America's Tesla divide, Apple and Google target tech stalkers, Ford's EV losses: Tech news roundup

Screenshot: Hertz Car Sales, Photo: Axel Schmidt (Getty Images), Apu Gomes / Stringer (Getty Images), Sean Gallup (Getty Images), Ford, Mike Blake (Reuters), Tesla, Justin Sullivan (Getty Images), Image: Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times (Getty Images), Illustration: Dado Ruvic (Reuters)

Screenshot: Hertz Car Sales

: Environmental activists protest near the Tesla Gigafactory electric car factory on May 11, 2024 close to Gruenheide, Germany.Photo: Axel Schmidt (Getty Images)

It’s pretty unusual for a car company to truly be divisive; outside of labor strikes or the occasional scandal or recall, they’re generally not something to be fought about at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Tesla, as usual, is the exception.

What is Elon Musk praying about here? Wrong answers only.Photo: Apu Gomes / Stringer (Getty Images)

Photo: Sean Gallup (Getty Images)

Parking lots full of Tesla vehicles are becoming impossible to ignore as the electric automaker seemingly can’t sell enough cars and trucks to match its rate of production. According to its own figures, the electric automaker produced 46,561 more vehicles than it delivered to customers during the first quarter of 2024. Where are all these cars going? Parking lots at its factories, malls and airports.

Photo: Ford

A dog and his owner wait for a recharge to be complete at a Tesla Supercharger station at the corner of 14th St. and Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monica on April 17, 2024.Image: Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times (Getty Images)

Tesla’s charge port has become the North American Charging Standard (NACS), but what does it take for non-Tesla owners to take advantage of the brand’s ubiquitous Supercharger network? Online retailers like Amazon are full of NACS adapters that look like they would allow non-Tesla EVs to charge at Tesla Superchargers, but unfortunately none of these actually work. There are only a few ways for EV owners to use Tesla Superchargers, and there is no quick fix on Amazon. Consider for a moment though that your car costs a lot of money, and charging a whole car involves a lot more energy than charging a phone, so it’s not a smart situation to cheap-out on.

Power down.Photo: Mike Blake (Reuters)

The Android mascot Bugdroid is seen in front of the Apple logoIllustration: Dado Ruvic (Reuters)

If someone slips a tracking device onto your person, your phone will now start telling you, regardless if you’re an Apple or Android user.

Apple devices have long alerted users if an Air Tag or similar Apple bluetooth device is located in their vicinity. And Android phones have had the ability to detect unknown bluetooth devices — Air Tag or not — since at least July. A new update allows gadgets from either manufacturer to be fully cross-functional.