AI

Grok's Censorship Incident

Grok, Elon Musk's ChatGPT competitor, temporarily refused to respond with sources mentioning "Elon Musk/Donald Trump" spreading misinformation. xAI’s head of engineering, Igor Babuschkin, attributed this to an unauthorized system prompt update by a former OpenAI employee. Despite Musk's claim of Grok being a "maximally truth-seeking" AI, interventions have occurred to prevent the chatbot from stating that President Trump, Musk, and Vice President JD Vance are "doing the most harm to America," and even suggesting that Musk and Trump deserve the death penalty.

Electric Aviation

Beta Technologies' Electric Aircraft Development

Beta Technologies' founder and CEO, Kyle Clark, piloted the Alia CX300, an electric aircraft model, in its first flight built on a new scaled production line. Clark highlighted the significance of fulfilling commitments to the company's board. Beta's market entry approach varies from competitors like Archer and Joby. The company has accumulated hours in piloted flight and financially secured customer orders, despite a lower profile compared to competitors.

Electric Vehicle Charging

Hyundai Ioniq 5 Charging Experience at Tesla Supercharger

The 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 was tested at a Tesla Supercharging station using the NACS port. A gap occurred because the charging cord didn't reach the charge port on the passenger-rear quarter panel. Drivers can either wait for a Tesla to vacate its space or use the in-car navigation to find a CCS-equipped charging station with an adapter. This issue should be resolved with Tesla's V4 charging stations featuring longer cables.

Space Exploration

X-37B Spaceplane Mission

The Space Force has released a photo from the X-37B spaceplane, which is currently undertaking experimental aerobraking maneuvers to adjust its orbit using minimal fuel. This seventh mission of the X-37B involves using Earth's atmosphere for drag. The previous, sixth mission, lasted approximately two and a half years.

Technology & Policy

Elon Musk's Contentious Email Demand

Elon Musk reportedly tweeted about an email to be sent to federal workers requesting details of their work last week, with non-compliance interpreted as resignation. This demand has drawn criticism from legal experts and a House minority leader, citing potential violations of federal laws. Some department leaders are advising employees to await further guidance, while others are urging compliance. Unions are advising employees not to respond, with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association calling the email an unnecessary distraction.

AI

xAI's Grok-3 Censorship Issue

Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, recently launched Grok-3, which is designed to be a 'maximally truth-seeking AI.' However, it was reported that Grok-3 briefly censored negative information about Donald Trump and Musk himself. When asked about who the biggest misinformation spreader was, Grok-3 initially avoided mentioning Trump or Musk, citing explicit instructions. TechCrunch confirmed this behavior, but the issue was later resolved. This apparent tweak comes amid criticisms that Grok is too left-leaning.

Technology

Bangladesh Invites Elon Musk for Starlink Launch

Bangladesh's interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, has extended an invitation to Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, to visit the country and initiate the launch of his Starlink satellite internet service.