Tesla fells 500,000 trees for Berlin gigafactory, Alzheimer’s drug given green light
Elon Musk’s Tesla felled half a million trees in order to build his giant Berlin electric car factory, satellite analysis shows. Imaging from environmental intelligence firm Kayrros suggested around 329 hectares of local woodland were felled between March 2020 and May 2023 to expand the plant. This is equivalent to around 500,000 trees. Work on the plant, which has capacity to produce 500,000 electric vehicles each year, began in 2020 and it officially opened in 2022. It is Tesla’s only so-called “gigafactory” in Europe. Telegraph
Detailed written manuals and video guides to financially motivated sexual extortion – commonly known as sextortion – are available freely online, with criminals offering specialist and tailored tuition for further payment, the Guardian has learned. The guides can be found on platforms including TikTok, YouTube and Telegram. In cases of sextortion, teenagers are tricked online into sending intimate pictures of themselves to fraudsters. Guardian
BMW has for the first time overtaken Tesla in the European electric car market. The German brand delivered 14,869 new EVs in Europe last month, 308 more than its American rival. Tesla experienced a slump in Europe in July, with registrations of its Model Y SUV falling by 16% to 9544 and those of its Model 3 saloon falling by 17% to 4694. BMW has for the first time overtaken Tesla in the European electric car market. The German brand delivered 14,869 new EVs in Europe last month, 308 more than its American rival. Autocar
Don’t waste your money on expensive foldables when this flip phone deal can get you a premium example as part of a regular contract. Foldable phones are cool and all, but the consensus is that they’re rather expensive. The Motorola Razr 50 Ultra is one premium flip phone that suggests otherwise. It gets you one of our favourite flip phones on the market, along with a 24 month iD contract with 500GB of monthly data, for just £29.99 a month. There’s also a £99 up front fee to pay. Trusted Reviews
A drug that can slow the debilitating symptoms of Alzheimer’s has been approved by the UK’s medicines regulator. In an unusual double-header assessment by UK authorities, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has said the drug lecanemab is safe and effective enough for doctors to prescribe, but a separate NHS watchdog has ruled that it’s not cost-effective and won’t be available. Sky News
Ring has launched a new entry-level battery-operated video doorbell with features like full-height video that you’d previously only find in much more expensive models. In terms of specs, the new Ring Battery Doorbell is similar to the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus, which launched last year. That includes head-to-toe HD video with a 150-degree by 150-degree field of view so you can get a proper view of the person at your door. Tech Radar
A man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison after hacking into a state database to fake his death, and get out of paying child support. Jesse Kipf from Kentucky, in the US, was sentenced to 81 months for computer fraud and aggravated identity theft. The 39-year-old admitted to accessing the Hawaii Death Registry System in January last year and creating a “case” for his own death. Kipf then completed a State of Hawaii Death Certificate Worksheet, assigned himself as the medical certifier for the case and certified his death, using the digital signature of the doctor. BBC
