Gadgets And Technology Daily News | 16 Jul 2023
Views (84)
India’s New Online Gaming Tax Will Stifle Foreign Investment, Put $2.5 Billion Investment at Risk: Gaming Firms
India's new 28 percent tax on online gaming companies will stifle foreign investment and put $2.5 billion (roughly Rs. 20,500 crore) already invested in the sector at risk, more than 100 gaming firms have said in a letter to India's finance ministry.
India this week announced the tax on the funds that online gaming companies collect from their customers. Games such as fantasy cricket have became increasingly popular in recent years, but have also raised concerns about addiction among players.
Top investors including Tiger Global and Peak XV, previously known as Sequoia Capital India, have invested in Indian gaming companies such as Dream11 and Mobile Premier League.
In the letter dated July 14, gaming companies including MPL urged the finance minister to rethink the move, highlighting the impact on jobs and investment.
The tax would deter potential investors, both domestic and foreign, from considering the online gaming sector in India as a viable investment destination, the letter said, and added that the current $2.5 billion (roughly Rs. 20,500 crore) plus in investments is at stake based on this decision.
India's finance ministry did not respond to an email request for comment, sent outside usual business hours. Federal Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra told Reuters in an interview this week that the government believes social as well as economic purposes will be served by the tax.
Many Indian ministers view bets on online gaming platforms as a "social evil", Malhotra had said.
Revenues of fantasy gaming platforms rose 24 percent during the Indian Premier League cricket season from a year earlier to more than $342 million (roughly Rs. 2,800 crore), with over 61 million users participating, Redseer consultancy said this month.
Users can create a fantasy cricket team for as little as Rs. 8.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tesla Rolls Out First Cybertruck After Two-Year Delay: All Details
US automaker Tesla on Saturday announced that its first electric pickup -- a slick-looking silver Cybertruck -- had rolled off the assembly line at its huge plant near Austin, Texas.
"First Cybertruck built at Giga Texas!" says a tweet from the company, accompanied by a photo of the futuristic vehicle amid a sea of helmeted and yellow-vested Tesla workers.
Elon Musk, who owns both Tesla and Twitter, reposted the tweet with the comment "Congrats Tesla Team."
Tesla did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment on Saturday.
The company had promised in April that it would be rolling out the first Cybertrucks before the end of the year.
Plans for the vehicle, with its silvery, tortoise-like shape and unusual angles, were first announced in November 2019.
Its original introduction went awry when Musk urged a Tesla employee to strike one of the prototype's windows with a hunk of steel to show its solidity. The window broke -- drawing a laugh and a curse word from Musk -- as did a second window on an ensuing attempt.
Yet within two days, Tesla said it had received nearly 150,000 advance orders.
In May, Musk said the company hoped to build 250,000 of the trucks a year -- a number he said could eventually double, given a relatively accessible price tag.
Tesla will be making three models of the Cybertruck, a vehicle that can accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) in less than three seconds. The basic model will cost $39,900 (roughly Rs. 32,03,700) and offer a 250-mile range between charges; the top-line truck will have twice that range and sell for $69,900 (roughly Rs. 57,41,900).
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Elon Musk's xAI Will Use Public Tweets for AI Model Training, to Work With Twitter and Tesla
Elon Musk on Friday said the purpose of his new artificial intelligence company, xAI, will be to "understand the universe."
In an often meandering 90-minute long Twitter Spaces audio chat, the billionaire discussed his vision for xAI for the first time while veering into topics such as the Earth's evolution and the fragility of civilisation.
In seeking to deepen the understanding of the universe, Musk joked that xAI's mission statement would be "what the hell is really going on?"
Musk announced the formation of xAI on Wednesday after accusing companies like OpenAI and Google of developing the technology without considering risks to humans.
OpenAI and Google did not respond to request for comment.
He said xAI would seek to build a "good AGI," as an alternative to Microsoft, Google and OpenAI. AGI stands for artificial general intelligence and refers to AI that can solve problems like a human.
During the Spaces session, which had a delayed start as Twitter needed to "tweak the algorithm" to promote the chat to more users, Musk said xAI would work closely with his other companies, Twitter and Tesla.
The company will use public tweets to train its AI models and may also work with Tesla on AI software.
Such a relationship would have "mutual benefit" and could accelerate Tesla's work in self-driving capabilities, Musk said.
He also accused all AI companies of training their models using Twitter data in what he characterised as an illegal manner.
Musk, who has advocated for regulations in AI, said he has pushed for meetings with White House officials and has emphasised the importance of regulating AI in his recent meetings with top government officials in China.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
0 Likes