Ford became the first major automaker to get into bed with Tesla after the US government pushed to make electric vehicle charging more widely available. The automaker has signed an agreement starting in the spring of 2024 so that some Ford electric vehicles can reduce power at certain Tesla Supercharger stations. As part of the pact, Ford said, starting with the 2025 model year, it will switch to Tesla’s open-source North American Charging Standard (NACS) on its vehicles. Meanwhile, existing models that still use the (more or less) global standard combined charging system (CCS) will be able to take a Tesla-designed adapter to fill the gap.
The deal is surprising, especially given the relative power, size and prestige of the two companies involved. Ford, one of the world’s biggest automakers, is ceding control of its charger future to a relative minnow, despite having built up a massive own-brand charging network. Not to mention, it risks creating a NACS-CCS EV charging format war, which could erode consumer confidence in EVs. After all, if you stop at a gas station anywhere in the United States, there should be a one-size-fits-all way to get fuel into your tank without worrying about pipe size.
–Dan Cooper
The next morning is not just one newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Receive our daily audio briefings, Monday to Friday, in subscribe here.
The greatest stories you could have missed
TikTok is testing an AI chatbot for content discovery
Twitter says startups can “experiment” with its data for $5,000 a month
Twitch raises prices for its ad-free Turbo service
YouTube Stories will be removed on June 26
Virgin Galactic completes final VSS Unity flight test ahead of space tourism debut
The best passive bookshelf speakers for most people
Google Play Games for PC is now available in Europe and New Zealand
Adobe’s entry-level smart home security kit is just $160 but drops HomeKit support
Arc Internet Browser lets you personalize (or vandalize) any website
Acer’s 16-inch Predator Triton and Swift Edge laptops are aimed at gamers and creators
At least for those who signed up for the Search Labs waiting list.
At I/O, Google presented SGE, its experimental system for integrating generative AI into its search results. Now, the company’s response to Bing AI is open for testing, at least to users who signed up for Search Labs’ waiting list. Once they get the email saying they have access, they can type into the Google search bar – there’s no separate chat window like Bing – to get search results generated by the AI, which they can either elaborate on or choose to ask follow-up questions. .
Continue reading.
It’s a small but vital step on Elon Musk’s road to getting wires into people’s brains.
Neuralink, Elon Musk’s controversial brain-computer interface startup, says the FDA has approved it to begin human trials. The regulator has yet to confirm the claim, and while the company said it is not yet recruiting for a human trial, this approval makes one possible. In a tweet, Neuralink wanted to celebrate the “incredible work” done by its team to get the FDA’s blessing, not mentioning that it was rejected in March after it was revealed that more than 1,500 animals implanted with technology were dead.
Continue reading.
$10 a month for three movies isn’t such a bad deal.
After months of testing, MoviePass’ all-you-can-eat movie subscription has relaunched in the United States. This new version will offer you a tiered subscription plan, with the lowest offering charging you $10 per month for three screenings. It might not be the crazy deal offered by the previous version, but it’s still a hell of a lot cheaper than most single tickets. And if you’re a real movie buff, you can pay up to $40 a month for 30 screenings, which is staggering per movie.
Continue reading.
The additional delay will allow the developers to polish the title.
Gearbox/Blackbird Interactive Edition
Homeworld 3, the long-awaited second sequel to the groundbreaking space RTS, has been further delayed until February 2024. This is the second time the title has been pushed back, with developers Blackbird Interactive asking for more time to tweak and refine the title. Given that Homeworld 2 debuted in 2003, the two-decade wait for a real follow-up (yes, I don’t know Kharak Deserts) will test the idiom “good things come to those who wait” to its limits.
Continue reading.
