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Inflation rose to 3.5% in March, an unexpected increase that continued to crush Americans wallets and President Bidens approval rating.

Despite repeated promises that inflation was transitory, inflation has remained high throughout the presidents term, and hes backed off using the term Bidenomics as people have bristled at high costs , particularly in restaurants and grocery stores.

The Consumer Price Index which tracks the changes in the costs of everyday goods and services noted surging prices for everything from gasoline to housing to car insurance.

But an increase in food costs also was a major culprit, according to government data.

Its the latest uncomfortable month for President Biden, who on Wednesday accused big food manufacturers and supermarket chains for using high prices to pad their bottom lines.

Im calling on corporations including grocery retailers to use record profits to reduce prices, Biden said Wednesday.

But retailers also have been hit hard by higher costs: New minimum wage legislation, higher taxes and the increase in prices for everything from construction supplies to oil and gas caused by massive government spending over the past few years.

While Biden admitted that prices are still too high for groceries, he claimed that prices for key household items like milk and eggs are lower than a year ago.

Nevertheless, the price of meats, poultry, fish and eggs rose 1.3% in March driven by eggs whopping 4.6% increase last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

The price of a dozen grade-A eggs has surged a blistering 103.4% since January 2021 to $2.99, according to data from the US Inflation Calculator, which tracks changes in the price of basic food staples based on the monthly CPI.

Overall, the food at home index which tracks prices at supermarkets rose 1.2% over the past 12 months, with fruits and vegetables advancing 2% over the year.

Indeed, every major staple, including bananas, beef, bread, coffee and ice cream Bidens favorite campaign snack have shot up in price since he took office.

Coffee was also among the most hopped-up pantry items, rising nearly 30% since Biden began his term, to an average of $5.96 per pound.

Other staples that rose between 26% and 29% between January 2021 and March 2024: Chicken breast, which now averages $4.11 per pound; as well as ground beef and sirloin steak, which experienced a $1.16 and $2.39 price-per-pound increase in that period, respectively, per the US Inflation Calculator.

White bread was up nearly 50 cents, or 29%, to $2, and rice will run shoppers about $1.01 these days 28% more than in January 2021.

In addition, consumers looking to keep a sweet treat in their pantry can expect to shell out roughly 40% more, or about $5.15, for a one-pound package of chocolate chip cookies than they did three years ago.

The cost of a one-pound bag of flour has also surged more than 26% during Bidens term.

As inflation remains stubbornly high, its impact on food costs have been thrust to the center of political debates ahead of the 2024 presidential election in November, where Biden and Donald Trump are expected to go head-to-head.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. weighed in on X on Monday, accusing Biden of trying to gaslight us into believing that inflation is coming down, citing how the price of butter, eggs, milk, peanut butter and toilet paper have gone up since he took the oath of office three years ago.

President Biden should be telling Americans that their anger is right and justified, Kennedy said.

President Biden is trying to gaslight us into believing that inflation is coming down. I understand the pain Americans are suffering from high prices. Since he took the oath of office three years ago

Butter is up from $3.58 to $4.75
12 Eggs up from $2.36 to $3.54
Milk up from

Trumps official Super PAC launched a website last month dubbed Biden-Mart that lets users compare Trump-era grocery prices to current costs under Bidens administration.

There are over two dozen common food staples to choose from. The Post clicked off a grocery list of items to see the impact Bidenomics has had over the last three years.

A two-pound bag of apples, two pounds of ground beef, seven lemons, one gallon of milk and one pound of sugar and coffee each totaled $30.07 a whopping 57.11% increase from the $19.14 it cost during the Trump administration, per Biden-Mart, which used data from the United States Department of Agriculture data to compare the prices from January 2021 when Trump left office with January 2024.

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Musk says Tesla is expanding Austin robotaxi service, adding Grok to cars

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Musk says Tesla is expanding Austin robotaxi service, adding Grok to cars

Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends an opening ceremony for Tesla China-made Model Y program in Shanghai, China, on Jan. 7, 2020.

Aly Song | Reuters

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company is expanding its robotaxi service area and bringing xAI’s Grok to vehicles as it rolled out a new iteration of the artificial intelligence chatbot.

Shares gained about 3%.

Musk said on X that Grok, his AI chatbot that praised Adolf Hitler and posted a barrage of antisemitic comments recently, will be available in Tesla vehicles “next week at the latest.”

xAI officially launched the Grok 4 update overnight as the company continued to face backlash for the vitriol written by the chatbot.

In response to a user post on his social media platform X, Musk said the company is expanding its Austin, Texas robotaxi service area this weekend. He also said Tesla is awaiting regulatory approval for a launch in the Bay Area “probably in a month or two.”

Read more CNBC tech news

The expansion of robotaxi and Grok integration comes at a fraught time for Musk and his empire.

Tesla set its annual shareholder meeting for Nov. 6, a Thursday filing showed. A group of investors recently called on the electric vehicle company to schedule the meeting.

Its last shareholder meeting was in June 2024, as Musk established himself as a major backer of President Donald Trump‘s reelection campaign. Musk later led the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE.

After stepping down from DOGE at the end of May, Musk has openly feuded with Trump on social media over the major tax bill, with the president suggesting the government look at cutting contracts for Musk’s companies.

Shares have tanked from their post-election high over investor concerns that the public fight could hamper Tesla. Slowing sales and rising competition also stifled some investor appetite.

Tesla shares fell Monday, with the company losing $68 billion in value after Musk continued to blast Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and said he was establishing his own political party, the “America Party.”

The world’s richest man suffered another blow Wednesday when Linda Yaccarino stepped down as CEO of his social media platform X, leaving the role after a turbulent two years for the company.

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The Hyundai IONIQ 6 N is here and it’s even better than expected

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The Hyundai IONIQ 6 N is here and it's even better than expected

The Hyundai IONIQ 6 N is finally here, and it delivers. Hyundai’s electric sports car is loaded with fun new features, a sleek design (including a massive rear wing), 641 horsepower, and much more.

Meet the Hyundai IONIQ 6 N

After teasing the new model for the first time last month, Hyundai created quite a buzz. Now, we are finally getting our first look at the upgraded high-performance EV.

Hyundai unveiled the new IONIQ 6 N at the famed Goodwood Festival of Speed on Thursday in West Sussex, England. The upgraded model follows Hyundai’s first high-performance EV, the IONIQ 5 N.

At the event, the company boasted that its new electric sports car marks “a pivotal milestone in Hyundai N’s electrification journey,” adding “Hyundai N is once again redefining the boundaries of high-performance electrification with the debut of the IONIQ 6 N.”

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The IONIQ 6 N delivers an impressive 641 horsepower (478 kW) and 77 Nm of torque, enabling a 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) sprint in just 3.2 seconds. Its top speed is about 160 mph (257 km/h).

Hyundai-IONIQ-6-N-EV
Hyundai IONIQ 6 N (Source: Hyundai)

That’s when using Hyundai’s Launch Control, one of the many performance features the new EV offers. Like its other N models, the IONIQ 6 is based on three pillars: Corner Rascal, Racetrack Capability, and, of course, an Everyday Sportscar.

Powered by two electric motors, a 223 hp (166 kW) at the front and another 378 hp (282 kW) motor at the rear, for a combined 600 hp (448 kW).

Hyundai-IONIQ-6-N-EV
Hyundai IONIQ 6 N (Source: Hyundai)

Redefining the EV driving experience

The upgraded IONIQ 6 “redefines the EV driving experience,” according to Hyundai, thanks to its advanced in-house vehicle control software.

Central to this is Hyundai’s N Active Sound + system, which mimics the feel and sound of a traditional engine. An added N e-Shift simulates shifting gears.

Hyundai-IONIQ-6-N-EV
Hyundai IONIQ 6 N interior (Source: Hyundai)

And that’s just the start. Other performance features, such as N Drift Optimizer, N Grin Boost, and N Torque Distribution, give you even more control over the vehicle while delivering increased power.

The IONIQ 6 N is powered by an 84 kWh battery, providing a WLTP range of up to 291 miles (469 km). However, EPA figures will be revealed closer to launch. Given the IONIQ 5 N has an EPA-estimated range of up to 221 miles, you can expect it to be slightly higher when it arrives.

With a 350 kW DC fast charger, Hyundai’s new performance EV can recharge from 10% to 80% in about 18 minutes.

With a length of 4,935 mm, a width of 1,940 mm, and a height of 1,495 mm, the IONIQ 6 N is about the size of the Porsche Taycan.

Hyundai will showcase the new high-performance EV during the hillclimb event alongside other models like the IONIQ 5 N, IONIQ 6 N Drift Spec, and IONIQ 6 N with N Performance parts. Hyundai promises each vehicle brings unique capabilities to the event, “guaranteeing a dynamic and thrilling on-track experience for all attendees.” Check back soon for more info.

What do you think of Hyundai’s new electric sports car? Would you buy one over the Porsche Taycan? Let us know in the comments.

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Environment

Elon Musk says Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles just after it went full Hitler

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Elon Musk says Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles just after it went full Hitler

Elon Musk said that Tesla owners will “soon” have access to Grok, a large language developed by Musk’s xAI startup, days after the AI started calling itself ‘MechaHitler’.

Yesterday, xAI launched Grok 4, the latest version of its large language model.

The new model is benchmarking very well, but that’s generally the case with the latest model to come out. It edges the latest models from Google and OpenAI on intelligence by a few points, but it falls behind on speed:

At the launch event, Musk announced that Grok will “soon” be integrated into Tesla vehicles.

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This is something that the CEO has been discussing since founding xAI, which has been controversial because Musk has also positioned Tesla to compete in the AI space. He even stepped down from his role at OpenAI due to a “conflict of interest with Tesla.”

The announcement of the imminent integration of Grok into Tesla vehicles comes just days after the language model went haywire on X and started praising Hitler, referring to itself as ‘MechaHitler’, and made several antisemitic comments.

xAI acknowledge the issue and put Grok on timeout while they fixed it:

We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts. Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X. xAI is training only truth-seeking and thanks to the millions of users on X, we are able to quickly identify and update the model where training could be improved.

The “bug” came just a few weeks after Musk stated that he was displeased with Grok supporting left-wing narratives, even though it didn’t say anything inncurate, and that he would update Grok to “fix” it.

Now, the large language model (LLM) is expected to power the new voice assistant inside Tesla vehicles.

LLMs are becoming quite common in cars, especially premium vehicles. Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and a few others have all integrated Chat-GPT in some models.

Many Chinese automakers have also developed their own and deployed them in cars, even entry-level ones.

Tesla is playing catch up on that front.

Electrek’s Take

As I have previously stated, I think Musk is setting up Tesla to invest or even merge with xAI at a ridiculous valuation – making Tesla shareholders virtually pay twice for Twitter, which is now part of xAI.

This is how he will be able to gain wider control over the company’s share.

Of course, it will be widely challenged in court. In fact, shareholders have already filed a lawsuit alleging that Musk was in breach of fiduciary duties to Tesla shareholders when he started xAI.

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