Tag: Elon Musk

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After Musk, Zuckerberg joins Apple bashing

Apple and Meta (formerly Facebook) are at the loggerheads over privacy changes in iOS and App Store…reports Asian Lite News

Amid the ongoing Elon Musk and Apple tussle, Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has once again slammed the iPhone maker for its App Store content moderation policies that present “a conflict of interest”.

Addressing the New York Times DealBook conference, Zuckerberg said that “it is problematic for one company to be able to control what app experiences end up on a device”.

He said that the “vast majority of profits in the mobile ecosystem go toward Apple”.

Tim Cook(twitter)

On Musk being the new Twitter owner, the Meta CEO said “it’ll be very interesting to see how this plays out”.

After his meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook, Musk on Thursday said that they have “resolved” misunderstandings over the micro-blogging platform possibly being removed from the App Store.

Apple and Meta (formerly Facebook) are at the loggerheads over privacy changes in iOS and App Store.

Facebook is struggling to patch its ad-tracking systems after Apple brought tough privacy changes in its App Store.

Apple introduced the “Ask App not to Track” prompt as part of iOS 14.5 in 2021 which has had a significant impact on various companies, including Meta which said that Apple iOS privacy changes will cost it a whopping $10 billion in 2022.

Apple’s iOS 14.5 update, released in April 2021, came with an App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature that has affected digital advertising for tech giants.

According to the WSJ report, Apple’s privacy move resulted in a “sharp business slump that has shaved approximately $600 billion from the company’s (Meta’s) market value in less than a year”.

A Meta spokesman said that the company has “made significant changes over the past five years to protect people’s data while also allowing businesses of all sizes to grow”.

ALSO READ: US Senator slams Musk for not responding to his letter

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‘Unfortunately No Choice’: Musk Justifies Twitter Bloodbath

Elon Musk

Defending his decision over layoff of Twitter employees, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the micro-blogging site was losing more than USD 4 million per day.

Taking to Twitter, Elon Musk said, “Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately, there is no choice when the company is losing over USD 4M/day. Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required.”

“Again, to be crystal clear, Twitter’s strong commitment to content moderation remains absolutely unchanged. In fact, we have actually seen hateful speech at times this week decline *below* our prior norms, contrary to what you may read in the press, he added.

On Friday, as per an unsigned internal memo seen by The Verge, Twitter employees were notified in an email that the layoffs were set to begin. Musk is expected to cut roughly half of Twitter’s roughly 7,500-person workforce.

The entrepreneur’s purchase of Twitter for USD 44 billion was completed last week and on that same day, he fired several of the company’s top leaders, including the chief executive Parag Agrawal.

Musk had already indicated that he would make job cuts at Twitter, telling employees at a town-hall meeting this summer that there needs to be “a rationalization of headcount” at the social network.

Meanwhile, talking about the new changes in the micro-blogging site, Musk said in a tweet, “Again, to be crystal clear, Twitter’s strong commitment to content moderation remains absolutely unchanged. In fact, we have actually seen hateful speech at times this week decline *below* our prior norms, contrary to what you may read in the press.”

Earlier, Elon Musk, who closed the USD 44 billion twitter acquisition deal and took control of the micro-blogging platform, blamed “activist groups pressuring advertisers” for a “massive drop in revenue” as the company

“Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists. Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America,” Musk said in a tweet.

The billionaire owner of Tesla tweeted that “activists” raising concerns about how Twitter is moderated are “trying to destroy free speech in America”. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Twitter sued over Musk’s mass layoffs

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Musk to overhaul Twitter

Musk, who has acquired Twitter for $44 billion after a bitter battle, said in April this year that the micro-blogging platform needs long-form tweets which is “way overdue”….reports Asian Lite News

Elon Musk on Sunday said that Twitter can soon expand or even get rid of the 280-character limit on the platform.

He also confirmed that the company under him will look into increasing the length of videos so that users can post longer videos.

Responding to a user who asked if we can get rid of character limits, or at least greatly expand it, Musk said: “Absolutely”.

Another user asked him about posting longer videos on Twitter, to which he said: “100 per cent”.

Musk, who has acquired Twitter for $44 billion after a bitter battle, said in April this year that the micro-blogging platform needs long-form tweets which is “way overdue”.

Twitter currently allows people to post in 280 characters.

Reacting to a follower’s tweet thread, Musk said: “My most immediate takeaway from this novella of a thread is that Twitter is way overdue for long form tweets!”

Earlier, Musk demanded an Edit button, and the micro-blogging platform announced that it is working on such a feature that will allow users to correct errors in their tweets, albeit with some rules.

Twitter launched 280 characters in November 2017 to all users in supported languages, including English.

The company first announced the controversial plan to move beyond its traditional 140 characters in September 2017 with a small group of users.

Several Twitter users had argued that 280 characters would make Twitter less readable as the platform’s defining characteristic is the brevity of posts.

However, Twitter’s decision to double its character count from 140 to 280 characters did not dramatically change the length of Twitter posts.

According to the company, Twitter is still a place for briefer thoughts.

Only 1 per cent of tweets hit the 280-character limit, and only 12 per cent of tweets were longer than 140 characters, according to the data provided by the company a couple of years back. Only 5 per cent of tweets were longer than 190 characters.

ALSO READ: With Musk on helm, will Trump stage a Twitter comeback?

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Musk takes over Twitter, fires Indian-origin CEO Agrawal

Musk on Thursday said that why he is finally acquiring Twitter, telling them that he wants the platform to be the most respected advertising platform in the world…reports Asian Lite News

San Francisco, Oct 28 (IANS) Tesla CEO Elon Musk has finally taken over as Twitter boss and his first job was to reportedly fire Indian-origin CEO Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, the company’s policy chief Vijaya Gadde and others.

According to a CNBC report citing sources on Friday, Agrawal and Segal have left the company’s San Francisco headquarters and will not be returning.

Gadde, the head of legal policy, trust, and safety was also fired, The Washington Post reported.

Sean Edgett, Twitter’s general counsel, and chief customer officer Sarah Personette were also fired by Musk, reports Insider.

The executives Musk fired have received handsome payouts.

Agrawal received $38.7 million, Segal got $25.4 million, Gadde got $12.5 million, and Personette received $11.2 million, according to Insider.

Musk’s entrepreneur friend Jason Calacanis said: “Day zero. Sharpen your blades boys.”

“Seems like the twitter servers are still up and running!” Calacanis added.

“Twitter CEO is my dream job,” he had told Musk earlier.

Musk on Thursday told advertisers why he is finally acquiring Twitter, telling them that he wants the platform to be the most respected advertising platform in the world where users can see movies or play video games, ranging from all ages to mature.

In a letter to advertisers, he said that Twitter cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences.

“In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences, just as you can choose, for example, to see movies or play video games ranging from all ages to mature,” Musk wrote to his more than 110 million followers.

He said that the reason he acquired Twitter is because “it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence”.

He visited Twitter headquarters in San Francisco on Wednesday, with a kitchen sink in his hands.

ALSO READ: Won’t cut 75% of jobs, Musk tells Twitter staff

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Musk activates Starlink in Iran amid internet shutdown

Protestors have been demanding basic rights of freedom and holding demonstrations against the mandatory dress codes including the compulsory wearing of the Hijab, reports Asian Lite News

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has deployed his satellite-based ‘Starlink’ service in Iran amid widespread protests in the country following which authorities had restricted internet access.

Iranian authorities had cut off internet access for many of its citizens on Wednesday amid widespread protests over the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody, according to reports.

On Friday, SpaceX founder Elon Musk had indicated that he will make Starlink available in Iran.

US State Secretary Antony Blinken earlier announced on Twitter aboout advancing internet freedom and the free flow of information for the Iranian people by issuing a General License to provide them greater access to digital communications to counter, what he claimed, was the Iranian government’s censorship.

Replying to Blinken’s tweet, Musk wrote, “Activating Starlink ….”

Protestors have been demanding basic rights of freedom and holding demonstrations against the mandatory dress codes including the compulsory wearing of the Hijab.

The protests in Iran erupted last weekend after Mahsa Amini died following her detainment by Iran’s morality police. She died a few days after falling into a coma while being detained on an accusation of violating a law related to hijabs.

It is worth noting that earlier this week, lawmakers from New York and New Jersey had urged US Treasury Department to grant approval if SpaceX sought licensing permission to make internet service available in Iran.

(Photo: Twitter – UN Special Procedures)

Lawmakers, led by Claudia Tenney of New York and Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, reportedly made the appeal to the Treasury Department, Fox News had reported. The letter came after Musk tweeted Monday that SpaceX would seek exemptions from sanctions on the country.

SpaceX has deployed Starlink in emergency situations in past, such as in Ukraine after Russia invaded and in the South Pacific islands of Tonga after a volcanic eruption. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Anti-hijab protests grip Iran

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Your lawyers are causing trouble, Musk warns Parag Agrawal

Recently, Musk’s lawyers have said that Twitter officials are unfairly pushing for a “warp speed” trial….reports Asian Lite News

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has reportedly texted microblogging platform Twitter’s CEO Parag Agarwal Ned Segal before pulling out of the $44 billion acquisition deal.

Musk texted the Twitter executives that the company’s lawyers were trying to “cause trouble” after they requested information about the status of Musk’s financing for a deal to buy Twitter, according to a lawsuit filed in Delaware, reports Business Insider.

“Your lawyers are using these conversations to cause trouble. That needs to stop, “Musk was quoted as saying in a text to CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal on June 28.”

Recently, Musk’s lawyers have said that Twitter officials are unfairly pushing for a “warp speed” trial.

Twitter’s legal team said in the Delaware Court of Chancery that they would need just a four-day trial to prove that Musk was wrong on his decision to cancel the deal.

Twitter requested the court that the trial be expedited with a start date as soon as September. However, Musk’s legal team replied that it will need time till early 2023 to start the trial.

Musk has also recently demonstrated his “disparaging” behaviour towards Twitter by posting a ‘pile of poop’ emoji as the micro-blogging platform sued him over terminating the takeover deal.

As Twitter sued Musk, the company also submitted an earlier poop emoji reply by the Tesla CEO to Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal as evidence of his “disparaging” behaviour toward the platform.

When a follower posted a link about Twitter submitting a poop emoji tweet as evidence of his disparaging behaviour, Musk replied with the same emoji, along with “BS (bullshit)” as text.

In May, Musk attacked Agrawal after the Twitter CEO went into finer details on how the micro-blogging platform is fighting spam and fake accounts, asking the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to probe whether Twitter’s claim on the number of its user base is true.

The Tesla CEO even posted an emoji depicting a “pile of poop” to Agrawal on his Twitter thread that went viral on social media.

ALSO READ: Musk hits out at Trump

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Musk hits out at Trump

Earlier, Trump called Musk “another bull s*** artist” and reiterated that he voted for him….reports Asian Lite News

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Monday said that it is time for former US President Donald Trump to “hang up his hat and sail into the sunset”.

Musk’s jibe comes after Trump called the Tesla CEO “another bull s*** artist”. The spat began with Trump claiming that Musk voted for him. However, Musk has denied the claim, saying it is “not true”.

Earlier, Trump called Musk “another bull s*** artist” and reiterated that he voted for him.

“You know what he (Elon Musk) said the other day that he never voted for Republicans. You know he told me he voted for me. So he is another bull s*** artist,” he said at a Save America rally in Anchorage, Alaska.

The former US President also commented on the ongoing legal battle between Twitter and Musk. “Elon is not going to buy Twitter. Where did you hear that before? From me…He has got himself in a mess,” Trump said.

Trump’s comment comes in the wake of an American billionaire’s decision to back off from the Twitter deal which has led to a lawsuit from the social media giant. Last week, Musk said he is terminating his USD 44 billion deal to buy Twitter citing multiple breaches of the purchase agreement, according to a letter sent by the billionaire Tesla chief’s team to Twitter.

Responding to a report on Trump’s remarks on Twitter, where Musk has more than 100 million followers, the Tesla CEO wrote, “Not true”.

In another tweet, he said, “I don’t hate the man, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset. Dems should also call off the attack – don’t make it so that Trump’s only way to survive is to regain the Presidency.”

Twitter’s board chair Bret Taylor said on Saturday the company will file a lawsuit against American billionaire and entrepreneur Elon Musk to force him to buy the social media company on the agreed terms.

In April, Musk reached an acquisition agreement with Twitter at USD 54.20 per share in a transaction valued at approximately USD 44 billion. However, Musk put the deal on hold in May to allow his team to review the veracity of Twitter’s claim that less than 5 per cent of accounts on the platform are bots or spam.

Twitter Inc, shares witnessed a sharp decline after Tesla CEO Elon Musk terminated USD 44 billion takeover deal, setting the stage for a legal battle.

Shares currently stand at USD 33.31 each, significantly lower than Musk’s offer of USD 54.20 per share, according to FactSet data published by The Wall Street Journal on Monday, The Hill reported.

ALSO READ: Twitter shares slump amid Musk’s walkout

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Twitter to sue Musk as he abandons $44 bn takeover deal

Musk’s legal team said he is terminating the deal because Twitter was in “material breach” of their agreement and had made “false and misleading” statements during negotiations.

Micro-blogging platform Twitter on Saturday announced it was going to sue Tesla CEO Elon Musk for terminating the $44 billion takeover deal.

In a surprising move, Musk’s legal team said in a US Securities and Exchange (SEC) filing that he is terminating the deal because Twitter was in “material breach” of their agreement and had made “false and misleading” statements during negotiations.

In a following tweet, Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor said that the “board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement”.

“We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery,” he added.

Musk had put the deal on hold over the actual number of spammy/fake accounts and bots on the platform, and sought a reply from Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal.

On Thursday, Twitter claimed it is suspending more than 1 million spam accounts a day.

“That is indeed the real question,” Musk replied on Friday.

The new figure doubled the previous update from Agrawal who said that the platform removes 500,000 spam accounts a day.

“We suspend over half a million spam accounts every day, usually before any of you even see them on Twitter. We also lock millions of accounts each week that we suspect may be spam — if they can’t pass human verification challenges (captchas, phone verification, etc),” Agrawal had tweeted in May.

In an internal memo to Twitter employees sent Friday and obtained by The Verge, the company’s general counsel, Sean Edgett, told staffers to “refrain from Tweeting, Slacking, or sharing any commentary about the merger,” and that management would be “very limited on what we can share”.

“I know this is an uncertain time, and we appreciate your patience and ongoing commitment to the important work we have underway,” Edgett wrote.

ALSO READ: US lawmaker pitches for CAATSA sanctions waiver to India

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Musk now has 100 Mn Twitter followers

Obama is leading with 132.1 million followers, Bieber has 114.1 million, Katy Perry has 108.8 million, Rihanna has 106.9 million and Cristiano Ronaldo has 101.3 million followers…reports Asian Lite News

As the tech billionaire Elon Musk celebrates his 51st birthday, his Twitter account has now crossed the mark of 100 million followers, which makes him one of only six people in the world to cross this milestone on the microblogging site.

Musk, touted to be the most successful tech entrepreneur and investor in the world, joined the platform in 2009 and now he ranks sixth among the most-followed people including former US president Barack Obama, singer Justin Bieber, and others.

Obama is leading with 132.1 million followers, Bieber has 114.1 million, Katy Perry has 108.8 million, Rihanna has 106.9 million and Cristiano Ronaldo has 101.3 million followers on the microblogging site.

Meanwhile, Musk, born on June 28, 1971, turned 51 on Tuesday. He often remains in the news for updates on his ventures such as SpaceX, Neuralink, and The Boring Co. He is also known to comment on politics, pop culture and world events.

However, Musk, who made a whopping $44 billion deal, has been quiet on the social media platform since June 21.

As per Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with an estimated net worth of around $203 billion as of June 2022, Musk is the wealthiest person in the world.

In 2002, Musk founded SpaceX of which he serves as CEO and Chief Engineer. In 2004, he was an early investor in electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors, Inc. (now Tesla, Inc.). He became its chairman and product architect, eventually assuming the position of CEO in 2008.

Musk helped create SolarCity, a solar energy company, in 2006, which was later acquired by Tesla and became Tesla Energy.

In 2015, he co-founded OpenAI, a nonprofit research company promoting friendly artificial intelligence. In 2016, he co-founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology company focused on developing brain-computer interfaces and founded The Boring Company, a tunnel construction company.

ALSO READ: Musk’s Tesla fires head of LGBTQ+

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Elon Musk highest-paid CEO; Meet the others

After Musk, the 10 most highly compensated Fortune 500 CEOs of 2021 are all tech and biotech CEOs, including the heads of Apple (Tim Cook)…reports Asian Lite News

Tesla and spaceX CEO Elon Musk has topped the list of the most highly compensated CEOs on the Fortune 500 in 2021.

After Musk, the 10 most highly compensated Fortune 500 CEOs of 2021 are all tech and biotech CEOs, including the heads of Apple (Tim Cook), Netflix (Reed Hastings), and Microsoft (Satya Nadella).

In 2021, Musk “realised” compensation worth almost $23.5 billion, from exercising some Tesla stock options awarded in a 2018 multiyear “moonshot” grant.

That was — by far — the biggest CEO payday in 2021, according to Fortune.

Tesla ranked 65 on this year’s Fortune 500. The company had a blockbuster in 2021, bringing in $53.8 billion in revenue, up 71 per cent from 2020.

Meanwhile, the Apple CEO earned $770.5 million in 2021 alone, mostly as a part of a 10-year grant of shares worth $1.7 billion. The tech giant ranks 3 on the Fortune 500.

The company faced challenges because of the global chip shortage, but successfully began manufacturing the equipment in-house, the report said.

Hang, the co-founder of NVIDIA, and Reed Hastings of Netflix bagged third and fourth spots, respectively.

ALSO READ: Musk sees net worth shrink by $12 bn