America’s Tesla divide, Apple and Google target tech stalkers, Ford’s EV losses: Tech news roundup
It’s pretty unusual for a car company to truly be divisive; outside of labor strikes or the occasional scandal or recall, they’re generally not something to be fought about at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Tesla, as usual, is the exception.
Parking lots full of Tesla vehicles are becoming impossible to ignore as the electric automaker seemingly can’t sell enough cars and trucks to match its rate of production. According to its own figures, the electric automaker produced 46,561 more vehicles than it delivered to customers during the first quarter of 2024. Where are all these cars going? Parking lots at its factories, malls and airports.
Tesla’s charge port has become the North American Charging Standard (NACS), but what does it take for non-Tesla owners to take advantage of the brand’s ubiquitous Supercharger network? Online retailers like Amazon are full of NACS adapters that look like they would allow non-Tesla EVs to charge at Tesla Superchargers, but unfortunately none of these actually work. There are only a few ways for EV owners to use Tesla Superchargers, and there is no quick fix on Amazon. Consider for a moment though that your car costs a lot of money, and charging a whole car involves a lot more energy than charging a phone, so it’s not a smart situation to cheap-out on.
If someone slips a tracking device onto your person, your phone will now start telling you, regardless if you’re an Apple or Android user.
Apple devices have long alerted users if an Air Tag or similar Apple bluetooth device is located in their vicinity. And Android phones have had the ability to detect unknown bluetooth devices — Air Tag or not — since at least July. A new update allows gadgets from either manufacturer to be fully cross-functional.
