The US has routinely lagged behind Europe and other regions in terms of EV adoption, but no longer. Counterpoint estimates that American EV sales jumped 79 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2023, helping it move past Germany to become the world's second-largest electric car market. Only China is larger, the analyst group says.

EV tax credits are believed to have played a "crucial role" in spurring sales, and may have helped the US automotive industry as a whole. Where sales of combustion engine cars were flat, EVs surged ahead, according to Counterpoint.

It won't surprise you to hear which brands are out front. Tesla represented 62.7 percent of EV sales in the quarter, with the Model Y and Model 3 taking the top two spots. GM was a distant second, with the Bolt EUV and regular Bolt taking it to 7.6 percent. Volkswagen had 6.3 percent of the market thanks to the ID.4. Plug-in hybrids are a different story — Stellantis has nearly 43.9 percent courtesy of Jeep's PHEV Wrangler and Grand Cherokee models as well as the Chrysler Pacifica minivan. BMW was next at 16.1 percent with the X5, and Toyota's RAV4 helped push it to 15.4 percent.

Counterpoint is optimistic about American EV sales going forward. While revised rules narrowed the list of cars that qualify for tax credits, they're still poised to influence demand. The early stages of economic recovery could also help drive interest. We'd add that increasing domestic production of some EVs, such as the VW ID.4 and future Hyundai models, should expand the range of cars eligible for credits.

EV sales were poised to spike at some point. States like California and New York will require that all new passenger car sales are electrified by 2035, and makes like GM have already committed to going all-electric around the same time. If this analysis is accurate, though, that accelerating growth is already underway.

After years of development, Virgin Galactic is finally ready to take paying customers. The company has confirmed that its first commercial spaceflight, Galactic 01, will launch between June 27th and June 30th. This inaugural mission will carry three people from Italy's Air Force and National Research Council as they conduct microgravity research. Virgin had anticipated a late June start, but hadn't committed to that window until now.

The company already has follow-up flights scheduled. Galactic 02 is expected to launch in early August and will carry a private crew. Virgin will fly on a monthly basis afterward, although details of future missions aren't yet available. At least the first two flights will stream live through the company's website.

Virgin conducted its last pre-commercial flight test, its fifth spaceflight of any kind, in late May. The company faced numerous delays and incidents getting to that point, however. The company completed its first SpaceShipTwo test flights in 2013, but paused its efforts after the deadly 2014 crash of VSS Enterprise. Flight testing didn't resume until VSS Unity's glide test at the end of 2016. The firm finally reached space in 2018, but had to wait until 2021 to complete its first fully crewed spaceflight with founder Richard Branson aboard. It pushed back commercial service multiple times due to varying factors, most recently delays in upgrading the VMS Eve "mothership" that carries SpaceShipTwo vehicles to their launch altitude.

The debut is important for Virgin's business. Virgin has operated at a loss for years, losing more than $500 million just in 2022. Commercial service won't recoup those investments quickly even at $450,000 per ticket, but it will give the company a significant source of revenue.

This isn't the start of space tourism for Virgin. In that sense, it's still trailing Blue Origin. Galactic 01 will put Virgin ahead of SpaceX, though, as that company's Starship rocket has yet to reach space and isn't expected to launch its first lunar tourist flights until late 2024 at the earliest. While Virgin is less ambitious than Elon Musk's operation, it's also achieving its goals sooner.

Twitch is giving livestreamers a considerably stronger incentive to grow their audiences. The service plans to roll out a Partner Plus program that will give more successful creators a 70 percent share of their net subscription revenue instead of the usual 50 percent, up to a $100,000 threshold in the calendar year. A partner will qualify by holding on to at least 350 recurring paid subscriptions (gifts and Prime don't count) for three months. If they meet that standard, they'll get that 70 percent cut for the next 12 months regardless of whether or not they stay above the 350-subscription mark. This can extend indefinitely.

Partner Plus launches October 1st, and will automatically include anyone who meets the requirements for the three prior months. The program will be available worldwide, and doesn't offer anything beyond what Premium Partners (major creators who've negotiated special deals) receive.

This effort comes months after Twitch announced plans for an identical cap for Premium Partners. Twitch president at the time (now CEO) Dan Clancy claimed in September this wouldn't affect 90 percent of relevant streamers, and that increased ad payouts would help make up the difference. However, that might still irk major streamers who depend on Twitch for a living — they're effectively taking a pay cut. There's a risk this may prompt other streamers to jump to YouTube and other platforms if they receive more lucrative terms.

Not that Twitch is necessarily concerned. Partner Plus increases the practical income for many more streamers than Premium, encouraging them to stick to the service — particularly if they're in the early stages of a livestreaming career. That theoretically increases the overall number of available channels, and keeps viewers from drifting to rivals.

Twitch has faced some difficulties in recent months, including a backlash over the Premium revenue split and the impact of parent company Amazon's mass layoffs. Partner Plus isn't guaranteed to solve matters, but it does suggest Twitch is willing to significantly alter its strategy in response to these problems.

Volkswagen's next plug-in hybrid (PHEV) may be particularly appealing if you're determined to avoid using the gas engine whenever possible. The automaker has shared the first details of its next-gen Tiguan SUV, and the PHEV model will manage up to 62 miles of all-electric range. That's about twice the range of the existing Tiguan eHybrid, and makes the 37.5 miles of Toyota's Prius Prime seem modest. You might only need to rely on combustion power for long-distance trips.

The jump to a new MQB evo platform (and thus new electric motors) is partly credited for the extended PHEV range. It also allows for an electronically-controlled suspension that promises better handling and more comfort, and enables both faster AC charging on the plug-in model as well as DC charging. It's now more practical to charge the Tiguan overnight or at a rest stop, in other words.

Volkswagen

VW has also revamped the in-cabin technology. The infotainment system now uses up to a 15-inch screen, and there's a digital instrument cluster with rotary-based control. There's even a nod to ID-series EVs with a switch on the steering column to change drive modes. The new Tiguan will only be available with a dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

The updated Tiguan will officially debut in the fall, with models reaching dealerships in 2024. We wouldn't count on a North American release of the PHEV edition when it hasn't been available in the region so far. However, VW's effort hints at the direction of hybrids for the industry at large. The electric-only range is now good enough to cover a wide range of driving scenarios, and may be enticing if you're not quite ready to buy a pure EV.

Europeans wanting to try Google Bard will have to wait. The Irish Data Protection Commission (IDPC), the main overseer of data in the European Union, has forced Google to delay the rollout of its Bard chatbot in the region. The generative AI was supposed to launch in the EU this week, but IDPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle says his agency hasn't received a "detailed" privacy briefing, a data impact assessment or supporting info.

The Commission is still in the midst of an "ongoing examination" of Bard, according to Doyle. It isn't estimating when it might wrap up that investigation, but it plans to share info with other EU data regulators as quickly as possible.

We've asked Google for comment. In a statement to Politico, a Google spokesperson says the company promised to expand Bard access "responsibly" after discussing its efforts with experts and governments. This includes talking to privacy regulars to "address their questions and hear feedback," the representative says.

Google began widening access to Bard in March, when it let would-be users sign up for a waiting list. In May, it dropped the waitlist and expanded availability to 180 more countries and territories. The tech giant shied away from the EU, where the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) sets strict requirements on how personal data is collected and shared.

Other AI developers have already faced tighter scrutiny. Germany, Italy and Spain are currently investigating OpenAI's ChatGPT alongside the European Data Protection Board, and Italy temporarily banned the tool over worries both the chatbot and its training methods (using others' real-world content) might violate the GDPR. A delay for Bard theoretically minimizes the chances of similar conflicts for Google.

Politicians think they have a way to hold companies accountable for troublesome generative AI: take away their legal protection. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Josh Hawley have introduced a No Section 230 Immunity for AI Act that, as the name suggests, would prevent OpenAI, Google and similar firms from using the Communications Decency Act's Section 230 to waive liability for harmful content and avoid lawsuits. If someone created a deepfake image or sound bite to ruin a reputation, for instance, the tool developer could be held responsible alongside the person who used it.

Hawley characterizes the bill as forcing AI creators to "take responsibility for business decisions" as they're developing products. He also casts the legislation as a "first step" toward creating rules for AI and establishing safety measures. In a hearing this week on AI's effect on human rights, Blumenthal urged Congress to deny AI the broad Section 230 safeguards that have shielded social networks from legal consequences.

In May, Blumenthal and Hawley held a hearing where speakers like OpenAI chief Sam Altman called for the government to act on AI. Industry leaders have already urged a pause on AI experimentation, and more recently compared the threat of unchecked AI to that of nuclear war.

Congress has pushed for Section 230 reforms for years in a bid to rein in tech companies, particularly over concerns that internet giants might knowingly allow hurtful content. A 2021 House bill would have held businesses liable if they knowingly used algorithms that cause emotional or physical harm. These bills have stalled, though, and Section 230 has remained intact. Legislators have had more success in setting age verification requirements that theoretically reduce mental health issues for younger users.

It's not clear this bill stands a greater chance of success. Blumenthal and Hawley are known for introducing online content bills that fail to gain traction, such as the child safety-oriented EARN IT Act and Hawley's anti-addiction SMART Act. On top of persuading fellow senators, they'll need an equivalent House bill that also survives a vote.

If Sony is going to enable PS5 game streaming on devices like its Project Q handheld, it needs to offer that streaming in the first place. Thankfully, that's on the horizon. The company is now testing streaming of "supported" PS5 games for PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers, including PS Plus Game Catalog titles and game trials. You'll have to use your PS5 system, but this will save you the trouble of downloading games and chewing up valuable SSD space.

The test is in the "early stages." A launch window and other details will be available "when we're ready," Sony says.

PS Plus Premium normally costs $15 per month and already allows cloud gaming for PS3, PS4 and "classic" titles. You can also stream those titles on a PC. PS5 support should make the tier considerably more appealing, especially as Sony expands access beyond the PS5 itself. Project Q mates an 8-inch display with DualSense-equivalent controls and currently is only confirmed to work with Remote Play directly from a PlayStation 5 that you own.

This doesn't mean first-party games will be available to stream on launch day, as they sometimes are with Microsoft's Game Pass. Subscriptions head Nick Maguire tellsGamsIndustry.biz that in-house titles will still be released "outside the service first." The existing approach of moving games to Premium a year or more later is "working," according to Maguire. In other words, the company wants to eke out as many purchases as it can.

That still provides access to a significant library. As of next week, PS Plus is adding Far Cry 6, Inscryption, Rogue Legacy 2 and Soulstice to the PS5 section of the Game Catalog. While those aren't necessarily must-play titles, Premium streaming could make it relatively painless to check them out.

Sonos is the latest big tech company laying off staff. The smart speaker brand has revealed in an SEC filing that it's cutting 7 percent of its workforce, or about 130 jobs. It's also planning to further shrink its "real estate footprint" and rethink spending on certain programs, according to the filing. This will cost an estimated $11 million to $14 million, up to $11 million of which will be linked to severance and benefits.

In a statement to Engadget, Sonos chief Patrick Spence says his company already planned to "protect profitability" if performance didn't match expectations. The layoffs and spending changes are the result of "continued headwinds," the CEO adds.

Sonos has run into financial trouble in recent months. It has swung between narrow profits and losses for multiple quarters, and in the second quarter of 2023 lost $30.7 million compared to a $8.6 million profit a year earlier. Spence pinned the shortfall on "softening" demand and tightening store inventory, and promised "swift action" to cut costs. It's not clear how much of a role the rough economy played in the reduced sales, but it won't have helped.

This is the first significant round of layoffs at Sonos since 2020, when the company slashed 12 percent of its headcount due to the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also come at a critical moment. Sonos just introduced its most important speakers in years, the Era 100 and spatial audio-focused Era 300, and is still fighting Google over patent royalties. It's also facing renewed competition that includes the second-generation Apple HomePod. The market is evolving, and Sonos is under pressure to keep up.

This is one of your best chances to set up a smart home on a budget, or expand the one you have. Amazon is bundling the latest-generation Echo Dot with a Kasa Smart Plug Mini for only $28, or a whopping $45 off. That's less than the smart speaker by itself, and even undercuts the price of the brand new Echo Pop.

The 2022 Echo Dot is our favorite budget smart speaker for a good reason: it sounds better than you'd expect at its regular price, let alone on sale. It's loud enough to fill a large room, and clear enough to do justice to your music. The Alexa ecosystem is also robust, so you won't have problems finding services and smart home devices (including the smart plug, of course) you can control with your voice. Toss in a temperature sensor and an Eero network extender and you might not feel the need to buy much more, at least if you're committed to Amazon's ecosystem.

We're also fond of Kasa smart plugs. They offer broad compatibility (you won't be locked into Amazon's world) and are generally easy to set up. That makes the Echo Dot bundle a good choice for turning on household devices (especially on schedules) without reaching for a switch. You might appreciate that if you need to run a light or appliance while you're on summer vacation.

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Phasmophobia, like Among Us and Animal Crossing, was a staple of pandemic-era gaming — the co-op ghost hunts were a way to connect when real-life meetings were much scarier. If you missed out or just have fond memories, then, you'll be glad to hear that Kinetic Games is releasing the title on PlayStation 5, PlayStation VR2 and Xbox Series X/S in early access this August. The living room version has cross-platform support, so you shouldn't have to venture into spooky houses without some help.

The premise remains the same. You and up to three other players are tasked with producing evidence of ghosts using familiar pseudoscience tools like thermometers, EMF readers and Ouija boards. The more you discover, the more you can sell to ghost removal teams. The catch, of course, is that these aren't friendly apparitions. They may go on the hunt and kill players, especially as your team's sanity declines. It's not uncommon to see the last surviving player make a panicked run for the exit.

The console launch is coming almost three years after the PC debut. As with Among Us, its heyday has passed. There's still a sizeable fan base, though (over 10,800 average daily players on Steam as of this writing), and the availability on other platforms could both expand the audience and give PC gamers more help with their paranormal investigations.