In today’s Bulldog wrapup of the latest technology news:

  • Tesla, SolarCity get shareholder approval for merger 
  • Google hits Pixel resellers with ‘digital death sentence’
  • Facebook boosts efforts to ‘do good’ with new tools
  • Ambitious Airbnb adds local tours and activities

The details:

  • Tesla, SolarCity get shareholder approval for merger

Tesla Motors got approval from investors to combine with SolarCity Corp. in an effort to expand the market for solar power and give electric car owners new options for solar charging.

Shareholders of both companies backed the merger by a wide margin Thursday. Teslasaid 85 percent of shareholders who voted approved the deal.

The deal, first proposed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk proposed in June, has had more of a mixed reaction on Wall Street. Analysts wondered why Tesla would want to take on SolarCity while it’s building a big battery factory in Nevada and preparing to launch its first mass-market car, the Model 3, due out at the end of 2017. Shares of both companies dropped in the ensuing months.

There were also complaints of a conflict of interest for Musk. He is the chairman of both companies, and SolarCity is run by his cousins.

But Musk convinced shareholders that the deal was, as he originally stated, “a no-brainer.” Earlier this month, he said SolarCity — the largest home solar panel installer in the U.S. — could add $1 billion in revenue to the combined company next year and could add $500 million in cash to Tesla’s coffers over three years. And at a big party in Hollywood, he unveiled what he hoped would be the combined companies’ first product: glass solar roof panels that look like traditional roof tiles.

“I think your faith will be rewarded,” Musk told shareholders Thursday. He said the solar roof tiles would be ready for installation in large volumes by next summer.

  • Google hits Pixel resellers with ‘digital death sentence’

Some of Google’s unwitting users are learning a harsh lesson: If you violate the company’s policies, it may abruptly cut you off from your Gmail account, online photos and other vital digital services.

Several people who recently bought Pixel phones for a New Hampshire dealer are now suffering that punishment. Google detected their online purchases and judged they violated its rules against “commercial” resale of the Pixel. The consumers received $5 for each phone they bought for the reseller.

One Google user locked out from his account since Monday likened it to a “digital death sentence.”

In a Thursday statement, Google described the reselling arrangement as a “scheme,” but promised to restore the accounts of customers who it believes were unaware of its Pixel policies.

  • Facebook boosts efforts to ‘do good’ with new tools

Facebook is offering new tools for charity fundraising, for marking yourself safe during a crisis and for helping others – or asking for help – after a natural disaster.

The social network made the announcements Thursday in New York at its Social Good Forum, a first-of-its-kind event it hopes to repeat in coming years. The company has dozens of engineers who work on its relatively new “social good” team creating tools for users to help their friends or the world around them.

In a video played at the event, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said: “The philosophy of everything we do at Facebook is that our community can teach us what we need to do.” He went on to say “our job is to learn as quickly as we can and keep on getting better and better.”

  • Ambitious Airbnb adds local tours and activities

Not content to just rent out rooms and homes, Airbnb is adding local tours and activities to its travel services in a number of cities.

Analysts say the online rental company wants to expand its business by tapping into the desire of leisure travelers for distinctive “experiences” that make them feel more connected with the places they visit.

Guided activities include things like cooking classes from a local chef, a pub crawl through a trendy district and a truffle hunt in Tuscany. They add to a set of online guides that Airbnb introduced earlier this year, with recommendations from hosts in each city.

The fast-growing private company is valued at $30 billion. It’s had growing pains in some cities, where officials complain short-term rentals are reducing available housing for residents.