With all the news and noise about CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with the alleged Chinese spy, NVIDIA has taken an immense dump…the company’s valuation is down nearly a half-trillion dollars over the last 2 stock market sessions. Reuters.com reports that the CEO’s relationship with Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang (no relation) helped facilitate some $7.5 billion worth of NVIDIA chips to Chinese firms. Now, the board has hired a white-shoe law firm to lead an outside investigation. It remains to be seen what will happen…there is no clear line of succession at NVIDIA should Jensen leave or be dismissed, and at least 10 of the board members have been with him since near the beginning of the company.
After noise about them for a while now, Ring has announced a new sub brand called Ring Robotics, which will market two new products…a $249 Ring Drone Cam…a security robot that acts as an indoor ‘mobile security camera,’ and the Ring Rover Cam, a security robot for businesses that patrols autonomously and investigates disturbances. That rig is going for $999. According to zdnet.com, both use Ring’s custom navigation software which it called ‘AI Pilot.’ The cheaper Drone Cam follows a predetermined patrol of your home, and cam send you a live 2K feed. The Drone can only fly for 8 minutes at a time before it has to dock and recharge, though. The Rover Cam is a rolling robot with a 4K camera. It is intended to patrol large spaces like warehouses, offices, or businesses. It uses the same software, but rolls along slowly. It can extend the cam up to look at higher shelves, and has a ‘light tower that projects light on the ceiling so you can find it. The flying drone will ship January 27th, 2027. The rolling Rover will be out December 16th and is available for preorder now.
With the orbital space around planet earth just littered with satellites, former satellites, and space debris, now the Pentagon is eying the moon…looking at the possibility of placing a fleet of military satellites around it. Arstechnica.com says that the Defense Department has taken a preliminary step towards a ‘Cislunar Space System,’ a constellation of military satellites orbiting the moon. The government is putting out information about some 5 fixed-price preliminary design study contracts, with responses due by November 24th.
As Tesla is winding down production on the hapless Cybertruck, the company will have to refund deposits. Thenextweb.com reports that Elon Musk claims orders far exceed what remains to be built. Musk also says the stories about the Cybertruck being highly unprofitable aren’t true. The Tesla CEO didn’t disclose how many orders were still out there, or how much money was involved. Tesla will add extra production the next 8 months before shutting the line down. The production will switch to the Cybercab, the little 2 seat car with no steering wheel or pedals. Tesla started offering paid rides in the cab in Austin in September. Cybertruck sales dropped 48% this year compared to last year. The EV firm is shooting for making 125,000 Cybercabs a year at the giant Texas plant.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
