Technology

SpaceX has fired a number of employees who wrote and shared a letter criticizing the behavior of CEO Elon Musk, reports The New York Times. The open letter, first reported by The Verge, described Musk’s behavior as “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, particularly in recent weeks.” It cites SpaceX’s “No Asshole” policy and asks the company to “publicly address and condemn Elon’s harmful Twitter behavior.” Said the letter writers: “As our CEO and most prominent spokesperson, Elon is seen as the face of SpaceX — every Tweet that Elon sends is a de facto public statement by the company. It is critical to make clear to our teams and to our potential talent pool that his messaging does not reflect our work, our mission, or our values.” The open letter said Musk’s erratic ...

Numerous states have now launched investigations into cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network over its blocking of crypto withdrawals earlier this week. According to a new report from Reuters, the state securities boards of Texas, New Jersey, Alabama, Washington and Kentucky have launched probes into the company after it froze transactions and locked up all of its two million customers’ assets on Tuesday amid the massive plummet in crypto prices. At the time, Celsius said that the block was necessary in order to “stabilize liquidity” and that it would put it “in a better position to honor, over time, its withdrawal obligations.” Texas State Securities Board enforcement director Joseph Rotunda has now expressed concern over investors being locked out of their assets. “I am very concerned...

eBay’s combining online and real-world auction experiences with its newly launched eBay Live platform, where people can chat and react to sellers through Livestream video and buy their products. The service is currently in beta release and will launch with “highly coveted and rare” trading card offerings like a “1998 Kobe Bryant Skybox That’s Jam PSA 10” from eBay seller Bleecker Trading starting on June 22nd at 3PM ET. The event will be hosted live by avid collector DJ Skee, and interested buyers can join in on the official eBay Live page or sign on via the eBay app. “As the collector community grows, we’re offering a new live platform that combines an engaging environment with incredible ease, allowing our community to come together over shared interests and merchandise,” said eBay’s VP ...

Any modern smartwatch worth its salt comes with swappable straps. So it’s no surprise that Google is reportedly working on a number of strap options for its forthcoming Pixel Watch. According to 9to5Google, the company is making at least seven straps — including the one showcased during the I/O keynote — for when the smartwatch launches this fall. So far, 9to5Google is reporting that Google’s working on a Milanese-style mesh band, two types of leather bands, a link bracelet, a fabric band, and a silicone band. It’s also purportedly working on a stretchable option reminiscent of Apple’s Solo Loop. If it sounds like Google’s taking several pages out of Apple’s playbook, it is. We still don’t know the majority of the Pixel Watch’s specs, but from what we do know, it’s clear Google’s trying to...

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is coming to yet another platform very soon. Square Enix announced that the game, along with the bonus episode featuring Yuffie (together know as Intergrade), are coming to Steam on June 17th. That’s tomorrow! Notably, the Steam version on Intergrade will indeed be compatible with the Steam Deck, according to the company. The game originally launched following a lengthy development cycle on PS4 on April 10th, 2020. It was worth the wait, as my colleague Andrew Webster considered it to be a thrilling, thoughtful reimagining on the classic RPG. Square Enix then released PS5-specific performance upgrades and extra story content in June 2021 within the Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade bundle. It also debuted on PC via the Epic Games Store in December 2021...

Capcom is developing a sequel to its 2012 high fantasy action RPG Dragon’s Dogma, the company announced Thursday. There are few official details, but we do know the title — Dragon’s Dogma 2 — and that it will take advantage of Capcom’s RE Engine, which has been used for many of the studio’s recent games. Director Hideaki Itsuno announced the new game at the end of a video looking back on the creation of the original Dragon’s Dogma. Dragon’s Dogma II will begin the cycle anew.Join director Hideaki Itsuno as he reflects on how the world of Gransys came to be and shares the announcement of the upcoming sequel, in development using RE Engine:https://t.co/Q2HSN1fCji pic.twitter.com/JPp117xuOX — Dragon’s Dogma (@DragonsDogma) June 16, 2022 The Dragon’s Dogma 2 announcement adds to what’s b...

The Boring Company‘s Vegas Loop tunnel project, which was originally approved in 2021 to include 51 stations over 29 miles, has now received the green light to expand to the city limits, extending 34 miles with a total of 55 stations. Elon Musk‘s The Boring Company was founded to alleviate surface-level traffic and enable rapid point-to-point transportation through networks of single-lane tunnels for passenger and freight vehicles. While the current Vegas Loop, situated under the Las Vegas Convention Center, is currently only 1.7 miles long, the tunnel network will eventually provide a direct link to locations such as the Harry Reid International Airport and Allegiant Stadium with the sections serving the city’s Resorts said to be operational by next year. The next stages of construction i...

Elon Musk, SpaceX and Tesla Inc. are facing a $258 billion USD lawsuit for allegedly defrauding investors in a Dogecoin “pyramid scheme.” According to Fortune, a man named Keith Johnson filed the suit in Manhattan, New York on behalf of several others who lost money investing in Dogecoin since April 2019. He claims that he was “defrauded out of money by defendants’ Dogecoin Crypto Pyramid Scheme” and that Musk “falsely and deceptively claim that Dogecoin is a legitimate investment when it has no value at all.” Johnson is now seeking $86 billion USD in damages plus triple damages worth $172 billion USD, along with a court order barring Musk, SpaceX and Tesla Inc. from promoting Dogecoin and stating that trading Dogecoin is considered gambling under New York and United States law. Neither Mu...

Square Enix officially announced the next chapter of the Final Fantasy VII remake saga Thursday evening during its Final Fantasy VII 25th Anniversary Celebration stream. The game is titled Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and it will launch as a PS5 exclusive “next winter.” Remake ended on a major cliffhanger that set up for a lot more story ahead, and now we have a hint at what the next game might look like. In a brief trailer, Square Enix revealed some of the world outside of Midgar, as well as mysterious scenes of Cloud Strife walking alongside Sephiroth and an injured Cloud huddled against Crisis Core protagonist Zack Fair. “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is being designed so that people can enjoy this game whether they know the original game or not,” creative director Tetsuya Nomura said in a me...

During today’s Final Fantasy VII 25th anniversary event, Square Enix announced a remake of Crisis Core, the prequel to Final Fantasy VII that was previously only released on the PSP. Dubbed with the exceedingly long and convoluted name, Crisis Core — Final Fantasy VII —Reunion, Crisis Core recounts the story of Zack Fair: the Shinra SOLDIER turned hero turned Aerith’s main boo turned Cloud’s comrade, who is one of the most compelling protagonists in the Final Fantasy canon. According to the reveal, the Crisis Core remake boasts new, upgraded models, new voiceovers, and new music. All the newness, however, means that, unfortunately, Gackt — the J-pop star who lent his voice to the villain Genesis — will likely not be making a reappearance. Bummer. Seriously. Crisis Core — Final Fantasy VII ...

Pinkfong, the company behind “Baby Shark” — aka the song with the most-viewed video on all of YouTube — has announced an NFT project titled “Baby Shark: Collection No. 2.” The NFTs in the collection, all 10,000 of them, will feature generative art of the titular baby shark and the rest of his shark family. Generative NFTs are like the Bored Ape Yacht Club, where there are a variety of randomized traits across a collection. When I first heard this news, I had two thoughts simultaneously (using up my entire daily allotment): Please tell me they are not trying to sell NFTs to children and Wait, Collection TWO? So, yes, this is apparently going to be the second set of NFTs featuring Brooklyn (TIL, that’s the baby shark’s name) and his family. The first was announced late last year and, accordi...

Snap is doing internal tests of a paid subscription called Snapchat Plus, which will apparently give users early access to features, as well as other abilities. In a statement to The Verge, Snap spokesperson Liz Markman said: We’re doing early internal testing of Snapchat Plus, a new subscription service for Snapchatters. We’re excited about the potential to share exclusive, experimental, and pre-release features with our subscribers, and learn more about how we can best serve our community. According to screenshots and information posted to Twitter by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, Snap is also testing other features for Snapchat Plus, including the ability to pin one of your friends as your “#1 BFF” (which sounds like a recipe for drama — MySpace made it the top eight for a reason), ...