Reaffirming previous news, Meta unveiled its inaugural set of camera-free AI glasses, the awkwardly titled Ray-Ban Meta Audio, during its Connect 2026 conference on Wednesday. Crafted to address concerns about potential misuse of AI glasses, which earned them the nickname “pervert glasses” from some quarters, the new offerings will be audio-exclusive, enabling users to enjoy music and podcasts, make calls, translate conversations, and interact with Meta’s AI assistant, Muse.

The design of the glasses comes from Meta’s collaborator in its AI hardware initiatives, EssilorLuxottica, with a starting price of $349.

Currently, Meta provides a diverse array of AI glasses in different styles, colors, and features. The audio-only version might assist the brand in recovering some of the reputational harm inflicted after critics highlighted instances of individuals, often men, using AI glasses to record videos without the consent of those filmed. Meta sought to resolve this concern by implementing a feature that would disable the camera if the LED light indicating recording was tampered with. Yet, the uncomfortable nature of the product persisted.

This new device could potentially attract more users for that reason, while also serving as a response to Apple’s Siri-enabled AirPods.

“Once you get accustomed to high-quality audio, it’s something you desire all the time, correct?” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated during a keynote on Wednesday, mentioning that after developing the concept, the company recognized it could create an entirely new category of glasses centered around audio.

Since they don’t incorporate cameras, the glasses are lighter than Meta’s other versions, weighing merely 43 grams. They also feature adjustable temple tips, interchangeable nose pads, overextension hinges, and a battery life of up to 12 hours per charge, according to Meta. With the charging case included, the battery life can extend to 48 hours.

Available in various colors and options — totaling 23 color and lens combinations — the glasses will be offered in two new styles, a retro “Clubmaster” Ray-Ban design and “Burbank,” which is characterized as a “classic, timeless, rectangle shape.” Additionally, similar to other Meta glasses, users can order them with their optical prescriptions, if required.

The glasses will be up for preorder on October 13, as noted by the company.

Alongside these glasses, Meta introduced its next generation of AI glasses (the models with cameras), the Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3). In addition to the Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer, two new styles will be available, the Aviator and Zena — the latter featuring a more cat-eye frame design. These will come equipped with a 12 MP camera that supports 3K Ultra HD video, a six-microphone array, and up to nine hours of battery life.

The glasses launched by Meta with EssilorLuxottica will see an expanded range of styles and colors, as well as a new collaboration with singer Lisa, which follows the prior brand partnership with Kylie Jenner. Additionally, Meta mentioned that the glasses will be rolled out to more countries worldwide.

Naturally, all of Meta’s AI glasses will include access to its enhanced personal AI assistant, Muse.

The company also hinted at forthcoming updates, such as support for Dolby Atmos Capture, a function that selects the best image from a series of frames, options for landscape or portrait modes, hearing enhancements for individuals with hearing loss, more comprehensive responses, alternative audio modes, customizable settings, and a feature referred to as “private processing” that Meta asserts will prevent the company from accessing your data.

This week, Vogue World concluded its Milan edition featuring a group of robots—potentially a glimpse into what attendees can expect when the event arrives in San Francisco next year.

Vogue World is the magazine’s yearly traveling spectacle, now in its fifth edition: part fashion show, part celebrity exhibit, part variety show, part advertisement sales opportunity, staged in a different locale each time. It has previously taken place in New York, London, Paris, and Hollywood. This year’s Milan installment was promoted as a homage to Italian craftsmanship and the “human element” amidst a technological age, making the subsequent events rather odd.

In the segment titled The Age of Intelligence, humanoid robots crafted by the Chinese company Unitree walked into the Galleria to the tune of Gigi D’Agostino’s “L’Amour Toujours.” They waved their arms to encourage applause from the spectators. One even performed a lasso trick. They were unadorned. Alessandro Michele, the creative director of Valentino, was seen with a distressed expression that rapidly went viral.

Vogue World Milano concludes (fittingly Europoor-kitschily) with tiny bots dancing to L’Amour Toujours while Alessandro Michele slowly suffers internally pic.twitter.com/xicYWWl6VW

— sascha (@SaschaAmato) September 22, 2026

I haven’t seen any discussion regarding the actual fashion showcased at Vogue World Milan. Instead, it’s all about the robots. (These robots have gained global attention for their dance abilities and mishaps.) Similar robots also appeared on the runway at London Fashion Week, currently ongoing.

Earlier this year, Vogue attracted attention when it announced that the next edition would take place in San Francisco, arguably one of the least fashionable cities in the U.S. The timing is not accidental. Anna Wintour has increasingly aligned herself with the technology magnates of today, and Vogue World Milan was partially sponsored by Meta Glasses, with further support from OpenAI.

This was one of those instances that highlights how disconnected the tech world can be, and that not everyone endorses the swift uptake of new technologies, including Vogue cozying up to the symbols of the excessively wealthy—who are becoming even more affluent—during a cost-of-living crisis. This is before considering AI, mass surveillance, job displacement, and the energy crisis, all overseen by the same elites. For some, a robot on the runway is further evidence of the current world’s issues.

We are all Alessandro Michele, watching front row at Vogue World Milan, experiencing an existential crisis about the state of affairs while robots awkwardly perform. At this point, numb to the despair. Madness.

— Michael J. Miraflor (@michaelmiraflor) September 23, 2026

Just got off the phone with the creative director of Vogue World. The first question he asked me? “So you disliked the robots?” 🤭
Full interview on Substack tomorrow 👀 https://t.co/FTa3gumPgY

— Louis Pisano (@LouisPisano) September 23, 2026

“I’m frustrated by the celebrities applauding the entire spectacle,” one tech entrepreneur messaged me on Instagram. “It’s disturbing. People are genuinely losing jobs and livelihoods because of these technologies. They should stop promoting it. What are they even showcasing? Headphones?” 

A fashion journalist friend simply replied “No,” when I sought opinions on the robots and Vogue World San Francisco. Jason Johnson, founder of Culture Impact Agency, mentioned that Vogue has been attempting to foster ties with Silicon Valley for at least a decade, recalling when Jony Ive co-hosted the Met Gala in 2015. The presence of dancing robots at Vogue World Milan seemed inevitable, as does the upcoming Vogue World San Francisco and Jeff Bezos along with his wife, Lauren Sanchez, gracing the Vogue wedding cover and co-hosting the 2026 Met Gala. 

“Publications are discovering new avenues to generate revenue, and tech is financially backed,” he shared with me. “Vogue possesses the cultural impact and access that those tech individuals desire.” Ultimately, both parties benefit, he stated. 

Nonetheless, the manner in which Vogue is approaching this seems oddly unnatural. 

Muna Ikedionwu, founder of MKEDI, a strategy firm for early-stage startups, remarked that what intrigued her most about the robots is that they do not fully encapsulate the innovation and progress underway in the creative technologist realm. “I’ve witnessed remarkable examples of engineering and AI influencing fashion, shaping design and art,” she remarked, adding that robots parading down the runway merely skim the surface of current developments at the confluence of fashion and technology.

She highlights the artist duo AA Murakami, who designed Olympian Eileen Gu’s bubble dress at this year’s Met Gala. They are fashion creators and engineers, Ikedionwu noted, referring to a presentation she recently attended about creating an “everlasting bubble.” They are at the forefront of pioneering “ephemeral technology,” she stated, “this concept of technology and innovation that resonates with the transient nature or the temporariness of art, humanity, and the soul.” 

Admittedly, when viewed in this context, the robots did seem quite dull. Whenever I contemplate the crossroads of fashion and technology, the Spring 2024 Schiaparelli collection comes to mind, featuring a robot baby constructed with Swarovski crystals and a gown made from vintage tech such as PC microchips. (I once joked about wearing that gown to Disrupt; see image above.) 

Ikedionwu ponders if this robotic performance was an attempt to ease the general public into the idea of technology merging with fashion, a combination that has been quietly developing for years. If that was the goal, it seems it fell flat. However, perhaps Vogue World is reserving all the exciting elements for San Francisco.

Recently, Anthropic disclosed that it has established a wet biology laboratory in the Bay Area where it utilizes its AI models for conducting physical experiments. This week, the AI powerhouse revealed that this lab has purportedly made a significant finding: a novel enzyme “system” possessing certain “characteristics akin to CRISPR,” as per Anthropic’s description.

CRISPR represents a natural defense mechanism employed by bacteria to combat viruses, which has transformed into a widely-used gene-editing technology among researchers.

Essentially, Anthropic claims the discovery entails an unidentified enzyme system concealed within the DNA of bacteriophages, viruses that infect and proliferate within bacteria. Researchers at Anthropic assert this system operates similarly to CRISPR in that it can “carry out processes like cutting, copying, and pasting DNA.”

The broader research community will need to assess how substantial or groundbreaking this finding truly is. Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei acknowledged that the discovery built upon the efforts of prior researchers, referencing that a Stanford team had previously identified a system “that shares some similarities with the one Claude uncovered,” he tweeted on X.

However, Amodei and Anthropic are not solely focusing on the finding. They are highlighting that it was discovered “primarily, though not exclusively, by Claude,” the CEO noted.

On one hand, this is remarkable. The lab was only launched this spring (although Anthropic chose not to specify how many months it has been operational). Achieving a discovery within such a short timeframe would be impressive; the team mentioned that it took Claude merely 21 hours of dedicated work. Claude sifted through data using approximately 950 agents that processed 210 million tokens.

Nevertheless, the announcement that Anthropic has been engaged in biology experiments follows AI CEOs, including Amodei, publicly expressing that models have grown so powerful, and potentially hazardous, that the industry must decelerate and implement safety testing protocols. This comes after a few of his employees publicly stated earlier this month that AI poses the risk of causing mass harm.

Amodei himself has stated that one of his greatest concerns is that AI could be exploited for bioterrorism. However, he also holds the belief that AI will “eliminate the majority of diseases within 5-10 years,” he wrote. Hence, Anthropic has evidently concluded that the potential benefits outweigh the dangers.

In light of this, perhaps the most significant revelation in this update isn’t the discovery itself, but that the biology lab has not yet unleashed Claude fully. The hands-on experiments were conducted by human researchers.

“Our laboratory, situated in the Bay Area, resembles a conventional molecular biology lab. Our research strictly involves the lower biosafety risk levels (BSL-1 and BSL-2), and we do not engage with pathogens that can infect humans. All laboratory work is conducted by human scientists.”

Moreover, it remains true that AI-enhanced biological research is not solely the domain of Anthropic. Researchers from Stanford recently released a study regarding their efforts with LLMs and CRISPR. Researchers at UC San Francisco have utilized AI to design enzymes from the ground up. Google introduced its first AI-driven biology research instrument, AlphaFold, back in 2020. Thus, AI has evidently penetrated biological research beyond the AI labs actively pursuing it.

Nonetheless, Amodei has not dismissed the possibility of a fully automated biology lab in the future. “Eventually, it might even become feasible for Claude itself to safely conduct experiments by autonomously manipulating lab equipment, with adequate safeguards in place, but we are not implementing that today,” he mentioned.

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The head of sustainability at Amazon stated on Tuesday that the company is uncertain about how it will meet its net-zero carbon emissions target by 2040.

“We are still making efforts to reach that goal,” Kara Hurst mentioned at an Axios event, later remarking that she won’t claim, ‘We know all the methods we are going to use to accomplish this.’”

This acknowledgment was both candid and pragmatic. It is also somewhat disheartening. If Amazon lacks a strategy for decarbonization, then who among them does?

Amazon ranks among the largest corporations globally, with revenue growing 12% last year to reach $717 billion — roughly equivalent to Ireland’s economy. Its expansion exemplifies the shift in power from governments to a handful of corporations, as noted by UN Secretary General António Guterres.

As power shifts, so does accountability. The pertinent question is, how much responsibility falls on Amazon?

“This is not a matter of companies versus governments,” Hurst stated in a written response to TechCrunch after the event. “Addressing climate change at the scale required necessitates both, and collaboration between them is essential.” She further added, “We lead where we can.”

Indeed, Amazon has been proactive. In her discussion yesterday, Hurst highlighted that the company has been “one of the largest buyers of clean energy worldwide for several consecutive years,” boasting a portfolio of 42 gigawatts. She also mentioned that Amazon has lowered its carbon intensity, defining the amount of pollution created per dollar of revenue, although this assertion is contingent on the timeframe. Carbon intensity increased last year compared to 2024, even while remaining lower than levels seen in 2022.

As a vast enterprise, Amazon’s carbon emissions span nearly every economic sector, from aviation and AI to agriculture and construction. To fulfill its ambition, the company requires suppliers from all these sectors. “We cannot do this in isolation,” Hurst emphasized at the Axios event.

The company recognizes that its pledges are its own. “We are committed to The Climate Pledge, aiming for net-zero carbon by 2040. That commitment remains unchanged,” Hurst informed TechCrunch.

However, Amazon has made decisions that compromise its authority on this matter. Earlier this year, an investigation uncovered plans for the company to construct a 7.65 gigawatt natural gas power plant to supply an AI data center campus. The project’s 35 turbines could emit up to 33 million tons of carbon dioxide yearly, establishing it as the largest single source of such pollution in the U.S.

With rare exceptions, companies tend to give precedence to revenue growth over climate commitments. For a business like Amazon, which runs the largest cloud service globally, AI serves as a significant revenue generator that is hard to ignore.

The climate technology sector has been optimistic that as clean energy becomes more affordable, market forces would lower carbon emissions. While there have been a few success stories, the rush toward AI has illustrated the limitations of this approach. Even Amazon, a prominent player in this arena, has made substantial investments in natural gas, effectively suggesting that climate change is an issue for future executives to address. Does that sound familiar?

Recently, it appears that everyone is discussing the idea of revitalizing manufacturing in the United States, particularly concerning advanced technologies such as drones and robotics. Michael Van Steenburg believes he is on the forefront of this movement.

Van Steenburg has dedicated the previous ten years to producing a variety of electric motors in the U.S. and North America, and he now aims to repeat this with his new venture, Modal Motors. This time, he plans to eliminate rare-earth magnets altogether, seeking to further distance the U.S. from China’s supply chain.

As one of the participants in Startup Battlefield 200 who will present at TechCrunch Disrupt next month, he views this as a critical pitch to deliver.

“China has already demonstrated its power a few times,” Van Steenburg commented, alluding to the country’s limitations on access to rare-earth materials.

Other firms are also making efforts to establish electric motor production and supply chains in the U.S., but Van Steenburg contends they are taking the wrong approach by continuing to depend on rare-earth magnets. He noted that domestic availability of these materials is still years away.

“Others are ‘reshoring,’ [but] they’re essentially replicating Chinese motors and simply manufacturing them in the U.S. They’re banking on the U.S. rare-earth magnet system picking up speed quickly enough,” he remarked. “It will still take a considerable amount of time before they can truly substitute for China.”

Modal Motors is developing two products in advance of Disrupt. The first is a compact electric motor designed for drones that is also suitable for fans, blowers, and even actuators. It’s engineered to “reduce mass while maximizing torque density and efficiency,” as stated on the startup’s website.

The more innovative design is what Modal dubs the “Hybrid Enigma Drive,” a planar — or flat — electric motor that can fit in tighter spaces.

Van Steenburg is leveraging decades of expertise in the automotive sector to create these motors and prepare them for customer use. However, there’s also a twist in the work he’s doing to make Modal Motors’ products a viable China-free alternative; in the late 1990s, he was involved in a hybrid gas-electric drivetrain initiative that China aimed to incorporate into its so-called “People’s Car.”

“It’s somewhat amusing,” he said, reflecting on that experience and the significant changes in the world since then. What remains constant, he remarked, is his outsider perspective and steadfast belief in tackling difficult challenges.

“I often remind people that the countdown began 25 years ago, and throughout that entire period, I’ve observed a slow-motion disaster as China has traveled the globe, acquiring mines, securing mineral rights, engaging in various activities, and gradually monopolizing the entire rare-earth supply chain,” he stated.

The cost of streaming services is rising again. Disney is the most recent media conglomerate to increase charges for its streaming offerings, contributing to an expanding trend in the sector. These hikes occur approximately a year after Disney’s last significant price adjustment for streaming.

Disney is boosting the price of its ad-free Disney+ and Hulu bundle to $21.99 monthly, up from $19.99, while each ad-free standalone plan will now be $21.49 per month, an increase from $18.99. Additionally, the company is lifting the fees for its ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu standalone plans to $12.49 each month. 

The updated prices are shown on the support page for Disney+. Bloomberg was the origin of the report regarding these modifications. 

Disney+ and Hulu are not isolated cases. Streaming services have been gradually raising prices consistently over the past few years. Peacock and Apple TV also implemented price increases in August, while Netflix raised its prices earlier this year.

Upon its inception in 2019, Disney+’s basic subscription started at $6.99 per month. Since then, the service has incrementally distanced itself from that introductory price as Disney works to make streaming a lucrative segment of its entertainment portfolio.

The recent price hikes happen as streaming continues to be a vital component of Disney’s overall business. In its third-quarter 2026 financial report, Disney disclosed that revenue from entertainment streaming via Disney+ and Hulu surged 11% to $5.5 billion, propelled by subscriber growth and the effects of previous price adjustments.

Simultaneously, Disney seems to be investigating new avenues for enhancing its streaming services beyond merely elevating subscription costs.

Reportedly, the company is considering introducing a free tier for Disney+. This move could position Disney in direct competition with platforms like YouTube and Tubi, which have been capturing an increasing percentage of viewers’ time.

Earlier this month, Disney+ launched “Playlists,” a fresh feature aimed at helping users to uncover and continuously engage with selected content.

On the technology front, Disney is making adjustments too. The company recently appointed Karandeep Anand as its inaugural chief technology officer. Anand previously served as the CEO of Character.AI, a firm Disney had accused of violating its intellectual property rights.

Zoox has halted its autonomous vehicle testing operations in Atlanta after safety drivers might have been exposed to gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or hydrogen sulfide inside the vehicles last month, as per TechCrunch’s findings. The incidents prompted one employee to lodge a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which has initiated an investigation and instructed Zoox to look into the exposures. 

Potentially 40 employees were exposed to gases in the vehicles, according to a letter from OSHA to Zoox that TechCrunch accessed, although the Amazon-owned firm claims the actual number is lower.  

Zoox reinstated at least one group of workers into a different vehicle after one of them vomited and the others reported symptoms of exposure, a contractor informed TechCrunch. He mentioned that this second vehicle might have also had toxic gases, as the workers experienced further symptoms later that day. 

“They made us go right back to work after we said we were throwing up,” Jay Davis, a contractor who fell ill in mid-August, recounted to TechCrunch. “I reached out to HR, explained the situation, and expressed that it’s wrong for y’all to send us [back out].” 

Workers noted exposure symptoms and unusual odors for much of last month until August 22, when someone phoned 911 for an employee who fell ill. The facility located in northwest Atlanta has been running at limited capacity since, with the test vehicles isolated while Zoox examined the exposures, according to two staff members. The purpose-built electric robotaxis from Zoox remain unaffected.

TechCrunch interviewed Davis, who submitted the OSHA complaint, along with one current employee and two former employees for this report. The other three were granted anonymity to address sensitive company issues and due to fears of retaliation. 

These health concerns arise as Zoox expands into new cities and enhances its operations in locations like Las Vegas and San Francisco, aiming to rival the market leader, Waymo. This rapid expansion has endangered some safety monitors. As previously reported by TechCrunch, contractors have suffered injuries due to sudden braking and evasive maneuvers in the Zoox test vehicles. Waymo has also documented similar injuries among its test drivers to OSHA.  

It remains uncertain which gases the Zoox employees encountered. Davis mentioned that he and two other sick coworkers were informed at the emergency facility that their symptoms aligned with carbon monoxide exposure. The OSHA complaint references potential carbon dioxide, or CO₂, exposure. 

In a letter to OSHA dated September 10, which TechCrunch reviewed, Zoox stated it inspected its test vehicles for CO₂ signs and replaced their 12-volt batteries. Malfunctioning batteries can emit hydrogen sulfide gas, which carries a “rotten egg” odor. Some employees who talked to TechCrunch noted they detected a similar smell in the vehicles. (After the publication of this article, Zoox informed TechCrunch that no battery damage or hydrogen sulfide gas had been found.)

Zoox identified 28 individuals who rode in six test vehicles that had an “unexplained odor,” according to its letter to OSHA. The company informed OSHA that 10 workers “voluntarily underwent medical evaluation” to “confirm whether any exposure had occurred.” In the letter, Zoox revealed it received only “one medical report indicating CO₂ exposure.”  

Zoox communicated to TechCrunch that it hasn’t discovered carbon monoxide, which is odorless, in its vehicles. The firm mentioned consulting an external medical expert to investigate the situation, asserting that the only gas detected in the affected vehicles was CO₂.   

In its OSHA letter, the company disclosed plans to install CO₂ monitors in the vehicles and indicated to TechCrunch that these devices would also be able to identify other gases like carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide. OSHA has now closed its investigation. 

“The safety and welfare of our Zoox test fleet operators is our top priority in this situation,” the company conveyed to TechCrunch. “We are taking ongoing, necessary, and careful actions to investigate the reported incidents as needed and support any requirements from our operators. While we thoroughly review these reports, we have halted operations of our test vehicles in this area.”  

Known risks

Vehicles emit carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide while burning fuel. These gases can infiltrate a car if there is a leak in the exhaust system; they can also accumulate if a vehicle operates in a confined space for too long. This is a sufficiently common concern that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigated Ford for six years regarding reports of carbon monoxide accumulation in its Explorer SUVs. 

In its letter to OSHA, Zoox claimed it has tested the vehicles’ exhaust systems for leaks and conducted a “smoke test” for cabin breach. It did not specify whether any evidence of either was found. The company also removed all the 12-volt batteries, checked them for damage, and replaced them. It did not inform OSHA if it uncovered any indications of battery damage. 

The company keeps its test vehicles operating for most of the day, partly to maintain sensor calibration and reduce the boot time of the onboard self-driving computer. Zoox employs an exhaust-capture system at its indoor locations — similar to what’s utilized to capture truck exhaust at fire stations — designed to reduce the accumulation of harmful gases.  

Zoox customizes the Highlander SUVs used in its testing fleet. Much of the modification focuses on adding sensors and an autonomy computer. However, the company also makes additional changes, including installing an interior “snorkel” above the central infotainment display that directs air toward rear-seat passengers, as reported by the employees to TechCrunch.  

Zoox asserts that it does not alter the ventilation systems in these SUVs. However, any modification to a vehicle can heighten the risk of gases seeping into the cabin. In the Ford inquiry, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated in 2023 that the highest concentrations of carbon monoxide were detected in police vehicles that had added sirens, lights, and other alterations, which can lead to sealing problems. 

Zoox stands out among notable robotaxi developers because its test fleet vehicles utilize internal combustion engines. Waymo, Tesla, Avride, and Motional all deploy electric vehicles, which do not generate exhaust fumes. May Mobility has hybrid vans in its testing fleet, and Nvidia operates a limited number of gas and electric Mercedes-Benz sedans.   

“Everybody got quiet for some reason” 

Davis and the other staff indicated that individual safety monitors began reporting potential exposure symptoms to Zoox at the start of August.  

The incidents Davis experienced on August 14 were particularly serious since four employees were riding together in the SUVs — a procedure Zoox employs while training new staff members. 

Davis recounted to TechCrunch that early signs of issues appeared that morning. 

“Everything was fine. We were all laughing and chatting, just enjoying a normal workday, and then suddenly everyone got silent for some reason,” he remarked.  

Davis recalled a colleague asking if anyone else in the SUV felt “weird.” The group was nearing their scheduled morning break at 10 a.m., and so they stopped at a Chick-fil-A. As soon as they exited the vehicle, Davis reported that one coworker began vomiting, and he and the others felt lightheaded.  

They contacted the dispatcher at Zoox’s Atlanta depot, who arranged for the SUV to be towed back to base, he stated. Meanwhile, Zoox organized an Uber to return the employees to the depot.  

“As soon as we arrived back at base, we thought, okay, since we had been unwell and mentioned feeling lightheaded, we would have a lighter duty day. Just sit down and recover,” Davis expressed. “No, they assigned us to another [test car] and instructed us to go back to work.” 

After driving throughout the afternoon, Davis reported that he and his coworkers went to a food court, where he started vomiting after just a few bites of his meal.  

Davis then contacted a representative from HireArt, the third-party contractor technically responsible for Zoox’s test drivers in Atlanta. He conveyed that the representative provided him with a workers’ compensation hotline number and advised him to contact Poison Control. Three workers went to the emergency room, where they were assessed for carbon monoxide exposure.  

Davis informed that the emergency room physician did not recognize elevated carbon monoxide levels in his body. Nonetheless, he and the others were told their symptoms matched those of carbon monoxide poisoning.  

Workers continued to fall ill in the subsequent days, as reported by all four employees who spoke to TechCrunch. On August 22, one contractor became ill enough that someone at the depot dialed 911.  

It is unclear who placed the 911 call or what transpired with the ailing worker. Concerning the four employees who reported symptoms on August 14, Zoox instructed them to undergo what it labeled as a random drug test in the following days.  

This story has been amended with fresh information from Zoox.