Tesla engineers were so upset with the design of the company’s Cybertruck pickup truck that they secretly crafted alternative designs, according to the firm’s chief designer. Speaking to Walter Isaacson, whose biography on Tesla boss Elon Musk came out this week, Franz von Holzhausen said the unconventional shape of the stainless steel truck caused dissent among workers. The as-yet-unreleased Cybertruck takes inspiration from the pointy design of the 1960s Lotus Esprit, as well as video games and sci-fi movies. “A majority of people in this studio hated it,” said chief designer Franz von Holzhausen. “They were like, ‘You can’t be serious.’ They didn’t want to have anything to do with it. It was just too weird.” After seeing a full-size mock-up of the futuristic pick-up truck, some designers began secretly designing an alternative version. A spokesperson for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. Mr Musk was reportedly adamant from the outset that the design of the electric pickup truck would “look like the future” and refused to concede to more conventional design ideas. “We’re not doing a traditional boring truck,” Mr Musk said during one meeting in October 2018. “We can always do that later. I want to build something that’s cool. Like, don’t resist me.” The biography, which saw Mr Isaacson shadow Mr Musk for two years, also revealed other instances of Tesla employees keeping projects alive, even after it had been officially scrapped. After the Tesla boss became disinterested in developing a $25,000 mass-market car, repeatedly vetoing the idea in meetings, Mr von Holzhausen reportedly kept the concept alive as a “shadow project”. His biographer describes Mr Musk as “fiercely stubborn” with a “reality-distorting wilfulness and a readiness to run roughshod over naysayers”. The Tesla Cybertruck was first unveiled to the public at an event in November 2019, offering people the chance to reserve one with a $100 deposit. More than 200,000 orders were received within the first three days, according to Mr Musk, however it has taken until this year for production to actually begin. The first deliveries to customers are expected to take place later this year. Read More Elon Musk makes prediction for imminent Starship launch Volcano discovery could power electric cars for decades, scientists say Elon Musk ‘borrowed $1bn from SpaceX’ at same time as Twitter acquisition Elon Musk became ‘anti-woke’ because of his daughter’s gender transition, book claims

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Whether it's on a bus or a train, you've probably noticed how the seats have a distinctly bold and garish pattern - but why is this the case? Well, it's not for aesthetic design reasons but rather it's down to the fact that the patterns are able to effectively cover up stains. Just think about how many people get on public transportation for their daily commute to work, the millions of people who will plonk themselves on those seats throughout the year as well as those using the nighttime service. There are bound to be drinks and food spilt on the seat, and so in response to this inevitability it's better to have busy patterns rather than plain ones - otherwise we would perhaps think twice about sitting. But nowadays, the various patterns on different modes of public transportation are seen as iconic designs for that particular area of the world. For example, last year Premier League football team Arsenal released shirts with a design inspired by the bold pattern which appears on Piccadilly line trains. Meanwhile, there are a number of factors to think about when designing the seat pattern such as how it looks in both daylight and artificial light. @plutosdestiny Bus seats are made of a special fabric with unusual patterns because it helps them mask stains, wear and tear and look fresh without the need for much maintenance. The weird, mind-bending patterns are designed to make the seats appear clean and unworn, even though they conceal a lot of dirt within those wild patterns. [Credit - KubulMKM - YT] The fabric is also an integral consideration, the material used for the seats is moquette and it is different to the sofa you sit on at home. “Coming from the French word for carpet, moquette has been seen and sat upon by millions of commuters on buses, trains, trams and trolleybuses for over 100 years,” the London Transport Museum explained. “It is produced on looms using the Jacquard weaving technique, with a pile usually made up of 85% wool mixed with 15% nylon.” But what makes it the ideal material for this purpose? “Moquette was chosen for public transport for two reasons," it continued. "First, because it is hard-wearing and durable. Second, because its colour and patterns disguise signs of dirt, wear and tear. On top of this moquette had the advantage of being easy and cheap to mass-produce.” Something to contemplate next time you're sitting on the bus or tube. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The European Union reached a deal on measures to become more self-sufficient in the key raw materials it

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Apple is seeking the exclusive image rights of apples in Switzerland, according to a Swiss fruit growers association. Fruit Union Suisse, an 111-year-old organisation that promotes the interests of fruit farmers in the country, may be forced to change its logo if the US tech giant succeeds in its legal bid. The association’s logo features a red apple with a white cross on it, having been slightly revised in 2011 in order to celebrate the organisation’s centenary. “We have a hard time understanding this, because it’s not like they’re trying to protect their bitten apple.” Fruit Union Suisse director Jimmy Mariethoz told Wired. “Their objective here is really to own the rights to an actual apple, which, for us, is something that is really almost universal... that should be free for everyone to use.” It is one of several attempts by Apple to gain intellectual property rights over the eponymous fruit, according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation. Countries that have acquiesced to Apple’s demands include Armenia, Israel, Japan and Turkey. Separate records from the Tech Transparency Project show that Apple filed more trademark applications than Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft combined between 2019 and 2021. Apple first applied to the Swiss Institute of Intellectual Property for the trademark of a depiction of a Granny Smith apple in 2017, covering electronic, digital and audiovisual consumer goods. The request was only partially granted, leading Apple to submit an appeal earlier this year. “We’re concerned that any visual representation of an apple – so anything that’s audiovisual or linked to new technologies or to media – could be potentially impacted,” said Mariethoz. “Theoretically, we could be entering slippery territory every time we advertise with an apple.” The Independent has reached out to Apple for a response, though the company typically does not comment on ongoing legal matters. Read More Can Apple make us love virtual reality? | You Ask The Questions

UK government officials have held discussions with tech giants Nvidia Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Intel Corp.

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Computer chip and software maker Broadcom’s $61 billion proposed purchase of cloud technology company VMware got the green light from European Union regulators who were satisfied by concessions to ease competition fears