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Illustration: Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Image: Getty Images

Several Tesla shareholders are accusing Elon Musk and the company’s board of knowingly diverting talent and resources away from the company and directing it toward Musk’s rival artificial intelligence company, xAI.
In a lawsuit, the shareholders allege that Musk and the board breached their fiduciary duty to Tesla by launching xAI, which was founded in 2023 on the premise of understanding “the true nature of the universe.”
The plaintiffs filed their lawsuit in Delaware, where the company is still incorporated, only hours before Tesla shareholders are set to vote on a proposal to reincorporate the company in Texas after a Delaware court judge voided Musk’s enormous pay package. The lawsuit was first reported by Business Insider and TechCrunch.
The plaintiffs include the Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund as well as two individual shareholders, Daniel Hazen and Michael Giampietro, on behalf of Tesla itself.
They note that, for years, Musk has sought to position Tesla not as a car company but as a robotics and AI powerhouse. The claim helped propel Tesla’s stock price, resulting in the company’s value exceeding that of top automakers combined.
All the while, Musk was “diverting scarce talent and resources from Tesla to xAI, and raised billons of dollars for xAI while touting xAI’s access to Tesla’s AI-related data,” the lawsuit reads. Last week, xAI raised $6 billion in its initial funding round, which it said it will use to bring its first products to market. So far, xAI has launched Grok, a supposedly edgier version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which is available via X but only for Premium subscribers.

2024 06 13 e Filed Verified Stockholder Derivative Complaint Tesla Xai by ahawkins8223 on Scribd

The plaintiffs also cite a recent CNBC report about Musk ordering thousands of Nvidia-made AI chips destined for Tesla to be diverted to the social media company. In a post on X after CNBC’s story published, Musk said that Tesla lacked the capacity to accept the Nvidia GPUs because the company’s factory in Austin, Texas, is incomplete. He also estimated that Tesla would spend $3–4 billion on AI chips from Nvidia in 2024.
They also cite other posts by Musk suggesting he needs a larger stake in Tesla — to the tune of 25 percent — to feel comfortable growing Tesla into an AI and robotics leader. The plaintiffs also accuse Tesla’s board of doing nothing, allowing Musk “to plunder resources from Tesla and divert them to xAI; and to create billions in AI-related value at a company other than Tesla.”
This isn’t the only shareholder lawsuit to emerge this week. An institutional investor sued the company, claiming Musk earned billions of dollars selling Tesla stock using insider information.

Illustration: Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Image: Getty Images

Several Tesla shareholders are accusing Elon Musk and the company’s board of knowingly diverting talent and resources away from the company and directing it toward Musk’s rival artificial intelligence company, xAI.

In a lawsuit, the shareholders allege that Musk and the board breached their fiduciary duty to Tesla by launching xAI, which was founded in 2023 on the premise of understanding “the true nature of the universe.”

The plaintiffs filed their lawsuit in Delaware, where the company is still incorporated, only hours before Tesla shareholders are set to vote on a proposal to reincorporate the company in Texas after a Delaware court judge voided Musk’s enormous pay package. The lawsuit was first reported by Business Insider and TechCrunch.

The plaintiffs include the Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund as well as two individual shareholders, Daniel Hazen and Michael Giampietro, on behalf of Tesla itself.

They note that, for years, Musk has sought to position Tesla not as a car company but as a robotics and AI powerhouse. The claim helped propel Tesla’s stock price, resulting in the company’s value exceeding that of top automakers combined.

All the while, Musk was “diverting scarce talent and resources from Tesla to xAI, and raised billons of dollars for xAI while touting xAI’s access to Tesla’s AI-related data,” the lawsuit reads. Last week, xAI raised $6 billion in its initial funding round, which it said it will use to bring its first products to market. So far, xAI has launched Grok, a supposedly edgier version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which is available via X but only for Premium subscribers.

The plaintiffs also cite a recent CNBC report about Musk ordering thousands of Nvidia-made AI chips destined for Tesla to be diverted to the social media company. In a post on X after CNBC’s story published, Musk said that Tesla lacked the capacity to accept the Nvidia GPUs because the company’s factory in Austin, Texas, is incomplete. He also estimated that Tesla would spend $3–4 billion on AI chips from Nvidia in 2024.

They also cite other posts by Musk suggesting he needs a larger stake in Tesla — to the tune of 25 percent — to feel comfortable growing Tesla into an AI and robotics leader. The plaintiffs also accuse Tesla’s board of doing nothing, allowing Musk “to plunder resources from Tesla and divert them to xAI; and to create billions in AI-related value at a company other than Tesla.”

This isn’t the only shareholder lawsuit to emerge this week. An institutional investor sued the company, claiming Musk earned billions of dollars selling Tesla stock using insider information.

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The vote is seen as a referendum on Musk’s leadership at Tesla during a tumultuous time for the electric automaker. Tesla’s 2024 shareholder meeting is a bit different than meetings past. Investors are being asked to weigh in on the question of Elon Musk’s massive pay package, which is estimated to be as high as $50 billion.
But it isn’t the first time shareholders have voted on whether to approve Musk’s unusual compensation package. Earlier this year, a Delaware court judge voided his $56 billion pay in response to a shareholder lawsuit.

Both Tesla shareholder resolutions are currently passing by wide margins!♥️♥️ Thanks for your support!! ♥️♥️ pic.twitter.com/udf56VGQdo— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 13, 2024

Shareholders will also vote on proposals to move Tesla’s legal home from Delaware to Texas and to reappoint two board members: James Murdoch and Kimbal Musk, Elon’s brother.
The vote is widely seen as a referendum on Musk’s tumultuous leadership at Tesla. Retail investors widely support Musk, while some institutional shareholders have said they would oppose the plan, calling it excessive.
Musk has threatened to remove Tesla’s work on AI and robotics if he doesn’t receive a larger share of the company’s stock. And Tesla’s board has implied that he could leave the company altogether if the pay package isn’t approved.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The vote is seen as a referendum on Musk’s leadership at Tesla during a tumultuous time for the electric automaker.

Tesla’s 2024 shareholder meeting is a bit different than meetings past. Investors are being asked to weigh in on the question of Elon Musk’s massive pay package, which is estimated to be as high as $50 billion.

But it isn’t the first time shareholders have voted on whether to approve Musk’s unusual compensation package. Earlier this year, a Delaware court judge voided his $56 billion pay in response to a shareholder lawsuit.

Shareholders will also vote on proposals to move Tesla’s legal home from Delaware to Texas and to reappoint two board members: James Murdoch and Kimbal Musk, Elon’s brother.

The vote is widely seen as a referendum on Musk’s tumultuous leadership at Tesla. Retail investors widely support Musk, while some institutional shareholders have said they would oppose the plan, calling it excessive.

Musk has threatened to remove Tesla’s work on AI and robotics if he doesn’t receive a larger share of the company’s stock. And Tesla’s board has implied that he could leave the company altogether if the pay package isn’t approved.

Read More 

Illustration by Hugo Herrera / The Verge

New technologies and changes in consumer habits could limit the use of controversial carbon capture to fight climate change, new research shows.
Efforts to capture carbon from polluting sources or to filter CO2 out of the air have picked up steam as a way for companies to meet their climate goals. But those strategies are still unproven at a large scale and could come with other unintended consequences. Some environmental advocates also worry that focusing on cleaning up pollution after the fact could lure companies away from transitioning to renewable energy to prevent emissions in the first place.
To stop climate change and meet the goals of the Paris agreement, planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions need to reach net zero around 2050. There’s no way to do that without turning to cleaner energy. Certain industries, however, are considered difficult to decarbonize, meaning they can’t turn to renewable electricity as easily as other sectors to reduce carbon pollution. That includes agriculture, international transport by ship and plane, and heavy industry like steel and cement manufacturing.
There are ways to prevent more of that pollution either by leaning into emerging technological solutions or by encouraging more sustainable consumer habits
That’s where carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is supposed to come in as a way to draw down that leftover pollution from hard-to-decarbonize sectors. A paper published last week, however, pushes industry and policymakers to be more ambitious. There are ways to prevent more of that pollution either by leaning into emerging technological solutions or by encouraging more sustainable consumer habits.
“Are there not measures that can be taken that are tenable, right? That’s the question,” says Wil Burns, co-director of the Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal at American University, who was not involved in the new research.
The authors of a paper published in the journal Nature Climate Change last week scoured previous research to identify ways each of those hard-to-abate sectors could cut down their pollution. Lighter-weight and more efficient aircraft would reduce pollution from international travel, as would efforts to develop cleaner-burning fuel. Increased teleworking and taking high-speed rail instead of short-distance flights would also cut down on carbon pollution. When it comes to making steel, electric arc furnaces can replace traditional blast furnaces. One of the biggest ways people could make an impact, they found, would be to cut down on the amount of meat and dairy they consume.

The researchers analyzed scenarios in which people deploy those strategies to reduce emissions from hard-to-decarbonize industries and compared the outcomes to a baseline scenario for climate action without such measures. That showed them how much they could reduce the use of one of the most contested carbon removal strategies, called bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).
The baseline scenario, which is based on a model commonly used to inform climate action, prioritizes cost savings. “In a way, it finds the cheapest options to reduce emissions,” says Oreane Edelenbosch, lead author of the research and an assistant professor at Utrecht University. “BECCS is an option that is attractive from a cost perspective.”
BECCS involves capturing and storing carbon dioxide from wood-burning power plants. The power plant burns fuel from trees that naturally take in and store CO2. Burning those trees releases that CO2, but you can replant trees to try to capture those emissions again. Ideally, that becomes a carbon-neutral process for generating energy. The goal with BECCS, though, is negative emissions, which is achieved by installing devices to capture the power plant’s pollution. That carbon negativity is meant to cancel out the climate impact of hard-to-abate emissions from heavy industry, transport, and agriculture.
BECCS hasn’t been very widely deployed yet, although that could change with interest from companies like Microsoft, which recently agreed to a deal with energy company Stockholm Exergi to purchase 3.33 million metric tons of carbon removal from BECCS.

But BECCS can take a toll in different ways. There are additional emissions from clearing forests and transporting wood to burn as fuel. With that in mind, some studies have found that BECCS isn’t necessarily carbon negative and can actually worsen greenhouse gas pollution in the atmosphere. Burns points out that there are human rights concerns with BECCS, too, since it uses a lot of land and water and can raise food prices for communities already facing food insecurity.
The authors of the new paper find that implementing technological solutions for hard-to-decarbonize sectors could dramatically reduce the annual use of BECCS by 2060. Changing consumer behavior was especially powerful, particularly switching to “healthy” diets that cut down on meat and agricultural emissions. Looking at those kinds of lifestyle changes alone, BECCS might only be used to draw down up to 2.2 gigatons of carbon dioxide a year compared to a peak of 10.3 gigatons annually in a baseline scenario.
Of course, it’s easier to envision this on paper than to implement all of these strategies in the real world. “[In this study] we assume that they are implemented and they are adopted in almost like a perfect world. We don’t take into account political views or certain personal preferences,” Edelenbosch says. “It really more shows, in a way, what if?”

Illustration by Hugo Herrera / The Verge

New technologies and changes in consumer habits could limit the use of controversial carbon capture to fight climate change, new research shows.

Efforts to capture carbon from polluting sources or to filter CO2 out of the air have picked up steam as a way for companies to meet their climate goals. But those strategies are still unproven at a large scale and could come with other unintended consequences. Some environmental advocates also worry that focusing on cleaning up pollution after the fact could lure companies away from transitioning to renewable energy to prevent emissions in the first place.

To stop climate change and meet the goals of the Paris agreement, planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions need to reach net zero around 2050. There’s no way to do that without turning to cleaner energy. Certain industries, however, are considered difficult to decarbonize, meaning they can’t turn to renewable electricity as easily as other sectors to reduce carbon pollution. That includes agriculture, international transport by ship and plane, and heavy industry like steel and cement manufacturing.

That’s where carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is supposed to come in as a way to draw down that leftover pollution from hard-to-decarbonize sectors. A paper published last week, however, pushes industry and policymakers to be more ambitious. There are ways to prevent more of that pollution either by leaning into emerging technological solutions or by encouraging more sustainable consumer habits.

“Are there not measures that can be taken that are tenable, right? That’s the question,” says Wil Burns, co-director of the Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal at American University, who was not involved in the new research.

The authors of a paper published in the journal Nature Climate Change last week scoured previous research to identify ways each of those hard-to-abate sectors could cut down their pollution. Lighter-weight and more efficient aircraft would reduce pollution from international travel, as would efforts to develop cleaner-burning fuel. Increased teleworking and taking high-speed rail instead of short-distance flights would also cut down on carbon pollution. When it comes to making steel, electric arc furnaces can replace traditional blast furnaces. One of the biggest ways people could make an impact, they found, would be to cut down on the amount of meat and dairy they consume.

The researchers analyzed scenarios in which people deploy those strategies to reduce emissions from hard-to-decarbonize industries and compared the outcomes to a baseline scenario for climate action without such measures. That showed them how much they could reduce the use of one of the most contested carbon removal strategies, called bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).

The baseline scenario, which is based on a model commonly used to inform climate action, prioritizes cost savings. “In a way, it finds the cheapest options to reduce emissions,” says Oreane Edelenbosch, lead author of the research and an assistant professor at Utrecht University. “BECCS is an option that is attractive from a cost perspective.”

BECCS involves capturing and storing carbon dioxide from wood-burning power plants. The power plant burns fuel from trees that naturally take in and store CO2. Burning those trees releases that CO2, but you can replant trees to try to capture those emissions again. Ideally, that becomes a carbon-neutral process for generating energy. The goal with BECCS, though, is negative emissions, which is achieved by installing devices to capture the power plant’s pollution. That carbon negativity is meant to cancel out the climate impact of hard-to-abate emissions from heavy industry, transport, and agriculture.

BECCS hasn’t been very widely deployed yet, although that could change with interest from companies like Microsoft, which recently agreed to a deal with energy company Stockholm Exergi to purchase 3.33 million metric tons of carbon removal from BECCS.

But BECCS can take a toll in different ways. There are additional emissions from clearing forests and transporting wood to burn as fuel. With that in mind, some studies have found that BECCS isn’t necessarily carbon negative and can actually worsen greenhouse gas pollution in the atmosphere. Burns points out that there are human rights concerns with BECCS, too, since it uses a lot of land and water and can raise food prices for communities already facing food insecurity.

The authors of the new paper find that implementing technological solutions for hard-to-decarbonize sectors could dramatically reduce the annual use of BECCS by 2060. Changing consumer behavior was especially powerful, particularly switching to “healthy” diets that cut down on meat and agricultural emissions. Looking at those kinds of lifestyle changes alone, BECCS might only be used to draw down up to 2.2 gigatons of carbon dioxide a year compared to a peak of 10.3 gigatons annually in a baseline scenario.

Of course, it’s easier to envision this on paper than to implement all of these strategies in the real world. “[In this study] we assume that they are implemented and they are adopted in almost like a perfect world. We don’t take into account political views or certain personal preferences,” Edelenbosch says. “It really more shows, in a way, what if?”

Read More 

I suspect GuliKit’s gamepad sticks will require soldering, though… this DualSense, for example, has sticks soldered to the board. | Image: iFixit

The Nintendo Switch’s infamous “Joy-Con drift” showed us that we deserve more from joysticks and that one company is only too happy to help. Now, GuliKit is officially bringing its drift-resistant magnetic Hall effect joysticks to a PS5, PS4, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch Pro gamepad near you in the form of upcoming upgrade kits.
They’ll be available for the Sony DualSense, DualShock 4, Xbox Series gamepad, and Nintendo’s own official Switch Pro controller. But surprisingly, GuliKit is no longer bringing it to Sony’s modular DualSense Edge like it originally promised and won’t offer it for Xbox Elite controllers, either. GuliKit business director Jack He tells me that’s because neither Sony nor Microsoft offer working calibration tools for their flagship gamepads. (Hall effect joysticks do need to be calibrated before first use and periodically afterward.)

Image: GuliKit
GuliKit says its stick has less error than the originals.

Instead of producing a drop-in Hall effect module for the DualSense Edge, He suggests that “players can use this new stick to install on the stick module,” presumably soldering it in themselves if Sony adds a calibration tool to the PS5.
Speaking of soldering, that might be a required skill for these other gamepads, too. While GuliKit’s Steam Deck and Joy-Con sticks are attached with screws and are easy to remove, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all tend to solder their ALPS potentiometer joysticks directly to their gamepad circuit boards, as you can see in iFixit’s many guides.

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GuliKit’s He wouldn’t provide other details, prices, or any release dates at this point but tells me these new sticks are “a very new patented technology which is different from our current hall effect joystick.”
Many manufacturers have begun to adopt drift-resistant joysticks in their premium controllers and handhelds, many if not all of which are supplied by GuliKit, though others (including Valve) say they believe their existing ALPS sticks are good enough. With the ROG Ally X, Asus is trying to hedge its bets; it’ll ship with ALPS sticks rated for 5 million rotations, but Asus also worked with GuliKit to offer a Hall effect upgrade kit.

I suspect GuliKit’s gamepad sticks will require soldering, though… this DualSense, for example, has sticks soldered to the board. | Image: iFixit

The Nintendo Switch’s infamous “Joy-Con drift” showed us that we deserve more from joysticks and that one company is only too happy to help. Now, GuliKit is officially bringing its drift-resistant magnetic Hall effect joysticks to a PS5, PS4, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch Pro gamepad near you in the form of upcoming upgrade kits.

They’ll be available for the Sony DualSense, DualShock 4, Xbox Series gamepad, and Nintendo’s own official Switch Pro controller. But surprisingly, GuliKit is no longer bringing it to Sony’s modular DualSense Edge like it originally promised and won’t offer it for Xbox Elite controllers, either. GuliKit business director Jack He tells me that’s because neither Sony nor Microsoft offer working calibration tools for their flagship gamepads. (Hall effect joysticks do need to be calibrated before first use and periodically afterward.)

Image: GuliKit
GuliKit says its stick has less error than the originals.

Instead of producing a drop-in Hall effect module for the DualSense Edge, He suggests that “players can use this new stick to install on the stick module,” presumably soldering it in themselves if Sony adds a calibration tool to the PS5.

Speaking of soldering, that might be a required skill for these other gamepads, too. While GuliKit’s Steam Deck and Joy-Con sticks are attached with screws and are easy to remove, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all tend to solder their ALPS potentiometer joysticks directly to their gamepad circuit boards, as you can see in iFixit’s many guides.

GuliKit’s He wouldn’t provide other details, prices, or any release dates at this point but tells me these new sticks are “a very new patented technology which is different from our current hall effect joystick.”

Many manufacturers have begun to adopt drift-resistant joysticks in their premium controllers and handhelds, many if not all of which are supplied by GuliKit, though others (including Valve) say they believe their existing ALPS sticks are good enough. With the ROG Ally X, Asus is trying to hedge its bets; it’ll ship with ALPS sticks rated for 5 million rotations, but Asus also worked with GuliKit to offer a Hall effect upgrade kit.

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Image: Apple

Apple is introducing a way to use Apple Pay on non-Safari desktop web browsers, as reported by MacRumors, meaning that you’ll soon be able to use Apple’s payment service to buy things on desktop Chrome, Firefox, and even on Windows PCs.
Apple showed how it works in a WWDC 2024 video for developers. If you’re using a desktop browser that isn’t Safari and you see an Apple Pay button, you’ll be able to click that button to bring up a special code you can scan with an iPhone running iOS 18. If you scan the code, you’ll then be prompted to complete the transaction on your iPhone.

Image: Apple

On desktop, Apple Pay has so far been limited to Safari on Macs. Thanks to these updates, depending on the browser and hardware you use, you might start seeing a lot more Apple Pay buttons across the web.
Apple’s video also provided details for developers on iOS 18’s redesigned event tickets in Apple Wallet. These changes and a bunch of others are set to come to iPhones this fall.

Image: Apple

Apple is introducing a way to use Apple Pay on non-Safari desktop web browsers, as reported by MacRumors, meaning that you’ll soon be able to use Apple’s payment service to buy things on desktop Chrome, Firefox, and even on Windows PCs.

Apple showed how it works in a WWDC 2024 video for developers. If you’re using a desktop browser that isn’t Safari and you see an Apple Pay button, you’ll be able to click that button to bring up a special code you can scan with an iPhone running iOS 18. If you scan the code, you’ll then be prompted to complete the transaction on your iPhone.

Image: Apple

On desktop, Apple Pay has so far been limited to Safari on Macs. Thanks to these updates, depending on the browser and hardware you use, you might start seeing a lot more Apple Pay buttons across the web.

Apple’s video also provided details for developers on iOS 18’s redesigned event tickets in Apple Wallet. These changes and a bunch of others are set to come to iPhones this fall.

Read More 

You won’t have to force a smile with the Qudi Mask 2 strapped to your face. | Screenshot: YouTube

The Qudi Mask 2 could let privacy seekers who still want to be social have their cake and eat it, too. It’s a wearable digital avatar that hides a user’s real face behind an LED display and can automatically trigger a handful of emotive — but somehow also emotionally empty — expressions using head tracking and a mic.
LED face masks aren’t a new idea — you’ve probably seen teenagers running around with them on Halloween — but the Qudi Mask 2 does more than just cycle through a preloaded collection of pixelated faces and colorful animations. Its faces can automatically change their expressions by reacting to what the wearer is doing. The sound of their voice will cause the animated mouth to move in real time so it appears like it’s talking, while the wearer nodding, shaking, or tilting their head will produce a yes, no, or confused expression, complete with a raised eyebrow.
A simple nod, shake, or head tilt is usually enough to convey those expressions on their own without an accompanying LED light show, but the Qudi Mask 2’s creators are seemingly trying to elevate their product past another Amazon impulse purchase.

The Qudi (which is apparently pronounced similar to “cootie,” according to this promotional video) Mask 2 is an upgrade from a previous version that looked more like a paintball mask bedazzled with glowing LEDs. Version two appears to be more streamlined and purpose-built as a wearable digital avatar, and according to its creators, is capable of displaying more than 30 additional emotions and “millions of faces” using app-based customizations.

Screenshot: YouTube
Three versions of the Qudi Mask 2 will be available: Kawaii, Robot, and XX’s.

Three versions of the Qudi Mask 2 are planned: a cute Kawaii option; a cartoony Robot; and one called XX’s featuring abstract glyphs for eyes. A basic grid of color-changing LEDs could easily replicate all three of these designs, but the use of what appears to be segmented displays, similar to the digital clocks of yesteryear, will necessitate consumers having to make a choice.

Screenshot: YouTube
You can even turn yourself into a pixelated version of a green Scottish ogre using the Qudi Mask 2.

As with most expensive gadgets, there will also be cases available for the Qudi Mask 2, but they’re less about protecting the mask and more about changing the appearance of the wearer. If you’re not opting for the alien option, which looks suspiciously like a popular Scottish cartoon ogre, you’re throwing your money away.
The creators of the Qudi Mask 2 have once again opted for a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to help bring version two of their mask to consumers. There’s always a risk when backing any crowdfunded product, even one that’s already fully funded, but early backers of the Qudi Mask 2 can get one discounted to $129. If you’d rather wait until after the Kickstarter is over, the full retail pricing will be closer to $199.
That is unquestionably expensive when you can get something similar on Amazon for $36 that boasts over eight hours of battery life. The Qudi Mask 2 musters just three hours on a full charge. It feels like the digital equivalent of the classic mustache and glasses disguise, which doesn’t require you to carry an extra battery.

You won’t have to force a smile with the Qudi Mask 2 strapped to your face. | Screenshot: YouTube

The Qudi Mask 2 could let privacy seekers who still want to be social have their cake and eat it, too. It’s a wearable digital avatar that hides a user’s real face behind an LED display and can automatically trigger a handful of emotive — but somehow also emotionally empty — expressions using head tracking and a mic.

LED face masks aren’t a new idea — you’ve probably seen teenagers running around with them on Halloween — but the Qudi Mask 2 does more than just cycle through a preloaded collection of pixelated faces and colorful animations. Its faces can automatically change their expressions by reacting to what the wearer is doing. The sound of their voice will cause the animated mouth to move in real time so it appears like it’s talking, while the wearer nodding, shaking, or tilting their head will produce a yes, no, or confused expression, complete with a raised eyebrow.

A simple nod, shake, or head tilt is usually enough to convey those expressions on their own without an accompanying LED light show, but the Qudi Mask 2’s creators are seemingly trying to elevate their product past another Amazon impulse purchase.

The Qudi (which is apparently pronounced similar to “cootie,” according to this promotional video) Mask 2 is an upgrade from a previous version that looked more like a paintball mask bedazzled with glowing LEDs. Version two appears to be more streamlined and purpose-built as a wearable digital avatar, and according to its creators, is capable of displaying more than 30 additional emotions and “millions of faces” using app-based customizations.

Screenshot: YouTube
Three versions of the Qudi Mask 2 will be available: Kawaii, Robot, and XX’s.

Three versions of the Qudi Mask 2 are planned: a cute Kawaii option; a cartoony Robot; and one called XX’s featuring abstract glyphs for eyes. A basic grid of color-changing LEDs could easily replicate all three of these designs, but the use of what appears to be segmented displays, similar to the digital clocks of yesteryear, will necessitate consumers having to make a choice.

Screenshot: YouTube
You can even turn yourself into a pixelated version of a green Scottish ogre using the Qudi Mask 2.

As with most expensive gadgets, there will also be cases available for the Qudi Mask 2, but they’re less about protecting the mask and more about changing the appearance of the wearer. If you’re not opting for the alien option, which looks suspiciously like a popular Scottish cartoon ogre, you’re throwing your money away.

The creators of the Qudi Mask 2 have once again opted for a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to help bring version two of their mask to consumers. There’s always a risk when backing any crowdfunded product, even one that’s already fully funded, but early backers of the Qudi Mask 2 can get one discounted to $129. If you’d rather wait until after the Kickstarter is over, the full retail pricing will be closer to $199.

That is unquestionably expensive when you can get something similar on Amazon for $36 that boasts over eight hours of battery life. The Qudi Mask 2 musters just three hours on a full charge. It feels like the digital equivalent of the classic mustache and glasses disguise, which doesn’t require you to carry an extra battery.

Read More 

Breaking streaks no longer has to be something you worry about. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

When I had covid, I was miserable, hacking up my lungs and confined to bed for several days with horrible brain fog. I don’t remember much from that time. I do, however, remember waking up bleary-eyed and feverish to an Apple Watch notification. It said I hadn’t made much progress on my rings. I should take a brisk 27-minute walk. “You can still do it,” it said. No, I could not.
It wasn’t my fault I’d gotten sick, but my 85-day streak was broken anyway. Since then, I’ve had nasty shin splints, migraines, and multiple cross-country flights that make it hard to hit exercise goals — all excellent reasons to prioritize rest or build some extra flexibility into my schedule. Despite knowing better, I still felt disappointed whenever I listened to my body and prioritized rest over an arbitrary streak.
So when Apple announced that rest days are finally coming in watchOS 11, I nearly wept with joy. And I know I’m not the only one. People have been asking for this feature for a really, really long time.

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With watchOS 11, Apple is introducing a number of features that finally create space for rest and recovery. The two I’m most excited about are the ability to pause Activity Rings and the ability to adjust goals based on the day of the week.
This is long overdue. The rest of the industry has been steadily pivoting away from gamification and toward recovery for the past few years. And with good reason.
As motivating as streaks can be, they can inadvertently teach you to ignore your body’s cues. When I was sick, I told my Apple Watch to stuff it. I’ve had several friends over the years tell me they dragged themselves out of sick beds just to keep a streak going. Others said they lowered their goals but felt guilty for “cheating.” I get the impulse — breaking a streak can feel like you’ve fallen off the horse. (It’s blatantly untrue, but streaks have a weird, addictive power that sometimes trumps logic.) But a fitness tracker’s ultimate goal is to help you improve your health. Feeling like you can’t rest because of an arbitrary streak is the opposite of improving your health.

Image: Apple
Truly, the Apple Watch feature I’ve wanted the most for a really, really long time.

Not only that, but rest is actually a requirement for any competent fitness plan. Runners who don’t build rest days into a training plan get injured. If you want to build muscle, forgoing rest is a pretty bad plan since rest is when new muscle is built. It’s no coincidence that elite athletes have flocked to trackers like the Oura Ring or Whoop, which prioritize recovery and sleep above all else.
For these reasons, pausing rings is an excellent idea. In watchOS 11, you’ll be able to pause rings for a day, week, month, or whatever time period you need without it affecting your Move streak. That takes away the sense that you’ve failed. It acknowledges that maybe when you’re on vacation, it’s okay if you want to loaf around by a pool and be present with family instead of worrying when you’re going to squeeze in a workout. That you are, in fact, allowed to take breaks — and that doing so may help you stay motivated in the long run.
Likewise, adjusting your goals based on your schedule makes it easier for beginners to stick to an actual plan. If it makes it easier to stick to plan by lowering your move goal on days you go to the office and then increasing them on the weekends, why wouldn’t you? And while you could technically do this manually prior to watchOS 11, automating it makes it feel intentional. It’s a simple shift in perception, but one that can erase any irrational guilt about cheating from the equation.

Apple is far from the first company to implement these kinds of features. But that’s not the point. When you’re trying to do hard things — and improving your health is a hard thing — it helps immensely when you’re given the grace to be imperfect. And you are going to be imperfect. It’s not a matter of if you’ll get sick or life breaks your streaks. It’s a matter of when. When I broke my longest Move streak to date, it was because something traumatic happened in my life. After a day of ugly crying, I woke up the next morning to a broken streak. I knew it was trivial in the grand scheme of things. Nevertheless, it felt like getting kicked while I was down. It took me two months to get my head back in the game.
Looking back, I can’t help but wonder if it all would’ve been easier if I’d had the ability to hit pause from the get-go. Some fitness buffs might scoff and say I, and others like me, lack discipline or mental fortitude and that these features are a crutch. Maybe so. But I’m all for making fitness fit into your life — not building your entire life around fitness. This is a much-needed step in that direction.

Breaking streaks no longer has to be something you worry about. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

When I had covid, I was miserable, hacking up my lungs and confined to bed for several days with horrible brain fog. I don’t remember much from that time. I do, however, remember waking up bleary-eyed and feverish to an Apple Watch notification. It said I hadn’t made much progress on my rings. I should take a brisk 27-minute walk. “You can still do it,” it said. No, I could not.

It wasn’t my fault I’d gotten sick, but my 85-day streak was broken anyway. Since then, I’ve had nasty shin splints, migraines, and multiple cross-country flights that make it hard to hit exercise goals — all excellent reasons to prioritize rest or build some extra flexibility into my schedule. Despite knowing better, I still felt disappointed whenever I listened to my body and prioritized rest over an arbitrary streak.

So when Apple announced that rest days are finally coming in watchOS 11, I nearly wept with joy. And I know I’m not the only one. People have been asking for this feature for a really, really long time.

With watchOS 11, Apple is introducing a number of features that finally create space for rest and recovery. The two I’m most excited about are the ability to pause Activity Rings and the ability to adjust goals based on the day of the week.

This is long overdue. The rest of the industry has been steadily pivoting away from gamification and toward recovery for the past few years. And with good reason.

As motivating as streaks can be, they can inadvertently teach you to ignore your body’s cues. When I was sick, I told my Apple Watch to stuff it. I’ve had several friends over the years tell me they dragged themselves out of sick beds just to keep a streak going. Others said they lowered their goals but felt guilty for “cheating.” I get the impulse — breaking a streak can feel like you’ve fallen off the horse. (It’s blatantly untrue, but streaks have a weird, addictive power that sometimes trumps logic.) But a fitness tracker’s ultimate goal is to help you improve your health. Feeling like you can’t rest because of an arbitrary streak is the opposite of improving your health.

Not only that, but rest is actually a requirement for any competent fitness plan. Runners who don’t build rest days into a training plan get injured. If you want to build muscle, forgoing rest is a pretty bad plan since rest is when new muscle is built. It’s no coincidence that elite athletes have flocked to trackers like the Oura Ring or Whoop, which prioritize recovery and sleep above all else.

For these reasons, pausing rings is an excellent idea. In watchOS 11, you’ll be able to pause rings for a day, week, month, or whatever time period you need without it affecting your Move streak. That takes away the sense that you’ve failed. It acknowledges that maybe when you’re on vacation, it’s okay if you want to loaf around by a pool and be present with family instead of worrying when you’re going to squeeze in a workout. That you are, in fact, allowed to take breaks — and that doing so may help you stay motivated in the long run.

Likewise, adjusting your goals based on your schedule makes it easier for beginners to stick to an actual plan. If it makes it easier to stick to plan by lowering your move goal on days you go to the office and then increasing them on the weekends, why wouldn’t you? And while you could technically do this manually prior to watchOS 11, automating it makes it feel intentional. It’s a simple shift in perception, but one that can erase any irrational guilt about cheating from the equation.

Apple is far from the first company to implement these kinds of features. But that’s not the point. When you’re trying to do hard things — and improving your health is a hard thing — it helps immensely when you’re given the grace to be imperfect. And you are going to be imperfect. It’s not a matter of if you’ll get sick or life breaks your streaks. It’s a matter of when. When I broke my longest Move streak to date, it was because something traumatic happened in my life. After a day of ugly crying, I woke up the next morning to a broken streak. I knew it was trivial in the grand scheme of things. Nevertheless, it felt like getting kicked while I was down. It took me two months to get my head back in the game.

Looking back, I can’t help but wonder if it all would’ve been easier if I’d had the ability to hit pause from the get-go. Some fitness buffs might scoff and say I, and others like me, lack discipline or mental fortitude and that these features are a crutch. Maybe so. But I’m all for making fitness fit into your life — not building your entire life around fitness. This is a much-needed step in that direction.

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Now any dealership can sell Ford EVs. | Image: Umar Shakir / The Verge

Ford’s Model E dealership certification program is getting stripped down to allow all locations access to EV inventory. As reported by CNBC, Ford is revising its strategy of requiring dealerships to invest up to $1.2 million for certification that includes mandatory on-site EV chargers, upgrades, and advanced staff training.
In an email to The Verge, Ford Model E COO Marin Gjaja wrote that starting July 1st, the company is “expanding EV sales and service to all 2,800 of its US dealers,” which replaces the Model E dealership program first introduced in 2022. Gjaja wrote that approximately 1,400 dealerships had enrolled in the old program.
The move to dismantle EV certification requirements was rumored to be underway last month in dealership meetings. Ford was at odds with dealerships after being accused of violating state franchise laws while also losing leverage as sales of popular EVs like Teslas slowed — even though Ford’s own EV and hybrid sales are up.
The old program had as many as two-thirds of Ford dealerships previously agreeing to sign up for an EV “Certified” tag. It included the premium (and most expensive) “Elite” tier and a standard one that only needed investments of up to $500,000. The standard tier was initially only good for about 25 EV allocations per year, while Elites would get far more.
Ford originally wanted dealerships to install multiple chargers, with some available for public use, but pushback made the automaker revise those requirements in November. Now, without requirements to install EV chargers, customers may endure more difficult delivery processes at dealerships, some of which are hostile to the idea of selling EVs anyway.

Now any dealership can sell Ford EVs. | Image: Umar Shakir / The Verge

Ford’s Model E dealership certification program is getting stripped down to allow all locations access to EV inventory. As reported by CNBC, Ford is revising its strategy of requiring dealerships to invest up to $1.2 million for certification that includes mandatory on-site EV chargers, upgrades, and advanced staff training.

In an email to The Verge, Ford Model E COO Marin Gjaja wrote that starting July 1st, the company is “expanding EV sales and service to all 2,800 of its US dealers,” which replaces the Model E dealership program first introduced in 2022. Gjaja wrote that approximately 1,400 dealerships had enrolled in the old program.

The move to dismantle EV certification requirements was rumored to be underway last month in dealership meetings. Ford was at odds with dealerships after being accused of violating state franchise laws while also losing leverage as sales of popular EVs like Teslas slowed — even though Ford’s own EV and hybrid sales are up.

The old program had as many as two-thirds of Ford dealerships previously agreeing to sign up for an EV “Certified” tag. It included the premium (and most expensive) “Elite” tier and a standard one that only needed investments of up to $500,000. The standard tier was initially only good for about 25 EV allocations per year, while Elites would get far more.

Ford originally wanted dealerships to install multiple chargers, with some available for public use, but pushback made the automaker revise those requirements in November. Now, without requirements to install EV chargers, customers may endure more difficult delivery processes at dealerships, some of which are hostile to the idea of selling EVs anyway.

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Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos via Getty Images

The Supreme Court maintained access to the abortion pill mifepristone, unanimously refusing to hear a case brought by a number of anti-abortion organizations and doctors over the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the pill.
“The plaintiffs have sincere legal, moral, ideological, and policy objections to elective abortion and to FDA’s relaxed regulation of mifepristone,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion issued Thursday. “But under Article III of the Constitution, those kinds of objections alone do not establish a justiciable case or controversy in federal court.”
In 2022 — after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade — a newly established group that called itself the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM) challenged the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. In a federal suit filed in Amarillo, Texas, the AHM questioned the safety of mifepristone and said the existence of the pill meant doctors who objected to abortion on moral grounds would nonetheless be forced to treat patients who had taken the abortion pill and experienced adverse side effects. Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, the federal judge presiding over the case — who hears all civil suits filed in Amarillo and who had been appointed by then-President Donald Trump — ruled in favor of AHM in 2023, calling abortion providers “abortionists” in his decision to take mifepristone off the market.
After the Justice Department challenged the decision on behalf of the FDA and Danco Laboratories, the drug manufacturer that makes the pill, an appeals court scaled back Kacsmaryk’s ruling. A three-judge panel on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit let mifepristone stay on the market but reversed a 2016 FDA regulation that had made the pill easier to access. The Department of Justice then appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, arguing that the AHM lacked standing to sue the FDA.
In Thursday’s ruling, the Supreme Court agreed. “Plaintiffs are pro-life, oppose elective abortion, and have sincere legal, moral, ideological, and policy objections to mifepristone being prescribed and used by others. Because plaintiffs do not prescribe or use mifepristone, plaintiffs are unregulated parties who seek to challenge FDA’s regulation of others,” wrote Kavanaugh, who ruled in favor of Dobbs. But the AHM failed to show how patients taking mifepristone would force anti-abortion doctors to “participate in an abortion.” The doctors, in other words, failed to show how they had been or could be affected by the existence of mifepristone besides objecting to its availability.
Kavanaugh’s decision states that the AHM’s argument could lead to “a new doctrine of doctor standing” that would, in turn, allow any group of professionals to sue over policies they didn’t agree with. “Firefighters could sue to object to relaxed building codes that increase fire risks,” Kavanaugh wrote. “Teachers in border states could sue to challenge allegedly lax immigration policies that lead to overcrowded classrooms.”
But the court did not rule on the merits, which means future legal challenges could be on the horizon. In fact, Kavanaugh’s decision notes that, despite their lack of standing, the AHM has other avenues through which to challenge the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, including through the regulatory process or by supporting legislation.
Pro-choice groups are taking the decision as a tentative victory. Meanwhile, anti-abortion groups have spoken out against the court’s decision, but their statements suggest they’re taking the ruling as a momentary setback. Erin Hawley, the chief counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom who served as co-counsel for the AHM, said the court’s decision was “based on a legal technicality.”
“We are very hopeful that the federal courts will have a chance to hold the FDA accountable for its unlawful actions and removing these longstanding safeguards for women,” Hawley said in a statement.

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos via Getty Images

The Supreme Court maintained access to the abortion pill mifepristone, unanimously refusing to hear a case brought by a number of anti-abortion organizations and doctors over the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the pill.

“The plaintiffs have sincere legal, moral, ideological, and policy objections to elective abortion and to FDA’s relaxed regulation of mifepristone,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion issued Thursday. “But under Article III of the Constitution, those kinds of objections alone do not establish a justiciable case or controversy in federal court.”

In 2022 — after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade — a newly established group that called itself the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM) challenged the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. In a federal suit filed in Amarillo, Texas, the AHM questioned the safety of mifepristone and said the existence of the pill meant doctors who objected to abortion on moral grounds would nonetheless be forced to treat patients who had taken the abortion pill and experienced adverse side effects. Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, the federal judge presiding over the case — who hears all civil suits filed in Amarillo and who had been appointed by then-President Donald Trump — ruled in favor of AHM in 2023, calling abortion providers “abortionists” in his decision to take mifepristone off the market.

After the Justice Department challenged the decision on behalf of the FDA and Danco Laboratories, the drug manufacturer that makes the pill, an appeals court scaled back Kacsmaryk’s ruling. A three-judge panel on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit let mifepristone stay on the market but reversed a 2016 FDA regulation that had made the pill easier to access. The Department of Justice then appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, arguing that the AHM lacked standing to sue the FDA.

In Thursday’s ruling, the Supreme Court agreed. “Plaintiffs are pro-life, oppose elective abortion, and have sincere legal, moral, ideological, and policy objections to mifepristone being prescribed and used by others. Because plaintiffs do not prescribe or use mifepristone, plaintiffs are unregulated parties who seek to challenge FDA’s regulation of others,” wrote Kavanaugh, who ruled in favor of Dobbs. But the AHM failed to show how patients taking mifepristone would force anti-abortion doctors to “participate in an abortion.” The doctors, in other words, failed to show how they had been or could be affected by the existence of mifepristone besides objecting to its availability.

Kavanaugh’s decision states that the AHM’s argument could lead to “a new doctrine of doctor standing” that would, in turn, allow any group of professionals to sue over policies they didn’t agree with. “Firefighters could sue to object to relaxed building codes that increase fire risks,” Kavanaugh wrote. “Teachers in border states could sue to challenge allegedly lax immigration policies that lead to overcrowded classrooms.”

But the court did not rule on the merits, which means future legal challenges could be on the horizon. In fact, Kavanaugh’s decision notes that, despite their lack of standing, the AHM has other avenues through which to challenge the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, including through the regulatory process or by supporting legislation.

Pro-choice groups are taking the decision as a tentative victory. Meanwhile, anti-abortion groups have spoken out against the court’s decision, but their statements suggest they’re taking the ruling as a momentary setback. Erin Hawley, the chief counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom who served as co-counsel for the AHM, said the court’s decision was “based on a legal technicality.”

“We are very hopeful that the federal courts will have a chance to hold the FDA accountable for its unlawful actions and removing these longstanding safeguards for women,” Hawley said in a statement.

Read More 

Illustration: The Verge

Meta is making some improvements to WhatsApp video calls that should make them more useful for conversations with large groups of people.
One feature is a speaker spotlight, which automatically highlights the speaker and makes them appear first on-screen, according to a Meta blog post. The company is also improving screen sharing to make it easier to watch videos as a group: if you’re screen sharing and showing a video with audio, the audio is now shared as well.

Image: WhatsApp
Meta’s promotional image about its updates to WhatsApp calls.

In addition, video calls will also let you have 32 people, no matter what device you’re on. That cap had already been in place for video calls on mobile devices, but not when you were using the desktop apps: the Windows app had been limited to 16 people, and the Mac app had been limited to eight people.
Meta says the updates will roll out “over the next few weeks.”

Illustration: The Verge

Meta is making some improvements to WhatsApp video calls that should make them more useful for conversations with large groups of people.

One feature is a speaker spotlight, which automatically highlights the speaker and makes them appear first on-screen, according to a Meta blog post. The company is also improving screen sharing to make it easier to watch videos as a group: if you’re screen sharing and showing a video with audio, the audio is now shared as well.

Image: WhatsApp
Meta’s promotional image about its updates to WhatsApp calls.

In addition, video calls will also let you have 32 people, no matter what device you’re on. That cap had already been in place for video calls on mobile devices, but not when you were using the desktop apps: the Windows app had been limited to 16 people, and the Mac app had been limited to eight people.

Meta says the updates will roll out “over the next few weeks.”

Read More