Allegedly Revolutionary Technology That Has Failed Miserably
![Allegedly Revolutionary Technology That Has Failed Miserably](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/1/0/879610_320x180.jpg)
Too soon. Too dangerous. Too much promise with too little delivery. Too … Elon-y? These qualities make for some of the biggest and best tech failures of all time. You have to hand it to creators with big dreams though. They had what they thought was a game-changing technological advancement, and they even had the salesmanship to raise millions (in some cases billions) of dollars to bring their vision to life.
The idea itself was so big and bold that we desperately wanted to believe in it, but that kind of hype made these blunders all the more glaring. That’s the thing about imagination… The physical world can rarely match our fantasy. They wanted so badly to change the world, but something along the way — whether it was timing, a massive oversight, or even an outright lie — turned what could have been revolutionary technology into these complete and utter failures.
Equifax
![CRACKED Cybersecurity for identity thieves. This consumer reporting agency left 147 million Americans' SSN's, birth dates, addresses, and driver's license numbers exposed. Over 209,000 peoples' credit cards were accessed, and Equifax is currently paying $425 million to victims. EQUIFAX](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/2/5/879625.jpg)
Solyndra solar panels
![CRACKED The solar panel that never was. Solyndra wanted to provide innovative circular solar panels in 2009. They got over $1 billion between investments and federal loans, but the company's business plan was so transparent, it straight-up did not exist.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/2/3/879623.jpg)
Abbott Pacemaker
![CRACKED Hackable pacemakers that tug on your heartstrings. This revolutionary radio-controlled pacemaker was built without security against other frequencies. The possibility of hacking caused a recall of 500,000 after patients feared anyone with a wireless transmitter kit could play with their hearts.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/2/4/879624.jpg)
Lorex Care & Share Baby Monitors
![CRACKED Incendiary baby monitors. Lorex's baby monitor had motion tracking, night vision, and an ability to snap pics. All that tech cramming caused 488 reports of burn-temperature overheating, and cases of the battery pack expanding enough for the outer casing to shoot right off.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/2/2/879622.jpg)
Project Loon
![CRACKED Google's steampunk-ass internet balloons. Going literally above and beyond cell towers, Alphabet (Google's parent company) tried to give affordable internet to planet Earth with internet-emitting balloons. Many countries denied them for airspace security reasons. They lost $1 billion and popped them all.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/2/1/879621.jpg)
Theranos
![CRACKED Elizabeth Holmes' impossible vampire machine. A medical tech scam for the ages, Elizabeth Holmes advertised a revolution in retrieving blood samples. Theranos could supposedly do 240 tests on a tiny sample... but it was all a lie (that now has her facing up to 20 years in prison).](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/1/9/879619.jpg)
Quibi
![CRACKED Quibi failed... because of Covid? They spent 1.8 billion dollars to create big budget, ten-minute episodes with Hollywood stars. After it flopped, founder Jeffrey Katzenberg said I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus. Sure Jeff, no one consumed video during the pandemic.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/2/0/879620.jpg)
Facebook Portal
![CRACKED Facebook's 24/7 spy machine. After a 50 million user data breach, Facebook released Portal, a video-calling device with a camera and mic that were always on. Labeled the worst tech device of the year, people distrusted Facebook's camera/microphone combo in their home, and it flopped.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/1/7/879617.jpg)
The Amazon Ring Security System
![CRACKED Amazon's life-threatening home security. Homeowners can check in on their homes from anywhere, and with Amazon Ring, so can everyone else! Hackers have spied on people, spoken racial slurs through the mic, and even told an old lady Tonight you die. Dozens of terrified users sued Amazon.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/1/8/879618.jpg)
Tesla’s Cybertruck Demo
![CRACKED Cybertruck's unbreakable windows. After boasting about the Cybertruck's unbreakable armored glass windows, Chief designer Franz von Holzhausen smashed one. Then two. Elon Musk initially suggested shooting the truck, but that (like the faulty window) was scrapped.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/1/6/879616.jpg)
Microsoft’s TayTweets
![CRACKED Humans trained AI to be racist. In 2016, Microsoft told users that the more they tweet to Tay, the more she'd learn. Within 24 hours, she was tweeting racial slurs, Hitler quotes, incestuous sexual acts, and was immediately canceled. TWEETS FOLLO 96.1K 48 Tweets Tw TayTweets](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/1/2/879612.jpg)
Segways and Hoverboards
![CRACKED Segways and Hoverboards were portable death traps. On top of bursting into flames, hoverboards landed over 26,000 kids in the ER between 2015 and 2016. Segway has doled out its fair share of injuries, and ironically, the company's owner, Jim Heseldon, accidentally rode one off of a cliff and died. 25 TAYLOR](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/1/1/879611.jpg)
Google Glass
![CRACKED Google Glass was an expensive invasion of privacy. In 2012, Google hyped us up with a flashy promo video of skydivers streaming a jump. But the actual use cases of tech nerds discretely recording videos were a lot more... ogley. The creep factor, and the $1,500 price tag, caused Google to shelve it in 2015.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/1/4/879614.jpg)
Tesla’s “Full” Self-Driving Feature
![CRACKED Tesla's self-driving cars plow through child-shaped objects. The Dawn Project ran multiple tests where a car in full self-driving mode mowed right over some child dummies. Tesla has since sent multiple cease-and-desist letters, while Tesla fanboys have called for using actual children to prove that the feature works. ONE 100mg - - ОКИ -](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/1/3/879613.jpg)
iPhone 14’s Car Crash Detection
![CRACKED iPhones call 911 when you're on a roller coaster. Hello, 9-1-1? Yeah, I'm having too good of a time! Dispatch centers close to Kings Island amusement park received 6 emergency calls from iPhone 14 users with car crash detection enabled. Six Flags SixFlags Flags](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/6/1/5/879615.jpg)