Musk says Tesla testing driverless Model Y cars in Austin, aiming June delivery
Tesla has been testing driverless Model Y cars in Austin, Texas and aims to deliver the first unit in June, CEO Elon Musk said on Thursday, amid buzz of an imminent robotaxi launch.
Musk had said earlier this year that such a launch would start with 10 or 20 Model Y vehicles.
'A month ahead of schedule,' he said on Thursday in his X post, adding that the tests had not seen any 'incidents.'
He had previously said that Tesla aimed to begin tests of robotaxis only by the end of June.
While the billionaire, who had just hours ago said he was leaving US President Donald Trump's administration, did not give a timeline for the launch, Bloomberg News had reported that Tesla aims to launch its robotaxi service in Austin on June 12.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside of regular business hours.
Musk said on Wednesday he was leaving US President Donald Trump's administration where he lead a tumultuous efficiency drive, upending several federal agencies and ultimately failed to deliver the generational savings he had sought.
Tesla sales have fallen worldwide with rising competition and as Musk faces a backlash for his right-wing political views and his work for Trump.
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India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
Masterstroke by Modi govt, India makes big move for this country, Pakistan, China in tension due to...
Masterstroke by Modi govt, India makes big move for this country, Pakistan, China in tension due to... New Delhi: India has given Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) a special exemption from some foreign investment rules. The decision has been taken by the Indian government with an aim to attract more capital and boost financial ties between the two countries. This will also strengthen relations between New Delhi and Riyadh. The move will also enable the Middle East country to invest more in India. A lot of money from Saudi Arabian companies is invested in Mukesh Ambani's companies. According to the current rule, if a foreign company of any country invests in India, then its investment coming from different parts will be considered as one, with an investment limit of 10 percent. Because of this rule, companies of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) were not able to invest much in India. This move by India will give tensions to China and Pakistan as both the countries also want to improve their economic relations with Saudi Arabia. What Will Happen Now? The Indian government has exempted Saudi Arabia's PIF from the current rule. It simply means that different companies of PIF will now be able to make separate investments in the country. This will make it easier for them to invest money in the Indian stock market. India wants Saudi Arabia to invest more in the country. Saudi Arabia has a lot of money to invest and India needs that money for development work. The middle east country also wants to invest in fast-growing countries such as India. Under 'Vision 2030', Saudi wants to remove its economy from dependence on oil. Discussion Between The Two Countries? During Prime Minister Modi's April visit to Saudi Arabia, both nations committed to boosting investment collaborations in energy, infrastructure, and healthcare. Simultaneously, negotiations are underway for a bilateral investment treaty. However, a Reuters source indicates that restrictions on combining investments from various sovereign entities may hinder the Saudi fund and its affiliates from investing autonomously. What Is PIF? The Public Investment Fund (PIF), a major global sovereign wealth fund with approximately USD925 billion in assets, has invested USD1.5 billion in Jio Platforms and USD1.3 billion in Reliance Retail, both Indian companies. This investment aligns with India's aim to attract long-term capital from Gulf nations, particularly given India's significant oil imports, and Saudi Arabia's 'Vision 2030' plan to boost investment in rapidly expanding economies. To achieve these goals, both the countries have formed a high-level task force last year. It aims to expedite Saudi's plan to invest USD 100 billion in India. Tax exemption can be available As per reports, the Indian government is also mulling about giving tax exemption to PIFs. The fund coming from the investments will be used in infrastructure and energy sector.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms: On the campaign trail, Elon Musk juggled drugs and family drama
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel As Elon Musk became one of Donald Trump 's closest allies last year, leading raucous rallies and donating about $275 million to help him win the presidency, he was also using drugs far more intensely than previously known, according to people familiar with his drug consumption went well beyond occasional use. He told people he was taking so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that it was affecting his bladder, a known effect of chronic use. He took Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms . And he traveled with a daily medication box that held about 20 pills, including ones with the markings of the stimulant Adderall, according to a photo of the box and people who have seen is unclear whether Musk, 53, was taking drugs when he became a fixture at the White House this year and was handed the power to slash the federal bureaucracy. But he has exhibited erratic behavior, insulting Cabinet members, gesturing like a Nazi and garbling his answers in a staged the same time, Musk's family life has grown increasingly tumultuous as he has negotiated overlapping romantic relationships and private legal battles involving his growing brood of children, according to documents and Wednesday evening, Musk announced that he was ending his stint with the government, after lamenting how much time he had spent on politics instead of his and his lawyer did not respond to requests for comment this week about his drug use and personal life. He has previously said he was prescribed ketamine for depression, taking it about every two weeks. And he told his biographer, "I really don't like doing illegal drugs."The White House did not respond to questions about whether it had asked Musk to take drug tests. After this article was published on Friday morning, Harrison Fields, a White House spokesperson, issued a statement to The New York Times crediting Musk with helping cut government waste. He declined to comment on Musk's drug a large government contractor, Musk's aerospace firm, SpaceX, must maintain a drug-free workforce and administers random drug tests to its employees. But Musk has received advance warning of the tests, according to people close to the process. SpaceX did not respond to questions about those who joined the president's inner circle after making a vast fortune on cars, satellites and rocket ships, has long been known for grandiose statements and a mercurial personality. Supporters see him as an eccentric genius whose slash-and-burn management style is key to his last year, as he jumped into the political arena, some people who knew him worried about his frequent drug use, mood swings and fixation on having more children. This account of his behavior is based on private messages obtained by The New York Times as well as interviews with more than a dozen people who have known or worked with year, some of his longtime friends have renounced him, pointing to some of his public conduct."Elon has pushed the boundaries of his bad behavior more and more," said Philip Low, a neuroscientist and onetime friend of Musk's who criticized him for his Nazi-like gesture at a some women are challenging Musk for control of their of his former partners, Claire Boucher, the musician known as Grimes, has been fighting with Musk over their 5-year-old son, known as X. Musk is extremely attached to the boy, taking him to the Oval Office and high-profile gatherings that are broadcast around the has privately complained that the appearances violate a custody settlement in which she and Musk agreed to try to keep their children out of the public eye, according to people familiar with her concerns and the provision, which has not been previously reported. She has told people that she worries about the boy's safety, and that frequent travel and sleep deprivation are harming his mother, the right-leaning writer Ashley St. Clair, revealed in February that she had a secret relationship with Musk and had given birth to his 14th known child. Musk offered her a large settlement to keep his paternity concealed, but she refused. He sought a gag order in New York to force St. Clair to stop speaking publicly, she said in an has described some of his mental health issues in interviews and on social media, saying in one post that he has felt "great highs, terrible lows and unrelenting stress." He has denounced traditional therapy and plays video games for hours on end. He struggles with binge eating, according to people familiar with his habits, and takes weight-loss medication. And he posts day and night on his social media platform, has a history of recreational drug use, The Wall Street Journal reported last year. Some board members at Tesla, his electric vehicle company, have worried about his use of drugs, including Ambien, a sleep an interview in March 2024, journalist Don Lemon pressed him on his drug use. Musk said he took only "a small amount" of ketamine, about once every two weeks, as a prescribed treatment for negative moods."If you've used too much ketamine, you can't really get work done, and I have a lot of work," he had actually developed a far more serious habit, the Times had been using ketamine often, sometimes daily, and mixing it with other drugs, according to people familiar with his consumption. The line between medical use and recreation was blurry, troubling some people close to also took Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms at private gatherings across the United States and in at least one other country, according to those who attended the Food and Drug Administration has formally approved the use of ketamine only as an anesthetic in medical procedures. Doctors with a special license may prescribe it for psychiatric disorders like depression. But the agency has warned about its risks, which came into sharp relief after the death of actor Matthew Perry. The drug has psychedelic properties and can cause dissociation from reality. Chronic use can lead to addiction and problems with bladder pain and the spring of last year, Musk was ramping up criticism of President Joe Biden, particularly his policies on illegal immigration and diversity was also facing federal investigations into his businesses. Regulators were looking into crashes of Tesla's self-driving cars and allegations of racism at its factories, among other complaints."There are at least half a dozen initiatives of significance to take me down," he wrote in a text message to someone close to him last May. "The Biden administration views me as the #2 threat after Trump.""I can't be president, but I can help Trump defeat Biden and I will," he publicly endorsed Trump in that time, Musk told people that his ketamine use was causing bladder issues, according to people familiar with the Oct. 5, he appeared with Trump at a rally for the first time, bouncing up and down around the candidate. That evening, Musk shared his excitement with a person close to him. "I'm feeling more optimistic after tonight," he wrote in a text message. "Tomorrow we unleash the anomaly in the matrix.""This is not something on the chessboard, so they will be quite surprised," Musk added about an hour later. "'Lasers' from space."After Trump won, Musk rented a cottage at Mar-a-Lago, the president-elect's Florida resort, to assist with the transition. Musk attended personnel meetings and sat in on phone calls with foreign leaders. And he crafted plans to overhaul the federal government under the new Department of Government has also been juggling the messy consequences of his efforts to produce more 2022, Musk, who has married and divorced three times, had fathered six children in his first marriage (including one who died in infancy), as well as two with Boucher. She told people she believed they were in a monogamous relationship and building a family while a surrogate was pregnant with their third child, Boucher was furious to discover that Musk had recently fathered twins with Shivon Zilis, an executive at his brain implant company, Neuralink, according to people familiar with the was by then sounding an alarm that the world's declining birthrates would lead to the end of civilization, publicly encouraging people to have children and donating $10 million to a research initiative on population he was spending time with Simone and Malcolm Collins, prominent figures in the emerging pronatalist movement, and urging his wealthy friends to have as many children as possible. He believed the world needed more intelligent people, according to people aware of the declined to comment on his relationship with Musk, but said, "Elon is one of the people taking this cause seriously."Even as Musk fathered more children, he favored his son X. By the fall of 2022, during a period when he and Boucher were broken up, he began traveling with the boy for days at a time, often without providing advance notice, according to people familiar with his reconciled with Musk, only to get another unpleasant surprise. In August 2023, she learned that Zilis was expecting a third child with Musk via surrogacy and was pregnant with their and Musk began a contentious custody battle, during which Musk kept X for months. They eventually signed the joint custody agreement that specified keeping their children out of the mid-2023, unknown to either Boucher or Zilis, Musk had started a romantic relationship with St. Clair, the writer, who lives in New York Clair said in an interview that at first, Musk told her he wasn't dating anyone else. But when she was about six months pregnant, he acknowledged that he was romantically involved with Zilis, who went on to become a more visible fixture in Musk's Clair said that Musk told her he had fathered children around the world, including one with a Japanese pop star. He said he would be willing to give his sperm to anyone who wanted to have a child."He made it seem like it was just his altruism and he generally believed these people should just have children," St. Clair Clair said that when she was in a delivery room giving birth in September, Musk told her over disappearing Signal messages that he wanted to keep his paternity and their relationship election night, St. Clair and Musk both went to Mar-a-Lago to celebrate Trump's victory. But she had to pretend that she hardly knew him, she offered her $15 million and $100,000 a month until their son turned 21, in exchange for her silence, according to documents reviewed by the Times and first reported by the Journal. But she did not want her son's paternity to be she went public in February, ahead of a tabloid story, she sued Musk to acknowledge paternity and, later, to get emergency child sought a gag order, claiming that any publicity involving the child, or comments by St. Clair on her experience, would be a security risk for the of Musk's onetime friends have aired concerns about what they considered toxic public a January newsletter explaining why their friendship had ended, Sam Harris, a public intellectual, wrote that Musk had used his social media platform to defame people and promote lies."There is something seriously wrong with his moral compass, if not his perception of reality," Harris that month, at a Trump inauguration event, Musk thumped his chest and thrust his hand diagonally upward, resembling a fascist salute. "My heart goes out to you," he told the crowd. "It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured."Musk dismissed the resulting public outcry, saying he had made a "positive gesture."Low, who is chief executive of NeuroVigil, a neurotechnology company, was outraged by the performance. He wrote Musk a sharp email, shared with the Times, cursing him "for giving the Nazi salute."When Musk didn't respond to the message, Low posted his concerns on social media. "I have no sympathy for this behavior," he wrote on Facebook, referring to the gesture as well as other behaviors. "At some point, after having repeatedly confronted it in private, I believe the ethical thing to do is to speak out, forcefully and unapologetically."The next month, Musk once again found himself under scrutiny, this time for an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside he walked onto the stage, he was handed a chain saw from one of his political allies, Javier Milei, the president of Argentina. "This is the chain saw for bureaucracy!" Musk shouted to the cheering conference organizers told the Times that they did not notice anything out of the ordinary about his behavior behind the scenes. But during an onstage interview, he spoke in disjointed bouts of stuttering and laughing, with sunglasses on. Clips of it went viral as many viewers speculated about possible drug use.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
‘Hardly any savings left': Indian IT professional torn between US stability and job offer in India
The H-1B visa programme, long regarded as a pathway for skilled professionals to establish careers in the United States, is facing increasing scrutiny, with Indian nationals—who constitute over 70% of recipients—being the most affected. Also read: Amazon hire unable to start job due to this H-1B visa hurdle, Reddit weighs in Recent developments, including a controversial executive order by US President Donald Trump, have intensified concerns. The order revokes birthright citizenship for children born in the US to parents on temporary visas like the H-1B—'unless at least one parent is a US citizen or holds a green card.' This major policy change has left many immigrant families uneasy about their future, already strained by employment uncertainty, challenges in renewing visas, and long green card backlogs. Amid this atmosphere of insecurity, a Reddit post by an Indian engineer has shed light on the emotional and practical struggles shared by many. The anonymous user revealed that after spending most of his professional life in the US, he was recently offered a job in India with decent pay and the added comfort of being based in his home state. He currently resides in the US with his wife and two young children, 'one of whom is in kindergarten.' Although his current salary just meets household expenses, he values the work-life balance and family time that living in the US affords. However, the idea of moving back to India brings its own concerns. 'I like the family time and weekend joys with my family,' he wrote. 'I may not get that in India where the work demands more additional work time.' The post sparked a wide range of reactions. One user commented, 'It's a hard choice, and honestly, no one can really help you decide. You just have to commit to one option, not look back, and accept that you can't have the best of both worlds.' Others raised concerns about children's future adjustments. 'Move back before the kids grow up. Getting adjusted will be difficult as they get older,' one person advised. Also read: Indian-American Megha Vemuri faces vicious trolling after pro-Palestine MIT speech, deactivates LinkedIn profile Some viewed it from a financial standpoint, stating, 'If you can't increase your salary in the U.S. and can live comfortably in India with additional savings, then it makes sense to move back,' adding, 'Your expenses will only rise once both kids start school.' Several voices in the thread spoke of the emotional and cultural benefits of returning home. 'India is the happening place. I'd want to connect with my dear ones and let my kids enjoy family affection. I would think long term and switch back,' one comment read.
