An Apple battery breakthrough, Tesla's America, and Fisker fails: Tech news roundup

After several months on life support, electric vehicle startup Fisker has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The California-based EV maker has been on death watch since March, when it warned investors that it might run out of cash by the end of the year and began laying off hundreds of employees. Later that month, Fisker failed to file its annual report with regulators on time and stopped making new cars, namely the Ocean electric SUV.

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An Apple battery supplier announced a major breakthrough that could mean a longer battery life for AirPods and Apple Watches.

TDK, the largest maker of smartphone batteries in the world, said Monday that it has successfully developed a material that could be used in a new battery with “significantly higher energy density” than its existing cells. Energy density refers to how much energy a battery can store relative to its size or weight. The material will be used in TDK’s CeraCharge solid-state battery, which it says has an energy density of 1,000 watt-hours per liter — approximately 100 times more than its conventional solid-state battery.

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Despite losing some ground to rival foreign automakers, Tesla held onto the lead in the latest edition of Cars.com’s American-Made Index.

Researchers at Cars.com said they evaluated hundreds of 2024 model-year vehicles to compile the rankings, considering several factors including the percentage of parts that were made in the U.S. and Canada, final assembly locations, and the country of origin for engines and transmissions.

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Apple has reportedly shelved the next model of its upscale Vision headset to focus on creating a cheaper version of the augmented reality device.

The Information reported Tuesday that Apple told at least one supplier that it paused working on the new, high-end model of the Vision Pro, which currently retails for an eye-popping $3,500.

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It turns out the Tesla Cybertruck’s quoted bed size is a bit of a lie if you actually want to carry anything substantial. Sure, it is technically six feet, one inch long, but an item that big will only fit the bed if it’s less than 6” tall. That’s not ideal if you want to use your Cybertruck for real truck things. 

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The Boeing Starliner’s return to earth from the International Space Station has been pushed back another four days to June 26, Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, said during a news conference on Tuesday, according to Reuters and the Orlando Sentinel. 

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A former employee of Elon Musk’s controversial brain implant company Neuralink alleged in a new lawsuit that she was scratched by a monkey infected with herpes on the job and was later fired for being pregnant.

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After months of turmoil, struggling electric vehicle maker Fisker filed for bankruptcy, bringing to an end a torrid period that began almost as soon as it started shipping its Ocean electric SUV. Now, the company’s assets will be stripped and sold off in order to recoup some of the costs it lost through the launch of its cursed electric car.

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TDK, the largest maker of smartphone batteries, said its CeraCharge solid-state battery has 100 times the energy density of the conventional solid-state battery

Tesla has sued its former supplier, Matthews International, accusing the company of selling its trade secrets and trying to patent confidential information related to electric-vehicle batteries. In response, Matthews told Quartz that Tesla’s complaints are “utterly without merit.”

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