Tuesday briefing: Tesla can't afford to sell the $35000 Model 3

The first Tesla Model 3 came off the production line in July 2017

Your WIRED daily briefing. Today, Elon Musk says selling the most basic Model 3 electric car wouldn't be sustainable for Tesla's business right now, childhood microbe exposure is associated with a reduced leukaemia risk, German researchers have been testing the EmDrive space propulsion system and more.

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1. Tesla can't afford to sell the $35,000 Model 3

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that shipping its entry-level, $35,000 Model 3 would cause the company to "lose money & die" (The Verge). Musk made the blunt comment in a tweet following his announcement over the weekend of further Model 3 options, notably a $5,000 dual-motor all-wheel-drive option with a 500km range. Tesla has also finally published some of the source code used in the Model S after years of ignoring this requirement of the open source software it's been building on.

2. Childhood microbe exposure associated with reduced leukaemia risk

A new review looking into the causes of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia has drawn together evidence from multiple sources to suggest that early exposure to microbes helps to prevent the incidence of the cancer (BBC News). Prof Mal Graves's work indicates that a genetic mutation, when combined with a lack of exposure to immune-strengthening microbes during the first year of life, allows an infection to occur in later childhood, resulting in immune malfunction and leukaemia. Evidence that contributed to the findings includes a reduced incidence of the disease in children who were born vaginally, were breastfed and who came into contact with other children, all of which can introduce them to microbes that help to prime the immune system against future threats.

3. German researchers have been testing the EmDrive

Serious research budgets are now being thrown at the idea of alternative, propellantless methods of generating thrust in space, thanks to the University of Dresden's SpaceDrive project (Motherboard). The team's first paper details an investigation of the EmDrive, a propulsion system that has excitedly been compared to Star Trek's warp drive but which has seen wildly inconsistent results in previous research into its ability to generate thrust. So far, the team has found that the equipment they – and other researchers – have been using is generating too much interference to obtain meaningful results, noting that "that the interaction of the power feeding for the amplifier with the Earth’s magnetic field masked any real thrusts that could be below our observed value."

4. From AI doctors to 3D X-rays, the future of healthcare is already here

A health check of the world today may seem gloomy – antibiotics are failing, people are dying of easily treatable diseases because they’re poor, and conditions such as dementia are on the rise (WIRED). The scientists, researchers, investors and startups at the Francis Crick Institute in London are only too aware of the challenges, and they've filled us in on the way healthcare needs to change for humanity's future. Among the issues they've highlighted is the need to use nature's defences to fight disease, the vast potential of psychedelic drugs in mental health care and the potential of existing drugs to slow the rate at which humans age.

5. This is what the inside of Japan's Hello Kitty bullet train will look like

Kotaku has published concept renderings of the Hello Kitty bullet train due to come into service in Western Japan at the end of June, and they're very much what you'd expect. The train's exterior livery, in the Sanrio character's trademark pink and white colours, is echoed by its interior. As well as conventional – but colourful – passenger carriages, the train will be equipped with a "Kawaii! Room" with extra Hello Kitty theming and a photo spot, as well as a Hello Kitty merchandise shop in its own dedicated carriage.

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