The Russian hackers used their access to the dam’s computer systems to open a floodgate that spilled millions of gallons of water.
Read more This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.
The US could really use an affordable electric truck
On Monday, Ford announced plans for an affordable electric truck with a 2027 delivery date and an expected price tag of about $30,000, thanks in part to a new manufacturing process that it says will help cut costs.
This could be the shot in the arm that the slowing US EV market needs. If anything can get Americans excited, it’s a truck, especially an affordable one.
However, there are some significant hurdles in the way. EV sales are slowing, and Ford in particular has struggled recently. The adoption barriers also continue to mount, with the Trump administration cutting tax credits as well as rules designed to push automakers toward zero-emissions vehicles. And that’s not to mention tariffs. Can Ford really deliver on its promises?
—Casey Crownhart
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.
To read more of our EV coverage, why not check out:
+ China’s EV giants are betting big on humanoid robots. Their technical know-how and existing supply chains could give them a significant head start in the sector. Read the full story.
+ Why bigger EVs aren’t always better. The world is moving toward larger vehicles, and EVs are following the trend.
+ Some countries are ending support for EVs. Is it too soon? Read the full story.
+ Three frequently asked questions about EVs, answered.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Russia has cracked down on WhatsApp and Telegram
Calls for millions of people have been restricted. (WP $)
+ Russian officials accused the platforms of failing to share ‘terror-related’ data. (The Guardian)
+ It’s just the latest in its attempts to exert greater control over the internet. (AP News)
2 The US Navy and Air Force is considering axing two costly HR software projects
And give Salesforce or Palantir the chance to bid for new ones. (Reuters)
3 How much has DOGE actually saved US taxpayers?
A whole lot less than it initially claimed, a new analysis has found. (Politico)
+ A former DOGE worker has returned to the Trump administration. (Semafor)
+ DOGE’s tech takeover threatens the safety and stability of our critical data. (MIT Technology Review)
4 DeepSeek has pushed back the release of its next model
Training it using Huawei’s AI chips has proved too difficult. (FT $)
+ How DeepSeek ripped up the AI playbook. (MIT Technology Review)
5 No country is safe from climate change
Even traditionally cool Nordic countries are struggling to cope with the heat. (The Guardian)
+ Temperatures rose in the nations by at least two degrees celsius. (Politico)
+ The greenhouse gases we’re not accounting for. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Meta is hemorrhaging top talent
Despite Mark Zuckerberg’s mad AI hiring tear. (Forbes $)
+ It’s causing major tensions among its existing AI researchers. (Insider $)
7 Tesla is hiring someone to test its robotaxi tech in NYC
It suggests a future expansion into the busy city is imminent. (Bloomberg $)
+ True to form, it hasn’t applied for any permits yet, though. (CNBC)
8 Laborers are livestreaming themselves doing menial tasks
It’s a reminder of the physical work that still makes the world go round. (NYT $)
9 The rise of the AI coworker 
I bet after-work drinks are a right laugh. (Insider $)
10 Meet the ‘clippers’ taking over social media
They’re in charge of those infuriating brief clips flooding your feeds. (WSJ $)
Quote of the day
“These guys just want to build things and make money and so does Trump.”
—Cooper Teboe, a Silicon Valley-based Democratic adviser, believes that tech entrepreneurs and the US President share similar goals, he tells the Wall Street Journal.
One more thing
How environmental DNA is giving scientists a new way to understand our world
Environmental DNA is a relatively inexpensive, widespread, potentially automated way to observe the diversity and distribution of life.
Unlike previous techniques, which could identify DNA from, say, a single organism, the method also collects the swirling cloud of other genetic material that surrounds it. It can serve as a surveillance tool, offering researchers a means of detecting the seemingly undetectable.
By sampling eDNA, or mixtures of genetic material in water, soil, ice cores, cotton swabs, or practically any environment imaginable, even thin air, it is now possible to search for a specific organism or assemble a snapshot of all the organisms in a given place.
It offers a thrilling — and potentially chilling — way to collect information about organisms, including humans, as they go about their everyday business. Read the full story.
—Peter Andrey Smith
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)
+ This week’s Perseid meteor shower did not disappoint—the pictures are spectacular.
+ Elephants know what they want, and it’s tasty treats 
+ Why it’s high time to decorate your kitchen and bathroom.
+ What’s in David Byrne’s bag? It’s time to find out.
On Monday, Ford announced plans for an affordable electric truck with a 2027 delivery date and an expected price tag of about $30,000, thanks in part to a new manufacturing process that it says will help cut costs.
This could be the shot in the arm that the slowing US EV market needs. Sales are slowing, and Ford in particular has struggled recently—the automaker has lost $12 billion over the last two and a half years on its EV division. And the adoption barriers continue to mount, with the Trump administration cutting tax credits as well as rules designed to push automakers toward zero-emissions vehicles. And that’s not to mention tariffs.
But if anything can get Americans excited, it’s a truck, especially an affordable one. (There was a ton of buzz over the announcement of a bare-bones truck from Bezos-backed Slate Auto earlier this year, for example.) The big question is whether the company can deliver in this environment.
One key thing to note here: This is not the first time that there’s been a big splashy truck announcement from Ford that was supposed to change everything. The F-150 Lightning was hailed as a turning point for vehicle electrification, a signal that decarbonization had entered a new era. We cited the truck when we put “The Inevitable EV” on our 10 Breakthrough Technologies list in 2023.
Things haven’t quite turned out that way. One problem is that the Lightning was supposed to be relatively affordable, with a price tag of about $40,000 when it was first announced in 2021. The starting price inflated to $52,000 when it actually went on sale in 2022.
The truck was initially popular and became quite hard to find at dealerships. But prices climbed and interest leveled off. The base model hit nearly $60,000 by 2023. For the past few years, Ford has cut Lightning production several times and laid off employees who assembled the trucks.
Now, though, Ford is once again promising an affordable truck, and it’s supposed to be even cheaper this time. To help cut costs, the company says it’s simplifying, creating one universal platform for a new set of EVs. Using a common structure and set of components will help produce not only a midsize truck but also other trucks, vans, and SUVs. There are also planned changes to the manufacturing process (rather than one assembly line, multiple lines will join together to form what they’re calling an assembly tree).
Another supporting factor for cost savings is the battery. The company plans to use lithium-iron phosphate (or LFP) cells—a type of lithium-ion battery that doesn’t contain nickel or cobalt. Leaving out those relatively pricey metals means lower costs.
Side note here: That battery could be surprisingly small. In a media briefing, a Ford official reportedly said that the truck’s battery would be 15% smaller than the one in the Atto crossover from the Chinese automaker BYD. Since that model has a roughly 60-kilowatt-hour pack, that could put this new battery at 51 kilowatt-hours. That’s only half the capacity of the Ford Lightning’s battery and similar to the smallest pack offered in a Tesla Model 3 today. (This could mean the truck has a relatively limited range, though the company hasn’t shared any details on that front yet.)
A string of big promises isn’t too unusual for a big company announcement. What was unusual was the tone from officials during the event on Monday.
As Andrew Hawkins pointed out in The Verge this week, “Ford seems to realize its timing is unfortunate.” During the announcement, executives emphasized that this was a bet, one that might not work out.
CEO Jim Farley put it bluntly: “The automotive industry has a graveyard littered with affordable vehicles that were launched in our country with all good intentions, and they fizzled out with idle plants, laid-off workers, and red ink.” Woof.
From where I’m standing, it’s hard to be optimistic that this announcement will turn out differently from all those failed ones, given where the US EV market is right now.
In a new report published in June, the energy consultancy BNEF slashed its predictions for future EV uptake. Last year, the organization predicted that 48% of new vehicles sold in the US in 2030 would be electric. In this year’s edition, that number got bumped down to just 27%.
To be clear: BNEF and other organizations are still expecting more EVs on the roads in the future than today, since the vehicles make up less than 10% of new sales in the US. But expectations are way down, in part because of a broad cut in public support for EVs.
The tax credits that gave drivers up to $7,500 off the purchase of a new EV end in just over a month. Tariffs are going to push costs up even for domestic automakers like Ford, which still rely on imported steel and aluminum.
A revamped manufacturing process and a cheaper, desirable vehicle could be exactly the sort of move that automakers need to make for the US EV market. But I’m skeptical that this truck will be able to turn it all around.
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.
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