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Tesla's brutal 2024, noise-canceling headphones, and Microsoft's 'ground zero': The most popular tech stories

By Quartz Intelligence Newsroom
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Noise-canceling headphones are quiet — but they also have a quiet danger

Noise-canceling headphones offer a tech bro’s solution to the world of sound. They deem everything in your natural environment as “noise” that can be canceled out, allowing you to purely listen to your devices. The technology is generally considered good for your ears by reducing the overall noise levels you’re exposed to. But even though noise-canceling headphones are good for our hearing, it’s a myth that the technology is entirely good for us.

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Tesla is losing top executives as it lays off thousands of workers

One of Tesla’s top leaders resigned as Elon Musk’s company began laying off “more than 10%” of its global workforce.

Andrew Baglino, Tesla’s senior vice president for energy engineering and powertrain, has been with the company since March 2006. He was one of the original electrical engineers working on the Roadster, Tesla’s first-ever electric vehicle, and has been a frequent face at investor events. Baglino is also one of Tesla’s four key leaders.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk apologizes for ‘incorrectly low’ severance packages after mass layoffs

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said some severance packages sent to some of the more than 14,000 Tesla employees laid off this week were “incorrectly” low.


“As we reorganize Tesla it has come to my attention that some severance packages are incorrectly low,” Musk said in a brief email sent to employees. “My apologies for this mistake. It is being corrected immediately.” - William Gavin Read More

Microsoft is ‘ground zero’ for foreign state-sponsored hackers, executive says

A top Microsoft executive said in a new interview that the tech giant is “ground zero” for foreign government-backed hackers.

“They’re incredibly good at collecting data over time, gathering and gathering more and more momentum and then figuring out how to keep parlaying that into more and more success,” Charlie Bell, Microsoft’s executive vice president of security, said of state-sponsored hackers. “It’s very difficult to defend against.”

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Salesforce stock sinks 7% because investors don’t like a deal to buy Informatica

Cloud-based software company Salesforce is in advanced discussions to acquire the data-management software maker Informatica, according to a new report. The news sent both Salesforce stock and Informatica shares down. 

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Elon Musk’s Tesla is having a brutal 2024. Here’s how it went wrong

Elon Musk’s Tesla has had a rough start to the year.

Tesla stock has fallen about 37% so far in 2024, making Tesla one of the worst performers in the S&P 500, only matched by Boeing and insurance company Globe Life — the later of which is being targeted by short-sellers and has dropped 54%.

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Tesla stock sinks again as Elon Musk says the EV maker will lay off 10% of its workforce

Tesla is cutting “more than 10%” of its global workforce following an abysmal first fiscal quarter that saw the electric vehicle maker fall far short of Wall Street’s sales expectations, CEO Elon Musk said in a memo to staff.

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What’s wrong (and right) with Neuralink?

The first patient to receive a Neuralink brain chip implant caused a splash recently. Is now the time for this product? We break it down

Are we ready for Apple Vision Pro?

Early reviews remain mixed on Apple’s first big leap into virtual reality. We break down whether now is the time for VR technology

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