Aug 25, 2017

Inside Tesla's Autopilot group

A new spacesuit from Elon Musk's SpaceX, designed for its crewed flights planned for 2018 (AP)

Tesla survives a months-long Wall Street Journal investigation, yielding this front-pager, "Tesla's Push to Build a Self-Driving Car Sparked Dissent Among Its Engineers: Elon Musk's ambitious goals for Autopilot technology have prompted safety warnings and resignations":

  • "Behind the scenes, the Autopilot team has clashed over deadlines and design and marketing decisions ... In recent months, the team has lost at least 10 engineers and four top managers."
  • "A Tesla spokeswoman attributed the turnover in the Autopilot group — which has more than 100 people developing hardware and software — to fierce competition for talent ... Tesla has hired more than 35 people to join its Autopilot group so far this year, and brought on more than 50 in 2016."
  • "In an email, Mr. Musk said he was unhappy with previous Journal articles on the company. 'While it is possible that this article could be an exception, that is extremely unlikely, which is why I declined to comment.'"

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Orion Rummler
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In photos: Protesters clash with police nationwide over George Floyd

Police officers grapple with protesters in Atlanta. Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray as the protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd spread nationwide on Friday evening.

The big picture: Police responded in force in cities ranging from Atlanta to Des Moines, Houston to Detroit, Milwaukee to D.C. and Denver to Louisville. In Los Angeles, police declared a stretch of downtown off limits, with Oakland issuing a similar warning.

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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Supreme Court sides with California on coronavirus worship service rules

The Supreme Court has ruled 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the court's liberal justices, to reject a challenge to California's pandemic restrictions on worship services.

Why it matters: This is a setback for those seeking to speed the reopening of houses of worship, including President Trump.

Axios
Updated 4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 5,923,432— Total deaths: 364,836 — Total recoveries — 2,493,434 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 1,745,930 — Total deaths: 102,808 — Total recoveries: 406,446 — Total tested: 16,099,515 — Map.
  3. Public health: Hydroxychloroquine prescription fills exploded in March —How the U.S. might distribute a vaccine.
  4. 2020: North Carolina asks RNC if convention will honor Trump's wish for no masks or social distancing.
  5. Business: Fed chair Powell says coronavirus is "great increaser" of income inequality.
  6. 1 sports thing: NCAA outlines plan to get athletes back to campus.
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