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Musk’s SpaceX eyes India

This year, the company had already put more than 1,000 satellites in orbit till June, Nikkei Asia reported on Monday…reports Asian Lite News

Elon Musk-run SpaceX now controls 60 per cent share of the global launch business, as he aims to bring Starlink, which uses low-orbit satellites to provide broadband internet connections, to India.

This year, the company had already put more than 1,000 satellites in orbit till June, Nikkei Asia reported on Monday.

“It now accounts for more than 60 per cent of satellites launched worldwide, according to the data from Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics,” the report said.

SpaceX has sent nearly 5,000 satellites to space since 2019 and has applied for permission to operate a total of 42,000. A single SpaceX rocket can carry as many as 60 satellites at once.

After meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US last month, Musk said the country is great for solar energy investment.

“India is great for solar energy investment. We are also hoping to bring Starlink internet to India. I am incredibly excited about the future of India. I think India has more promise than any large country in the world,” he told reporters after the meeting.

Musk said improved internet connectivity “can be incredibly helpful” in remote villages with poor broadband access.

Indian space sector startup Azista BST Aerospace Pvt Ltd’s first remote sensing satellite ABA First Runner (AFR) was successfully orbited by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket last month. According to SpaceX, the rocket on a dedicated rideshare mission carried 72 spacecraft that includes CubeSats, MicroSats and others and one of them was the Ahmedabad-based Azista BST Aerospace’s 80 kg satellite AFR.

Azista BST Aerospace is an Indo-German satellite manufacturing joint venture floated by India’s Azista Industries Pvt. Ltd (holding 70 per cent stake) and Berlin Space Technologies GmbH (holding 30 per cent stake).

Last month, SpaceX successfully deployed Indonesia’s new communications satellite into orbit.

According to The Jakarta Post, the $550 million spacecraft “is envisioned to boost connectivity inclusion in the country, providing free Internet connection to 150,000 public facilities, including schools, regional government offices and health facilities”.

ALSO READ: Adani Group commissions India’s first transnational power project

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-Top News India News

Rs 20L for Tesla: Musk’s India EV factory plan gathers pace

It was a change of plans for the mercurial Musk who had earlier refused to consider manufacturing in India unless India lowered tariffs for imported Teslas to be sold in India…reports Asian Lite News

After meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US last month, Elon Musk is reportedly exploring setting up his own supply chain ecosystem in India, thus producing cheaper electric cars that might start from Rs 20 lakh.

As first reported by The Economic Times, citing government sources, the electric car-maker has engaged in talks with Indian officials to set up its auto parts and electronics chain in India, along with seeking incentives and tax benefits.

If all goes well, Tesla can reportedly produce 5 lakh electric vehicles annually that starts from Rs 20 lakh.

Currently, a standard Tesla electric car starts from more than Rs 30 lakh and with 100 per cent customs duty, the price goes up to over Rs 60 lakh.

There are, however, initial talks between the Indian government and Tesla and may take some time before a Tesla facility arrives in the country.

Tesla is also conducting meetings with industry executives in India, the report noted.

Last month, after hearing Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Make in India’ pitch, Musk announced a change of plans, saying that his electric vehicle and battery company will now come to India “as soon as it is humanly possible”.

Musk told reporters in conversations following his meeting with Modi: “He really cares about India because he’s pushing us to make significant investments in India, which is something that we intend to do and we’re just trying to figure out the right timing.”

It was a change of plans for the mercurial Musk who had earlier refused to consider manufacturing in India unless India lowered tariffs for imported Teslas to be sold in India.

Modi “really wants to do the right thing for India,” he said.

Modi wants to make sure that the advantage from investments “accrues to India’s advantage, which is, you know, obviously, that’s the job”, he added.

India has more “promise than any large country in the world”, Musk said.

If Tesla comes to India, it will be following the pattern of companies like Apple diversifying their manufacturing from China because of geopolitical and supply chain issues.

ALSO READ-Musk unveils new firm xAI

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-Top News World World News

Musk unveils new firm xAI

The xAI team will host a Twitter Spaces on July 14, where listeners can “meet the team and ask us questions”…reports Asian Lite News

Tech billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) company called xAI that aims to to “understand the true nature of the universe”.

“Announcing formation of @xAI to understand reality,” Musk tweeted.

According to its website, the goal is to understand the true nature of the universe. 

The team is headed up by Musk and includes team members that have worked at other big names in AI, including OpenAI, Google Research, Microsoft Research, and Google’s DeepMind.

The website lists Igor Babuschkin, Manuel Kroiss, Yuhuai (Tony) Wu, Christian Szegedy, Jimmy Ba, Toby Pohlen, Ross Nordeen, Kyle Kosic, Greg Yang, Guodong Zhang, and Zihang Dai as xAI team members.

“Finally launched http://x.ai. The mathematics of deep learning is profound, beautiful, and unreasonably effective. Developing the “theory of everything” for large neural networks will be central to taking AI to the next level,” tweeted Yang, a Co-founder of xAI.

“Conversely, this AI will enable everyone to understand our mathematical universe in ways unimaginable before,” he added.

The xAI team will host a Twitter Spaces on July 14, where listeners can “meet the team and ask us questions”.

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Social Media Tech Lite USA

Twitter rivals flex their muscles as Musk restricts access

Since January, Threads has been under development at Meta under the name “Project 92”. Meta has added a launch date teaser to the Instagram app…reports Asian Lite News

The abrupt changes at Twitter under Elon Musk, that has left millions of users annoyed, has resulted in a surge in several competitor apps to the so-called ‘public digital square’ and leading the pack in Meta’s Threads that is set to be launched this week.

As Twitter writes its own nemesis as it finally heads towards a fully paid service, Musk rivals have sensed the deep grudge among Twitter users.

Before Twitter owner Musk and Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg enter a full-on cage fight (both are apparently preparing for the Jiu Jitsu showdown), Instagram Threads is expected to launch on Thursday, according to an App Store listing for the application.

“Say more with Threads — Instagram’s text-based conversation app. Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow,” according to Meta.

With the new Twitter-like app, users will be able to follow and connect directly with their favourite creators and others. Last week, Threads briefly appeared on the Google Play Store.

Since January, Threads has been under development at Meta under the name “Project 92”. Meta has added a launch date teaser to the Instagram app.

Typing “threads” into the search box (or a number of other keywords) causes a ticket icon to appear on the search bar. Another Twitter competitor Mastodon is witnessing a steep rise in new members.

According to its CEO Eugen Rochko, the number of active users across the decentralised social media platform went up by 2,94,000 over the weekend, as Twitter faced refresh rate limit and post viewing restrictions, especially for non-paid users. Mastodon recently crossed more than 10 million registered accounts.

Sensing a big opportunity, Twitter rival Bluesky, backed by none other than Jack Dorsey who still feels that running Twitter is “hard”, has reopened the sign-ups that the company disabled a few days back.

“We just enabled account sign-ups again, so any outstanding invite codes can now be used to create an account,” the company said in a screenshot shared by The Verge.

In an update, the platform said: “We are still working to accommodate the large influx of users and increase in traffic.”

Meanwhile, popular messaging platform Telegram posted on Twitter: “Don’t worry, you can read as many Telegram posts as you want”.

Facing a myriad of issues, Musk has announced that the recent Twitter changes for users are temporary to “address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation”. However, the micro-blogging platform has now launched a new and improved version of the social media dashboard application for management ‘TweetDeck’ globally, saying that after 30 days, only verified users will be able to access the new app.

ALSO READ-Lawsuit hits Twitter for unpaid bills in 4 countries

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-Top News USA

Musk sets reading posts limits on Twitter

New York [USA], June 21 (ANI): Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks the media after meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in New York, USA on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)

According to outage monitor website ‘Down Detector’, more than 7,000 users reported issues with Twitter. “Someone wake up Elon and tell him his $44 billion app isn’t working!” a Twitter user posted…reports Asian Lite News

As millions of users were left in the lurch due to “extreme” backend changes at Twitter, Elon Musk on Saturday said that he has applied temporary limits on who will read how many posts in a day, in order to prevent data scraping and system manipulation.

According to Musk’s new order, verified accounts have been limited to reading 6,000 posts per day. Musk said that unverified accounts will be able to read 600 posts per day and new unverified accounts just 300 posts a day.

“To address extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation, we’ve applied the following temporary limits,” said the Twitter owner. His clarification came as millions of users across the globe, including in India, slammed him as micro-blogging platform suffered a major outage globally, which prevented thousands of users from accessing the social media platform.

According to outage monitor website ‘Down Detector’, more than 7,000 users reported issues with Twitter. “Someone wake up Elon and tell him his $44 billion app isn’t working!” a Twitter user posted.

“Me coming to twitter to see why it says ‘rate limit exceeded’ #TwitterDown,” another user wrote.

The hashtags #TwitterDown and #RateLimitExceeded were trending on Twitter. Earlier on Saturday, Twitter stopped browsing access on its web platform for people without accounts, as Musk said this drastic action was necessary due to “extreme levels of data scraping”.

“We were getting data pillaged so much that it was degrading service for normal users,” Musk posted. “Almost every company doing AI, from startups to some of the biggest corporations on Earth, was scraping vast amounts of data,” he claimed.

ALSO READ-Twitter hits all-time high user engagement

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-Top News Social Media

Hacker who took over Biden, Musk Twitter accounts sent to prison

He was extradited to the US from Spain in April this year, where he awaited trial for harassing, threatening, and extorting his victims…reports Asian Lite News

A 24-year-old hacker behind the massive July 2020 Twitter hack where he along with others attempted to take control of at least 130 famous Twitter accounts has been sentenced to federal prison in the US.

Joseph James O`Connor attacked several celebrity accounts including US President Joe Biden, American socialite and model Kim Kardashian and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

O’Connor was sentenced in a New York federal court to five years in prison, after pleading guilty in May to his role in cyber stalking and computer hacking that targeted several high-profile social media accounts.

In the court, he said his crimes were “stupid and pointless”, and apologised to his victims, reports TechCrunch.

O’Connor, known by his online handle PlugWalkJoe, was part of a group that broke into dozens of high-profile Twitter accounts, including Apple, Binance, Bill Gates, Joe Biden and Elon Musk, to spread cryptocurrency scams in July 2020.

He was extradited to the US from Spain in April this year, where he awaited trial for harassing, threatening, and extorting his victims.

O’Connor, in July 2020, wrote on Biden`s account: “All Bitcoin sent to the address below will be sent back double! If you send $1,000, I will send back $2,000. Only doing this for 30 minutes. Enjoy!”

Twitter then responded at that time by deactivating all verified accounts and disabling the tweet feature in an attempt to target the hackers. As part of his guilty plea, O’Connor has agreed to pay restitution to all of the victims and forfeit just over $7,94,000.

ALSO READ-Musk-Zuckerberg cage fight ‘cancelled’, says Maye Musk

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-Top News India News Tech Lite

Tesla coming to India, says Musk after meeting Modi

Musk saying Tesla coming to India

Modi met earlier with Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the nemesis of Musk. The author and thinker who expounds on the quirks of history and how they impact the world…reports Asian Lite News

After hearing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” pitch, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced a change of plans, saying that his electric vehicle and battery company will now come to India “as soon as it is humanly possible”.

Musk told reporters in conversations following his meeting with Modi on Tuesday, “He really cares about India because he’s pushing us to make significant investments in India, which is something that we intend to do and we’re just trying to figure out the right timing.”

It was a change of plans for the mercurial Musk who had earlier refused to consider manufacturing in India unless India lowered tariffs for imported Teslas to be sold in India.

Modi “really wants to do the right thing for India,” he said. Modi wants to make sure that the advantage from investments “accrues to India’s advantage, which is, you know, obviously, that’s the job,” he added. India has more “promise than any large country in the world,” he said.

If Tesla comes to India, it will be following the pattern of companies like Apple diversifying their manufacturing from China because of geopolitical and supply chain issues. Musk gushed about his “fantastic meeting with the Prime Minister” and declared, “I am a fan of Modi.”

He said that Modi had invited him to visit India and that he would next year. Musk added that India has tremendous potential for “the three pillars of sustainable energy future” — a goal of Modi.

These were power generation using solar and wind energy, deploying batteries to store it, and having electric vehicles that run on it, the Tesla CEO said. “The interesting thing you will find is that this is a lower-cost way to go as well,” he added.

Another Musk venture is Starlink which uses low-orbit satellites to provide broadband internet connections. He said that he was “hopefully looking forward” to bringing it to India.

Asked about former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s assertion that the Indian government had asked the company to shut down a large number of accounts, Musk said bluntly that a company “doesn’t have a choice but to obey local governments”.

“If we don’t if we don’t obey local government laws, then we will get shut down. So the best we can do is really to hew close to the law in any given country,” he added. It is impossible for us to do more than that (or) we will be blocked and our people will be arrested, Musk said.

He added that there are “different rules and regulations, different forms of government, so what we’ll do, the best to provide the freest speech that is possible under the law”.

Modi met earlier with Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the nemesis of Musk. The author and thinker who expounds on the quirks of history and how they impact the world.

Taleb and Musk have been engaged in twitterfights, and Taleb took a dig at Musk on his own Twitter: “Elon Musk, while attacking me on Twitter, was next (in line to meet Modi) but I did not run into him.”

After Modi’s meeting with Taleb, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Baghchi tweeted, “PM lauded Prof Taleb for his contribution in bringing complex ideas of risk and fragility in popular conversations. Highlighted India’s growing start-up ecosystem and the risk-taking abilities of India’s young entrepreneurs.”

ALSO READ-Tesla Cybertruck arrives in New Zealand for testing

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USA

New Twitter CEO will allow me to focus on Tesla: Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends an opening ceremony for Tesla China-made Model Y program in Shanghai, east China, Jan. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Ding Ting/IANS)

Tesla’s operating income decreased 24 per cent to $2.7 billion in Q1 2023 as the Musk-run EV maker continues to cut prices of its vehicles…reports Asian Lite News

The appointment of Linda Yaccarino, former Chairman of Global Advertising and Partnerships at NBC Universal, as Twitter CEO will free Elon Musk to devote more to Tesla and bring it back on course.

Musk’s role will now transition to being executive chair and CTO, “overseeing product, software and system operations.”

“Bringing on Linda allows me to devote more time to Tesla, which is exactly what I will be doing,” Musk said on Saturday.

Tesla’s operating income decreased 24 per cent to $2.7 billion in Q1 2023 as the Musk-run EV maker continues to cut prices of its vehicles.

In an earnings call with analysts, Musk said that Tesla will start delivering its long-delayed Cybertruck in the third quarter of 2023.

“It takes time to get the manufacturing line going, and this is really a very radical product. It’s not made in the way that other cars are made,” Musk said late last month.

In the first quarter, Tesla’s automotive revenue reached about $19.9 billion, an 18 per cent increase YoY. Tesla ended the March quarter with free cash flow of $441 million, down 80 per cent from the same period last year.

The company has drastically lowered the prices of EVs across its lineup in the US and Europe, in an effort to boost sales as its stock plummeted more than 60 per cent earlier this year.

Musk had hinted that more price increases may be on the way as Tesla adjusts to the demand created by the massive price cuts.

ALSO READ-A woman will head Twitter: Musk

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-Top News Business USA

Musk agrees to settle defamation suit by Indian-American Sikh

Elon Musk

Following a lengthy and hard-fought litigation, in March 2023, Musk asked Hothi to settle the case….reports Asian Lite News

New York, May 3 (IANS) Tesla CEO Elon Musk has agreed to pay $10,000 to settle a defamation case brought against him by Indian-American Sikh critic and independent researcher, Randeep Hothi.

Hothi, a doctoral student in Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan, had filed a defamation case against Musk in 2020, alleging that the billionaire businessman falsely accused him of actively harassing and “almost killing” Tesla employees.

Following a lengthy and hard-fought litigation, in March 2023, Musk asked Hothi to settle the case.

“This case was about taking a stand, not seeking fame or money. I feel vindicated,” said Hothi, announcing that he accepted Musk’s settlement offer in a statement.

“I brought this case to defend my work, clear my name, and send a message… I believe I’ve accomplished that, thanks in no small part to Musk, whose own behaviour over the last year has highlighted the need to scrutinise his every word and deed.”

D. Gill Sperlein, one of Hothi’s lawyers, said: “Last year, Musk famously promised that he would never ‘settle an unjust case’. Yet, he has asked Hothi to accommodate him. We welcome Musk’s belated acknowledgment that this case was just.”

Hothi locked horns with Tesla after he created the @skabooshka Twitter account where he fact-checked Musk and his company’s published claims regarding the electric vehicle manufacturer’s automation, technology and production processes.

Beginning in 2018, Hothi, donning the role of a social activist, observed Tesla’s production at its Fremont, California-based factory.

He also documented the construction of Tesla’s Model 3 assembly line tent, sharing photos of his Twitter followers.

In April 2019, Tesla sought a restraining order against Hothi, alleging that the latter struck an employee with his car in a Tesla factory parking lot — an accusation that Hothi vehemently denied.

When Hothi and his legal team successfully obtained a court order requiring Tesla to hand over video evidence of the alleged encounter, Tesla abruptly dropped its lawsuit in July 2019.

Yet the following month, Musk e-mailed a reporter accusing Hothi of “actively harassing” and “almost kill(ing)” Tesla employees.

That remark was later published and amplified to hundreds of thousands of people on Twitter.

Musk’s accusations prompted an outpouring of public support for Hothi, including from whistleblowers, researchers, journalists, and critics.

In August 2020, represented by Sperlein, Hothi filed a defamation lawsuit against Musk based on his remarks.

Musk attempted to dispose of the case by arguing that his accusations were protected speech, and hence should be dismissed under California’s anti-SLAPP law.

In January 2021, the trial court rejected Musk’s arguments, holding that Hothi “has demonstrated the probability that he can succeed on the merits of his claim” because Musk’s remarks were tantamount to an accusation of crime, and thus legally constituted defamation per se.

Hothi accepted Musk’s settlement offer on April 30, and is expected to request dismissal of the case on May 1, pursuant to the terms of the settlement agreement.

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