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Tech News
AST SpaceMobile, which builds large satellites for direct-to-cell service, announced it is developing a medium-lift rocket called Blacklift capable of carrying 20 metric tons to low-Earth orbit. CEO Abel Avellan said the vehicle would give the company unconstrained access to space, with commercial launches targeted for late 2028.
Tesla plans to scale back manufacturing of its Cybertruck pickup, reducing production of the vehicle. The decision affects the automaker's output of the angular stainless-steel truck that has been part of its model lineup.
A Fast Company newsletter commentary argues that tech companies' efforts to appease President Trump are becoming less central to their political strategy. It suggests that navigating a Democratic Party that now holds more power presents a bigger challenge for the industry going forward.
A research project called Living Maps has published an interactive tool showing workplace locations of large employers (over 1,000 worldwide staff) in the Bay Area tech sector, dating back to the 1960s. The map uses bubbles to represent sourced city presence rather than employee counts, with filters for industry, employer scope, and a five-year timeline running through 2026.
A CEO in the electronics sector recounts working as a teenager detasseling corn in Illinois for $1.50 an hour, a job that involved manually removing tassels from corn plants in the field. The CEO says that experience still informs their approach to leadership and business today, including conversations with leaders about trade policy.
NASA is exploring commercial space industry options to keep the Hubble Space Telescope operational longer, according to statements emphasizing the observatory's continued scientific value. The agency says it wants to examine innovative, cost-effective methods for extending the life of the orbiting asset.
A discussion around the advertising industry raises the idea that AI tools may give older creative professionals new opportunities in a field traditionally dominated by younger workers. The piece does not report specific company actions or data, but frames AI as a potential equalizer for experience over youth.
An Xbox manager stated that artificial intelligence is currently being applied in the development of Xbox games, and that such tools are already widespread across the broader video game industry. The comments frame AI adoption as an existing practice rather than a future possibility for game studios.
NASA has asked commercial space companies for help servicing or boosting the aging Hubble Space Telescope, which faces declining orbit and no current method for astronaut repair since the shuttle program ended. The agency's constrained budget leaves it unable to fund a dedicated servicing mission on its own.
In the early automobile era, when steam, gasoline and electric vehicles competed for dominance, manufacturers promoted electric cars as ideal for women because they started easily with a key and produced no exhaust fumes, unlike gasoline cars that required hand-cranking before the electric starter arrived in 1911. General Electric, which produced mercury-arc rectifier chargers, ran advertisements showing fashionably dressed women operating charging equipment, and electric cars were also pitched to doctors for quiet nighttime house calls.
In Cambridge, Massachusetts, a new App Drivers Union joined forces with Boston Carmen's Union Local 589 and Teamsters Local 25 to press city officials over the growing presence of Waymo vehicles mapping local streets ahead of an eventual driverless rollout. Drivers, including former cab operators who already lost income to Uber and Lyft, say they fear a second wave of disruption from autonomous vehicles. The group cited Atlanta, where the Rideshare Drivers Union reports lower pay, longer wait times, and fewer fares since Waymo launched there in summer 2025.
Crosby, a two-year-old AI-first law firm, has submitted a bid for parts of collapsing Wall Street firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, including its trademark, brand, and certain internal data, according to TechCrunch. Crosby is also separately trying to recruit some of Weil Gotshal's roughly 1,200 lawyers. Weil Gotshal confirmed to the New York Times it is preparing to vote on dissolving after leadership and merger plans fell apart.