xAI Chatbot Grok Will Be Available to Telegram Users
Under a deal announced Wednesday, Elon Musk's xAI chatbot Grok will be available to Telegram users for one year starting sometime in the summer, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced on X. Telegram is a cloud-based social media and instant messaging service that is free, but offers a paid tier.
According to a video Durov included in his X post, Telegram users will be able to pin Grok to the top of their chats. Users will be able to ask questions, create stickers, write suggestions and summarize chats, links, and documents
An X user asked Durov about the security of user data.
"User privacy is paramount," he responded. "To be clear, xAI will only access data that Telegram users explicitly share with Grok through direct interactions. That's expected -- you can't message anyone (including a chatbot) without sharing what you write.'
Telegram, with an estimated 1 billion active users, will receive $300 million in cash and equity from xAI to integrate Grok into Telegram apps for the a 12-month duration. Durov's company will also get half of the revenue from xAI subscriptions purchased through Telegram apps.
Telegram premium users already have been able to use Grok since earlier in 2025.
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Motor Trend
23 minutes ago
- Motor Trend
2025 Volvo EX90 Performance First Test: A Few Buttons Short of Perfection
Pros Drives exactly how a Volvo should Seats so comfortable, you'll want them in your house Practical three-row seating with ample cargo space Cons Rivals offer more range and faster charging Safety settings revert to DEFCON 5 before every drive Minimalist user experience isn't for everyone The first Volvo engineered from the ground up to be an EV is, in nearly every way, exactly what Gothenburg's crown jewel should be. The 2025 Volvo EX90 Ultra Twin Motor Performance is as practical as it is luxurious, quiet and comfortable with a timeless design and effortless performance. 0:00 / 0:00 There's just one hurdle that might trip up buyers willing to fork over $90,640 for the 510-hp three-row SUV. Volvo's embrace of the latest tech trends has completely changed how you interact with the car. Are Volvo buyers really clamoring for a button-free cockpit? Did they ask for an alternative to the tried-and-true key fob? And how much Tesla is too much Tesla for a Volvo owner? The Flagship Volvo Driving Experience The tech will likely push some shoppers outside their comfort zones, but that's the only way an EX90 can make anyone uncomfortable. The Ultra trim's air springs and adaptive dampers relax the optional $800 22-inch wheels with rubber-band tires, turning hard impacts into soft, distant thumps. The cabin is a blissful sanctuary free from wind noise, road noise, and the constant thrum of an internal combustion engine. The front seats cradle you like a bean-bag chair and give a Swedish massage so good we dropped a $20 tip in the cupholder. Toggling the steering and suspension between soft and firm effects changes big enough to be felt and subtle enough that every combination is a natural fit for a Volvo with 'Performance' in its name. This car isn't fierce, it's fluid. Its 671lb-ft of torque pour out of the motors like fondue—smooth, creamy, indulgent goodness. Hitting 60 mph in 4.2 seconds and clearing the quarter mile in 13.0 seconds might not be all that quick by time-warping EV standards, but it's a quiet riot in a Volvo. Stopping a 6,084-pound SUV on all-season tires from 60 mph in just 110 feet is a revolt against the laws of physics. With one-pedal driving switched on, the right pedal transitions from acceleration to coasting to deceleration with uncommon grace. The regenerative braking isn't quite as aggressive as what you'll get in a Rivian or a Tesla, and the EX90 is better for it. No matter how quickly you lift off the accelerator, it's impossible to bobble your passengers' heads. All this makes the EX90 Performance unique in how it blends comfort and athleticism, which we want to stress is different than a luxury SUV that can switch between comfort and sport—plenty of German SUVs already have the Jekyll and Hyde thing covered. The EX90 never feels flustered by a fast curve or unsettled by a rough road. It is always smooth and quick at the same time. In the age of electronic controls and software-defined features, it's rare for a new car to be so laser focused on a singular, consistent driving character. The dynamics engineers appear to have a narrow idea of what a Volvo should be—the right idea. We have just one complaint about how it drives: There are brief moments where the EX90 is the mellowest 510-hp car we've ever driven. Stomp the right pedal from a roll at suburban or interstate speeds, and the EX90 takes its sweet time before rocketing toward the horizon. You can literally count out loud—one, two, three—before the full force hits you. If you want the immediacy EVs are known for, you have to activate Performance AWD, which keeps the front permanent-magnet motor engaged at all times at the expense of efficiency and range. Volvo EX90 Real-World Range and Fast-Charging Officially, the EX90 Performance with 22-inch rollers is rated for 300 miles, down from 310 miles with the Ultra's standard 21-inch wheels. Run through the MotorTrend Road-Trip Range test (a steady 70 mph from 100 to 5 percent charge), the EX90 scored a mediocre 247 miles. A 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS580 4Matic SUV and 2022 BMW iX xDrive50 hit 315 and 312 miles, respectively, in our testing (both models have since seen some slight revisions). The Volvo at least doesn't try to fool you into believing 300 miles is possible. While most automakers reset the range estimate to show the EPA figure (or close to it) every time you charge to 100 percent, the EX90 consistently indicated 250 miles of range with a full battery—a number that's realistically achievable if you drive the SUV to empty. The EX90's DC fast-charging performance also left us underwhelmed. While Volvo claims a peak of 250 kW, we saw power top out at 193 kW in our charging test that added 94 miles of range in 15 minutes. The Mercedes gained 126 miles and the BMW 122 in the same time. A Different Kind of Luxury In the Scandinavian tradition, the EX90 spoils occupants without being flashy. You don't buy it to inform your neighbors and coworkers that you've arrived. You buy it to tickle your eardrums with the $3,200 25-speaker Dolby Atmos–enabled Bowers & Wilkens audio system or to treat your lower back to those therapeutic seats. The only hint of ritzy opulence comes from the warm, white glow that shines through the sustainably harvested wood trim at night, a tasteful counterpoint to the ribbons of carnival lights used by the luxury-car establishment. If it helps to justify the near-six-figure price tag, you can rationalize the EX90 Ultra Twin Motor Performance as a pragmatic family vehicle, too. The three-row SUV comes in six- and seven-seat configurations with a booster seat integrated into the center position of the second-row bench. Squeezing into the third row will be a workout for passengers of all sizes, but the rear seats are a pleasant place even for average-size adults thanks to the abundant natural light pouring through the glass roof and a dedicated cupholder, USB-C port, and chest-level HVAC vent for each passenger. There's surprisingly generous cargo space behind the third row, especially if you make use of the spacious underfloor well that can swallow a couple of medium-sized duffel bags. Unfortunately, the decent-sized frunk has been rendered nearly useless by two curious decisions. Volvo segmented the tray into three sections to skirt the regulations that would have otherwise required an internal emergency release, and you can only open the hood by yanking a lever by the driver's left shin, a strange holdover from the internal combustion era. How Much Tech Is Too Much Tech? All that leaves us with one thing left to discuss: the software. To understand why the EX90 is the way it is, you first need a basic understanding of the central computing platform at the core of Volvo's Scalable Product Architecture 2 (SPA2). Rather than the old piecemeal approach where every widget in the car had its own computer, the bulk of the EX90's code runs on just two Nvidia chips and a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The same idea has allowed Tesla and Rivian to develop innovative new features, launch powerful and genuinely useful phone apps, and deliver over-the-air updates for any system in the vehicle. Volvo is chasing after those frontrunners, and the EX90 puts the company way out ahead of most legacy automakers in this regard. For buyers and shoppers, this change shows up as a pervasive Teslafication of how you interact with the vehicle. All the EX90's secondary controls save for the volume knob and audio power button have been digitized in the vertical 14.5-inch touchscreen. To activate adaptive cruise control or the lane-centering Pilot Assist system, you'll first have to retrain your neurons that grabbing the gear selector at 70 mph is a totally normal thing to do. The EX90 unlocks and flips out its door handles as you approach with the buttonless fob (or your phone loaded with a digital key) in your pocket, and the ignition powers up only when you shift into drive (you can actually get the car moving a fraction of a second before the power steering assist kicks in). Whether these are good or bad developments depends on your relationship with technology and your outlook on change—although surely we can all agree that giving the driver just two switches and a fussy capacitive button to control four windows is patently dumb. Not up for debate is the fact that the new infotainment system vaults Volvo from the digital stone age into the modern era. Volvo's current gas models (and the EVs based on them) are dated by tiny screens with grainy resolution and a clumsy interface at least five years past its expiration. The EX90's infotainment, built on Android Automotive OS, is exactly the reboot Volvo needs. The tiled home screen is dominated by Google Maps plus widgets for audio and a paired phone and two rows of controls along the bottom of the screen. The layout and logic feel like a bridge between the old way of doing things and Tesla's approach, which comes with a steepish learning curve. Download a few apps like Spotify, Waze, and PlugShare, and the EX90's native infotainment system almost makes the included wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto redundant, if only an automaker could find a solution for text messaging. The Work That's Left Unfinished It's one thing for a startup to reinvent how cars are wired from a clean sheet of paper and another thing entirely for a 98-year-old company to reimagine the way things have been done for decades. Reorganizing teams, bringing in fresh talent, creating new policies and processes, and throwing out all that time-tested software isn't easy, and in many legacy automakers it might cause the whole house of cards to collapse. The good news is Volvo appears to have exterminated most of the bugs from the system. Aside from one drive where the center screen failed to boot, our two weeks with the EX90 were happily error-free. You get a sense, though, that Volvo left some work unfinished to get the EX90 out the door even after it delayed the launch more than six months. Or maybe Volvo's evolving minimalist sensibilities have convinced the engineers that buyers want less control. 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Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Can Tesla sales recover in Europe amid Elon Musk backlash? Yahoo Finance readers have their say
Tesla (TSLA) shares rose this week, as CEO Elon Musk confirmed his exit from Washington DC, despite data showing that the electric vehicle (EV) company's sales in Europe nearly halved last month. Musk said in a post on X on Wednesday night that his scheduled time as a special government employee is coming "to an end". "I would like to thank President [Trump] for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," Musk wrote on X, referring to his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This came a day after Musk said in a CBS interview, due to be aired in full this weekend, that he believed Trump's tax bill "increases the budget deficit ... and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing". Musk has faced backlash over his role heading up DOGE and overseeing cuts to government agencies, with protests having been held at Tesla (TSLA) facilities around the world. Tesla sales have continued to fall amid the backlash against the billionaire. Figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), released on Tuesday, showed that sales of Tesla (TSLA) vehicles dropped by 49% to 7,261 units in April, compared with the same month last year. The EV maker's market share declined to 0.7% from 1.3% in April of 2024. ACEA data has shown Tesla's (TSLA) sales in Europe dropping since the start of the year, even as electric car sales grew in the region. Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio In April, Tesla (TSLA) reported global deliveries of 336,681 for the first quarter, which missed expectations of 390,342, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates. This made it the worst quarter for deliveries in almost three years. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell (AJB.L), said that given the fall in Tesla's (TSLA) European sales "came against a backdrop of a meaningful increase in European electric vehicle sales more broadly, it suggests the brand damage caused by Elon Musk's political interventions may be lasting". Earlier this week, we asked Yahoo Finance UK readers if they believed that Tesla (TSLA) sales in Europe could recover amid the backlash against Musk. We received 309 votes, with 18% of respondents believing that sales could recover, while 75% disagreed and 7% were undecided on the matter. Read more: What's behind the surge in AI-related lawsuits? UK 'bargain' stocks that have outperformed the market long-term Odds of more Bank of England interest rate cuts fall as food inflation risesSign in to access your portfolio
Washington Post
38 minutes ago
- Washington Post
U.S. vet from WWII is honored in Europe, showered with gratitude at age 99
Harry Humason's right arm became so fatigued from waving at the adoring crowd that the 99-year-old used his left arm to support it. Humason sat in the passenger seat of a truck, wearing a U.S. Army jacket and a hat that listed his World War II regiment and division. As the truck inched past a synagogue, apartments and stores in Pilsen, Czech Republic, roughly 50,000 people cheered, threw lilacs from balconies and waved Czech and U.S. flags. Humason was treated like a hero this month when he visited the Czech Republic, returning to a place he helped liberate from Nazi Germany during World War II. He pulled thousands of dollars from his emergency fund to realize his dream trip, visiting Europe for the first time since 1945 and receiving recognition for his service there. His daughter, Linda Humason, created a GoFundMe for the trip, but only a handful of people had contributed by the time the pair flew to Europe. That changed after the festivities in Pilsen. Humason was shocked that hundreds of grateful Czech citizens donated money to thank him for his contributions to their country. The GoFundMe reached nearly $30,000, largely in small donations, so Humason wouldn't have to pay a cent for his travels. 'I went over with the idea that it was a trip of a lifetime for me,' Humason told The Washington Post. 'And I soon discovered from the Czech people that really I was a token representative of all the veterans that had fought in World War II to liberate Europe and Czechoslovakia, and I took that very seriously.' 'I was just so moved by the people there,' he added. 'It was just amazing.' Humason, who grew up in Alhambra, California, volunteered to join the Army in December 1943 as a teenager. He became a private first class under Gen. George S. Patton Jr., carrying a Browning automatic rifle. He was in combat for more than four months in Europe near the end of World War II, helping liberate Frankfurt, Germany, before his division was sent to a Czechoslovakia mountain range in May 1945. Humason said he walked about 50 miles through woods, small towns and a swamp for a few days carrying playing cards that his division used to decide who would pick up tasks like digging a latrine or being on night patrol. They reached the Teplá Vltava river, where Humason saw trouble: German bunkers, an 8.8 centimeter flak gun and machine guns on the other side. He heard gunfire from Russian liberators fighting German soldiers. 'If we had to cross that river,' Humason said, 'I might not be here.' Before they crossed, they were relieved to receive word that they should stay on the hillside. A white plane would be flying above them, carrying the German delegation that would sign a ceasefire to end the conflict. Humason said he and his division captured German soldiers who surrendered and held them at a hunting lodge with a large, fenced courtyard. After the war, Humason received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and began building missiles and rockets at a Naval Ordnance Test Station in Pasadena, California. He met his late wife, Jean, in college and started a family. He never expected to return to Europe. That changed in October. Jiri Kluc, a Czech historian who interviews World War II veterans and Holocaust survivors, saw photos on Facebook of Humason from a recent Puget Sound Honor Flight, a nonprofit that flies Washington state veterans to D.C. Kluc noticed a red diamond on the front of Humason's green helmet, a symbol of the division that liberated Czechoslovakia, before it split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993. Kluc, 28, emailed Humason to invite him to Pilsen's liberation festival in May. Linda Humason created a GoFundMe in December, asking for help buying flights, transportation in Europe, hotels, travel insurance, meals, tickets for public attractions and pet sitting for her two dogs and cat. 'I wanted to make sure he made this trip because it was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime shot, I thought,' said Linda, 56. 'And I didn't care what it took to get him there.' So despite only raising $2,605 by the end of April, they flew to Europe. After visiting relatives in Amsterdam for a few days, Humason and Linda arrived in Pilsen, a city in west Czech Republic, on May 1 for four days of liberation celebrations. Veterans' family members, including Patton's grandson, George Patton Waters, were there, but Humason said he was the only U.S. veteran. Some Czechs wore makeshift U.S. uniforms and set up tents for a reproduction of the U.S. Army's encampment and a reenactment of the May 1945 liberation convoy through the city. Humason tried to attend every event, even if they were honoring divisions he wasn't a part of. Humason participated in the convoy and delivered a speech in the city's Republic Square in front of about 5,000 people, where he said 'no one wins, everyone loses' in war. After a few days in Pilsen, city officials arranged a 50-mile drive to Prague for Humason and Linda, and Kluc shared a link to Linda's GoFundMe on Instagram. To Kluc's surprise, Czechs helped donate $20,000, Linda's fundraising goal, within a few days. Humason said he was relieved he could reimburse the money he spent from his savings. And his recognition was far from over. Humason attended a concert at the Municipal House, where a symphony orchestra played famous songs from World War II movies. Before performing the theme song from the 1970 movie 'Patton,' the conductor walked off stage and toward Humason to introduce him to the crowd. Hundreds gave him a standing ovation for about a minute. After the concert, spectators approached him for photos and autographs. Kluc's father, Aleš, drove Humason and Linda about 80 miles south to the Teplá Vltava river, where the country had established a diamond-shaped monument in honor of Humason's division. Vegetation covered the German bunkers that Humason saw across the river decades earlier. Humason and Linda then flew to Frankfurt, where Humason was amazed to see the city clean and lively with modern buildings. When Humason was there in the spring of 1945, rubble filled the sides of the streets from demolished buildings and other structures. Before they flew home May 13, Linda bought another suitcase to fill with about 39 pounds' worth of gifts that Humason had received. He took home a small granite pillar that had broken off from Pilsen's Thank You America Memorial. He received dozens of challenge coins and badges, including one from the U.S. Embassy that showed a U.S. flag and a Czech flag intertwined and Pilsen police patches that officers ripped off their uniforms to give him. He received World War II books, even though he can't read the ones written in Czech. The Embassy is mailing him a U.S. flag that flew there May 6, the 80th anniversary of U.S. troops liberating Pilsen. Linda said she and her father spent about $24,000 on the trip, but with the extra money she received on GoFundMe, she said she'll donate to her county's veterans assistance center. She's saving some money so she and her dad can begin planning another trip to Pilsen.
