<h2>Horrific End</h2>
Four people were killed in Toronto after the <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-mistake-full-self-driving-cameras">Tesla</a> they were riding in crashed into a pillar and burst into flames.
A fifth rider, an unidentified woman in her twenties, narrowly survived the crash after a bystander smashed open a window, allowing her to escape the burning vehicle.
According to the heroic bystander's account, the Tesla Model Y's electronic doors may have been at fault for why the passengers were trapped inside the electric vehicle.
"You couldn't open the doors," the rescuer, Rick Harper, <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/she-couldn-t-get-out-deadly-toronto-tesla-fire-draws-attention-to-risk-of-electronic/article_c9313fbe-9ad0-11ef-998a-93ba9a9927d5.html">told the Toronto Star</a> in a new interview. "I would assume the young lady would have tried to open the door from the inside, because she was pretty desperate to get out." Harper added that he didn't realize there were others trapped inside because the smoke was so thick.
"I don't know if that was the battery or what," Harper said. "But she couldn't get out."
<h2>Death Trap</h2>
Police said the crash, which took place on October 24, occurred after the driver lost control of the vehicle, struck a guardrail, and then slammed into a pillar, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/fatal-crash-four-dead-lake-shore-cherry-1.7361751">per the CBC</a>, catching fire upon impact.
Authorities are still investigating the crash and fire. But the details that we have so far implicate to some degree the electronic doors used by Tesla and other automakers, which require power to open.
The Elon Musk-owned automaker has a <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/man-says-brand-new-tesla-trapped-him-inside">troubling history</a> of owners getting <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/trapped-inside-tesla">locked in their cars</a> without power. Some of these cases may be down to user error, since most Teslas come with manual release levers.
However, these emergency measures have been <a href="https://jalopnik.com/tesla-cybertrucks-rear-emergency-door-release-is-a-dang-1851653075">criticized for being poorly designed</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVwuOdMBpfo">unintuitively placed</a> for certain models, often requiring intimate knowledge of the car — something that most owners, let alone a passenger in a panic, aren't likely to have.
Moreover, with the Model Y in particular, not all vehicles come with manual releases for the rear doors, <a href="https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/modely/en_us/GUID-AAD769C7-88A3-4695-987E-0E00025F64E0.html">as Tesla warns in the car's manual</a>. It's unclear if the Model Y involved in the crash was equipped with the emergency feature.
<h2>Fire Hazard</h2>
This isn't the first time that occupants have died after being allegedly trapped in a Tesla.
In 2019, a father of five was burned alive in his Model S after the car's auto-retracting door handles failed to deploy, his family <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/23/man-died-burning-tesla-because-its-futuristic-doors-wouldnt-open-lawsuit-alleges/">alleged in a lawsuit</a>, preventing bystanders and first responders from setting him free from the intense blaze.
Another driver <a href="https://futurism.com/lawsuit-burning-tesla-door-handles">nearly suffered the same fate</a> in 2021. When his Tesla Model S caught fire, he claimed he was briefly stuck inside due to the vehicle's malfunctioning high tech door handles, though he eventually managed to escape.
Considering that EV battery fires are <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-semi-fire-worse">some of the most formidable out there</a> and often take tens of thousands of gallons of water and hours of work to extinguish, a reliable way of getting out of one of these vehicles in a pinch is the least you could ask for.
More on Tesla: <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-software-update-traps-car-narrow-alleyway">Tesla Software Update Traps Owner's Car in Narrow Alleyway</a>

Road Blaze

"You couldn't open the doors."

Four Passengers Die in Burning Tesla After Electronic Doors Seemingly Won't Open

People will believe anything these days — including, it seems, obvious AI slop.
As a viral post on X-formerly-Twitter highlights, one such example poorly, which attempts to show Donald Trump's son Barron singing a treacly AI-generated song, has picked up an astonishing number of fawning comments — though in a further sign of the times, it's unclear what percentage of those commentators are bots themselves.
"Forever great America," the uncanny AI voice, which sounds nothing like the youngest Trump son, sings over swelling <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQl4izxPeNU">Hillsong Church</a>-style drumlines. "God bless all the people."
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<a href="https://t.co/tHGhDJqQK4">pic.twitter.com/tHGhDJqQK4</a>
&mdash; Insane Facebook AI slop (@FacebookAIslop) <a href="https://twitter.com/FacebookAIslop/status/1856362794460807339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In the comments viewed on the screen-recorded video, users with multiple numbers in their handles — a <a href="https://www.globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/posts-bot-accounts-spreading-disinformation-and-hate-viewed-more-150-million-times-ahead-uk-election/">trademark of bot accounts</a> — sounded off like parodies of sycophants.
"I love songs so much," one such user replied, ending their missive with three red heart emojis.
"I love your song," wrote another. "Thank you so much for your Dad the PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP will be going to protect the country GOD BLESS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP and Family."
As several folks in the comments on X pointed out, these responses seem very much like they're AI-generated themselves.
"Bots applauding a bot," Johns Hopkins English professor <a href="https://x.com/DDDrewDaniel/status/1856386380106215497">Drew Daniel wrote</a>, "the circle of virtual life completes itself, no humans necessary."
While the now-viral video does indeed look like it was posted on YouTube, we weren't able to independently verify where it came from. We did, however, find others in a similar vein — and they too appeared to harbor an unsettling mix of comments by bots and delusional humans.
One such video, published by the "MAGA Songs" YouTube channel about a month ago, employs the same shoddy lip-syncing effect that has been used to turn static images into "singing" moving pictures <a href="https://www.bitdefender.com/en-gb/blog/hotforsecurity/risks-associated-with-popular-face-changing-app-wombo/">for years now</a>. Titled "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXe38bzq3ME">My Father's Work is Never Done</a>," the almost certainly AI-generated lyrics to this bizarre song essentially cast the serially-adultering president-elect in the role of an American Jesus.
"From the towers to the White House lawn, he’s been the light when hope was gone," the fake Barron sings. "With every word, with every stand, he fights to save this promised land."
<iframe loading="lazy" title="My Father&#039;s Work is Never Done (Barron Trump Sings) PREVIEW" width="500" height="375" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jXe38bzq3ME?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
"Never seen a family work so hard to Make America Great Again.!" one reply reads. "You deserved to win, congratulations!"
"Barron… where are all the Beautiful songs that first hit YouTube, now where’s to be found??" another likely bot queries. "I just love your singing, is there a CD out to purchase?"
Some human viewers are definitely being taken in, though; a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/comments/1fjpnfw/say_goodbye_to_civilization_as_we_know_it_thanks/">video that went viral</a> a few months ago showed two baffled elderly people insisting that a similar video of Barron singing as a younger cameraperson tries to explain that it's not.
The entire experience of listening to these megachurch jam knockoffs offers an uncanny look into the <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/trump-allies-fall-for-ai-slop">world of conservative AI slop</a> — and it portends a grim future.
More on AI slop: <a href="https://futurism.com/hurricane-scam-ai-slop">Facebook Is Being Flooded With Gross AI-Generated Images of Hurricane Helene Devastation</a>

Slop or Flop

"Never seen a family work so hard to Make America Great Again.!"

MAGA Fans Seem to Think AI Videos of Barron Trump Singing Patriotic Songs Are Totally Real

<h2>Spade a Spade</h2>
X-formerly-Twitter owner and xAI CEO Elon Musk isn't very concerned about the truth.
The <a href="https://futurism.com/gullible-elon-musk-falls-for-fake-news-again-deletes-post">astonishingly gullible</a> billionaire has a well-documented tendency to <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-falls-for-fake-news">spread misinformation</a>, an embarrassing and often dangerous quality that's undermined his standing in the world of science and technology.
In fact, even his own AI company's chatbot Grok — which Musk himself has <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-no-choice-open-chatbot-grok/">branded as a brash truth-teller </a>— has a pretty good grasp on the situation.
"Yes, there is substantial evidence and analysis suggesting that Elon Musk has spread misinformation on various topics, including elections, to a very large audience through his social media platform, X," Grok <a href="https://x.com/i/grok/share/sd51uGodABes3SWRSsxx8wfRK">responded when asked</a> if "Elon Musk spread misinformation to billions of people."
<h2>Busted</h2>
Grok pointed to the wealth of misinformation Musk has shared in recent years, especially when it comes to the most recent presidential election.
"Musk's posts related to elections, which have contained misleading or false claims, have amassed billions of views," Grok wrote. "Musk has shared manipulated videos and debunked claims about voting processes, including allegations about non-citizen voting, which are common themes in misinformation narratives."
Case in point, less than a day after Musk <a class="underline hover:text-the-byte hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out" href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1817796412601454837">cosigned</a> a <a class="underline hover:text-the-byte hover:no-underline transition-all duration-200 ease-in-out" href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1817796412601454837">meme</a> that called people who "still believe everything shown in [sic] news" dumb, he shared a video that purportedly showed "armed communist Maduro gangs... storming polling stations in Punta Cardón," Venezuela.
As many users quickly <a href="https://x.com/ShaykhSulaiman/status/1817788059569516597">pointed out</a>, the video actually showed thieves attempting to steal air conditioners.
Grok also helpfully points out that X's own Community Notes feature has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/10/30/elon-musk-x-fact-check-community-notes-misinformation/">often failed</a> to point out when Musk spread malicious disinfo on the platform, "either due to its limitations or the rapid spread of the information before corrections can be applied."
In other words, the platform's own solution to misinformation is woefully inadequate, allowing Musk's own fibs to proliferate widely.
While largely giving a sober account of Musk's problematic behavior, the AI chatbot's answer does leave out some other notable details: that Musk isn't just using his platform to misinform voters, he's also using it to further <a href="https://futurism.com/civil-rights-groups-horrified-elon-musk-racist">racist ideologies</a> and unhinged <a href="https://futurism.com/conspiracy-meteorologists-hurricanes">conspiracy theories</a>, as well as to share <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/elon-musk-twitter-misinformation-timeline-1235076786/">hurtful</a> and <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-elon-musk-uses-his-x-social-media-platform-to-amplify-right-wing-views">easily disproven fearmongering</a> about vulnerable groups like trans people and immigrants.
Grok has also been shown to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/12/twitter-ai-bot-grok-election-misinformation">spread misinformation ahead of the presidential election itself</a>, for instance failing to tell whether a new candidate still had time to be added to ballots.
It's far from the first time Grok has turned on its creator. Last year, Musk <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-grok-ai-left-wing">vowed to lobotomize</a> the allegedly "woke" chatbot after finding that its political tendencies were leaning far too "left" and "libertarian."
But given its level-headed assessment of Musk's misinformation machine, it seems like Grok still has the ability to get it right — at least some of the time.
More on Grok: <a href="https://futurism.com/neoscope/elon-musk-grok-medical-scans">Elon Musk Recommends Feeding Your Medical Scans Into His Grok AI</a>

Broken Clock

Not his own digital son!

Elon Musk's Grok AI Blasts Elon Musk as Huge Spreader of Misinformation

<h2>Age of Wonder</h2>
Reports are emerging that OpenAI is hitting a wall as it continues to pour more computing power into its much-hyped large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT in a bid for more intelligent outputs.
AI models need loads of training data and computing power to operate at scale. But in an <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/openai-rivals-seek-new-path-smarter-ai-current-methods-hit-limitations-2024-11-11/">interview with Reuters</a>, recently-exited OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever claimed that the firm's recent tests trying to scale up its models suggest that those efforts have plateaued.
"The 2010s were the age of scaling, now we're back in the age of wonder and discovery once again," Sutskever, a <a href="https://futurism.com/openai-employees-say-firms-chief-scientist-has-been-making-strange-spiritual-claims">staunch believer</a> in the forthcoming arrival of so-called artificial general intelligence (AGI) or human-level AI, told Reuters. "Everyone is looking for the next thing."
While it's unclear what exactly that "next thing" may be, Sutskever's admission — which comes, notably, just under a year after he <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/altman-sutskever-zero-ill-will">moved to oust</a> OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and was <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/ilya-sutskever-openai-limbo">subsequently sidelined</a> until his <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/ilya-sutskever-leaves-openai">eventual departure</a> — seems to dovetail with other recent claims and conclusions: that AI companies, and OpenAI specifically, are butting up against the law of diminishing returns.
<h2>Bounded Leaps</h2>
Over the weekend, <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/openai-shifts-strategy-as-rate-of-gpt-ai-improvements-slows">The Information reported</a> that with each new flagship model, OpenAI is seeing a slowdown in the sort of "leaps" users have come to expect in the wake of its game-changing <a href="https://futurism.com/openai-ai-detailed-instructions-how-to-shoplift">ChatGPT release</a> in December 2022.
This slowdown seems to test the core belief at the center of the argument for AI scaling: that as long as there's ever more data and computing power to feed the models — which is a big "if," given that firms have already <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-running-out-data-smarter">run out of training data</a> and are <a href="https://futurism.com/sam-altman-energy-breakthrough">eating up electricity</a> at unprecedented rates — those models will continue to grow or "scale" at a consistent rate.
Responding to this latest news from The Information, data scientist <a href="https://x.com/Yampeleg/status/1855371824550285331">Yam Peleg teased on X</a> that another cutting-edge AI firm had "reached an unexpected HUGE wall of diminishing returns trying to brute-force better results by training longer &amp; using more and more data."
While Peleg's commentary could just be gossip, researchers have been <a href="https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/two-years-later-deep-learning-is">warning for years</a> now that LLMs would eventually hit this wall. Given the <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/nvidia-chip-shortages-leave-ai-startups-scrambling-for-computing-power/">insatiably high demand</a> for <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/19/nvidias-blackwell-ai-chip-will-cost-more-than-30000-ceo-says.html">powerful AI chips</a> — and that firms are now <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-trained-with-ai-generated-data-gibberish">training their models</a> on <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/what-is-synthetic-data">AI-generated data</a> — it doesn't take a machine learning expert to wonder whether the low-hanging fruit is running out.
"I think it is safe to assume that all major players have reached the limits of training longer and collecting more data already," <a href="https://x.com/Yampeleg/status/1855373929025560699">Peleg continued</a>. "It is all about data quality now.. which takes time."
More on AI crises: <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/sam-altman-excited-agi-2025">Sam Altman Says the Main Thing He’s Excited About Next Year Is Achieving AGI</a>

Return on Investment

This could be a major problem.

OpenAI Reportedly Hitting Law of Diminishing Returns as It Pours Computing Resources Into AI

<h2>Fright Night</h2>
Remember when Elon Musk hosted "Saturday Night Live" <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/05/09/994620764/elon-musk-hosts-snl">way back in 2021</a> (you know, when he also dressed up as the Nintendo character Wario)?
A seemingly unthinkable thing to happen today, Musk was apparently so unkind to cast member Chloe Fineman while prepping for the show that he made her cry.
"You made I, Chloe Fineman, burst into tears," she said in a <a href="https://x.com/chrissgardner/status/1856170457588011055">now-deleted TikTok</a>, addressing Musk.
<h2>Cold Critic</h2>
Fineman revealed the incident in response to Musk trashing a recent episode of SNL <a href="https://x.com/latenightercom/status/1855472585561289036">that spoofed him</a> during its cold open, confirming that he was the unnamed male host that co-star Bowen Yang <a href="https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/bowen-yang-snl-host-made-cast-cry-hated-sketch-ideas-1236105030/">alleged had made</a> "multiple cast members cry."
As she recalls — with exceptional good humor, all things considered — Fineman was excited about the sketch she had spent all night writing for Musk. But when she showed it to him, the guest host reacted harshly.
"I asked if you have any questions, and you stared at me like you were <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-wanders-tesla-factory-firing-workers">firing me from Tesla</a>," Fineman recalled. "And you were like:" — doing her best Musk impression —  "It's not funny."
Fineman waited for Musk to reveal that he was joking. But he wasn't.
"Then you started pawing through my script, like flipping each page being like, 'I didn't laugh,'" she said, quoting Musk. "'I didn't laugh once. Not one time.'"
The sketch still aired, and despite the rude comments, Fineman said she ended up having a "really good time." She even thought that Musk was "really funny in it."
"But, y'know," she added, "have a little manners here, sir!"
<h2>Typical Tyrant</h2>
On Tuesday, Musk responded to Fineman's story, and didn't even bother to deny it.
"Frankly, it was only on the Thursday before the Saturday that ANY of the sketches generated laughs," he wrote in a <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1856222751868026891">tweet</a>. "I was worried."
As CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Musk <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-temper-rage-tesla-book-power-play-meetings-employees-2021-8">has a history</a> of treating his subordinates harshly. He's been accused of berating employees in <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/former-twitter-manager-elon-musk-swings-rage">sudden fits of rage</a>, and at times even tyrannically <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-wanders-tesla-factory-firing-workers">firing them on the spot</a>. His biographer Walter Isaacson described this as Musk entering "<a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-demon-mode">demon mode</a>."
At X-formerly-Twitter, he <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/15/technology/elon-musk-twitter-fired-criticism.html">terminated employees who criticized him</a> and even <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-apologizes-disability">publicly mocked one with muscular dystrophy</a> by accusing them of malingering. Musk has also <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-spacex-firing-criticism">fired SpaceX employees</a> for being critical of his behavior.
In short, it's not hard to believe that Musk was being an asshole on the SNL set. Or anywhere, for that matter.
More on Elon Musk: <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/donald-trump-elon-musk-zelenskyy-call">Donald Trump Put Elon Musk on the Phone With Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy</a>

This Is Wario

"You stared at me like you were firing me from Tesla."

Elon Musk Was Apparently So Mean on "SNL" He Made a Cast Member Cry

<h2>Actually Skynet</h2>
Scientists are baffled after the UK's oldest satellite, Skynet-1A, which was launched in 1969, appears to have moved to an entirely different position in its geostationary orbit 22,000 miles above the Earth's surface — and nobody knows who did it or why.
As the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpwrr58801yo">BBC reports</a>, the communications relay for the British forces mysteriously wandered west, from above Africa's east coast to over the Americas, even though gravitational shifts should've moved it further east.
According to the report, orbital mechanics simply can't account for its drifting, which only leaves one obvious possibility open: somebody moved Skynet-1A.
Worse yet, its new position could be hazardous for many other geostationary satellites circling the Earth.
"It's now in what we call a 'gravity well' at 105 degrees West longitude, wandering backwards and forwards like a marble at the bottom of a bowl," space consultant Stuart Eves told the BBC. "And unfortunately this brings it close to other satellite traffic on a regular basis."
"Because it's dead, the risk is it might bump into something, and because it's 'our' satellite we're still responsible for it," he added.
<h2>Lost in Orbit</h2>
Despite his best efforts, Eves has yet to figure out why the UK's oldest spacecraft mysteriously wandered thousands of miles west.
While it helped British forces to communicate with other bases across the entire globe, Skynet-1A was built by and launched in the United States.
"The Americans originally controlled the satellite in orbit," Graham Davison, who directed the satellite at the operations center at Royal Air Force Oakhanger in the UK, told the BBC. "They tested all of our software against theirs, before then eventually handing over control to the RAF."
Davison couldn't recall when or if control was handed back to the US.
Documents suggest the US was in control when Oakhanger lost sight of the ancient satellite in June 1977. However, instead of being retired in our planet's "orbital graveyard," where most geostationary satellites go to spend the rest of their days as space junk, Skynet-1A shifted to a far more unfortunate location.
Our planet's orbit has become incredibly cluttered, particularly at the spacecraft's current longitude. An active satellite, according to the BBC, may come close to space junk up to four times a day.
Just last month, a Boeing satellite <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/boeing-satellite-500-pieces-debris">suddenly exploded into about 500 trackable pieces</a> of debris in geostationary orbit.
Fortunately, numerous companies are working on a potential solution: specially designed spacecraft that can <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/european-space-agency-claw-space-junk">pluck defunct satellites out of the sky</a> and move them out of harm's way.
And the clock is ticking. Scientists have long warned of a situation called "<a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/space-junk-disaster-inevitable">Kessler syndrome</a>," in which one space junk collision could lead to a cascading series of events that make an already dangerous space junk problem into an orbital crisis.
More on space junk: <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/boeing-satellite-500-pieces-debris">Boeing Satellite Exploded Into at Least 500 Pieces of Debris</a>

For British Eyes Only

What the heck?

Scientists Puzzled by Military Satellite That Appears to Have Been Moved to a Distant Location

<h2>Etch-a-Truck</h2>
Tesla's Cybertruck has been an incredibly divisive vehicle ever since it went on sale just under a year ago.
Its stainless steel "exoskeleton" has proven especially controversial, since it's a material that's substantially more difficult to <a href="https://futurism.com/cybertruck-owners-already-rusting">keep clean</a> and <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/cybertrucks-smudgy">blemish-free</a> than what cars are typically made from.
Worse yet, as one owner found, removing vinyl adhesives after several months leaves plenty of evidence behind.
Aaron Cash, who runs a website called ABetterTheater.com, found that the vinyl letters he applied to the back of his Cyertruck eight months ago "etched" themselves into the stainless steel finish after he tried to remove them.
"Removed yesterday and detailed with Windex and microfiber," he wrote in a <a href="https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/cybertruck-etched-after-removal-of-vinyl-logo-applied-8-months-ago.29994/">Cybertruck Owners Club post</a>. "Not surprising the stainless is now etched."
<h2>Wax On, Wax Off</h2>
Even after "<a href="https://x.com/aaronjcash/status/1855675889612460537">many</a>" scrubs, the letters were still clearly visible on Cash's tailgate.
In response, Cash stepped up his game by picking up a Scotch-Brite sponge and Bar Keepers Friend, a popular cleaning agent that can take on rust, mineral deposits, and other hard-to-clean stains.
"Let the scrubbing begin," he wrote in a <a href="https://x.com/aaronjcash/status/1855748927510941921">follow-up</a>. It's still unclear if his last-ditch effort turned out to be a success.
Other owners have also warned that applying a protective vinyl coating to the Cybertruck's exterior could have plenty of undesired consequences — an ironic development, considering many owners resort to using these adhesives to protect the stainless steel.
As automotive coating company Sticker City explained in an August <a href="https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/why-do-vinyl-wraps-oxidize-and-can-they-ruin-the-surface-underneath.22633/">Cybertruck Owners Club post</a>, "vinyl wraps can oxidize over time due to various environmental factors, material degradation, and improper maintenance."
"Additionally, if the vinyl is not removed within a proper timeframe, it can cause damage to the surface underneath," the company wrote.
UV exposure can oxidize vinyl, leaving behind a "chalky, white residue." Moisture and temperature fluctuations can also cause the vinyl to crack and expose the stainless steel below to oxidize more quickly.
In short, it's a bizarre problem to deal with, especially considering some owners have shelled out north of $100,000 for a Cybertruck.
To be clear, we've solved this issue many decades ago. Regular automotive paint applied to steel, plastic, or aluminum has historically done the trick just fine, no Bar Keepers Friend required.
More on the Cybertruck: <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/furious-driver-rented-cybertruck-battering-ram">Furious Driver Appears to Use Rented Cybertruck as Battering Ram to Attack Package Thief</a>

Goo Not Gone

This is so ridiculous.

There's an Unpleasant Surprise When Owners Peel the Vinyl Cover Off Their Cybertrucks

<h2>Macaque Mayhem</h2>
Officials are still struggling to <a href="https://futurism.com/monkeys-escaped-research-facility-loose">recapture</a> monkeys that <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/police-lock-houses-escaped-monkeys">escaped a research facility</a> in Yemassee, South Carolina, last week — and have even made efforts to contact monkeys still inside, officials say.
According <a href="https://apnews.com/article/monkeys-escape-alpha-genesis-south-carolina-90933db5478150a0fef2f92cd11290f5">to the Associated Press</a>, as of Monday afternoon, 13 out of the 43 young female Rhesus macaques remain on the loose in the forested area surrounding the facility run by Alpha Genesis, one of the largest monkey breeders in the world.
The animals escaped because their keepers left the doors to their enclosures open. Fortunately, the 30 monkeys that have been recaptured so far are in good health, according to the report.
While it might sound like the beginning of a zombie flick, officials have <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/11/08/monkeys-escaped-alpha-genesis-yemassee-sc/76128503007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a> that the macaques are "too young to carry disease."
"We want to assure the community that there is no health risk associated with these animals," the police confirmed shortly after the monkeys escaped last week.
<h2>Prison Break</h2>
Alpha Genesis has vowed to continue its efforts to snap up the remaining 13 animals, attempting to lure the fugitives back with food.
Heartbreakingly, many of the escaped macaques have remained close to the facility, which is roughly 50 miles northeast of Savannah, Georgia — and according to the AP, they've been cooing at the other monkeys that remain locked up.
Bafflingly, it's not the first monkey prison break at the Alpha Genesis facility. In 2019, a total of 19 monkeys broke free but were recaptured within just six hours — not four days.
More on the saga: <a href="https://futurism.com/monkeys-escaped-research-facility-loose">Monkeys That Escaped Research Facility Still on the Loose, Authorities Say</a>

Monkey

Well, that's heartbreaking.

Monkeys Evade Capture After Escape From Research Facility, Attempt to Contact Monkeys Still Trapped Inside

<h2>Dialing In</h2>
During his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just one day after the election, president-elect Donald Trump decided to include his number one campaigner: Elon Musk.
First <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/11/08/musk-trump-zelensky-ukraine-call">reported by Axios</a>, this three-way call was apparently less tense than one might expect.
According to insiders Axios spoke to, Zelenskyy was reassured by what he heard from the billionaire pair amid speculation about how a second Trump presidency will affect the United States' relations with Ukraine amid Russia's ongoing invasion.
One of those sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity so they could discuss the matter freely, said that it "didn't leave Zelenskyy with a feeling of despair."
In particular, the Ukrainian president was heartened that the call happened so soon after the election, one of Axios' anonymous sources claims. Notably, the Zelenskyy call occurred days before <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/10/trump-putin-ukraine-war">Trump spoke to Putin</a> — and during that exchange, which seems to have happened without Musk, he advised his Russian counterpart not to escalate his years-long incursion in Ukraine.
<h2>From Russia With Love</h2>
During the 25-minute call, Musk told the Ukrainian leader that he'd continue supporting Ukraine via Starlink satellite. That reassurance was also likely welcome to Zelenskyy following reports last month indicating that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/10/12/starlink-russia-ukraine-elon-musk/">Russian forces were using Ukraine's Starlink</a> access to their own ends.
It's also curious that the South African-born technocrat was put on the call given that just a few weeks ago, the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/musk-putin-secret-conversations-37e1c187?mod=hp_lead_pos1">Wall Street Journal reported</a> that Musk had been <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-taking-orders-putin-xi">having secret phone calls with Putin</a> since late 2022 — the same year Russia invaded Ukraine.
During those chats, <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-taking-orders-putin-xi">Putin purportedly asked Musk</a> not to provide Starlink access to Taiwan at the behest of Chinese President Xi Jinping — and given that the disputed country <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/07/space-x-taiwan-manufacturing-claims-elon-musk#:~:text=Previous%20reporting%20has%20said%20Starlink,garnered%20significant%20attention%20in%20China.">still doesn't have Starlink</a>, it appears that the billionaire acquiesced.
It doesn't appear that those clandestine chats were discussed during the relatively brief call between Trump, Musk, and Zelenskyy. Nevertheless, we'd love to hear what the trio did talk about.
More on Musk: <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/vivian-wilson-slams-elon-musk-control-freak">Elon Musk’s Daughter Vivian Says He’s a "Delusional and Grubby Little Control Freak"</a>

Three-Way Call

Apparently you can buy anything, if you're rich enough.

Donald Trump Put Elon Musk on the Phone With Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy

<h2>Cloudy Skies</h2>
Microplastics may literally be changing the weather.
In a press release, <a href="https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/microplastics-impact-cloud-formation-likely-affecting-weather-and-climate">Penn State says</a> that its environmental researchers have found evidence that microplastics may help in the formation of the ice crystals around which rain droplets form, essentially "seeding" clouds unintentionally.
Published <a href="https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/microplastics-impact-cloud-formation-likely-affecting-weather-and-climate">in the journal Environmental Science and Technology: Air</a>, this new lab-based study saw Penn State researchers place four different types of microplastics — low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) — in small droplets of water, allowing them to cool slowly to see how they affected the freezing process.
The results? The droplets with microplastics in them produced ice crystals between nine and 18 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than those without, demonstrating that rain-producing ice crystals can form at warmer temperatures with these inorganic particulates than without them.
Translation: with microplastics changing the way rain forms, they may well be changing weather patterns too.
<h2>Heavy Rain</h2>
Microplastics keep being detected everywhere scientists look, from the <a href="https://futurism.com/neoscope/microplastics-found-human-penises">penises of living humans</a> to <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/microplastics-archaeology">buried archeological treasure</a>. This new study may aid how we understand these <a href="https://futurism.com/neoscope/microplastics-cancer-young-people">harmful particulates</a>, and how they <a href="https://magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/microplastics-everywhere">seem to be so ubiquitous</a>.
"Throughout the past two decades of research into microplastics, scientists have been finding that they're everywhere, so this is another piece of that puzzle," said Penn State chemistry professor Miriam Freedman, the senior author of the new paper.
As Freedman explains, atmospheric microplastics could both make it rain less and also make it rain heavier.
"In a polluted environment with many more aerosol particles, like microplastics, you are distributing the available water among many more aerosol particles, forming smaller droplets around each of those particles," the professor explained. "When you have more droplets, you get less rain, but because droplets only rain once they get large enough, you collect more total water in the cloud before the droplets are large enough to fall and, as a result, you get heavier rainfall when it comes."
Though this isn't the first study to posit that there are <a href="https://www.acs.org/pressroom/presspacs/2023/november/microplastics-found-in-clouds-could-affect-the-weather.html">microplastics in the clouds</a>, this study offers more evidence than ever that they may be changing the weather for the worse.
"It’s now clear that we need to have a better understanding of how they're interacting with our climate system," Freedman said, "because we’ve been able to show that the process of cloud formation can be triggered by microplastics."
More on microplastics: <a href="https://futurism.com/neoscope/microplastics-cancer-young-people">Microplastics Likely Causing Wave of Cancer in Young People</a>