Tech Turmoil: Tesla’s Slump, Starlink Outage & Mass Layoffs – Top Tech News (July 24–25, 2025)

Chipmakers & Hardware Shake-Ups

• Intel’s Massive Layoffs & Retrenchment: Intel unveiled sweeping cost-cutting as new CEO Lip-Bu Tan moves to fix the struggling chip giant’s missteps. Intel will shed roughly 24,000 jobs (about 22% of its workforce) by year-end and cancel planned chip factory projects in Germany, Poland, and Costa Rica theverge.com reuters.com. Tan told employees “there are no more blank checks” – every investment must make economic sense – vowing to “build what customers need, when they need it” instead of spending on unused capacity reuters.com reuters.com. Intel’s stock fell ~5% as its turnaround plan also came with a steeper-than-expected Q3 loss forecast reuters.com reuters.com. Analysts lauded Tan’s discipline but note Intel still lags in AI-era chips and must regain footing against NVIDIA and AMD reuters.com reuters.com.
• STMicro Buys NXP Unit Amid Chip Slump: European chipmaker STMicroelectronics announced a $950 million deal to acquire part of NXP Semiconductors’ sensor business reuters.com. The unit makes MEMS-based sensors for cars and industrial gear (≈$300 million in 2024 revenue) and will bolster ST’s automotive and IoT portfolio reuters.com. The purchase comes as many chip firms face weak automotive and consumer chip demand and bloated inventories reuters.com. In fact, STMicro just posted its first quarterly loss in a decade, taking a $190 million charge for restructuring reuters.com. Executives see targeted acquisitions and focus on high-growth niches as key to riding out the semiconductor downturn.

Electric Vehicles & Automotive

• Tesla’s Sales Slump & Musk’s Warning: Tesla revealed its first significant sales drop in years, with revenue down ~12–13% and Q2 profit missing estimates – the EV leader’s worst decline in over a decade ts2.tech reuters.com. CEO Elon Musk cautioned that U.S. cuts to EV tax credits will likely mean “a few rough quarters” ahead until Tesla’s next-gen products and self-driving services ramp up ts2.tech reuters.com. “Q4, Q1, maybe Q2 [could be rough]…,” Musk said, predicting a “wave of revenue” from robotaxi software by late 2026 ts2.tech. He also confirmed Tesla is developing a cheaper EV model (a stripped-down Model Y) to broaden its lineup, though it won’t reach volume production until 2026 ts2.tech. Investors reacted coolly – Tesla shares fell ~5% – as skepticism grows about Musk’s lofty autonomy timeline. “The wheels are coming off [Tesla’s] automotive business,” warned one analyst, noting sales declines in almost every market reuters.com reuters.com. Still, Musk insisted that robotaxi expansion could cover half of the U.S. population by year-end if regulators allow it reuters.com reuters.com.
• BYD Rethinks Europe Expansion: China’s EV giant BYD is pivoting its European strategy in the face of tariffs and high costs. Reuters reports BYD will delay full production at its new Hungary EV plant until 2026 and run it far below capacity initially ts2.tech. Instead, BYD is fast-tracking a lower-cost factory in Turkey (outside the EU) to start output sooner and in higher volume ts2.tech ts2.tech. The Hungary plant – a €4 billion project slated for 150k cars/year – will only make “tens of thousands” in its first years ts2.tech. BYD’s move undermines EU hopes of Chinese EV factories on the continent; high European energy and labor costs, plus a new 27% EU import tariff on Chinese EVs, have pushed BYD to seek cheaper production in Turkey (which enjoys tariff-free access to the EU) ts2.tech. “A shift toward cheaper production in Turkey highlights the challenge,” analysts noted, as even with tariffs Western automakers and their Chinese partners will chase cost efficiency ts2.tech. EU officials are watching closely, since BYD’s workaround could undercut Europe’s efforts to localize EV supply chains.
• New EV Partnerships: Legacy carmakers are teaming with Chinese startups to tap emerging markets. Stellantis (owner of Jeep, Fiat, Peugeot) announced it will launch affordable EVs in Africa via its partnership with China’s Leapmotor ts2.tech. Starting in September, Stellantis will sell a Leapmotor hybrid SUV in South Africa, followed by full battery EV models ts2.tech. “South Africa is a critical market…and we are fully committed to meaningful partnerships,” said Stellantis Africa chief Mike Whitfield ts2.tech. The move follows Stellantis investing $1.6 Billion for a stake in Leapmotor last year. By leveraging Chinese EV tech (Leapmotor sells a ~$18k EV in China) and planning local assembly, Stellantis aims to offer budget-friendly electrics in regions dominated by low-cost cars ts2.tech. It’s part of a broader trend of Western OEMs joining forces with Chinese EV makers to accelerate EV adoption in Asia, Africa, and Latin America ts2.tech.

Cybersecurity & Data Breaches

• Global SharePoint Hack Escalates to Ransomware: A sweeping cyber-espionage campaign exploiting a zero-day hole in Microsoft SharePoint has spiraled into a major security crisis. Initially, nation-state hackers quietly breached ~100 organizations (mostly in the U.S. and Europe) via the undisclosed SharePoint flaw, stealing email and data ts2.tech. This week brought a worrying twist: Microsoft warned that some attackers (tracked as “Storm-2603”) have shifted to deploying ransomware on compromised servers reuters.com reuters.com. The ransomware outbreak has already hit at least 400 servers worldwide – a fourfold increase in known victims reuters.com. “There are many more, because not all attack vectors leave artifacts we could scan for,” said Vaisha Bernard of Eye Security, the firm that first flagged the breach reuters.com. Unlike typical state-backed spying, ransomware could cause widespread disruption depending on the targets reuters.com reuters.com. U.S. agencies including NIH and Homeland Security were reportedly among those breached reuters.com, prompting CISA to issue urgent patch directives. The campaign began after Microsoft’s initial patch failed to fully close the hole, giving hackers a window to strike reuters.com. China-based groups are suspected, though Beijing denies involvement reuters.com. Microsoft has rushed out fixes and is urging all organizations to update SharePoint immediately. Security experts say the incident underscores the risk of unpatched on-premise software – and the potential for espionage operations to suddenly turn destructive.
• Spyware Targeting Iranian Activists: In a separate saga, security researchers revealed that advanced spyware has been used to hack the iPhones of dozens of Iranian journalists, activists, and dissidents. Apple quietly alerted the victims in recent months via its threat notification program ts2.tech. A new investigation by the Miaan Group uncovered at least three waves of covert attacks linked to Iran’s regime, though it’s unclear which “mercenary spyware” (e.g. NSO Group’s Pegasus or another) was deployed ts2.tech. “Many members of their family have been executed… we have only seen the tip of the iceberg,” said Amir Rashidi, Miaan’s digital security director, emphasizing the gravity of the threat ts2.tech. The spyware assaults – likely ordered by Iranian authorities – targeted high-profile activists both inside Iran and abroad. Apple’s alerts (part of an initiative that has notified users in 150+ countries about state-sponsored spyware since 2021) enabled researchers to document these abuses ts2.tech. Digital rights groups praised Apple’s efforts and urged at-risk users to enable Lockdown Mode and seek support from organizations like Access Now ts2.tech. The revelations highlight the continued proliferation of commercial spyware wielded against civil society, even as pressure mounts on governments to rein in these cyber weapons.

Space & Telecom

• Starlink’s Rare Global Outage: SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet network suffered one of its biggest worldwide outages on July 24, knocking tens of thousands of users offline for about 2.5 hours reuters.com reuters.com. Starlink, which serves 6+ million users across ~140 countries, blamed an internal software failure in its core network. The outage began around 3 PM ET, with over 61,000 user problem reports logged reuters.com. Starlink officials acknowledged the issue on X (Twitter) and rolled out a fix; by early evening service was largely restored reuters.com. “The outage was due to failure of key internal software services,” explained Starlink’s engineering VP, who apologized for the disruption reuters.com. Even Elon Musk chimed in: “Sorry for the outage. SpaceX will remedy [the] root cause to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” he posted reuters.com. The incident had real-world fallout – Ukraine’s military, which relies on Starlink at the front lines, reported its battlefield comms were down across the entire front during the outage reuters.com reuters.com. A Ukrainian drone unit commander noted they had to operate without live video feeds for those hours, calling it a “huge risk” to depend on a single system and urging backup plans reuters.com reuters.com. Experts say such a sweeping Starlink failure is highly unusual, sparking debate on the cause. “This is likely the longest outage ever for Starlink…such a global interruption is unusual,” said Doug Madory of Kentik, noting the system’s reputation for resilience reuters.com reuters.com. Some believe a botched software update may be to blame. “I’d speculate this was a bad software update… or a cyberattack,” said Cornell University space cybersecurity director Gregory Falco reuters.com. The episode underscores Starlink’s growing importance – and vulnerability – as it becomes critical infrastructure for governments, industries, and consumers. (Notably, rival Amazon’s Project Kuiper just cleared a key FCC hurdle to deploy its own broadband satellites, intensifying the space-internet race ts2.tech.)

Tech Policy & Regulation

• TikTok Ban Looms (US–China Standoff): The drama over TikTok’s fate in the U.S. escalated. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warned that TikTok “will have to stop operating in the United States if China does not approve a deal for its sale” reuters.com. TikTok’s China-based owner ByteDance has been in protracted talks to divest the app’s U.S. operations under U.S. pressure. Lutnick, speaking on CNBC, insisted that Americans must control TikTok’s technology and algorithms for it to keep running domestically reuters.com reuters.com. He noted President Trump extended a deadline to finalize a sale to September 17 – if no deal (with Beijing’s blessing) occurs by then, the app serving 170 million Americans could go dark reuters.com reuters.com. The remarks underscore the geopolitical tightrope: Washington sees TikTok as a national security risk, but Beijing must approve any sale of TikTok’s algorithms. “If that deal gets approved by the Chinese, then that deal will happen. If not, TikTok will be gone,” Lutnick said bluntly. TikTok declined comment, while Chinese officials have signaled they’d rather see TikTok banned than forcibly sold – setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown in coming weeks.
• UK Targets Apple & Google’s ‘Duopoly’: Britain’s competition regulator moved to rein in the market power of Apple and Google in mobile app ecosystems reuters.com reuters.com. The CMA announced plans to designate both companies with “Strategic Market Status” and outlined proposed rules to curtail their “effective duopoly” over mobile platforms (95%+ of UK smartphones run iOS or Android) reuters.com. Regulators cited concerns about Apple and Google’s “inconsistent and unpredictable” app store review processes, self-preferencing in search rankings, and the up to 30% commissions they charge developers reuters.com reuters.com. The CMA may force changes like fairer app review policies, more transparent ranking algorithms, and easier ways for developers to appeal or offer alternative payment systems reuters.com reuters.com. The U.S. tech giants pushed back hard – Google called the move “disappointing and unwarranted,” arguing new rules shouldn’t stifle innovation reuters.com. “Any new regulation must be evidence-based and not become a roadblock to growth,” Google’s competition director Oliver Bethell said reuters.com. Apple warned that loosening its app store rules could undermine privacy and security protections for users reuters.com. UK officials say the interventions will be “targeted and proportionate” to spur competition and support British app developers. Final decisions on the special designations are due by October, after which legally binding codes of conduct could follow reuters.com. Tech firms worldwide are closely watching the UK’s tougher post-Brexit digital regulation regime – which has already derailed some Big Tech mergers – as it now takes aim at app store gatekeepers.
• EU Antitrust Heat on Google: In Brussels, Alphabet (Google) was hit with a new antitrust complaint from a coalition of six human- and digital-rights groups reuters.com. The complaint urges EU regulators to investigate whether Google violates the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by making it too hard for Android users to uninstall pre-installed Google apps reuters.com reuters.com. The DMA – in effect since 2023 – requires “gatekeeper” platforms to ensure users can easily remove default apps. The rights groups allege “Alphabet has designed Android to hide the possibility of disabling its own pre-installed apps” and scare users away from trying reuters.com reuters.com. If proven, that would flout the DMA’s pro-competition rules aimed at giving consumers more choice. Google refuted the claims, saying “it is easy to uninstall apps on Android… this complaint does not represent a genuine user concern” reuters.com and noting UK regulators recently dismissed a similar issue. The European Commission confirmed receipt of the complaint and is assessing it reuters.com. This adds to Google’s regulatory headaches in the EU – it’s already under formal antitrust scrutiny for its ad tech and facing potential DMA investigations into other services. If the Commission finds merit, Google could be ordered to change Android’s app practices or face fines. Digital rights advocates, however, say the case will test Europe’s resolve to enforce Big Tech’s compliance with the DMA’s pro-consumer mandates.

Consumer Tech & Software Updates

• iPhone Overhaul – iOS 26 Beta Debuts: Apple offered a first look at its next-gen mobile OS by releasing the iOS 26 public beta to testers. The update delivers Apple’s most dramatic interface redesign in a decade, thanks to a new “Liquid Glass” UI theme that makes on-screen elements appear translucent and glossy techcrunch.com. Core apps (Phone, Camera, Safari, etc.) and system menus now have a sleek glass-like finish. iOS 26 also packs new AI-powered features, including a live voice translation mode, smarter auto-generated shortcuts, and even suggestions for polls in Messages techcrunch.com techcrunch.com. Early users can experiment with a revamped 3D animated Lock Screen, new Call Screening for unknown callers, and a dedicated Game Center app, months ahead of the official fall launch techcrunch.com techcrunch.com. Apple’s developer betas hinted at these changes, but the public beta’s arrival confirms the company is on track for a timely release. (For Apple, whose iOS 26 coincides with the 2025 iPhone lineup, the visual refresh is a bid to excite users akin to the jump from iOS 6 to iOS 7 in 2013.) Alongside iOS, Apple is testing iPadOS 26 and macOS 14, which adopt the same design language. Meanwhile, on the Android side, Google’s Android 16 has reached final beta and is expected to launch by late summer – current Pixel phones received July updates as Google polishes the new version ts2.tech ts2.tech. The simultaneous approach of iOS 26 and Android 16 sets up a feature showdown heading into the fall, with both OSes emphasizing refinements (and AI smarts) over radical changes.
• Meta’s Threads Switches Gears: In social media, Meta is tweaking strategy on its fast-growing Threads platform (the Twitter/X rival that recently surpassed 200 million sign-ups). Meta ended its creator monetization bonus program on July 22, which had been paying select influencers to boost engagement on Threads ts2.tech. Creators voiced frustration at the abrupt loss of income, but Meta says it’s shifting from “growth hacks” to building long-term user retention features. In the coming weeks, Threads will roll out much-demanded direct messaging (DMs) and integrate with the decentralized fediverse (ActivityPub support), aiming to sustain its initial momentum ts2.tech. “Two years later, Meta is making DMs on Threads official,” Engadget quipped, noting the platform’s pivot to core functionality over cash incentives ts2.tech. Meta also confirmed advertisements are coming to Threads by early 2025 now that the user base is massive. The move underscores the challenges of scaling a new social network: after a blockbuster launch, Meta is betting feature updates (and eventually, ads) will keep Threads users active – without the company having to pay for their posts.
• Quietly Crucial Software Updates: Major tech firms delivered mid-year software updates focused on security and stability rather than flashy features. Microsoft issued its July update for Windows 11, bringing quality-of-life tweaks and over 80 security patches – notably fixing the very SharePoint vulnerability under active attack ts2.tech. Apple pushed out critical updates (iOS 16.6 and macOS 13.5) on July 23 to patch exploits and harden devices against spyware like the kind targeting activists ts2.tech. SAP and Salesforce rolled out summer upgrades emphasizing workflow automation and CRM efficiency, pointedly without hyping new AI tie-ins. Industry-wide, this month has seen a back-to-basics push on reliability and cybersecurity. With cyberattacks on the rise, companies are prioritizing behind-the-scenes safeguards – patching holes, tightening code, and reinforcing data protection – to shore up trust in their platforms ts2.tech ts2.tech. As one tech exec put it, “Security is the new killer feature.” Users may not notice these under-the-hood improvements immediately, but they’re crucial to keeping our increasingly digital lives safe.

Sources: Reuters, TechCrunch, Engadget, TS2 Technology Roundups reuters.com reuters.com reuters.com reuters.com reuters.com reuters.com ts2.tech reuters.com techcrunch.com, et al.