Tesla CEO Elon Musk has opened the automaker’s new high-volume Giga plant in Austin.
“Speaking to more than 1,000 invited guests and fans of the brand packed into the sprawling facility for what Tesla called a ‘Cyber Rodeo’ late Thursday, Musk said the plant will produce at least 500,000 vehicles annually by next year. Initially, it will make Model Y hatchbacks, with the hard-edged Cybertruck pickup going into production next year, along with a new version of the Roadster sports car and Tesla Semi,” writes Alan Ohnsman of Forbes.
U.S. Secretly Removes Malware from Networks to Pre-Empt Russian Cyberattacks
Malware controlled by Russian military intelligence has been quietly removed from private computer networks to prevent potential cyberattacks, according to a report in The New York Times.
“The United States said on Wednesday that it had secretly removed malware from computer networks around the world in recent weeks, a step to pre-empt Russian cyberattacks and send a message to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia,” write Kate Conger and David E. Sanger of The New York Times. “The move, made public by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, comes as U.S. officials warn that Russia could try to strike American critical infrastructure — including financial firms, pipelines and the electric grid — in response to the crushing sanctions that the United States has imposed on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.”
Musk to Join Twitter Board of Directors
The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX soon will be taking on yet another high-level corporate role.
“Elon Musk is set to join Twitter’s board of directors, a move that potentially boosts his influence over the social media platform and which comes one day after it was disclosed that he had become the company’s largest individual shareholder,” writes Clare Duffy of CNN Business. “Twitter said in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it plans to appoint the Tesla and SpaceX CEO to its board for a term that ends in 2024. As part of the deal, Musk has agreed not to acquire more than 14.9% of the company’s shares while he remains on the board. On Monday, Twitter said in a filing that Musk had bought 9.2% of its shares.”
Muscle Cars Feel Supply Chain Pain
Two of the world’s most recognizable muscle cars are feeling the pain of continuing supply chain problems.
“Ford and Chevrolet are reportedly halting production on their respective flagship performance cars, the Mustang and the Camaro, for a week thanks to supply chain issues (via Jalopnik). While the pauses probably won’t make it that much harder to get a muscle car, they are just the latest in a string of automotive delays caused by shortages of chips and other supplies,” writes Mitchell Clark of The Verge. “According to WXYZ Detroit, Ford is explicitly citing the chip shortage as the reason it’s not producing cars at its Flat Rock assembly plant where Mustangs are made. This isn’t the first time the company has struggled with supply issues — it’s had to cut back on the production of the F-150 and other vehicles multiple times, and earlier this year, it started selling Explorers that were missing minor features, reportedly due to a lack of chips.”
