance until March, which means EVs with foreign batteries can still receive the full $7,500 in credits until then. Manchin’s legislation, dubbed the American Vehicle Security Act (AVSA), would push the battery requirement back to January 1st.

“It is unacceptable that the U.S. Treasury has failed to issue updated guidance for the 30D electric vehicle tax credits and continues to make the full $7,500 credits available without meeting all of the clear requirements included in the Inflation Reduction Act,” Manchin wrote a statement. “The Treasury Department failed to meet the statutory deadline of December 31, 2022, to release guidance for the 30D credit and have created an opportunity to circumvent stringent supply chain requirements included in the IRA. The IRA is first-and-foremost an energy security bill, and the EV tax credits were designed to grow domestic manufacturing and reduce our reliance on foreign supply chains for the critical minerals needed to produce EV batteries.”

If it’s passed, the bill would be disappointing news for anyone who rushed out to buy an EV before March (something plenty of car publications were suggesting). As Autoblog notes, the AVSA doesn’t touch on the other IRA loophole, which also allows for the full credit for leased cars built outside of the US. But given Manchin’s early obstruction to the IRA, as well as his push against lax battery rules, it wouldn’t be surprising to see another bill in the works.

 

CNET has issued corrections for over half of the AI-written articles the outlet recently attributed to its CNET Money team. Following an internal audit after it was first notified of an AI-written article with substantial errors, CNET Editor-in-Chief Connie Guglielmo says the publication identified additional stories that required correction. She claims a “small number” needed “substantial correction,” while others had “minor issues” that saw CNET fix things like incomplete company names and language the outlet deemed was vague. In all, of the 77 articles the publication now says were written as part of a trial to test an “internally designed AI engine,” 41 feature corrections.

As The Verge points out, some articles feature corrections that note CNET “replaced phrases that were not entirely original.” In those instances, the outlet says its plagiarism checker tool either “wasn’t used properly” by the editor assigned to the story or it failed to identify writing the tool had lifted from another source. Earlier this week, Futurism, the publication that first broke the news that CNET was quietly using AI to write financial literacy articles, said it found extensive evidence the website’s AI-generated content that showed “deep structural and phrasing similarities to articles previously published elsewhere.” Pointing to one piece on overdraft fees, Futurism noted how CNET’s version featured nearly identically phrasing to an earlier article from Forbes Advisor. It’s worth noting that AI, as it exists today, can’t be guilty of plagiarism. The software doesn’t know it’s copying something in violation of an ethical rule that humans apply to themselves. If anything, the failure falls on the CNET editors who were supposed to verify the outlet’s AI tool was creating original content.

Despite the public setback, CNET appears set on continuing to use AI tools to write published content. “We’ve paused and will restart using the AI tool when we feel confident the tool and our editorial processes will prevent both human and AI errors,” Guglielmo said. “In the meantime, expect CNET to continue exploring and testing how AI can be used to help our teams as they go about their work testing, researching and crafting the unbiased advice and fact-based reporting we’re known for.”

 

Minecraft Legends, the unique action-strategy spin on Microsoft’s block-building franchise, will arrive on Xbox consoles and PCs on April 18th. Announced last June, the game resembles a modern spin on classic Warcraft strategy: Your goal is to protect your base and destroy your enemy’s. It’ll feature online campaign co-op and competitive multiplayer, as you’d expect. And judging from the most recent trailer, it looks compelling enough to tempt over gamers who could never figure out what to do in the original Minecraft.