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

A lawsuit has been filed against Character.AI, its founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, and Google in the wake of a teenager’s death, alleging wrongful death, negligence, deceptive trade practices, and product liability. Filed by the teen’s mother, Megan Garcia, it claims the platform for custom AI chatbots was “unreasonably dangerous” and lacked safety guardrails while being marketed to children.
As outlined in the lawsuit, 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III began using Character.AI last year, interacting with chatbots modeled after characters from The Game of Thrones, including Daenerys Targaryen. Setzer, who chatted with the bots continuously in the months before his death, died by suicide on February 28th, 2024, “seconds” after his last interaction with the bot.
Accusations include the site “anthropomorphizing” AI characters and that the platform’s chatbots offer “psychotherapy without a license.” Character.AI houses mental health-focused chatbots like “Therapist” and “Are You Feeling Lonely,” which Setzer interacted with.

Garcia’s lawyers quote Shazeer saying in an interview that he and De Freitas left Google to start his own company because “there’s just too much brand risk in large companies to ever launch anything fun” and that he wanted to “maximally accelerate” the tech. It says they left after the company decided against launching the Meena LLM they’d built. Google acquired the Character.AI leadership team in August.
Character.AI’s website and mobile app has hundreds of custom AI chatbots, many modeled after popular characters from TV shows, movies, and video games. A few months ago, The Verge wrote about the millions of young people, including teens, who make up the bulk of its user base, interacting with bots that might pretend to be Harry Styles or a therapist. Another recent report from Wired highlighted issues with Character.AI’s custom chatbots impersonating real people without their consent, including one posing as a teen who was murdered in 2006.
Because of the way chatbots like Character.ai generate output that depends on what the user inputs, they fall into an uncanny valley of thorny questions about user-generated content and liability that, so far, lacks clear answers.
Character.AI has now announced several changes to the platform, with communications head Chelsea Harrison saying in an email to The Verge, “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of one of our users and want to express our deepest condolences to the family.”
Some of the changes include:

Changes to our models for minors (under the age of 18) that are designed to reduce the likelihood of encountering sensitive or suggestive content.
Improved detection, response, and intervention related to user inputs that violate our Terms or Community Guidelines.
A revised disclaimer on every chat to remind users that the AI is not a real person.
Notification when a user has spent an hour-long session on the platform with additional user flexibility in progress.

“As a company, we take the safety of our users very seriously, and our Trust and Safety team has implemented numerous new safety measures over the past six months, including a pop-up directing users to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline that is triggered by terms of self-harm or suicidal ideation,” Harrison said. Google didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.

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

A lawsuit has been filed against Character.AI, its founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, and Google in the wake of a teenager’s death, alleging wrongful death, negligence, deceptive trade practices, and product liability. Filed by the teen’s mother, Megan Garcia, it claims the platform for custom AI chatbots was “unreasonably dangerous” and lacked safety guardrails while being marketed to children.

As outlined in the lawsuit, 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III began using Character.AI last year, interacting with chatbots modeled after characters from The Game of Thrones, including Daenerys Targaryen. Setzer, who chatted with the bots continuously in the months before his death, died by suicide on February 28th, 2024, “seconds” after his last interaction with the bot.

Accusations include the site “anthropomorphizing” AI characters and that the platform’s chatbots offer “psychotherapy without a license.” Character.AI houses mental health-focused chatbots like “Therapist” and “Are You Feeling Lonely,” which Setzer interacted with.

Garcia’s lawyers quote Shazeer saying in an interview that he and De Freitas left Google to start his own company because “there’s just too much brand risk in large companies to ever launch anything fun” and that he wanted to “maximally accelerate” the tech. It says they left after the company decided against launching the Meena LLM they’d built. Google acquired the Character.AI leadership team in August.

Character.AI’s website and mobile app has hundreds of custom AI chatbots, many modeled after popular characters from TV shows, movies, and video games. A few months ago, The Verge wrote about the millions of young people, including teens, who make up the bulk of its user base, interacting with bots that might pretend to be Harry Styles or a therapist. Another recent report from Wired highlighted issues with Character.AI’s custom chatbots impersonating real people without their consent, including one posing as a teen who was murdered in 2006.

Because of the way chatbots like Character.ai generate output that depends on what the user inputs, they fall into an uncanny valley of thorny questions about user-generated content and liability that, so far, lacks clear answers.

Character.AI has now announced several changes to the platform, with communications head Chelsea Harrison saying in an email to The Verge, “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of one of our users and want to express our deepest condolences to the family.”

Some of the changes include:

Changes to our models for minors (under the age of 18) that are designed to reduce the likelihood of encountering sensitive or suggestive content.
Improved detection, response, and intervention related to user inputs that violate our Terms or Community Guidelines.
A revised disclaimer on every chat to remind users that the AI is not a real person.
Notification when a user has spent an hour-long session on the platform with additional user flexibility in progress.

“As a company, we take the safety of our users very seriously, and our Trust and Safety team has implemented numerous new safety measures over the past six months, including a pop-up directing users to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline that is triggered by terms of self-harm or suicidal ideation,” Harrison said. Google didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.

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Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge

Three industry groups are suing to prevent the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from enforcing its new “Click to Cancel” rule that requires companies to make it easy to cancel subscriptions, according to Reuters. And yes, it’s exactly who you’d expect.
Click to cancel expands the Negative Option Rule to forbid businesses from making customers cancel services using a method that differs from how they signed up. So, if you sign up online, you must be allowed to cancel online, rather than needing to call a support line, write a letter, or show up in person. Most aspects of the rule, assuming it isn’t blocked, will go into effect 180 days from its entry into the Federal Register.

That’s “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion,” the Internet and Television Association, Electronic Security Association, and Interactive Advertising Bureau allege in their complaint filed with the US Fifth Circuit Appeals Court today. The groups — many of whose member companies profit from subscriptions that are easy to start and harder to stop — argue that the FTC is trying to “regulate consumer contracts for all companies in all industries and across all sectors of the economy.”
Indeed, the rule applies to any automatically renewing subscription, whether it’s a gym membership or Amazon Prime, including free trials or those plans that ship you easy-to-cook dinners. The horror!

Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge

Three industry groups are suing to prevent the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from enforcing its new “Click to Cancel” rule that requires companies to make it easy to cancel subscriptions, according to Reuters. And yes, it’s exactly who you’d expect.

Click to cancel expands the Negative Option Rule to forbid businesses from making customers cancel services using a method that differs from how they signed up. So, if you sign up online, you must be allowed to cancel online, rather than needing to call a support line, write a letter, or show up in person. Most aspects of the rule, assuming it isn’t blocked, will go into effect 180 days from its entry into the Federal Register.

That’s “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion,” the Internet and Television Association, Electronic Security Association, and Interactive Advertising Bureau allege in their complaint filed with the US Fifth Circuit Appeals Court today. The groups — many of whose member companies profit from subscriptions that are easy to start and harder to stop — argue that the FTC is trying to “regulate consumer contracts for all companies in all industries and across all sectors of the economy.”

Indeed, the rule applies to any automatically renewing subscription, whether it’s a gym membership or Amazon Prime, including free trials or those plans that ship you easy-to-cook dinners. The horror!

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The Bookcase undoes years of smartphone makers working hard to reduce the size of screen bezels. | Image: Astropad

Astropad’s new Bookcase is a smartphone accessory designed to make reading on a smartphone feel more like reading on an e-reader. No, it doesn’t give your phone an easy-on-the-eyes screen, longer battery life, or any other features that have made devices like the Kindle popular. Instead, for $50 the Bookcase is really just designed to make a smartphone easier to hold like a book, while making your favorite reading app more accessible.
The Bookcase is essentially a magnetic attachment that adds chunky plastic handles on either side of your phone, making it roughly the size and shape of a paperback novel or an e-reader. Astropad says “any smartphone that can be attached to a magnetic wireless charger can be used with the Bookcase” even while it’s in a separate protective case, but the company also includes a MagSafe conversion kit for “Android phones and older-model iPhones.”

Image: Astropad

But being easier to grip isn’t what has kept e-readers popular for decades; it’s the distraction-free reading experience. That’s something else Astropad is attempting to replicate using an NFC chip and a new mobile app. You can configure your phone to automatically open your preferred reading app when it’s attached to the Bookcase, and even temporarily turn off notifications and other distractions. Astropad doesn’t say if the Bookcase app can go so far as to prevent you from accessing apps like TikTok while you’re reading.

Image: Astropad
The Bookcase is only available in a dark blue twilight colorway to help minimize distractions.

Astropad is a small company that has made a name for itself with apps and accessories that turned iPads into Wacom-like drawing tablets and wireless displays — at least until it was Sherlocked by Apple.
Bookcase is another attempt by the company to make a device more useful. Making your phone a better tool for reading so you can leave your e-reader at home is appealing, but you’ll still be carrying around an accessory that’s just as large. If version two were to introduce an folding design, the Bookcase might be an easier sell.

The Bookcase undoes years of smartphone makers working hard to reduce the size of screen bezels. | Image: Astropad

Astropad’s new Bookcase is a smartphone accessory designed to make reading on a smartphone feel more like reading on an e-reader. No, it doesn’t give your phone an easy-on-the-eyes screen, longer battery life, or any other features that have made devices like the Kindle popular. Instead, for $50 the Bookcase is really just designed to make a smartphone easier to hold like a book, while making your favorite reading app more accessible.

The Bookcase is essentially a magnetic attachment that adds chunky plastic handles on either side of your phone, making it roughly the size and shape of a paperback novel or an e-reader. Astropad says “any smartphone that can be attached to a magnetic wireless charger can be used with the Bookcase” even while it’s in a separate protective case, but the company also includes a MagSafe conversion kit for “Android phones and older-model iPhones.”

Image: Astropad

But being easier to grip isn’t what has kept e-readers popular for decades; it’s the distraction-free reading experience. That’s something else Astropad is attempting to replicate using an NFC chip and a new mobile app. You can configure your phone to automatically open your preferred reading app when it’s attached to the Bookcase, and even temporarily turn off notifications and other distractions. Astropad doesn’t say if the Bookcase app can go so far as to prevent you from accessing apps like TikTok while you’re reading.

Image: Astropad
The Bookcase is only available in a dark blue twilight colorway to help minimize distractions.

Astropad is a small company that has made a name for itself with apps and accessories that turned iPads into Wacom-like drawing tablets and wireless displays — at least until it was Sherlocked by Apple.

Bookcase is another attempt by the company to make a device more useful. Making your phone a better tool for reading so you can leave your e-reader at home is appealing, but you’ll still be carrying around an accessory that’s just as large. If version two were to introduce an folding design, the Bookcase might be an easier sell.

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Illustration: The Verge

Google’s SynthID text watermarking technology, a tool the company created to make AI-generated text easier to identify, is now available open-source through the Google Responsible Generative AI Toolkit, the company announced on X.
“Now, other [generative] AI developers will be able to use this technology to help them detect whether text outputs have come from their own [large language models], making it easier for more developers to build AI responsibly,” Pushmeet Kohli, the vice president of research at Google DeepMind, told MIT Technology Review.

Watermarks have become increasingly important tools as large language models are used to spread political misinformation, generate nonconsensual sexual content, and for other malicious purposes. California’s already looking into making AI watermarking mandatory, while China’s government started requiring it last year. Yet the tools are still a work in progress.
SynthID, which was announced last August, helps make AI-generated output detectable by adding an invisible watermark into images, audio, video, and text as they’re generated. Google says the text version of SynthID works by making the text output slightly less probable in a way that is detectable by software but not humans:

An LLM generates text one token at a time. These tokens can represent a single character, word or part of a phrase. To create a sequence of coherent text, the model predicts the next most likely token to generate. These predictions are based on the preceding words and the probability scores assigned to each potential token.
For example, with the phrase “My favorite tropical fruits are __.” The LLM might start completing the sentence with the tokens “mango,” “lychee,” “papaya,” or “durian,” and each token is given a probability score. When there’s a range of different tokens to choose from, SynthID can adjust the probability score of each predicted token, in cases where it won’t compromise the quality, accuracy and creativity of the output.
This process is repeated throughout the generated text, so a single sentence might contain ten or more adjusted probability scores, and a page could contain hundreds. The final pattern of scores for both the model’s word choices combined with the adjusted probability scores are considered the watermark.

Google claims the system, which it’s already integrated into its Gemini chatbot, doesn’t compromise the quality, accuracy, creativity, or speed of generated text, which has long been an issue with watermarking systems. Google says it can work on text as short as three sentences, as well as text that’s been cropped, paraphrased, or modified. But it struggles with short text, content that’s been rewritten or translated, and even responses to factual questions.
“SynthID isn’t a silver bullet for identifying AI generated content,” Google wrote in a blog post in May. “[But it] is an important building block for developing more reliable AI identification tools and can help millions of people make informed decisions about how they interact with AI-generated content.”

Illustration: The Verge

Google’s SynthID text watermarking technology, a tool the company created to make AI-generated text easier to identify, is now available open-source through the Google Responsible Generative AI Toolkit, the company announced on X.

“Now, other [generative] AI developers will be able to use this technology to help them detect whether text outputs have come from their own [large language models], making it easier for more developers to build AI responsibly,” Pushmeet Kohli, the vice president of research at Google DeepMind, told MIT Technology Review.

Watermarks have become increasingly important tools as large language models are used to spread political misinformation, generate nonconsensual sexual content, and for other malicious purposes. California’s already looking into making AI watermarking mandatory, while China’s government started requiring it last year. Yet the tools are still a work in progress.

SynthID, which was announced last August, helps make AI-generated output detectable by adding an invisible watermark into images, audio, video, and text as they’re generated. Google says the text version of SynthID works by making the text output slightly less probable in a way that is detectable by software but not humans:

An LLM generates text one token at a time. These tokens can represent a single character, word or part of a phrase. To create a sequence of coherent text, the model predicts the next most likely token to generate. These predictions are based on the preceding words and the probability scores assigned to each potential token.

For example, with the phrase “My favorite tropical fruits are __.” The LLM might start completing the sentence with the tokens “mango,” “lychee,” “papaya,” or “durian,” and each token is given a probability score. When there’s a range of different tokens to choose from, SynthID can adjust the probability score of each predicted token, in cases where it won’t compromise the quality, accuracy and creativity of the output.

This process is repeated throughout the generated text, so a single sentence might contain ten or more adjusted probability scores, and a page could contain hundreds. The final pattern of scores for both the model’s word choices combined with the adjusted probability scores are considered the watermark.

Google claims the system, which it’s already integrated into its Gemini chatbot, doesn’t compromise the quality, accuracy, creativity, or speed of generated text, which has long been an issue with watermarking systems. Google says it can work on text as short as three sentences, as well as text that’s been cropped, paraphrased, or modified. But it struggles with short text, content that’s been rewritten or translated, and even responses to factual questions.

“SynthID isn’t a silver bullet for identifying AI generated content,” Google wrote in a blog post in May. “[But it] is an important building block for developing more reliable AI identification tools and can help millions of people make informed decisions about how they interact with AI-generated content.”

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2024 Dodge Charger Daytonas. | Image: Stellantis

Stellantis says it will put a “demonstration fleet” of Dodge Charger Daytonas on the road by 2026, equipped with solid-state battery technology that’s lighter, more energy-dense, and could eventually make for cheaper EVs. The company calls the demo fleet a “key next step” toward making solid-state EVs that you can actually buy.
The cars will be built on its STLA Large EV platform, which is meant to underpin more than just the Chargers it’s demoing next year. If its demo is successful, there’s a chance that cars from brands like Maserati and Jeep will get the new battery tech, too.

Image: Stellantis
A demo fleet of the Dodge Charger will get semi-solid-state batteries in 2026, Stellantis says.

There’s probably a reason Stellantis says “solid-state battery technology” rather than simply solid-state batteries. That’s because these Chargers will use semi-solid-state batteries, which means they’re still made with liquid electrolytes too. That hybrid approach carries benefits like lighter weight and more range, but doesn’t totally obviate the fire risk of traditional lithium batteries.

Factorial, which makes the batteries Stellantis will use, claims its semi-solid-state tech could push EV range up by as much as 50 percent versus today’s electric cars, and that the batteries have “drop-in compatibility with existing lithium-ion battery manufacturing infrastructure,” making them cheaper and easier to produce than switching to full solid-state tech would be.
Solid-state batteries have been hard to develop and not every company has been able to hack it. Nissan had promised it would be producing “all-solid-state” EVs by 2028, but seemed to walk that back this year. Fisker totally abandoned its own efforts to make solid-state batteries in 2021. But Volkswagen, which was to provide Fisker’s platform, recently announced that its batteries had passed an endurance test.
Stellantis’ announcement is a sign of progress, and it’s not the only company making some. Hyundai is a Factorial investor, and so is Mercedes, which said it would have Factorial’s semi-solid-state batteries “in EVs on the road in 2026,” according to Reuters. Honda plans to introduce solid-state EVs in the latter half of the decade, while Toyota’s roadmap includes mass-producing solid-state batteries that enable more than 621 miles of range by 2028.
In China, IM Motor launched the L6, a semi-solid-state battery-driven EV, in April, while its sister brand, MG, announced it will unveil one in Europe next year.

2024 Dodge Charger Daytonas. | Image: Stellantis

Stellantis says it will put a “demonstration fleet” of Dodge Charger Daytonas on the road by 2026, equipped with solid-state battery technology that’s lighter, more energy-dense, and could eventually make for cheaper EVs. The company calls the demo fleet a “key next step” toward making solid-state EVs that you can actually buy.

The cars will be built on its STLA Large EV platform, which is meant to underpin more than just the Chargers it’s demoing next year. If its demo is successful, there’s a chance that cars from brands like Maserati and Jeep will get the new battery tech, too.

Image: Stellantis
A demo fleet of the Dodge Charger will get semi-solid-state batteries in 2026, Stellantis says.

There’s probably a reason Stellantis says “solid-state battery technology” rather than simply solid-state batteries. That’s because these Chargers will use semi-solid-state batteries, which means they’re still made with liquid electrolytes too. That hybrid approach carries benefits like lighter weight and more range, but doesn’t totally obviate the fire risk of traditional lithium batteries.

Factorial, which makes the batteries Stellantis will use, claims its semi-solid-state tech could push EV range up by as much as 50 percent versus today’s electric cars, and that the batteries have “drop-in compatibility with existing lithium-ion battery manufacturing infrastructure,” making them cheaper and easier to produce than switching to full solid-state tech would be.

Solid-state batteries have been hard to develop and not every company has been able to hack it. Nissan had promised it would be producing “all-solid-state” EVs by 2028, but seemed to walk that back this year. Fisker totally abandoned its own efforts to make solid-state batteries in 2021. But Volkswagen, which was to provide Fisker’s platform, recently announced that its batteries had passed an endurance test.

Stellantis’ announcement is a sign of progress, and it’s not the only company making some. Hyundai is a Factorial investor, and so is Mercedes, which said it would have Factorial’s semi-solid-state batteries “in EVs on the road in 2026,” according to Reuters. Honda plans to introduce solid-state EVs in the latter half of the decade, while Toyota’s roadmap includes mass-producing solid-state batteries that enable more than 621 miles of range by 2028.

In China, IM Motor launched the L6, a semi-solid-state battery-driven EV, in April, while its sister brand, MG, announced it will unveil one in Europe next year.

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Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Humane is dropping the price of the AI Pin by $200 in an attempt to reverse the AI gadget’s very poor sales. The product launched earlier this year at $699, but now, you can buy one starting at $499.
This $499 version is the “eclipse” model that is a matte black anodized aluminum, and it doesn’t come with an extra battery or the charge case. The latter makes some sense given that the company warned AI Pin owners not to use the charge case because it found some battery cells from a vendor “may pose a fire safety risk.”
You can still buy an extra battery separately for $69. And even though you can buy an AI Pin for a lower price, the gadget still requires a $24 per month wireless subscription.
The AI Pin launched this year to very poor reviews. In the time since, Humane has released updates to the device’s CosmOS software to add missing features like timers. The AI Pin has seriously struggled to gain traction; for a few months this year, daily returns had outpaced sales, my colleague Kylie Robison reported this summer.
Humane’s store also lists the white and black AI Pin models with polished aluminum (technically, “lunar” and “equinox”). Each is available for $799 as part of a “complete system” (though both are currently sold out) that comes with an extra battery pack and the charging case.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Humane is dropping the price of the AI Pin by $200 in an attempt to reverse the AI gadget’s very poor sales. The product launched earlier this year at $699, but now, you can buy one starting at $499.

This $499 version is the “eclipse” model that is a matte black anodized aluminum, and it doesn’t come with an extra battery or the charge case. The latter makes some sense given that the company warned AI Pin owners not to use the charge case because it found some battery cells from a vendor “may pose a fire safety risk.”

You can still buy an extra battery separately for $69. And even though you can buy an AI Pin for a lower price, the gadget still requires a $24 per month wireless subscription.

The AI Pin launched this year to very poor reviews. In the time since, Humane has released updates to the device’s CosmOS software to add missing features like timers. The AI Pin has seriously struggled to gain traction; for a few months this year, daily returns had outpaced sales, my colleague Kylie Robison reported this summer.

Humane’s store also lists the white and black AI Pin models with polished aluminum (technically, “lunar” and “equinox”). Each is available for $799 as part of a “complete system” (though both are currently sold out) that comes with an extra battery pack and the charging case.

Read More 

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

On the heels of its highly anticipated but ultimately disappointing robotaxi event, Tesla published its third quarter earnings report, in which it said it would launch a “more affordable” electric vehicle in the first half of 2025.
“In order to continue accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy, we need to make EVs affordable for everyone, including making total cost of ownership per mile competitive with all forms of transportation,” the company said. “Preparations remain underway for our offering of new vehicles – including more affordable models – which we will begin launching in the first half of 2025.”
“Preparations remain underway for our offering of new vehicles”
Earlier this year, Tesla abandoned its plan to build a more affordable “Model 2” vehicle that was rumored to cost around $25,000. But after a backlash from investors, Tesla CEO Elon Musk recommitted to it — although its still unclear whether it will be an entirely new vehicle, or simply a more affordable Model 3. Musk did say the two-seat Cybercab would be available to buy for $30,000 starting in 2026.
The company said it earned $2.2 billion in net income on $25.2 billion in revenue. That represents a 7 percent increase year over year compared to $23.4 billion in revenue in Q3 2023, and a 17 percent increase in net income, somewhat beating expectations. Analyst consensus predicted Tesla’s quarterly profit would fall 9 percent in Q3, while revenues would rise 9 percent, according to FactSet.
The revenues the company receives from purchasing regulatory credits from other companies continued to perform strong. Tesla said it was its “second-highest quarter of regulatory credit revenues as other OEMs are still behind on meeting emissions requirements.”
The company’s gross margins were in the spotlight again, as bullish investors hoped to see improvements after months of steady decline. Rampant price cutting and cooling demand as well as cheaper financing have pushed the company’s once-vaunted margins to their lowest point in six years.
Still, there were some positive signs of recovering. The company reported 19.8 percent gross margins based on generally accepted accounting practices, slightly more than the 18 percent reported last quarter and up slightly from Q3 2023. And Tesla said its cost per vehicle were at a record low to $35,100.
The company reported 19.8 percent gross margins
The earnings come after Tesla reported a smaller-than-expected rise in third quarter deliveries, sending its stock price tumbling. The company said it delivered 462,890 vehicles to customers during the quarter, a 6.3 percent jump from Q2 2023. But analysts had been expecting more deliveries, and now fear that the company could be heading toward its first annual decline in deliveries after years of rapid growth.
Tesla has been grappling with riding competition and slowing demand for EVs. The company’s vehicles are still selling strong in China, but Tesla is still facing fierce competition from BYD and others in the world’s largest EV market.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s attempts to pivot the company to primarily one that sells robots and autonomous vehicles is facing a lot of skepticism. Tesla showed off several flashy concepts at its robotaxi event earlier this month, but declined to share specifics about how the technology would work. The company’s stock price plummeted after the event and has yet to really recover.
Developing…

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

On the heels of its highly anticipated but ultimately disappointing robotaxi event, Tesla published its third quarter earnings report, in which it said it would launch a “more affordable” electric vehicle in the first half of 2025.

“In order to continue accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy, we need to make EVs affordable for everyone, including making total cost of ownership per mile competitive with all forms of transportation,” the company said. “Preparations remain underway for our offering of new vehicles – including more affordable models – which we will begin launching in the first half of 2025.”

Earlier this year, Tesla abandoned its plan to build a more affordable “Model 2” vehicle that was rumored to cost around $25,000. But after a backlash from investors, Tesla CEO Elon Musk recommitted to it — although its still unclear whether it will be an entirely new vehicle, or simply a more affordable Model 3. Musk did say the two-seat Cybercab would be available to buy for $30,000 starting in 2026.

The company said it earned $2.2 billion in net income on $25.2 billion in revenue. That represents a 7 percent increase year over year compared to $23.4 billion in revenue in Q3 2023, and a 17 percent increase in net income, somewhat beating expectations. Analyst consensus predicted Tesla’s quarterly profit would fall 9 percent in Q3, while revenues would rise 9 percent, according to FactSet.

The revenues the company receives from purchasing regulatory credits from other companies continued to perform strong. Tesla said it was its “second-highest quarter of regulatory credit revenues as other OEMs are still behind on meeting emissions requirements.”

The company’s gross margins were in the spotlight again, as bullish investors hoped to see improvements after months of steady decline. Rampant price cutting and cooling demand as well as cheaper financing have pushed the company’s once-vaunted margins to their lowest point in six years.

Still, there were some positive signs of recovering. The company reported 19.8 percent gross margins based on generally accepted accounting practices, slightly more than the 18 percent reported last quarter and up slightly from Q3 2023. And Tesla said its cost per vehicle were at a record low to $35,100.

The earnings come after Tesla reported a smaller-than-expected rise in third quarter deliveries, sending its stock price tumbling. The company said it delivered 462,890 vehicles to customers during the quarter, a 6.3 percent jump from Q2 2023. But analysts had been expecting more deliveries, and now fear that the company could be heading toward its first annual decline in deliveries after years of rapid growth.

Tesla has been grappling with riding competition and slowing demand for EVs. The company’s vehicles are still selling strong in China, but Tesla is still facing fierce competition from BYD and others in the world’s largest EV market.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s attempts to pivot the company to primarily one that sells robots and autonomous vehicles is facing a lot of skepticism. Tesla showed off several flashy concepts at its robotaxi event earlier this month, but declined to share specifics about how the technology would work. The company’s stock price plummeted after the event and has yet to really recover.

Developing…

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The iOS 18 updates keep rolling. | Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge

When Apple said that iPhone owners in the EU would be able to set new default apps for things like calling and messaging, it sounded a lot like only people in the EU would get that option.
That’s not the case, though: a note on Apple’s developer website states that all users worldwide can set new default apps for calling and messaging in iOS 18.2. Maybe the continental divide between iPhones in the US and EU won’t be so wide after all.
The first iOS 18.2 developer beta went out today, and it didn’t take long for 9to5Mac to spot the new options. There’s a whole new section in the settings menu dedicated to managing default apps. This includes defaults you could already reassign, like your browser or email app. Other options include call filtering, passwords, and keyboards. Crucially, this same list of options appears for users in the US who have downloaded the beta.

Apple has introduced an unprecedented level of flexibility to the iPhone over the past year as a response to European Union regulations; we likely have EU regulators to thank for the addition of RCS support in iOS 18.
But the big stuff, like support for alternative app stores and browser engines, has mostly been confined to the EU. A side effect is that a European iPhone was starting to look quite a bit different from one in the US, which was weird. But by spreading some of these new options across borders, Apple will maintain better consistency in its product. At the very least, it’s a little more fun.

The iOS 18 updates keep rolling. | Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge

When Apple said that iPhone owners in the EU would be able to set new default apps for things like calling and messaging, it sounded a lot like only people in the EU would get that option.

That’s not the case, though: a note on Apple’s developer website states that all users worldwide can set new default apps for calling and messaging in iOS 18.2. Maybe the continental divide between iPhones in the US and EU won’t be so wide after all.

The first iOS 18.2 developer beta went out today, and it didn’t take long for 9to5Mac to spot the new options. There’s a whole new section in the settings menu dedicated to managing default apps. This includes defaults you could already reassign, like your browser or email app. Other options include call filtering, passwords, and keyboards. Crucially, this same list of options appears for users in the US who have downloaded the beta.

Apple has introduced an unprecedented level of flexibility to the iPhone over the past year as a response to European Union regulations; we likely have EU regulators to thank for the addition of RCS support in iOS 18.

But the big stuff, like support for alternative app stores and browser engines, has mostly been confined to the EU. A side effect is that a European iPhone was starting to look quite a bit different from one in the US, which was weird. But by spreading some of these new options across borders, Apple will maintain better consistency in its product. At the very least, it’s a little more fun.

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Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Apple plans to release MacBook Airs with M4 chips in early 2025, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports. The company just refreshed the lineup with M3 chips this spring, but the M4 update will “likely” launch between January and March 2025, Gurman says. Both the 13-inch and 15-inch models will apparently get the M4 update, and they’ll have a similar design to the M2 MacBook Air.
The potential spring launch for M4-equipped MacBook Airs means that product line won’t be part Apple’s rumored announcements for next week. With those updates, Apple is going to reveal new MacBook Pros, Mac Minis, and iMacs, Gurman says.
If you’re waiting for a new Mac Studio, though, don’t expect that imminently. The Mac Studio is currently powered by the M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips, but an M4-equipped version is now likely to arrive “after a March software release,” meaning it could happen sometime between March and June, Gurman says. Apple is also apparently working on an M4 Mac Pro, Gurman didn’t give a timeline for when that might come out.
In the spring, Gurman reports that Apple is also aiming to reveal a new iPhone SE, new iPad Airs, “upgraded” iPad keyboards, and new entry-level iPads. The company just released a seventh-generation iPad Mini and is set to launch the first phase of Apple Intelligence features next week.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Apple plans to release MacBook Airs with M4 chips in early 2025, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports. The company just refreshed the lineup with M3 chips this spring, but the M4 update will “likely” launch between January and March 2025, Gurman says. Both the 13-inch and 15-inch models will apparently get the M4 update, and they’ll have a similar design to the M2 MacBook Air.

The potential spring launch for M4-equipped MacBook Airs means that product line won’t be part Apple’s rumored announcements for next week. With those updates, Apple is going to reveal new MacBook Pros, Mac Minis, and iMacs, Gurman says.

If you’re waiting for a new Mac Studio, though, don’t expect that imminently. The Mac Studio is currently powered by the M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips, but an M4-equipped version is now likely to arrive “after a March software release,” meaning it could happen sometime between March and June, Gurman says. Apple is also apparently working on an M4 Mac Pro, Gurman didn’t give a timeline for when that might come out.

In the spring, Gurman reports that Apple is also aiming to reveal a new iPhone SE, new iPad Airs, “upgraded” iPad keyboards, and new entry-level iPads. The company just released a seventh-generation iPad Mini and is set to launch the first phase of Apple Intelligence features next week.

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Image: Microsoft

Microsoft has made Windows Update significantly faster in its latest big update to Windows 11. Version 24H2 started rolling out earlier this month with lots of useful improvements, but now Microsoft is revealing this big update also reduces install time, restart time, and even CPU usage for monthly Windows updates.
Microsoft typically distributes monthly cumulative security and non-security updates, which are designed to roll out new features or protect against new threats. Windows 11 version 24H2 includes new ways to update the OS that make it more efficient and speedier, including parallel processing of components, scalable use of system RAM, and an optimized cache to update components.
These changes mean Windows 11 version 24H2 can install monthly updates up to 45 percent faster, with up to 25 percent less CPU usage. This also makes the restart time nearly 40 percent faster on some systems. Microsoft tested its latest 24H2 servicing updates on a virtual machine against its older 22H2 version of Windows 11, but the performance claims also apply against 23H2 as they both use the same older servicing stack.
Microsoft has also improved the download sizes of feature updates to Windows 11, reducing them by around 200MB. This size reduction has been achieved by not forcing the download of the built-in apps for Windows 11 if you already have the latest versions. “For Windows 11, version 24H2, we extended this design to include Microsoft Edge, saving approximately 200 MB for some endpoints,” says Steve DiAcetis, a member of the Windows fundamentals team at Microsoft.

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft has made Windows Update significantly faster in its latest big update to Windows 11. Version 24H2 started rolling out earlier this month with lots of useful improvements, but now Microsoft is revealing this big update also reduces install time, restart time, and even CPU usage for monthly Windows updates.

Microsoft typically distributes monthly cumulative security and non-security updates, which are designed to roll out new features or protect against new threats. Windows 11 version 24H2 includes new ways to update the OS that make it more efficient and speedier, including parallel processing of components, scalable use of system RAM, and an optimized cache to update components.

These changes mean Windows 11 version 24H2 can install monthly updates up to 45 percent faster, with up to 25 percent less CPU usage. This also makes the restart time nearly 40 percent faster on some systems. Microsoft tested its latest 24H2 servicing updates on a virtual machine against its older 22H2 version of Windows 11, but the performance claims also apply against 23H2 as they both use the same older servicing stack.

Microsoft has also improved the download sizes of feature updates to Windows 11, reducing them by around 200MB. This size reduction has been achieved by not forcing the download of the built-in apps for Windows 11 if you already have the latest versions. “For Windows 11, version 24H2, we extended this design to include Microsoft Edge, saving approximately 200 MB for some endpoints,” says Steve DiAcetis, a member of the Windows fundamentals team at Microsoft.

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