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Donald Trump prepares for Twitter return, Elon Musk reacts Donald Trump prepares for Twitter return, Elon Musk reacts

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Donald Trump prepares for Twitter return, Elon Musk reacts

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Donald Trump is reportedly considering an imminent return to Twitter and Facebook.

Former president Donald Trump was banned on January 8, 2021. The platform said in a 2021 blog post that it permanently suspended the account “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”

Among Elon Musk’s changes since his acquisition of Twitter is the prioritization of free speech, values that were evidently suppressed according to the company’s “Twitter Files” series. This opened the door to the return of the former U.S. President.

Before purchasing the platform, Elon Musk said interview with Financial Times that he would allow Donald Trump to return to Twitter once his deal went through. He said:

“I do think that it was not correct to ban Donald Trump; I think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice.

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“He is now going to be on Truth Social, as will a large part of the, sort of, the Right in the United States. And, so, I think this could end up being frankly worse than having a single forum where everyone can debate. Um, so I guess the answer is that I would reverse the permanent ban.”

You can read the full transcription here.

After purchasing the platform, Elon Musk held a poll in November asking Twitter users if he should reinstate Donald Trump’s Twitter account. The final results of that poll were 51.8% yes and 48.2% no.

 

Following the results of the poll and the reinstatement of his account. Donald Trump said he wasn’t interested in returning to the platform.

“I don’t see any reason for it, they have a lot of problems at Twitter, you see what’s going on. It may make it, it may not make it,” he said during a virtual appearance before the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting. He added that he would remain on Truth Social, a platform he created a few months after being banned from Twitter in 2021.

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The former president is preparing to run again for the presidency in 2024. He announced his intention to run a few days prior to the poll that led to the reinstatement of his Twitter account.

Elon Musk pointed out that companies were missing “the incredible opportunity that Twitter provides to reach customers” on Thursday. Although the list of companies the CEO highlighted were automakers, it’s a nod toward Twitter’s role as a key social media network for companies that advertise. This works for political candidates as well.

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On Friday, NBC News reported that Donald Trump is now preparing to return to Twitter and Facebook. “We believe that the ban on President Trump’s account on Facebook has dramatically distorted and inhibited the public discourse,” a letter to Meta written by his campaign said.

Although the publication didn’t include whether or not Donald Trump is planning to return to Twitter, it cited an anonymous “Trump confidant” who spoke of conversations held with the former president about seeking input on going back to Twitter.

In a response on Twitter, Elon Musk noted that it would be interesting to see how the Biden administration reacts. He pointed out that the administration might try weaponizing federal agencies against Twitter. The Twitter Files series are a clear indicator of just how far the federal agencies that were involved were willing to go to get someone suspended.

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Tesla lands regulatory green light for Robotaxi testing in new state

This will be the third state in total where Tesla is operating Robotaxi, following Austin and California.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has landed a regulatory green light to test its Robotaxi platform in a new state, less than three months after the ride-hailing service launched in Texas.

Tesla first launched its driverless Robotaxi suite in Austin, Texas, back on June 22. Initially offering rides to a small group of people, Tesla kept things limited, but this was not to be the mentality for very long.

It continued to expand the rider population, the service area, and the vehicle fleet in Austin.

The company also launched rides in the Bay Area, but it does use a person in the driver’s seat to maintain safety. In Austin, the “Safety Monitor” is present in the passenger’s seat during local rides, and in the driver’s seat for routes that involve highway driving.

Tesla is currently testing the Robotaxi platform in other states. We reported that it was testing in Tempe, Arizona, as validation vehicles are traveling around the city in preparation for Robotaxi.

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Tesla looks to make a big splash with Robotaxi in a new market

Tesla is also hoping to launch in Florida and New York, as job postings have shown the company’s intention to operate there.

However, it appears it will launch in Nevada before those states, as the company submitted its application to obtain a Testing Registry certification on September 3. It was processed by the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles Office of Business Licensing on September 10.

It will then need to self-certify for operations, essentially meaning they will need to comply with various state requirements.

This will be the third state in total where Tesla is operating Robotaxi, following Austin and California.

CEO Elon Musk has stated that he believes Robotaxi will be available to at least half of the U.S. population by the end of the year. Geographically, Tesla will need to make incredible strides over the final four months of the year to achieve this.

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Tesla is improving this critical feature in older vehicles

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is set to improve a critical feature that has not been present in older vehicles with a new update.

Tesla vehicles feature a comprehensive suite of driver assistance features, some of which aid in driving itself, while others support the vehicle’s surroundings.

One of those features is that of Driver Visualization, and with the rollout of a new update, owners of Intel-based Tesla vehicles are receiving an upgrade that will come with a simple software update.

Tesla plans to use Unreal Engine for driver visualization with crazy upgrade

The update will provide new visualizations while Intel-based vehicles are in reverse, a feature that was not previously available, but will be with Software Update 2025.32.2.

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The improvement was spotted by Not a Tesla App via TheBeatYT_evil:

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Previously, vehicles Tesla built were equipped with Intel-based processors, but newer cars feature the AMD chip, which is capable of rendering these visualizations as they happen. They were capable of visualizations when driving forward, but not in reverse, which is what this change resolves.

It is a good sign for those with Intel-based vehicles, as Tesla seems to be paying attention to what those cars are not capable of and improving them.

This was an undocumented improvement associated with this particular update, so you will not find any mention of it in the release notes that Tesla distributes with each update.

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Tesla looks to make a big splash with Robotaxi in a new market

Tesla has been transparent that it is prioritizing safety, but it believes it can expand to basically any geographical location within the United States and find success with its Robotaxi suite. CEO Elon Musk said it could be available to half of the U.S. population by the end of the year.

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Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

Tesla is looking to make a big splash with Robotaxi in a new market, as the company was spotted testing validation vehicles in one region where it has not yet launched its ride-hailing service.

After launching Robotaxi in Austin in late June, Tesla followed up with a relatively quick expansion to the Bay Area of California. Both service areas are operating with a geofence that is expansive: In Texas, it is 173 square miles, while in the Bay Area, it is roughly 400 square miles.

Tesla has been transparent that it is prioritizing safety, but it believes it can expand to basically any geographical location within the United States and find success with its Robotaxi suite. CEO Elon Musk said it could be available to half of the U.S. population by the end of the year.

There have been plenty of reports out there that have speculated as to where Tesla would land next to test Robotaxi, and Nevada, Florida, Arizona, and New York have all been in the realm of possibility. These regions will need to approve Tesla for regulatory purposes before Robotaxi can officially operate.

Tesla is still testing and performing validation in several regions, and in Tempe, Arizona, things are moving forward as a Model Y with a LiDAR rig was spotted performing ground truth for the platform:

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With the LiDAR unit, many followers of the self-driving and autonomy space might wonder why Tesla uses these apparatuses during validation, especially considering the company’s stance and vision-based approach.

LiDAR is used for “ground truth,” which is basically a solidification or confirmation of what the cameras on the car are seeing. It is a great way to essentially confirm the accuracy of the vision-based suite, and will not be used on Robotaxi units used within the ride-hailing suite.

The Robotaxi platform was made available to the public earlier this month, as Tesla launched its app for iOS users.

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Tesla Robotaxi app download rate demolishes Uber, Waymo all-time highs

Downloading the app allows you to join a waitlist, giving you the opportunity to utilize and test the Robotaxi platform in either Austin or the Bay Area.

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