All posts tagged: scale

Facebook Cofounder Says Tesla Has Committed “Consumer Fraud on a Massive Scale,” Will End in Jail

Facebook Cofounder Says Tesla Has Committed “Consumer Fraud on a Massive Scale,” Will End in Jail

Published by skeptic

“This is Enron now, folks.” Heads Will Roll Amidst a chaotic month for Tesla — even by its continuously plunging standards — Facebook cofounder and multi-billionaire Dustin Moskovitz has made some pretty dire predictions for the automaker, accusing it of committing “consumer fraud on a massive scale.” “This is Enron now, folks,” Moskovitz wrote on Threads, referring to the corporation that went bankrupt in 2001 after it was exposed for one of the biggest accounting frauds in history. “It may keep going, but people are going to jail at the end.” His concerns stem from a graph Tesla shared to mark a key milestone: one billion miles driven using Full Self-Driving, the company’s highly fraught advanced driver assist system. He then compares it with a new graph released during Tesla’s latest earnings call — an event that came with its own eyebrow raising moments. The point of the side-by-side is this: according to Moskovitz, the automaker is wrongly recognizing its deferred revenue — revenue for a product that hasn’t been delivered, like an annual subscription …

‘Mortal’ Europe needs to scale up defence, says Macron in keynote speech

‘Mortal’ Europe needs to scale up defence, says Macron in keynote speech

Published by Sam

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday urged Europe to wake up to the fact that it was not sufficiently armed in the face of global threats such as Russian aggression that pose an existential challenge to the continent. In a major foreign policy speech, Macron called on Europe to adopt a “credible” defence strategy that is less dependent on the US. Issued on: 25/04/2024 – 03:56Modified: 25/04/2024 – 13:58 3 min Macron returned to some of the themes of a speech he gave in September 2017 months after taking office at the same location – the Sorbonne University in Paris – but in a context that seven years on has been turned upside down by Brexit, Covid-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Europe must rise to the challenges of a changed world and scale up its defence, said Macron, warning that the EU was not sufficiently armed to take on global threats such as Russia’s war in Ukraine. “Our Europe today is mortal and it can die,” said Macron. “It can die and this depends only on our …

Tunisian Jews scale back annual pilgrimage to ancient synagogue because of security concerns

Tunisian Jews scale back annual pilgrimage to ancient synagogue because of security concerns

Published by Sam

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Jewish Tunisians who organize an annual pilgrimage to one of the world’s oldest synagogues are planning a scaled-down event next month, citing concerns about security less than a year after a deadly shooting there shook their community. Thousands regularly make the journey to Djerba — the North African island where many of Tunisia’s remaining 1,500 Jews reside — to celebrate the Jewish holiday Lag B’Omer. But this year, the community has decided to limit them to the 26-century-old El-Ghriba synagogue instead of the island-wide events traditionally held. “Those who come to visit are welcome and they can hold religious rituals, light a candle, inside the synagogue,” Perez Trabelsi, the head of the island’s Jewish community, told The Associated Press. The decision comes more than six months into the Israel-Hamas war, which has reverberated throughout the Middle East and North Africa, inciting mass street protests from Morocco to Iraq. In Tunisia, most of the protests have been peaceful but in October, demonstrators desecrated a synagogue in Al-Hammah on the mainland. The limits …

Research programme SCULI set to provide cybersecurity at scale

Research programme SCULI set to provide cybersecurity at scale

Published by skeptic

The SCULI programme has received £6.3m in funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to provide cybersecurity at a societal scale. The Securing Convergent Ultra-large Scale Infrastructures (SCULI) programme will be led by teams from Lancaster University, the University of Bristol, and the University of Oxford. The teams will work with partners across industry and policy to implement large-scale cybersecurity measures across the UK. Why is cybersecurity at scale important for UK infrastructures? According to the House of Commons inquiry into Cyber Resilience of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure, the UK is the third most targeted country in the world for cyberattacks after the US and Ukraine. The pace of change in digital technologies is increasing, from smart buildings to connected cities and our critical infrastructure. Subsequently, this increases our dependence on them, too. As dependence increases, so does the risk of cyber-attacks and large-scale disruptions to infrastructures. About the SCULI programme The SCULI programme will draw on a unique mix of expertise to transform the way we deliver cybersecurity in a world …

Incredible pictures show scale of 120k strong Tenerife march | World | News

Incredible pictures show scale of 120k strong Tenerife march | World | News

Published by skeptic

Tens of thousands of people joined a march in Tenerife’s stunning capital city on April 20 to voice their frustration at the impact the current tourism model is having on the Canary Islands. The demonstration saw nearly 120,000 locals in attendance, according to one of the organisers, with many carrying placards, holding banners and chanting messages. The main message the organisers and attendees wanted to get through tourists, local governments and tourism giants alike is that the “Canary Islands have a limit” and that catering for tourists can’t translate into misery for those living on the archipelago. In the run-up to this successful and peaceful march, the groups behind the march have highlighted the many issues experienced on the archipelago they are at least partially blaming on overtourism. According to the protest’s organisers, millions of yearly arrivals, paired with the ever-expanding tourism industry and real estate speculation are worsening the acute levels of poverty and housing crisis in Tenerife, pushing locals outside of their homes and placing a major strain on infrastructure, services and the …

Two Chairs raises M Series C in equity and debt to scale its therapist network

Two Chairs raises $72M Series C in equity and debt to scale its therapist network

Published by skeptic

When Alex Katz founded Two Chairs in 2017, he firmly believed that in-person therapy is the most effective for behavioral health. Two Chairs used technology — a proprietary matching algorithm — to find the best possible therapists for its clients, but treatments took place primarily inside one of the startup’s half a dozen stylishly designed clinics located in prime locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. But when COVID-19 erupted and the whole world moved online, the company was forced to reconsider its face-to-face approach. While Two Chairs now operates at least one brick-and-mortar site in each of the three states — California, Washington and Florida — it serves, the majority of the company’s more than 500 therapists treat clients virtually. The adaption of the remote-first treatment model has likely helped the company to grow faster (and certainly less expensively) than it would have had it continued to emphasize seeing patients in person. Two Chairs says its revenue expanded eight-fold over the last three years.   On Tuesday, the company announced a $72 million Series C …

Fractal pattern identified at molecular scale in nature for first time

Fractal pattern identified at molecular scale in nature for first time

Published by skeptic

Illustration of the citrate synthase enzyme assembling into triangular fractal structures Courtesy of Franziska L. Sendker A bacterium has evolved an enzyme that assembles in a fractal structure, a mathematical pattern that repeats itself at smaller scales. Fractal patterns are found throughout nature on large, macroscopic scales, like in romanesco broccoli or fern plants, but until now they have never been identified at the molecular scale. Georg Hochberg at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, Germany, and his colleagues discovered the molecular fractal in an enzyme used by the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus. The enzyme, citrate synthase, is used by a wide variety of organisms as part of the Krebs cycle, a series of chemical reactions that generate energy. But in S. elongatus, the enzyme can take the unusual form of a triangle containing ever-smaller triangular gaps – known as a Sierpiński triangle. Electron microscope image of a triangular fractal structure made up of enzyme monomers Courtesy of Franziska L. Sendker The citrate synthase consists of a single building block, or monomer, that …

‘There’s still work to be done about billionaires, and it can only be tackled on a global scale’

‘There’s still work to be done about billionaires, and it can only be tackled on a global scale’

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Alexandra Roulet, assistant professor of economics at INSEAD and a former economic advisor to Emmanuel Macron, looks at the state of public finances and whether taxes should be raised. Part of the majority intends to challenge the taboo on tax increases given the state of our public finances. Does the situation demand this? Our public finances are a major issue, but we shouldn’t give in to anxiety. Our debt remains attractive on the markets, even with rising interest rates. We need to think about plausible medium-term solutions without being drastic, in terms of both expenditures and revenues. France can think about taxes, but raising them seems like a bad idea to me, as it would undo the political and economic win achieved by the government in holding this line despite constant pressure since 2017. The question of revenue can be asked differently. What are you thinking of? We could, for example, postpone future tax cuts, such as the one promised for the middle class, which is not essential. For me, the more fundamental issue is …

HSBC setting up billion growth fund to scale up digital platform businesses in Southeast Asia

HSBC setting up $1 billion growth fund to scale up digital platform businesses in Southeast Asia

Published by Sam

SINGAPORE :HSBC on Wednesday said it is setting up a $1 billion growth fund called ASEAN Growth Fund that provides lending to companies that are scaling up via digital platforms across Southeast Asia. The London-headquartered bank is tapping into Southeast Asia’s digital economy, which it said is among the world’s fastest growing, expecting it to hit $600 billion in value by the end of the decade from $218 billion last year. “With a working population that is digitally native, increasing in size, and poised to consume more goods and services especially on e-commerce, ASEAN has so much potential for growth,” said Amanda Murphy, HSBC’s South and Southeast Asia head of commercial banking, at the launch of the fund. Besides the $1 billion lending fund, HSBC also launched a $150 million venture debt fund dedicated to the Singapore market, to provide financing to companies in the city-state that are backed by venture capital or private equity firms. Source link

Renault aims to be first European carmaker to recycle batteries on mass scale

Renault aims to be first European carmaker to recycle batteries on mass scale

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French automaker Renault is exploring a lucrative business prospect by partnering with companies to extract  and recycle lithium and other metals in EV batteries, creating a circular economy that can bring in billions of dollars and reduce reliance on China. According to Automotive News Europe, Renault aims to be the first European automaker to recycle batteries on an industrial scale. “In Europe, there is currently… nobody who can claim to recycle used batteries in a closed-loop to reproduce nickel, cobalt and lithium to make new batteries,” said Jean-Philippe Bahuaud, CEO Renault’s environment unit, called The Future Is Neutral (TFIN), which was launched in 2022. For now, Renault is in discussion with “specialist companies” that are already at an “advanced” stage of recycling that can help Renault up its game. Back in October, Stellantis announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with hydrometallurgical metal recovery expert Orano, to establish a joint venture focused on recycling EV batteries and production waste materials from its plants around the world. It’s all part of a European strategy to become …