Every day we wake up, drink a cup of coffee, and get ready for work. Following are a handful of stories from around the tech world condensed to fit into one single cup of coffee. These are the things you need to know before you step foot out of your door (or in front of a webcam) and into the real world this morning.
So sit back, grab a cup, and start your morning off right with a few “Quick Bytes” from Innovation & Tech Today.
Elon Musk Opens Tesla’s First European Factory
The long-awaited Tesla Gigafactory in Grünheide, Germany is operational.
Europeans will now be able to access Tesla’s fleet of EVs and parts for existing vehicles without having to import them. Built to serve the European market specifically, the plant eventually aims to employ up to 12,000 people and make up to 500,000 vehicles a year, starting with the Model Y.
However, production in the plant could be slowed due to the war in Ukraine. With greater proximity to the crisis in Eastern Europe than any other Tesla factory, the EV giant’s newest plant will not be immune to the economic and supply chain impacts of the conflict.
Internet Censorship Costs Russia $860 Million So Far This Year
Russia’s economy is taking a massive hit from its online censorship strategy. The country lost $860 million in productivity, investment potential, and opportunity, according to watchdog group NetBlocks.
Censorship efforts in the previous year before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amounted to only $1 million in lost opportunities, according to independent research firm Top10VPN.com. The next highest country on the list, Kazakhstan, incurred only half the cost of Russia due to internet censorship.
Apple is Now Worth 11 Disneys
With a market cap of $2.7 trillion, Apple inc. is by far the biggest tech company in the world, and the third-largest company overall. In fact, Apple is so large it is now worth 11 Disneys.
Walt Disney inc. has become a monopoly in the entertainment industry, buying out rivals such as 20th Century Fox for $71 billion, but the titan still pales in comparison to Apple in terms of market value.
The combined market cap for the Big Five tech companies on the Nasdaq is $8.9 trillion – beating out big oil and big media by a large margin.
Rockets will be Launched into the Magnetosphere this Week to Study Northern Lights
NASA plans to launch two rockets into the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) this week. The launch window opens March 23, and the team heading the operation will decide when ideal conditions are met for liftoff.
The goal of the mission is to gain a better understanding of how natural light displays like auroras interact with the Earth’s atmosphere.
Auroras occur when electrically charged particles from solar winds interact with Earth’s magnetosphere.
