Volkswagen’s Canadian battery plant slips to 2029, while its German one is already running
Volkswagen’s Canadian battery plant slips to 2029, while its German one is already running

Volkswagen’s battery subsidiary PowerCo has delayed its Ontario plant by two years to 2029, and the ID Buzz will skip another American model year. Its Salzgitter plant in Germany has been making cells since December and supplies a new assembly line at …

Nio sells a 30% stake in its battery swapping arm to Geely
Nio sells a 30% stake in its battery swapping arm to Geely

Nio has agreed to sell a 30% stake in its battery swapping business, Nio Power, to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, the company said on Monday. The two Chinese carmakers will also share technology and standards and build a joint service network. Geely Hol…

Walmart won’t hike prices based on your shopping history, CEO says
Walmart won’t hike prices based on your shopping history, CEO says

Walmart says it won’t change product prices based on your personal information or the time of day, as reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal. In a letter to customers, Walmart CEO John Furner writes that the company’s switch to digital shelf labels is meant to save store associates time, rather than dynamically change prices. […]

Chery built the first diesel plug-in hybrid pickup, and measures its electric range on NEDC
Chery built the first diesel plug-in hybrid pickup, and measures its electric range on NEDC

Chery has built the world’s first diesel plug-in hybrid pickup, the Stockman, developed for Australia rather than China, with a 2.5-litre turbo-diesel, a 34 kWh battery and a claimed 100 km of electric range on the NEDC cycle. Volvo invented the diesel…

Automattic’s Mullenweg names a new board after the failed bid to oust him
Automattic’s Mullenweg names a new board after the failed bid to oust him

Automattic chief executive Matt Mullenweg has named a new board, weeks after the previous directors tried to put him on leave. The board includes science-fiction author Hugh Howey and two co-founders of the defunct social app IRL, Sarah Perez reported …

Hyundai says solid-state cars are five years away, and still too expensive after that
Hyundai says solid-state cars are five years away, and still too expensive after that

Hyundai research chief Manfred Harrer says carmakers cannot give up on solid-state batteries and expects small-volume halo cars within five years, but does not believe the raw material cost problem can be solved in that time. LG Energy Solution puts so…

SpaceX’s Starship reaches orbit for the first time, then returns early
SpaceX’s Starship reaches orbit for the first time, then returns early

SpaceX’s Starship reached orbit for the first time on Monday, on its 14th test flight. The rocket lifted off from Starbase, Texas, at 7:48am local time and entered orbit about 25 minutes later. It then released 26 Starlink V3 satellites. The flight nea…

Microdramas Drew 6.5 Billion YouTube Views. But The Apps Sell The Next Episode

YouTube’s Shorts Series comes as microdramas pass 6.5 billion views. But while YouTube monetizes attention, dedicated apps make money when viewers keep watching.

Walmart’s CEO rules out personalised pricing, including by its AI assistant
Walmart’s CEO rules out personalised pricing, including by its AI assistant

Walmart will not use a shopper’s income, shopping history or urgency to charge them more, chief executive John Furner said in a letter to customers posted on 25 September. The pledge also covers Sparky, the retailer’s AI shopping assistant. “I want to …

Netflix’s ‘A Different World’ Rotten Tomatoes Score Is In

Season 1 of ‘A Different World’ has hit Netflix, and its Rotten Tomatoes score from critics indicates it might be worth a look.