Tesla earnings day is upon us the quarterly check in with one of the worlds largest EV makers and its controversial CEO Elon Musk. Teslas fourth-quarter and full-year earnings are expected to be released Wednesday after market close. A webcast, in which Tesla management will answer questions from analysts and retail investors, is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. ET. Ever since Teslas public debut in June 2010, the quarterly report and accompanying earnings call has delivered surprises, often from Musks own mouth. This earnings the first with Musk embedded in the Trump Administration is poised to be its most action-packed yet. Revenue and net income results are on our what-to-look-for checklist along with any guidance for 2025. Earlier this month, Tesla said itdelivered1.77 million vehicles globally in 2024, down 2.2% from 1.81 million in 2023. This was the first year-to-year drop in deliveries, and will likely translate to lower revenue unless other sectors in Teslas business can close the sales gap. Teslas fourth-quarter delivery results did hint at some positive momentum heading into 2025. The company delivered 495,570 vehicles in the fourth quarter, 7% higher than Q3 and about 2.28% more than the same period in 2023. Still, eyes will be on the financials, and ears will be listening for Musk to share their sales and profit expectations for 2025. There are other nuggets well be watching for, including any Musk comments about President Trumps executive order to pause disbursement of funds from programs created by the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including money for EV charging stations. Of course, well be watching for any updates on the long-delayed Tesla Roadster, progress with the Tesla Semi, and how its Supercharger network is handling non-Tesla vehicles. Robotaxi dreamsBut top on the list is how Musk will talk about his long-promised, never-delivered idea of making Teslas cars autonomous. Its a promise that has kept the companys stock price sky-high, and one that animated Musk to cut more than 10% of Teslas global workforce last year, when he said Tesla was going balls to the wall for autonomy.It seems to be a priority ahead of the call Tesla posted a video on Musks social media platform X Wednesday morning that showed the company is now apparently having finished cars drive themselves about a mile to a delivery prep parking lot.Musk has claimed that Tesla will start letting people hail self-driving Teslas in Texas and California later this year, and Bloomberg News recently reported that the company has been talking with city officials in Austin and across Texas about launching such a service. California is a more restrictive place to try to launch a robotaxi service. Companies like Waymo, which operates the only commercial robotaxi fleet in the U.S. at the moment, started with test vehicles and then ramped up to autonomous drives with safety operators, before removing humans from the drivers seat. Texas, which loves Musk, seems more likely to let Tesla take riskier shortcuts on the path to achieving Musks dream. Looking backThose big ideas wont change the companys bottom line for 2024, though, which was looking iffy prior to the final quarter. The company reported $25.2 billion in sales during the third quarter of 2024 and a $2.2 billion profit nearly flat compared to the same quarter in 2023. How close will the fourth quarter compare to the prior years? On a year-over basis, Tesla generated $25.17 billion revenue in the fourth-quarter of 2023 and reported a net income (on a GAAP basis) of $7.9 billion in the fourth quarter. This was an unusually outsized figure that included a one-time non-cash tax benefit of $5.9 billion for the release of valuation allowance on certain deferred tax assets.The companys operating income and its earnings on an adjusted basis, which was $2.06 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, provided a clearer picture of its financial performance.The company also continued to turn other automakers hesitancy to transition to full-electric lineups into free money throughout 2024, though there is some question as to how reliable that income stream will remain. Tesla booked $739 million worth of sales of regulatory credits (which other companies buy to make up for their vehicle fleet emissions) in the third quarter last year, a huge amount second only to the previous quarter when the company sold credits totaling $890 million.As is the case with so much of the Musk-Trump relationship, though, Teslas ambitions seem to clash with the new administrations policies. Trump has said he wants to try to revoke Californias waiver that allows it to set its own emissions rules, which could nuke this source of free money Tesla has often relied on to stay profitable. This comes as Trump is already targeting a number of funding programs for EV charging that Tesla benefits from.

When Edoardo Dellepiane and Raffaele Sertorio founded Niko Energy in 2023, they saw ample opportunity in Mexicos underdeveloped solar market. Despite the fact that many parts of the country are bathed in sunlight, it has strikingly few solar installations.After more than a year of helping solar installers sell, plan, and finance panels for residential and small commercial building owners, they spotted another opportunity: building Mexicos first virtual power plant.Demand for power is surging in Mexico, and multinational corporations have been itching to build more factories in the country, provided they can get access to reliable power. But Mexicos grid is stretched thin, and blackouts were widespread last year during a drought that hobbled hydropower. A virtual power plant, or VPP, aggregates and controls things like home batteries, thermostats, and EV chargers. Controlling how much power those contribute to or draw from the grid could help ease the pain.We have seen the new government put a lot of attention to this problem, Dellepiane told TechCrunch. We want to be the company that manages the biggest portfolio of decentralized energy resources in Mexico.The plan is to continue to finance new solar installations, said Andrs Marquina, Nikos head of strategy. The number of projects Niko has serviced has grown 20% month over month, the company said. To build its VPP, its also starting to sell battery storage to current solar owners and is looking to acquire portfolios from companies interested in selling assets. The company is aiming to amass tens of megawatts of capacity at the outset, Marquina said.The renewed focus on Mexico and the VPP initiative represent a shift from the companys previous strategy, which envisioned copy-pasting its solar installation offering across Latin America. We saw that Mexico is a huge untapped opportunity, so [we are] focusing on one country and doing it well before we move on to other parts, Sertorio said.Previously, Niko sold mostly to homeowners and small businesses, which the founders said were underserved by other companies. The startup plans to continue pursuing those customers, but more recently it has also begun to court larger companies.Similar to what it offers smaller customers, Niko will finance and facilitate the installation of solar panels for a large business. The contract is essentially a fee-for-service, which in this case is electricity. It can be canceled at any time, Dellepiane said, at which point Niko uninstalls the solar panels. But given that Niko expects companies to save on their energy bills, the startup doesnt think that will happen often. It gives them peace of mind, Dellepiane said.To facilitate more installations, and to develop the VPP platform, Niko has raised an $8 million in equity, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. The round was led by QED Investors with participation from 468 Capital and Picus Capital. The company also raised $15 million in debt.

Breakdown & ShowreelsThe Radleys: VFX Breakdown by Gorilla VFXBy Vincent Frei - 29/01/2025 Skys The Radleys wouldnt be the same without the work of Gorilla VFX. Based in Cardiff, the studio delivers nice visual effects, including the mesmerizing trick of duplicating Damian Lewis. Their work immerses viewers in the captivating tale of a vampire family! Vincent Frei The Art of VFX 2025

The Hall of Nations | Courtesy of Raj Rewal AssociatesThe Hall of Nations, designed by Raj Rewal in collaboration with Mahendra Raj, embodied Indias post-independence modernist aspirations. As a key component of the Permanent Exhibition Complex in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, it was constructed to mark the 25th anniversary of Indian independence in 1972. Unlike conventional exhibition halls, the Hall of Nations pioneered innovative material and structural solutions, standing as one of the worlds largest cast-in-situ concrete space frames.Hall of Nations Technical InformationArchitects1-8: Raj RewalLocation: Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, IndiaArea: 14,200 m | 152,847 Sq. Ft.Project Year: 1970 1972Demolition Year: 2017Photographs: See Caption DetailsThe Hall of Nations was conceived as an example of intermediate technologyneither completely traditional nor industrialreflecting Indias aspirations to bridge modernity with local ingenuity. Raj RewalHall of Nations PhotographsCourtesy of Raj Rewal Associates Ariel Huber Ariel HuberCourtesy of Raj Rewal Associates Ramesh LalwaniCourtesy of Raj Rewal AssociatesCourtesy of Raj Rewal AssociatesCourtesy of Raj Rewal AssociatesCourtesy of Raj Rewal AssociatesCourtesy of Raj Rewal AssociatesStructural Innovation: A Space Frame in Cast-in-Situ ConcreteFrom its completion, the Hall of Nations symbolized Indias aspiration to integrate technological advancement with local ingenuity. However, despite its architectural significance, the structure was demolished in 2017, raising serious concerns about preserving modernist heritage in India. At its core, the Hall of Nations was an unconventional experiment in structural geometry. While the space frame system was typically executed in steel or precast concrete, Rewal and Mahendra Raj pioneered an alternative method using cast-in-situ reinforced concrete, adapting to the limitations of Indias industrial capabilities in the early 1970s.The decision to use cast-in-situ concrete rather than steel was not purely aesthetic; it was a strategic adaptation to Indias then-limited prefabrication infrastructure. The structure was envisioned as a self-supporting geometric system, where each member was poured and set in place, eliminating the need for extensive formwork and temporary support.The Hall of Nations was structured using a truncated pyramid-based modular system, with each unit composed of rhombic cross-sections. This allowed for a self-supporting network of interlocking elements, ensuring that the overall form remained lightweight and structurally efficient. The pyramid geometry was not arbitraryit maximized stability while allowing for a column-free interior, a critical requirement for an exhibition space.One of the most remarkable aspects of the Hall of Nations was the resolution of complex nodes where multiple structural members converged. Some nodes accommodated up to twelve intersecting members, demanding precise reinforcement detailing to prevent material congestion and structural failure. Furthermore:A scaffolding strategy was implemented to support the structure only up to level five, beyond which the frame became self-supporting.Manual calculations were used extensively, as computational modeling tools were not available then.The final rhombic cross-section of the members was derived through an exhaustive study of geometry and structural efficiency.These choices resulted in a highly efficient structure in both material use and construction logistics, reinforcing the Hall of Nations as an architectural and engineering marvel.Spatial and Climatic Considerations: A Reinterpretation of the Indian JaliCourtesy of Raj Rewal AssociatesCourtesy of Raj Rewal AssociatesBeyond its structural innovations, the Hall of Nations was deeply attuned to the climatic conditions of New Delhi. The perforated geometry functioned as a passive climate control system, similar to the traditional Indian jali screens, which have been used for centuries to regulate building heat and airflow.The triangular openings in the space frame were designed for aesthetic reasons and also to filter sunlight while ensuring natural ventilation. This passive cooling strategy significantly reduced the need for mechanical air conditioning, a crucial advantage in Delhis hot climate.With a clear span of 78 meters, the Hall of Nations provided a large, uninterrupted interior space capable of accommodating a wide variety of exhibitions, from books to industrial machinery. The absence of internal columns ensured that exhibitors had complete freedom in configuring display layouts, making it a truly flexible space.The building featured eight pivoted steel gates, each leading to staircases and ramps. These multiple access points encouraged fluid movement between levels, allowing visitors to experience the structure from different vantage points.The Legacy of an Unprecedented Structure: Lessons for Future ArchitectsThe Hall of Nations was not merely an exhibition space; it was an ideological statement on the possibilities of modernist architecture in India. However, its legacy remains bittersweet, as its demolition in 2017 underscored Indias ambivalence toward preserving modern architectural heritage.The Hall of Nations contradicted Western expectations of space-frame structures when it was built. Figures such as Buckminster Fuller questioned the feasibility of using cast-in-situ concrete instead of steel. However, Robert Le Ricolais recognized the ingenuity of Rewal and Rajs approach and invited them to present their work at the University of Philadelphia.Rewal and Mahendra Rajs approach championed intermediate technology, a hybrid system that bridged traditional craftsmanship and industrial methods. This methodology remains highly relevant today, particularly in regions where full-scale prefabrication is neither economically nor technologically viable.The demolition of the Hall of Nations in 2017 ignited a global conversation on the importance of preserving modernist heritage. Its loss serves as a cautionary tale about the vulnerability of post-independence architecture, highlighting the need for stronger legal frameworks to protect 20th-century landmarks.As architects today grapple with sustainability and material limitations, the Hall of Nations remains a valuable reference point. Its design principlespassive climate control, modularity, and structural efficiencyare more relevant than ever, urging contemporary designers to reconsider the architectural and environmental implications of their material choices.Hall of Nations PlansFloor Plan | Raj Rewal AssociatesElevations | Raj Rewal AssociatesSketch | Raj Rewal AssociatesModel | Courtesy of Raj Rewal AssociatesHall of Nations Image GalleryAbout Raj RewalRaj Rewal is a renowned Indian architect who integrates modernist principles with traditional Indian architectural elements. His work, characterized by geometric precision, modular systems, and climatic responsiveness, reflects a deep understanding of cultural context and material efficiency. Notable projects such as the Hall of Nations (1972) and the Asian Games Village (1982) showcase his expertise in large-span structures and urban-scale planning, making him a key figure in post-independence Indian architecture.Credits and Additional NotesStructural Engineer: Mahendra RajClient: India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO)Main Hall of Nations: 6,700 m | 72,118 ftFour Smaller Halls of Industries: 7,500 m | 80,729 ftStructural System: Cast-in-situ reinforced concrete space frameClear Span: 78 meters (255 feet)Overall Height: 30 meters (98 feet) truncated at the roofBasic Structural Module: Truncated pyramid with a 4.9m x 4.9m base and 3.5m height

nArchitects act as their own clients in the design of their family home within a forest clearing in upstate New YorkThis project was shortlisted in the 2024 AR House awards. Read about the full shortlist hereThe innate instinct that early humans had to gather around warmth was not only associated with the cold that evenings bring. The warmth also inflected a sense of privacy and enclosure that, without walls, oriented attention towards a focal point, placing the evening behind them.Nestled in a forest clearing, 60 metres from a nearby lake, the CLT House instead re-orients the inhabitants direction outwards, through large windows, towards the surrounding forest. The living areas, kitchen and bedrooms are placed towards the outer edge of the building, while the bathrooms and utilities are held within the buildings core.The floor is cut away in each of the buildings four corners to create double-height spaces. In the corner to the right of the main entrance, a bright green steel staircase leads to a view of the nearby lake, while the other three double-height corners punctuate the kitchen, living room and dining space.Rooms are not necessarily given a volume according to their function; for example, an empty landing at the top of the staircase takes up the size of a room. Empty space which is left unprogrammed has a dynamic potential. The kids invent games there, stretching a bedsheet between two chairs and playing indoor volleyball, describes co-founder of nArchitects, and owner of CLT House, Eric Bunge.CLT House under constructionCredit:nArchitectsThe CLT construction is expressed throughout the interior of the building, and is even used to create the bedroom desks. Windows are large but the openings are shallow, accommodating the thinness of the CLT structure. In contrast to the brighter living areas, the bathrooms within the core are designed with a darker palette, consisting of black terrazzo tiles with large white aggregate.The house borrows from the early vernacular construction methods of early settlements through its use of waney-edge cedar cladding. Unlike these early settlements, the building facade was constructed from prefabricated materials, taking only 11 days to build. The timber cladding was left without a finish to allow the material to mark the passing of time. Its incredible how differently each facade has reacted over time, Bunge explains. The timber facade is not only a response to the surrounding forest but also a reminder of the passage of time.A primary reference for the CLT House was an unbuilt project the architects developed in 2008 as part of Ai Weiweis Ordos 100 development in Inner Mongolia, north China, where 100 architects were invited to build a private home. Alongside their built work, nArchitects pursue questions of incompleteness and what dictates a finished project. Although the CLT House stands as a complete building, it also acts as an armature to accommodate different ways of living. It is intentionally designed as if it were a scaled basswood model, Bunge explains, so that you can complete the experience yourself.

When the old Broadway school in Chicopee Falls became neighbors with the Overman Wheel Company, an early bicycle manufacturing company, there was so much noise and distraction that the Chicopee School Committee voted to sell the school and build a new school building down the street. A triangular lot on Broadway was purchased and Springfield architect, Francis R. Richmond, was chosen to design the new building in 1894. The school was dedicated to Dr. Samuel Alvord, a Chicopee Falls resident who was first principal of the local high school and local doctor that died in 1892. The Alvord School is a great example of a Richardsonian Romanesque school building of brick and brownstone, with recessed entry within a Syrian arch and decorative terracotta tiles. The school would close in the second half of the 20th century, and today is known as the Helen A. OConnell Administration Building, a municipal office building.

AutoTraders team of tech staff is driving the company forward amid the lightning pace of digital transformation, with a technology enthusiast in the businesss driving seat.The company, which is today a digital marketplace for buying and selling cars, published its last magazine in 2013. It is now drilling into the latest technologies to make business better for its car industry customers and life easier for theirs.CEO Nathan Coe is an IT enthusiast who started his career working in mergers and acquisitions in the early 2000s when the internet was really starting to kick off.Ive kind of been born and bred on the internet and in technology businesses, he tells Computer Weekly. I was buying and selling companies, but building stuff is what I really like doing, so I pretty quickly became involved in tech and ran product and tech at AutoTrader for years.Although AutoTrader had its first website in 1995, when Coe began working there in the early 2000s, about 60% of its revenue was from its magazines. In 2007, backed by investors, the company decided to become a digital business. We ended up doing that probably more aggressively than imagined, says Coe. It published its last magazine in 2013 to become a 100% digital business.The digital transformation has happened gradually. Over time, the company introduced a mobile business, a data business, and now offers platforms for other organisations in its sector to run their businesses from.Coe says all these developments together form the digital business. Its not like those things are sequential steps, they all still exist together. We are still a web business, still a data business, still a mobile business, and we are still adding and augmenting, he says.Behind all these projects and plans sits a team of tech staff, which currently accounts for a third of the organisations total workforce of 1,200. The tech team comprises engineers, designers, product specialists and data scientists.For the past 10 years, weve been developing our data and data science capabilities so that were able to provide highly scalable, highly performant, AI-driven recommendations on the retailer sideNathan Coe, AutoTraderIts a demanding and dynamic work environment. AutoTraders website is visited by about 1.6 million people a day, who spend a combined 500 million minutes a month on it.These arent glory stats, says Coe. There are 30,000 retailers that use our platform, and on our website, weve got 440,000 or so cars, which unlike products on most e-commerce sites change every day and are all unique.This is a challenge for IT staff, who do more than 1,000 software releases every week, using agile techniques.We were early into agile, moving into it about 10 years ago. Now [we operate] continuous delivery and continuous integration, says Coe. Weve got a group of engineers that focus on the infrastructure. That means we can adapt our software, develop our software, and deliver really quickly and reliably. And importantly, we can respond and make many small changes, which reduces the risk of release and increases the velocity of innovation.It is rare in this day and age for a company so reliant on technology not to use IT outsourcing suppliers. But, according to Coe, this is the very reason the company doesnt use them.Were very, very principled when it comes to our technology and the way we do it. One of those principles is that because what we do is technology, we want full-time AutoTrader staff working on it. They are people with our culture and our values, people who stay and are not just here for a project, he says.We dont use any outsourcing providers at all. We have UK staff working in the office more than they are out of the office, in an in-person, highly collaborative environment.The organisations technology team is based mainly in Manchester, where about 750 of its 1,200 staff are based. It also has an office in London.IT recruitment at AutoTrader is heavily focused on finding staff in the early years of their careers, says Coe. We pay very well, but we dont want to just say, We pay the most so come and work with AutoTrader, because the proposition is much bigger and better than that, he says.AutoTrader also wants its retail customers and other partner firms to benefit from its IT teams output. It receives huge volumes of application programming interface (API) requests from organisations that use its platform to run their business. These include garages, lenders, retailers and insurers.Potentially, AutoTraders biggest IT project, according to Coe, is known as digital retailing, wherby it offers small organisations in the car dealing sector the opportunity to access the latest technologies through its platform.All the technology that we build to run AutoTrader, we now allow others to use to run their business off, says Coe.He says this one of the companys big goals at the moment. Now were saying, Actually, you should be able to do more than a transaction on AutoTrader, a brand that you trust.Coe says many industry customers are small and dont have big technology functions. This is not us taking interest in selling the cars, but allowing our retailers to get all the advantages of selling in an omnichannel way, adds Coe.While the company is finding answers for its customers, it is creating problems for artificial intelligence (AI) to solve.AutoTrader is currently engaged in multiple AI projects and, according to Coe, it is a good testing ground for the most discussed technology of today. He says having 440,000 cars on its site, which change frequently, is a perfect problem for AI to solve.Our products are all unique, so you need to use models to decompose the data and rebuild up to, for example, value products and tell our sellers how long they will take to sell, says Coe.But he says while AI is now being talked about by everyone, from big businesses to schools, there are different varieties, much of which is not business-ready. I think its important to rewind a little bit, because AI to people often means plugging ChatGPT into something to write an email, which we think is maybe interesting, but not a particularly intelligent use of AI. AutoTraders IT team is currently engaged in three separate projects that harness AI technology, but this is nothing new to the company.For the past 10 years, weve been developing our data and data science capabilities so that were able to provide highly scalable, highly performant, AI-driven recommendations on the retailer side, says Coe.Weve been using AI, mainly machine learning, for years, and we do that because all those vehicles are different and people want to know what the value is. Car dealers want to understand whats on the cars, what makes them stand out and how quickly they can sell them.

Many Linux distribution development teams overlook this issue, and by considering it, they might be better able to bring new users into the fold.

It could have done better. But it also could have done worse.

Destiny 2BungieDestiny 2 just laid out its grand plan for its final episodic content, Heresy, which launches next week. But in the wake of that presentation, Bungie debuted something not related to the season thematically, rather its next set of cosmetic armor, and another licensed collaboration. This one is different.This is easily Destinys biggest name collab yet, partnering with Star Wars for armor sets that well, are not just inspired by Star Wars, but in at least one instance, your Titan can now literally become a flat-out Stormtrooper. Warlocks are pretty close to the Red Guard. I think Hunters are based on Death Troopers.But yes, thats a full-on Stormtrooper in the middle, and it appears a TIE Bomber is about to be a ship you can fly around the solar system. Its the first time that Destiny 2 has gone what I would call full Fortnite, a straight-up 1:1 for skins to purchase, something Call of Duty has done a lot of the last few years. Destiny 2 has always more loosely adapted its collabs. Some past ones have been PlayStation heroes, Assassins Creed, Dungeons and Dragons and well, Fortnite itself.Destiny 2BungieIm a bit split here about this, as is the community. Some just see Star Wars and think oh thats awesome, day one purchase. Others see this as the game totally jumping the shark when it comes to its microtransactions.MORE FOR YOUIm somewhere in the middle. It does feel like something of a line to step over for an actual Stormtrooper set to be in the game now, as it makes you wonder just how on-the-nose future collaborations are going to be.Then again, Destiny 2 really allows for significant customization. Sure, I guess you could walk around as a white Stormtrooper like the movies, but you could mix and match pieces with hundreds of other options in the game, plus hundreds of shaders for further modification. Thats something that I feel will help make this perhaps not as obvious, which might be the word.It is on theme in the sense that these are characters from a sci-fi universe. And I suppose youre not just an actual named character like Hunter Darth Vader or Warlock Palpatine. Still, this really took me off guard, and it does open the door for an entirely different level of collaborations in the future. These will be available with the launch of the Heresy episode next week.Follow me , and .Pick up my sci-fi novels the and