Tesla has increased the price of its brand new Model S Plaid by $10,000 just a day ahead of its first deliveries at an event later tonight.
The new Model S hasn’t been delivered yet, but it already has a complex history.
It was first supposed to be a new tri-motor version of the Model S with Tesla’s new structural battery pack powered by its new 4680 battery cell.
However, when Tesla unveiled the new Model S with a new interior in January, it ended up making that version of the car the Model S Plaid+ and the Model S Plaid became a tri-motor version of the electric sedan with a shorter range.
Along with the Model S Plaid price increase, Tesla also increased the price of the Model Y Long Range by $500:
Over the last few months, Tesla increased the prices of most versions of the Model 3 and Model Y by $500 each every few weeks.
As of the time of writing, the automaker didn’t update the price of any version of the Model 3, but the price increases could be ongoing.
Electrek’s Take
The supply chain costs increasing make sense as an explanation for the Model 3 and Model Y price increases, but I am not sure that it makes sense for a $10,000 increase on the Model S Plaid.
Especially considering that Elon said that the new Model S is actually cheaper to make.
For such a large increase, I think it has more to do with demand being strong for the new top-of-the-line Model S.
I would assume that the new price is only for new orders. Tesla has made this mistake before, but I believe that they learned from it.
British authors have told Sky News they felt “absolutely sick” to see their book titles appear in a “shadow library” allegedly used by tech giant Meta to help develop artificial intelligence software.
“It’s my whole life,” said one best-selling novelist. “The thought somebody in Silicon Valley or wherever is taking that work to produce identikit fake AI versions… it’s so upsetting.”
The tool to search the LibGen database was published by The Atlantic last week after court documents filed as part of a lawsuit by US comedian Sarah Silverman and other authors against Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and has a current market value of more than £1trn, were made public earlier this year.
Meta is accused of breaching copyright laws by using LibGen – a prominent so-called “shadow library”, operated anonymously, that allegedly contains millions of pirated copies of books, journal articles and other materials – to develop its AI software. Meta has denied the claim and argues the case should be thrown out.
In a legal document filed earlier this week, the tech company said it did not violate copyright law by downloading books from some parts of LibGen to train its flagship AI system Llama 3, saying it made “fair use” of the material, and that Llama 3 does not “replicate” authors’ works.
In earlier court documents, lawyers for Silverman and the other authors alleged internal communications showed Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg “approved” use of the LibGen dataset despite concerns from some workers.
Image: Author Rowan Coleman has written dozens of novels. Pic: Carolyn Mendelsohn
The Society of Authors (SoA) trade union has described Meta’s alleged behaviour as “appalling” and says the company “needs to compensate the rightsholders of all the works it has been exploiting”.
“It’s every single book I have ever written,” says novelist Rowan Coleman, who has had about 40 books published since her first in 2002, including the Sunday Times bestseller The Memory Book in 2014, and The Bronte Mysteries series under a pen name.
“I felt absolutely sick… I have no way of knowing how much revenue that has cost me. Like most writers, I struggle to pay the bills. I have three jobs, I have children to support and a mortgage to pay. And there are tech billionaires who are profiting from my work and the work of countless other authors as well. How can that be right?”
Meta, Coleman says, allegedly decided to obtain “what they needed cheaply and quickly”.
But financial compensation aside, she says there is a bigger issue. “It’s a threat to this profession even being able to continue to exist. We are, I think, at genuine risk of not having any books for people to actually pirate – at least not any written by humans.”
Image: Owen Cooper and Stephen Graham in Adolescence. Pic: Netflix
Coleman highlights the recent Netflix drama Adolescence, co-written by and starring Stephen Graham, which has been discussed everywhere from US talk shows to UK parliament. “We wouldn’t have that if it wasn’t for writers sitting down and working and grafting for hours.
While JK Rowling, Stephen King and James Patterson may be worth millions, a survey in 2022 found that authors in the UK earned an average median income of about £7,000.
Hannah Doyle, a romcom novelist who is about to publish her fifth novel, The Spa Break, in May, says two of her previous works appear in the LibGen search.
Like Coleman, she has other jobs to supplement her author earnings. Each book takes about a year to complete, she says.
‘It’s David and Goliath’
Image: Author Hannah Doyle is about to publish her fifth novel
“We’re kind of the little people, it’s like David and Goliath,” she says. “How do we stand up for our rights when we’re facing these tech giants worth trillions of pounds?
“This isn’t right, because it’s theft, ultimately. They’re [allegedly] stealing our work and they’re using it to better their AI systems. What’s going to happen to our careers as a result of that?”
Doyle says the situation might be different had authors been approached and offered remuneration.
“I think AI has so many benefits in certain fields,” she says. “For medical research, for example, it’s got the potential to be incredibly useful. What needs to happen is we really need to give it some boundaries before it totally takes over.”
Award-winning writer Damian Barr, whose books also appear to be featured in the database, shared a post on Instagram, writing: “Readers and viewers – because so much TV and film and theatre starts with a book – are being subjected to BILGE generated by machines… creatively and culturally and financially, AI is robbing us all.”
Image: Richard Osman. Pic: Carsten Koall/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
TV presenter and author Richard Osman, who has had huge success with his Thursday Murder Club series, wrote on X: “Copyright law is not complicated at all. If you want to use an author’s work you need to ask for permission. If you use it without permission you’re breaking the law. It’s so simple. It’ll be incredibly difficult for us, and for other affected industries, to take on Meta, but we’ll have a good go!”
In his article, Atlantic writer Alex Reisner, who created the LibGen search tool, gave the caveats that it is “impossible” to know exactly which parts of LibGen Meta has used and which parts it hasn’t, and the database is “constantly growing”.
His snapshot was created in January 2025, he says, more than a year after the lawsuit says it was accessed by the tech giant, so some titles that appear now would not have been available to download at that point.
The SoA is urging authors in the UK to write to Meta, as well as to their local MPs.
“Rather than ask permission and pay for these copyright-protected materials, AI companies are knowingly choosing to steal them in the race to dominate the market,” chief executive Anna Ganley said in a statement.
“This is shocking behaviour by big tech that is currently being enabled by governments who are not intervening to strengthen and uphold current copyright protections.”
A Meta spokesperson told Sky News in a statement that the company “has developed transformational GenAI open source LLMs that are powering incredible innovation, productivity, and creativity for individuals and companies”.
The statement continued: “Fair use of copyrighted materials is vital to this. We disagree with plaintiffs’ assertions, and the full record tells a different story. We will continue to vigorously defend ourselves and to protect the development of GenAI for the benefit of all.”
The US lawsuit
Image: Comedian Sarah Silverman is one of the authors suing Meta in the US. Pic: AP
Authors including comedian Silverman, Richard Kadrey and Ta-Nehisi Coates filed their class-action lawsuit against Meta in California in 2023.
They have accused the tech firm of illegally downloading digital copies of their books and using them – without their consent or offering compensation – to train AI.
The controversy surrounding LibGen is part of a wider debate about AI and copyright law. In the US, the Authors Guild says legal action is under way against other AI companies for allegedly using pirated books, as well as Meta.
The organisation has advised authors that if their books have been used by Meta, they are automatically included in the Kadrey vs Meta class action, the lawsuit involving Silverman and other authors, “without needing to take any immediate action”.
Separately in 2023, the Authors Guild and 17 authors filed a class-action suit against OpenAI in New York for alleged copyright infringement. The named plaintiffs include John Grisham, George RR Martin and Jodi Picoult.
The issue was also one of the driving forces behind the strikes in Hollywood in 2023. But not everyone in the creative industries is against it.
Last year, publisher Harper Collins reached an agreement with an unnamed technology company to allow “limited use of select non-fiction backlist titles” for training AI models.
A consultation on AI copyright law in the UK ended in February. Under the plans, an exemption to copyright would be created for training AI, so tech firms would not need a licence to use copyrighted material – and creators would need to opt out to prevent their work from being used.
A government spokesperson said at the time that the UK’s current regime for copyright and AI was “holding back the creative industries, media and AI sector from realising their full potential – and that cannot continue”.
No changes will be made “until we are absolutely confident we have a practical plan that delivers each of our objectives, including increased control for rights holders to help them easily license their content, enabling lawful access to material to train world-leading AI models in the UK, and building greater transparency over material being used”, the spokesperson said.
But plenty of authors and others in the creative industries are not convinced.
“It just leaves the door open for so much exploitation of people’s rights, people’s data and their work,” says Coleman. “I would really urge the government to think again about this and to protect what is a jewel in the crown of British cultural identity – to do the right thing.”
Grand Theft Auto VI is the most anticipated game of the year.
The long-awaited sequel by developer Rockstar Games is expected in the autumn – 12 years on from the record-breaking GTA V.
While gamers excitedly await its release, the industry itself is buzzing with anticipation over rumblings the base game could command a premium $100 (about £80) price point and still achieve colossal sales.
Setting this precedent could lead to other game publishers wanting a slice of the action by increasing their own starting prices.
However, the GTA series boasts two winning ingredients that some other games do not have – brand power and fan loyalty.
Image: Gamers queuing up outside a Game store in London for the release of GTA V in 2013. Pic: PA
Expert research analyst Michael Pachter told Sky News he believes Rockstar and parent company Take-Two Interactive Software will be able to charge $100 with little complaint.
Mr Pachter, a managing director at US-based Wedbush Securities, highlighted the rising cost of entertainment since GTA V was released in September 2013.
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He said: “Realistically, video games are the only form of entertainment that hasn’t kept up pricing with inflation.
“Look at movie tickets, concerts, Disneyland, video on demand (VOD) – all have doubled.”
Mr Pachter said the key to “charging” more is to justify the value to the consumer.
He explained: “I expect GTA VI to be fully integrated with GTA Online, and Rockstar can offer premium edition purchasers $100-worth of in-game items – currency, skins, vehicles, weapons, etc – as a trade-off for the higher price point.
“The level of integration will make the in-game items more valuable, and I don’t expect a lot of pushback.
“I think $100 or so makes sense, and don’t expect that we will ever see a $500 game.”
Image: The GTA V release in California. Pic: Reuters
If history repeats itself, GTA Online will be the moneymaker.
The persistent online world offers endless monetisation opportunities – with gamers enticed to splash out on new vehicles, weapons, properties, businesses and cosmetic upgrades.
Mr Pachter said GTA VI’s integration with its online offering provides an “excuse” for engaged players to spend more money.
He added: “Some players will spend an additional $500 and most won’t, but those who spend more than $100 will do so if they perceive there is value derived from the purchase.”
Image: The Rockstar North studio in Edinburgh. Pic: Thomas Ortega/iStock
The GTA series – which was created in Dundee, Scotland – is one of the biggest franchises in the industry.
GTA V became the fastest entertainment product in history to make $1bn (in its first three days) and has since sold more than 210 million copies worldwide.
Developer Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design), based in Edinburgh, has achieved additional success by collaborating with fellow studio Rockstar San Diego on the Red Dead Redemption games.
When GTA V made its debut, it launched on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. That was two consoles ago, with the new game set to arrive via PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
AAA (Triple-A) games – big budget, high-profile productions – are now taking longer to make as gamers demand seamless multiplayer experiences, cross-device gaming capabilities, visually impressive graphics, and fully immersive storylines.
From the GTA VI trailer footage, players will be returning to the Miami-flavoured metropolis of Vice City in the fictional state of Leonida.
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The Bonnie and Clyde-style story is set to include the first playable female character in the series’ history.
GTA has always poked fun at American culture, with the nation’s past decade of politics like something out of the game.
GTA VI looks certain to continue the series’ tradition of satire, but the trailer also shows that no expense has been spared in regards to bringing the sun-soaked streets of Vice City to life.
The cost of creating a game can vary widely based on a multitude of factors, including the studio size, staff skill level, and development time.
Given the size of Rockstar’s workforce and the number of years the game has been in development, Mr Pachter believes the cost of GTA VI “is highly likely to be nearly $1bn”.
Mr Pachter said: “They spent this much time because they can, and the scope of the game is typically immense.”
Rockstar has so far remained tight-lipped over its budget and whether GTA VI is indeed the most expensive video game ever made.
Not easy to share games in a digital download age
The gateway toy that sparked my love for gaming was the Tomytronic Shark Attack 3D device.
It was the early 1980s and I’d received the binocular-style game for Christmas.
I soon upgraded to the ZX Spectrum, and as the years have passed I’ve been fortunate to enjoy many of the consoles released via Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox.
Let me be clear, I’m a console gamer. If I had the spare money and patience, maybe I would build my own gaming PC – but I don’t see that in my future.
I love the GTA series and rank Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption, L.A. Noire, Bully (Canis Canem Edit) and The Warriors amongst my top favourites.
Although the GTA games are meant for adults, I expect many youths across the UK will either want it on day one or will add it to their Christmas list.
Rolling back to when I was in primary school, I was able to borrow ZX Spectrum games from the local library.
My friends and I would share these around between ourselves, and in later years we would continue to swap our own Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox games.
This meant that someone like myself – who didn’t come from money – was able to play a game I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford.
I highlight this because some of the newer consoles don’t have a disc drive, and most games are now bought and downloaded digitally.
I certainly don’t begrudge the price of video games rising to ensure a good quality product, but by making it more difficult to share them with friends is a hindrance.
With the cost of living crisis affecting households right across the UK, there may be parents who do not have the money to buy a new game on release or even while on sale for their children.
Speaking from experience, some of my greatest gaming nights have been round at friends’ houses watching them play their new game while having a little go myself.
You see, that’s the beauty of the gaming community – it’s a supportive sharing space where we want to see everyone join in on the fun.
After COVID all but wiped out trips to see a movie on the silver screen, film studios are now having to contend with the cost of living crisis and audiences preferring to wait for digital releases instead of spending money at the cinema.
For those concerned about a $100 starting point for GTA VI, or indeed if it becomes the new standard for video games, Mr Pachter is advising to similarly wait it out.
He said: “Like theatrical releases, game prices decline over time.
“Rockstar can charge $100 for six months, can drop to $70 for six months, then drop periodically thereafter.
“Nobody has to ‘afford’ $100; they all know they can wait.”
Even if GTA VI fans do wait it out for a cheaper price or for it to potentially drop via Xbox Games Pass, Mr Pachter is confident that will not affect Rockstar’s overall success.
He said: “There is no question they will sell 100 million copies – or more – eventually.”
Image: Pic: Reuters
So, while there is little doubt all eyes will be on GTA VI’s launch, the lasting question is whether other studios will attempt to follow suit if we do indeed see a price rise.
But a word to the wise, there are few games with a legacy as formidable as GTA and any price increase may turn out to be the exception rather than the rule.
As career criminal and former bank robber Trevor Philips (GTA V character) nicely put it: “I said something nice, not expensive.”
Nominations for this year’s BAFTA TV Awards have been revealed – with Baby Reindeer leading the field with eight.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Rivals and Slow Horses follow with six nominations each.
Image: Mr Bates vs the Post Office. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
Baby Reindeer, which follows the life of a struggling comedian who is stalked by a woman, is shortlisted for best limited drama.
Star and creator Richard Gadd is up for the BAFTAsfor best actor and for writing, while his co-stars Jessica Gunning and Nava Mau are both in the running for the supporting actress prize.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office, based on the true story behind the Horizon scandal, is also up for best limited drama, while stars Toby Jones and Monica Dolan are nominated in the leading actor and actress categories.
David Tennant and Katherine Parkinson, two of the stars of comedy drama Rivals, based on the Jilly Cooper novel, are up for best leading actor and best supporting actress.
Up against Gadd, Jones and Tennant in the leading actor category are Gary Oldman (Slow Horses), Lennie James (Mr Loverman) and Martin Freeman (The Responder).
Anna Maxwell Martin (Until I Kill You), Billie Piper (Scoop), Lola Petticrew (Say Nothing), Marisa Abela (Industry) and Sharon D Clarke (Mr Loverman) join Dolan on the leading actress shortlist.
In the comedy performance categories, Ruth Jones is among the nominees for the long-awaited Gavin & Stacey: The Finale, but there is no nod for co-star James Corden.
Image: Gavin & Stacey: The Finale. Pic: Tom Jackson/PA
For almost half of the nominees in the performance categories – 21 of 44 – this is their first BAFTA TV Awards nomination, including for Gadd and Gunning, as well as stars including Danny Dyer (Mr Bigstuff), Lolly Adefope (The Franchise) and Nicola Coughlan (Big Mood).
Blue Lights, Sherwood, Supacell and Wolf Hall: The Mirror And The Light are all shortlisted for best drama, while Alma’s Not Normal, Brassic, G’Wed and Ludwig are in the running for best scripted comedy.
One Day and Lost Boys And Fairies complete the limited series category.
Image: Michelle Keegan and Joe Gilgun in Brassic. Pic: Sky UK
The BAFTA TV Awards also celebrate the best TV moment of the year, with nominees this year including scenes from Gavin & Stacey: The Finale, Bridgerton, Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, Rivals, Strictly Come Dancing and The Traitors.
More than 130 programmes have received nominations in total.
BAFTA chief executive Jane Millichip said 2024 had been “a standout year”, and added: “The power of television to drive national conversation, to tap into the stories of public interest, and to inspire societal change, is second to none.”
The BAFTA TV Awards ceremony will be hosted by actor Alan Cumming on Sunday 11 May.
