Stamford, Connecticut police recently announced that two suspects in a string of armed sidewalk robberies in the city had been charged. Interestingly enough, authorities stated that the case was cracked partly due to footage and images that were recorded by a Tesla that happened to be parked at a location where one of the robberies took place.
Francisco Olivencia, a 29-year-old man, was charged with four first-degree robbery charges. He is also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, conspiracy to commit robbery and attempted first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and illegal discharge of a firearm. His accomplice, 27-year-old Hadiya Bowles, on the other hand, was charged with three counts of first-degree robbery for her participation in the hold-ups.
On August 31 at about 10 p.m., police were called to East Walnut Street in Stamford’s South End, where an individual stated that he was robbed at gunpoint by a skinny man in a silver SUV. Minutes later, another robbery was reported by two individuals around the corner to Woodland Place. The victims’ descriptions of the suspect, from his appearance to the clothes he was wearing, were identical.
Fortunately for the authorities, a Tesla was parked on Woodland Place and it had its cameras activated. Recordings from the electric car’s cameras revealed the make of the suspect’s vehicle — a 2011 Ford Explorer — as well as its license plate number. After running the plate, police found that the vehicle was registered to Bowles.
The vehicle was spotted at a Motel 6 in the early morning of September 1. When authorities arrived at the location, they found that the motel room had been registered under the 27-year-old’s name. A video of Bowles and Olivencia checking in to the motel was also retrieved. Lt. Tom Scanlon, the head of the Stamford Bureau of Criminal Investigations issued a statement to the Stamford Advocate.
“We were able to take the first suspect (Olivencia) off quickly, while continuing to pursue the investigation in regard to the other involved persons. This isn’t the end of this investigation. There is still more work to be done and investigators are still pursuing the case in regards to other people who were involved,” he said.
The pair was picked up by police on September 4 as they were leaving a party.
Olivencia admitted to committing four robberies from late August to early September when he was questioned by the police. While he confirmed that Bowles was an accomplice as she was the driver of the Ford Explorer, affidavits of the case suggested that he was careful not to implicate the 27-year-old too much for her role in the crimes.
“He continually expressed his desire during his interview not to implicate Bowles too much for her role in these incidents, feeling like he placed undue pressure on her to assist Olivencia in these crimes,” the affidavits stated.
Olivencia is currently being held at the Bridgeport Correctional Center, as he is unable to post a $1 million court appearance bond. Bowles, for her part, was brought to the Stamford courthouse Tuesday morning for arraignment. Unfortunately for her, a judge declined to drop a $750,000 court-set bond, resulting in Bowles being transported to the York Correctional Institution in Niantic.
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Ford is charging for a basic EV feature on the Mustang Mach-E
When ordering a new Ford Mustang Mach-E, you’ll now be hit with an additional fee for one basic EV feature: the frunk.
Ford is charging an additional fee for a basic EV feature on its Mustang Mach-E, its most popular electric vehicle offering.
Ford has shuttered its initial Model e program, but is venturing into a more controlled and refined effort, and it is abandoning the F-150 Lightning in favor of a new pickup that is currently under design, but appears to have some favorable features.
However, ordering a new Mustang Mach-E now comes with an additional fee for one basic EV feature: the frunk.
The frunk is the front trunk, and due to the lack of a large engine in the front of an electric vehicle, OEMs are able to offer additional storage space under the hood. There’s one problem, though, and that is that companies appear to be recognizing that they can remove it for free while offering the function for a fee.
Ford is now charging $495 on the Mustang Mach-E frunk (front trunk). What are your thoughts on that? pic.twitter.com/EOzZe3z9ZQ
— Alan of TesCalendar 📆⚡️ (@TesCalendar1) February 24, 2026
Ford is charging $495 for the frunk.
Interestingly, the frunk size varies by vehicle, but the Mustang Mach-E features a 4.7 to 4.8 cubic-foot-sized frunk, which measures approximately 9 inches deep, 26 inches wide, and 14 inches high.
When the vehicle was first released, Ford marketed the frunk as the ultimate tailgating feature, showing it off as a perfect place to store and serve cold shrimp cocktail.
Ford Mach-E frunk is perfect for chowders and chicken wings, and we’re not even joking
It appears the decision to charge for what is a simple advantage of an EV is not going over well, as even Ford loyal customers say the frunk is a “basic expectation” of an EV. Without it, it seems as if fans feel the company is nickel-and-diming its customers.
It will be pretty interesting to see the Mach-E without a frunk, and while it should not be enough to turn people away from potentially buying the vehicle, it seems the decision to add an additional charge to include one will definitely annoy some customers.
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Tesla to improve one of its best features, coding shows
According to the update, Tesla will work on improving the headlights when coming into contact with highly reflective objects, including road signs, traffic signs, and street lights. Additionally, pixel-level dimming will happen in two stages, whereas it currently performs with just one, meaning on or off.
Tesla is looking to upgrade its Matrix Headlights, a unique and high-tech feature that is available on several of its vehicles. The headlights aim to maximize visibility for Tesla drivers while being considerate of oncoming traffic.
The Matrix Headlights Tesla offers utilize dimming of individual light pixels to ensure that visibility stays high for those behind the wheel, while also being considerate of other cars by decreasing the brightness in areas where other cars are traveling.
Here’s what they look like in action:
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- Credit: u/ObjectiveScratch | Reddit
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- Credit: u/ObjectiveScratch | Reddit
As you can see, the Matrix headlight system intentionally dims the area where oncoming cars would be impacted by high beams. This keeps visibility at a maximum for everyone on the road, including those who could be hit with bright lights in their eyes.
There are still a handful of complaints from owners, however, but Tesla appears to be looking to resolve these with the coming updates in a Software Version that is currently labeled 2026.2.xxx. The coding was spotted by X user BERKANT:
🚨 Tesla is quietly upgrading Matrix headlights.
Software https://t.co/pXEklQiXSq reveals a hidden feature:
matrix_two_stage_reflection_dip
This is a major step beyond current adaptive high beams.
What it means:
• The car detects highly reflective objects
Road signs,… pic.twitter.com/m5UpQJFA2n— BERKANT (@Tesla_NL_TR) February 24, 2026
According to the update, Tesla will work on improving the headlights when coming into contact with highly reflective objects, including road signs, traffic signs, and street lights. Additionally, pixel-level dimming will happen in two stages, whereas it currently performs with just one, meaning on or off.
Finally, the new system will prevent the high beams from glaring back at the driver. The system is made to dim when it recognizes oncoming cars, but not necessarily objects that could produce glaring issues back at the driver.
Tesla’s revolutionary Matrix headlights are coming to the U.S.
This upgrade is software-focused, so there will not need to be any physical changes or upgrades made to Tesla vehicles that utilize the Matrix headlights currently.
Elon Musk
xAI’s Grok approved for Pentagon classified systems: report
Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations.
Elon Musk’s xAI has signed an agreement with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to allow Grok to be used in classified military systems.
Previously, Anthropic’s Claude had been the only AI system approved for the most sensitive military work, but a dispute over usage safeguards has reportedly prompted the Pentagon to broaden its options, as noted in a report from Axios.
Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations.
The publication reported that xAI agreed to the Pentagon’s requirement that its technology be usable for “all lawful purposes,” a standard Anthropic has reportedly resisted due to alleged ethical restrictions tied to mass surveillance and autonomous weapons use.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to meet with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in what sources expect to be a tense meeting, with the publication hinting that the Pentagon could designate Anthropic a “supply chain risk” if the company does not lift its safeguards.
Axios stated that replacing Claude fully might be technically challenging even if xAI or other alternative AI systems take its place. That being said, other AI systems are already in use by the DoD.
Grok already operates in the Pentagon’s unclassified systems alongside Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google is reportedly close to an agreement that will result in Gemini being used for classified use, while OpenAI’s progress toward classified deployment is described as slower but still feasible.
The publication noted that the Pentagon continues talks with several AI companies as it prepares for potential changes in classified AI sourcing.
Ford is charging for a basic EV feature on the Mustang Mach-E
Tesla to improve one of its best features, coding shows
