The day in tech.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled a flying Roadster prototype on 15 October 2026 at a SpaceX site in McGregor, Texas. The vehicle accelerates to 60 mph in 0.81 seconds and exceeds 370 km/h, with a range of 480 km. Production starts in 2028, while road-legal specs differ from 2017 claims.

Apple delays iPhone Duo online preorders to 2027 due to manufacturing failures, though in-store availability remains October 23rd. The device features a 7.6-inch screen and two 48-megapixel cameras, starting at $1,999 for the 256GB model. Carriers schedule December deliveries instead of the original Friday window. John Ternus became chief executive on 1 September.

Apple launches the iPhone Duo, its first foldable smartphone, starting at $1,999 for 256GB storage. Pre-orders open October 16 with launch-day delivery on October 23. Mint Technology reports India pre-orders start October 16, 2026, at 5:30 PM IST, costing ₹299,900 for the 256GB model. Device powered by A20 Pro chip. Touch ID replaces Face ID for biometric authentication.

On October 16, 2026, Apple updates App Store rules to ban apps containing nonconsensual intimate imagery generated by AI. The updated 1.2 rule targets specific creators like Grok, while Section 5 extends bans to alternative app distribution channels. Over 150K apps prevented from reaching customers last year and 193K developer accounts terminated for fraud previously.

Suspected Chinese group Armory Castle exploited BeyondTrust zero-day CVE-2026-102764 on August 29. The flaw, with a CVSS score of 9.3, affects Remote Support versions up to 26.2.3. BeyondTrust released a patch on October 8 after Mandiant tipped them off. Attackers used custom malware called Sawfly and Bareclaw. Group has been active since October 2023.

Chainalysis reports a crypto scammer lost more than $4.9 million in bitcoin after thieves compromised Ledger hardware wallets sold by Southeast Asian reseller CryptoBilis. The fraudster transferred proceeds from a task scam to three wallet addresses, which attackers emptied, taking 60 BTC. Chainalysis identified the perpetrator on Thursday. Thieves previously drained over $103.4 million from 530 addresses.

President Donald Trump denied on Friday that the White House ordered Starlink restrictions in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials stated SpaceX restricted Starshield without warning, causing mission failures. SpaceX shares dropped 11% this week ahead of Tuesday results. Trump blamed Elon Musk for the decision. Connectivity cut off above 160 kilometers per hour.

CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator and linked entities sold nearly $1 billion of stock since the AI cloud company's IPO in March 2025. Sales began about two months after the stock hit a record high in June 2025. CoreWeave had a valuation of $38.44 billion as of Thursday's close.

The International Bureau of Weights and Measurements announced on Thursday that it will stop issuing leap seconds in May 2027. This decision ends a decades-long debate and prevents potential system failures caused by a negative leap second, which could occur as early as 2029 due to climate change.

Hackers remotely overrode temperature settings on thousands of freezers across France, raising them from -27C to over 50C. The attack affected up to 700 stores, including Intermarché and Carrefour, causing food spoilage and fires. Experts suspect state actors like Iran or Russia, while losses could reach tens of millions of euros.