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Twitter bans third-party clients in developer term update Twitter bans third-party clients in developer term update

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Twitter bans third-party clients in developer term update

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Twitter updated its developer rules to ban third-party clients on Thursday following the recent blocking of several apps’ access to the platform this week.

Some of the apps, such as Tweetbot, which provides a subscriber-only ad-free Twitter experience, would compete with the platform’s subscription service, Twitter Blue. This week several major third-party Twitter applications lost access to the platform. On January 14, The Information reported that the outage was an internal decision by Twitter.

In a statement, Twitterriffic, another third-party app that provided an ad-free Twitter experience for $9.99 per year, said the app has been discontinued by a Twitter that “we no longer recognize as trustworthy nor want to work with any longer.”

Twitterriffic encouraged its customers who subscribed through iOS to consider not requesting a refund from Apple. “The loss of ongoing, recurring revenue from Twitterrific is already going to hurt our business significantly, and any refunds will come directly out of our pockets,” Twitteriffic stated.

Several third-party clients charge Twitter users for various services that range from scheduling a tweet to accessing the platform without using the Twitter app or website. When Tapbots launched the newest version of Tweetbot in 2021, it introduced a subscription-based payment requirement. This required users to pay either $0.99 per month or $5.99 per year. Tweetbot is but one example of the many third-party applications that are now no longer able to access the platform.

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An update to Twitter’s developer rules on Thursday explained why Twitter banned third party-apps from accessing the platform. The update followed the company’s tweet from its Twitter Developer account that said it was enforcing its long-standing API rules, which would result in some apps not working.

According to Twitter’s Developer Agreement, the platform defined the term Twitter Applications as its “consumer facing products, services, applications, websites, web pages, platforms, and other offerings, including without limitation, those offered via Twitter.com and Twitter’s mobile applications.” 

Twitter’s Restrictions on Use of Licensed Materials further elaborates that developers will not “use or access the Licensed Materials to create or attempt to create a substitute or similar service or product to the Twitter Application.” This completely eliminates third-party apps, especially those competing with Twitter Blue.

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In November, The Wall Street Journal noted that Twitter hasn’t recorded an annual profit since 2019 and posted a loss in eight years of the past decade. In 2021, Twitter recorded a net loss of $221.4 million.  When Elon Musk purchased the platform in October 2022, he has since commented about the platform’s close call with bankruptcy and moved to save it from that fate.

The new CEO revamped Twitter Blue, the platform’s own subscription service, merging it with verification and later relaunching the service. Although Twitter Blue isn’t an ad-free Twitter experience, it does offer users an ad-free news experience for those reading articles inside the app. Other features include bookmarking folders, themes, and personalization–similar to what several third-party apps would provide users for a fee. Twitter noted that it hopes to offer fewer ads for Twitter Blue subscribers in the future.

Your feedback is welcome. If you have any comments or concerns or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter at @JohnnaCrider1.

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Tesla Cybertruck gets Full Self-Driving v14 release date, sort of

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Tesla Cybertruck owners are wondering when they will get access to the company’s Full Self-Driving version 14.1 that rolled out to other owners today for the first time.

Cybertruck owners typically receive Full Self-Driving updates slightly later than other drivers, as the process for the all-electric pickup is different. It is a larger vehicle that requires some additional attention from Tesla before FSD versions are rolled out, so they will be slightly delayed. CEO Elon Musk said the all-wheel steering technically requires a bit more attention before rollout as well.

After some owners got access to the v14.1 Full Self-Driving suite this morning, Cybertruck owners sought out a potential timeframe for when they would be able to experience things for themselves.

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Tesla owners show off improvements with new Full Self-Driving v14 rollout

They were able to get an answer from Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Head of AI, who said:

“We got you. Coming soon.”

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The release of FSD v14.1 for Cybertruck will not be tempered, either. Elluswamy then confirmed that Tesla would be rolling out the full-featured FSD v14 for the pickup, meaning it would be able to reverse and park itself, among other features.

Elluswamy said it would be capable of these features, which were void in other FSD releases for Cybertruck in the past.

Tesla’s rollout of FSD v14.1 brings several extremely notable changes and improvements to the suite, including more refined operation in parking garages, a new ability to choose parking preferences upon arriving at your destination, a new driving mode called “Sloth,” which is even more reserved than “Chill,” and general operational improvements.

Those who were lucky enough to receive the suite have already started showing off the improvements, and they definitely seem to be a step up from what v13’s more recent versions were capable of.

CEO Elon Musk called v14 “sentient” a few weeks back, and it seems that it is moving toward that. However, he did state that additional releases with more capabilities would be available in the coming weeks, but many owners are still waiting for this first version.

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Tesla launches two new affordable models with ‘Standard’ Model 3, Y offerings

It is the first time Tesla has revealed any details about what it planned to launch in terms of its new, lower-cost vehicles, which are mainly aimed at countering the loss of the $7,500 EV tax credit.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially launched its affordable models with the new Model 3 and Model Y ‘Standard’ versions hitting the company’s Online Design Studio on Tuesday.

It is the first time Tesla has revealed any details about what it planned to launch in terms of its new, lower-cost vehicles, which are mainly aimed at countering the loss of the $7,500 EV tax credit.

Here’s what Tesla went with for its release of the new affordable models.

Tesla Model Y ‘Standard’

The Model Y Standard is a stripped-down version of the all-electric crossover and starts at $39,990.

Deliveries are slated for November and December, the company says if you plan to order one, and it comes with a few major changes to improve efficiency and bring down cost for owners.

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  • New athletically tuned exterior and new alloy wheels to improve aerodynamics
  • 15.4″ touchscreen in the front, the same as the other trims
  • Available in three colors: Stealth Grey (free), White ($1,oo0 extra), Diamond Black ($1,500 extra)
  • Textile and vegan leather interior
  • Range sits at 321 miles
  • New front fascia
  • Covered glass roof (textile on inside)
  • Windows are not acoustically laminated for a quieter cabin
  • Manual mirrors and seats
  • Smaller frunk
  • No rear infotainment screen
  • No basic Autopilot
  • 69 kWh battery
  • New 19″ Aperture wheels
  • 0-60 MPH in 6.8 seconds
  • 7 speaker stereo, down from 15 speakers in premium models

Tesla Model 3 ‘Standard’

The Model 3 Standard was a surprise offering from Tesla, as many had only anticipated the company to refine and offer a more affordable version of the Model Y.

Coming in at $36,990, it features many of the same changes Tesla made with the Model Y “Standard,” all ways to improve price and make it less flashy than the more premium offerings.

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Deliveries are also slated for November for this vehicle, and it features relatively the same stripped-down offerings as the Model Y Standard.

  • Available in three colors: Stealth Grey (free), White ($1,oo0 extra), Diamond Black ($1,500 extra)
  • Textile and vegan leather interior
  • Range sits at 321 miles
  • Covered glass roof (textile on inside)
  • Manual mirrors and seats
  • No rear infotainment screen
  • No basic Autopilot
  • 69 kWh battery
  • New 19″ Aperture wheels
  • 0-60 MPH in 6.8 seconds
  • 7 speaker stereo, down from 15 speakers in premium models
@teslarati 🚨 Tesla’s Affordable Models are here! Let’s talk about them! #tesla #fyp #viral #teslaev #elonmusk ♬ Natural Emotions – Muspace Lofi

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Tesla owners show off improvements with new Full Self-Driving v14 rollout

Some of the big things that Tesla faced head-on with the development and release of v14 were navigating in parking garages and handling parking after arriving at a destination.

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Credit: Tesla Europe & Middle East/X

Tesla owners with access to the company’s Full Self-Driving new version, v14, which rolled out on Tuesday morning, are showcasing some of the very impressive improvements that have arrived.

CEO Elon Musk called v14 “sentient” a few weeks ahead of its rollout, claiming the newest iteration of the company’s Full Self-Driving platform would be the most accurate to date.

Tesla FSD (Supervised) V14.1 with Robotaxi-style dropoffs is here

It was obvious this narrative had Tesla owners keeping their expectations high, as there were very evidently things that needed to be improved upon that were present in v13. I wrote about several improvements I was hoping to see, and based on the release notes for v14, Tesla did have these things in the works already.

Some of the big things that Tesla faced head-on with the development and release of v14 were navigating in parking garages and handling parking after arriving at a destination.

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Tesla said it was working to increase the capabilities of Summon within parking garages, as many owners believe that is where it would be the most beneficial.

While that does not appear to be part of this initial v14 rollout, it does seem Tesla is focused on improving the suite’s ability to navigate through these garages, including stopping for a ticket to enter the facility, finding a spot, and parking in an appropriate space.

It was evident this was a huge improvement based on one example from an owner who received v14:

If you look closely, you will even see the car shift slightly to the right when it arrives at the ticketing station, making it easier for the driver to hand over their ticket and payment. It then moves back out to the right when leaving to return to the center of the lane. It’s very intuitive.

Additionally, it appears to be more accurate when parking, thanks to improvements that enable owners to select the type of parking upon arrival at a destination.

In the v14.1 release notes, Tesla said that it has added “Arrival Options for you to select where FSD should park: in a Parking Lot, on the Street, in a Driveway, in a Parking Garage, or at the Curbside.”

One owner chose to navigate home and chose a garage to park in. Full Self-Driving performed it without any issues:

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These are just two evident improvements so far, and there are likely many more on the way. The changes and fixes will be tracked by anyone with access to FSD v14 in the coming weeks.

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