They used to be a novelty in Australia: the futuristic, flush-mounted car door handles favoured by Elon Musk’s Tesla. However while the design – popularised with the Tesla Model S in 2012 and since adopted by other manufacturers – might look sleek, it may not be great in an emergency. After several deadly high-profile accidents involving different makes and models, in which power failings saw people trapped inside the vehicle, China has announced a world-first ban on hidden or retractable electric car door handles. But with less than six months…
Tag: Elon Musk
What is China’s SpaceSail, and could it rival Elon Musk’s Starlink?
Elon Musk’s Starlink has long dominated the satellite internet industry, but a Chinese government-backed project is aiming to challenge its position. SpaceSail has just a few hundred satellites in low Earth orbit compared with Starlink’s 10,000-plus. But the company says it now has enough satellites to begin its first commercial application, is scaling up at speed, and is reportedly negotiating with dozens of countries to provide satellite internet coverage. According to Blaine Curcio, founder of Hong Kong-based firm Orbital Gateway Consulting, SpaceSail is “deliberately targeting” places where Starlink has faced…
Stephen Colbert on Trump tanking the US economy: ‘Experts call it the poop chute’
On Wednesday, late-night hosts discussed Donald Trump’s visit to China, Marty Makary’s resignation as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner and reports of Maga’s lies over the success of the Iran war. Stephen Colbert On the Late Show, Stephen Colbert focused on Trump’s trip to China accompanied by CEOs, including Tim Cook and Elon Musk. “It is so satisfying to realize that no matter how rich or powerful you may be, there’s a chance you might get stuck on a plane with Elon Musk,” Colbert said. On Truth…
China to ban hidden car door handles on all EVs over crash safety concerns
China will soon ban concealed door handles on electric vehicles (EVs), becoming the first country to do so after several deadly incidents triggered global scrutiny of the controversial design first popularised by Tesla. According to regulations announced on Monday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, cars sold in China will now be required to have a mechanical release on both the inside and outside of every door except the boot. The new regulations will “improve the level of automotive safety design”, it said. Due to take effect on…
Five tech trends we’ll be watching in 2026
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, wishing you a happy New Year’s Eve filled with cheer, champagne and Mariah Carey’s comically awful rendition of Auld Lang Syne. Today, we’re looking forward to the next year in technology news. I am watching five trends I think will define the year: datacenters will see rapid proliferation beyond the US and China; billionaires will reap billions more; self-driving cars will park themselves in a slew of brand-new locales; AI will find its niche at work; and consumer tech will…
The Guardian view on the new space race: humanity risks exporting its old politics to the moon | Editorial
During the cold war’s space race, the Apollo moon missions were driven by the need to prove American superiority. Having made that political and technological point with the 1969 moon landing, the contest between Moscow and Washington petered out. A new dash across the skies kicks off in 2026, reigniting geopolitical competition under the guise of “peaceful exploration”. The moon’s south pole is emerging as the most valuable real estate in the solar system, offering “peaks of eternal light” for solar arrays and ice deposits in craters shielded from the sun. The…
The race begins to make the world’s best self-driving cars
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, writing to you from Barcelona, where my diet has transformed at least half my body into ham. Who will dominate the autonomous vehicles market? We are on the verge of the global arrival of self-driving cars. Next year, major firms from both the US and China will deploy their robotaxis to metropolises around the world, in major expansions of their existing operations. These companies are posturing in the press like male birds fighting for the same mate; the dance sets…
The Guardian view on hybrid cars: profitable for carmakers but not very green | Editorial
“Why the future is hybrid,” chirruped the Economist in 2004. While electric vehicles (EVs) looked like science fiction, that prediction looked prescient. Fast‑forward 20 years and battery technology has improved dramatically; EVs are affordable. Last week it emerged that plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) aren’t very green. The sales pitch had been that motorists could use “clean” battery power for city jaunts and dirty petrol for longer trips. This promised sustainable travel without the anxiety of a limited range. But real‑world tests, by the European non-profit Transport and Environment, show that…
Top Starmer aide resigns over explicit Diane Abbott messages in further blow to PM – UK politics live
From 20h ago No 10 director of strategy resigns over revelation about sexually explicit comments about Diane Abbott in private email in 2017 Keir Starmer has been hit by a fresh Downing Street resignation. Paul Ovenden has resigned as director of strategy at No 10 over revelations, first published by the Mail, that in 2017 he made sexually explicit comments about Diane Abbott in a private email. Ovenden was a Labour party press officer at the time. In his story for the Mail, Dan Hodges reports: The Mail understands that…
Tesla sales in Europe slump 40% as BYD new car registrations more than triple
Tesla sales slumped 40% across Europe in July compared with a year earlier as Elon Musk’s electric car company faces increasingly tough competition from its Chinese rival BYD. There were 8,837 sales of Tesla cars last month across the EU, the European Free Trade Association and the UK, according to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA). That compared with 14,769 at the same point last year. New car registrations for BYD across Europe rose to 13,503 last month, compared with 4,151 a year earlier. BYD now has 1.2%…