Month: September 2017

Tesla wants to build new charging stations with food and coffee – here’s why it’s a brilliant idea

This might tempt the company to partner with the Amazons and Starbucks of the world. * That would be a big mistake. As Tesla expands its Supercharger network, the automaker intends to up its game, building higher-end, retail-rich locations that CEO Elon Musk has called “Mega Superchargers” but that we’ll call just Megachargers.

Alphabet’s Project Loon may deliver internet to Puerto Rico with hot air balloons

Project Loon, the initiative of Alphabet’s X lab to deliver internet using hot air balloons, is looking into deploying Wi-Fi balloons to help alleviate the crisis in Puerto Rico, the company confirmed. “The Project Loon team at X is exploring if it’s possible to bring emergency connectivity to Puerto Rico,” the X lab’s official Twitter account wrote this afternoon.

The Human-Robocar War for Jobs Begins at Last

A dais stuffed with well-fed lawmakers sure doesn’t look like a battlefield, but make no mistake: The long-awaited war between self-driving vehicles and the humans they would replace has begun. And the humans just won the first skirmish. Thursday morning, the Senate released the first version of autonomous vehicle legislation meant to clarify who exactly is in charge of robocar regulations.

Driverless Trucks Will Be (Mostly) Great

For generations, the open road has provided good jobs for Americans, whether truckers, novelists or country-music lyricists. Soon it may be crowded with some less sympathetic protagonists: self-driving robots. Trucks with some degree of automation are already plying ore mines, hauling freight and making beer runs. Investment is pouring into the industry.