Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
The Catalans will try to vote in a referendum. Catalonia’s government aims to press ahead with an independence referendum on Sunday, despite its constitutional illegality. The Spanish government has tried to shut down (paywall) the vote through various means, such as raiding ballot-printing offices and detaining regional government officials.
A big EU meeting takes place in Estonia. Leaders of European Union member states convene in Tallinn to discuss Brexit, Emmanuel Macron’s plan for bolstering European power, along with new taxes on internet giants.
What are Americans earning and spending? Economists expect a 0.2% rise in personal income in the US Commerce Department’s August Personal Income report, out today.
While you were sleeping
Elon Musk talked Mars. The SpaceX CEO said the upcoming BFR rocket will be just one booster and ship, and replace the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Dragon. The BFR will be able to service the ISS and reach Mars, he said. Musk also teased plans to fly people anywhere on earth—by rocket—in an hour.
Volkswagen warned of a multibillion-dollar hit. The diesel-emissions scandal continues to pummel the German automaker (paywall), which said higher-than-expected costs for re-buying and fixing diesels in North America made a €2.5 billion ($2.9 billion) dent in its third quarter results. The diesel debacle has already cost VW around $24 billion.
South Korea banned initial coin offerings… The country’s financial regulator became the latest government after China to ban fundraising through ICOs, amid fears of a surge of speculative capital flowing into cryptocurrencies, raising the risk of financial scams.
….And Japan okayed a bunch of crypto-currency operators. The country’s financial watchdog gave 11 companies approval to operate crypto-currency exchanges. Japan recognized bitcoin as legal tender in April, but exchange operators needed government approval.
Jon Huntsman was confirmed as US ambassador to Russia. The senate confirmed the former Utah governor and ambassador to China as the country’s envoy in Moscow. Huntsman had previously said that there was “no question” that Russia meddled in last year’s US presidential election.
Quartz obsession interlude
Mike Murphy on a startup building eyes for robot cars. “No fully autonomous systems have yet proven themselves consistently in the vast majority of normal driving situations, and some semi-autonomous systems have been partly connected to deaths when they couldn’t fully understand what was ahead of them on the road. The self-driving cars of tomorrow will need to be able to perceive the world with about as much information and as easily as we do or they’re not likely to revolutionize how we get around.” Read more here.
Matters of debate
The future of transportation may be sharing batteries, not vehicles. A Taiwanese startup uses swappable battery packs for its scooters.
Hugh Hefner embodied the contradiction at the heart of the American dream. The late Playboy founder championed both equality and the objectification of women.
🤑, 🤔, or 😰: What the world’s financial bigwigs think about bitcoin. Is the cryptocurrency a “fraud” (Jamie Dimon) or “here to stay” (Arthur Levitt)?
Surprising discoveries
A Saudi workplace messaging app has gone viral in the US. Teens use Sarahah to send each other anonymous notes (paywall).
Aston Martin designed a futuristic submarine. The sports-car-inspired design is fit for James Bond.
You can now see colors that once didn’t exist. Industrialization changed the world’s palette, adding an array of synthetic hues.
China is obsessed with drinking hot water. An ancient tactic to stay warm morphed into a belief that it has health benefits.
Elon Musk’s mother can’t jump the line to get a Tesla. She’s at “around 300,000” on the Model 3 waiting list.
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