At the beginning of this year, Elon Musk had a fortune of $251 billion and could almost single-handedly solve world hunger. However, Tesla's stagnant sales, the endless struggle to buy Twitter, and the volatility of Tesla's stock price meant he lost a lot of money this year. According to Forbes, Musk is the billionaire with the most losses so far this year, with his wealth shrinking at a rate of about $5 billion a month. According to the website, his wealth shrank by more than 10% from the end of 2023 to June 28, 2024. As the website explains: Between December 31, 2023, and June 28, the last day of regular stock market trading for the first half of the year, Musk's net worth fell from $251.3 billion to $221.4 billion, a bigger drop than any other billionaire tracked by Forbes, but Musk remains the richest person on the planet. The main reason for the dip in Musk's pocketbook is that a Delaware judge in January canceled Musk's then-record Tesla compensation package worth $51 billion, which led Forbes to cut the value of the equity award by 50 percent because of uncertainty about whether Musk would receive those stock options. Excluding that bonus, Musk's wealth has remained volatile over the past six months, with the value of his 13 percent stake in Tesla shrinking by about $20 billion as falling profits and car deliveries sent the stock down 20 percent. But that was partly offset by the growth of Musk's stake in his generative artificial intelligence startup xAI to $14.4 billion (Musk also has a roughly $75 billion stake in private aerospace company SpaceX, a $7 billion stake in social media company X, And smaller stakes in other companies, such as brain experimentation startup Neuralink).

As a major city in the United States and even the global film industry, Hollywood has gathered a large number of veteran film and television production companies, including Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Disney Pictures, MGM Pictures, etc. In addition, new streaming forces such as Netflix have also entered in recent years. When the new generation of technology represented by generative AI sweeps the world, the movie "dream factory" is also experiencing a transformative moment. In early May last year, the US film and television industry launched a series of strikes that lasted for five months. Two labor disputes, led by the Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild, have caused the worst industry disruption since the 2020 pandemic, forcing many film projects and TV shows to halt or delay production. The strike has been costly, with Kevin Klowden, chief global strategist at the Milken Institute think tank, estimating it has cost the U.S. economy more than $5 billion, affecting not only film and television production companies, but also surrounding service industries such as catering, trucking and dry cleaning. One of the main conflicts between labor and management is that many actors and screenwriters have expressed concerns about "unemployment" due to the "invasion" of artificial intelligence. Luo Chenya has been working in the film and television industry for more than 10 years, including scriptwriter, documentary photographer and assistant director. She told the first financial reporter that after ChatGPT became popular, she also tried to use chatbots to assist script creation. "I can talk to the AI about my ideas and ideas, and it will help analyze and refine my ideas, and even make some suggestions that I think are quite effective." But on the execution level, the idea of writing it down into a very specific scene, character action, it doesn't really help me." Luo Chenya said that AI still needs more training and evolution in script writing, but the ability to present images is amazing. "AI can directly generate images, which can indeed save labor to a great extent, and may even replace photographers in the future." In post-production, AI can beautify images and modify flaws." A place to be fought over Earlier this year, OpenAI released the Vincennes video model Sora on its website, which can create videos up to a minute long, generating complex scenes with multiple characters, specific types of movement, and precise theme and background details. In addition to being able to generate video from text, the model can also generate video from still images, precisely animating the image content. "Vincennes Video can quickly produce high-quality video content, greatly improving production efficiency, and generative AI helps to improve the analysis of user preferences and personalized recommendations, and enhance the attractiveness of content." These technologies will disrupt traditional video production and content distribution models, and media companies need to adapt and change their operating models." Wang Haoyu, CEO of Mairui Asset Management, said in an interview with the first financial reporter. For this reason, Hollywood giants have long made big bets and stepped up their layout.

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM July 3 (Reuters) - An Israeli strike killed one of Hezbollah's top commanders in south Lebanon on Wednesday, prompting retaliatory rocket fire by the Iran-backed group into Israel as their dangerously poised conflict rumbled on. The Israeli military said it had struck and eliminated Hezbollah's Mohammed Nasser, calling him commander of a unit responsible for firing from southwestern Lebanon at Israel. Nasser, killed by an airstrike near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, was the one of the most senior Hezbollah commanders to die yet in the conflict, two security sources in Lebanon said. Sparked by the Gaza war, the hostilities have raised concerns about a wider and ruinous conflict between the heavily armed adversaries, prompting U.S. diplomatic efforts aimed at deescalation. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israeli forces were hitting Hezbollah "very hard every day" and will be ready to take any action necessary against the group, though the preference is to reach a negotiated arrangement. Hezbollah began firing at Israeli targets at the border after its Palestinian ally Hamas launched the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, declaring support for the Palestinians and saying it would cease fire when Israel stops its Gaza offensive. Hezbollah announced at least two attacks in response to what it called "the assassination", saying it launched 100 Katyusha rockets at an Israeli military base and its Iranian-made Falaq missiles at another base in the town of Kiryat Shmona near the Israeli-Lebanese border. Israel's Channel 12 broadcaster reported that dozens of rockets were fired into northern Israel from Lebanon. There were no reports of casualties. The Israeli Defence Ministry said that air raid sirens sounded in several parts of northern Israel. Israel's military did not give a number of rockets launched but said most of them fell in open areas, some were intercepted, while a number of launches fell in the area of Kiryat Shmona.

The tetraprism lens with 5x optical zoom currently exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max could be headed to both the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, narrowing the gap between Apple's premium flagships. That's according to a new report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who cites a recent earnings call with Apple lens supplier Largan. In the call, a spokesperson from Largan said "some flagship specifications will be extended to other models" in the second half of 2024, presumably in reference to the upcoming iPhone Pro models. "Apple is Largan’s largest customer, and Largan is also Apple’s largest lens supplier," Kuo said. "Therefore, the quote likely refers to the fact that the new iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will have a tetraprism camera in 2H24 (while only the iPhone 15 Pro Max had this camera in 2H23).” The report goes on to say that the tetraprism camera for the iPhone 16 Pro series won't be all that different from the one in the iPhone 15 Pro Max. While the lack of an upgrade is disappointing, it's not necessarily a bad thing as these kinds of lenses are already top-of-the-line. They represent a major increase over prior models’ zoom capabilities, and they're capable of offering more depth while still fitting into super-slim smartphones. That being said, Apple does appear to be revamping the main camera and ultra-wide camera on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Evidence continues to mount that both iPhone 16 Pro models will share the same 5x optical zoom camera. Earlier this week, DigitTimes in Asia (via 9to5Mac) reported that Apple is set to ramp up orders for tetraprism lenses as it expands their use in its upcoming iPhone series. Industry sources told the outlet that Largan and Genius Electronic Optical were tapped as the primary suppliers. Apple would be wise to streamline its Pro-level iPhones with the same camera setup; then all customers have to consider with their choice of a new iPhone is the size and price. Of course, this should all be taken with a grain of sand for now until we hear more from Apple. It's still a while yet before Apple's usual September time window for iPhone launches. In the meantime, be sure to check out all the rumors so far in our iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max hubs.

Koenigsegg Agera RS Chimera combines technologies from Agera RS, CC850, and Jesko. An Agera RS platform features the engine from the Jesko and the simulated manual gearbox from the CC850. Development took three years, thanks to software and hardware integration challenges. A "chimera," for the uninitiated, is described as a mythical creature whose anatomy comes from multiple animals, creating a hybrid of two or more creatures' best bits. It's also the name of the latest one-off creation from Koenigsegg, and it's certainly apt; the Koenigsegg Agera RS Chimera is an amalgam of technologies from the decade-old, record-breaking Agera RS, the fascinatingly innovative CC850, and the awe-inspiring Jesko - which just recently set four new acceleration records. There's also a hint of Regera in here, which had some impressive records of its own. As reported by Mr. JWW, the strictly one-off special edition was commissioned by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, and both he and one of Koenigsegg's engineers arrived at the same name. Let's take a closer look and see exactly why this is a hybrid, even though it's not electrified. Three Cars In One The Chimera was originally a regular Agera RS and one of several Koenigsegg megacars owned by Ben Sulayem, but he asked Christian and the team to initiate a special project on his behalf. Around the same time, the extraordinary Koenigsegg CC850 was revealed at Monterey Car Week 2022, introducing the innovative Engage Shift System (ESS). This was based on the already astonishingly fast nine-speed Light Speed Transmission, with new actuators and sensors added to enable the simulation of a manual transmission without a physical link between the shifter and the gearbox. Like the rest of the world, the FIA boss was enamored by this novel technology, and as a wealthy 'Egg collector, he asked for it to be put into his special Agera-based project. Christian pondered this and ultimately decided to fulfill the request, in the process turning Ben Sulayem's special edition into something of a development mule for the ESS. But unlike the CC850, the Chimera got the larger turbos of the Jesko, enabling around 1,280 horsepower on regular gas and up to 1,600 hp on E85. That means this is an Agera RS with a CC850 transmission and a Jesko engine. On paper, that sounds simple, but the reality was anything but... Three Shifting Experiences Took Three Years To Combine According to a video from YouTuber and Koenigsegg distributor Mr. JWW, this development process took three years and required the relocation of the battery, new mounts for the powertrain, new harnesses, new software and controllers, and even a new infotainment system. To ensure all the electronics worked seamlessly was a challenge, but then Ben Sulayem asked for another layer of intricacy, requesting that paddle shifters be added, like in the Jesko Absolut and Jesko Attack. In the CC850, you could only switch between the simulated manual mode and fully automatic shifts, but now, the Chimera's development has unlocked manually operable paddles, which have now been added as the only option you can add to a CC850. There was also significant relocation and redesigning of suspension components, with parts from the Jesko and the Regera forming the subframe and elements of the suspension, respectively. A new scoop for the new transmission's cooler was also added, but it looks like it was always planned. Christian von Koenigsegg says this is a true one-off, saying that it would be cheaper and easier to start something all-new from scratch than to mix new and old technologies again, and that it's simply "too much work" to tackle a retrofit project. The Chimera is not completed just yet, as there are still subtle elements to refine, such as the bite point of the clutch pedal, but these minor issues will surely be resolved soon. It's an amazing feat, combining three hypercars in one, and we can't even fathom how Koenigsegg will top this in the future, but we don't doubt that Christian and his team will continue to do just that.