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Tesla Inc

Elon Musk Announces Twitter CEO Transition, Focuses on Product Oversight

by Uganda Times May 12, 2023

written by Uganda Times

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has shared his plans to step down as the CEO of Twitter in approximately six weeks. Musk, known for his roles at Tesla and SpaceX, will transition to the positions of executive chairman and chief technology officer, where he will primarily oversee product development.

Musk’s decision follows his earlier commitment to leave the CEO role once he found a suitable replacement, as indicated by a Twitter poll last December. The majority of respondents expressed a desire for new leadership.

Since acquiring Twitter in October, Musk has implemented significant changes to reduce costs, including a workforce reduction of around 75%. However, concerns have been raised about Twitter’s ability to maintain its platform with a smaller team.

In February, Twitter experienced a user outage that lasted for hours, prompting an apology from the company. To supplement advertising revenue, Musk introduced a subscription offering that grants users account verification for $8 per month.

Musk has defended his actions as necessary steps to rescue Twitter from financial challenges. He describes the situation as an “emergency fire drill” and remains committed to overseeing the company’s product development.

As Musk prepares for his transition, the identity of his successor and the future direction of Twitter become the subject of speculation. Musk’s continued involvement as executive chairman and chief technology officer will be crucial as Twitter navigates this crucial phase and aims to regain stability in an evolving social media landscape.

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May 12, 2023 0 comments

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Tesla’s Elon Musk Begins Trial Over Tesla Tweet That Cost Him $20m

by Uganda Times January 17, 2023

written by Uganda Times

A trial into a tweet by Elon Musk alleging that he would take Tesla private in a $72bn (£58.7bn) buyout is set to begin on Tuesday.

Mr Musk is being sued by Tesla shareholders, who say that he manipulated the share price of the company.

In 2018, he tweeted that he had “funding secured” to take the carmaker private.

However the funding was not secured – and Tesla was not taken private.

Shareholders argued that they lost billions of dollars due to the tweet after the share price plummeted.

The Tesla CEO, however, argued that he believed he had secured funding from Saudi Arabia’s Investment Fund and did not commit securities fraud.

If a San Francisco jury rules in the shareholder’s favour, Mr Musk may be ordered to pay billions of dollars in damages.

He has already paid $20m to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) for the 7 August 2018 tweet, while Tesla had to pay another $20m.

The SEC also removed Mr Musk as chairman of Tesla as a result of the tweet.

His tweet has become legendary in Silicon Valley, as it showed the sheer power that 140 characters on Twitter can have.

Legal experts said they believe it will be a difficult case for Mr Musk to win, and that the fine he paid to the SEC will be used against him in the case. However, jury trials in cases of fraud are notoriously difficult to predict.

Mr Musk had wanted the trial to be moved to Texas, arguing a fair jury would not be possible to find in San Francisco.

He argued that mass sackings at Twitter, a company he bought last year, affected many employees in San Francisco – and that he is not popular in the city.

Mr Musk’s team had argued that a significant majority of potential jurors said they viewed the billionaire negatively.

However, the judge said the trial would go ahead in California.

The trial may see Mr Musk give evidence under oath. The witness list also includes Oracle’s CEO Larry Ellison and media tycoon James Murdoch.

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January 17, 2023 0 comments

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Elon Musk to quit as Twitter CEO when replacement found

by Uganda Times December 21, 2022

written by Uganda Times

Elon Musk has said he will resign as Twitter’s chief executive officer when he finds someone “foolish enough to take the job”.

The billionaire had promised to abide by the result of a Twitter poll which saw 57.5% of users vote “yes” to him quitting the role.

He says he will still run the software and servers teams after his replacement is found.

Changes on the platform since his takeover have been much criticised.

Since Mr Musk bought the social media site in October, he has fired about half of its staff and attempted a rollout of Twitter’s paid-for verification feature before putting it on pause. The feature was relaunched last week.

Civil liberties groups have also criticised his approach to content moderation, accusing him of taking steps that will increase hate speech and misinformation.

On Friday, Mr Musk was condemned by the United Nations and European Union over Twitter’s decision to suspend some journalists who cover the social media firm.

The UN tweeted that media freedom was “not a toy”, while the EU threatened Twitter with sanctions.

This is the first time the multibillionaire has responded to the poll launched on Sunday asking if he should resign. Finding someone to take over the social media platform may be a challenge, according to Mr Musk. Some people speculate Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey could also come back to run the company. He resigned as chief executive in November 2021.

“No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive,” he tweeted following the poll.

No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2022

Other names mentioned as possible replacements include Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s former chief operating officer, Sriram Krishnan, engineer and close confidante to Mr Musk, and Jared Kushner, US former presidential adviser and son-in-law of Donald Trump.

In the past Mr Musk has obeyed Twitter polls. He is fond of quoting the Latin phrase vox populi, vox dei which roughly means “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.

Analysis box by Zoe Kleinman, technology editor

Elon Musk’s tenure as Twitter chief executive may turn out to be short, but it certainly wasn’t sweet.

At times it felt like we were watching a train come off its tracks.

He seemed to enjoy the circus he created. Did he get bored, did his investors pull him back, or did he finally listen to those telling him that Tesla, the electric car firm to which much of his wealth is linked, needs urgent attention from its CEO – also him – as its value continues to nosedive?

Given how open Mr Musk appears to be on Twitter, perhaps one day he will tell us.

But this is not the end of the Musk/Twitter show. He will still own the firm (nobody is likely to buy it off him any time soon, especially not at the price he paid), and he will undoubtedly still be a prolific and influential tweeter in his own right.

Plus, he’s got to find someone willing to take his place (and work with him) – and that position might prove a difficult one to fill.

In response to a tweet saying Twitter Blue subscribers “should be the only ones that can vote in policy related polls. We actually have skin in the game”, Mr Musk said: “Good point, Twitter will make that change.”

Twitter’s paid-for verification feature was rolled out for a second time last week after its launch was paused. The service costs $8 per month, or $11 for people using the Twitter app on Apple devices, and gives subscribers a “blue tick”.

Previously a blue tick was used as a badge of authenticity and was free.

For weeks, investors have called on Mr Musk to step down from running the social media platform, saying he has been distracted from properly running Tesla.

Shares in the the electric car company have plummeted more than 65% over the past year.

Mr Musk sold billions of dollars worth of Tesla shares to help fund his purchase, which helped to push the shares down.

“Finally a good step in the right direction to end this painful nightmare situation for Tesla investors,” said Dan Ives from investment firm Wedbush Securities after Mr Musk’s tweet on Tuesday.

Source:BBC and other internet sources

December 21, 2022 0 comments

Elon Musk taking legal action over Twitter account that tracks his private jet

by Uganda Times December 16, 2022

written by Uganda Times

Elon Musk says he is taking legal action against the holder of a Twitter account that tracks his private jet, arguing it put his son at risk.

The @ElonJet account, which has more than half a million followers, was suspended on Wednesday.

Its owner Jack Sweeney, 20, used publicly available flight-tracking information to tweet every time Mr Musk’s jet took off and landed.

Mr Musk says legal action is now being taken against Mr Sweeney and others.

“Last night, car carrying [his son] lil X in LA was followed by crazy stalker (thinking it was me), who later blocked car from moving and climbed onto hood,” he tweeted.

He added that any account revealing people’s real-time locations will be suspended “as it is a physical safety violation”.

Mr Sweeney denied the incident was related to his account when asked by the BBC.

It comes after he confirmed on his personal Twitter account on Wednesday that the profile had been suspended.

That evening, Mr Sweeney’s account appeared to have been reactivated. He tweeted: “Yes I am back!” Minutes later it was listed again as suspended. His personal account, @JxckSweeney, has also been frozen.

Mr Sweeney, a college student in the state of Florida, shared a screenshot with CNN of a message from Twitter saying the social media company had conducted a “careful review” and had decided to permanently ban the account for violating Twitter’s rules.

The student is in charge of dozens of other accounts that track the private flights of wealthy Americans, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg.

Many of those accounts – including one tracking aircraft associated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and another monitoring celebrity jets – appeared to be suspended on Twitter as well on Wednesday afternoon.

Mr Musk had long taken issue with the @ElonJet account, and once reportedly offered Mr Sweeney $5,000 to delete it.

Mr Sweeney told US media outlets that Mr Musk ultimately told him it did not feel right to pay to have the account shut down.

And a month ago, Mr Musk pledged to keep it running even though it was a “direct personal safety risk”.

But Mr Musk tweeted on Wednesday evening: “Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info.”

Twitter’s Help Center has tweeted an updated media policy that begins: “You may not publish or post other people’s private information without their express authorization and permission.”

Since taking the helm at Twitter, Mr Musk has made a host of changes to its moderation practices.

He has restored a handful of previously banned accounts, including former President Donald Trump’s profile, which was banned following the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol.

The Tesla CEO has also slashed the social media company’s staff and has reportedly stopped paying rent for some of Twitter’s offices, including the company’s San Francisco headquarters, according to the New York Times.

Investors have questioned whether his recent takeover of Twitter has diverted his attention from his electric car business.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, he sold another 22 million shares, worth $3.58bn (£2.9bn), in the company.

It brings the total of Tesla stocks sold by Mr Musk over the past year to almost $40bn.

Source: BBC and other internet sources.

December 16, 2022 0 comments

Featured Featured News Tech World

Elton John quits Twitter blaming change in misinformation policy

by Uganda Times December 10, 2022

written by Uganda Times

Sir Elton John has become the latest celebrity to leave Twitter since its acquisition by Tesla boss Elon Musk.

The singer, a headline act for next year’s Glastonbury Festival, blamed the platform’s “change in policy” around misinformation without elaborating.

Twitter stopped taking action against accounts spreading misleading information about Covid-19 last month.

In response to Sir Elton’s announcement, Mr Musk said he hoped the star would be back.

In what could be his last ever tweet, the Rocket Man singer wrote: “All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together. Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world.

“I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked.”

Twitter’s controversial CEO, who began referring to himself as the company’s Chief Twit after buying it, replied to the post saying: “I love your music. Hope you come back. Is there any misinformation in particular that you’re concerned about?”

Since Mr Musk completed his $44bn (£38.1bn) Twitter takeover in October, there has been controversy over the Covid policy roll-back, as well as other moves such as reinstating some previously suspended accounts and charging users for their “blue tick”.

A slew of famous faces have, in the aftermath, signed out of Twitter for good, citing its new leader as their main reason for leaving.

Actors Jim Carrey and Whoopi Goldberg, supermodel Gigi Hadid and White Stripes musician Jack White are among those to have quit the social media website.

In Ms Hadid’s announcement, she referred to Twitter under Mr Musk as a “cesspool of hate and bigotry”.

According to Twitter’s website, it stopped taking action against tweets breaching its former coronavirus rules on Wednesday 23 November.

It had previously reported suspending more than 11,000 accounts for misinformation about the virus as of September this year.

Under its Covid-specific policy, Twitter operated a “five-strike system” for accounts posting “demonstrably false or misleading” content that might “lead to significant risk of harm” – such as exposure to Covid or damage to public health systems.

No action would be taken against accounts tweeting disinformation once. But repeat offenders could be suspended for a matter of hours, days or even indefinitely, if they received five strikes against their account.

Source: BBC and other internet sources.

December 10, 2022 0 comments

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Musk told banks he will rein in Twitter pay, make money from tweets, sources say

by Uganda Times April 28, 2022

written by Uganda Times

April 28 – Elon Musk told banks that agreed to help fund his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) that he could crack down on executive and board pay at the social media company in a push to slash costs, and would develop new ways to monetize tweets, three people familiar with the matter said.

Musk made the pitch to the lenders as he tried to secure debt for the buyout days after submitting his offer to Twitter on April 14, the sources said. His submission of bank commitments on April 21 were key to Twitter’s board accepting his “best and final” offer.

Musk had to convince the banks that Twitter produced enough cash flow to service the debt he sought. In the end, he clinched $13 billion in loans secured against Twitter and a $12.5 billion margin loan tied to his Tesla (TSLA.O) stock. He agreed to pay for the remainder of the consideration with his own cash.

Musk’s pitch to the banks constituted his vision rather than firm commitments, the sources said, and the exact cost cuts he will pursue once he owns Twitter remain unclear. The plan he outlined to banks was thin on detail, the sources added.

Musk has tweeted about eliminating the salaries of Twitter’s board directors, which he said could result in about $3 million in cost savings. Twitter’s stock-based compensation for the 12 months ending Dec. 31, 2021 was $630 million, a 33% increase from 2020, corporate filings show.

In his pitch to the banks, Musk also pointed to Twitter’s gross margin, which is much lower than peers such as Meta Platform Inc’s (FB.O) Facebook and Pinterest (PINS.N), arguing this leaves plenty of space to run the company in a more cost-efficient way.

The sources requested anonymity because the matter is confidential. A Musk representative declined to comment.

Bloomberg News reported earlier on Thursday that Musk specifically mentioned job cuts as part of his pitch to the banks. One of the sources said that Musk will not make decisions on job cuts until he assumes ownership of the company later this year. He went ahead with the acquisition without having access to confidential details on the company’s financial performance and headcount.

Musk told the banks he also plans to develop features to grow business revenue, including new ways to make money out of tweets that contain important information or go viral, the sources said.

Ideas he brought up included charging a fee when a third-party website wants to quote or embed a tweet from verified individuals or organizations.

In a tweet earlier this month he subsequently deleted, Musk suggested a raft of changes to the social media giant’s Twitter Blue premium subscription service, including slashing its price, banning advertising and giving an option to pay in the cryptocurrency dogecoin. Twitter’s premium Blue service now costs $2.99 a month.

In another tweet he deleted, Musk said he wants to reduced Twitter’s dependence on advertising for much of its revenue.

Musk, whose net worth is pegged by Forbes at $246 billion, has indicated he will support the banks in marketing the syndicated debt to investors, and that he may unveil more details of his business plan for Twitter then, the sources said.

Musk has also lined a up a new chief executive for Twitter, one of the sources added, declining to name the identity of that person.

The Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) chief executive also told the banks he will seek moderation policies on the social media platform that are as free as possible within the legal constraints of each jurisdiction Twitter operates, the sources said, a position that Musk has repeated publicly.

The $13 billion Twitter loan is equivalent to seven times Twitter’s 2022 projected earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. This was too risky for some banks who decided to participate only in the margin loan, the sources said.

Another reason some banks opted out is because they feared Musk’s unpredictability could result in an exodus of talent from Twitter, harming its business, according to the sources.

A Twitter spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Source: Reuters and other internet sources.

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April 28, 2022 0 comments

Tesla Inc

Elon Musk Announces Twitter CEO Transition, Focuses on Product Oversight

Tesla’s Elon Musk Begins Trial Over Tesla Tweet That Cost Him $20m

Elon Musk to quit as Twitter CEO when replacement found

Elon Musk taking legal action over Twitter account that tracks his private jet

Elton John quits Twitter blaming change in misinformation policy

Musk told banks he will rein in Twitter pay, make money from tweets, sources say

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