Elon Musks' Twitter/X, Tesla and Space X

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Court hears appeal of ruling favoring Musk in SolarCity deal

DOVER, Del. (AP) — Attorneys for a group of Tesla shareholders are asking the Delaware Supreme Court to overturn a judge’s decision in favor of CEO Elon Musk in a lawsuit challenging the electric car maker’s $2.4 billion acquisition of a solar panel company founded by two of his cousins.

https://apnews.com/article/tesla-musk-solarcity-shareholders-9a85539e4181b3b570d2324f43a6fa78

FTC probes Twitter data practices after Elon Musk’s layoffs

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Elon Musk’s mass layoffs at Twitter and trying to obtain his internal communications as part of ongoing oversight into the social media company’s privacy and cybersecurity practices, according to documents described in a congressional report.

https://apnews.com/article/ftc-twitter-investigation-musk-layoffs-republicans-c19e698a3531726447895841e3351536

Twitter celebs balk at paying Elon Musk for blue check mark

William Shatner, Monica Lewinsky and other prolific Twitter commentators — some household names, others little-known journalists — could soon be losing the blue check marks that helped verify their identity on the social media platform.

https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-blue-check-marks-2a9fbe4ea805763f50d4de2c417ce4ff

Elon Musk apologizes after mocking disabled Twitter employee

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — If you’re not told you are fired, are you really fired? At Twitter, probably. And then, sometimes, you get your job back — if you want it.

https://apnews.com/article/twitter-musk-iceland-fired-wheelchair-haraldur-employee-0329405846dac8f1f08ac55594881bb6

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Twitter isn't dying. Elon Musk is murdering it

There aren’t many tech sites more conservative or investment focused than TechCrunch. But that doesn’t mean they think much of how billionaire Elon Musk has handled his $44B investment in a company that he now personally values at $20B. In fact, the view from the investor ranks aligns very closely with that of many users sitting in the cheap seats—Musk has destroyed his investment, and he’s done it so well, and so quickly, that his actions are indistinguishable from those of someone whose core goal was to make Twitter go away.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/29/2160899/-Twitter-isn-t-dying-Elon-Musk-is-murdering-it?

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Elon Musk Tweet Broke Federal Labor Laws, US Court Rules

The 5th Circuit US Court of Appeals rules Musk broke federal labor laws by tweeting that Tesla workers would lose stock trading options if they joined a union.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/elon-musk-tweet-broke-federal-labor-laws-us-court-rules?

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Tesla ordered by jury to pay more than $3 million to Black ex-worker who endured racist abuse

A San Francisco federal jury has ordered Tesla to pay $3 million in punitive damages and $175,000 in non-economic damages to Owen Diaz, a former elevator operator at the company’s factory in Fremont, California, after he endured a racially hostile work environment during his time at the company.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/03/tesla-ordered-to-pay-more-than-3-million-over-hostile-workplace.html?

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Elon Musk loses his position atop Forbes’ annual billionaires list

Elon Musk has officially been dethroned from the top of Forbes’ annual “World’s Billionaire’s List.”

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/04/business/elon-musk-forbes-billionaire-list/index.html?

[bonnie1962]

29 minutes ago, phkrause said:

Elon Musk loses his position atop Forbes’ annual billionaires list

Elon Musk has officially been dethroned from the top of Forbes’ annual “World’s Billionaire’s List.”

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/04/business/elon-musk-forbes-billionaire-list/index.html?

Absolutely amazing what passes for newsworthy reporting.  Wonder if Musk is as consumed as the rest of the country with  financial health?

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Mehdi Hasan Dismantles The Entire Foundation Of The Twitter Files As Matt Taibbi Stumbles To Defend It

So here’s the deal. If you think the Twitter Files are still something legit or telling or powerful, watch this 30 minute interview that Mehdi Hasan did with Matt Taibbi (at Taibbi’s own demand):

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/04/07/mehdi-hasan-dismantles-the-entire-foundation-of-the-twitter-files-as-matt-taibbi-stumbles-to-defend-it/?

‘Twitter Files’ journalist quits ‘unusable’ platform after Elon Musk puts restrictions on Substack

Elon Musk unfollows journalist after his announcement, Twitter users say

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/matt-taibbi-leaves-unusable-twitter-musk-b2316372.html?

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Twitter removes policy against deadnaming transgender people

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Twitter has quietly removed a policy against the “targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals,” raising concerns that the Elon Musk-owned platform is becoming less safe for marginalized groups.

https://apnews.com/article/twitter-elon-musk-transgender-deadnaming-hateful-conduct-ae1b7285bb906e04b26ff9751ec0c2ce?

Twitter’s new ‘violent speech’ policy similar to past rules

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Twitter on Wednesday unveiled a new policy prohibiting “violent speech” on its platform, though the rules appear very similar to guidelines against violent threats that the company had on its books before Elon Musk took it over.

https://apnews.com/article/twitter-elon-musk-violent-speech-hate-1912497f4e4f444f1ba123cbb2d1ad59?

Twitter removes tweets about ‘Trans Day of Vengeance’

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Twitter says it has removed thousands of tweets showing a poster promoting a “trans day of vengeance” protest in support of transgender rights in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.

https://apnews.com/article/twitter-trans-day-vengeance-marjorie-taylor-greene-musk-642bee4baf454867ef2860348693f412?

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Twitter removes ‘government-funded’ news labels after NPR and other flubs

After weeks of truly stupid antics, Twitter has removed “government-funded media” labels on all accounts, from NPR to the Chinese state-affiliated Xinhua News. Twitter even appears to have deleted its web page explaining the “government-funded media” labels.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/21/twitter-removes-government-funded-news-labels-after-npr-and-other-flubs/

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Elon’s blue check disaster is getting worse

Celebrities are refusing to pay, and the trolls keep trolling.

https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/4/25/23697830/elon-musk-twitter-checkmark-removal-blue-kara-swisher-lebron-james-doja-cat?

[phkrause]

Tesla broke U.S. labor law by silencing workers, official rules

April 26 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) supervisors at a Florida service center violated U.S. labor law by telling employees not to discuss pay and other working conditions or bring complaints to higher level managers, a U.S. labor board official has ruled.

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-broke-us-labor-law-by-silencing-workers-official-rules-2023-04-26/?

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Jack Dorsey criticizes Elon Musk’s leadership at Twitter: ‘It all went south’

Twitter’s former CEO Jack Dorsey openly criticized Elon Musk’s leadership of the company in a series of social media posts Friday, writing that “it all went south” and Musk “should have walked away” from the acquisition.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/29/jack-dorsey-criticizes-elon-musks-leadership-at-twitter-it-all-went-south.html?

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Elon Musk says he’s found someone to lead Twitter as new CEO

Elon Musk said Thursday he has found a new CEO for Twitter, or X Corp. as it’s now called — and it’s a woman. He did not name her but said she will be starting in about six weeks.

https://apnews.com/article/twitter-musk-new-ceo-woman-5e21a5bdace17828f0fd2c627435ad4f?

Twitter’s new CEO is an NBCUniversal executive with deep ad industry ties

Elon Musk confirmed that the new CEO for Twitter will be NBCUniversal’s Linda Yaccarino, an executive with deep ties to the advertising industry.

https://apnews.com/article/twitter-musk-new-ceo-a5df68e9a1e5f982368390c73aeabb50?

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Linda Yaccarino is Twitter's new CEO: What to know about Elon Musk's pick

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2023/05/12/linda-yaccarino-new-ceo/70211768007/

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False claims of a stolen election thrive unchecked on Twitter even as Musk promises otherwise

NEW YORK (AP) — In an interview this week, Twitter owner Elon Musk said users making false claims of stolen elections “will be corrected” on the platform.

https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-trump-misinformation-election-lies-5137a88a58eaaca0e45ba043db911d15

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Is Bluesky Billionaire-Proof?

Here are some answers about the new social media network Bluesky that you don’t need an invite to see.

https://theintercept.com/2023/06/01/bluesky-owner-twitter-elon-musk/?

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🐦 Twitter CEO hurdle: The owner's tweets

Twitter's new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, sent inspirational comments to her new staff in an email yesterday, exhorting them to "reach across aisles, create new partnerships, celebrate new voices, and build something together that can change the world."

• But the man who hired her, the company's billionaire owner Elon Musk, spent the weekend posting sophomoric messages that reeked at times of misogyny and transphobia, Axios chief tech correspondent Ina Fried writes.

Why it matters: Yaccarino's job is to rescue Twitter's business. But Musk shows no interest in moderating behavior and positions that have helped drive many of the platform's advertisers away.

In addition to several anti-trans tweets and replies, Musk took potshots at Apple, one of the site's biggest advertisers.

• One tweet suggested that mushrooms could produce a much cheaper augmented reality than Apple's $3,500 headset.

🔎 Between the lines: Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal ad executive, has built her reputation creating environments where advertisers will pay a premium.

• But Musk told CNBC’s David Faber last month: "I'll say what I want and if the consequence of that is losing money, so be it."

The other side: While Twitter advertising is down substantially from a year ago, a number of large brands remain, including several large tech companies.

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Scientists on Twitter head for the exit

A feud broke out on Twitter over the weekend between popular podcaster Joe Rogan and prominent vaccine researcher Peter Hotez, with the podcaster challenging the scientist to a debate about vaccines in an online skirmish that drew fire from a few billionaires.

https://www.axios.com/2023/06/20/scientific-community-eyes-doors-twitter?

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Trump ponders Twitter return

It may take a while. But former President Trump has entertained the idea of returning to his happy place on Twitter, where he's been absent for 2½ years, sources tell Axios' Sophia Cai.

• Why it matters: Trump still has 87 million followers on Twitter — but hasn't posted there since he was banned in 2021 after the Capitol riot.

Now some advisers close to his campaign expect he'll begin tweeting again at an opportune moment in his '24 campaign, which will be waged amid a legal onslaught.

• For more than a year, Trump has been blasting his thoughts to some 5 million followers on Truth Social, a platform where he's the majority owner — giving him a financial incentive to keep the rage flowing.

What we're hearing: A person close to Trump's campaign cast the ex-president's Twitter return as a tool his team could use to try to offset bad news — another indictment, for example.

• Trump considered returning to Twitter at the end of Congress' Jan. 6 hearings in December 2022, people close to Trump tell Axios.
• His team even drafted possible tweets before he decided to stay on Truth Social, which had debuted months earlier.

State of play: Twitter's Elon Musk reinstated Trump's account last November. But Trump hasn't tweeted — staying steadfastly on Truth Social.

• Under Musk, Twitter has become a favorite of conservative Republicans, many of whom repost Trump's Truth Social diatribes to Twitter's much broader audience.

Truth Social — replete with ads for alternative medicine, gun accessories and Trump-themed trinkets — has been Trump's medium of choice to rage in all caps against prosecutors and Biden administration officials.

• Trump's activity on Truth Social has ramped up this month, starting with his preemption of the Justice Department's announcement that he was being charged in the classified documents case.
• He "re-Truths" posts from allies in Congress, favorable polling and clips from conservative networks.

Behind the scenes: Trump sends fewer than half of his Truth Social posts on his own, a person close to him tells Axios.

• He dictates others — or they're written by top campaign advisers Dan Scavino and Jason Miller, or communications director Steven Cheung.

🕶️ What we're watching: One scenario Trump has Trump rejoining Twitter but post exclusive content on Truth Social.

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Thousands of Twitter users report problems accessing site as Elon Musk says new limits have been installed

In a tweet Saturday afternoon, Elon Musk said that verified accounts are now limited to reading 10,000 posts a day.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/thousands-users-report-problems-accessing-twitter-met-rate-limit-excee-rcna92188?

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Twitter's political monopoly under threat

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Meta’s new microblogging app Threads is emerging as a potential threat to Twitter’s lock on politicians and political observers seeking real-time news and debate, Axios' Andrew Solender reports. The latest: Within 16 hours, the Instagram-linked app had been downloaded more than 30 million times — making it the most rapidly downloaded app of all time. Twitter has already threatened legal action against Meta for creating a "copycat." Why it matters: Most Twitter competitors have struggled to match the size and bipartisanship of its user base, but Threads is garnering significant participation from both parties. Sites like GETTR and Truth Social have almost exclusively been the dominion of the right. The same goes for liberals with Mastodon and Post News. But with Twitter struggling under the ownership of Elon Musk, lawmakers are eager to find a credible alternative. By the numbers: As of this evening, more than a quarter of Congress' 535 House members and senators had made accounts. More than 100 are Democrats, but there are also around three dozen House Republicans and 10 Senate Republicans, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and arch-conservatives like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Half a dozen GOP presidential candidates have joined — including Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and former VP Mike Pence — as have several GOP governors. The White House is staying coy about whether it will jump on the bandwagon, but several top aides — such as domestic policy director Neera Tanden and deputy press secretary Andrew Bates — have created accounts. Between the lines: Democrats have long been critical of Meta, but generally view Threads as a superior alternative to Twitter — which one senior House Democrat described as an "unrecognizable cesspool of trolls, fake accounts, misinformation, racism, antisemitism and antagonism." "I’m one of millions hoping that Threads can become a vibrant, diverse and respectful virtual public square," they said. "Elon Musk is running Twitter into the ground," one Democratic aide said. "Everyone is trying to make plans for how to reach audiences elsewhere." Zoom in: Another Democratic aide said recent changes to Twitter, specifically limits on how many tweets a user can read each day, have made it "untenable" for political communications. What we're watching: The House's chief administrative officer is expected to send out cybersecurity guidance about using the new app. In December, the CAO instructed staffers not to download another Twitter rival, Mastodon, onto official devices because it was "unclear what, if any, security implications the app may present." Twitter's press office, in response to an emailed request for comment, sent back its standard automated reply: a poop emoji.

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‘Just Better’: Even Musk’s Own Twitter Employees Are Using Threads

Ever since Meta launched its competitor to Twitter last week, Elon Musk has been attempting to tear it down, denouncing Threads’ approach to content moderation, threatening to sue for the supposed theft of “trade secrets,” and even challenging Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to a penis-measuring competition.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/elon-musks-twitter-employees-are-using-mark-zuckerbergs-threads?

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Elon Musk: Twitter rebranded as X as blue bird logo killed off

Twitter has changed its brand and logo from its famous blue bird to "X".

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66284304

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🐦 Musk's plan to take over the financial system

Photo: Carlos Barria/Reuters Above: Twitter's new logo — an X — is projected on the San Francisco headquarters last night. Walter Isaacson — whose incredibly timed book, "Elon Musk," is coming Sept. 12 — tweeted an early excerpt showing that Musk's infatuation with X.com (which now redirects to Twitter) goes back 24 years: In March 1999, "he founded http://X.com. His concept ... was grand. It would be a one-stop everything-store for all financial needs: banking, digital purchases, checking, credit cards, investments, and loans. Transactions would be handled instantly, with no waiting for payments to clear. His insight was that money is simply an entry into a database." Musk said: "If you fix all the reasons why a consumer would take money out of the system ... then it will be the place where all the money is, and that would make it a multi-trillion-dollar company." After a merger, X.com became PayPal. "Musk insisted that the company’s name should be http://X.com, with PayPal as merely one of its subsidiary brands," Isaacson continues. "He even tried to rebrand the payment system X-PayPal. "Focus groups showed that the name http://X.com ... conjured up visions of a seedy site you would not talk about in polite company. But Musk was unwavering, and remains so to this day." Musk says: "f you want to take over the world’s financial system, then X is the better name." In the days leading up to his takeover of Twitter last year, Musk’s moods fluctuated wildly. "I am very excited about finally implementing http://X.com as it should have been done, using Twitter as an accelerant!” he texted Isaacson out of the blue at 3:30 one morning. "And, hopefully, helping democracy and civil discourse while doing so." "He said that he would turn it into the combination of financial platform and social network he had envisioned twenty-four years earlier for http://X.com, and he added that he planned to rebrand it with that name, which he loved." Musk responded to Isaacson's sneak peek by tweeting: "Accurate." Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino tweeted yesterday: "X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. ... X will be the platform that can deliver, well….everything." Read Walter's full excerpt ... More on the book.

[phkrause]

Scoop: Inside Musk's plan for an "everything app"

Elon Musk's bet-the-house, against-the-odds gamble on Twitter is about to get substantially riskier — with exponentially higher stakes.

• Why it matters: Musk is obsessed with killing the Twitter name and its reason for being, and transforming it into a merger of a moneyless marketplace + public square + video content factory — his everything vision for an everything app.

Fast forward one year: Twitter will no longer be Twitter, or even a simple platform for argument and information sharing. It will be X, a Musk-run social universe that pulls together 24 years of his ideas and wildest fantasies.

• In Musk's random tellings, it will be Twitter + Substack + YouTube + PayPal + Amazon + TikTok + WeChat + Baidu — all rolled into one universe marked by one letter: X.

🥊 Reality check: While Musk has been talking a good game about wanting to build new things on top of the old Twitter, in the nine months he has run the place, he has done little of that.

Workers dismantle the giant sign at Twitter HQ in San Francisco yesterday. Photo: Carlos Barria/Reuters

🔎 Behind the scenes: Walter Isaacson spent almost three years with Musk — sometimes for 12-hour stretches, day after day — for a stunningly detailed book, "Elon Musk," coming Sept. 12.

• Isaacson told me Musk has been plotting the X rebranding for more than nine months — since just before signing the paperwork to buy Twitter.

"He said it can be a trillion-dollar company — easily," Isaacson said. "This is an idea he has thought about for 25 years — a financial platform that helps anyone profit from creating content."

• "He feels it can transform journalism by offering an alternative to subscription models, where people can just make easy payments for whatever strikes their fancy."

In Isaacson's book, he reports that Musk told him two weeks before taking over Twitter in October that he was going to change the name to X.com.

• Musk has been obsessed with killing the bird logo since the day he first walked into Twitter's San Francisco headquarters, with Isaacson in tow.

"When he first walked in, it was like a hardscrabble cowboy walking into a Starbucks," Isaacson recalled. Conference rooms had names like Aviary, Tern, Bluebird, Canary and Mallard.

• Musk said: "There are too many birds here."

A pile of characters removed from the sign at Twitter HQ in San Francisco yesterday. Photo: Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP

🐦 To many, the bird was witty and jaunty — a clever play on the company's name and function. To Musk, it was a sign that employees weren't thinking big enough, and didn't have a burning sense of mission.

• Isaacson describes Musk wandering the floors of his new company. "He pulled all the woke T-shirts out of the cabinets, and scoffed at the notion of psychologically safe workplaces," the author said. "It was like watching a movie on fast forward. ... I could see him getting more and more frustrated with the culture."
• Musk said: "We have to replace this with a maniacal sense of urgency."

On the first full day of the X rebranding, the bird-themed conference rooms had already been renamed to eXposure, eXult and s3Xy, the N.Y. Times reports.

• More on the book.