Tesla recalls over 300,000 vehicles, could this be the end of Twitter? And new Google Maps features allow users to find EV chargers and more information about the location they’re in.
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That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now, welcome to Hashtag Trending. It’s Monday November 21, and I’m your host, Samira Balsara.
Tesla is recalling over 300,000 vehicles in the U.S. due to potential problems with their rear lights. The recall affects some 2023 Model 3 and 2020 to 2023 Model Y vehicles. The company said there have been no reports of any crashes or injuries related to the recall. It is understood that the firm will provide a wireless update to correct the issue, which causes rear lights to intermittently fail to come on. Last week, Tesla also recalled about 30,000 Model X cars over an issue that may cause the front passenger airbag to inflate incorrectly. This isn’t new for the car company. In fact, Tesla has reported 19 U.S. recall campaigns in 2022 covering more than 3.7 million vehicles, according to a report from Sky News.
Is this the end of Twitter? AP News reports that “Twitter may soon fray so badly it could actually crash.” This comes as hundreds of employees signaled they were leaving ahead of a deadline Elon Musk set on Thursday for all employees to respond “yes” on a Google form if they want to stay for what he is calling “Twitter 2.0;” otherwise, Thursday would be their final day of work and they would receive a severance package. Employees began posting farewell messages and salute emojis on the company’s internal Slack messaging board. The newest departures mean the platform is losing important workers just as it gears up for one of its busiest events, the 2022 FIFA World Cup. With over two-thirds of Twitter’s pre-Musk core services engineers apparently gone, Twitter users could see some issues with the app. On Thursday people already reported seeing more spam and scams on their feeds and in their direct messages.
An updated version of Google Maps for iPhone and Android is launching with a new feature that allows users to search for electric vehicle stations with fast chargers. EV drivers will soon be able to filter charging stations to find the most time-efficient option. Google Maps will be able to show drivers the best charging stations near them that are compatible with the plug their car uses. According to CNBC, this update builds on an earlier one that allows users to search for stations by plug compatibility. Another upcoming feature called “Search with Live View” will let users use their phone camera to find out what’s around them with Augmented Reality technology. When users hold up their phone and tap the camera icon in Maps, they can see nearby landmarks, parks, hotels, restaurants, bars, banks and ATMs.
Over one billion teens and young people are potentially at risk of hearing loss due to headphones and earbuds use, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal Global Health. Researchers said that governments around the world need to urgently prioritize “safe listening” policies to safeguard aural health. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated more than 430 million people worldwide currently have disabling hearing loss. According to the research, young people are more vulnerable because of their use of devices such as smartphones, headphones and earbuds, and attendance at loud music venues, amid poor regulatory enforcement. Older research revealed that users often choose volumes as high as 105 decibels when using headphones while average sound levels at entertainment venues range from 104 to 112 decibels.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash briefings or your Google Home daily briefing. Make sure to sign up for our Daily IT Wire newsletter to get all the news that matters directly in your inbox every day. Also, catch the next episode of Hashtag Tendances, our weekly Hashtag Trending episode in French, which drops every Thursday morning. If you have a suggestion or a tip, drop us a line in the comments or via email. Thank you for listening, I’m Samira Balsara.