WSJ Tech News Briefing

JB Straubel was Elon Musk’s battery guy. Now he’s trying to turn what some see as trash into power for the electric vehicle revolution. Straubel was there at the earliest days of Tesla, and in his 15 years with the electric vehicle company, he played an integral role: he developed the battery pack used in the first Tesla vehicle, was the company’s Chief Technology Officer, and now sits on the board of directors. But his day job is running the battery-recycling startup Redwood Materials, and he envisions a future where recycled batteries power our cars, cell phones and power tools. So could companies like his one day replace the oil giants who fueled the last century? Why does he think humans have room to work harder? And can the Tesla board manage Musk as he takes on a growing role in U.S. politics, including advising the Trump administration? Straubel speaks to WSJ’s Tim Higgins and Christopher Mims in episode three of our interview series Bold Names. Check Out Past Episodes Bold Names: Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks'  Bold Names: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and the AI ‘Fantasy Land’  Further Reading The Boom in Battery Metals for EVs Is Turning to Bust  Cost-Cutting Lessons From Musk World for DOGE  The Withering Dream of a Cheap American Electric Car  What Americans Get Wrong About Electric Cars  One of the Brains Behind Tesla May Have a New Way to Make Electric Cars Cheaper  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can Hollywood work with artificial intelligence? And if so, under what terms? Stability AI CEO Prem Akkaraju and actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt went head-to-head last month at WSJ Tech Live discussing that and more. They were joined by WSJ senior personal tech columnist Joanna Stern. We play you highlights of that conversation. Julie Chang hosts. Subscribers can watch the full talk here. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus, crypto advocates land legal win after a federal appeals court rejects the Treasury Department’s sanctions on Tornado Cash. And, Shopify looks to court bigger clients. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin, Texas ran afoul of environmental overseers, with toxins spewed into the air and a dead deer found in a pond, according to Wall Street Journal reporting. WSJ reporter Susan Pulliam joins host Belle Lin to discuss her findings, including how the Journal uncovered the story and how far back alleged environmental problems at Tesla’s plants go. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices