The Daily Populous

Saturday January 3rd, 2026 morning edition

image for Tesla loses title of world's biggest electric vehicle maker to Chinese rival BYD

Tesla has lost its crown as the world's bestselling electric vehicle maker.

Tesla said that it delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, a decrease of 9% from a year earlier.

Chinese rival BYD, which sold 2.26 million vehicles last year, is now the biggest EV maker.

Tesla sales totalled 418,227 between October and December, falling short of the 440,000 that analysts polled by FactSet expected.

Shares of Tesla rose almost 2% before the opening bell on Friday, with stock mostly unchanged at $450.27 in early trading.

The new Model Y costs just under $40,000 (£30,000) while customers can buy the cheaper Model 3 for under $37,000 (£27,000).

The new versions are aimed at helping Tesla to compete with Chinese models in Europe and Asia. »

Calls for Legal Consequences Grow After Musk AI Bot Makes Suggestive Images of Children

Authored by commondreams.org
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Elon Musk is facing calls for legal ramifications after Grok, the AI chatbot used on his X social media platform, produced sexually suggestive images of children.

Failure to comply with this order, the ministry warned, could lead to the government ending X's legal immunity from being sued over user-generated content.

"Musk is not cloaked in some federal immunity just because he's off-again/on-again buddies with Trump.". »

Cops Forced to Explain Why AI Generated Police Report Claimed Officer Transformed Into Frog

Authored by futurism.com

In one particularly glaring — and unintentionally comedic — instance, the police department in Heber City, Utah, was forced to explain why a police report software declared that an officer had somehow shapeshifted into a frog.

According to records obtained by the group, “it’s often impossible to tell which parts of a police report were generated by AI and which parts were written by an officer.”.

More on AI policing: AI Is Mangling Police Radio Chatter, Posting It Online as Ridiculous Misinformation. »

Minnesota officials probe child care centers over alleged fraud

Authored by cnn.com
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The agency gathered evidence and initiated further review, noting the investigation into four centers was ongoing, the report stated.

The report comes days after YouTube content creator Nick Shirley, who has created anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim videos in the past, posted a viral video in which he claimed to find widespread fraud at Somali-run child care centers.

Video Ad Feedback Minnesota lawmaker: Families in limbo after WH freezes child care payments 1:23 • Source: CNN Minnesota lawmaker: Families in limbo after WH freezes child care payments 1:23. »

Venezuela has detained several Americans as tensions with US rise

Authored by edition.cnn.com

US officials are still collecting information about what the Americans were doing in Venezuela and at the time of their detention, the official added.

The New York Times was first to report on the recently detained Americans.

The New York Times reported, citing a US official, that one of the recently detained Americans is James Luckey-Lange, 28, from Staten Island, New York. »