Archive

June 19, 2025

Browsing
In Stocks

Red light for Tesla robotaxis? Texas Democrats urge launch halt

3 Mins Read

A cohort of Democratic lawmakers from Texas has formally requested that Tesla postpone the highly anticipated launch of its robotaxi service in Austin.

The legislators are urging the electric vehicle giant to delay the rollout until September, when a new state law governing autonomous driving is scheduled to come into effect, citing concerns over public safety and the need to build public trust.

In a letter sent on Wednesday, the group of Austin-area lawmakers argued that delaying the launch, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk had “tentatively” suggested could happen as early as this Sunday, “is in the best interest of both public safety and building public trust in Tesla’s operations.”

They emphasized the importance of aligning the robotaxi service with the forthcoming state regulations.

Should Tesla decide to proceed with its launch this month, thereby predating the new law, the lawmakers have asked the company to provide “detailed information” demonstrating precisely how Tesla intends to comply with the new state legislation once it is operational.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawmakers’ letter.

This request comes at a pivotal moment for Tesla.

Last year, Elon Musk publicly staked the company’s future heavily on the success of its autonomous-driving technology, signaling a strategic pivot away from solely chasing rapid growth in electric-vehicle sales.

The impending Austin robotaxi rollout has been under intense scrutiny from investors and analysts, many of whom attribute a significant portion of Tesla’s stock market valuation to the high hopes pinned on its yet-to-be-delivered robotaxi services and humanoid robots.

Navigating a shifting legal landscape in Texas

The political and legal context for this request is noteworthy.

It remains unclear how much influence a letter from Democratic lawmakers will exert in Texas, a state where Republicans control the governorship and hold majorities in both legislative chambers.

Under current Texas law, autonomous-vehicle companies are permitted to operate their vehicles anywhere in the state, provided the vehicles meet basic registration and insurance requirements.

However, new legislation, which successfully passed the Texas legislature last month but has not yet been signed by the governor, is set to change this landscape.

This new law would, for the first time, require autonomous-vehicle companies to apply for specific authorization to operate within the state.

Crucially, the new legislation would grant state authorities the power to revoke permits if they deem a driverless vehicle to be one that “endangers the public.”

Furthermore, companies like Tesla would be required to provide the state with comprehensive information on how police and first responders can effectively interact with and manage these autonomous vehicles in emergency situations.

Scant details on Tesla’s Robotaxi blueprint

Elon Musk first announced in January that Tesla would be offering “autonomous ride-hailing for money in Austin, in June.” Since that pronouncement, details about the planned Austin robotaxi launch have been sparse.

Musk has indicated that the initial rollout would begin with a small fleet of 10 or 20 Model Y vehicles and that the company would initially operate in “only the parts of Austin that we consider to be the safest.”

However, key operational details—such as who the initial passengers will be, how Tesla will charge for rides, the specific areas of Austin where the service will operate, and the extent of remote monitoring and operation of the vehicles—have not yet been disclosed by Musk or Tesla.

This lack of transparency likely contributes to the lawmakers’ call for a more cautious and legally aligned approach.

The post Red light for Tesla robotaxis? Texas Democrats urge launch halt appeared first on Invezz

Keep Reading
In World news

Munda Gold Mine Mining Progresses: First Blast

2 Mins Read

Auric Mining Limited (ASX: AWJ) (Auric or the Company) is pleased to provide an update on mining of the Starter Pit at the Munda Gold Mine, 5km from Widgiemooltha, Western Australia.

Highlights

  • First blast 17 June 2025.
  • Mining is well underway in Starter Pit.
  • Approximately 70,000 BCM mined in first month.
  • Largely free-dig to date.
  • Site preparation for Waste Dump and ROM pads completed.
Management Comment

Managing Director, Mark English, said:

“It’s a momentous time in our progression and development of the Company, we are delighted.

“Mining is in full swing and all activities are progressing as we expected. Nothing is holding us back. We are achieving our targets and are exactly where we expected to be in the mine development.

“We are pleased to be monetising our major asset in such a bullish gold market, the timing is excellent. It is a great place to be as an unhedged gold producer,” said Mr English.

Approximately 70,000 BCM (Bank Cubic Metres) of material have been mined at Munda over the first 4 weeks of operations from a pit design encapsulating 380,000 BCM. Mining to this stage has been largely free-dig with the first blast completed 17 June 2025.

Auric personnel are utilising a dry hire fleet comprising a 125t excavator and four 40t articulated ‘Moxi’ dump trucks together with relevant ancillary equipment.

Both RC grade control and blast hole drilling, together with blast supervision is managed by Kalgoorlie-based Total Drilling Services Pty Ltd.

The Company has estimated that approximately 125,000 tonnes of ore will be extracted from the Starter Pit at a grade of 1.8g/t Au1. Most of that ore will be mined toward the base of the Starter Pit, during the last two months of operations. The Starter Pit is scheduled for completion in October.

Munda has an estimated resource of 145,000 ounces of gold at a 0.5g/t cut-off2. Once the Starter Pit is finished Auric expects to complete detailed planning for a larger pit, to commence in 2026.

The Company is fully funded to mine the Starter Pit at Munda from the proceeds of gold sales from the Jeffreys Find Gold Mine near Norseman.

Click here for the full ASX Release

This post appeared first on investingnews.com

Keep Reading
In Business

Amazon expects to cut corporate jobs as it relies more on AI

3 Mins Read

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said Tuesday that the company expects artificial intelligence ‘will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains’ over time.

‘We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people do other types of jobs,’ Jassy added in a memo to Amazon’s workforce.

The CEO of the country’s second-largest retailer and employer said Amazon is using generative AI ‘in virtually every corner of the company.’

Amazon employs more than 1.5 million people worldwide, according its most recent annual report.

This year, Amazon plans to spend $100 billion to expand AI services and data centers that power them, up from $83 billion last year.

Jassy said he believes so-called ‘AI agents’ will ‘change how we all work and live.’ While ‘many of these agents have yet to be built,’ he said, ‘they’re coming, and fast.’

He continued by saying that they will ‘change the scope and speed at which we can innovate for customers.’

Amazon currently has more than a thousand AI services and applications running inside the company or in progress of being built.

Jassy’s comments Tuesday will likely invoke fears that many corporate workers have had as artificial intelligence captures the eye of efficiency-minded executives across corporate America. A recent study from Bloomberg Intelligence said that AI could replace up to 200,000 banking jobs.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy in New York on Feb. 26.Michael Nagle / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Artificial intelligence has also been shown to be effective at coding for software programs.

Cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike eliminted 5% of its workforce in May, saying that AI was driving ‘efficiencies across both the front and back office.’

Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke said managers at the e-commerce company will be expected to prove why they ‘cannot get what they want done using AI’ before asking for more headcount.

‘Having AI alongside the journey and increasingly doing not just the consultation, but also doing the work for our merchants is a mind-blowing step function change here,’ Lutke added.

Language learning firm Duolingo also recently said that it would replace contract workers with artificial intelligence. ‘We’ll gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle,’ CEO Luis von Ahn wrote in a memo to Duolingo employees in May. ‘Headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work,’ von Ahn added.

The CEO of U.K. telecom giant BT said this week that plans to cut 40,000 jobs from the company’s workforce over the next 10 years ‘did not reflect the full potential of AI.’

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Keep Reading
In Politics

‘Squad’ members, GOP lawmaker join forces to reject US involvement in Israel-Iran war

4 Mins Read

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a conservative fiscal hawk who refused to sign onto President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill,’ is building an unlikely bipartisan coalition of lawmakers resisting the United States’ involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran. 

‘This is not our war. But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution,’ Massie said in a social media post announcing the War Powers Resolution that he introduced with Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna of California on Tuesday. 

Massie, whom Trump threatened to primary during the House GOP megabill negotiations, invited ‘all members of Congress to cosponsor this resolution.’ By Tuesday night, the bipartisan bill had picked up 27 cosponsors, including progressive ‘Squad’ members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar.

Across the political aisle, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., signaled her support, writing that Americans want an affordable cost of living, safe communities and quality education ‘not going into another foreign war.’

The bill’s original co-sponsors also include progressive Democrat Reps.Pramila Jayapal, Summer Lee, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, who called it unconstitutional for ‘Trump to go to war without a vote in Congress.’

The War Powers Resolution would ‘remove United States Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities in the Islamic State of Iran’ and direct Trump to ‘terminate’ the deployment of American troops against Iran without an ‘authorized declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military forces against Iran.’

Lawmakers who oppose the United States’ joining the escalating conflict in the Middle East have sounded off on the unconstitutionality of Trump striking Iran without congressional approval. Congress has the sole power to declare war under Article I of the Constitution. 

‘The American people do not want to be dragged into another disastrous conflict in the Middle East. I’m proud to lead this bipartisan War Powers Resolution with Rep. Massie to reassert that any military action against Iran must be authorized by Congress,’ Khanna said. 

The president told reporters on Wednesday morning that he is weighing whether to sign off on military strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities. 

‘Yes, I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,’ Trump said. 

Trump called for Iran’s ‘UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!’ on Truth Social on Tuesday, and said the United States won’t strike Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei ‘at least not for now,’ but signaled America’s ‘patience is wearing thin.’ 

On the sixth consecutive night of strikes between Israel and Iran, Iran warned that the United States joining forces with Israel would mean an ‘all-out war,’ as Israel bombarded sites overnight it says would have allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium, as well as attack Israeli forces.

Israel launched preemptive strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and military leaders last week, which the Islamic Republic considered a ‘declaration of war’ and has since launched its own strikes against Israel. 

Thousands of American troops are based in nearby countries within range of Iran’s weapons, but Trump said on Wednesday that ‘we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran.’

The Jewish State targeted Iran’s nuclear capabilities after months of failed negotiations in the region and heightened concern over Iran developing nuclear weapons. 

But Ali Bahreini, Iran’s ambassador to Geneva, said Iran ‘will continue to produce the enriched uranium as far as we need for peaceful purposes,’ as Israel continues to target Iran’s nuclear capabilities. 

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the bill. 

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Keep Reading