tech

Rani Molla5/20/25

Poll: Americans dislike Tesla and SpaceX almost as much as Twitter

Tesla now ranks near the bottom — No. 95 — for reputation among the 100 most visible brands in America, according to a new Axios Harris poll, down from 63rd last year. The only companies that performed worse this year were Wells Fargo, Meta, X (Twitter), The Trump Organization, and Spirit Airlines.

This sinking reputation has wreaked havoc upon Tesla’s top and bottom lines.

CEO Elon Musk’s other companies have also taken a hit since he joined the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. SpaceX’s reputation fell precipitously as well, placing both Tesla and SpaceX much closer to the perennially disliked — even before Musk’s takeover — Twitter, now called X.

Tesla, SpaceX reputations crater in new Axios Harris Poll 100

Tesla, SpaceX reputations crater in new Axios Harris Poll 100

This sinking reputation has wreaked havoc upon Tesla’s top and bottom lines.

CEO Elon Musk’s other companies have also taken a hit since he joined the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. SpaceX’s reputation fell precipitously as well, placing both Tesla and SpaceX much closer to the perennially disliked — even before Musk’s takeover — Twitter, now called X.

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OpenAI beats SpaceX as most valuable private company, at $500 billion valuation

It also reached that valuation very quickly.

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Electric quarter

Tesla deliveries surge to quarterly record on last gasp of EV tax credit

Tesla reported its highly anticipated third-quarter delivery numbers.

California Is Ending The Clean Air Vehicle Decal Allowing Electric Vehicle Drivers To Go Solo In Carpool Lane

tech

Jon Keegan10/1/25

Meta will begin using your AI chats to target you with ads

When Meta rolls out a new product, the company usually waits until that product has a billion users before turning on the ads.

In May, Meta announced that Meta AI has crossed that threshold, saying that more than 1 billion people are using the product every month. Today, Meta announced that it will begin using your conversations and messages with Meta AI to personalize your recommendations and the ads you see.

Meta currently monetizes your activity on Meta platforms using your interactions (likes, shares, attention) to tailor your exposure to Meta’s massive advertising machine. So if you asked Meta AI about travel tips for your upcoming vacation, you might now see more content and ads related to that place. But what if you’re asking Meta AI about how to deal with your depression?

In a blog post, the company shared:

“When people have conversations with Meta AI about topics such as their religious views, sexual orientation, political views, health, racial or ethnic origin, philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, as always, we don’t use those topics to show them ads.”

But Meta has a spotty record when it comes to protecting sensitive personal information from leaking into its ad platform. Meta’s pixel-tracking technology has been found to pick up sensitive information regarding mental heath crises, financial information, and medical information.

Meta says you can manage the ads you see via controls in its privacy settings, but it’s unclear if users can opt out of the use of Meta AI conversations and interactions for ads and recommendations altogether.

The company said users will start to see notifications about the changes this month, which will go into effect on December 16, 2025.

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Improving Your Recommendations on Our Apps With AI at Meta

Improving Your Recommendations on Our Apps With AI at Meta

Meta currently monetizes your activity on Meta platforms using your interactions (likes, shares, attention) to tailor your exposure to Meta’s massive advertising machine. So if you asked Meta AI about travel tips for your upcoming vacation, you might now see more content and ads related to that place. But what if you’re asking Meta AI about how to deal with your depression?

In a blog post, the company shared:

“When people have conversations with Meta AI about topics such as their religious views, sexual orientation, political views, health, racial or ethnic origin, philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, as always, we don’t use those topics to show them ads.”

But Meta has a spotty record when it comes to protecting sensitive personal information from leaking into its ad platform. Meta’s pixel-tracking technology has been found to pick up sensitive information regarding mental heath crises, financial information, and medical information.

Meta says you can manage the ads you see via controls in its privacy settings, but it’s unclear if users can opt out of the use of Meta AI conversations and interactions for ads and recommendations altogether.

The company said users will start to see notifications about the changes this month, which will go into effect on December 16, 2025.

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

tech

Rani Molla10/1/25

Tesla sales grow in some European countries for the first time this year

In September, Tesla sales rose in France and Denmark for the first time this year, while they also continued to grow in Norway and Spain, according to early European sales data reported by Reuters.

That’s a notable shift from the declines of previous months, as Tesla benefits from the rollout of its revamped Model Y and the introduction of numerous incentives across the continent, helping to stabilize its earlier sales slump.

Of course, Tesla’s European sales fluctuate dramatically month to month in Europe in part because the company doesn’t sell that many vehicles in Europe. Typically Tesla sells a few thousand vehicles per month per European country. In comparison, the automaker sells tens of thousands of cars in the US each month.

Tesla is up more than 2% in early trading, after having just capped off its best month since the election.

Stargate I in Abilene, Texas.

Rising ambitions and skyrocketing costs: Here’s what we know about Project Stargate

As the number of gigawatts and GPUs grows, so do the questions about how the massive data center project will be paid for.

Jon Keegan10/1/25

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