Hello, and welcome back to Week in Review, where we round up the biggest stories of the week. If you want this in your inbox every Saturday, sign up here.
Greg Kumbarak is still on vacation, but don’t worry! He will return to the post next week to bring you our biggest story. Until then, I’ll have you covered.
First for some quick chores. TechCrunch+ has an Independence Day sale, which gives you 50% off your annual subscription. Do I need more? TC + Chief Editor Alex Wilhelm It gives you every reason to immerse yourself here.
Well, let’s go to the moon! Yes the moon. Some space junk crashed onto the moon’s surface this week, baffling some keen observers. Was it from SpaceX? Was it from a rocket launched by the China National Space Administration in 2014? We still don’t know, but Devin Coldewey had a chat with Darren McKnight of LeoLabs, who has built a network of debris-tracking radar, to get more insight.
Image credits: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University
Other things
Speaking of space: Have you ever wanted to stare longingly into the depths of the universe and get something to stare back? This should happen within two weeks when the James Webb Space Telescope releases its first images. “This is far beyond what humanity has ever looked at,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a media briefing this week. Maybe the truth he is Abroad.
Autopilot layoffs at Tesla: The automaker this week laid off 195 employees in two offices in its autopilot division. Those laid off held the roles of supervisor, surname, and data analyst. Questions remain about the impact of the layoffs on Tesla’s broader advanced driver assistance system. The remaining 81 employees on the Autopilot team will be moved to another office, as the San Mateo office will be closed.
SPAC Subpoenas: A New York-based federal grand jury has sent subpoenas to the board of Digital World, which is preparing to acquire Trump Media & Technology Group, Donald Trump’s media group responsible for Truth Social. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the subpoenas are an attempt to gather more information about “S-1 files in the digital world, communications with or about multiple individuals, and information regarding Rocket One Capital.”
Deepfake job applications: This week the FBI issued a warning that deepfake technology is used in conjunction with stolen information to apply for jobs. Part of this even includes video interviews. “In these interviews, the actions and movement of the lips of the interviewee in front of the camera do not completely coordinate with the voice of the person speaking. Sometimes, actions such as coughing, sneezing, or other auditory actions do not align with what is being visually displayed,” the FBI said in A statement announced the disturbing news.
Party spoiler: Welp, that 2020-era unlimited ban on unauthorized parties on Airbnbs is now permanent. That means no open invite parties and no parties with more than 16 attendees. Since the ban was imposed two years ago, the company said in a blog post that there has been a 44% year-over-year decline in the party reporting rate. There will be no celebration, Garth.
Image credits: DrAfter123 / Getty Images
audio stuff
On the TechCrunch Podcast Network, Sounding Board founder Kristen Tao joined forces with Darrell and Jordan on Found to talk about the difficulties she and her co-founder faced while fundraising and how they established the type of client that made the expansion possible.
And on Wednesday’s episode of Equity, Natasha Mascarenhas asked a question inspired by a recent post penned by TC’s Rebecca Zkotak: What’s in the fine print of class papers these days, and what does that tell us about who will be in control during an economic downturn?
Check out our full tour.
Added stuff
Want more from TechCrunch? Head over to the aptly named TechCrunch+, where we dive deeper into the topics our subscribers tell us they care about. Some of the good things for this week include:
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rejected spot Bitcoin ETFs again. What now?
The SEC’s decisions are not the first in this field; The government agency denied over a dozen bitcoin ETFs in the past year alone while approving several bitcoin-based ETFs, Jacqueline Milink reports.
Disclose your zone 3 emissions, you cowards
Tim de Chant takes on companies that claim to be serious about carbon emissions. In short, if they were serious, they would appreciate their Scope 3 emissions and would not undermine attempts to make Scope 3 disclosures standard.
Pitch Deck Teardown: Wilco’s Initial $7 Million Collection
Pilgrim is back with another dismantling of the presentation platform this week from Wilco, whose funding he covered last week. He’s very excited about Wilco’s deck, where, he says, it’s 19 slides that tick all the boxes.
Image credits: wilko (Opens in a new window)
