Thomas Ricker
The Verge
Amsterdam, NH, Netherlands
Contact Thomas
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Past articles by Thomas:
Bike tires made from NASA’s bizarre shape-shifting metal are now available to buy
Metl bicycles tires are the first consumer products made from nitinol, a NASA-developed shape-memory alloy made of nickel and titanium. Metl tires will never go flat and last a lifetime. → Read More
Elon Musk again promises full self-driving “this year.”
Twitter CEO and Tesla enthusiast: “The trend is very clearly toward full self-driving. And I hesitate to say this, but I think we’ll do it this year.” Sure, Elon. We’ve been hearing this since 2019. → Read More
Here’s the world’s first Tesla V4 Supercharger charging a VW ID Buzz
The Tesla charging station just opened up to non-Tesla EVs. The 16 V4 stalls feature longer cables and, eventually, more power. → Read More
Starship launch now targeting 9:20AM ET.
Scheduled liftoff is now: New York: 9:20AM / San Francisco: 6:20AM / London: 2:20PM / Berlin: 3:20PM / Moscow: 4:20PM / New Delhi: 6:50PM / Beijing: 9:20PM / Tokyo: 10:20PM / Melbourne: 11:20PM → Read More
Musk sets expectations low for Starship launch.
The SpaceX, Tesla, and Twitter CEO speaking live on Twitter Spaces Sunday night: → Read More
The Tesla Powerwall 3 cometh.
Electrek has the scoop on a sleeker, squared-off third-gen Powerwall home battery pack with higher performance and easier installation. No official date given, just that it’s “about to launch.” → Read More
First look at Cybertruck’s comically large windshield wiper in action
A drone captured video of the Cybertruck’s enormous windshield wiper blade in action. → Read More
Happy first year of hell, Elon.
It was one year ago today that news broke of Elon Musk offering to buy Twitter outright. Looking back, two prophecies have proven true with time. Outgoing CEO Parag Agrawal telling staff, “there will be distractions ahead,” and our own Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel warning Musk of the overpriced world of hurt he just purchased. Anyway, happy anniversary, Chief Twit. → Read More
Raspberry Pi and Sony strike AI deal.
Eben Upton, CEO of Raspberry Pi, on Sony’s minority investment and AITRIOS deal that extends the companies’ existing relationship: → Read More
Five things I learned from Elon Musk’s BBC interview.
According to the Twitter CEO: 1. Twitter is down to 1,500 employees (from over 7,500) 2. Shutting down a data center in December “was quite catastrophic.” 3. Musk’s dog is now Twitter CEO, thus honoring Musk’s commitment to abide by a poll to step down. 4. Twitter is nearly breaking even financially with satisfactory growth. 5. Little rocket man is angry. → Read More
Apple’s 27-inch Mini LED monitor now rumored for 2024.
Just when you thought that rumors of a higher-end 27-inch Apple Studio Display had been killed off, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo resurrects them. The noted supply-chain sleuth says it’ll arrive with Mini LED technology and “thinner panel thickness, a narrower bezel, and extended product lifespan” in “2024 or early 2025.” → Read More
Jack Black singing Peaches is everything.
Watch the supremely nimble turtle-man in the embed below, then again as an animated Bowser in the official music video for The Super Mario Bros. Movie. → Read More
Tesla drops prices again.
Although not as dramatic as previous cuts from 2023, the Model 3 base price is down from $42,990 to $41,990, while select Model Y, S, and X models also saw modest price reductions. Electrek has all the before-and-after pricing if you want to compare. → Read More
TikTok fined $16M because it can’t keep kids away.
The world’s favorite social media app — except in India where it’s banned, and China where it’s called Douyin and is very different — was penalized for allowing an estimated 1 million UK kids on the app despite the age limit (13) and using their personal data without parental consent. Yeah, but did you see that new beauty filter? So fun! → Read More
Samsung’s having a terrible financial year
Samsung says its quarterly operating profit decreased 96 per cent compared to the same period last year, worse than the two-thirds plunge it suffered the three months prior. → Read More
One million sign up for Sonic’s murder.
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog has racked up 1M downloads since launching as a joke on April 1st, and is already breaking ratings records on Steam, according to a social media manager for the spiny mammal. Who’s the fool now, internet? But more importantly, who’s the killer!? → Read More
You ok, Western Digital?
On Monday WD was hacked and still today the company’s My Cloud, My Cloud Home, My Cloud Home Duo, My Cloud OS 5, SanDisk ibi, SanDisk Ixpand Wireless Charger services are down. At the time, WD said that it “believes the unauthorized party obtained certain data from its systems.” Oof. → Read More
Super73 launches Adventure Series and first e-bike for danger babies
Super73’s new Adventure Series are more ruggedized versions of its existing Super73 Z, S, and R e-bikes, while the K1D is a $1,295 electric balance bike for kids. → Read More
Your fridge company now offers travel advice.
LG “highly recommends” you visit Rome and NYC because they “reflect the brand’s embrace of art and tech while delivering unique value to visitors.” Sure. What’s next, Samsung offering fashion advice? Oh, right! → Read More
Baidu’s ChatGPT-competitor Ernie underwhelms in first demo.
The use of pre-recorded videos and the lack of a public launch sent Baidu shares tumbling as much as 10 percent, ultimately shaving $3 billion off the Chinese search giant’s market valuation. Not surprised — James Vincent said that China’s heavy-handed approach to censorship and regulation could undermine attempts to compete with US chatbots developed with an abundance of training data freely… → Read More