Meta's private jet tracker crackdown, Google earnings, and Elon Musk's promises: Tech news roundup

A satellite manufactured by beleaguered aerospace firm Boeing (BA) has blown up after experiencing “an anomaly,” according to its operator.

That anomaly resulted in the “total loss” of the Intelsat 33e satellite, Intelsat said in a statement Monday. The satellite was launched in 2016 to provide internet services to customers across Europe, Africa, and parts of the Asia-Pacific region. Intelsat has said it is working to return service to those customers.

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Elon Musk on Wednesday said his company plans to soon roll out a ride-hailing service similar to Uber (UBER) in two states friendly to self-driving cars.

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Tesla (TSLA) on Wednesday reported mixed earnings for its last quarter, with revenue failing to meet expectations, strong profits, and a renewed promise for more affordable vehicles on the way.

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Tesla (TSLA) stock was ralling Thursday after the company delivered earnings that largely surprised Wall Street and Elon Musk delivered a new round of optimistic forecasts.

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A London-based autonomous vehicle startup backed by Uber and Softbank is finally going international.

Wayve on Wednesday said it would begin testing its self-driving cars on roads in San Francisco and in California’s Bay Area, marking its first on-road trials outside of the U.K. It’s also opening an office in Sunnyvale, right in the “true heart” of Silicon Valley.

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Meta-owned social media platforms Instagram (META) and Threads have suspended accounts that track the private jets of celebrities and billionaires.

Jack Sweeney, a Florida college student who runs several jet-tracking accounts, said in a post on Threads on Tuesday that his pages where he tracks flights by Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian, and others have been suspended on Instagram and Threads without warning.

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Google (GOOGL) parent Alphabet is set to report third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, after beating second-quarter earnings expectations on artificial intelligence momentum. - Britney Nguyen Read More

Unlike the Tesla Cybertruck, the Ford F-150 Lightning is about as traditional as electric pickup trucks get. Unless you knew what you were looking for, you’d probably just think the Lightning was a regular F-150. It looks like an F-150. It does truck stuff like an F-150. It just doesn’t sell nearly as well as the gas-powered F-150. So in an attempt to clear out excess inventory, CarsDirect reports Ford will now pay dealers up to $22,500 to help clean out its Retail Replenishment Centers.

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Apple (AAPL) is expected to introduce its much hyped artificial intelligence features next week, but analysts aren’t expecting the rollout to turbocharge lagging demand for its latest lineup of iPhones.

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