Elon Musk says he’ll pay over $11 billion in taxes this year

Time Person of the Year 2021, Elon Musk. | Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for TIME

Elon Musk expects to pay over $11 billion in taxes in 2021, the Tesla CEO said in a tweet. The figure is roughly in line with a report from CNBC last week, when it estimated that Musk has already paid $7 billion in state and federal taxes this year, and will pay a further $5 billion by January 1st. CNBC said the figures could represent “the single largest tax bill ever.”

The disclosure comes as Musk and other billionaires are facing increasing scrutiny over the amount of tax they pay. As _CNBC_explains, Musk doesn’t take a salary or cash bonus in his role as Tesla CEO, and instead is compensated in stock awards. When he needs money, he’s able to borrow it using his stock holdings as collateral, which doesn’t carry the same tax...

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LG’s ‘first gaming laptop’ has an RTX 3080 and 11th Gen Intel CPU

The laptop features an RGB keyboard. | Image: LG

LG has announced what it’s calling its “first gaming laptop,” the UltraGear 17G90Q. The 17-inch laptop is powered by a combination of an 11th Gen Intel Tiger Lake H CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Max-Q graphics card, and can be configured with up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage

The company is no stranger to making laptops, but the focus of its previous models has generally been on office productivity rather than offering a top-of-the-line gaming experience. The LG Gram 17 we reviewed earlier this year, for example, was a great lightweight work machine, but its lack of a beefy dedicated GPU meant it definitely wasn’t a gaming machine.

Image: LG

Four ports are hidden on the rear of the machine, including HDMI...

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Tom Brady’s best throw of the night destroys Microsoft tablet

Tom Brady rage quitting Microsoft Surface.

After throwing a fourth-quarter interception to seal a 9-0 loss against the Saints on Sunday night, Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady managed to connect with a Microsoft Surface tablet, absolutely destroying it. The defeat was Brady’s first shutout in 15 years, according to CBS Sports.

Brady joins an illustrious group of Surface abusers that include Aaron Rogers, Johnny Manziel, and former boss Bill “I just can’t take it anymore” Belichick, to name just a few.

Surface tablets have suffered regular abuse since their introduction in the 2014 NFL season after Microsoft became the official provider of tablet-based image reviews for teams during games, replacing the black-and-white photographs that had been in use for decades. The tablets were...

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Leaked images show upcoming Garmin Fenix 7 and Venu 2 Plus smartwatches

Leaked images of the Fenix 7, Venu 2 Plus, Instinct 2, and the Epix Gen2 (pictured from left to right). | Photo by Winfuture

A trove of leaked images shows what Garmin’s upcoming 2022 smartwatch lineup may look like. A report by German technology site Winfuture shows the supposed images of the Garmin Fenix 7 series, Venu 2 Plus, Epix Gen2, and Instinct 2 series smartwatches.

The post shows that the Fenix 7 series may consist of three models: the standard Fenix 7, 7S, and 7X, all of which are rumored to be made of both reinforced plastic and stainless steel. It may also have a built-in solar panel that charges the device while you’re wearing it, along with some familiar tracking features that the Fenix 6 originally came with (and possibly more). It appears that the base model will only come in black, while the Fenix 7S may have an all-white variation, as well...

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Disney and YouTube TV cut a deal to bring back ESPN, FX, and other channels

Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Disney and YouTube TV have reached a deal today to put more than a dozen Disney-owned channels back on Google’s internet TV streaming service.

The news follows a previous announcement late Friday that the two had failed to reach an agreement before their contract expired, and users were informed they would no longer have access to the channels, which included ESPN, Disney, FX, and other Disney-owned properties.

“We are pleased to announce that after a brief disruption, we have reached a new distribution agreement with Google’s YouTube TV for continued carriage of our portfolio of networks,” Disney said in a statement. “We appreciate Google’s collaboration to reach fair terms that are consistent with the market, and we’re thrilled that...

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FCC settles with Verizon, AT&T, and others over failed 911 calls

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has reached settlements with AT&T, Verizon, Intrado, and CenturyLink (which now goes by Lumen Technologies) over investigations into failed 911 calls that occurred during network outages in 2020. The companies will pay a total of $6 million combined and also agreed to ensure compliance with the FCC’s 911 availability rules going forward.

AT&T will pay $460,000 to settle two different investigations regarding network outages that took place on September 28th, 2020. Both Lumen Technologies and Intrado agreed to resolve investigations into outages that occurred on that same day, with Lumen Technologies paying $3.8 million and Intrado paying $1.7 million. Verizon settled with the FCC over an...

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TikTok Kitchens will bring viral culinary creations to fans

Photo by Virtual Dining Concepts

TikTok is partnering with Virtual Dining Concepts (VDC) to launch TikTok Kitchens, a delivery-only service that will cook up some of the trendiest recipes on the app, first reported by Bloomberg. TikTok and VDC will reportedly open around 300 locations across the US to start, but plan on expanding to around 1,000 by the end of 2022.

TikTok Kitchens will operate out of existing restaurants, including chains owned by VDC co-founder Robert Earl, such as Buca di Beppo and Bertucci’s. It’s essentially a ghost kitchen service, but unlike some companies in this niche, VDC’s kitchens don’t appear to operate out of satellite, trailer-converted kitchens in parking lots. As the VDC’s description of the service notes, TikTok Kitchens will make use...

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Some Halo Infinite players have to use dev kits at first major tournament

Screenshot from Halo Esports via YouTube

Microsoft is apparently having just as much trouble procuring Xbox consoles as everyone else, as some of the players at the first major Halo Infinite tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina are forced to play on Xbox Series X development kits (via Kotaku). Game dev kits consist of hardware that developers use to create games and typically aren’t available to the public, let alone used at official gaming tournaments.

Heads up open bracket players - you'll be playing this weekend on Series X development consoles. They're functionally identical and will be operating in "Retail" mode so it's the exact same experience, they just look a little different.

Why? Global supply chain shortage is real.

— Tashi (@Tashi343i) December 15, 2021

Tahir...

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AI Dungeon’s creators are launching an experimental AI-powered game platform

Latitude

Latitude, the startup behind text game AI Dungeon, is expanding into a new artificial intelligence-powered game platform called Voyage. The company announced the closed beta on Friday, opening a waitlist for current AI Dungeon users. It’s the next step for a company that began with a university hackathon project, but that ultimately hopes to help other people create their own games using trained AI models.

_AI Dungeon,_which launched as AI Dungeon 2 in 2019, is powered by OpenAI’s GPT-2 and GPT-3 text generation algorithms. To start, you generate some introductory text or write your own adventure setup. Then you can enter any command you want and a Dungeons & Dragons-style virtual game master will improvise some text describing the...

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Nvidia’s new RTX 2050 laptop GPU could potentially power more affordable laptops

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Nvidia’s upcoming RTX 2050 laptop GPUs don’t sound “new” at all, considering that the company already released the RTX 3050 and 3050 Ti GPUs for laptops earlier this year (via VideoCardz). But it’s clear that Nvidia isn’t ready to retire its 20 series GPUs just yet — Nvidia says that the RTX 2050 will be available in laptops starting in the spring of 2022.

The RTX 2050 is based on Ampere GA107 architecture, not Turing

The RTX 2050 isn’t just a piece of old hardware brought back from the dead. Unlike other 20 series chips, the RTX 2050 is based on Ampere GA107 architecture, not Turing. Ampere is the same architecture that the RTX 3050 (and all other 30 series cards) is powered by, and packaging it within a 20-series card could potentially...

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Amazon’s Appstore update is supposed to fix issues with Android 12

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Amazon has finally rolled out an update for its Appstore, and it’s supposed to fix the issues that have been plaguing Android 12 users for over a month (via Engadget). After users downloaded Android 12, they noticed that the Amazon Appstore wasn’t functioning correctly, an issue likely caused by the lack of compatibility between Amazon’s built-in DRM and the operating system.

The fix doesn’t seem to solve the problem for everyone

In an update on the Amazon support forum where the issue first came to light, an Amazon staff member notes that the technical team has issued an update to address the issue between the Appstore and Android 12. He says that you can download the update from Amazon’s website, and that you should sign out and sign...

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GM starts delivering electric Hummer pickup trucks to customers

Photo by Jeffrey Sauger for General Motor

GM has officially started sending its Hummer EV Edition 1 pickup trucks out of the factory and into the driveways of customers, according to a press release on the company’s website. Built on the Ultium platform, the Hummer EV Edition 1 model comes with a hefty $110,295 price tag, along with up to 1,000 horsepower, 11,500 lb-ft of torque, and an estimated 329-mile range.

Features unique to the vehicle include “CrabWalk,” a mode that enables the truck to drive diagonally at low speeds by pivoting the rear and front wheels at the same angle. Another feature increases the height of the truck’s suspension by six inches, potentially allowing the truck to clear large rocks or water when off-roading — in the fine print, GM says that this...

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You can save $10 on any game over $15 during Epic Games’ Winter Sale

Now through January 6th, Epic Games is slashing prices on titles new and old.

This weekend, you can be sure that much of The Verge staff will be adding to their pile of PC shame. The Epic Games Store has officially kicked off its annual Winter Sale, bringing sizable discounts on fresh titles like Jurassic World Evolution 2, Battlefield 2042, and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. What’s really cool though, is that Epic is discounting any title that’s more than $14.99 by an additional $10. And don’t sweat it too much if you’re having a tough time figuring out what to buy, as the sale will be running until January 6th.

Regularly $49.99, you can currently grab the Logitech G305 Lightspeed in a variety of colors at Amazon for $29.99. This discount isn’t out of the ordinary, but it's pretty difficult to find a wireless...

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WSJ’s deep dive into eating disorder rabbit holes on TikTok explains a sudden policy change

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

A troubling report from the Wall Street Journal digs into the personal experiences of young girls who were sent down rabbit holes of extreme weight loss challenges, purging techniques, and deadly diets through TikTok, contributing to the development of eating disorders, or making existing ones worse. The WSJ did its own experiment to see how TikTok’s algorithm can potentially promote this kind of harmful content — its findings may explain TikTok’s sudden decision to alter the way its video recommendation system operates.

As detailed in the report, the WSJ created over 100 accounts “that browsed the app with little human intervention,” 12 of which were bots registered to 13-year-olds that spent time on videos surrounding weight loss,...

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Ye’s Stem Player has soft skin and all of the lights

Ye’s Stem Player was made in partnership with Kano Computing. | Photo by Jay Peters / The Verge

It’s a powerful and unconventional music device

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YouTube TV loses ESPN, other Disney networks after failing to reach new deal

photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images

YouTube TV has failed to reach an eleventh-hour deal with Disney to keep more than a dozen Disney-owned channels on the live TV streaming service. As of December 18th, popular networks including ESPN and ABC have been removed from the service. As promised, YouTube TV has dropped its subscription to $50 per month as a direct result of the lost programming.

Disney said in a statement late Friday that after ongoing negotiations with YouTube TV, “they have declined to reach a fair deal with us based on market terms and conditions.”

“As a result, their subscribers have lost access to our unrivaled portfolio of networks including live sports and news plus kids, family and general entertainment programming from ABC, the ESPN networks, the...

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LG’s new flagship soundbar shoots voices up in the air so you can hear

LG has announced a new 9.1.5-channel Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundbar featuring a novel upward firing center speaker that bounces dialogue off the celling and to your ears so you can hear clearly. While up-firing drivers are a big part of how soundbars produce surround sound in general — it’s one of five here — LG claims the up-firing center is a world-first. The soundbar also includes a pair of wireless rear speakers that can now additionally send audio to the side walls of the room, which could also increase the audio immersion.

It’s important to note that the new up-firing center speaker is still the same channel as the regular center, but adds to the clarity of dialogue. Same goes for the two extra side-firing drivers of the rear...

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Adidas sold more than $22 million in NFTs, but it hit a few snags along the way

Adidas’ NFTs were quite popular. | Image: Adidas

All 30,000 of Adidas’ Into the Metaverse NFTs were minted within a matter of hours of going on sale Friday. Each NFT cost 0.2 ETH, which currently equates to about $765, and the company sold 29,620 NFTs (“Adidas and partners” held onto 380 for “future events”), meaning the company earned more than $22 million from the sales in the span of an afternoon. (The price of Ethereum has been falling while writing this story, making an exact number difficult to pinpoint.)

Adidas made the NFTs in partnership with Bored Ape Yacht Club, Punks Comics, and GMoney (a pseudonymous crypto enthusiast). Buying an NFT gives owners access to special physical goods, like a hoodie and the tracksuit worn by the Bored Ape that Adidas owns, and upcoming digital...

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The story of Elizabeth Holmes now belongs to the jury

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

They’ll decide whether or not she was the one in control

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Here are 65 last-minute gifts that will arrive in time for the holidays

The second-gen Echo Show 8 makes for a popular gift that will arrive in time for Christmas. | Dan Seifert / The Verge

Christmas is just around the corner, and if that news fills you with panic instead of excitement, we’ve got your back. For those who are behind on your holiday shopping, there are still a ton of great gifts you can buy that will arrive in time, some of which are even on sale. Below, we’ve rounded up the best and organized them based on category, covering everything from smart displays and TVs to gaming accessories and laptops.

Of course, if you’re looking for more ideas, our recently-updated 2021 Holiday Gift Guide is always a great place to browse. And if you’re really down to the wire and need a gift day-of — shipping deadlines are approaching fast, after all — we’ve also rounded up the best digital gifts you can buy and deliver...

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Movie theaters are breaking records thanks to Spider-Man, even as omicron spreads

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Spider-Man: No Way Home eclipsed previous box office records on its first night at some of the biggest theater chains in the nation. That’s big news for theaters whose continued existence seemed under threat at the start of the pandemic, and it suggests moviegoers’ interest hasn’t yet changed dramatically in response to the latest COVID variant.

AMC announced Friday that roughly 1.1 million moviegoers attended the opening night of Spider-Man: No Way Home, making it the highest-grossing opening night for a December title in AMC’s history. Cinemark called the film’s debut its “best opening night of all time.” And Regal said the film became its second-highest Thursday box office title in its history and shattered records for IMAX, 4DX,...

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How panic over rumored school shooting threats went viral

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Videos warning of attacks on schools spread across the US, but nobody can pinpoint where the rumors started

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macOS 12.2 is getting a better Apple Music app, and you can test it now

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

With the introduction of macOS Catalina in 2019, Apple finally brought the reign of iTunes to an end by splitting its features into dedicated Podcasts, TV, and Music apps. There was just one problem — the new Music app isn’t really that different from iTunes, and even the new streaming elements render like web pages instead of natively.

macOS 12.2 beta is now available, featuring smoother scrolling in Safari on the latest MacBook Pro with ProMotion, and a native Apple Music and TV experience backed by AppKit views instead of web views. https://t.co/jjM9THIxFc

— wondrous hydra (@wondroushydra) December 16, 2021

As 9to5Macpoints out, developers testing a beta version of the next macOS Monterey update, 12.2, have spotted an updated...

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This cute EV off-road buggy concept arrived just in time for the weekend

Beep beep, I’m a buggy. | Image: Citroën

After pining after Hyundai’s evil (in a good way) EV retro concept, a new concept vehicle has come to steal my heart from a company I can’t say I’ve heard of before. It’s the Citroën My Ami Buggy, a tiny battery-powered vehicle that looks like a smart car got really into backpacking, mountain-biking, or any number of fun weekend activities (shout out to Engadget for bringing this into my life).

Citroën says in its press release that the buggy is designed to be playful, something “that every child from the age of 14 to 77 would want to add to their Christmas list,” and says it took inspiration from “non-automotive worlds such as construction games, industrial design and fashion.” I can actually buy fashion — the roof-mounted spare tire is...

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Amazon driver was warned she’d be fired for returning with packages during a tornado

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

An Amazon delivery driver in Illinois was told to keep delivering packages after she reported hearing tornado sirens, with the dispatcher saying that the sirens were “just a warning.” According to a report by Bloomberg, which includes screenshots of the conversation, the driver was told that returning to the warehouse would be viewed as a route refusal, “which [would] ultimately end with you not having a job come tomorrow morning.”

The conversation reportedly happened on Friday evening, around an hour and a half before a tornado hit an Amazon facility around 30 miles away from the driver. After being told twice to “just keep delivering,” the driver was eventually instructed to shelter in place “for 15-20 minutes, then continue as...

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Twitter wasn’t built for spoilers

Photo: Columbia Pictures

Spider-Man: No Way Home hit theaters today, which means that (of course) Twitter was immediately flooded with spoilers for the latest superhero flick. The problem isn’t a new one: people either intentionally or inadvertently spoiling major twists and turns in big films or TV shows is inherent to the idea of surprise reveals in media. And it’s only grown as Twitter (and to a larger extent, the entire internet) has been around and entwined with the hype cycles of these movies.

But No Way Home’s spoiler-palooza does highlight just how poorly Twitter’s design handles spoilers and sensitive information.

Facebook and Instagram tend to limit your reach to whoever you follow or are friends with. YouTube and TikTok leave you to the mercy of...

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Still on the hunt for the perfect gift? Here are some last-minute ideas

A gift card offering access to thousands of books from Amazon or Barnes and Noble is a great present for bookworms. | Photo by Chaim Gartenberg

So the holidays are just days away, and you’re panicking because you still haven’t found a gift yet. Perhaps the present you wanted to give simply won’t arrive in time, or maybe you’ve just been too busy — or lazy — to pick something up (no judgment there). Whatever the reason, don’t worry; thanks to the internet, procrastinators, busy bees, and even lazy folks can still buy some great digital gifts without needing to leave their house.

The only problem? There are tons of digital gifts to choose from, ranging from streaming subscriptions to concert tickets, and finding the right one can be overwhelming. That’s why we’ve rounded up a few gift ideas across a number of popular categories, including film and travel, so you quickly choose,...

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Chipotle hides the assembly line, testing new online-order-only ‘Digital Kitchen’

Chipotle’s Digital Kitchen for Pickup & Delivery kind of looks like a regular Chipotle | Image: Chipotle

Chipotle announced it’s opening a new “Digital Kitchen” restaurant this month in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (about 40 miles south of Cleveland) — which will exclusively accept online orders.

Hungry customers should avoid knocking on that pickup window expecting to have their order taken

The prototype location will offer its pickup-only drive-thru “Chipotlane,” some outdoor seats and tables for eating (no dining room), and a walk-up window. Hungry customers should avoid knocking on that pickup window expecting to have their order taken. Instead, order online or on the Chipotle app and then check back at the window or roll up to the drive-thru.

Image: Tabasco

Imagine begging the Chipotle worker at the window to let you...

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Verizon tries to defend collecting browsing data on its network

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Verizon has sent an email to customers to let them know they’re getting opted in to its Custom Experience data collection scheme after reports came out about it being turned on by default for some users. If you (understandably) trashed the email without reading it, the TL;DR is that Verizon’s program collects data about your apps and web browsing activity to help “provide you more personalized experiences with Verizon.” But of course, Verizon says, you have a choice — you can turn it off anytime because your privacy is important to it (though not important enough to make the program opt-in instead of opt-out).

Custom Experience is a sort of spin-off / successor / rebrand of Verizon Selects, which people were enrolled into when they used...

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TikTok says it’s removing ‘alarmist warnings’ about school violence

TikTok says it has not found any videos threatening school violence on December 17th | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

TikTok said Friday that it’s working to remove “alarmist warnings” about a supposed day of school violence that was rumored to take place on Friday, December 17th. A supposed threat of a nationwide day of violence at schools across the country, that allegedly started as a TikTok challenge, prompted some districts to cancel classes Friday even as law enforcement mostly determined that the threats were not credible.

TikTok said on Twitter that the warnings violated its misinformation policy, which prohibits the spread of hoaxes or warnings about hoaxes that treat them as real. After searching “exhaustively,” Tiktok said it had not found content on its platform promoting violence at US schools on Friday, despite the widespread but...

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