Tesla’s solar roof is dead — here’s what went wrong

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories to start your morning

View this email online in your browser  August 24, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Tesla’s solar roof is dead — here’s what went wrong: Tesla's solar roof was an experiment that never really caught on for the company. But does that mean the concept of roof-integrated solar is dead? Read More Nvidia just showed that the harness, not the AI model, is now the real hero: Nvidia research shows that AI agents can perform well, and not go off the deep end, through fine-tuning, even if the AI model isn't that great at the task. Read More Waymo hands over documents in NHTSA's child collision probe: The responses to the NHTSA's questions so far are redacted entirely, citing "confidential business information." Read More The Best Disrupt 2026 Discount Ends Soon AI has made it faster than ever to bring an idea from concept to launch.   But it hasn't made it easier to build something durable.     Disrupt 2026's programming is built around that challenge, delivering practical sessions on what actually holds up and how to build it. Ticket prices increase at midnight PT Friday, so grab yours before then!  Register Now Morning Must-Reads Two years after launch, Walmart's Flipkart is closing in on India's quick-commerce leaders: Flipkart's quick-commerce venture is delivering 1.1 million to 1.2 million orders a day, nearly triple its November volume. Read More Inherent, founded by DeepMind alumni, says its AI 'teammate' just outperformed Anthropic and OpenAI at replicating research: Built by DeepMind alumni, British AI lab Inherent released Faraday, an AI agent whose ability to replicate scientific papers could be a stepping stone for innovation. Read More Hugging Face reportedly in talks to be acquired for $13B: Hugging Face has reportedly been fielding acquisition offers that would value the company at around $13B. But with the founders' feeling of responsibility to community, doubts arise as to whether a sale will happen. Read More Flock CEO calls for ‘compromise’ as surveillance company faces growing backlash: Flock Safety faces a growing public outcry over concerns that its surveillance technology could be misused. Read More Brake problems in GM EVs draw greater federal scrutiny: In one crash, the driver of a 2024 Blazer EV said they had to "deliberately steer the vehicle into a concrete curb" to slow it down and avoid a "catastrophic intersection collision." Read More Get Your Startup in Front of the Disrupt Crowds Not everyone needs a keynote slot to make noise at Disrupt 2026. Sometimes the best way to meet investors, customers, and partners is by exhibiting directly in the Expo Hall. And by exhibiting, you get 10 passes to Disrupt to share with your team! Learn More Last but Not Least Uber faces fine of nearly $1B over automated driver suspensions: The Dutch Data Protection Authority is fining Uber €825 million in the second largest penalty issued under Europe’s GDPR. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107

Two years after launch, Walmart's Flipkart is closing in on India's quick-commerce leaders

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this weekend

View this email online in your browser  August 23, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Two years after launch, Walmart's Flipkart is closing in on India's quick-commerce leaders: Flipkart's quick-commerce venture is delivering 1.1 million to 1.2 million orders a day, nearly triple its November volume. Read More Inherent, founded by DeepMind alumni, says its AI 'teammate' just outperformed Anthropic and OpenAI at replicating research: Built by DeepMind alumni, British AI lab Inherent released Faraday, an AI agent whose ability to replicate scientific papers could be a stepping stone for innovation. Read More Michael Polansky is training an AI model on skin that’s still alive: Michael Polansky — better known publicly as Lady Gaga's partner and a former top deputy to Sean Parker — has quietly spent years building an AI-driven startup that keeps living human skin tissue alive for weeks outside the body to discover new skincare compounds, and is only now going public about it. Read More A message from TechCrunch Events Free webinar: The Hardware Decision Your Competitors Probably Haven't Made Yet Most startups don't think strategically about hardware architecture. They just buy what's available. But the founders who understand NPU efficiency, on-device AI economics, and platform standardization? They're building companies that scale cheaper and faster. That architectural knowledge is the competitive edge most founders haven't thought about yet. Join us Thursday September 10th at 10am PT/ 1PM ET to learn what it actually means, and why it matters for your bottom line. Register Now Sunday Must-Reads How AI accounting startup Rillet raised $100M and became a unicorn in 48 hours: Rillet CEO Nicolas Kopp shared growth numbers at a board meeting and set off a fundraising frenzy from Iconiq, Sequoia and others. Without even trying. Read More Tesla’s solar roof is dead — here’s what went wrong: Tesla's solar roof was an experiment that never really caught on for the company. But does that mean the concept of roof-integrated solar is dead? Read More Flock CEO calls for ‘compromise’ as surveillance company faces growing backlash: Flock Safety faces a growing public outcry over concerns that its surveillance technology could be misused. Read More Nvidia just showed that the harness, not the AI model, is now the real hero: Nvidia research shows that AI agents can perform well, and not go off the deep end, through fine-tuning, even if the AI model isn't that great at the task. Read More Anthropic’s Opus 4.6 is a smut-machine: Anthropic forbids its Claude models from generating sexually explicit content. But a series of tests conducted by TechCrunch found that it didn't take much to get past the restriction. Read More Disrupt 2026: Where deals and ideas ignite Oct 13–15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, 10,000 founders, investors, and operators gather for high-signal insights, curated connections, and real momentum. Register Now! Last but Not Least Is it legal to train AI models on copyrighted books? It’s complicated: Most published authors have, without their knowledge or consent, contributed to the development of the same AI tools that threaten to undermine their livelihoods. That seems illegal, right? Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107