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In a California state trial over alleged racist treatment of more than 6,000 Black workers at Tesla's Fremont factory, company attorneys argued the n-word can function as a 'term of respect and endearment.' The trial's first witness also testified that Tesla's senior counsel misrepresented themselves as state representatives before the case began, according to Electrek.
Data center developers are facing long waits for gas turbines needed to power AI infrastructure, prompting new entrants including startup Parallax and Elon Musk to move into power generation. The shortage has intensified interest in alternative manufacturing approaches, such as 3-D printing, that could speed up turbine production.
Amy Laurent, founder of a high-end matchmaking firm, says clients increasingly hesitate to date men who work in tech, citing broader public anger at companies like Meta, Amazon and Elon Musk-linked ventures over issues from social media addiction to labor practices and AI's societal effects. Laurent says she now preemptively addresses women's reservations when introducing tech-employed male clients as matches.
Elon Musk's companies, including Tesla, SpaceX and X, have concentrated major new capital projects—such as chip foundries, rocket launch facilities and data centers—across Sunbelt states. State governments are reportedly competing to attract these investments, which represent billions of dollars in planned spending.
California's Civil Rights Department began presenting its case against Tesla on Monday, alleging years of racist harassment at the company's Fremont assembly plant, including swastikas, Confederate flag imagery, and slurs directed at Black workers. The lawsuit, filed in 2022 after complaints dating back to 2012, also claims Black employees received unequal pay and fewer advancement opportunities than colleagues. Tesla has denied wrongdoing and called the suit misguided, while its attorney argued the N-word was used casually among workers rather than as an insult.
According to a court filing reported by the Financial Times, OpenAI has disclosed that it was disappointed by weak iPhone user uptake of ChatGPT following its 2024 integration into Apple Intelligence. The filing states that a month after launch, adoption was already slow, prompting OpenAI to lower its projections for weekly active users, and by summer 2025 the company concluded the integration was significantly underperforming expectations.
Tesla has reopened reservations for its long-delayed Roadster, requiring a $5,000 refundable deposit followed by an additional $45,000 wire transfer within 10 days. The company plans to unveil the car's pricing, specifications and production timeline at an event near Waco, Texas on October 1, having first taken $50,000 deposits for the same car back in 2017.
Tesla has published emergency-response guidance instructing firefighters to contact two separate company support lines if they need to deal with a Cybataxi accident or need to move the vehicle. Because the Cybercab has no steering wheel or pedals, responders must first call support to gain control before accessing virtual onboard controls via the car's touchscreen. Tesla has added a QR code to the windshield's lower left corner as a reference guide for these procedures.
A startup founder describes abandoning the popular tech-industry belief that extreme overwork—citing examples like Elon Musk and Marissa Mayer—signals dedication and predicts success. After personally working 18-hour days while skipping meals and sleep, the founder concluded this approach was unsustainable and shifted toward building a company culture designed for long-term thriving rather than constant survival mode.
After executives at Anthropic, OpenAI and xAI publicly urged caution on AI development this summer, commentators including Steven Vaughan-Nichols and Corey Doctorow suggest the motives aren't purely about safety. They point to mounting financial pressure on companies that haven't proven their massive data-center spending will pay off, plus incentives to slow smaller rivals or cut R&D costs.
WIRED's Women issue features actor and comedian Patti Harrison portraying Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos in a satirical cover shoot commenting on Silicon Valley's male-dominated leadership. In an accompanying interview, Harrison discusses the concept, her comedic approach, and her own strained relationship with tech platforms after leaving Twitter.
Elon Musk said his tunneling company, The Boring Company, is developing an early-stage Hyperloop concept meant to cut travel time between Austin and San Antonio to under 30 minutes. The company's official account confirmed interest in building the project, though Musk's comment originated as a reply to an AI-generated sci-fi video rather than a formal announcement.