Technology News

Tesla posted its production and sales numbers for the first quarter of 2025 this morning, and they continue the bad news streak for the electric automaker. Tesla produced 362,615 vehicles in total between January and the end of March, a 16.3 percent decrease from the same period in 2024.

The drop in sales was a little less bad; unlike this time last year, Tesla was able to more closely match production with demand. As a result, the company delivered 336,681 EVs in Q1, a drop of 12.9 percent compared to Q1 2024.

The Models 3 and Y make up the vast majority of Tesla's business—it built 345,454 of them in Q1 2025, a 16.2 percent reduction compared to the same period last year. Despite a recent refresh for the Model Y, which comprised the majority of these two EVs, sales declined by 12.4 percent year over year, with just 323,800 being sold, compared to 369,783 deliveries for Q1 2024.

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I've been complaining about tech a lot recently, and I don't apologize for it. Complaining feels great. That feeling of beleaguered, I-against-the-world self-righteousness? Highly underrated.

But a little righteous complaint goes a long, long, loooong way. (Just ask my wife.) Too much can be corrosive, it can make you insufferable to others, and it can leave you jaded, as many people, myself included, have become about technology.

I had three recent experiences, however, that were each quite small in their way but which reminded me that not everything in the tech world has fallen victim to the forces of "enshittification." Once in a while, technology still feels easy and—dare I co-opt the world from Apple's marketing department?—even magical.

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In a highly anticipated Nintendo Direct presentation this morning, the company revealed new information about the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware and software ahead of a newly announced June 5, 2025, release date. The system will be available on its own or in a bundle with Mario Kart World, for $449 and $499, respectively.

<em>Mario Kart World</em> taking off. Credit: Nintendo

The presentation led off with an extended look at a new exclusive launch title, Mario Kart World, which features 24 racers at once on "various regions across the globe" where "you can drive off the race track and go virtually anywhere" in a new "free roam" mode. Characters were shown doing jumps off of walls and wearing multiple different costumes. A new level themed after the original Donkey Kong featured prominently, as did one reminiscent of the Hyrule Castle level of Super Smash Bros. You can also go on "scenic drives with friends" and take photos with them in a new photo mode.

Switch 2 Editions of classic games, purchased as "Upgrade Packs" for original owners. Credit: Nintendo

Certain original Switch games will be re-released in new "Switch 2" editions that add new features and improved visuals. In the Switch 2 edition of Mario Party Jamboree, for instance, players will be able to take part in mouse- and camera-controlled games. And Switch 2 Editions of the two Switch Zelda games will allow access to a new smartphone-powered note-taking feature.

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Audi provided flights from Washington to Las Vegas and accommodation so Ars could drive the RS e-tron GT. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.

LAS VEGAS—Audi's sleek four-door electric sedan, the e-tron GT, has just received its midlife refresh. Usually, a midlife refresh is mostly cosmetic, intended to prevent the model from feeling too stale in the marketplace. But this time Audi has kept the visual changes to a minimum. There are new wheels and a new interior, as well as redesigned front and rear fascias, although the changes are quite subtle. Instead, there's been a comprehensive reengineering effort under the skin.

Perhaps not quite as comprehensive as the Polestar 2 refresh—which swapped front-wheel drive for rear—but there are now new motors and a new battery pack, which bring with them increased range, a reduced 0–60 mph time, and even faster fast-charging. Audi says it has also worked on the driving dynamics, including adding the same active suspension system we recently experienced in the Porsche Panamera.

As before, the e-tron GT comes in two specifications, but now the base model is the $125,500 S e-tron GT. This now offers 670 hp (500 kW), a 148 hp (110 kW) improvement on last year's model. That drops the 0–60 mph time from 4 seconds down to 3.3, but the 51-mile ( 82 km) increase to its range—now 300 miles (482 km) on a single charge—is probably going to be the most enticing improvement for potential buyers. That's courtesy of a new 105 kWh (gross, 97 kWh usable) battery.

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Googler Thomas Wagner shares how he used Gemini to learn more about his son’s rare disease, and jumpstart research.Googler Thomas Wagner shares how he used Gemini to learn more about his son’s rare disease, and jumpstart research.

“Coffee” made with functional mushrooms like lion's mane and chaga is all the rage—we tried the most popular brands to find which were the most palatable.

The elective medical industry is cashing in on plastic pollution fears, but the evidence of harm from microplastics is still deeply uncertain.

The elective medical industry is cashing in on plastic pollution fears, but the evidence of harm from microplastics is still deeply uncertain.

Jack Thorne, who cowrote the hit Netflix show about a 13-year-old accused of murder, told WIRED he understands how easily kids can get lured into incel ideology.

While almost no Chinese EVs are legally sold in the US, these are the workarounds that could allow eager enthusiasts to get them onto American roads—at a price.

Using environmental DNA analysis and traditional fishing techniques, researchers are seeking answers about the current population of axolotls in their natural habitat. The numbers are alarming.

Find great deals and promo codes for Visible at WIRED and save big, whether you're a long-time customer or a newbie.

Enjoy 15% off with Dell promo code, plus today's deals for up to $400 off laptops, workstations, and all things tech.

Honda's motorsport division must be doing some spring cleaning. Today, the Honda Racing Corporation announced that it's getting into the memorabilia business, offering up parts and even whole vehicles for fans and collectors. And to kick things off, it's going to auction some components from the RA100E V10 engines that powered the McLaren Honda MP4/5Bs of Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger to both F1 titles in 1990.

"We aim to make this a valuable business that allows fans who love F1, MotoGP and various other races to share in the history of Honda's challenges in racing since the 1950s," said Koi Watanabe, president of HRC, "including our fans to own a part of Honda's racing history is not intended to be a one-time endeavor, but rather a continuous business that we will nurture and grow."

The bits from Senna's and Berger's V10s will go up for auction at Monterey Car Week later this year, and the lots will include some of the parts seen in the photo above: cam covers, camshafts, pistons, and conrods, with a certificate of authenticity and a display case. And HRC is going through its collections to see what else it might part with, including "heritage machines and parts" from IndyCar, and "significant racing motorcycles."

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Leading scientists at the National Institutes of Health, the US’s leading medical research agency, were swept up Tuesday in the Trump administration’s latest firing blitz.

It’s the culmination of a weeks-long standoff between Elon Musk’s DOGE team and the United States Institute of Peace.

It’s the culmination of a weeks-long standoff between Elon Musk’s DOGE team and the United States Institute of Peace.

There are a remarkable number of commercial fusion power startups, considering that it's a technology that's built a reputation for being perpetually beyond the horizon. Many of them focus on radically new technologies for heating and compressing plasmas, or fusing unusual combinations of isotopes. These technologies are often difficult to evaluate—they can clearly generate hot plasmas, but it's tough to determine whether they can get hot enough, often enough to produce usable amounts of power.

On the other end of the spectrum are a handful of companies that are trying to commercialize designs that have been extensively studied in the academic world. And there have been some interesting signs of progress here. Recently, Commonwealth Fusion, which is building a demonstration tokamak in Massachussets, started construction of the cooling system that will keep its magnets superconducting. And two companies that are hoping to build a stellarator did some important validation of their concepts.

Doing donuts

A tokamak is a donut-shaped fusion chamber that relies on intense magnetic fields to compress and control the plasma within it. A number of tokamaks have been built over the years, but the big one that is expected to produce more energy than required to run it, ITER, has faced many delays and now isn't expected to achieve its potential until the 2040s. Back in 2015, however, some physicists calculated that high-temperature superconductors would allow ITER-style performance in a far smaller and easier-to-build package. That idea was commercialized as Commonwealth Fusion.

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Robots powered by Gemini Robotics models can learn complex actions like preparing salads and even folding an origami fox.Robots powered by Gemini Robotics models can learn complex actions like preparing salads and even folding an origami fox.

Nearly half of US states sued the federal government and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today in a bid to halt the termination of $11 billion in public health grants. The lawsuit was filed by 23 states and the District of Columbia.

"The grant terminations, which came with no warning or legally valid explanation, have quickly caused chaos for state health agencies that continue to rely on these critical funds for a wide range of urgent public health needs such as infectious disease management, fortifying emergency preparedness, providing mental health and substance abuse services, and modernizing public health infrastructure," said a press release issued by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.

The litigation is led by Colorado, California, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Washington. The other plaintiffs are Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

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