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Tag: Elon Musk

  • Twitter Employees Apprehensive About Elon Musk Joining the Board

    Twitter Employees Apprehensive About Elon Musk Joining the Board

    Elon Musk may be joining Twitter’s board, but some employees are apprehensive about the potential implications.

    The Tesla CEO has been an avid user, and critic, of Twitter, with his tweets sparking spirited discussion on a variety of topics. Musk has been a vocal advocate for change, wanting an edit button and more unrestricted free speech.

    According to Reuters, four different Twitter employees spoke to the outlet to voice concerns that Musk’s arrival could lead to a reversal, or at least a weakening, of years of work by the social media company. Twitter’s goal has been to sponsor healthy, safe discourse, and it has repeatedly taken action to suspend or ban users who violate those policies.

    Twitter employees are also concerned about Musk’s history of using the platform to attack people he disagrees with, a pattern of behavior he has come under fire for on more than one occasion.

    Twitter has tried to reassure people that its development and policies are not dictated by the board of directors, but some employees are not convinced.

    “I find it hard to believe (the board) doesn’t have influence,” said one employee. “If that’s the case, why would Elon want a board seat?”

  • Yes, Twitter Is Working On An Edit Feature

    Yes, Twitter Is Working On An Edit Feature

    Twitter has said it is working on an edit feature, just days after Elon Musk posted a poll asking if users wanted one.

    Twitter has notoriously not had a way to edit tweets, meaning users had to delete them if there was a mistake, or live with it. Elon Musk posted a poll asking if users wanted an edit button, with 73.6% voting in favor. Shortly after, Musk was offered a seat on the board in an effort to prevent him from becoming majority owner, following his purchase of nearly 10% of the company’s shares.

    The company now says it has been working on an edit feature since last year:

    now that everyone is asking… yes, we’ve been working on an edit feature since last year! no, we didn’t get the idea from a poll

    we’re kicking off testing within @TwitterBlue Labs in the coming months to learn what works, what doesn’t, and what’s possible.

    Twitter Comms (@TwitterComs), April 5, 2022

    While the company have been working on the feature since last year, it’s a safe bet pressure from Musk is what finally brought it to light.

  • Elon Musk Joining Twitter Board in Bid to Block a Takeover

    Elon Musk Joining Twitter Board in Bid to Block a Takeover

    Elon Musk’s Twitter saga continues unabated, with the tech mogul joining the board in a bid to prevent a takeover of the company.

    Musk is an avid Twitter user, but that hasn’t stopped him from being critical of the company and advocating for change. He recently posted a poll asking if Twitter should be replaced, saying “the consequences of this poll will be important.”

    Musk followed up by purchasing nearly 10% of the company’s stock, making him the largest single shareholder. Twitter wants to make sure its largest shareholder doesn’t become the majority shareholder, striking a deal to make Musk a board member, according to an SEC filing:

    For so long as Mr. Musk is serving on the Board and for 90 days thereafter, Mr. Musk will not, either alone or as a member of a group, become the beneficial owner of more than 14.9% of the Company’s common stock outstanding at such time, including for these purposes economic exposure through derivative securities, swaps, or hedging transactions.

    Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal welcomed Musk in a tweet of his own:

    I’m excited to share that we’re appointing @elonmusk to our board! Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board.

    — Parag Agrawal (@paraga), April 5, 2022

    Musk responded with promises of change:

    Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!

    Elon Musk (@elonmusk), April 5, 2022

    Only time will tell if Musk will be successful in changing how Twitter does things, but our money is on this saga being far from over.

  • Elon Musk Is Now Twitter’s Largest Shareholder

    Elon Musk Is Now Twitter’s Largest Shareholder

    Elon Musk’s Twitter drama continues, with the tech mogul now the company’s largest shareholder.

    Tesla’s CEO has a complicated history with Twitter. One the one hand, he is a prolific tweeter, sounding off on a range of topics, trolling rivals, and offering to fight Vladimir Putin for the fate of Ukraine. Most recently, he asked his followers if they thought Twitter should be replaced.

    Despite his criticism, that hasn’t stopped Musk from buying up Twitter stock, becoming its large shareholder with roughly 10% of the company’s shares, according to The Houston Chronicle. Even Twitter founder Jack Dorsey only owns 2.5%.

    When asking his followers if they thought Twitter should be replaced, he did warn “the consequences of this poll will be important,.” Perhaps his goal is not to replace Twitter, but exert more control over its direction.

  • SpaceX Expanding Starlink Service to the Philippines

    SpaceX Expanding Starlink Service to the Philippines

    SpaceX is expanding Starlink service to the Philippines, adding to the growing list of countries where the company provides service.

    Starlink is the constellation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites being deployed by SpaceX, Elon Musk’s other company. Starlink is designed to provide internet access and, thanks to its LEO satellites, its service is far superior to traditional satellite providers, even rivaling traditional broadband.

    According to Reuters, Philippine Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez says the company’s permit applications are already being processed, and SpaceX is looking for local gateway locations. Once the service goes live, it will mark a major first, with the Philippines being the first Southeast Asia country to get Starlink.

    As of time of writing, there is no confirmed timeline for launch.

  • Elon Musk Asks If Twitter Should Be Replaced

    Elon Musk Asks If Twitter Should Be Replaced

    Tesla CEO Elon Musk may be famous for his tweets, but that hasn’t stopped him from wondering if it’s time to replace the platform.

    Twitter often sparks controversy for its attempts to walk the line between free speech and moderating extreme content, attempts that are often not as successful as the company would like. Even Musk doesn’t appear to be a fan, posting a poll asking whether his followers thought Twitter rigorously adheres to the principles of free speech. At the time of writing, just over 70% of his followers voted “No.”

    In response, Musk asked what should be done.

    Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?

    Is a new platform needed?

    — Elon Musk (@elonmusk), March 26, 2022

    It’s unclear if Musk is serious about a new platform being an option, but he did tease a level of seriousness when posting the initial poll.

    “The consequences of this poll will be important,” Musk wrote. “Please vote carefully.”

    Despite some displeasure with Twitter, the tech mogul’s tweets weren’t taken well by many users, some of whom pointed out Musk’s own history of firing employees for negatively reviewing Tesla and its tech. Still others pointed out that companies are not required to guarantee free speech in the same way the government is, and are free to enforce terms of service.

  • Elon Musk Challenges Vladimir Putin to a Duel for Ukraine

    Elon Musk Challenges Vladimir Putin to a Duel for Ukraine

    Elon Musk is at it again, taking to Twitter to challenge Russian President Vladimir Putin to a duel for Ukraine.

    The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has been an outspoken supporter of Ukraine amid the Russian invasion, even sending Starlink satellite equipment to help the country stay connected to the internet. Musk has ramped up his support even more, offering to fight Putin one-on-one over Ukraine’s future.

    “I hereby challenge Владимир Путин (Vladimir Putin) to single combat

    “Stakes are Україна (Ukraine)”

    — Elon Musk (@elonmusk), March 14, 2022

    Such a hypothetical scenario would be the ultimate match-up of aged experience vs youthful(ish) health, and one Musk seems intent on.

    “Do you agree to this fight? @KremlinRussia_E”

    — Elon Musk (@elonmusk), March 14, 2022

  • No New Tesla Models In 2022

    Tesla fans looking for a brand-new model in 2022 are in for a disappointment, with Elon Musk indicating there are no such plans.

    Like many companies, Tesla has been struggling with supply chain issues, especially in its efforts to secure enough semiconductors for production. The company has reportedly resorted to buying chips in advance, and may even be looking at the possibility of acquiring its own semiconductor foundry.

    According to TheStreet, CEO Elon Musk says the company has focused almost exclusively on continuing to increase its production, which would rule out the likelihood of new models in 2022.

    “If we were to introduce new vehicles, our total vehicle output would decrease. This is a very important point that I think people do not understand. So last year, we spent a lot of engineering and management resources, solving supply-chain issues, rewriting code, changing our chips, reducing the number of chips we need,” Musk explained.

    “If we actually introduce an additional product that would then require a bunch of attention and resources on that increased complexity of the additional product, resulting in fewer vehicles actually being delivered,” Musk continued.

  • Elon Musk Challenges McDonald’s to Accept Dogecoin

    Elon Musk is once again serving as Dogecoin’s most influential — albeit unofficial — pitchman, pressuring McDonald’s to accept it as payment.

    Dogecoin may have begun as a meme, but the cryptocurrency has become a major player in the crypto market, at one point even being the fourth-most valuable crypto.

    Elon Musk, a big Doge fan, is now pressuring McDonald’s to accept it as payment in a recent tweet.

    I will eat a happy meal on tv if @McDonalds accepts Dogecoin

    — Elon Musk (@elonmusk), January 25, 2022

    Like many of Musk’s tweets, his challenge to McDonald’s went viral, quickly racking up over 210K likes, at time of writing. Burger King even got in on the action, with a reply of their own to Musk and McDonald’s.

    only a king knows what da coin do

    — Burger King (@BurgerKing), January 25, 2022

  • Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Option Gets $2,000 Price Hike

    Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Option Gets $2,000 Price Hike

    Tesla is raising the price of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) option by $2,000, going from $10,000 to $12,000.

    FSD is Tesla’s autopilot program. Like many automakers, the company is working toward autonomous vehicles, although FSD has had its fair share of problems.

    Despite its issues, in a series of tweets, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the price of FSD would be increasing to $12,000.

    “Tesla FSD price rising to $12k on Jan 17. Just in the US. FSD price will rise as we get closer to FSD production code release.” — Elon Musk (@elonmusk), January 7, 2022

    Judging by the response tweets, the news is not going over well with Tesla’s customers.

    https://twitter.com/GalaxyHeroesGHC/status/1479601304540524548
    https://twitter.com/JxffreyP/status/1479591559263920133
    https://twitter.com/SnazzyQ/status/1479726297853022209
  • Elon Musk Pushes Back on Accusations SpaceX Is Cluttering Space

    Elon Musk Pushes Back on Accusations SpaceX Is Cluttering Space

    Space X CEO Elon Musk pushed back on accusations his company is cluttering space with its Starlink satellite constellation.

    SpaceX has been racing to deploy its Starlink constellation in an effort to provide high-speed internet access worldwide. Unfortunately, the constellation’s rollout hasn’t been without controversy. Astronomers have complained that having thousands of satellites in the night sky will negatively impact their work. China recently complained to the UN that its space station had to make emergency maneuvers twice to avoid collision with the satellites.

    Despite the growing complaints, Musk says his company’s satellites are not crowding orbit, and there is plenty of room.

    In an interview with the Financial Times, via BBC News, Musk said “tens of billions” of satellites could safely be in orbit.

    “Space is just extremely enormous, and satellites are very tiny,” said Musk.

    “This is not some situation where we’re effectively blocking others in any way. We’ve not blocked anyone from doing anything, nor do we expect to,” he continued.

    “A couple of thousand satellites is nothing. It’s like, hey, here’s a couple of thousand of cars on Earth, it’s nothing,” he added.

  • Initial Tesla Cybertruck Will Be Four-Motor Variant

    Initial Tesla Cybertruck Will Be Four-Motor Variant

    The highly-anticipated Tesla Cybertruck will initially be produced in a four-motor variant.

    The Cybertruck represents Tesla’s expansion into the pickup truck market. Its futuristic design looks like something from a sci-fi movie, and CEO Elon Musk has touted it’s performance, even pitting it against a Ford F-150.

    In a tweet Friday, Musk said the Cybertruck will initially be produced in a four-motor variant that will provide independent control of each wheel.

  • Elon Musk Will Sell 10% of Tesla Stake to Pay Taxes Following Twitter Poll

    Elon Musk Will Sell 10% of Tesla Stake to Pay Taxes Following Twitter Poll

    Elon Musk left his fate to Twitter to decide, and says he will now sell 10% of his Tesla stock to pay more taxes.

    The amount of money billionaires are taxed has become a hot-button topic in Washington, with many lawmakers wanting higher taxes for the ultra-rich. In a Twitter thread Musk highlighted that his wealth is almost entirely tied up in stocks, since he doesn’t take a salary or bonus.

    Musk put the issue to a poll, vowing to abide by the results.

  • Tesla Opening Supercharger Network to Non-Teslas

    Tesla Opening Supercharger Network to Non-Teslas

    Tesla is opening its Supercharger network, allowing non-Teslas to use it for the first time.

    The Supercharger network is the gold standard of EV charging, capable of charging an EV much faster than a traditional home outlet. Tesla has invested heavily in rolling out the network, making it one of the big selling points of buying a Tesla over its competitors. There are currently more than 25,000 such stations worldwide.

    The company has always had the goal of opening its Supercharger network to non-Teslas and, in a statement Monday, the company says that goal is now becoming a reality. Initially Tesla will make the network available via a pilot program involving 10 stations in the Netherlands.

    With this pilot, 10 stations are now accessible to Dutch Non-Tesla EV drivers via the Tesla app (version 4.2.3 or higher). Tesla drivers can continue to use these stations as they always have, and we will be closely monitoring each site for congestion and listening to customers about their experiences.

    It’s always been our ambition to open the Supercharger network to Non-Tesla EVs, and by doing so, encourage more drivers to go electric. This move directly supports our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.

    As the company monitors the pilot program and learns from it, it will open up other parts of its network as capacity is available. Tesla also says that its customers will still benefit from the most seamless experience, as well as the lowest rates.

  • Blue Origin Announces Plans for Commercial Space Station

    Blue Origin Announces Plans for Commercial Space Station

    Blue Origin, along with Sierra Space, has announced plans for a commercial space station called Orbital Reef.

    The space race is heating up, with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic some of the leading commercial companies involved. Blue Origin was recently in the headlines for a flight that included William Shatner, the oldest person to go to space.

    The company, along with Sierra Space, is now setting its sights on launching a commercial space station, one that will be “mixed use business park” in space.

    Designed to open multiple new markets in space, Orbital Reef will provide anyone with the opportunity to establish their own address on orbit. This unique destination will offer research, industrial, international, and commercial customers the cost competitive end-to-end services they need including space transportation and logistics, space habitation, equipment accommodation, and operations including onboard crew. The station will start operating in the second half of this decade.

    The project already has the backing of Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Arizona State University.

    “For over sixty years, NASA and other space agencies have developed orbital space flight and space habitation, setting us up for commercial business to take off in this decade,” said Brent Sherwood, Senior Vice President of Advanced Development Programs for Blue Origin. “We will expand access, lower the cost, and provide all the services and amenities needed to normalize space flight. A vibrant business ecosystem will grow in low Earth orbit, generating new discoveries, new products, new entertainments, and global awareness.”

    “Sierra Space is thrilled to partner with Blue Origin and provide the Dream Chaser spaceplane, the LIFE module and additional space technologies to open up space for commercial research, manufacturing, and tourism. As a former NASA astronaut, I’ve been waiting for the moment where working and living in space is accessible to more people worldwide, and that moment has arrived,” said Dr. Janet Kavandi, former three time NASA astronaut and Sierra Space president.

  • Issues Force Tesla to Roll Back Latest Full Self-Driving Update

    Issues Force Tesla to Roll Back Latest Full Self-Driving Update

    Tesla has rolled back its latest Full Self-Driving (FSD) update following errors.

    FSD is Tesla’s attempt at autonomous driving. Despite the company’s advancements, FSD has had a number of high-profile incidents and accidents. The incidents have led senators to call on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the company’s claims regarding FSD’s capabilities.

    Some users reported issues with the latest beta, with the system warning of an impending crash, despite the car ahead being at a safe distance. The system would even aggressively apply the brakes, creating the possibility of a high-speed accident.

    CEO Elon Musk announced the rollback on Twitter.

  • Musk: In Talks to Provide In-Flight Starlink Internet

    Musk: In Talks to Provide In-Flight Starlink Internet

    Elon Musk says SpaceX is in talks to provide in-flight Starlink internet, and it will be even faster than customers are accustomed to.

    Starlink is SpaceX’s constellation of satellites that provide internet access to users in underserved areas. The service has been steadily improving as the company launches more satellites. As a result, Starlink is already challenging broadband in the US, and has surpassed broadband speeds in several countries.

    While Starlink already provides median download speeds of 97.23 Mbps in the US, Musk believes passengers in-flight will see substantially faster speeds.

  • Tesla Moving Its Headquarters to Texas

    Tesla Moving Its Headquarters to Texas

    Another major company is moving its headquarters out of California, as Tesla is moving its headquarters to Texas.

    California has been losing companies at a record pace. Oracle, HPE and a slew of smaller companies have been leaving, or moving their headquarters out of the state. In fact, 2021 is set to double the rate of defections over 2020.

    Tesla is now poised to follow suit, with CEO Elon Musk announcing the company would move headquarters to Texas at its shareholder meeting.

    “I’m excited to announce we are moving our headquarters to Austin, Texas,” Musk said, according to The Washington Post. “Just to be clear, though, we will be continuing to expand our activities in California. This is not a matter of Tesla leaving California.”

    Cost of housing was a major factor for the move.

    “It’s tough for people to afford houses and a lot of people have to come in from far away,” Musk said. “There’s a limit to how big you can scale in the Bay Area.”

  • Tesla Delivers Record Number of Vehicles

    Tesla Delivers Record Number of Vehicles

    Tesla has delivered a record number of vehicles in the third quarter, beating Wall Street estimates.

    The semiconductor crisis has been impacting the entire auto industry, with many manufacturers shutting factories down or operating at reduced output. Tesla doesn’t seem to be having as much of a problem, however, as Reuters is reporting the company has shipped a record number of vehicles in the third quarter.

    Tesla shipped 241,300 vehicles in the quarter, after CEO Elon Musk called on the company’s employees to “go super hardcore” to finish out the quarter. In contrast, analysts had expected the company to ship 229,242 vehicles.

  • NASA: Blue Origin ‘Gambled’ On Its Proposal and Lost

    NASA: Blue Origin ‘Gambled’ On Its Proposal and Lost

    More details are emerging about Blue Origin’s losing bid for NASA’s lunar lander, and it appears the company made a risky gamble that backfired.

    Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin were two of the companies bidding for a contract to provide NASA’s new lunar lander. SpaceX ultimately won the contract, coming in substantially cheaper than Blue Origin’s bid. Blue Origin appealed NASA’s decision to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), and then sued the government when the GAO upheld NASA’s decision.

    More details have emerged, and it appears Blue Origin shot for the moon (pun intended), basing their bid on the belief that NASA would accept the higher bid and then negotiate a lower price after the fact.

    The company “made an assumption about the Agency’s HLS budget, built its proposal with this figure in mind, and also separately made a calculated bet that if NASA could not afford Blue Origin’s initially-proposed price, the Agency would select Blue Origin for award and engage in post-selection negotiations to allow Blue Origin to lower its price. All of these assumptions were incorrect,” the four NASA attorneys wrote in the Agency Report, according to The Verge. “Realizing now that it gambled and lost, Blue Origin seeks to use GAO’s procurement oversight function to improperly compel NASA to suffer the consequences of Blue Origin’s ill-conceived choices.”

    Because that’s totally how bidding usually works: Accept an overpriced bid, that didn’t score as high as the competitor’s, and then negotiate with the winning bidder in the hopes they’ll offer a lower price after they’ve already won. Or at least that appears to be how Blue Origin thinks bidding should work.

    This isn’t the first time one of Jeff Bezos’ companies has overbid, lost a contract and they cried foul. Microsoft accused Amazon of doing the same thing when it sued after losing out on the Pentagon’s JEDI contract, saying Amazon used the litigation process to see the particulars of Microsoft’s sealed bid and then lowered its own to be more competitive.

    Interestingly, Bezos’ companies seem to be aware of the reputation they’re building — as sore losers that resort to litigation to compensate for overpriced bids — as Amazon “sent The Verge an unsolicited 13-page list” of legal actions it says SpaceX has taken over the years, in what appears to be an effort to prove it’s no more litigious than the next company.

    Ultimately, NASA said it best: “Blue Origin made a bet and it lost.”

  • Elon Musk: Starlink Will Exit Beta Next Month

    Elon Musk: Starlink Will Exit Beta Next Month

    Elon Musk says SpaceX’s Starlink internet service will finally exit beta next month.

    SpaceX has been rapidly deploying its Starlink constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. The company’s goal is to provide internet access to under-served communities around the world.

    The service initially rolled out in the US, followed by the UK and other countries. The service has been a smashing success, and is giving traditional broadband a run for its money, in terms of speed.

    Despite Starlink’s success, it’s still technically in beta, although that may be about to change. Replying to a user asking when the service would exit beta, Musk indicated it would be next month.