UK’s EV sales up thanks to discounting, Elon Musk wealth leaps $15 billion following Trump win
The UK new car market fell for the second time this year, down by -6.0% in October to 144,288 new registrations, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The fall was driven by double-digit drops in petrol and diesel vehicle deliveries, down -14.2% and -20.5% respectively. However, uptake of hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles also fell, down -1.6% and -3.2%. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were the only powertrain to record growth, up 24.5% to reach a 20.7% share of the market. Tech Digest
On one level at least, smartphone owners in Britain have never had it so good. Since 2018, our monthly phone bills have fallen by a third in real terms, according to Ofcom. Heavy users have done even better: the price of a 30-gigabyte data bundle has more than halved over five years… But bill payers see few reasons to celebrate. Low prices count for little when video calls are constantly frozen or music streaming cuts out for the umpteenth time. Surging demand for mobile data and a lack of investment has put Britain at the wrong end of another international league table. Telegraph
The iPhone could finally show you how long it’ll take to finish charging. Code spotted in the second iOS 18.2 beta by 9to5Mac shows a new “BatteryIntelligence” feature that will let you receive a notification with the iPhone’s estimated charging time. Some Android phones already show how long it takes to charge — a feature that has become increasingly helpful considering the many different types of chargers, cables, and charging protocols that are available. The iPhone’s “BatteryIntelligence” feature still appears to be a work in progress, though, which means might have to wait a little longer until its official release. The Verge
Elon Musk’s wealth is on track to rise by about $15bn (£11.7bn) from Donald Trump’s US election victory as investors scrambled to put in place so-called “Trump trades” linked to the US election winner’s policies. The electric car maker’s shares jumped as much as 14pc in premarket trading, which would add about $113bn to its valuation. Chief executive Mr Musk has been a prominent supporter of the Republican candidate in the presidential race and is expected to become a prominent adviser to the President Elect. Telegraph
Amazon launched several updated Kindles in mid-October and among them is its first full-color e-reader, which has hit a snag. Over the weekend, Amazon reportedly informed customers who purchased the Kindle Colorsoft that its delivery would be suspended. According to GoodEReader, the company is delaying all shipments of its color e-reader by “a week or more.” The publication states Amazon’s Kindle Colorsoft encountered a problem with its display that caused a “yellowish bar” to appear at the bottom of its display. Android Central
In a surprise appearance on Joe Rogan’s show the day before the election, Elon Musk momentarily veered away from politics to reveal that he’s one of the top 20 Diablo 4 players in the world, a list which contains only two Americans. I mean, really, Elon? You expect me to believe the richest guy on earth is one of the most insane Diablo 4 grinders on the planet? Come on. It’s easy to be skeptical of many Elon claims these days, but he’s being truthful about this. Forbes
It speaks a bit of Welsh, can recite the building regulations, refuses to say whether Rishi Sunak is better than Keir Starmer and won’t explain the UK corporation tax regime. The government is launching an artificial intelligence chatbot to help businesses chart the 700,000 page labyrinth that is the Gov.UK website and it looks like users can expect varied results. The experimental system will be tested by up to 15,000 business users before wider availability, possibly next year. The Guardian
