Loading
Musk has made global headlines in 2024 and is by far the most influential (and also most outspoken) leader in the technology sector. Juggling leadership roles at X (formerly Twitter), Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, The Boring Company and Neuralink was already unsustainable. Musk has now infiltrated Trump’s inner circle and will jointly lead the president-elect’s DOGE (Department of Government Effectiveness), with the aim of cutting billions of dollars in government spending. Musk has already found himself at odds with MAGA diehards like Steve Bannon on immigration issues, and the inauguration is still a few weeks away. He is also at odds with the legal system, after a US judge blocked Musk’s $56 billion compensation package awarded to Tesla.
Elon Musk has infiltrated Donald Trump’s inner circle.Credit: P.A.
After constant controversies and distractions, everything will come to a head in 2025, and Musk will be forced to hand over the reins of Tesla, a company many mistakenly believe he founded.
The “AI winter” begins
The last year has been a veritable gold rush for generative AI companies, as companies like OpenAI, Nvidia, Google, Microsoft, and Apple all touted impressive new features and rejoiced in the fact that the Consumers’ relationship with technology would never be the same again. This is true, but only up to a point: ChatGPT, for example, is useful for generating recipes or travel ideas, but still regularly produces inaccurate answers and cannot be trusted with sensitive data or personal. Apple’s rollout of new Apple Intelligence features has also been mixed, and consumers aren’t yet demanding an upgrade to a new iPhone like the company might have hoped. Tech stocks are notoriously fickle, and the roller coaster ride is expected to reverse in 2025 as innovation slows and questions begin to be asked about how useful much of this technology really is. technology.
Takeoff for flying cars
Flying cars are no longer science fiction or The Jetsons, they are (almost) here. Chinese manufacturer Xpeng is in the lead, and its X2 vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) “flying car” is already available to order in Australia for around $200,000.
The Chinese-made XPeng flying car on display in Melbourne earlier this year.Credit: Jason South
There are of course a ton of regulatory issues to resolve, but momentum has started and Morgan Stanley predicts that the global flying car market will be worth $1 trillion by 2040. Expect a range of eVTOL be exhibited at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, which this header will report on, and that 2025 will be the year when flying cars really take off.
And some wrong predictions: Australia’s age ban on social media is being implemented effectively, and other countries are following suit; Trump Tariffs Wreak Havoc on Electronics Prices; An AI deepfake is making waves in the upcoming federal election.
Get news and reviews about technology, gadgets and games in our technology newsletter. Sign up to receive it every Friday.