https://www.scmp.com/rss/517332/feed Latest news on billionaire Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter) and the founder of SpaceX, Tesla and The Boring Company. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Daniel Ren,Themis Chen Daniel Ren,Themis Chen Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers and supply-chain vendors, from Tesla rivals Xpeng to Nio and lidar sensor producer Hesai Group, will display their technological advances on a new front – in-car chips – at the Auto China show in Beijing as the country’s automotive industry makes rapid progress. Carmakers and vendors are designing and developing chips to power autonomous driving and in-car entertainment systems. These chips boast computing power on par with blockbuster products made by chip... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3351186/chinese-ev-makers-bet-house-chips-make-cars-smarter-and-more-autonomous?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3351186/chinese-ev-makers-bet-house-chips-make-cars-smarter-and-more-autonomous?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:30:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Elon Musk did not appear on Monday for a voluntary interview with Paris prosecutors, who had summoned the American tech billionaire over a probe into his social media platform X and AI chatbot Grok. Prosecutors said they had “taken note of the absence of the first people summoned”, without mentioning Musk’s name. The billionaire had dubbed the French authorities “retards” weeks earlier in a French-language X post. “The presence or absence [of the people summoned] is not an obstacle to continuing... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350781/elon-musk-summoned-france-show-over-deepfakes-x-grok-probe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350781/elon-musk-summoned-france-show-over-deepfakes-x-grok-probe?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:52:19 +0000 Julie Zhang Julie Zhang Non-invasive brain-computer interfaces (BCI) that read neural signals through the skin could help patients manage symptoms for some brain conditions, according to BrainCo, a Harvard-incubated start-up. BrainCo’s BCI technology could “read brain neural signals and translate them into commands to control machines to modulate brain function and help cure some brain diseases”, said Nyx He, a partner and senior vice-president of BrainCo, at the HSBC Global Investment Summit on Thursday. The... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3350315/braincos-brain-computer-interface-wows-hsbc-summit-mind-controlled-hand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3350315/braincos-brain-computer-interface-wows-hsbc-summit-mind-controlled-hand?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 09:10:34 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Chinese suppliers of parts for Tesla’s electric vehicles (EVs) and robots saw their stock prices gain on Thursday morning as the US tech giant announced that its AI5 artificial intelligence inference chip was 45 days ahead of schedule. After a nearly 7.7 per cent jump in Tesla’s Nasdaq-listed stock on Wednesday, shares of the company’s Chinese suppliers were up by as much as 4.6 per cent on Thursday. Shanghai-listed Ningbo Tuopu Group and Shenzhen-listed Zhejiang Sanhua Intelligent Controls,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3350279/chinese-investors-cheer-teslas-ai-chip-progress-pushing-shares-local-suppliers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3350279/chinese-investors-cheer-teslas-ai-chip-progress-pushing-shares-local-suppliers?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 07:00:36 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Billionaire Elon Musk seems to have embraced TikTok, the world’s most popular short video site, more than two years after he said he stopped using the platform, as he felt its artificial intelligence algorithm was “probing” his mind. A verified @elonmusk handle recently posted a video on the site run by China’s ByteDance, signalling a truce – or perhaps a strategic surrender – to the platform’s massive global reach. The account features the same profile picture as Musk’s account on X, the social... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3350003/probing-minds-verified-account-how-elon-musks-stance-tiktok-shifted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3350003/probing-minds-verified-account-how-elon-musks-stance-tiktok-shifted?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:00:09 +0000 Daniel Ren Daniel Ren Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory, its largest production base, has the potential to build humanoid robots in future, the company’s China president says, with its manufacturing efficiency and innovative capability seen as potential drivers of CEO Elon Musk’s hopes of commercialising the technology swiftly. Allan Wang Hao said in a media briefing on Tuesday that the Shanghai Gigafactory could provide a “golden key” to the mass production of robots designed to resemble and move like humans. “Like other... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3350076/shanghai-gigafactory-has-potential-construct-humanoid-robots-tesla-china-president?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3350076/shanghai-gigafactory-has-potential-construct-humanoid-robots-tesla-china-president?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2026 13:02:53 +0000 Iris Deng,Ann Cao Iris Deng,Ann Cao China is ramping up efforts in the AI race, as tech giants Alibaba Group Holding and Huawei Technologies deploy massive computing clusters in the push to develop home-grown infrastructure. E-commerce giant Alibaba has announced the deployment of a 10,000-card intelligent computing cluster powered by the Zhenwu AI chips developed by its T-Head semiconductor design arm. Launched in collaboration with China Telecom in the Shaoguan data centre in Guangdong province, the “fully domestic” cluster was... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3349335/ai-race-us-intensifies-chinas-alibaba-launches-10000-card-computing-cluster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3349335/ai-race-us-intensifies-chinas-alibaba-launches-10000-card-computing-cluster?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 06:30:08 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen CAS Space, a leading Chinese commercial rocket maker, has filed for a listing on Shanghai’s tech-focused Star Market, joining a growing queue of private space companies seeking capital as Beijing steps up support for the sector. Founded in 2018 and incubated by the Institute of Mechanics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the start-up plans to raise 4.18 billion yuan (US$600 million) to fund research and development of reusable heavy-lift rockets, spacecraft and liquid-fuel engines,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348774/countdown-starts-chinese-rocket-maker-cas-space-it-sets-course-star-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348774/countdown-starts-chinese-rocket-maker-cas-space-it-sets-course-star-market?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 07:29:28 +0000 Reuters Reuters Four astronauts blasted off from ⁠Florida on Wednesday on Nasa’s Artemis II mission, a high-stakes voyage around the moon that marks the United States’ boldest step yet toward returning humans to the lunar surface later this decade in a race with China. Nasa’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, topped with its Orion crew capsule, roared to life just before sunset at the agency’s Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying its debut crew - three US astronauts and a Canadian astronaut... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348724/historic-artemis-ii-moon-mission-lifts-amid-us-lunar-race-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348724/historic-artemis-ii-moon-mission-lifts-amid-us-lunar-race-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 22:41:22 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela China’s commercial space sector has reached a cost milestone as its new rocket debuts for less than the ticket price of the latest SpaceX Falcon 9 reusable launch vehicle. The Kinetica-2 Y1 carrier rocket, also known as the Lijian-2 Y1, took off on its inaugural flight on Monday before delivering three satellites into orbit, including a prototype commercial cargo spacecraft and a satellite to function as a mini-orbiting space lab. The rocket developed by Chinese commercial space firm CAS Space –... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348697/chinas-commercial-rocket-now-cheaper-elon-musks-spacex-falcon-9?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348697/chinas-commercial-rocket-now-cheaper-elon-musks-spacex-falcon-9?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:00:20 +0000 Enoch Yiu Enoch Yiu Hong Kong has retained its top position in terms of initial public offering (IPO) funds raised in the first quarter of this year but industry experts said the city could lose its lead to the US over the full year given the number of mega IPOs expected there, from OpenAI to Elon Musk’s SpaceX. A total of 37 companies raised about US$13.26 billion on the Hong Kong stock exchange’s main board in the three months ended March 31, according to data released on Tuesday by LSEG Data and Analytics. That... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3348536/hong-kong-retains-global-ipo-crown-first-quarter-faces-us-mega-listings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3348536/hong-kong-retains-global-ipo-crown-first-quarter-faces-us-mega-listings?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 11:30:12 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela For decades, the United States led the charge in the pursuit of brain-computer interface technology, betting big on bold, high-risk breakthroughs that promised to revolutionise medicine and human-machine integration. In the end, it is China crossing the finish line first. Using a semi-invasive approach that may lend credence to the Confucian “doctrine of the mean” – or the philosophy of seeking a middle path between extremes – a team in China has now come up with a commercially approved product... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348126/doctrine-mean-how-us-lost-2-decade-race-china-brain-implants?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348126/doctrine-mean-how-us-lost-2-decade-race-china-brain-implants?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Mar 2026 14:00:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Scientists have used a tiny plastic “obstacle course” to test how much sperm would struggle to navigate during sex in the weightlessness of space. Some particularly resilient sperm still made it through the course, suggesting that conceiving children in space will still be possible, according to research published on Thursday. However, a bigger problem could be that the development of embryos after fertilisation was harmed by a lack of gravity, the Australian team of researchers found. With... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3348051/sex-space-sperm-struggles-navigate-without-gravity-scientists-find?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3348051/sex-space-sperm-struggles-navigate-without-gravity-scientists-find?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 17:45:48 +0000 Reuters Reuters Nasa announced on Tuesday it ⁠has cancelled plans to deploy a space station in lunar orbit and ⁠would instead use components from the project to build a US$20 billion base on the moon’s surface, while also planning to send a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars. US space agency chief Jared Isaacman, an appointee of US President Donald Trump who took charge at Nasa in December, announced an unprecedented array of changes to the Artemis moon programme that would expand humanity’s footprint in space,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347793/nasa-abandons-orbital-lunar-station-plans-moon-base-and-nuclear-spacecraft?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347793/nasa-abandons-orbital-lunar-station-plans-moon-base-and-nuclear-spacecraft?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 03:54:02 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A federal jury in California found on Friday that tech titan Elon Musk misled Twitter shareholders in an effort to drive down the company’s share price as he was poised to buy it in a US$44 billion deal. The verdict in a class action securities lawsuit means the world’s richest person could be ordered to pay out as much as US$2.6 billion, according to damages calculated by jurors. Giuseppe Pampena filed the suit against Musk on behalf of people who sold Twitter shares between mid-May of 2022 and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347400/elon-musk-misled-twitter-shareholders-us-jury-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347400/elon-musk-misled-twitter-shareholders-us-jury-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2026 23:51:38 +0000 Themis Qi Themis Qi Xiaomi’s updated SU7 electric vehicle (EV) is expected to bite into the market share of Tesla and some domestic rivals in China, as demand weakens and regulators tighten oversight. Founder and CEO Lei Jun on Thursday announced official pricing for the new-generation smart sedan, with the standard edition starting at 219,900 yuan (US$31,900) and the pro and max variants set at 249,900 yuan and 303,900 yuan, respectively. The figures are 10,000 yuan lower than pre-sale estimates, but 4,000 yuan... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-evs/article/3347259/xiaomis-new-generation-su7-launch-sparks-fresh-ev-fight-tesla-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-evs/article/3347259/xiaomis-new-generation-su7-launch-sparks-fresh-ev-fight-tesla-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2026 05:29:50 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off his first tour of China this year on Wednesday, while the iPhone maker’s chief operating officer visited key suppliers, including Foxconn and Sunwoda, in a sign of the company’s continued focus on the country’s huge market and manufacturing ecosystem. Cook turned up at an Apple Store in Chengdu, the capital of southwestern Sichuan province, in the afternoon as part of the company’s 50th anniversary celebrations. He interacted with celebrities and customers,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3347062/apples-tim-cook-visits-china-reliance-chinese-supply-chains-endures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3347062/apples-tim-cook-visits-china-reliance-chinese-supply-chains-endures?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 14:00:14 +0000 Reuters Reuters TikTok’s ⁠Chinese parent, ByteDance, has put ⁠on hold the global ⁠launch of its latest video-generation model, Seedance 2.0, after copyright disputes with major Hollywood studios and streaming platforms, The Information reported on Saturday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the situation. Reuters could not ‌immediately verify the report. ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ByteDance said last month it would take steps to prevent the unauthorised use of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3346654/bytedance-reportedly-suspends-launch-seedance-video-ai-model-after-copyright-disputes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3346654/bytedance-reportedly-suspends-launch-seedance-video-ai-model-after-copyright-disputes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 09:10:52 +0000 Julie Zhang Julie Zhang In a landmark development, Neuracle Medical Technology has secured the country’s first-ever approval for an implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) system designed to restore hand motor function in patients with spinal cord injuries, in a regulatory milestone that underscores China’s accelerating push in neurotechnology. China’s BCI start-ups, seen as potential rivals to Elon Musk’s Neuralink, are gaining momentum as regulatory support and fresh capital fuel growth. Shares of BCI companies... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3346495/first-china-neuracles-implantable-brain-computer-interface-wins-approval?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3346495/first-china-neuracles-implantable-brain-computer-interface-wins-approval?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 09:30:13 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Nasa cleared its moon rocket on Thursday for an April launch with four astronauts after completing the latest round of repairs. The 98-metre (322-foot) rocket will roll out of the hangar and back to the pad next week at Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre, leading to a launch attempt as early as April 1. It will mark humanity’s first trip to the moon in more than 50 years. The timing is interesting. From the end of March, US President Donald Trump is slated to visit China and meet with President Xi... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346456/nasa-clears-artemis-moon-rocket-april-launch-4-astronauts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346456/nasa-clears-artemis-moon-rocket-april-launch-4-astronauts?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 05:24:02 +0000 SCMP SCMP We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Why have China’s arms imports plummeted 72% over the past 5 years? Beijing’s arms imports have nose-dived by nearly three-quarters over the past five years, as it has replaced overseas weapons purchases with domestic technology,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3346291/chinas-arms-imports-plummet-hong-kong-couples-hk50000-dubai-exit-scmps-7-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3346291/chinas-arms-imports-plummet-hong-kong-couples-hk50000-dubai-exit-scmps-7-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 04:12:07 +0000 Coco Feng,Yulu Ao Coco Feng,Yulu Ao Midea Group, the owner of industrial robot giant Kuka, is the latest Chinese company to pledge heavy investment in AI and robotics – another 60 billion yuan (US$8.7 billion) over the next three years – as traditional industries embrace futuristic technologies. The planned expenditure on research and development, with a focus on “AI, embodied intelligence and other cutting-edge areas”, matched its total spending over the past five years, the company announced in Shanghai on Tuesday. The strategic... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346234/chinas-midea-pledges-us87-billion-ai-and-robotics-pivot-automation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346234/chinas-midea-pledges-us87-billion-ai-and-robotics-pivot-automation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 14:30:10 +0000 Cao Jiaxuan Cao Jiaxuan China’s military on Wednesday warned the United States against allowing artificial intelligence (AI) to “determine life and death” in warfare, as a dispute between the Pentagon and AI firm Anthropic highlighted growing tensions over military use of the technology. Speaking at a regular briefing in Beijing, defence ministry spokesman Jiang Bin said the “unrestricted application of AI by the military” could “erode ethical constraints and accountability in wars” and risk a “dangerous technological... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3346254/china-warns-us-against-granting-ai-ability-determine-life-and-death-battlefield?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3346254/china-warns-us-against-granting-ai-ability-determine-life-and-death-battlefield?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 13:01:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Elon Musk’s estimated US$839 billion net worth has made him the wealthiest individual ever recorded, Forbes said on Tuesday, as billionaires worldwide saw their combined fortunes surge in the past year to an all-time high of US$20.1 trillion. Musk topped the Forbes World’s Billionaires list for the second consecutive year after his fortune swelled by roughly US$500 billion over the past 12 months, driven by rising valuations at Tesla and SpaceX, which is targeting a public offering in 2026. He... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346162/elon-musk-course-become-worlds-first-trillionaire-wealth-soars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3346162/elon-musk-course-become-worlds-first-trillionaire-wealth-soars?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 02:30:21 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin China should not follow SpaceX in launching artificial intelligence data centres into orbit, but instead focus on more practical near-term space-based computing, a senior researcher has said. Gao Wen, a computer scientist at Peking University and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said on Thursday that electricity demand was not a major bottleneck for AI data centres in China, meaning there was little reason to move them into space. In a Sina News interview during the annual “two... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3345685/china-cant-buy-elon-musks-theory-space-based-ai-centres-experts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3345685/china-cant-buy-elon-musks-theory-space-based-ai-centres-experts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 15:30:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Spain’s Pedro Sanchez has once again emerged as Europe’s most consistently vocal critic of US President Donald Trump, drawing his ire for refusing to allow the American military to stage operations for its attacks on Iran from Spanish military bases. Trump lashed out at the Spanish prime minister on Tuesday, saying he would “cut off all trade with Spain” in retaliation for the affront. The spat intensified the next day when Spain’s foreign minister contradicted a claim by the White House press... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345676/european-leader-defying-trump-and-his-attacks-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345676/european-leader-defying-trump-and-his-attacks-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 05:23:35 +0000 Zhu Wenqian Zhu Wenqian More of the world’s billionaires live in China than anywhere else, after stock market gains and artificial intelligence generated a record number of billionaires globally, according to the latest Hurun Global Rich List. China overtook the United States to recapture bragging rights on the annual report released by Hurun Group on Thursday, with 1,110 billionaires out of 4,020 globally. China added 287 billionaires since the previous edition of the report, more than recouping its losses over the... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3345577/china-worlds-billionaire-capital-again-hurun-rich-list-swells-stock-surge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3345577/china-worlds-billionaire-capital-again-hurun-rich-list-swells-stock-surge?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 10:30:13 +0000 Dannie Peng Dannie Peng The priorities outlined in drafts of China’s 2026 budget and next five-year plan overlap heavily with the ambitious projects championed by Elon Musk, including the Starlink constellation, electric vehicles, Neuralink interfaces and artificial intelligence. With Beijing allocating 426.42 billion yuan (US$61.7 billion) for the sector, it is positioning frontiers such as future energy, brain-computer interfaces and satellite internet as China’s future industries, with the nation doubling down on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3345576/does-chinas-science-budget-boost-confirm-it-listening-everything-elon-musk-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3345576/does-chinas-science-budget-boost-confirm-it-listening-everything-elon-musk-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 10:03:58 +0000 Wency Chen,Ann Cao,Ben Jiang Wency Chen,Ann Cao,Ben Jiang Wang Jian, a prominent Chinese artificial intelligence scholar and director at Zhejiang Lab, said China had both the “resources and responsibility” to make AI more accessible globally at a time when other countries, such as the US, were increasingly acting in their own interests. Speaking to the South China Morning Post on Wednesday on the sidelines of China’s annual legislative “two sessions” meetings in Beijing, Wang said the world remained far from the goal of turning AI into an... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3345451/china-poised-expand-global-access-ai-despite-rivalry-us-wang-jian?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3345451/china-poised-expand-global-access-ai-despite-rivalry-us-wang-jian?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 12:01:18 +0000 Reuters Reuters Australia’s internet regulator said it might push search engines and app stores to block artificial intelligence services that failed to verify user ages after a review found more than half had not made public any steps to comply by a deadline next week. The warning reflects one of the most aggressive efforts globally to rein in AI companies, which face a growing number of lawsuits for failing to stop – and even encouraging – self-harm or violence, while researchers caution that such platforms... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3345063/australia-mulls-forcing-app-stores-search-engines-axe-unsafe-ai-services?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3345063/australia-mulls-forcing-app-stores-search-engines-axe-unsafe-ai-services?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 02:07:45 +0000 David Lam David Lam In late December, Grok – the AI model developed by Elon Musk’s company xAI – released a feature that allowed users to generate non-consensual sexualised images of women and children. Within a few weeks, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines took the unusual step of banning Grok after they deemed xAI’s initial mitigations insufficient. The ban was lifted only after xAI placed new restrictions on Grok’s image-generation capabilities. While this episode was resolved, it underscores the risk that... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3344912/southeast-asia-needs-ai-sovereignty-grok-scandal-proved-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3344912/southeast-asia-needs-ai-sovereignty-grok-scandal-proved-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 04:00:16 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Nasa is shaking up its Artemis mission to the moon, cancelling a multibillion-dollar Boeing upgrade to the centrepiece SLS rocket and slotting in a test flight closer to Earth as the programme remains beset by delays and cost overruns. The changes announced on Friday mean that Nasa is essentially swapping the actual moon landing for an additional test mission staged closer to Earth – while insisting the 2028 deadline for a lunar touchdown remains unchanged. Artemis III, which was supposed to be... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344936/nasa-overhauls-artemis-mission-amid-setbacks-moon-race-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344936/nasa-overhauls-artemis-mission-amid-setbacks-moon-race-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:18:17 +0000 Reuters Reuters The president and CEO of the World Economic Forum, Borge Brende, said he was stepping down on Thursday, a few weeks after the forum launched an independent investigation into his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Brende, who became president of the WEF ‌in 2017, announced his decision in a statement following disclosures from the US Justice Department that showed the Norwegian had three business dinners with Epstein and had also communicated with the disgraced financier via email... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344763/world-economic-forum-ceo-borge-brende-resigns-over-epstein-revelations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3344763/world-economic-forum-ceo-borge-brende-resigns-over-epstein-revelations?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 12:50:07 +0000 Meredith Chen Meredith Chen Chinese AI tools have come under fire for allowing deepfake images that critics say are a form of “digital public shaming” targeting women. Free Nora, a grass-roots feminist media collective in China, reported last week that many internet users had been exploiting the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Doubao to generate non-consensual pornographic images of real women. “In the shadowy corners of social media, a large-scale ‘digital public shaming’ campaign targeting ordinary women has quietly... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3344740/digital-public-shaming-chinese-ai-tools-under-fire-pornographic-deepfakes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3344740/digital-public-shaming-chinese-ai-tools-under-fire-pornographic-deepfakes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 10:00:57 +0000 Vincent Chow,Ben Jiang Vincent Chow,Ben Jiang US artificial intelligence lab Anthropic’s allegation that Chinese AI firms were “distilling” its Claude models has exposed a widely used AI training technique, sparking heated debate over its accepted boundaries, an analyst said. Anthropic said in a blog post on Monday that DeepSeek, Moonshot AI and MiniMax AI used roughly 24,000 fraudulent accounts to generate more than 16 million exchanges with its Claude models. The US firm said the activity amounted to unauthorised “distillation” of its... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3344499/anthropics-distilling-charges-against-chinese-firms-expose-ai-training-grey-area?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3344499/anthropics-distilling-charges-against-chinese-firms-expose-ai-training-grey-area?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 13:05:35 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words The 2026 Forbes Hong Kong rich list offers a snapshot of the city’s economic elite and it looks remarkably like that from a decade ago. Li Ka-shing retains his crown via a conglomerate rooted in ports and property. The Lee, Kwok and Cheng families follow close behind, their... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3344306/can-hong-kongs-exchange-fund-capture-growth-tomorrow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3344306/can-hong-kongs-exchange-fund-capture-growth-tomorrow?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 03:30:07 +0000 Alex Capri Alex Capri 2026 has begun with a worsening trust deficit, as geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China ruptures the international system. Much of this mistrust stems from an escalating technology race. At centre stage is artificial intelligence – the foundational technology for virtually all industries, from hyper-scaled computer networks and data centres to self-learning “cognitive” machines and advanced semiconductor production. The US and China now face a prisoner’s dilemma in military... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3344163/who-will-save-world-us-china-ai-arms-race?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3344163/who-will-save-world-us-china-ai-arms-race?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Feb 2026 05:00:08 +0000 Zhang Shidong,Themis Qi Zhang Shidong,Themis Qi Chinese stock investors have found a new favourite that could possibly take over the artificial intelligence trade, scooping up so-called rocket shares on bets that commercial aerospace will become the next battleground in the rivalry between Beijing and Washington. A gauge of commercial aerospace companies trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges has risen about 10 per cent this year, adding to a 76 per cent increase in 2025, according to data from financial services provider Shanghai... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3343815/ai-aerospace-china-meme-rocket-shares-take-race-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3343815/ai-aerospace-china-meme-rocket-shares-take-race-us?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Feb 2026 01:30:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Nasa on Thursday blamed what it called engineering vulnerabilities in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft along with internal agency mistakes in a sharply critical report assessing a botched mission that left two astronauts stranded in space. The US space agency labelled the 2024 test flight of the Starliner capsule a “Type A” mishap - the same classification of the deadly Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters - a category that reflects the “potential for a significant mishap,” it said. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344068/nasa-ranks-2024-spacecraft-mishap-among-its-worst-disasters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344068/nasa-ranks-2024-spacecraft-mishap-among-its-worst-disasters?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 03:50:26 +0000 Lucy Quaggin Lucy Quaggin US President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Wednesday that it would rescind a rule rewarding electric vehicle production – eliminating the so-called “fuel content factor” – the latest in a series of actions rolling back federal support for EVs that analysts say could leave the US further behind in a global race increasingly shifting in China’s favour. The move comes as the US struggles to compete with China’s rapid growth in the EV sector, marking another setback for America’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343942/does-trumps-retreat-electric-vehicle-policy-risk-ceding-ground-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343942/does-trumps-retreat-electric-vehicle-policy-risk-ceding-ground-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Feb 2026 19:12:50 +0000 Lo Hoi-ying Lo Hoi-ying Artificial intelligence (AI) is unlikely to replace feng shui masters despite a growing trend of people turning to chatbots for fortune-telling, Hong Kong soothsayers have said, warning against blindly trusting such software as it may produce “dangerous” predictions. Feng shui masters told the South China Morning Post that such chatbots, trained on existing datasets, could make errors, especially in metaphysics, which draws on wisdom from ancient Chinese scriptures. Following the AI tech boom in... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3343787/can-chatbots-tell-hongkongers-fortunes-or-just-make-them-out-thin-ai-r?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3343787/can-chatbots-tell-hongkongers-fortunes-or-just-make-them-out-thin-ai-r?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 08:30:09 +0000 Vanessa Cai Vanessa Cai China has been urged to build dual-use satellite application systems to increase the military use of commercial technology. The appeal by researchers from a university affiliated with the Central Military Commission – China’s highest command body – comes as space technology developed by private firms is increasingly being used for military purposes. For example, the US military has stepped up its use of technology from Elon Musk’s Starlink network and other commercial satellite companies,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343762/why-china-being-urged-integrate-commercial-space-tech-military-systems?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343762/why-china-being-urged-integrate-commercial-space-tech-military-systems?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Feb 2026 22:10:46 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela Chinese scientists have developed microelectrodes that can flex and move with the brain, potentially paving the way for more advanced and adaptable brain-computer interfaces, according to a study published by the peer-reviewed Nature Electronics. The researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences said the design of the neuronal activity recorders was inspired by the Japanese art of kirigami, with its intricate 3D designs achieved by cutting and folding paper. The scientists said their design... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3343486/japanese-paper-cutting-art-inspires-flexible-brain-implants-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3343486/japanese-paper-cutting-art-inspires-flexible-brain-implants-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Feb 2026 22:00:19 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela China has successfully completed a crucial safety test and fired off a new-generation rocket as part of the country’s preparations for a crewed mission to the moon. Wednesday’s escape test on board the Mengzhou crew carrier was designed to ensure that astronauts could be safely returned to Earth if something went wrong during the launch. The Chinese space programme had already carried out a ground-level safety test in June, but the latest test was designed to check that crew members would be... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3343144/chinas-mengzhou-spacecraft-passes-key-test-2030-crewed-moon-mission-long-march-10-rocket?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3343144/chinas-mengzhou-spacecraft-passes-key-test-2030-crewed-moon-mission-long-march-10-rocket?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 03:58:21 +0000 Reuters Reuters India’s government said on Tuesday ‍social media companies would have to take down unlawful content within three hours of being notified, tightening an earlier 36-hour timeline in what could be ⁠a compliance challenge for Meta, YouTube and X. The changes amend India’s 2021 IT rules, which have already been a flashpoint between Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and global technology companies. The amended rules also relaxed ‍an earlier proposal that would have required platforms to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3343097/india-tightens-social-media-grip-x-youtube-meta-face-3-hour-takedown-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3343097/india-tightens-social-media-grip-x-youtube-meta-face-3-hour-takedown-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 13:38:52 +0000 Victoria Bela,Shi Huang Victoria Bela,Shi Huang Elon Musk has pivoted from his long-standing focus on Mars, announcing an ambitious plan to set up a “self-growing city” on the moon in less than a decade. The plan could see Musk’s aerospace company, SpaceX, competing for prime space with China’s planned International Lunar Research Station, which Beijing aims to establish by 2035. While it is possible both the United States and China could have bases on the moon within a decade, a space expert said it would require massive infrastructure that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3343083/will-musks-moon-pivot-put-spacex-collision-course-chinas-lunar-ambitions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3343083/will-musks-moon-pivot-put-spacex-collision-course-chinas-lunar-ambitions?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 12:09:50 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse SpaceX is putting its long-standing focus of sending humans to Mars on the back burner to prioritise establishing a settlement on the moon, founder Elon Musk said on Sunday. The South Africa-born billionaire’s space company has found massive success as a Nasa contractor, but critics have for years panned Musk’s Mars colonisation plans as overambitious. The move also puts Musk in alignment with US President Donald Trump’s shift away from sending Americans to Mars. The US faces intense competition... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342887/spacex-puts-mars-back-burner-focus-moon-city-musk-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342887/spacex-puts-mars-back-burner-focus-moon-city-musk-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 05:43:47 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been sounding out multiple Chinese solar suppliers in recent weeks, industry insiders and companies confirmed, as the world’s richest man advances his vision for space-based data centres powered by constant solar energy – drawing fresh attention to China’s solar supply chain. The discussions, which have not yet resulted in confirmed orders, triggered a rally in shares of several solar-related companies earlier this week, before sentiment cooled on Thursday. Analysts and... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3342557/space-computing-push-elon-musks-spacex-shines-beam-chinas-solar-supply-chain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3342557/space-computing-push-elon-musks-spacex-shines-beam-chinas-solar-supply-chain?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2026 22:00:19 +0000 SCMP SCMP We have put together stories from our coverage on electric and new energy vehicles from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s flying car makers aim for deliveries this year as passenger use nears China could see its first flying car begin carrying paying passengers in 2026, as government backing and a growing pipeline of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle makers push the country’s... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-evs/article/3342319/xiaomis-tesla-killer-beijing-ottawa-tariff-deal-promising-china-market-7-ev-reads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-evs/article/3342319/xiaomis-tesla-killer-beijing-ottawa-tariff-deal-promising-china-market-7-ev-reads?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Feb 2026 07:00:41 +0000 Agencies Agencies French police raided the Paris offices of social media platform X on Tuesday as prosecutors summoned its owner Elon Musk for questioning over a widening investigation into alleged offences, including the spread of child pornography and deepfakes. The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed the search was part of a probe opened in January last year by its cybercrime unit, conducted in coordination with the EU police agency Europol. In a major escalation of the legal scrutiny facing the platform... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3342267/france-raids-x-offices-summons-elon-musk-over-child-pornography-and-deepfake-probe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3342267/france-raids-x-offices-summons-elon-musk-over-child-pornography-and-deepfake-probe?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Feb 2026 11:49:50 +0000