Elon Musk caves, and pushes Tesla self-driving, but BYD wins: Tech news roundup

Watch out for these digital kiosks because they grab your phone’s data as you walk by

Digital kiosks from Soofa seem harmless, giving you bits of information alongside some ads. However, these kiosks popping up throughout the United States take your phone’s information and location data whenever you walk near them, and sell them to local governments and advertisers, first reported by NBC Boston on Monday.
What the term ‘Wi-Fi’ actually means

Have you ever thought about where the term Wi-Fi comes from? Most people would logically assume it’s a shortened version of some highly technical description for the tech that allowed computers to access the internet wirelessly. But those people would be wrong.
Of course Elon Musk’s first human Neuralink patient is playing hands-free Mario Kart

Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company, kicked off 2024 by announcing its first successful human trial. There was some skepticism about the surgery, so last week that human came forward to show off just how incredible Neuralink can be.
Elon Musk is pushing Full Self-Driving trials on every Tesla buyer in North America

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is requiring employees to install and show customers how to use his company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) driver assistance system before finalizing a delivery in North America.
Tesla rival BYD is officially a bigger deal than Elon Musk would like to admit

BYD reported an increase in net profit for the final quarter of 2023 as it dethroned Elon Musk’s Tesla to become the top quarterly seller of electric vehicles in the world.
It looks like ‘megalomaniac’ Sam Altman is starting to piss off Silicon Valley

There was once a time when Sam Altman, CEO of titanic tech company OpenAI, was the apple of Silicon Valley’s eye. The days when the executive’s reputation was unimpeachable may be waning, however. A new report from Insider suggests that some in the tech and finance communities are less than thrilled with Altman’s messianic antics.
Tesla’s Facebook and Instagram ads might just be Elon Musk’s cry for help

For a long stretch, Tesla was too good for Facebook and Instagram ads — until now. Tesla hasn’t had a Facebook page in six years, having deleted it as news of the company’s Cambridge Analytica data scandal came to light in 2018. But that changed on Sunday when the EV maker used Facebook again in a big way — launching an ad to tout its bestselling Model Y.
The history of Elon Musk’s Tesla

Sometimes it’s hard to remember that Tesla, Elon Musk’s electric vehicle giant, isn’t even old enough to legally drink.
Tesla is the 14th most valuable company in the world, with a market capitalization of $566 billion as of March 27 — despite experiencing a series of complications in 2024. The EV maker has factories across three continents, and its chief executive is the second richest person in the world (at least for now).
Why smart rings might become the new smartwatch
