Tag: Elon Musk

  • ‘I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands’: Trump welcomes Musk’s takeover

    ‘I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands’: Trump welcomes Musk’s takeover

    The takeover was hailed, but former US president Donald Trump, who was permanently banned from Twitter after the riots on January 6, 2021, said little about making a comeback. “I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands, and will no longer be run by Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs who truly hate our country.”

    Trump was banned after the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, which the Republican leader is suspected of instigating. Musk has said he might lift the ban.

    Former Russian President and current Vice-Chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, tweeted his congratulations, saying “Good luck @elonmusk in overcoming political bias and ideological dictatorship on Twitter. And quit that Starlink in Ukraine business.”

    Others urged Musk to undo restrictions imposed by the social network. In response to @catturd2, a random account with 852,000 followers, known for being a big supporter of Trump’s election fraud claims, and who said it was “shadowbanned,” Musk tweeted “I will be digging in more today.”

    Margarita Simonyan, the head editor of the Russian state-run media outlet RT, pleaded with Musk to “unban RT and Sputnik accounts and take the shadow ban off mine as well.”

    Musk and Twitter are under increasing pressure since he plans to address the Twitter workers on Friday after the purchase is finalised.

    “Hey @ElonMusk, now that you own Twitter, will you help fight back against Trudeau’s online censorship bill C-11?” tweeted Canada Proud, a group attempting to unseat Justin Trudeau as prime minister of Canada.

    According to Musk, Twitter may serve as the basis for a “super app” that does everything from ride-hailing to retail and money transfers.

    However, Twitter is having trouble retaining its most active users, who are crucial to the company. Less than 10 per cent of monthly active users are “heavy tweeters,” but they produce 90 per cent of all tweets and 50 per cent of global income.

  • Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover and what it means for you

    Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover and what it means for you

    The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tesla and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has finally closed the $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter.

    The “Chief Twit” allegedly fired Twitter’s senior executives, including its CEO Parag Agrawal and its head of legal policy Vijaya Gadde, on Thursday after closing the $44 billion deal.

    The takeover may bring significant changes to Twitter. The indicators have gotten stronger since the senior management was fired on the first day. Musk has previously made various allusions to the possibility of changing the online platform.

    This might not be good news if you use Twitter and value your online privacy. The platform has struggled with privacy and security issues for years, and it has been slow to put any potential fixes into action. As a result, it’s possible that everything you’ve ever done or said on Twitter, whether it was in public or private, including your direct messages, belongs to one of the wealthiest individuals in the world, a man notorious for being unpredictable, childish, and even vengeful.

    Additionally, it is now owned by a man who wanted to fire 75 per cent of the company’s employees, which might further jeopardise Twitter’s security.

    Noman Javed, an electrical engineer from Lahore, Pakistan, who has been using Twitter since 2010, said that given how immature and erratic Musk has always been, “anything is possible” on the social networking site. Musk has previously stated numerous times that he wants to support free expression and allow people to write anything; although this may sound positive, it can also be risky. As if everyone can tweet anything they want without worrying about being blocked or experiencing any negative effects.

    Javed anticipates that there may be increased disputes and debates on the platform, particularly between Indian and Pakistani users who regularly argue over a variety of topics, including sports and religion.

    According to TIME, when Musk commenced the takeover in April, he wrote CEO Agrawal, “I have a tonne of ideas.”

    Musk lists the preservation of “free expression” on Twitter as one of his key concerns. One of the primary advocates for removing Trump from the platform, Vijaya Gadde’s dismissal is regarded as the first step in that direction.

    After the attacks on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, Trump was taken from the podium. A few other right-wing speakers were banned from the stage for promoting false information and divisive ideas.

    In a survey Musk conducted in March, he found that 74 per cent of users wanted an “edit” feature. The edit button has already begun to undergo testing on Twitter, but it has not yet been made available everywhere.

    Musk has spoken out against the pervasive use of bots on Twitter. Musk said in September that 90% of the replies on his tweets are automated. Even Agrawal was targeted with the assertion that eight out of ten Twitter accounts are bogus.

    He might take action in the coming days based on bots and phoney accounts. However, a Scottish digital university called CodeClan claims that if Musk bans bots, he might lose as many as 13.5 million followers.

    According to Bloomberg, in April, Musk reportedly disclosed to the banks his plans to create features to increase business revenue, including novel ways to monetize tweets that contain significant information or go viral.

    He suggested ideas including charging a fee when a third-party website wants to reference or incorporate a tweet from a verified person or organisation.

    A UCLA adjunct professor named Robert McCann claims that Musk’s public criticism of Twitter and its leadership has caused a “significant erosion of trust” on the website.

    Employee morale can suffer, and it might “spook” potential customers. Additionally, due to the restructuring at the very top, more employees may voluntarily quit the company after the purchase.

    In an open letter to advertisers published on Thursday, billionaire Elon Musk said he wouldn’t allow Twitter to devolve into a “free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences.” His apparent goal was to allay users’ and advertisers’ concerns the day before his $44 billion acquisition.

  • Elon Musk says he is buying Twitter to ‘help humanity’, not to make more money

    Elon Musk says he is buying Twitter to ‘help humanity’, not to make more money

    Elon Musk intends to collaborate with advertisers as his $44 billion purchase of Twitter is set to close. Musk reiterates that he is acquiring Twitter because it is a pillar of civilization and that doing so will benefit humanity in a statement to advertisers.

    Musk’s appeal reflects concerns that the platform might turn into a swamp of free-for-all commentary once he acquires it and that numerous people with extreme views could have unlimited access to it. With Musk leading Twitter, there is a chance that many advertisers may decide to abandon the platform.

    Musk guarantees in his note that once he buys Twitter, it wo n’t be free for all. It goes without saying that Twitter cannot devolve into a free-for-all hellhole where anything may be spoken without repercussions.

    “In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm and welcoming to all,” he tweeted via a note.

    “Twitter aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world that strengthens your brand and grows your enterprise. To everyone who has partnered with us, I thank you. Let us build something extraordinary together.”

    In the message, Musk highlighted why he is buying Twitter. He says, “The reason I 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 writes. “That is why I bought Twitter. I didn’t do it because it would be easy. I didn’t do it to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love. And I do so with humility, recognizing that failure in pursuing this goal, despite our best efforts, is a very real possibility.”

    It’s the exact explanation Musk initially offered when he first announced his attempt to acquire Twitter for about $44 billion in April of this year. He quickly changed his mind, claiming he was no longer interested in purchasing Twitter because, in his opinion, the platform inflates the number of real, active users.

    Twitter disputed the accusations and sued Musk in court. Later, Musk promised to execute the transaction, and the court ordered him to do so by October 28.

    Elon Musk intends to collaborate with advertisers as his $44 billion purchase of Twitter is set to close. Musk reiterates that he is acquiring Twitter because it is a pillar of civilization and that doing so will benefit humanity in a statement to advertisers.

  • Elon Musk plans to launch ‘X’ app after Twitter buyout

    Elon Musk plans to launch ‘X’ app after Twitter buyout

    Elon Musk is taking WeChat as inspiration as he designs Twitter’s future. The tech mogul has only provided a few details about his goal of creating an app for everything, experts warn it won’t be simple to accomplish.

    After purchasing Twitter, Tesla CEO stated late Tuesday that he intended to develop a new app dubbed “X”.

    “Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app,” he tweeted.

    Musk’s statement followed reports that he had once again changed his mind and chosen to proceed with his offer to purchase Twitter for $44 billion, which was the sum originally agreed upon back in April.

    After months of conflict and sour U-turns, the acquisition would give the world’s richest man control over one of the most important social networks.

    Now, analogies to “super-apps” in Asia, which are effectively one-stop shops that do it all for customers, have been made between Musk’s ambition to build out what is thought to be a versatile platform.

    More than a billion users, mostly in mainland China, rely on the social network to perform almost all of their daily tasks without ever leaving the app, including ordering groceries, scheduling yoga classes, and paying bills.

    People have also flocked to apps like Grab (GRAB) in Singapore and Malaysia and Line in Japan in other parts of Asia. While Line became well-known as a chat app, Grab was first best recognised as a ride-hailing service provider. Both have now greatly expanded to include additional functions.

    Musk hasn’t held back when it comes to his goal to duplicate WeChat’s success. He compared Twitter’s potential to that of Tencent’s pervasive service in China in a town hall with Twitter staff in June.

    “I think an important goal for Twitter would be to try to include as much of the country, as much of the world, as possible,” said Musk. “You basically live on WeChat in China because it’s so usable and helpful to daily life, and I think if we can achieve that, or even get close to that at Twitter, it would be an immense success.”

    Several well-known US tech leaders have followed China’s approach, including Elon Musk: Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook (FB), had previously said that his business could use WeChat as a case study.

  • Here’s a list of the top 10 richest people of the world

    According to the latest list by Forbes, these are the world’s richest people who have made it to the top 10.

    Elon Musk

    Elon Musk, who is in the news because of his battle with Twitter, has a net worth of $263.4 billion.

    SpaceX is valued at almost $100 billion and Tesla is the world’s most important automaker.

    Bernard Arnault and Family

    Europe’s richest man who earned a $100 billion fortune last year, the chairman and CEO of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, is second on the list with a net worth of $167.7 billion. The family owns more than 70 brands.

    Jeff Bezos

    Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of Amazon and has a net worth of $162.7 billion. Even though he transferred much of his wealth to his wife after their divorce, the e-commerce giant remains the third richest.

    Gautam Adani and family

    India’s Gautam Adani has diversified Adani Group into multiple sectors, including aerospace, logistics, and energy. At $142.7 billion, he is now the fourth richest person in the world.

    Bill Gates

    Bill Gates has a net worth of $113.4 billion.

    Larry Ellison

    With a net worth of $108.5 billion, Larry Ellison — the founder of software firm Oracle — stands at the sixth position. Ellison has also been on Tesla’s board after he bought three million shares in 2018, reported Business Insider. Almost all of the Hawaiian island Lanai belongs to Ellison.

    Larry Page

    Google’s co-founder Larry Page has a net worth of over $100 billion. Among other interesting projects, he is funding “Flying Car”.

    Sergey Brin

    Sergey Brin is the co-founder and board member of Alphabet. He also co-founded Google. He has a total net worth of $97.0 billion.

    Mukesh Ambani

    Mukesh Ambani with a total net worth of $94.2 billion is at the 10 position in the world. He owns Reliance Industries and has been the richest person in Asia.

  • Twitter accused of profiting from leaking users’ private information

    Twitter accused of profiting from leaking users’ private information

    Twitter is allegedly giving user email addresses and phone numbers to marketers without their permission, which has put the social media giant in more legal trouble.

    The business admitted in 2019 that it may have utilised the personal data customers provided in exchange for a security feature for targeted advertising.

    Two Twitter users filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the social media platform on Thursday in a federal court in Northern California. Billy Moses and Christina McClellan, both of Texas, claim in the 38-page complaint that they would not have given Twitter their phone numbers and email addresses if they had known that the firm would utilise the information for targeted advertising.

    According to CNET, the lawsuit is the most recent repercussion Twitter is facing because of purported privacy infractions. Twitter reportedly violated the Federal Trade Commission Act and a 2011 FTC order by misrepresenting how it will use nonpublic user contact information, and in May, Twitter agreed to pay a $150 million fine.

    Users of Twitter have filed lawsuits against the social media site for violating their privacy in other jurisdictions, including Washington.

    Twitter urged users to enter their phone numbers and email addresses for two-factor authentication, an additional security measure, but failed to disclose that the information would be used for targeted advertising.

    Because marketers could utilise emails and phone numbers to determine a potential customer’s identity and learn about where they reside, what items they buy, where they shop, and other useful information, the lawsuit claims that Twitter made money off of this data without user consent.

    Due to the possibility of using phone numbers and email addresses to identify a person, there are additional hazards associated with their disclosure. According to the lawsuit, hackers may attempt to access a user’s social media accounts through email or gather other data in order to commit identity theft.

    Additionally, the corporation is said to have broken both its agreement with users and California’s Unfair Competition Law. At the time, Twitter’s privacy policy stated that while it doesn’t provide its partners access to user information like email addresses and phone numbers, it may link the data it supplies to other data if a user gives their approval to that partner.

  • Is Elon Musk a fan of Pakistani memes?

    Is Elon Musk a fan of Pakistani memes?

    Elon Musk shared a famous Pakistani meme on Twitter in response to the news that the United States (US) government is considering a prisoner swap with Russia that would see the handover of a Russian prisoner in exchange for WNBA player Brittney Griner and former US marine Paul Whelan.

    The Biden administration has reportedly made an offer to release Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms dealer known as the “merchant of death”, in exchange for Griner and Whelan. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was detained in Russia after Moscow airport officials said they found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. Whelan, a former US marine, was detained at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 and arrested on espionage charges.

    Musk’s tweet

    “Maybe free some people in jail for weed here too?” Musk tweeted on Sunday, sharing the famous Pakistani meme with a caption: “People in the US in jail for weed while the government trades a Russian war criminal to free a woman’s basketball player in jail for weed.”

    This is not the first time that SpaceX founder and business tycoon Elon Musk has spoken out about people being in jail over crimes related to marijuana and weed.

    In June 2020, Musk tweeted: “Selling weed literally went from major felony to essential business (open during pandemic) in much of America & yet many are still in prison. Doesn’t make sense, isn’t right.”

    Pakistani cricket fan Sarim Akhtar’s viral meme

    The disappointed Pakistani cricket fan Sarim Akhtar’s meme shared by Elon Musk has also been featured in Hong Kong’s Museum of Memes.

    Read more – Pakistani cricket fan Sarim Akhtar

    The ‘disappointed face’ of Pakistani cricket fan Sarim Akhat after Asif Ali dropped David Warner’s catch in Pakistan vs Australia became a meme, and it was widely shared by social media users.

  • Twitter blames Musk for $270 million Q2 loss

    Twitter blames Musk for $270 million Q2 loss

    The social media company’s latest quarterly earnings figures offered a glimpse into how the social media business performed during months-long negotiation with billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk over whether he will take over the company.

    The company lost $270 million in the April-June period after revenue slipped 1 per cent to $1.18 billion, reflecting advertising industry headwinds, as well as uncertainty over Musk’s acquisition bid.

    The number of daily active users rose 16.6 per cent to 237.8 million compared with the same period a year before.

    Twitter chalked up the gains to “ongoing product improvements and global conversation around current events.”

    Twitter’s legal battle with Musk to fulfil his April promise to purchase the company for $44 billion has overshadowed its most recent sales figures. To close the deal, Twitter last week sued Musk, and now the two parties are preparing for a trial in October.

    Twitter announced that it wouldn’t hold its customary quarterly earnings conference call or publish a shareholder letter due to the impending acquisition.

    Beginning with the April 4 disclosure that Musk had purchased a sizable stake in the company, opening the door for his takeover bid later that month, Twitter experienced a turbulent three months during the April-June fiscal quarter. Shortly after Musk publicly tweeted his concerns about Twitter and its employees and gave the impression that he was reconsidering his position, the relationship quickly grew strained.

    Musk’s actions and his “repeated disparagement of Twitter and its personnel,” according to Twitter, created uncertainty that was bad for the company’s operations, staff, and stock price.

    Musk wanted to wait until next year due to the complexity of the case and his demands for more of Twitter’s internal data about how it counts fake and automated “spam bot” accounts, which he’s cited as a key reason for trying to terminate the deal. It called for an expedited trial so the company could continue with important business decisions.

    Before the opening bell on Friday, shares were reduced by 2 per cent.

    The trial was postponed this week by the judge, who agreed with Twitter that too much delay could harm the company irreparably. Unless Musk and Twitter resolve the case prior to that time, it will be heard in Delaware’s Court of Chancery, which hears numerous high-profile business disputes.

    On Friday, Elon Musk retaliated against Twitter for partially attributing its second-quarter revenue shortfall to the uncertainty surrounding the pending $44 billion acquisition of the Tesla CEO by the social media behemoth.

    “I’m rubber, they’re glue,” Musk tweeted. 

    According to Musk, Twitter is “in material breach of multiple provisions” of the agreement and “appears to have made false and misleading representations” when it accepted Musk’s acquisition offer on April 25.

    Musk announced last month that he would be terminating the agreement. Musk disputes Twitter’s internal estimates that less than 5 per cent of its users are made up of spam and fake accounts.

  • Twitter is back after a 40-minute downtime

    Twitter is back after a 40-minute downtime

    Following a brief outage that was reported in Pakistan and around the world on Thursday, the microblogging website Twitter was once again operational.

    Around 8:05 AM ET, problems with the service began to surface. Many users reported receiving “over capacity” and even “this page is down” error messages. The problems impacted Twitter on the web, on mobile devices, and even in the TweetDeck app.

    Thousands of Twitter problems were reported by Downdetector, yet Twitter’s own status page stated that “all systems operational.” Many users were unable to log in or access tweets even when the main Twitter.com URL loaded.

    Around 8:40 AM ET, Twitter began to come back to life, and many users were able to tweet and access the service once more.

    During the outage, Twitter also tweeted that “Twitter and we’re working to get it back up and running for everyone.”

    This is the first significant outage on Twitter since the social network began experiencing issues in February. In February, Twitter went offline twice in a single week, rendering users in certain US regions unable to use the service owing to a technical problem that was blocking timelines from loading and Tweets from posting.

  • Twitter to sue Elon Musk for backing out from $44 billion deal

    Twitter to sue Elon Musk for backing out from $44 billion deal

    Twitter has decided to sue Elon Musk after he wrote a letter to the company saying that he wants to cancel his $44 billion bid to purchase Twitter.

    In response to the letter by Musk’s lawyer, the chair of Twitter’s board, Bret Taylor, tweeted 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.”

    According to a letter by a lawyer on behalf of billionaire Elon Musk addressed to Twitter’s top legal officer on Friday, Musk notified the company that he wants to cancel his $44 billion bid to purchase Twitter.

    “Mr Musk is terminating the merger agreement because Twitter is in material breach of multiple provisions of that agreement, appears to have made false and misleading representations upon which Mr Musk relied when entering into the Merger Agreement, and is likely to suffer a Company Material Adverse Effect.”

    He also claimed Twitter breached its obligations under the agreement to get Musk’s consent before changing its ordinary course of business, pointing to recent layoffs at the company.

    Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, agreed to buy Twitter in April. Then in June, Twitter’s board of directors agreed on a $44 billion deal with Musk.