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  • Tesla Eliminates Cybertruck Range Extender to Boost Performance

    Tesla Eliminates Cybertruck Range Extender to Boost Performance

    Tesla Pulls the Plug on the Cybertruck‑Battery-Bed Idea

    The Plan That Wasn’t

    For a hot second, folks were buzzing about an extra‑large battery that could be tucked behind the bed of the Cybertruck – a kind of “powered mattress” that would push the vehicle’s range from 350 miles up to something close to 500 miles. It sounded like a dream for long‑haul roadsters, right?

    What Went Wrong?

    • Design headaches: Folding a battery into a truck bed isn’t just a matter of slapping it in there. You’re talking weight, heat, safety, and a whole lot of engineering déjà vu.
    • Cost crunch: Adding a massive pack means a higher price tag – and Tesla’s always zipping around the market, trying to keep things affordable.
    • Q: “Do we really need another battery?” A: “Good question. Maybe the existing range is fine, or maybe the extra power will just slow us down.”

    Short‑Term Outlook

    The Cybertruck still stands ready to haul and roam on its current specs. With the extra battery gone, developers can focus on other upgrades, and drivers won’t need to keep an eye on a “bed‑mounted supplement” in their cargo plans.

    Bottom Line

    Tesla’s “bed battery” has been shelved, so keep your plans (and your truck bed) simple. The Cybertruck will keep cruising at its original range, though who knows what future power‑up plans will show up? Stay tuned and keep your headroom clear!

    Title: Tesla Pulls the Plug on Cybertruck Range Extender—Refunds 
$2,000 Deposits

    What’s the Scoop?

    Last week, Tesla dropped a bombshell on X (formerly Twitter): the company has decided to abandon the Cybertruck range extender it’d been marketing. That means the $2,000 deposits customers poured in for the extra power bump? They’re getting their money back. No trickery, just a straight refund to the original payment method. 

    Why Now, Why This?

    • The extender was never actually on the production line—just a flashy promise.
    • Market response and production hurdles made the feature impractical.
    • Tesla prefers keeping the base Cybertruck formula pure for now.

    What Customers Should Do

    All you have to do is sit back and watch your bank account grow again. No paperwork, no extra steps—Tesla will automatically send the refund to the card or account you used originally.

    Official Message from Tesla

    “Thank you for being a Cybertruck owner. We are no longer planning to sell the Range Extender for Cybertruck. As a result, we will be refunding your deposit in full. The amount will be returned to the original payment method used for the transaction. Thank you for your understanding. The Tesla Team.”

    Bottom Line

    TL;DR: The dream of a turbocharged Cybertruck with an extra extender? Not happening. But you’ll get every penny back and can start planning for 2025’s full‑size EV releases without the extra expense. Good luck, and keep those wheels rolling!

    Tesla Cuts the Range Extender from the Cybertruck – What’s Up With This?

    Breaking News from Electrek

    In April, the electric‑vehicle blog Electrek caught wind of a quiet move: Tesla yanked the range extender from the Cybertruck’s online configurator. The little option, which would have let folks add a $2,000 non‑refundable deposit to reserve a battery‑backed version, is now gone.

    At first glance, it feels like another dip in Tesla’s positivity streak—or maybe it’s just a case of the company not keeping its promises. Or maybe I’m reading too much into the negative vibes. Either way, it’s clear Tesla’s got a mixed bag of dramas right now.

    Why the Range Extender Suited the Auto‑Garage Poorly?

    Designing a chunky battery to sit in the back of a pickup? Already a questionable decision. The solution comes not from an internal Tesla lab but from a duo called Archimedes Defense and Unplugged Performance’s UP.FIT division.

    • They’re putting a frunk‑mounted, jet‑powered generator that can boost range on demand.
    • It keeps the valuable bed space intact.
    • And it mixes diesel with electric—a combo that’s been power‑ing trains for almost a century.

    That’s not just a gimmick for the Cybertruck. Imagine a hub of diesel‑electric hybrid tech giving all EVs a jump‑start of a different kind.

    Zooming Into Tesla’s Future

    Sure, Tesla has ambitious plans like robotaxis, and I’m honestly not sold on them yet. Short‑term, the concept feels high‑risk. In ten years, I might laugh—especially if I’m in a London street lane and can’t see it coming.

    But let’s give the company credit where it’s due: they’re battling in tough markets, juggling big bets, and still trying to keep this EV party rolling.

    Bottom Line

    Tesla’s pull‑back on the Cybertruck’s extender could be a wind‑down for a now‑questionable feature. At the same time, other firms are stepping in to fill the gap with creative, efficient, and surprisingly practical alternatives. The EV world’s only changing fast enough if you’re prepared for the next curve.

  • HR giant Workday says hackers stole personal data in recent breach

    HR giant Workday says hackers stole personal data in recent breach

    Workday, one of the largest providers of human resources technology, has confirmed a data breach that allowed hackers to steal personal information from one of its third-party customer relationship databases.

    In a blog post published late Friday, the HR technology giant said the hackers stole an unspecified amount of personal information from the database, which Workday said was primarily used to store contact information, such as names, email addresses, and phone numbers.

    Workday did not explicitly rule out that customer information was taken in the data breach, stating only that there was “no indication of access to customer tenants or the data within them,” which corporate customers typically use to store the bulk of their human resources files and employees’ personal data.

    The company said the stolen information may be used to further social engineering scams, where hackers trick or threaten victims into giving them access to sensitive data.

    Workday has more than 11,000 corporate customers, serving at least 70 million users around the world, per the company’s website. Bleeping Computer reports that the hack was discovered on August 6.

    Workday did not identify the breached third-party customer database platform, but follows in a recent spate of cyberattacks targeting Salesforce-hosted databases used by large companies to store customer data. In recent weeks, Google, Cisco, airline giant Qantas, and retailer Pandora have all had reams of data stolen from their Salesforce databases.

    Google attributed the breaches to ShinyHunters, a group of hackers known for using voice phishing to steal corporate data by tricking company employees into granting them access to their cloud-based databases. Google said ShinyHunters was likely in the process of preparing a data leak site to extort its victims into paying the hackers to delete the data, akin to how ransomware gangs operate.

    Connor Spielmaker, a spokesperson for Workday, did not comment beyond Workday’s blog post or answer TechCrunch’s questions, including whether Workday knows how many individuals had data stolen or who the stolen data relates to, such as Workday employees or Workday’s corporate customers. Workday would not say if it has the technical means, such as logs, to determine what customer data was exfiltrated.

    As of the time of publication, Workday’s blog post disclosing the breach contained a hidden “noindex” tag in its source code, which instructs search engines to ignore the page, making it difficult for anyone searching the web to find the page.

    It’s not clear for what reason Workday is hiding its data breach notification from search engines.

    Do you know more about the Workday data breach or attacks targeting Salesforce databases? Have you been notified about a data breach? Securely contact this reporter via encrypted message at zackwhittaker.1337 on Signal.

    Updated with a response from Workday.

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