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Rubin Observatory spots massive icy object orbiting far past Pluto

CNET

Astronomers using Chile's NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory have discovered a new dwarf planet candidate, named 2026 ED138, orbiting in the distant reaches of the solar system. The icy body lies roughly 46 astronomical units from the Sun, farther out than Pluto's current distance of around 40 AU. First identified on October 13 by Matthew Holman of the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the finding was announced alongside University of Washington astronomer Mario Jurić at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences.

Summarized from 4 outlets
EVs & energyScience & research
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4 publications

Toyota will manufacture self-driving bZ4X electric SUVs for Waymo fleet testing in Japan

Electrek

Waymo and Toyota announced a deal to build custom, autonomous Toyota bZ4X electric SUVs, scheduled to begin test operations in Japan in 2027. Under the agreement, Toyota will manufacture the vehicles at its Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, and install Waymo's self-driving sensors and computing equipment directly on the factory assembly line rather than retrofitting standard cars later.

Summarized from 4 outlets
RoboticsGoogle & Android
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IEEE Spectrum

When Electric Cars Were for Women

IEEE Spectrum

At the turn of the last century, the automobile industry was still new and evolving rapidly. In 1898, there were about 50 carmakers in the United States. A decade later, that number had increased fivefold. In 1901, the companies produced…

via IEEE Spectrum
EVs & energy

AI briefings

· 2 source reports

Tesla shifts referral rewards from car purchases to full self-driving subscriptions

Tesla has overhauled its referral system in the US, removing incentives for new vehicle purchases and replacing them with rewards tied to Full Self-Driving (Supervised). Under the new program, existing Tesla owners who share a referral link give an eligible recipient a one-month trial of FSD. If that person converts into a paid subscriber, the referrer receives either one free month of FSD or a $99 Tesla Credit, matching the monthly subscription cost.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 2 source reports

Volkswagen suspends work on electric Golf amid cost shortfalls at Wolfsburg plant

Volkswagen has temporarily paused preliminary development of the all-electric ID. Golf as the automaker wrestles with mounting financial constraints. Brand chief Thomas Schäfer stated internally that the company cannot afford to continue the compact car's development right now, citing a 300-million-euro budget deficit against cost-cutting targets at its primary Wolfsburg factory. The broader project remains active rather than cancelled, with engineers scheduled to return to the vehicle once fresh savings are realized.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 4 source reports

Toyota will manufacture self-driving bZ4X electric SUVs for Waymo fleet testing in Japan

Waymo and Toyota announced a deal to build custom, autonomous Toyota bZ4X electric SUVs, scheduled to begin test operations in Japan in 2027. Under the agreement, Toyota will manufacture the vehicles at its Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, and install Waymo's self-driving sensors and computing equipment directly on the factory assembly line rather than retrofitting standard cars later.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 4 source reports

General Motors agrees to 220 million dollar deal after quietly selling driving habits to insurers

General Motors has agreed to pay $220 million to settle a lawsuit led by a coalition representing 35 states and the District of Columbia. The action resolved claims that the automaker enrolled millions of motorists into its OnStar Smart Driver program without proper permission from 2016 through 2024. During that period, GM logged driving behaviors such as speeding, hard braking, and late-night travel before offloading the data to brokers, who then sold it to insurers that raised premiums for unsuspecting drivers.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 2 source reports

LiveWire raises doubts over its survival and weighs a sale as cash dwindles

Electric motorcycle manufacturer LiveWire announced substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern, prompting its stock to plunge more than 40% on Thursday morning. The Harley-Davidson spinoff cited recurring operating losses, negative cash flows, and limited liquidity after posting an $18.6 million net loss for the third quarter. In response, LiveWire formed a special restructuring committee to evaluate options including additional financing, strategic partnerships, or an outright sale, while withdrawing its earlier 2026 guidance that projected an operating loss between $70 million and $80 million.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 3 source reports

Rivian raises delivery outlook after R2 quickly becomes its top-selling electric vehicle

Rivian announced on Thursday that its newly introduced R2 SUV became its best-selling model during the third quarter of 2026, leading delivery volumes ahead of the R1 and the Amazon delivery van. The company built 19,751 vehicles and delivered 19,248 during the quarter, generating $2.155 billion in revenue, up 38 percent from the same period last year. Buoyed by R2 demand, Rivian raised the low end of its full-year delivery guidance from 65,000 to 67,000 vehicles, keeping the upper target at 70,000.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 4 source reports

Rubin Observatory spots massive icy object orbiting far past Pluto

Astronomers using Chile's NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory have discovered a new dwarf planet candidate, named 2026 ED138, orbiting in the distant reaches of the solar system. The icy body lies roughly 46 astronomical units from the Sun, farther out than Pluto's current distance of around 40 AU. First identified on October 13 by Matthew Holman of the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the finding was announced alongside University of Washington astronomer Mario Jurić at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 6 source reports

Ford Integrates Bidirectional Home Power Inverters Directly Into Upcoming Affordable Electric Pickups

Ford announced that its upcoming Fathom electric pickup will start at $28,350 and feature built-in bidirectional charging capabilities. Built on the automaker's new Universal Electric Vehicle Platform, the mid-size truck is expected to arrive in 2027, with production scheduled to begin at the company's Louisville factory next year.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 2 source reports

Tesla Semi bursts into flames without a crash and shuts California interstate

A Tesla Semi caught fire on Interstate 880 in Hayward, California, on Tuesday evening despite not being involved in a collision. The driver escaped uninjured, but the California Highway Patrol shut down traffic in both directions around 5:35 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. over concerns about hazardous chemical smoke from the burning lithium-ion battery. While northbound lanes reopened later that night, the southbound lanes were blocked for about 10 hours before all lanes resumed service at around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 2 source reports

ANYbotics rolls out a quadruped inspection robot certified safe from triggering industrial explosions

Swiss robotics firm ANYbotics has begun customer deliveries of ANYmal X, a four-legged autonomous inspection robot engineered specifically for volatile industrial settings. Developed over four years, the quadruped complies with Europe's ATEX and international IECEx safety standards, allowing it to navigate oil, gas, and chemical facilities without the risk of triggering sparks or flames.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 3 source reports

Volkswagen joint venture debuts budget Jetta M6 electric sedan in China

Volkswagen's Chinese sub-brand Jetta has introduced the M6, an all-electric sedan targeted at budget-minded car buyers. Built under the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture on the dedicated Jiesi platform, the front-wheel-drive sedan starts locally at 79,800 yuan—roughly $11,800 to $11,950. The lineup spans three trims, with prices climbing to 99,800 yuan for the flagship version.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 2 source reports

Tesla abandons Cybertruck launch plans for Australia and New Zealand

Tesla has officially canceled plans to release the Cybertruck in Australia and New Zealand, ending years of waiting for local buyers. The automaker notified reservation holders by email that their pre-orders are void and promised full refunds within 30 days. Australian customers had placed deposits of A$150 starting in November 2019, but Tesla now says it will not manufacture the electric pickup for either market.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 2 source reports

BMW brings long range and shared styling to redesigned X5 and electric iX5

BMW has unveiled its 2027 X5 and all-electric iX5, aligning the design of its flagship midsize SUV across both gas and battery powertrains. The electric iX5 starts at $79,800, while the plug-in hybrid X5 50e starts at $77,500. Gas shoppers can also choose the X5 40 xDrive, which features a 394-horsepower mild-hybrid turbocharged inline-six delivering an estimated 26 mpg and 569 miles of total range.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 2 source reports

Helion lands preliminary 175 million dollar federal award to build domestic fusion chips

The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued a letter of intent to provide fusion startup Helion Energy with up to $175 million in CHIPS and Science Act funding. Under the proposed three-year agreement, the government would take a $175 million non-voting equity stake in the Everett, Washington-based company. Helion is contributing another $50 million in private capital to the initiative.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 2 source reports

Tesla targets mid-2027 to let customer Model Ys enter its Robotaxi network

Tesla plans to allow customer-owned Model Y vehicles to join its autonomous Robotaxi fleet starting in the second quarter of 2027. Autonomous driving chief Ashok Elluswamy disclosed the target date on October 21 during the company's third-quarter earnings call, answering a top shareholder question regarding when unsupervised Full Self-Driving would reach consumer vehicles.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 3 source reports

Tesla targets late 2026 for initial Cybercab customer deliveries

Tesla executives announced during the company's third-quarter earnings call that they aim to deliver the first Cybercabs to outside customers before the end of 2026. Lars Moravy, Tesla's vice president of engineering, noted that the automaker is already producing the two-seater vehicles at its Texas Gigafactory for its own fleet and will begin with small customer deliveries. Chief executive Elon Musk emphasized that the vast majority of Cybercabs will remain internal company assets operated as a ride-hailing service rather than consumer-owned vehicles.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 3 source reports

Tesla posts lower quarterly profit as artificial intelligence spending surges and robot assembly begins

Tesla's net profit dropped 43 percent year over year to $787 million in the third quarter of 2026, down from $1.37 billion a year earlier. Total revenue held essentially flat at roughly $28 billion, with automotive sales delivering roughly $20 billion on 486,532 deliveries. Meanwhile, operating expenses jumped 39 percent to $4.8 billion and capital expenditures more than doubled to $4.7 billion.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 2 source reports

Subaru will phase out gas-powered vehicles across Europe by late 2027

Subaru will stop selling internal combustion engine vehicles in Europe no later than the end of 2027 to transition to a fully electric lineup. The phaseout begins with the discontinuation of the Outback wagon at the end of this year, followed in 2027 by the Impreza, Crosstrek, and Forester. By 2028, the automaker's European portfolio will feature only three electric crossover SUVs developed alongside Toyota: the Solterra, E-Outback, and Uncharted.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 6 source reports

Elon Musk says Tesla and SpaceX have established committees to evaluate a potential merger

Tesla and SpaceX have set up special committees of independent directors to explore a potential combination of the two companies, Chief Executive Elon Musk announced during SpaceX's third-quarter earnings call. Musk voiced clear support for unifying his business empire, calling the idea a good one while noting that any final decision ultimately rests with shareholders.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 2 source reports

Foxconn purchases half of Mitsubishi Electric Mobility to build Japanese electric vehicle platforms

Foxconn has agreed to acquire a 50 percent stake in Mitsubishi Electric's automotive parts unit for 115 billion yen, or roughly $727 million. Operating through its Lin Yin International Investment arm, the Taiwanese manufacturer will run the business as an equal joint venture. The transaction values the unit at 320 billion yen in enterprise value and is scheduled to close on October 1, 2027, subject to antitrust clearance.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 2 source reports

Tesla shows off next-generation Roadster with gravity-defying stunts and thrusters

Tesla has demonstrated its next-generation Roadster at SpaceX's testing facility in McGregor, Texas, staging dramatic stunts that included driving up a vertical ramp to hang upside down and briefly going airborne. Elon Musk stated the vehicle will enter production in 2028, with reservations priced at $50,000 for the base model and $250,000 for the high-end Thrust trim.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 14 source reports

Tesla shows off redesigned Roadster with rocket thrusters and promises 2028 release

Tesla unveiled a redesigned version of its long-delayed Roadster sports car at an event in McGregor, Texas, demonstrating a prototype that leaped off a vertical ramp, flipped midair, and hovered down. Chief executive Elon Musk announced that the vehicle is targeted for production in 2028. Buyers can secure a reservation with $5,000 upfront and a subsequent $45,000 payment within 10 days.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

· 2 source reports

Tesla activates Powershare home backup for Model 3 and Model Y

Tesla has enabled its Powershare Home Backup feature for the Model 3 and Model Y, allowing the vehicles to act like stationary storage systems and supply battery power to a home during an outage. Previously, the Cybertruck was the only Tesla vehicle capable of bidirectional charging, an ability already offered by competitors such as Ford and GM.

AI-generatedRead briefing and sources

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