A record number of data centers are in the works for next year

In 2025, more data centers will be under construction in the US than ever before, according to a new forecast from real-estate services firm CBRE. The firm is expecting 4,750 data centers will be in the process of being built in primary markets, up from this year’s record of 4,250.

For context, nearly as many data centers are currently being built as already exist in the US. And much of that construction is already spoken for. Amid record-low vacancy rates, a record share of construction is being leased before it’s even finished.

Part of the reason for the uptick in building is US tech companies’ insatiable demand for AI, which requires these data centers to power it. The other part is supply: construction is taking a lot longer, as developers await updated or increased power infrastructure to deal with their massive energy needs.

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Rani Molla31m

Instagram Reels is coming to a TV near you

Move over, Netflix. Meta is bringing Instagram Reels to a TV near you. The company on Tuesday unveiled its first dedicated TV app, letting users watch its short-form, user-generated videos on bigger screens. The app will debut on Amazon’s Fire TV before expanding to other platforms.

Instagram now competes not only with social-video rivals like TikTok and YouTube, but increasingly with long-form streaming entertainment as well. Netflix, for instance, has argued that it needs to buy Warner Bros. Discovery in order to better compete with platforms like YouTube, which people spend more time watching on TV than anything else. YouTube may offer traditional streaming bundles, but much of its content still comes from user uploads — underscoring how deeply social video has encroached on the living room.

Instagram’s new TV app suggests Meta sees the same opportunity: if social video is already capturing big-screen attention, it wants a larger share of it.

Instagram Debuts Dedicated Television App for Amazon Fire TV

Instagram’s new TV app suggests Meta sees the same opportunity: if social video is already capturing big-screen attention, it wants a larger share of it.

Rani Molla4h

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is getting back into politics

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is cutting big checks to the GOP for the midterm elections as he dives back into politics, Axios reports.

Students of history might remember when Tesla’s stock tanked in the first half of the year thanks in part to Musk’s political machinations with DOGE. Or when Musk’s beef with the president of the United States sent the stock down sharply — twice. Or when Musk formed a competing third political party that also hurt the stock.

When Tesla’s board of directors laid out his latest humongous pay package, which has since been approved by shareholders, they said it was “critical” that it “receive assurances that Musk’s involvement with the political sphere would wind down in a timely manner.”

At the same time, they didn’t really put any guardrails in place to make sure that happened. And here we are!

Scoop: Elon Musk diving into 2026 midterms for the GOP

At the same time, they didn’t really put any guardrails in place to make sure that happened. And here we are!

Jon Keegan4h

Report: OpenAI and Mattel hit pause on AI toys

This summer, OpenAI and Mattel announced a deal to bring AI-powered toys and games to market. According to a new report from Axios, those plans are currently on hold.

Recently, stories have emerged of how potentially dangerous AI-powered toys can be when the proper guardrails have not been put in place.

OpenAI has faced increased scrutiny of its safety mechanisms for chatbots after several tragic failures that led to deaths. Congress is starting to examine the psychological risks of AI use by those with mental health issues, and children’s use of AI companions.

Scoop: Mattel and OpenAI won't release their AI toy in 2025

Rani Molla6h

Tesla’s 29 Austin Robotaxis have crashed 8 times since June, as data suggests they perform much worse than human drivers

Tesla’s 29 Austin Robotaxis have been involved in eight crashes since they launched in June, Electrek reports, citing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data you can download here. Those crashes for the most part involved property damage, and only in one case led to a minor injury. Notably, the crashes occurred with a safety monitor in the front seat.

As Electrek notes, that data suggests Tesla Robotaxis are crashing once every 40,000 miles, whereas the average human driver in the US crashes about once every 500,000 miles. On Tesla’s Full Self-Driving page, the company claims vehicles with the technology engaged have 7x fewer major and minor collisions — a claim that experts like Carnegie Mellon’s Phil Koopman have said doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

Over the weekend, Tesla began testing two more Robotaxis without those safety monitors, in hopes of achieving CEO Elon Musk’s latest goal of removing them from the Austin fleet by year’s end.

Tesla reports another Robotaxi crash, even with supervisor as it moves to remove them

Tesla Robotaxi had 3 more crashes, now 7 total

Over the weekend, Tesla began testing two more Robotaxis without those safety monitors, in hopes of achieving CEO Elon Musk’s latest goal of removing them from the Austin fleet by year’s end.

Rani Molla

23h

Tesla’s market share is going up even as its sales are going down

Elon Musk might be right — in a way — about the end of the federal EV tax credit.

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