Five tech stories you might have missed last week

Elon Musk gets upset, Google follows everyone and robots bully children

CRN's round-up of tech stories that might have passed you by last week.

1. Elon Musk is not having a good year
In an interview with The New York Times, Tesla CEO Musk broke down in tears as he revealed that the past year has been the most "painful" of his career. He also confirmed that he had not been smoking weed after announcing in a tweet that he was thinking of taking the electric car company private with the share price valued at $420 (£329). That tweet has led to a lawsuit by investors claiming he and Tesla fraudulently engineered a scheme to squeeze short-sellers.

2. Hacking is the sincerest form of flattery
An Australian teen pleaded guilty to hacking into Apple's main computer network and downloading sensitive files, reported The Independent. The tech giant reported that no customer data had been compromised by the teen's deeds. The boy told police that he had hoped to work at Apple when he was older.

3. Chip and PIN troubles at the tills
The Register reported that chip and PIN readers were causing havoc around the UK during the week. Some credit and debit card readers issued an error message to retailers instead of collecting the cash due. Retailers affected include Marks & Spencer, but the issue has now been resolved.

4. Google is keeping tabs on you (even when you don't want it to)
Google stores your location history on its Android devices, even if you use a privacy setting which states that it will prevent Google doing so, the Associated Press reported. It revealed that even if users disable the location history on the device, it will not stop the device recording the user's wanderings. To disable it fully, users need to go into Google's Web and Activity settings on their device.

5. Children susceptible to robot influence
In terrifying news this week, The Verge reported that research indicates children are susceptible to peer pressure from robots. Researchers from the UK and Germany demonstrated that robots can wield influence over children, warning that as AI and robotics become more integrated into everyday life, caution must be taken in relation to children's interactions with the tech.