tech

Rani Molla10/7/25

Tesla abandoned plans to make thousands of Optimus robots this year

At the start of this year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on an earnings call that his company planned to build 10,000 Optimus robots for internal use in 2025. On that same call, he hedged and said he thought the company would definitely build “several thousand” of the bots and that they would “be doing useful things by the end of the year.” Tesla apparently abandoned those plans this summer, according to new reporting from The Information, amid “difficulty Tesla has had with the hands for the robots” and other problems.

The importance of Optimus to Tesla has skyrocketed as sales of the company’s EVs have fallen. Last month, Musk said Optimus would some day amount to 80% of the value of Tesla.

Musk, who has been continually sharing videos of Optimus on X, reportedly hopes to impress investors next month at the company’s annual shareholder meeting with a “dancing troupe of Optimus bots.”

As Elon Musk Preps Tesla’s Optimus for Prime Time, Big Hurdles Remain

As Elon Musk Preps Tesla’s Optimus for Prime Time, Big Hurdles Remain

The importance of Optimus to Tesla has skyrocketed as sales of the company’s EVs have fallen. Last month, Musk said Optimus would some day amount to 80% of the value of Tesla.

Musk, who has been continually sharing videos of Optimus on X, reportedly hopes to impress investors next month at the company’s annual shareholder meeting with a “dancing troupe of Optimus bots.”

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tech

David Crowther6h

Chinese tech giants are training their models offshore to sidestep US curbs on Nvidia’s chips

Nvidia can’t sell its best AI chips in the world’s second largest economy. That’s an Nvidia problem. But it’s also a China problem — and it’s one that the region’s tech giants have resorted to solving by training their AI models overseas, according to a new report from the Financial Times.

Citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter, the FT reported that “Alibaba and ByteDance are among the tech groups training their latest large language models in data centers across south-east Asia.” Clusters of data centers have particularly boomed in Singapore and Malaysia, with many of the sites kitted out with Nvidia’s latest architecture.

One exception, per the FT, is DeepSeek, which continues to be trained domestically, having reportedly built up a stockpile of Nvidia chips before the US export ban came into effect.

Last week, Nvidia spiked on the news that the Trump administration was reportedly considering letting the tech giant sell its best Hopper chips — the generation of chips that preceded Blackwell — to China.

China’s tech giants take AI model training offshore to tap Nvidia chips

China’s tech giants take AI model training offshore to tap Nvidia chips

Citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter, the FT reported that “Alibaba and ByteDance are among the tech groups training their latest large language models in data centers across south-east Asia.” Clusters of data centers have particularly boomed in Singapore and Malaysia, with many of the sites kitted out with Nvidia’s latest architecture.

One exception, per the FT, is DeepSeek, which continues to be trained domestically, having reportedly built up a stockpile of Nvidia chips before the US export ban came into effect.

Last week, Nvidia spiked on the news that the Trump administration was reportedly considering letting the tech giant sell its best Hopper chips — the generation of chips that preceded Blackwell — to China.

tech

Alibaba unveils its first AI glasses, taking on Meta directly in the wearables race

Retail and tech giant Alibaba launched its first consumer-ready, AI-powered smart glasses on Thursday, marking its entrance into the growing wearables market.

Announced back in July, the Quark AI glasses just went on sale in the Chinese retailer’s home market, with two versions currently available: the S1, starting at 3,799 Chinese yuan (~$536), and the G1 at 1,899 yuan (~$268) — a considerably lower price than Meta’s $799 Ray-Ban Display glasses, released in September.

Alibaba's AI glasses to rival Meta go on sale for $500

Alibaba's AI glasses to rival Meta go on sale for $500

tech

Jon Keegan11/26/25

Musk: Tesla’s Austin Robotaxi fleet to “roughly double” next month, but falls well short of earlier goals

Yesterday, Elon Musk jumped onto a frustrated user’s post on X, who was complaining that they were unable to book a Robotaxi ride in Austin. Musk aimed to reassure the would-be customer that the company was expanding service in the city:

“The Tesla Robotaxi fleet in Austin should roughly double next month,” wrote Musk.

While that sounds impressive, there are reports that Austin only has 29 Robotaxis in service.

But last month, Musk said the Robotaxi goal was to have “probably 500 or more in the greater Austin area,” by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Google’s Waymo has more than 100 autonomous taxis running in Austin, and 1,000 more in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Elon Musk slashes Tesla Robotaxi fleet goal from 500 to ~60 in Austin

Elon Musk slashes Tesla Robotaxi fleet goal from 500 to ~60 in Austin

“The Tesla Robotaxi fleet in Austin should roughly double next month,” wrote Musk.

While that sounds impressive, there are reports that Austin only has 29 Robotaxis in service.

But last month, Musk said the Robotaxi goal was to have “probably 500 or more in the greater Austin area,” by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Google’s Waymo has more than 100 autonomous taxis running in Austin, and 1,000 more in the San Francisco Bay Area.

tech

Jon Keegan11/26/25

Apple to beat Samsung in smartphone shipments for first time in 14 years

Thanks to Apple’s popular iPhone 17, the company is on track to ship more smartphones than rival Samsung for the first time in 14 years, according to a report from CNBC.

Counterpoint Research projects that Apple will ship about 243 million phones to retailers this year, capturing 19.4% of the global market.

Samsung will come in just behind Apple, with 235 million phones shipped, giving it an 18.7% global market share, per the report.

A favorable upgrade cycle, plus an expected lower-cost entry-level iPhone next year, are among the factors expected to keep Apple in the lead for the next few years.

Apple iPhone shipments to beat Samsung for the first time in 14 years, report says

Apple iPhone shipments to beat Samsung for the first time in 14 years, report says

Samsung will come in just behind Apple, with 235 million phones shipped, giving it an 18.7% global market share, per the report.

A favorable upgrade cycle, plus an expected lower-cost entry-level iPhone next year, are among the factors expected to keep Apple in the lead for the next few years.

tech

Jon Keegan11/26/25

OpenAI eyes 220 million paid subscribers by 2030, The Information reports

OpenAI is scrambling to figure out how to generate enough steady revenue to turn the expensive AI services it offers into profits, as it spends dizzying sums on the infrastructure needed to scale its business to the expected demand.

It appears that for now, the company's solution comes straight from the old, reliable Big Tech playbook: turn free users into paying subscribers.

According to The Information, OpenAI is projecting that it can ramp up to about 220 million paid subscribers by 2030.

The company currently has about 800 million users, with 35 million of them paying for Plus or Pro subscriptions, at either $20 or $200 per month, per the report. OpenAI thinks that in five years it will have 8.5% of its projected 2.6 billion weekly active users paying for a Plus plan, or about 220 million people, The Information reports.

That would put ChatGPT in the same league as Spotify (281 million subscribers in September 2025), and Netflix (302 million subscribers in December 2024).

OpenAI Forecasts Nearly as Many ChatGPT Subscribers as Spotify by 2030

OpenAI Forecasts Nearly as Many ChatGPT Subscribers as Spotify by 2030

According to The Information, OpenAI is projecting that it can ramp up to about 220 million paid subscribers by 2030.

The company currently has about 800 million users, with 35 million of them paying for Plus or Pro subscriptions, at either $20 or $200 per month, per the report. OpenAI thinks that in five years it will have 8.5% of its projected 2.6 billion weekly active users paying for a Plus plan, or about 220 million people, The Information reports.

That would put ChatGPT in the same league as Spotify (281 million subscribers in September 2025), and Netflix (302 million subscribers in December 2024).

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