Thomas Ricker

Electric bike maker Cowboy is in an intellectual property dispute over the new AdaptivePower feature it released in March via a free software update. Seems the company was originally developing the tech to automatically overcome resistance like wind and hills through a partnership with eBikeLabs before terminating the contract sometime last year. Unsurprisingly, eBikeLabs feels cheated. Coincidence? Decide for yourself after reading TechCrunch’s excellent explainer.

My recent live/work experiment in the all-electric VW ID Buzz wouldn’t have been possible without BioLite’s first portable battery and solar panel. It was needed to provide continuous power to my Starlink internet, laptops, phones, and more because the Microbus can’t when parked. The BaseCharge 1500 has some minor quirks, but if it’s specced and priced right for your needs then it’s worth considering.

Somebody must have reminded CEO Sam Altman that he’s no longer operating as a nonprofit, after saying yesterday that he had “many concerns” with the EU AI Act being finalized by lawmakers. “We will try to comply, but if we can’t comply we will cease operating,” he said. And what, cede the EU’s 500 million potential paying customers to Google? Nope. 

Hyundai and LG Energy are investing $4.3 billion to produce EV battery cells in the US. Production will begin by the end 2025 in Georgia, with an annual capacity of 30GWh in support of 300,000 EVs. LG Energy now has seven battery plants currently operating or being constructed in the US, in compliance with President Joe Biden’s clean energy tax law.

From a few leaked pics being discussed over at the Cybertruckownersclub we see a hybrid of the yoke and round steering wheel that retains the touch-sensitive buttons instead of stalks, no display directly in front of the driver, and a dashboard deep enough to curl up and take a nap upon after doing super serious truck stuff all day.

The WSJ has identified at least 6.8 million vehicles with a potentially dangerous air-bag part produced by ARC Automotive:

Air-bag inflators that regulators have warned could explode during a crash and spray the car’s interior with metal shrapnel are in at least 50 different vehicle models spanning 15 automotive brands.

Click below to see if your Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Hyundai, Kia, Mini, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Porsche, Saturn, or VW is on the list identified so far.

“Most companies have settled into a hybrid work strategy that shows little sign of fading,” says a new report in the WSJ.

About 58 percent of companies now allow hybrid work schedules, according to Scoop Technologies’ monitoring of 4,500 companies. Just 42 percent of companies require a full-time office presence. Low unemployment gives workers leverage and they choose flexibility, duh. 

Next year’s iPhone 16 Pro display will jump from 6.1 inches (iPhone 15 Pro) to 6.3 inches, while the Pro Max will jump from 6.7 (iPhone 15 Pro Max) to 6.9 inches, say analysts Kuo and Young.

Kuo says the extra space will make room for periscope lenses with better zoom performance, also expected on this year’s iPhone 15 Pro Max.