Technologies

Elon Musk confirms he’s worried SpaceX could go bankrupt

The world’s richest person is worried one of his companies could go bankrupt if it doesn’t make it to space early and often starting next year.

Elon Musk said Tuesday via Twitter that his spacecraft company, SpaceX, needs to produce a lot more of its next-generation Starship engines, and soon, to keep growing its Starlink broadband constellation and stay in business.

«If a severe global recession were to dry up capital availability / liquidity while SpaceX was losing billions on Starlink (and) Starship, then bankruptcy, while still unlikely, is not impossible,» he tweeted.

The statement came in response to a leaked email that Musk reportedly sent to employees over the long Thanksgiving holiday in the US asking for «all hands on deck.»

The email alluded to a «production crisis» within the company centered on the Raptor engines that power Starship. SpaceX is planning to fly a Starship prototype to space for the first time in 2022, and the vehicle is the centerpiece of the company’s future plans to send humans to the moon and Mars.

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But more important for the SpaceX business model is that Starship is key to continuing to launch version two Starlink satellites, which will provide a vital revenue stream for the company in the future.

«The consequences for SpaceX if we can not get enough reliable Raptors made is that we then can’t fly Starship, which means we then can’t fly Starlink Satellite V2. Satellite V1, by itself, is financially weak, while V2 is strong,» reads the email, which was first obtained by SpaceExplored.

SpaceX and Musk didn’t directly confirm the veracity of the leaked email to CNET, but when asked by a Twitter user on Tuesday morning «(how is) the Raptor thing going?» Musk responded briefly «It’s getting fixed.»

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In the email, Musk concludes by warning that SpaceX could face «genuine risk of bankruptcy if we cannot achieve a Starship flight rate of at least once every two weeks next year.»

Musk seems to be upping the ante here. Less than two weeks ago, he said during a livestream he was hoping for «up to a dozen» test flights of Starship in 2022 before launching «real payloads» in 2023.

If the company does end up on the brink of bankruptcy, it wouldn’t be the first time. Musk famously stared down financial ruin before SpaceX managed its first successful launch of a Falcon 1 rocket.

Raptor production isn’t even Starship’s most immediate hurdle. The vehicle’s first orbital test flight is still awaiting the conclusion of an environmental review and the official green light from the FAA, which isn’t expected before the end of the year.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, March 11

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 11.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? I thought it was a bit tricky. 1-Down is one of those old-fashioned comic-book sounds that I had to remember how to spell correctly. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Study of the human mind, informally
Answer: PSYCH

6A clue: Common fixture in a gym bathroom
Answer: SCALE

7A clue: Kinda boring
Answer: HOHUM

8A clue: Like a commenter without a username, for short
Answer: ANON

9A clue: «All good between us?»
Answer: WEOK

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Old-fashioned «Yeah, right!»
Answer: PSHAW

2D clue: Coffeehouse pastry
Answer: SCONE

3D clue: Google alternative
Answer: YAHOO

4D clue: Sound of a dull thump
Answer: CLUNK

5D clue: Line on the bottom of a pant leg
Answer: HEM

Technologies

OnePlus and Oppo to Raise Smartphone Prices as Memory Costs Climb

Oppo says rising costs for key phone components will trigger price adjustments on some devices starting March 16.

Chinese smartphone-makers OnePlus and Oppo plan to raise prices on some existing models starting next week, according to a 9to5Google report citing GizmoChina and a notice posted on Oppo’s China online store.

In its notice, Oppo said it would adjust pricing after evaluating rising costs for several key components used in its mobile phones. The changes are expected to take effect around March 16 and will affect some of the company’s more affordable smartphones, as well as some OnePlus models.

Flagship devices — like those in the Find and Reno series — are not expected to be affected for now. The reported adjustments currently appear to be limited to China.

The move highlights growing pressure across the smartphone supply chain as component costs climb. Analysts say prices for memory and storage chips used in phones have been rising in recent months as demand surges across the tech industry.

Much of the chip demand is coming from the rapid buildout of AI data centers, which rely on large amounts of high-performance memory.

That pressure isn’t limited to Oppo and OnePlus. Analysts say smartphone brands across the industry are facing rising component costs amid increased demand for memory chips.

As manufacturers shift production toward higher-margin memory used in AI servers, supply for consumer electronics such as smartphones and laptops can tighten.

If component costs continue to rise, manufacturers may face difficult choices later this year, including raising retail prices or adjusting device specifications to offset higher manufacturing costs.

OnePlus and Oppo didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Harvard Business Review Study Finds ‘AI Brain Fry’ Is Leaving Workers Mentally Fatigued

Study participants reported increased mental fatigue while using AI tools, but less burnout overall.

Workers who excessively use AI agents and tools at work are at increased risk of mental fatigue, according to a recent Harvard Business Review study. In certain industries, more than 25% of hired professionals report increased mental strain due to their role in AI oversight — though these professionals also generally experienced less burnout than peers who aren’t using AI.

This phenomenon — which the researchers refer to as «AI brain fry» — is described as a «‘buzzing’ feeling or a mental fog» that caused study participants to develop headaches and difficulty focusing and making decisions. Individuals pointed to being overwhelmed by large amounts of information and to frequent task switching as the reasons for these feelings.

Studied individuals experienced more brain fry when they utilized AI agents to manage a workload beyond their own cognitive capacity. When participants used AI to replace mundane, repetitive tasks, managing the growing number of tools led to increased mental fatigue.

Crucially, the study found that fewer individuals who used these AI agents reported workplace burnout.

The researchers predict that this is because burnout testing assesses emotional and physical distress. In contrast, they report, acute mental fatigue «is caused by marshalling attention, working memory and executive control beyond the limited capacity of these systems.»

These are the processes that are taxed when study participants use multiple AI tools in their workflow, according to the researchers.

The Harvard study identifies several business costs incurred by workers suffering from AI brain fry. The foremost consequence is that these individuals may end up making lower-quality decisions. «Workers in [the] study who endorsed AI brain fry experience 33% more decision fatigue than those who did not,» the study reports. Workers who report AI brain fry were also more likely to self-report making both minor and major errors at their jobs.

Another recent Harvard Business Review study similarly found that employees who use AI tools «worked at a faster pace, took on a broader scope of tasks and extended work into more hours of the day,» but warned that «workload creep can in turn lead to cognitive fatigue, burnout and weakened decision-making.»