Author: The Verge Online News

This Week in Elon: smashing the irony button

Elon Musk may want out of his deal with Twitter, but he has some ideas about how to run the bird app, and they involve layoffs, subscriptions, and… a sarcasm button. Musk turned up on Thursday for a video chat with Twitter employees, and the employees promptly leaked its contents to reporters — including my… Continue reading This Week in Elon: smashing the irony button

Tesla layoffs reportedly affect hourly workers, too

According to a report from Electrek, a wave of layoffs at Tesla may affect hourly workers, despite a company-wide email from Elon Musk on June 3rd saying “Tesla will be reducing salaried headcount by 10% as we have become overstaffed in many areas.” On June 4th, Musk tweeted that “[t]otal headcount will increase, but salaried… Continue reading Tesla layoffs reportedly affect hourly workers, too

Elon Musk’s plan is to run Twitter off the top of his head

Elon Musk appeared at a virtual town hall for Twitter employees on Thursday to answer their questions, and by the end of the session one question loomed larger than most: can you really run Twitter off the top of your head? Over 60 or so freewheeling minutes, the world’s richest man fielded queries over remote… Continue reading Elon Musk’s plan is to run Twitter off the top of his head

The US needs a common charger, Dems say

A group of Senate Democrats is calling on the US Commerce Department to follow Europe’s lead in forcing all smartphone manufacturers to build devices that adhere to a universal charging standard. In a Thursday letter addressed to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) — along with Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders… Continue reading The US needs a common charger, Dems say

Discord gets autonomous moderation tool to fight spam and slurs

Today, Discord is announcing widespread availability of AutoMod, an autonomous moderation tool built directly into the platform to take the strain off human moderators. Alongside the official launch of AutoMod, Discord is also letting more servers offer paid memberships to their users and is adding new features to manage these premium subscriptions. AutoMod is designed… Continue reading Discord gets autonomous moderation tool to fight spam and slurs

Self-driving cars crash, too, but figuring out what it means requires much better data

This week, for the first time ever, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released data on crashes involving cars equipped with advanced driver-assist systems and automated driving technology. A lot of headlines — including The Verge’s — focused on the number of Tesla vehicles that crashed, which is understandable because Tesla had a lot of… Continue reading Self-driving cars crash, too, but figuring out what it means requires much better data

Tesla raises prices, again

Tesla has raised the prices of select Model 3, Model Y, Model X, and Model S vehicles, Electrek reports. The largest price increase affects the Model X Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive version, which saw a $6,000 increase from $114,990 to $120,990, while the Model S Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive configuration increased by $5,000 from $99,990… Continue reading Tesla raises prices, again

This PC orchestra, built from 512 floppy disk drives, is wondrous to hear and behold

When I was a kid growing up in rural Yorkshire, one of the regular attractions at local fairs was a huge steam-powered organ: a baroque monstrosity of pipes, horns, and whistles that would parp out classical tunes to the delight of onlookers. I don’t know if steam organs are still a thing, but if they’ve… Continue reading This PC orchestra, built from 512 floppy disk drives, is wondrous to hear and behold