tech

17h

Tesla’s new Robotaxi app is already near the top of Apple’s App Store

Tesla launched its Robotaxi app last night and already it’s the No. 6 most downloaded app in Apple’s free App Store. It’s also currently the top travel app, ahead of the perennially popular Uber and Lyft.

But as we’ve written, the app won’t necessarily allow you to take a ride in one of Tesla’s roughly 30 autonomous cars in Austin — or even in its more Uber-like ride-hailing service in the Bay Area. For now it just allows users to join a waitlist for the two services. (I’ll let you know when I’m in.)

Robotaxi no. 6 App Store — Apple

Tesla and xAI CEO Elon Musk is currently suing Apple, alleging the iPhone maker has kept xAI’s Grok app from ascending the App Store. Grok is currently ranked 73rd.

Tesla Robotaxi waitlist now open to all

Tesla Robotaxi waitlist now open to all

But as we’ve written, the app won’t necessarily allow you to take a ride in one of Tesla’s roughly 30 autonomous cars in Austin — or even in its more Uber-like ride-hailing service in the Bay Area. For now it just allows users to join a waitlist for the two services. (I’ll let you know when I’m in.)

Robotaxi no. 6 App Store — Apple

Tesla and xAI CEO Elon Musk is currently suing Apple, alleging the iPhone maker has kept xAI’s Grok app from ascending the App Store. Grok is currently ranked 73rd.

More Tech

tech

13h

OpenAI is working on a “jobs platform” for people who lose their jobs to AI

OpenAI has some good news and bad news for workers. The bad news? AI will probably take your job. The good news? The company will offer AI-powered classes to retrain you, and try to help you get a job as a certified AI pro.

The company announced plans for the OpenAI Jobs Platform, in partnership with Walmart, John Deere, and Accenture, to help workers looking to level up their AI skills, and match them with companies seeking such candidates.

In a blog post announcing the plan, the company wrote:

“But AI will also be disruptive. Jobs will look different, companies will have to adapt, and all of us—from shift workers to CEOs—will have to learn how to work in new ways. At OpenAI, we can’t eliminate that disruption. But what we can do is help more people become fluent in AI and connect them with companies that need their skills, to give people more economic opportunities. “

Using AI-powered instruction, users can receive certification for their training, and OpenAI said it is committing to certifying 10 million Americans on its platform by 2030.

Expanding economic opportunity with AI

Expanding economic opportunity with AI

The company announced plans for the OpenAI Jobs Platform, in partnership with Walmart, John Deere, and Accenture, to help workers looking to level up their AI skills, and match them with companies seeking such candidates.

In a blog post announcing the plan, the company wrote:

“But AI will also be disruptive. Jobs will look different, companies will have to adapt, and all of us—from shift workers to CEOs—will have to learn how to work in new ways. At OpenAI, we can’t eliminate that disruption. But what we can do is help more people become fluent in AI and connect them with companies that need their skills, to give people more economic opportunities. “

Using AI-powered instruction, users can receive certification for their training, and OpenAI said it is committing to certifying 10 million Americans on its platform by 2030.

tech

14h

Trump administration plans to loosen rules for self-driving cars, exempt them from windshield wipers

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Thursday it’s planning to propose three new rules that will make it easier for self-driving car companies to develop their vehicles more cheaply. Those include getting rid of requirements that were mandatory for human drivers, including gear shift sticks, windshield defrosting and defogging systems, and some lighting equipment.

“Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards were written for vehicles with human drivers and need to be updated for autonomous vehicles. Removing these requirements will reduce costs and enhance safety,” NHTSA Chief Counsel Peter Simshauser said in a statement.

Earlier this year NHTSA announced it was loosening other rules around autonomous cars, including exempting them from certain federal safety rules for research and demonstration purposes. This time around, however, stocks like Tesla, which is banking on autonomous driving as part of the future of the company, aren’t moving as much on the news.

Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Advances AV Framework with Plans to Modernize Safety Standards | NHTSA

“Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards were written for vehicles with human drivers and need to be updated for autonomous vehicles. Removing these requirements will reduce costs and enhance safety,” NHTSA Chief Counsel Peter Simshauser said in a statement.

Earlier this year NHTSA announced it was loosening other rules around autonomous cars, including exempting them from certain federal safety rules for research and demonstration purposes. This time around, however, stocks like Tesla, which is banking on autonomous driving as part of the future of the company, aren’t moving as much on the news.

14h

Meta’s Threads app is adding a way for users to post up to 10,000 characters, using a new feature called “text attachments”.

Currently Threads posts can contain 500 characters, and many times people just post screenshots of longer text. The company said they noticed users posting screenshots of text from books, articles and podcast transcripts.

Threads competitor X allows users to post up to 25,000 characters, but the feature is only available to paid subscribers. Recently, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the platform had passed 400 million monthly active users.

Switzerland launches “Apertus,” an open-source AI model trained on public data

Countries are racing to build “sovereign AI,” and Switzerland is the latest country to release its own open-source AI model for anyone to use.

Mannlichen viewpoint, Switzerland

tech

17h

Amazon is reportedly testing an enterprise agentic AI tool called “Quick Suite”

Shares of Amazon are rallying as the tech titan readies itself to take another stab at the enterprise software market with a new “agentic AI” tool, according to a report from Business Insider.

“Quick Suite” is a tool that Amazon documents say helps “every business user to make better decisions, faster, and act on them swiftly by unifying Al agents for business insights, deep research, and automation into a single experience,” Business Insider reports.

Amazon is reportedly testing the software with 50 companies, including several large clients like BMW and Koch Industries, the report says. The release of the AWS-powered Quick Suite was delayed from a planned July release to September, per the report.

The timing of this report looks just about perfect for Amazon: recently, the AI trade has shifted more toward software beneficiaries than the picks-and-shovels hardware providers.

Amazon is ready to enter the AI agent race in a big way, according to internal documents

Amazon is ready to enter the AI agent race in a big way, according to internal documents

Amazon is reportedly testing the software with 50 companies, including several large clients like BMW and Koch Industries, the report says. The release of the AWS-powered Quick Suite was delayed from a planned July release to September, per the report.

The timing of this report looks just about perfect for Amazon: recently, the AI trade has shifted more toward software beneficiaries than the picks-and-shovels hardware providers.

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