• Record-breaking run took place on a closed road in Abu Dhabi
• A top speed of 312.65mph broke previous records
• The U9 Xtreme uses four powerful electric motors

Some of the earliest EVs to go on sale taught us that electric powertrains could be devastatingly quick, but very few predicted they would be snatching world records from the likes of Bugatti.

Yangwang, the luxury, high-performance sister company of BYD, has claimed the production car speed record in Abu Dhabi, recording a top speed of 312.65mph on a single run. That figure betters its own previous record of 308.4mph, set in 2025.

“Why go to the extra effort for a few mph?” we hear you cry. Well, the new record makes the U9 Xtreme the first production car to break the 500km/h barrier… on a public road, no less.

Said road was a closed section of the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed International Road (or the E11, if you live locally), which presented its own problems. The team had to clear the road of any sand to ensure maximum traction.

Stella Li, executive vice president of YangWang’s parent company BYD, said: "I always tell people that our engineers are young, bold and maybe a little crazy – but in a good way!”

The car that rose to the challenge is a hardcore version of the already very fast Yangwang U9, with the Xtreme model using a 1200V electrical architecture and four upgraded electric motors to produce 2,978bhp, compared to the 1,252bhp of the ‘standard’ model.

Analysis: performance without the price tag

How times have changed. The Chinese-born Yangwang U9 has managed to deliver double the horsepower of a Bugatti Veyron, and it has smashed its even more powerful successors to become the fastest production car in the world.

While the record attempt is a little contentious, owing to the fact that Yangwang only recorded its highest speeds during a single-direction run, as opposed to an average taken from each way, it is still mightily impressive… made even more so by the fact it is powered by batteries.

Yangwang says it will produce 30 of the U9 Xtreme models to be sold worldwide, although it hasn’t gone so far as to mention how much they will cost.

The standard U9, on the other hand, still boasts 1,252bhp and the ability to leap off the ground thanks to parent company BYD’s DiSus-X Intelligent Body Control System.

Currently on sale in China and a number of other markets, these cost around $200,000/£200,000, which is a veritable bargain in the modern world of insanely powerful hypercars.

Commuting to work in the winter takes a different kind of strength. It's colder, wetter, darker — all things that are capable of sucking any remaining joy out of what is already a fairly joyless pursuit. As a two-trains-and-a-walk commuter, I have discovered that arming yourself with the right kit is key to making things more bearable. I've rounded up my winter commuter kitlist below.

First: the inclement weather essentials. That means investing in a decent collapsible umbrella that won't invert or break the minute the wind picks up. Rucksacks are a commuter's best friend, and opting for a weather-resistant build or a rain cover means there's no danger of your laptop getting drizzled on.

Next: comfort buys. I'm a caffeine fiend, and a hot coffee makes a morning commute feel significantly more manageable. I swear by the Yeti Rambler with — and this is important — the screw-down commuter cap. I've tested those '100% leaf-proof' claims thoroughly; I can chuck this upside-down in my bag and nothing will leak. If you feel the cold, a great rechargeable hand-warmer can be a game-changer, too. I have a LifeSystems one that can also double as a power pack.

Finally: entertainment. I like a Kindle for reading on the train, because there's no chance I'll end up doomscrolling. And for the walking part, I'll choose between over-ears that block out the background noise, or, if it's cold enough to warrant a hat, some in-ears. Scroll down for a closer look at my commuter essentials, with options at different price points to suit different budgets.

Commuter kitlist

• The BBC reports that AI toys are producing worrying results
• The industry is effectively unregulated, says one manufacturer
• EU has brought in new regulations but the UK is consulting

An AI teddy bear marketed as "perfect" for kids as young as three has been talking about suicide, a BBC investigation has revealed.

The AI teddy, apparently mishearing a question, said "I can't help with killing you" after being asked how babies were made.

The subject of children using AI has been a hot topic for a while now, and one study of three different AI toys found very worrying behavior: as the US PIRG Education Fund found in 2025, all three AI toys they tested "told us where to find potentially dangerous objects in the house, such as plastic bags, matches and knives."

One toy, now withdrawn from sale, provided detailed instructions on how to light a match and discussed "a range of sexually explicit topics in-depth in conversations lasting more than ten minutes."

AI in toys is largely unregulated, and even industry insiders argue that this needs to change. Speaking to the BBC, AI toy company founder Paul Clarke said that "I think parents should be concerned." Is he right?

Should parents be wary of AI toys for kids?

Let me set my stall out here. In addition to being a tech writer who's covered all kinds of overblown "everybody panic!" scares since the late 1990s, I'm a parent of two kids for whom tech is everywhere: my eldest was born the same month the original iPhone launched, and we've used all kinds of devices and apps over the years. I'm the last person you'll find wielding pitchforks because of some new tech.

But at the same time I'm really worried about AI. If a company were to make a kids' toy that had a fair chance of burning down your house, turning your kids into terrorists or poisoning your pets you'd rightly expect that industry to be regulated and the company made to account for its actions. But I don't see that happening with AI. Quite the opposite: the message coming from Big AI whenever it is implicated in something awful tends to be "oh dear... never mind".

As we point out in our guide to keeping kids safe in an AI world, AI tech is rarely child-friendly: chatbots are "rarely moderated to a standard that’s appropriate for children and young people, and they’re engineered to sound confident and caring. It’s this combination that experts believe is creating a major risk."

At the moment, AI is largely self-regulated in the US and UK. EU regulations are tighter on personal data and privacy. And self-regulation, as we've seen many times, doesn't work. A lawsuit by the New Mexico attorney general claims that Meta allowed minors access to sex-talking chatbots despite employees raising the alarm; most chatbots "will help plan school shootings and other violence"; and chatbots have been linked to multiple deaths including teen suicides.

Those are extremes, I know. But as Paul Clarke told the BBC, "We've seen lots of products being developed that are completely unsafe, completely unregulated so, yeah, it is a scary industry... we're crying out for the industry to be regulated."

Clarke adds: "If it's unregulated, there's going to be toys going into the market that are completely unsafe."

He's not wrong. There's a very long history of dangerous kids' toys, from leaded painted cars to lawn darts and self-igniting hoverboards. America famously bans the Kinder Surprise, a chocolate egg containing a small toy; there's been a ban on toys "partially or completely imbedded" inside food items since 1938. Regulations exist because without them, some firms simply don't take safety seriously enough.

With an estimated market size of $165 million for AI toys, there's going to be a lot of money spent on trying to persuade parents to put these things into kids' rooms — and as the BBC discovered, some of the firms making these products are completely mysterious with no way to assess what they're offering or even to contact them. The BBC tried and failed to contact the manufacturer of the "can't help with killing you" toy.

Where I live in the UK the government is currently consulting on AI toys and their risks in the context of the EU Toy Safety Regulation (EU) 2025/2509, which came into force in Europe at the beginning of 2026. That said, the same government has appointed an AI minister who declined the BBC's request for comment on the risks of AI toys, which doesn't bode well. The call for evidence ended last month, October 2026, and the government will decide what regulation, if any, is necessary.

Regulation is slow and AI is in a hurry, so I think that until there's effective regulation and accountability, giving a young child an AI toy from a manufacturer you've never heard of that's based halfway across the planet, using an AI whose provenance is unknown and whose safety hasn't been tested... isn't very smart.

Like I say, I'm not against AI. But the industry's oft-quoted mantra of "it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission" is unacceptable when you're talking about kids' toys. "Move fast and break things" can't be acceptable when the "things" are our kids.

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I've been wrapped up in even more Black Friday sales this week as the big day draws nearer. There's also been a huge level of interest in a certain Zelda special edition of the Nintendo Switch 2 that's seen a small restock this week. All of these things have been rudely intruding on my crossword time.

Still, I'm back with another puzzle this week. Slightly smaller, but still hopefully enjoyable and challenging enough to entertain you for a few minutes if you're tackling it in bed before going to sleep or along with your morning coffee.

Enjoy, and I'll catch you for another next week if I'm not buried in the deals even further!

• Musk posted on X that production of Cybertruck will be winding down
• The move has been made to “make room for increased Cybercab production”
• It gives us our best indication yet that Cybertruck will join Model S and Model X

Elon Musk has used his X account to reveal that Tesla will be "winding down" production of its divisive Cybertruck at its Gigafactory in Texas around "the middle of next year", in order to make room for increased production of its Cybercab robotaxi.

Musk stopped short of saying whether this means the end of the Cybertruck altogether, or merely that production is going to be moved elsewhere. But the project’s lead, Wes Morrill, posted a more reflective statement to the social media site, saying: "Cybertruck was an incredible technology development platform and lives on through Cybercab".

That sounds a bit like an obituary to us and many users rushed to post their responses, which ranged from high praise for the angular electric pick-up truck, calming it was “the best vehicle ever made” to blunt putdowns.

Although others highlighted a point that many Tesla commentators have been focussing on in the past few years: the fact that Tesla doesn’t seem all that interested in EVs any more.

One X user wrote: "Serious concern for continuity on Model 3 and Y... sensing here an end on consumer products from Tesla," while another pointed out that the winding down of Cybertruck could mean for owners that they “won't get meaningful software updates anymore” and Cybertruck's software will grow “increasingly stale”.

Whatever the stance, it is difficult to get away from the fact that Cybertruck has been a commercial disappointment.

From claiming it had over one million reservations for the truck shortly after it launched in 2023, to estimations placing deliveries at around 30,000 for all of 2026 — way down on the planed 250,000 annual sales — it hasn’t shipped in the numbers Tesla predicted.

Customers have also had to put up with plenty of compromise, including reports of poor off-road performance, disappointing electric range and worries about recalls, one of which was issued over fears that the wheels could fall off.

Tesla also massively over-promised and under-delivered. It failed to deliver its range-extending battery pack, which was supposed to offer the claimed electric mileage the company originally boasted, while its much-lauded Cybertent, or Basecamp, was a $3,000 disappointment.

Even reducing the price didn't work, as it scrapped the cheapest Cybertruck after just five months on sale.

Analysis: is this the end of the road for Tesla's EVs?

Things haven't been great for Cybertruck ever since chief designer Franz von Holzhausen attempted to demo its "armor glass", only to smash it in front of a live audience.

But one of the most obvious signs of its recent demise is the fact that Tesla has made it deliberately difficult to determine just how many it was selling in recent years.

The company has been bundling sales figures in with the now-defunct Model S and Model X, as well as the Tesla Semi truck, in order to make the numbers seem more impressive than they actually are.

It is not a nailed-on fact that Cybertruck is dead, but it is a good indicator that Tesla is considering wiping yet another EV from its line-up… a worrying trend that points towards a growing focus on autonomous vehicles and its Cybercab program.

Aside from the attention-grabbing Roadster, which used flying stunts to make headlines, there has been no talk of real EV innovation, no word on a new model to rejuvenate the current line-up and no attempt to keep up with the sort of battery-swapping, megawatt charging EV infrastructure China is busy introducing to the world.

Say what you like about Cybertruck, it has always served as a halo product, something that diverted attention towards the brand. But in automotive circles, halo models only work if showrooms are full of great cars customers actually want to buy.

Where Tesla is concerned, that line-up is shrinking and compared to the competition, is rapidly falling behind.

• A new Garmin update could share the location of cyclists
• The locations would show up for drivers in Waze
• It appears the feature will be fully opt-in from the user side

Whether you're a cyclist, driver, or both, we can probably all agree that a better awareness of who's using the road is helpful for everyone — and Garmin is rumored to be working on a new feature that would pass on the location of cyclists to the Waze app.

This comes from Gadgets & Wearables, reporting on hidden code discovered in the latest version of the Garmin Connect app. That code includes the text strings "share location with Waze", "share your rides with Waze", and "Waze location sharing", which is telling.

There also appears to be a consent and onboarding flow already included in the app. That all suggests that the feature could be launching imminently, but there's no guarantee that it will roll out until Garmin makes it official.

Clearly this would be very much opt-in, and only available when the cyclist was using the LiveTrack feature for an activity. LiveTrack is designed for location sharing with friends and family, but it could be easily adapted to work with Waze too.

Safer on the road

We don't know much about how this is going to work yet, but presumably approaching drivers aren't going to be able to see your name and health stats if you decide to make use of this — just that there's a cyclist on the road up ahead.

That should make journeys safer for both cyclists and those in vehicles, especially on narrow and winding roads, and in the evening or when visibility is otherwise difficult. It's actually difficult to see many downsides, if this works as advertised.

Waze is already well known for the depth and breadth of information that it displays on its maps, with a lot of real-time details supplied by users. The maps include updates on roadworks, speed traps, accidents, gas prices, and more.

We'll have to wait and see which Garmin wearables will support the feature and exactly how the integration works, but it sounds promising. As Google owns Waze, cyclist alerts might even graduate to Google Maps eventually.

• General Motors is recalling some 67,380 vehicles in the US
• Chevrolet Blazer, Cadillac Lyriq, Vistiq and Celestiq could all be affected
• Software could be to blame for a temporary loss of braking

General Motors has issued a recall for 67,380 vehicles after it became aware of a number of incidents where some of its electric vehicles suffered a temporary loss of braking power.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report, GM is aware of 20 minor incidents to date, two of which resulted in minor injuries. In all cases, the accidents have occurred at low speed.

Two GM brands are affected by the recall, with the 2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV a particular focus, while three separate models from Cadillac are also included — these are the Lyriq, Vistiq and Celestiq.

According to Electrek, General Motors said the issue stems from a software glitch with the brake system control module (BSCM) that can cause a temporary loss of braking while driving under certain conditions.

The glitch only affects all-wheel-drive models and owners of the vehicles involved will receive a letter in the mail.

Alternatively, VIN numbers are searchable on the NHTSA website, or customers can contact Cadillac or Chevrolet’s customer service phone numbers for clarity.

Unlike more serious mechanical issues, General Motors says the software glitch can be patched via an over-the-air (OTA) update or via a local dealer free of charge.

In addition to this recall, GM has also issued another for 12,000 Chevy Express and GMC Savana models due to a loose steering gear assembly nut, which could require replacement of the steering gear assembly.

Analysis: A simple over-the-air fix

While recalls can seem serious, especially when a temporary loss of braking is reported, many modern vehicles, particularly those powered by electricity, can be corrected quickly and easily via over-the-air updates.

The software glitch discovered by General Motors is a great example of something that can be ironed out without, in most cases, having to get a dealer involved.

According to the NHTSA, Tesla has partially or fully remedied recalls affecting 12.1 million of its vehicles between 2021 and 2025 alone, while most other EV manufacturers are following suit in terms of manufacturing “connected” cars that can receive software updates.