The Morning After: Tesla recalls more than 2 million cars over Autopilot safety
An over-the-air update will address concerns over the ‘driver misuse’ of Autopilot.
Following a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Tesla will recall over two million vehicles to address Autopilot safety concerns.
Fixes will be issued through free over-the-air (OTA) updates, adding features that ensure drivers pay attention while using Tesla’s Autopilot driver assistance system. It affects all current Tesla EVs built since Autopilot launched in 2015, including the Model 3, Model Y, Model S and Model X.
Those features will include more prominent visual alerts, making it easier to turn Autosteer on and off, and eventual suspension from Autosteer if the driver fails to behave responsibly. NHTSA opened the investigation following 11 crashes with parked first-responder vehicles, which resulted in 17 injuries and one death, since 2018.
Tesla’s legal episodes are likely to continue into 2024. The company updated its purchase agreement documents for its Cybertruck, ensuring it could sue at least some Cybertruck owners who flip their vehicles too soon. Not in a Fast and the Furious way, but by trying to sell one of the popular trucks soon after purchase. Tesla could seek injunctive relief to prevent owners from transferring their vehicle’s title if they attempt to sell it within one year of buying it.
— Mat Smith
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Tesla’s latest Optimus robot can handle an egg without breaking it
The machine has come a long way from its earlier iterations.
More Tesla news, but nothing to do with litigation. Its Optimus robot has reappeared, with improved dexterity — enough to handle an egg. While the previous version of Optimus struggled to walk during a live demo, the latest model can move with more grace, perhaps thanks to its Tesla-designed actuators and sensors. The machine has an actuated neck, with two degrees of freedom, and it's said to be 30 percent faster at walking. Tesla says it’s been able to reduce the robot’s weight by 10 kilograms without sacrificing any functionality. Optimus handles objects more delicately, with the demo showing it picking up and gently placing down an egg. Finally — it’s what I’ve been waiting for from robots.
Xbox Cloud Gaming lands on Meta Quest headsets
You’ll need a Game Pass Ultimate membership, controller and solid internet connection.
Meta Quest 2, 3 and Pro headset owners can now stream hundreds of games through Xbox Cloud Gaming. You’ll need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership, a compatible controller, solid internet connection and the most recent Quest software update, but those are the only things stopping you from playing the latest Xbox games on a huge (virtual) screen. Meta says you’ll be able to choose from four virtual display sizes. You can opt to play games in an Xbox-themed virtual space or make it appear as though the display is floating in mid-air, thanks to the Quest 3 and Pro’s full-color passthrough.
Apple finally offers the USB-C AirPods Pro case separately
My Lightning cable is living on borrowed time.
My persistent anonymous messages to Apple customer support have finally borne fruit.
