CarsThe Cybertruck

Dec 1, 2023 | thespectator.com | Freddy Gray |Limor Simhony Philpott |Ben Domenech |CarsThe Cybertruck

Sans Trump, the Republican presidential debates of 2023 have mostly been piddling contests in a shallow pool. We’ve seen nasty insults — most aimed at or directed by Vivek Ramaswamy — and that’s fun to watch. But you can catch those bits on social media and the rest hasn’t been worth tuning in for. Maybe the problem isn’t just the lack of the Big Orange on stage. Maybe it’s just that the TV debate format doesn’t really work in the internet age. It’s never a battle of compelling ideas.

Dec 1, 2023 | thespectator.com | Limor Simhony Philpott |Ben Domenech |CarsThe Cybertruck |Ross Anderson

Early this morning, Hamas fired the first shot that signaled the end of its ceasefire deal with Israel, roughly an hour before the truce was due to expire. Before the ceasefire broke there had been a night of intense negotiations over the next stage of the hostage releases. Hamas, as it has done since negotiations started, tried every trick in the book to buy time and maximize its gains. Last night, it did not agree to Israel’s demand to release the remaining surviving women.

Dec 1, 2023 | thespectator.com | Sam Meadows |CarsThe Cybertruck |Ross Anderson |Elisa Segrave

The location was the same — the circumstances starkly different. Almost twelve months ago, hundreds of thousands of people gathered on Buenos Aires’ immense central avenue to celebrate their team’s win in the World Cup. A year on, and hundreds — honking car horns and waving the blue-and-white Argentine flag — were there to celebrate the electoral victory of Javier Milei.

Dec 1, 2023 | thespectator.com | Ross Anderson |CarsThe Cybertruck |Elisa Segrave |Phoebe Hennell

The Cybertruck is here. Finally. Maybe. Sort of. Thursday was the “Cybertruck Delivery Event,” where they finally rolled off the production line and were handed over to waiting customers. Musk served as chaperone, host and speaker, and the event was a hype-fest for fanboys. As the presentation started, it was hard to tell whether some in the crowd were shouting “Elon” or “hallelujah” (I think the latter).

Dec 1, 2023 | thespectator.com | Matt Ridley |CarsThe Cybertruck |Ross Anderson |Elisa Segrave

Sam Altman, the recently fired (and rehired) chief executive of Open AI, was asked earlier this year by his fellow tech billionaire Patrick Collison what he thought of the risks of virology. “I would like to not have another synthetic pathogen cause a global pandemic. I think we can all agree that wasn’t a great experience,” he replied.