Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.

Is Tesla putting too much confidence in flawed tech? That’s what claims from a former software engineer suggest.

The Tesla whistleblower is sounding the alarm that the autonomous driving systems may not be road-ready. Let’s dig deeper….

In today’s tech rundown:

• Ex-Tesla engineer blows whistle on "unsafe" tech

• Scientists engineer mess-free Christmas trees

• 8 new products

• Grand Theft Auto VI trailer breaks records

• 23andMe breach expands to 6.9M customers

• Bitcoin surges as ETF speculation continues

Read time: 3 minutes

TODAY’S HEADLINES

TESLA

🚘 Ex-Tesla engineer blows whistle on "unsafe" tech

The Rundown: A former Tesla software engineer turned whistleblower is warning that the company's autopilot and self-driving capabilities aren't yet reliable enough for public roads.

The details:

• Lukasz Krupski leaked internal data about customer issues like sudden braking to media, claiming his concerns were ignored internally at Tesla.

• He argues that both the hardware and software backing products like autopilot ‘aren't ready,’ calling drivers "experiments”.

• German newspaper Handelsblatt published the leaked Tesla files, with regulators reportedly now investigating.

• Krupski’s comments cast doubt on Elon Musk's boasts that Tesla has the "best real-world AI," though the firm disputes accounts of flaws.

The relevance: While the company basks in the glow of its hyped Cybertruck demo, Krupski’s claims highlight a major problem lurking — with major safety issues potentially derailing the progress made towards more mainstream autonomous vehicles.

SPONSORED BY ADPATIGO

Auto Insurance: Overpriced!

Just because you have to renew your auto insurance every 6 months does not mean you have to overpay!

The sad truth: 50% of U.S. drivers overpay for their auto insurance.

There are 3 SIMPLE steps to solve the problem:

Step 1) Visit our page on this

Step 2) Enter your Zip Code, fill out a 1-page form

Step 3) Review Your Lowest Auto Insurance Rates – It Only Takes a Minute

You will really enjoy the benefits of this simple process; you no longer have to be in the 50% that overpays!

GENETIC TECH

🎄 Scientists engineer mess-free Christmas trees

The Rundown: NC State researchers just bred a ‘Super Christmas Tree’ — testing 30,000 Fraser firs and choosing the best genetics to breed a taller, shapelier standard that barely sheds needles for a cleaner holiday.

The details:

• Fraser firs make up over 98% of Christmas trees grown in North Carolina — but shedding needles creates messy cleanup.

• NC State launched a decade-long quest for the best genetics, planting the top 25 firs with ideal traits into an orchard.

• With optimized genetics controlling needle retention, the gene-edited trees are expected to lose only 1-2% of needles.

• Lead researchers expect the tidier trees to save money for growers and delight customers — but the long growth cycle means a long wait before the engineered firs actually hit the market.

Our thoughts: While everyone likes a good Christmas tree, the needle cleanup is a pain point most can live without. Bring on the super Christmas trees — preferably without a decade's wait.

NEW PRODUCTS

🤖 Notion Q&A- A search bar for your second brain - ask, explore, and let Notion Assistant be your key to seamless productivity (link)*

🗄️ SuperDuperDB- Open-source framework for integrating AI with databases (link)

🧳 Swifty- Simplify business travel with your AI assistant (link)

💧 Watermark Remover by Magic Studio- Remove watermarks using AI in seconds (link)

🧩 Overwatch Data- AI-powered analysis of live news, social media and dark web feeds (link)

🧠 AI-suggests- Generate tons of ready-to-use content and new ideas for your business instantly (link)

🧪 Quizgecko- AI online test and quiz maker (link)

📽 Fliki- Video creation made 10x simpler & faster with AI (link)

Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.

* = This is sponsored content

SNIPPETS

Grand Theft Auto VI’s trailer has already garnered 85 million YouTube views, breaking MrBeast's record for the most views of a video within 24 hours, despite being leaked a day early on X.

Bitcoin has surged over 150% in 2023, trading near $44K, as investors speculate that regulators may soon approve the first spot BTC exchange-traded fund allowing mainstream ownership.

Microsoft will let consumers pay for Windows 10 security updates for the first time once support ends in 2025, rather than extending support or forcing an OS upgrade.

23andMe now estimates its recent breach exposed personal information of about 6.9 million customers, drastically revising its initial estimate of just 14,000 accounts.

Looking Glass unveiled the $300 Looking Glass Go via Kickstarter, its first pocket-sized foldable volumetric display that shows 3D images.

Discord overhauled its mobile app with new navigation tabs like Messages and Notifications, reply features, and various performance upgrades.

Tesla code for its software update suggests new navigation features like speed camera warnings, construction avoidance routing, and upgraded driver monitoring to boost safety.

SPONSOR US

⚡️ Get your product in front of over 75k+ tech enthusiasts

Our newsletter is read by thousands of tech professionals, investors, engineers, managers, and business owners around the world. Get in touch today.

THAT’S A WRAP

If you have anything interesting to share, please reach out to us by sending us a DM on Twitter: @rowancheung & @therundowntech

❤️ Rundown review of the day