Dave McClure resigns as 500 Startups General Partner as new allegations surface, Tesla is ramping production ahead of Model 3 launch and more in The Daily Crunch for July 4, 2017. Put down that hot dog and that firework and read up on tech news for 5 minutes.

1. Dave McClure resigns as 500 GP as more allegations surface

The situation at 500 Startups is likely to get worse before it gets better: The accelerator did not tel the organization about the leadership changes it made due to sexual harassment claims against Dave McClure.

This comes as new allegations have also been shared by entrepreneur Cheryl Yeoh, who worked on and off with McClure and 500 over the years. Yeah spelled out in a blog post that McClure's actions constituted alleged sexual assault in her case, rather than less severe inappropriate behaviour.

2. 500 Startups LPs react to news

Mitch Kapor and Fraeda Kapor Klein are high-profile investors with limited partner roles at 500, well-known for their outspoken support of equality and diversity in tech. Sarah Kunst called on them to revoke their stake from 500's venture fund in light of the McClure news, but they responded with a statement that reflects they're taking a bigger picture view and staying on as LPs to help ensure "the underrepresented founders, partners and employees of 500 Startups are able to go forward with their work."

3. Tesla delivered 22K cars in Q2, but set a new production record

Tesla produced more cars than ever in Q2 of 2017, with 25,708 cars made during the quarter. Deliveries didn't quite match up, however, and that's due in part to an early production shortfall owing to new 100kWh batteries involved in most new orders.

4. Amazon's Alexa skills are the new apps

But not in a good way – Alexa now has 15,000 skills, bumped from 10,000 in February, and it's getting to the point where it almost seems pointless to keep count. Apple used to regularly crow about how many apps were in the App Store, but everyone should realize by now that after a certain point, additional volume is nothing to really rave about.

5. SpaceX aborts Intelsat 35e launch again

Two aborted launch attempts in two days is not a great look for SpaceX. The Intelsat 35e launch stalled out again with 10 seconds left in its count, which indicates another automated computer termination of the attempt. SpaceX is taking July 4 to do a thorough examination of what went wrong, and is seeking permission to attempt a launch again on July 5.

6. This electric pod on wheels could be the future of trucking

Einride's T-Pod might be the truck that most resembles designs from sci-fi movies anticipating an autonomous future; the cab-less small heady duty trucks are fully electric, have autonomous capabilities and are designed to be piloted remotely by human drivers directing multiple at once.

7. What blogging begat

John Biggs takes a long introspective look at the advent of the blogging machine, and how it took us to where we are today. Feels like home TBH, and a great meaty read for your July 4 holiday. Plus, blogging as a practice feels somehow distinctly American.