Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, appears at a U.S. Air Force event in Colorado Springs, Colorado on April 7, 2022.

Technology mogul Elon Musk has started re-verifying the accounts of some prominent journalists on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), reversing a plan to charge reporters and other high-profile users for the privilege of a blue verification badge.

On Wednesday, Musk confirmed plans to offer a free subscription to X Premium (formerly Twitter Blue) if a user managed to accrue more than 2,500 verified subscriber followers, and free access to a higher level of Premium called Premium Plus if the user had at least 5,000 followers.

It wasnt clear what Musk meant by verified subscriber followers. The platform currently offers a feature that allows people to charge followers for access to posts that are hidden behind a subscription paywall, though not all Premium users take advantage of this feature.

During its time as Twitter,...

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Elon Musk restores verified badge to some journalist accounts - imdb

Elon Musk has announced new changes to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that will allow certain accounts to unlock free premium features.

Posting on the platform Thursday, the 52-year old tech billionaire, and TIMEs 2021 Person of the Year, said: Going forward, all X accounts with over 2500 verified subscriber followers will get Premium features for free and accounts with over 5000 will get Premium+ for free.

Previously, X Premium features would cost a user $8 per month and include the ability to share longer posts and video uploads, have larger reply prioritization, and see fewer adverts on their timeline. Meanwhile X Premium+ users have all the features of Premium with no adverts in the For You and Following timelines, as well as access to generative artificial intelligence chatbot Grok.

These models are the only way users can now display a blue checkmark that once denoted a verified account before the Tesla and SpaceX CEO acquired Twitter Inc for $44bn in April 2022.

The changes come two days after a U.S. judge threw out a lawsuit brought by X against a group that claimed hate speech has risen on the app since Musks takeover.

X accused the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) of taking "unlawful" steps to access and misrepresent its company data in CCDH research. But Judge Charles Breyer said it was "evident" that Musks X could not handle criticism and that his firm was "punishing the defendants for their speech." X is set to appeal Judge Breyers decision.

Read More: A Brief History of Elon Musk Saying One Thing and Doing Another at Twitter

The number of people using X each day is also reportedly falling, lagging behind its market rivals Instagram and TikTok.

As of February, the platforms daily usership in America has decreased by 23% since November 2022, the month after Musks takeover was finalized, according to Sensor Tower figures reported by NBC News. Meanwhile, figures show that TikTok recorded drops of 10%, while Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat all had user slumps of less than 5%.

Outside the U.S., global figures have also taken a hit. Daily active users on X fell to 174 million, a decline of 15% on the previous year. Meanwhile Snapchat grew by 8.8%, Instagram recorded 5.3%, Facebook 1.5%, and TikTok 0.5%, per Sensor Tower data.

This decline in X mobile app active users may have been driven by user frustration over flagrant content, general platform technical issues, and the growing threat of short-form video platforms, Abe Yousef, a senior insights analyst at Sensor Tower, wrote in a research report.

In a post shared by X Data on March 18, the platform said it currently welcomes 250 million global daily users. Outlets such as NBC News have been quick to point out that this is still a decrease from the 258 million users Musk reported in 2022, upon completing his acquisition of the platform.

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Elon Musk Makes Major Changes to X (Twitter). What to Know | TIME - TIME

Elon Musk is the largest employer in Austin.

Tesla expanded its headcount in the city by 86% last year, bringing the total number of workers to 22,277. That puts it ahead of grocery chain H-E-B, which was the former leader, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Austin is the manufacturing site of Teslas Model Y SUVs as well as the Cybertruck. But thats hardly the billionaires only presence in the city and state. The Neuralink brain implant firm has 300 workers in Austin. And SpaceX has a massive presence in Texas, with a factory outside Austin and a launch site along the Gulf Coast.

Musk, who moved to Texas in 2020 after growing frustrated with California during the pandemic, is so enamored with the Lone Star State that hes in the process of building his own town, which would become a de facto suburb of Austin. Musk has reportedly bought thousands of acres of land about 35 miles outside the city, adjacent to the Boring and SpaceX facilities under construction in the area.

The proposed municipality is said to already include some modular homes. Signs hang from poles reading welcome, snailbrook, tx, est. 2021.

Over the past three years, entities tied to Musk have bought at least 3,500 acres in the general Austin area. The Wall Street Journal says some reports indicate Musk controls as much as 6,000 acres.

Musks anchor to the area, though, is the gigafactory manufacturing facility in Austin. The facility covers 2,500 acres along the Colorado River with over 10 million square feet of factory floor. That makes it the second-largest building in the world.

Musk isnt likely to lose the top employer crown for a while. Tesla continues to hire workers in the area, as are many of his other holdings.

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Elon Musk is the biggest employer in Austin, Texas - Fortune

Follow our live updates: Tesla, GM, Toyota, Honda, and other auto makers are reporting sales

Is Meta a better stock than Reddit right now?

Tesla on Tuesday said it delivered 386,810 electric vehicles over the first three months of 2024, falling wildly short of Wall Streets expectations.

Last week, after a first quarter that one analyst called a nightmare, many analysts lowered their estimates. But the sales figures Tesla reported Tuesday fell far below even the revised estimates.

Wall Street had estimated deliveries of 457,000 EVs for the first quarter, according to a consensus tracked by FactSet. Deutsche Banks Emmanuel Rosner who rates Tesla stock as a buy trimmed his delivery forecast last week from 427,000 units to 414,000 units and cut full-year expectations from 2.06 million units to 1.9 million units. Morgan Stanleys Adam Jonas lowered his delivery estimate from 469,000 units to 425,000 units. Jonas last month raised the possibility that Tesla could lose money this year.

Tesla stock dropped almost 6% in Tuesday morning trading after the company announced its poor first-quarter deliveries. Shares have fallen more than 33% so far this year, making Tesla the worst performer in the S&P 500. The company is also no longer one of the top 10 U.S. companies by market capitalization, trailing behind Visa, JPMorgan Chase, and weight-loss drug maker Novo Nordisk.

Austin, Texas-based Tesla said it sold 369,784 Model 3 compact cars and Model Y SUVs between January and March, and 17,027 other EVs. Although the automaker does not provide a breakout for those deliveries, they include the Model X crossover SUV, Model S sedan, and the Cybertruck, an electric pickup released by Tesla last November.

Teslas sales for the quarter fell more than 8% compared to a year earlier.

CEO Elon Musks electric vehicle company produced fewer vehicles in the quarter than it did during the first three months of 2023, largely due to factory revamps and disruptions abroad. Tesla assembled 433,371 EVs last quarter, down from 440,808 in 2023.

In China, where Tesla is facing off against strong local rivals like BYD and newcomers like Xiaomi, Tesla has started telling workers to lower Model Y and Model 3 production. Production has also been slowed because of an update to the Model 3 production line at Teslas flagship factory in Fremont, California. And an arson attack near Teslas Giga Berlin-Brandenburg in Germany shut down the facility for almost a week, costing the company about $1 billion. That shutdown came just weeks after the German facility reopened after a brief closure due to ongoing Houthi militia attacks on suppliers using the Red Sea to transport goods.

The poor performance comes in spite of a series of measures Musk has announced to drum up sales.

Tesla has committed to updating its driver assistance technology, Full Self-Driving, every two weeks in an effort to boost its popularity. The $12,000 software, which Musk has said would be a moneymaker, hasnt been widely adopted by consumers. Tesla has also given all U.S. Tesla owners capable of installing the system a free one-month.

There are many reasons Tesla might be struggling to sell its cars slowed interest from consumers, EV charging anxiety, and more. Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note to investors Tuesday that the difference between the number of EVs built and the number of cars sold confirms that beyond the known production bottleneck, there may also be a serious demand issue.

However, some investors are arguing that Musk and the companys board of directors are to blame.

Its time for shareholders to assess the blame where due. The [T]esla BOD should be replaced immediately with independent directors as required by law, Tesla investor Ross Gerber wrote Tuesday on X, Musks social media platform.

Basically Tesla cant sell its cars due to Elons behavior, he added in a follow-up post. Only one person [is] responsible for this.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, a longtime Tesla bull, last week called the first quarter a nightmare for Tesla, writing in a note to investors that the Tesla narrative is as negative as we have seen in the last few years with Musk/Tesla getting attacked by the bears from all directions.

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Elon Musk's Tesla falls wildly short on EV deliveries in first quarter - Quartz

Wall Street has sounded the alarm for weeks that the transition to electric vehicles may be stalling, despite billions in government subsidies and huge investments by auto giants.

Teslas latest sales figures suggest that the pullback may be worse than thought and beyond one companys ability to fix.

Teslas numbers undershot forecasts. The car makers stock fell nearly 5 percent on Tuesday after it reported deliveries of 387,000 cars worldwide in the first quarter the Evercore ISI estimate was 443,000 in its first year-on-year quarterly decline since 2020.

That has contributed to a more than 30 percent decline in Teslas stock, which has made it one of the worst performers on the S&P 500 this year.

Tesla had warned of notably lower growth this year. The company has faced setbacks including a suspected arson attack on its German gigafactory and shipping delays tied to the turmoil in the Red Sea. Meanwhile, high interest rates and the rise of cheaper Chinese E.V.s are sapping global demand and eating into Teslas once dominant market share.

Some Elon Musk critics including Ross Gerber, an outspoken Tesla investor laid the blame squarely on the companys C.E.O., saying that his toxic behavior had absolutely damaged the brand. (Musk has said little about the Tesla numbers, except to call Gerber an idiot, and to note it was a tough quarter for all E.V. makers.)

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What Teslas Troubles Signal for the Electric Vehicle Market - The New York Times

Editor's note: This story was updated with Elon Musk's reaction to Gerber's comments.

Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment ManagementCEORoss Gerber slammedTesla, Inc. TSLA CEOElon Muskfor the companysdismal first-quarter performanceon Tuesday, grabbing Musk's attention in the process.

What Happened:Basically Tesla cant sell its cars due to Elons behavior. Lets stop blaming the Houthi rebels or German environmental terrorists. Or a recession that never came. Or interest rates, Gerber said. Only one person [is] responsible for this, he added.

Gerber's firm, Gerber Kawasaki, holds 3,000 Tesla shares valued at roughly $500,000 in its flagship actively-managed exchange-traded fundAdvisorShares Gerber Kawasaki ETFGK, with Tesla representing a portfolio weighting of 2.37%.

Expressing a bearish sentiment towards Tesla, Gerber warned of potential downward revisions of future earnings estimates following the first-quarter delivery miss, anticipating analysts to adjust their 2024 and 2025 EPS estimates accordingly.

See Also:Everything You Need to Know About Tesla Stock

Tesla CEO Reacts: Musk reacted to Gerber's criticism by labeling him an "idiot" and highlighting a sales decline at Chinese EV makerBYD Co. Ltd. BYDDY BYDDF, hinting that Tesla's struggles were not unique. "Hes such an idiot that he cant even tell hes an idiot. BYD sales dropped by 42% from last quarter. This was a tough quarter for everyone," Musk said on X.

What More Does Gerber Want?Unfortunately Tesla shareholders are paying the price for the reality Elon has created, he added. For over a year Ive been warning about this potential reality. Now its here. Its time for shareholders to assess the blame where due."

The Tesla BOD should be replaced immediately with independent directors as required by law," he added.

In aninterviewwith Fox News, Gerber criticized Tesla's board for its lack of independence and failure to address Musk's controversial Twitter behavior, which he claimed had damaged the brand.

They, basically all work for Elon and we know it, Gerber said.

Teslas EVs are best in terms of quality and performance and despite the fact if the company cant sell vehicles, it is due to its CEO, the fund manager said. The problem is not about production but it is about sales, he added.

When asked ifMusk would be successful in increasing his stake in the EV maker,Gerber said, it is unlikely, given he might have to comply with restrictions such as giving up his role at Twitter and becoming the sole CEO of Tesla.

Tesla ended Tuesdays session down 4.90% to $166.63, according toBenzinga Pro data.

Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage byfollowing this link

Read Next:Cathie Wood's Ark Invest Unfazed By Tesla's Big Q1 Sales Miss, Hoards $39M Of EV Giant's Stock Tuesday Nvidia Offloading Continue

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'He Cant Even Tell Hes An Idiot:' Elon Musk Furious As Ross Gerber Accuses Tesla CEO's 'Toxic' Behavior - Benzinga

SAN FRANCISCO Tesla reported a sharp decline in car deliveries in the first quarter, a disappointing start to the year for a company beset by market challenges and reputation hazards.

The delivery numbers reported Tuesday come as Tesla faces soft demand for electric vehicles, high interest rates, a string of lawsuits against its technology and controversy surrounding its chief executive, Elon Musk. Musk had warned during a January earnings call that Tesla would experience a notably lower growth rate this year as the company invests in a next-generation vehicle it plans to start building in 2025.

Tesla said it delivered 387,000 vehicles to customers in the first quarter, down 20 percent from the previous quarter and down more than 8 percent year-over-year. Ahead of Tuesdays report, Wall Street analysts generally expected Tesla to report 443,000 deliveries for the quarter, according to Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives. Tesla shares fell 4.9% on Tuesday.

The company blamed the slowdown at least partly on a shift to early production of the next version of its Model 3 sedan, Red Sea shipping disruptions and suspected arson at its Berlin factory.

Deepwater Asset Management analyst Gene Munster pointed to the broader economy and falling EV sentiment for Teslas ugly delivery number. Higher interest rates have made it more expensive to finance pricier electric vehicles, Munster wrote in a tweet, adding, The excitement around [electric vehicles] has cooled, which further dampens sales.

But he also wrote that Tesla is still on the right track.

Ives likened the companys first quarter to a train wreck into a brick wall. Its now up to Musk to engineer a turnaround as the company moves toward its next vehicle, Ives said.

Lets call this what it is: While we were anticipating a bad [first quarter], this was an unmitigated disaster 1Q that is hard to explain away, Ives said. We view this as a seminal moment in the Tesla story for Musk to either turn this around and reverse the black eye 1Q performance otherwise, some darker days could clearly be ahead that could disrupt the long-term Tesla narrative.

The electric-vehicle company whose stock is down more than 20 percent in the first quarter slashed its prices throughout 2023 to maintain demand, but those cuts were not enough to overcome the headwinds it has faced in the first quarter of the year, analysts said.

Its death by 1,000 cuts, said Karl Brauer, an executive analyst with the car research company ISeeCars.com. Musk has never had a demand problem but over the past year-plus, there has been increasing indicators that hes producing more cars than the market wants.

Tesla said it made 433,000 vehicles in the first quarter, or 46,000 more than it delivered.

Wider market forces are also at play for Tesla. While sales of electric vehicles are still growing faster than gasoline car sales in the United States, interest has started to cool lately amid concerns about a lack of charging infrastructure, among other reasons. Other carmakers, such as Mercedes-Benz, have delayed electrification goals or reduced their short-term ambitions of electrification.

At the same time, though, the Chinese electric-vehicle maker BYD overtook Tesla last year, selling more electric vehicles on a quarterly basis.

Teslas lower sales numbers add to the companys troubles. It is also facing increased scrutiny from regulators over its driver-assistance software Autopilot. Last year, the company agreed to recall 2 million vehicles nearly every car it has produced over concerns that the technology did not have enough guardrails to prevent driver misuse. The recall, which was conducted by a remote update, was the result of a sweeping investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into the technology.

Days before the recall was announced, The Washington Post published an investigation identifying at least eight fatal or serious crashes involving Autopilot in locations where the software was not intended to be used.

The company is also facing lawsuits involving its Autopilot software that question whether the driver is solely responsible when things go wrong in a vehicle guided by Autopilot, or if the software should also bear some of the blame. Tesla will face a jury this month over a wrongful-death lawsuit involving a Tesla in Autopilot that veered into a median on Highway 101 in Northern California in 2018 while the driver allegedly wasnt paying attention.

So far, the company has been successful in staving off liability: A jury found Tesla not liable last year in case involving Autopilots alleged role in a deadly crash in Riverside, Calif.

Ahead of Tuesdays report, Deepwater Assets Munster said neither Musk nor investors appear to be swayed by Teslas legal challenges. Last month, Musk doubled down on his Full Self-Driving technology Teslas premium driver-assistance system by requiring employees to install and show customers how to use the latest version before completing a sale.

Going forward, it is mandatory in North America to install and activate FSD V12.3.1 and take customers on a short test ride before handing over the car, Musk wrote in an email to his staff, first reported by Bloomberg News. Almost no one actually realizes how well (supervised) FSD actually works. I know this will slow down the delivery process, but it is nonetheless a hard requirement.

Meanwhile, a survey by the market intelligence firm Caliber, provided to Reuters, showed that a consideration score for Tesla fell to 31 percent in February, less than half its high of 70 percent in November 2021, when it started tracking consumer interest in the brand. The report partly cited Musks controversial reputation. Musk, one of the worlds richest people, has courted controversy in the past year as he has espoused hard-line immigration ideals, promoted antisemitic rhetoric, pushed conspiracy theories and criticized liberal causes as a woke mind virus.

His polarizing comments have driven away users and advertisers from the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, which he owns.

Musk has argued that Teslas more recent sales issues merely reflect business cycles, saying that the company is between two major growth waves.

When it comes to Teslas struggling sales, Brauer said Teslas legal challenges and Musks personality arent leading factors behind the declines. But, he said, it certainly isnt helping.

Those factors are only leading to all the challenges, he said.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.

Faiz Siddiqui contributed to this report.

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Tesla deliveries fall more than expected as firm cites production issues - The Washington Post

In a week teeming with political and business intrigue, the spotlight shone on familiar faces. With Donald Trump and Joe Biden possibly gearing up for a 2024 showdown, Elon Musk chiming in on global tensions, and Bidens approval ratings showing resilience, the stage is set for an interesting year. Heres a recap of the top stories that grabbed headlines this weekend.

Trump vs. Biden: The 2024 Presidential Race

Speculation is rife about a potential face-off between Trump and Biden in the 2024 presidential election. Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state, could prove pivotal in deciding the winner. Current polls indicate that Trump is leading Biden in a direct matchup among nationally registered voters. Read the full article here.

Musks Response to Russias Nuclear Threat

SpaceX and Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO, Elon Musk, responded to Russian President Vladimir Putins nuclear war threat against the U.S. Musks reaction to Putins warning, posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account, was a terse Of course. Read the full article here.

See Also: Biden Vs. Trump: Voters In Battleground State Of Georgia Increasingly Pick This Candidate As New Poll Thr

Bidens Approval Ratings: The Corporate Inflation Blame Game

A recent poll revealed that President Joe Bidens approval ratings are experiencing a positive shift. As per the survey, a majority of voters are attributing inflation to corporations rather than to Democratic policies. This could be a significant development as we approach the November general election. Read the full article here.

Supreme Court Decision on Trumps 2024 Run

Retired federal judge J. Michael Luttig expressed his disappointment over the Supreme Courts unanimous decision allowing Trumps eligibility to run for office in 2024, despite challenges under the 14th Amendments insurrection ban. Read the full article here.

Trumps $91M Defamation Judgment Bailout

Former President Donald Trump, who has been bailed out of a $91M defamation judgment, took another shot at author E. Jean Carroll at a campaign rally. This has led to speculation that Trumps recent comments could land him in another defamation lawsuit. Read the full article here.

Read Next: Former Federal Judge Says Supreme Court Dangerously Betrayed By Allowing Trump On Ballot: Rendered Tha

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Elon Musk's Response To Russia's Nuclear Threat, Trump Vs. Biden Polls And More: Top Political Updates This Week - TradingView

Theres a lot going on in the background of Don Lemons little Zoom square at the moment. There are painters in his Manhattan home. There are folks walking up and down the stairs. Theres a marriage license.

We just got it today! Lemon, 58, says immediately when we log on, holding it up with a huge smile. (He says he will soon have a ceremony and reception with longtime partner Tim Malone.)

Theres a lot going on in the foreground of Lemons life as well, figuratively speaking. The former CNN star has a new show, The Don Lemon Show. (The show premieres Monday at 7 am ET.)

And, before it even premieres on X, formerly Twitter, hes in a fracas with his new boss, Elon Musk who also happens to be his first guest. Nevertheless, having been off the air for nearly a year, the Emmy-nominated beloved broadcaster is still excited to be back in the game. I am energized and excited about the future and I'm just sort of rolling with what's going on. But I haven't had much sleep," Lemon says.

Don Lemon Instagram

The day before our interview, Lemon received a text from Elon Musk. You see, Musks platform X was in partnership with Lemon to stream additional, exclusive content from his new show for 24 hours. (The show will still be posted on X and YouTube.) This is Lemons return to journalism, following his firing from CNN last year.

As co-anchor of CNN This Morning, along with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlin Collins, on Feb. 16, during a segment discussing the ages of politicians, Lemon stated that then-presidential candidate Nikki Haley, at 51, was past her prime. Lemon continued: "She says ... politicians are not in their prime. Nikki Haley isn't in her prime. Sorry. A woman is considered to be in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s."

Asked by Harlow to clarify what he was trying to say, Lemon responded, "That's not according to me. ... If you Google 'When is a woman in her prime,' it'll say 20s, 30s and 40s. I don't necessarily I'm not saying I agree with that."

Viewers were quick to call Lemon's remarks sexist and ageist, with many also highlighting that he is five years older than Haley. He apologized that day, and last April he was fired.

But last week, following an as-yet unaired interview with Musk for the first episode of Lemons new show, which was to be available exclusively via X, Musk texted Lemon. The deal with X was over, but Lemon could still post content on the platform.

So Lemon went home, in a way. On Wednesday, he went to CNN headquarters in New York City he worked for the network for 17 years to be interviewed by Erin Burnett. After he revealed the dissolution of his relationship with Musk, he says Burnett called me and said, Hey, would you like to come on my show? I couldn't say no.

DAVID URBANKE

Tears begin to swell in his eyes. Erin helped to give me my start in primetime on CNN," Lemon says.

He recalls her kindness years ago, before he had his own primetime show, Don Lemon Tonight. I filled in for her for maternity leave. She could've said, No, I don't want him to fill in for me,but she was very supportive. She told her staff to work with me and to give me everything I needed, all the support that I needed. She gave me that support as well," he explains.

Here, an exclusive PEOPLE conversation with Lemon.

PEOPLE: Was it easy to walk back into CNN last week?

LEMON: I don't know if I wanted to go back, but I couldn't say no. But it just makes me very emotional because there was so many people in that building last night who came into the studio, left their desks, left the control room, just to come say hello. And to thank me for what I have done, just to say, "I'm sorry this happened to you. We miss you. And that meant a lot.

PEOPLE: What are your feelings today about that day on CNN This Morning, alongside Poppy Harlow and Kaitlin Collins, when you made the remarks about Nikki Haley?

LEMON: Listen, I haven't spent much time thinking about that and thinking about Nikki Haley. I would rather not discuss it. I've moved on and Nikki Haley has moved on. My comments were misconstrued and that's it. I've explained it. I apologized for it.

We all go through painful moments and, obviously, my exit was very painful. But that pain has subsided. I took that pain and I took that challenge and I turned it into success. So, was it very painful? Yes. Well, do I wish that my exit from CNN had been different? Absolutely, but it is what it is, and I can't go back and change the past. I don't have a time machine. And it's very interesting because I asked Elon a very similar question. I asked, "Is there anything you would change?" And he said, "No, I don't have a time machine to go backwards." And I actually agree with him on that point.

What I said [on Feb. 16 on the air] I think it was misconstrued, but there were other things that were going on that I possibly did not know about, and so that's all I have to say on that subject.

PEOPLE: In your career, youve always been a trailblazer. For many years you were one of the few, if not the most prominent gay Black people at the anchor desk.

LEMON: Trailblazers don't look back. There has been no one before you, so you create the way. And you get all the slings and arrows. Then everyone comes in and just sort of rides in easy. It hasn't been easy, but I love that. People don't often give you your flowers in the moment, but I do have people who contact me all the time and say, "Don't think that I don't know what you did for me."

PEOPLE: And now you are on a new trail, with a new show.

LEMON: Like I said at the Time 100 gala, I wanted to do something that scares me. I've had this sort of idea swimming around in my head. I've always known that the future was going to be in streaming and it was going to be on these small device. Whether I had left CNN or not, that's what I was going to lean into. To talk about things that are in the zeitgeist, to put issues out there that may not be handled or at least platformed on traditional broadcast television. I have the opportunity to talk a lot longer without having to rush to get to commercial breaks. I can do real conversations and I don't have to be concerned about what you say, is it advertiser friendly, does it have to be sanitized? I don't have to worry about that. I can have real conversations.

Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

PEOPLE: Did you have any qualms about joining forces with Elon Musk and X? The platform and Musk has a reputation for intolerance, antisemitism, transphobia. Not the most accepting culture.

LEMON: I disagree, quite frankly, with most of what Elon Musk tweets about and talks about. But he owns X, which is formerly Twitter. And it's one of the biggest social media and information platforms in the world. I thought it was the best opportunity to reach the biggest audience so that people could see the work that I'm doing. I also, unlike Elon Musk, truly do believe in freedom of speech.

PEOPLE: Why did you choose Musk for the first show?

LEMON: As the show came into fruition, we started to think about guests. I said, "Who would be the best guest for the first show? Who would be the most impactful?" And I said, "I think that would be Elon Musk because this show is going to be about true freedom of speech and it's going to be a global town hall for everyone. Elon Musk would be the best person." We reached out to him. He said yes, willingly, and the rest is history.

PEOPLE: You certainly had an idea that it could all fall apart.

LEMON: The possibility of Elon Musk being unpredictable and erratic, yeah. Of course I knew that. I went into this with my eyes open. I've interviewed many world leaders, presidents to convicts, and no one has been more sensitive or touchy than Elon Musk. And during the interview and during other interviews, he constantly says he doesn't care what people write or say about him. For someone who doesn't care about what people write or say about him, he sure does care about what people write or say about him. He's not used to being held to account. He's not used to having to answer to anyone, especially someone like me who doesn't share his worldview, who doesn't look like him. You know what I'm saying? When I questioned him about things that he put out on social media, posted or tweeted, that weren't factual, it was very uncomfortable for him. To the point to where [he and his team] wanted to see the interview before it aired. Which was a a big capital N no.

PEOPLE:What did you want to happen with this interview? Some people would say, Dont give him the air time, even more of an audience.

LEMON: My philosophy then when I was in cable was that no one ever wins a cable news argument. I just wanted us both to be authentic. there was so much to get out of the way. "Why did you tweet this about Black people? Why did you say this about DEI? Why did you say this about a woman pilot? Why did you say this about Jewish people?" I had to know that and the audience needs to know that. And for him to think that that wasn't going to happen, that was really nave if he thought that.

He's a very consequential person to the world. He controls the satellites. Electric cars, the auto industry. Rockets, space, and one of the biggest information platforms in the world.

I learned a lot about him and I think he learned a lot about me. Well, he could have, but I think it just went right over his head.

PEOPLE: What is the state of your relationship with Musk now?

LEMON: Our business relationship is over, so I'll move on from there.

PEOPLE: Whos next on your show?

LEMON: We have the Ambassador to the United Nations. We have Sheryl Lee Ralph.

PEOPLE: Any chance of Nikki Haley?

LEMON: No, but I will tell you, I invited Nikki Haley. She turned it down. I would love to have spoken to her, and I would love, I would have loved to have the opportunity to explain to her, to tell her exactly, uh, what I meant. Because, I actually think that she's a very viable woman. As I've said, my comments were misconstrued. But, I would love to have had her on, And, if she wants to come on, I would, I would love to have her. I would welcome her.

The Don Lemon Show premieres Monday, March 18 on YouTube. His first guest is Elon Musk.

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Don Lemon Tells All: CNN, Nikki Haley, His Battle with Elon Musk and Who You Won't See on His New Show (Exclusive) - PEOPLE

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon landed a big interview for the first episode of his new digital show The Don Lemon Show, which was set to start streaming Monday on the social media platform X.

But his interview subject X owner Elon Musk apparently wasnt fond of it. Lemon announced Wednesday that Musk had canceled their deal to stream his show on the platform first.

We had a good conversation, Lemon wrote in a statement. Clearly he felt differently. His commitment to a global town square where all questions can be asked and all ideas can be shared seems not to include questions of him from people like me.

Lemon said that Musk informed him of the cancellation a few hours after he conducted the interview Friday a conversation that touched on the upcoming presidential election and Musks company SpaceX. Hardcore questions were asked, Lemon told one skeptical X user on Tuesday.

A corporate account for X confirmed that it decided to end the deal with Lemon. Like any enterprise, we reserve the right to make decisions about our business partnerships, and after careful consideration, X decided not to enter into a commercial partnership with the show, the company said. In his own post, Musk criticized Lemons show, which he said was basically just CNN, but on social media, which doesnt work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.

After a lengthy career at CNN, Lemon was fired in late April, a few months after he apologized for making a disparaging comment about Nikki Haleys age on CNNs ill-fated morning show, which has since been discontinued.

Soon after, Musk publicly asked Lemon via a posting on X, previously known as Twitter whether he had considered hosting a show on his platform, citing its large audience.

Their content partnership was announced in early January with some fanfare, though its precise terms including Lemons potential compensation were not disclosed. Lemon spoke of X as the biggest space for free speech in the world adding that, I know now more than ever that we need a place for honest debate and discussion without the hall monitors.

On Wednesday, Lemon said that X made significant commitments about the support it would offer his show, though he gave no specific details.

X also announced similar partnerships at the time with former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and sports commentator Jim Rome. The service also offers a show streamed by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

The episode featuring Musk will still air on Monday, on both X and YouTube, and Lemon said he will continue making the show.

This does not change anything about the show, except for my relationship with Elon and X, Lemon said in a video. Theres a whole lot that went down, and Im going to tell you about it in the coming days.

Lemon then added another tease for his debut episode.

Elahe Izadi contributed to this report

This article has been updated to include comment from X and from Musk.

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Don Lemon says Elon Musk canceled X deal after taping an interview together - The Washington Post

The Elon Musk-run artificial intelligence startup xAI Corp. today released the weights and architecture of its Grok-1 large language model as open source code, shortly after Apple Inc. published a paper describing its own work on multimode LLMs.

Musk first said that xAI would release Grok as open source on March 11, but the release today of the base model and weights, fundamental components of how the model works makes this the companys first open-source release.

What has been released is part of the network architecture of Groks structural design, including how layers and nodes are arranged and interconnected to process data. Base model weights are the parameters within a given models architecture that have been adjusted during training, encoding the learned information and determining how input data is transformed into output.

Grok-1 is a 314 billion parameter Mixture-of-Experts model trained from scratch by xAI. A Mixture-of-Experts model is a machine learning approach that combines the outputs of multiple specialized sub-models, also known as experts, to make a final prediction, optimizing for diverse tasks or data subsets by leveraging the expertise of each individual model.

The release is the raw base model checkpoint from the Grok-1 pre-training phase, which concluded in October 2023. According to the company, this means that the model is not fine-tuned for any specific application, such as dialogue. No further information was provided in what was only a brief blog post.

Musk revealedin Julythat he had founded xAI and that it will compete against AI services from companies such as Google LLC and OpenAI. The companys first model, Grok, was claimed byxAI to have been modeled after Douglas Adams classic book The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and is intended to answer almost anything and, far harder, even suggest what questions to ask!

Meanwhile, at Apple, the company Steve Jobs built quietlypublished a paperThursday describing its work on MM1, a set of multimodal LLMs for captioning images, answering visual questions,and natural language inference.

Thurott reportedtoday that the paper describes MM1 as a family of multimodal models that support up to 30 billion parameters and achieve competitive performance after supervised fine-tuning on a range of established multimodal benchmarks. The researchers also claim that multimodal large language models have emerged as the next frontier in foundation models after traditional LLMs and they achieve superior capabilities.

A multimodal LLM is an AI system capable of understanding and generating responses across multiple types of data, such as text, images and audio, integrating diverse forms of information to perform complex tasks. The Apple researchers believe that their model delivers a breakthrough that will help others scale these models into larger sets of data with better performance and reliability.

Apples previous work on multimodal LLMs includes Ferret, a model that was quietly open-sourced in October before being noticed in December.

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Elon Musk's xAI releases Grok-1 architecture, while Apple advances multimodal AI research - SiliconANGLE News

In the wake of a testy interview with Elon Musk, the former television anchor Don Lemons deal for a new talk show on X combusted just days before it was scheduled to air.

Mr. Musk called off Mr. Lemons partnership with X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, the day after filming an hour-and-a-half long interview with the former news anchor at SpaceXs office in Austin, Texas. The conversation was occasionally tense, Mr. Lemon said, as he asked probing questions about the upcoming U.S. presidential elections, Mr. Musks reported drug use and his various business ventures.

Mr. Lemon said he would release the interview on March 18 on YouTube and would continue to share his content on X. My questions were respectful and wide ranging, covering everything from SpaceX to the presidential election, Mr. Lemon said in a statement. We had a good conversation. Clearly he felt differently. His commitment to a global town square where all questions can be asked and all ideas can be shared seems not to include questions of him from people like me.

Salespeople at X were blindsided by the news of the abrupt cancellation, as they had been working as recently as Monday to track the sale of ads for the show, according to an internal document seen by The New York Times.

The cancellation of a show that Mr. Musk pledged would have his full support is the latest self-inflicted business disruption at X in recent months. In November, Mr. Musk told advertisers not to spend on his platform, using an expletive to dismiss them, and accused them of trying to blackmail him after he appeared to endorse an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory on X. His comments kicked off an expensive exodus.

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After Testy Interview With Elon Musk, Don Lemon Says His Deal With X Is Canceled - The New York Times

Don Lemon's partnership with Elon Musk's social media network is over before it began.

X (formerly known as Twitter) ended its commercial partnership with the former CNN anchor shortly after he interviewed the billionaire, the company said Wednesday in a post on the platform. The interview was scheduled to run on the maiden broadcast of "The Don Lemon show" on X on March 18.

X in January announced that Lemon would bring his "unique and honest voice" to the service in three 30-minute episodes per week. The company at the time alsounveiled two other news showsfeaturing former U.S. congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and sports radio host and former ESPN star Jim Rome.

But Musk on Wednesday derided Lemon's approach as "basically just 'CNN, but on social media.'"

X said Lemon is "welcome to publish its content on X, without censorship, as we believe in providing a platform for creators to scale their work and connect with new communities."

In a video posted on his own X account, Lemon said "Musk is mad at me."

"Throughout our conversation, I kept reiterating to him that although it was tense at times, I thought it was good for people to see and hear our exchange and that they would learn from our conversation," Lemon said.

"Apparently free speech absolutism doesn't apply when it comes to questions about him from people like me," Lemon added, noting that his March 8 interview with Musk would appear March 18 on YouTube and via podcast.

Musk has repeatedly professed his belief in uncensored expression on social media, calling himself a "free speech absolutist."

Lemon was fired by CNN in 2023 after a 17-year run with the network. His ouster came a little over two months after he apologized for on-air comments about then-Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley not being in "her prime" that he made during his short run as a morning show host on the network.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Kate Gibson is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch in New York.

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Elon Musk abruptly scraps X partnership with former CNN anchor Don Lemon - CBS News

THE WORLDs largest rocket has flown again, and the uncrewed test flight on March 14th, like the two previous ones, ended in rapid unscheduled disassembly (ie, catastrophic explosions). But the upper stage of Starship, built by SpaceX, Elon Musks rocket company, reached orbit for the first time and completed several test operations before being destroyed while re-entering Earths atmosphere. In a defiant post on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, Mr Musk insisted that Starship will make life multiplanetary. This latest flight was one small step in that direction.

Starship is in fact two vehicles: the Super Heavy booster stage, a behemoth 71 metres tall, and the 50-metre Starship upper stage, which separates from the booster at an altitude of around 70km (44 miles) to proceed to orbit. The combined vehicles first test flight, in April 2023, ended roughly four minutes after lift-off, with the self-destruction of the entire spacecraft, after stage-separation failed and the rocket began to corkscrew erratically. During the second test flight, in November, the Starship upper stage successfully separated from the booster around three minutes into the flight, and continued to fly for another eight minutes, reaching an altitude of 149km. But both vehicles then suffered failures that led to their rapid unscheduled disassembly.

The third flight, once again from SpaceXs Starbase facility near Boca Chica in Texas, also led to the loss of both vehicles. But this time the upper stage reached orbit, at an altitude of 230km. SpaceXs aim is that both vehicles should eventually be fully reusable, flying back to Earth to land, as its Falcon 9 boosters already do. For these initial test flights, however, its plan has been for the Super Heavy booster to practise a soft splashdown at sea, slowing its descent using rocket engines before slipping beneath the waves, while the Starship, journey completed, then makes a hard splashdown (ie, falls into the sea from a great height).

Even these more limited goals have proved over-ambitious. In Novembers test flight, the Super Heavy booster exploded when it attempted to reignite its engines in preparation for splashdown. This time around, the reignition of its engines seems to have failed once again, leading to a hard splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Starship, however, reached a low-Earth orbit that took it across southern Africa. While in this so-called coast phase, it carried out a series of test operations: opening and closing its payload door (Starship will ultimately be able to carry as much as 150 tonnes of payload into orbit); transfering propellant between two on-board tanks (a warm-up for future Starship-to-Starship refuelling in orbit, a requirement for missions to the Moon and Mars); and, finally, attempting a controlled re-entry. On-board cameras showed the glowing pink plasma expected of a spacecraft re-entering the atmosphere. But contact was lost soon afterwards, and SpaceX announced that the vehicle had been destroyed. (Whether this was because of a failure of its heat-shielding tiles, loss of control of the Starship or some other reason is unclear.)

SpaceX has been mocked for the tendency of its test flights to end in expensive firework shows, but such criticism misunderstands the companys approach to rocket development. It prefers to iterate quickly and learn from failure, rather than painstakingly plan for a perfect launchwhich, in the rocket industry, almost never happens (as the loss of the Kairos rocket launched by Space One, a Japanese company, on its inaugural flight on March 13th, demonstrated). And a successful maiden flight is particularly unlikely for a system as complex as Starship, the largest rocket ever built, which is intended to carry humans to other worlds. Each of these flight tests continue to be just that: a test, SpaceX explained in a statement before the launch. They arent occurring in a lab or on a test stand, but are putting flight hardware in a flight environment to maximise learning.

This less risk-averse approach has undoubtedly enabled SpaceX to outpace its rivals in the industry; last year its Falcon 9 rockets flew more missions and launched more mass into orbit than did those of any other company or space agency. A more valid criticism of SpaceX is that it has cut corners in areas such as environmental protection. The first Starship test flight, last April, caused extensive damage to its launchpad, scattering debris over a wide area, and prompting the Federal Aviation Authority, which regulates rocket launches, to conduct a safety review. SpaceX has since upgraded its launchpad with a flame deflector system that sprays water beneath the rocket as it takes off, to reduce noise, heat and damage.

And while SpaceX may be making rapid progress by spacefaring standards, Starship development is taking longer than expected. The work is partly funded by NASA, Americas space agency, and is critical to its plans to return humans to the Moon later this decade. A lunar landing by astronauts in a Starship vehicle, as part of the Artemis programme, once planned for 2025, has been delayed to 2026. And even that looks like a stretch given that Starship has yet to fly successfully, let alone with humans on board.

Mr Musk has said that he hopes Starship will make at least six more flights this year. That is just about plausible, even allowing for his infamous over-confidence. But Mr Musk also says that he wants Starship to have completed hundreds of uncrewed launches, carrying satellites into orbit, before it carries astronauts. The paradox of SpaceXs approach to rocket development is that it is both faster than any of its competitors, and also slower than NASA needs. But whatever its speed of travel, SpaceX has just taken its next step towards the stars.

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Elon Musk's Starship reaches orbit on its third attempt - The Economist

A Tesla car. Photo: Florence Lo (Reuters )

Elon Musks Tesla will increase the price of its Model Y in both the U.S. and Europe, a slight uptick that comes even as it wages a price war against its Chinese rival BYD and other EV competitors in that market.

What inspired Elon Musk's design for Tesla's Cybertruck?

Tesla said Friday on Musks social media site X that the price for all Model Y trims would increase by $1,000starting April 1. Reuters reports that Model Y prices in some European markets will also increase by about 2,000 on March 22, or about $2,200.

Musk has been trying to drive up sales in China, the worlds largest auto market, by cutting prices and offering new incentives in the price war against rivals like BYD, which is backed by Warren Buffett.

But the demand for electric vehicles has continued to decline in 2024, even as automakers aggressively slash prices and offer incentives to convince consumers. Tesla known for selling the most popular EV on the market, by some metrics is facing renewed skepticism from analysts and investors. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, for example, openly wondered in a note to clients earlier this month, Could Tesla lose money (sometime) this year? Jonah cut his price target for Tesla to $320 from $345, pointing out several concerns with the EV market.

And BYD announced its latest ultra-cheap car on Wednesday. The Shenzhen-based company said the updated version of its e2 EV hatchback will be priced at 89,800 yuan ($12,485), 12.6% less than the previous price of 102,800 yuan ($14,303). Its just the latest new model unveiled by BYD over the past month as the automaker looks to retain its dominance in Chinas EV market and maintain its aggressive stance against Tesla.

Tesla stock has had a brutal start to 2024, losing more than 34% of its value so far this year in a slump that has also threatened Musks status as the richest person in the world.

-William Gavin contributed to this article.

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Tesla is raising Model Y prices in the U.S. and Europe even as a China price war rages - Quartz

Since 2020, a foundation has honored prominent women with the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Leadership Award, named after the late Supreme Court justice who championed womens rights and liberal causes. But this years lineup stands out: Four of the recipients are men. Two of them have done prison time for financial crimes. One founded Fox News. Another is Elon Musk.

Musk, Martha Stewart, Michael Milken, Rupert Murdoch and Sylvester Stallone are the five iconic individuals who will receive the Ginsburg Leadership Award next month at the Library of Congress in an exclusive ceremony and gala, according to a news release from the awards organizer, the Dwight D. Opperman Foundation.

Musk will receive the award for entrepreneurship, Stallone for being a cultural icon, Stewart for industry leadership, Milken for philanthropy and Murdoch for being a media mogul, the news release said.

Stewart was on Ginsburgs original wish list of potential honorees, the news release said. But the foundation, which did not say how the honorees were picked, decided on a dramatic change this year.

Justice Ginsburg fought not only for women but for everyone, said Julie Opperman, chair of the Dwight D. Opperman Foundation and widow of the foundations namesake, in the news release. Going forward, to embrace the fullness of Justice Ginsburgs legacy, we honor both women and men who have changed the world by doing what they do best.

Irin Carmon, co-author of the book Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, said Ginsburg did champion gender equality but said Oppermans characterization is at odds with Ginsburgs views on the topic.

I think its worth clarifying that the cases [Ginsburg] brought on behalf of male plaintiffs in the 1970s with the ACLU Womens Rights Project were about challenging gender roles and stereotypes, Carmon said. They were men who were engaged in caregiving, or being supported by breadwinning spouses. They were not men who were fulminating about how birth control makes you fat, she said, referring to comments made recently by Musk.

When she said that she wanted men and women to be partners in gender equality, I do not think this is quite what she had in mind, Carmon said.

In announcing this years awards, the Opperman Foundation praised Musk for being a free-speech advocate. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who bought Twitter (now X) in 2022, certainly grapples with free-speech issues. But this week he was lambasted by Don Lemon for canceling a deal on X with the former CNN star a few hours after being interviewed by him.

His commitment to a global town square where all questions can be asked and all ideas can be shared seems not to include questions of him from people like me, Lemon wrote in a statement.

Ginsburg was the first Jewish woman to serve on the Supreme Court when she joined in 1993. The X owner has been accused of contributing to the rapid increase in antisemitism on his social media platform by amplifying anti-Jewish tropes. Some major brands have fled the platform after seeing their advertisements placed next to antisemitic content.

Murdoch, whom the Opperman Foundations statement called the most iconic living legend in media, was a trailblazer in conservative media.

Federal Election Commission records show that Julie Opperman has donated more than $200,000 to Republican politicians and organizations since 2014.

Milken has been a major philanthropist for cancer research and public health after he served prison time in the 1990s on six felony counts, including securities and mail fraud. He was pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2020. Stewart, the beloved lifestyle personality, served five months in federal prison after being convicted in 2004 of obstruction of justice, conspiracy and lying to federal investigators.

Stallone will appear in the upcoming action thriller Armored.

The honor was originally called the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award when it was first awarded in 2020. Its first recipient, philanthropist and arts patron Agnes Gund, was presented with the award by the justice herself, and subsequent awardees were Barbra Streisand, Queen Elizabeth II and Diane von Furstenberg.

Ginsburg was longtime friends with Dwight Opperman, who served as president of West Publishing Co., which created the online research service Westlaw. He died in 2013.

Matthew Umhofer, the Opperman Foundations president, told The Washington Post that the RBG Award celebrates the achievements of individuals in their chosen fields without regard to politics.

Laura Wagner contributed to this report.

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg Award to honor Musk, Murdoch, Milken, Stewart and Stallone - The Washington Post

Former president Donald Trump asked Elon Musk in the summer whether the billionaire entrepreneur would be interested in buying Trumps social network, Truth Social, according to two people with knowledge of the conversation.

The overture to Musk, whose business empire includes SpaceX, Tesla and the social networking site X, did not lead to a deal. But the conversation, which has not been previously reported, shows the two men have communicated more than was known. The two have had other conversations, too, Trump advisers say, about politics and business.

Among the conversations was a meeting this month in Palm Beach, Fla., that also included a few high-powered Republican donors, the people said. The subject of that discussion is not clear, but after it was first reported by the New York Times, which noted that the meeting happened while Trump was looking for campaign contributions, the billionaire wrote on X that he is not donating money to either candidate for US President.

Musk, the worlds second-richest man, has increasingly voiced support for conservative ideology on X, including echoing Trumps unverified claims that the Biden administration is, as Musk wrote last week, importing voters and creating a national security threat from unvetted illegal immigrants.

At the time of last summers discussion, Trumps media company, which owns Truth Social, was trapped in a long-delayed merger process. Musk bought X, then known as Twitter, for $44 billion in 2022.

When The Washington Post asked Musk about the Truth Social call and his other talks with Trump, Musk responded only that he had never been to Mar-a-Lago, Trumps estate in Palm Beach.

Trump Media & Technology Group did not address any of the facts reported in this story when invited to do so by The Post. In an emailed statement, Trump Media spokeswoman Shannon Devine said only, We heard Trump and Musk were actually discussing buying the Washington Post but they decided it had no value.

A spokesman for Trumps campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

One of the reasons Trump has not posted on X is that he wants to create and keep financial value for his Truth Social site, which he assiduously tracks, according to people close to him.

He has relentlessly tried to promote it, telling his advisers that he wants to break news on the platform partially to bring in more users. Its hot, Trump says, often polling visitors to Mar-a-Lago about whether they have an account.

He has tweeted once since leaving the Oval Office only his dour mug shot last year from an Atlanta jail, where he was booked on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.

At the time of the summer call, Trump Media faced a dim financial outlook. In April, Trump had said in a financial disclosure filing for his presidential candidacy that his 90 percent stake in the company was worth between $5 million and $25 million and that his income from it had been less than $200.

Three months later, the companys proposed merger partner, Digital World Acquisition Corp., announced that it had offered to pay an $18 million settlement if the merger were completed to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had misled investors, further casting doubt over the deal at the time.

But in the past month, the SEC greenlighted Digital Worlds merger registration, setting the stage for Trump Media to become a public company potentially worth billions of dollars. That change could offer Trump a financial lifeline as he faces hundreds of millions of dollars in legal penalties. Shareholders are expected to officially approve the merger during a vote later this month, but a lockup provision of the deal would require Trump to wait six months before selling any shares.

Musk once belittled Truth Social, posting in 2022 that Trumps site had a terrible name and that it was time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.

Trump responded on Truth Social by posting a photo of the two men in the Oval Office alongside a caption: When Musk visited the White House asking me for help on all of his many subsidized projects I could have said drop to your knees and beg, and he would have done it, he wrote.

Musk, he added, should focus on getting himself out of the Twitter mess, saying the site was perhaps worthless.

Musk, however, publicly condemned Twitters banning of Trumps account after the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. The site, under Musk, reactivated Trumps account in late 2022.

In the past year, as Musks promotion of conspiracy theories and criticism of liberal causes as a woke mind virus have driven away users and advertisers, Musk has voiced enthusiasm about Trumps ability to win attention on social media. In August, he said on X: People are clearly interested in hearing from Trump. One may not agree with the man, but he is never boring!

He posted last week that Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is a very real disease.

Trump has continued to insist to advisers and people close to him that Musk should buy Truth Social. If he chose to sell the platform, it could provide Trump a much-needed cash infusion, though the merger process and lockup period could complicate the deal.

Trump met with Musk after recent judgments against the former president in two civil cases that may cost him well over $500 million.

On Friday, Trump posted a $91 million bond to stay a judgment against him in a defamation suit brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll, which he is appealing. In a fraud case brought by the New York attorney general, Trump will need to pay penalties of more than $450 million or post a bond of the same amount later this month to stay the judgment in that case during appeal.

Trump has not said where he plans to get the money. Few Wall Street banks have lent him substantial sums since his Trump-branded Atlantic City casinos began failing in the 1990s, and borrowing against his properties may be difficult and expensive to do in short order, experts said. He lists 22 assets most of them real estate as valued at over $50 million each, according to a filing he made with the government in August, and dozens of other less valuable properties. But he has made no public moves to sell his best real estate.

Trumps attorneys have made a number of filings in recent days aimed at buying the former president more time to secure the needed funds or at least to reduce the amount he must provide.

They argued in court that even the worlds wealthiest people cannot come up with half a billion dollars so quickly.

No one, including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Donald Trump, has five hundred million laying around, Trump attorney Christopher Kise argued before an appeals court judge last month. (Bezos, the founder of Amazon, owns The Post.)

Faiz Siddiqui contributed to this report.

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Trump asked Musk to buy Truth Social last year in new revelation - The Washington Post

Elon Musks company called Neuralink, launched in 2016, aims to implant a piece of technology in peoples brains that would allow them to control a computer or phone by thought alone. This is otherwise known as a brain-computer interface.

After years of experimenting on animals, Neuralink recently announced the implantation of one of their devices in the brain of a person.

Yet neurotechnology, of which this is a form, holds the promise of alleviating human suffering and allowing people with disabilities to regain lost capacities.

And it raises further questions. Would people without disabilities also embrace technology that directly connects with their brains and nervous systems? What would happen in future if people were able to link themselves to devices, infrastructure and even other peoples brains in a kind of brain-computer internet?

Its now time to begin to think about those questions. Medical conditions such as locked-in syndrome prevent people from communicating or moving their limbs. Neuralinks device is initially aimed at restoring capacities to people with such conditions by controlling a computer cursor to communicate, or using a robotic arm to feed themselves.

However, the longer term aspirations of the company, as expressed by Musk, include the capacity to summon a self-driving vehicle by thought alone. These aspirations suggest that neurotechnology might connect people to a wide variety of technological systems currently in everyday use.

Read more: The brain is the most complicated object in the universe. This is the story of scientists' quest to decode it and read people's minds

Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) detect the electrical activity in the brain connected to a persons intentions. For example, if a person wants a cursor to move to the right, they might imagine waving their hand. This brain activity is decoded and converted into a command for a cursor.

This approach can work with a robotic arm, the lights in a smart home, a video game, or even a drone or robot. A BCI can be thought of as a universal controller, or as the eminent neuroscientist Professor Rafael Yuste has described it, an iPhone for the brain.

Neurotechnology can be invasively implanted in the brain or nervous system, or come in the form of wearable technology, such as a headset or earbuds. Air traffic controllers with external headsets can have their brains monitored to alert them when their attention levels are dropping.

Children in Chinese high schools have already had their brains monitored by teachers. The company Brainwave Science even offers a product to security services and police that can monitor suspects brains during interrogations.

However, things might go even further, as forms of direct brain to brain communication are being tested. Instead of calling your friend or texting them, you might one day communicate telepathically. Rudimentary forms of direct brain to brain communication between humans (and even between humans and various animals) have already been achieved.

Various militaries are also interested in the potential of super soldiers enhanced with neurotechnology, as they could operate more effectively in challenging environments, such as urban settings.

This would incorporate weapon systems, sensing and monitoring the human brains of military personnel in a distributed system of battlefield control. A particularly striking example of this approach comes in the form of the thought-controlled robotic dogs that have recently been demonstrated by the Australian Army.

This brings to mind the fictional Borg civilisation from Star Trek, who are a similar mix of biology and machine parts. The alien Borg are individuals connected by neurotechnology that operate together as an entity. The implications of an interconnected system of humans and machines enabled by neurotechnology is something we should start to think about, along with what values that society might have.

We can envisage all kinds of scenarios. In future, its possible that those who operate critical infrastructure in cities could have their brains monitored to prevent accidents. People with mobility issues might increasingly interact with devices in their home, turning lights on and off and controlling domestic robots via their brain-computer interfaces.

At some point, people without disabilities could also decide to dispense with handheld remote control appliances in favour of controlling devices with their brains. Prisoners and offenders in the community could be monitored in real-time to assess their mental states.

In time, these separate applications might start to make connections with each other in service of enhanced efficiency, commercial expediency, and social control. Neurotech could emerge as an essential infrastructure that becomes the key interface of human relationships with technological systems.

What emerges from all of this? There has some been some thinking and action in relation to the human rights and broader legal implications of neurotechnology. But much of the debate is rather individualistic in orientation and neglects the wider societal implications of changing human relationships with technological systems.

Consequently, we need a discussion about the larger purpose of neurotechnology, its use and implications. This needs input from a variety of groups, such as infrastructure specialists, designers, architects, human computer interaction specialists and community groups.

Neurotechnology is likely to have diverse impacts across society: in the home, the workplace, the criminal justice system and networks of infrastructure.

Teasing out the emerging issues across these different sectors should enable us to anticipate the harms and benefits of neurotechnology. This will allow us to shape its development to support humans and the environment.

To paraphrase the Borg: resistance may not be futile after all.

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Elon Musk's brain implant company offers an intriguing glimpse of an internet connecting human minds - The Conversation

Elon'sfather is an engineer and like Elon, was born in South Africa. In the 2015 biography Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, author Ashlee Vance wrotethat Elon and his dad had a difficult relationship.In an emotional 2017 Rolling Stone interview, Elon criticized his father and talked about his upbringing, saying that after his parents split, he moved in withhis dad, which, he said,"was not a good idea."

However, Errol toldRolling Stone,"I love my children and would readily do whatever for them."

In a 2015 Forbesinterview, Elon's dad said he used to take his kids on trips overseas. "Their mother and I split up when they were quite young and the kids stayed with me," he said. "I took them all over the world."

After divorcing Elon's mother Maye, Errol married Heide, whose daughterJana Bezuidenhoutwas 4 years old at the time. Errol and Heide went on to havetwo daughters together beforethey, too, broke up.

Years later, Jana reached out to Errol following a breakup. "We were lonely, lost people," Errol explainedin a 2018 interview with The Sunday Times. "One thing led to anotheryou can call it God's plan or nature's plan." Either way, the duo welcomed son Elliott in 2017 and then a baby girl in 2019. As Errol put it to The Sun, "The only thing we are on Earth for is to reproduce. If I could have another child I would. I can't see any reason not to."

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Elon Musk Spotted on Rare Father-Son Outing With His and Grimes' Son X A-XII - E! Online - E! NEWS

Mother Jones; John Minchillo/AP, Jessica Hill/AP

On Wednesday, the Dwight D. Opperman Foundation announced the 2024 recipients of the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Leadership Award. The winners: businessman Elon Musk, right-wing media kingpin Rupert Murdoch, lifestyle guru Martha Stewart, felonious Wall Streeter turned philanthropist Mike Milken, and actor Sylvester Stallone. The Foundation hailed these iconic individuals for their extraordinary achievements.

Veteran corporate lawyer Brendan Sullivan, who was Oliver Norths attorney during the Iran-contra scandal and who now chairs the RBG Award, noted, The honorees reflect the integrity and achievement that defined Justice Ginsburgs career and legend. And the chair of the foundation, Julie Opperman, a big Republican donor and the widow of publishing titan Dwight Opperman, who once was CEO of Thomson Reuters, remarked that the award embraces the fullness of Justice Ginsburgs legacy.

Attaching Ginsburgs name to Musk, who has amplified racist and antisemitic posts and ideas on X, and Murdoch, whose Fox News purposefully spread Trumps disinformation about the 2020 election and has repeatedly deployed falsehoods to challenge and undermine the values that Ginsburg fought for her entire life, seemed an odd and inappropriate choice. Thats what Ginsburgs family believes.

It has released a statement denouncing the awards:

The decision of the Opperman Foundation to bestow the RBG Womens Leadership Award on this years slate of awardees is an affront to the memory of our mother and grandmother, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her legacy is one of deep commitment to justice and to the proposition that all persons deserve what she called equal citizenship stature under the Constitution. She was a singularly powerful voice for the equality and empowerment of women, including their ability to control their own bodies. As it was originally conceived and named, the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award honored that legacy by recognizing an extraordinary woman who has exercised a positive and notable influence on society and served as an exemplary role model in both principles and practice. This year, the Opperman Foundation has strayed far from the original mission of the award and from what Justice Ginsburg stood for.

The Justices family wish to make clear that they do not support using their mothers name to celebrate this years slate of awardees, and that the Justices family has no affiliation with and does not endorse this award.

The statement noted that the Ginsburg familythe Supreme Court justice died in 2020fully supports the sentiments expressed in a letter Trevor Morrison, a professor of law at New York University and a former clerk for Ginsburg, sent to Julie Opperman on Friday. He wrote that he was appalled by the news of these awards. Morrison pointed out:

Justice Ginsburgs extraordinary legacy is one of a deep commitment to justice and to the proposition that all persons deserve what she called equal citizenship stature under the Constitution. She was a singularly powerful voice for the equality and empowerment of women, including their ability to control their own bodies. Beyond those substantive values, Justice Ginsburg had an abiding commitment to careful, rigorous analysis and to fair-minded engagement with people of opposing views.

It is difficult to see how the decision to bestow the RBG Award on this years slate reflects any appreciation foror even awareness ofthese dimensions of the Justices legacy. I will not single out any awardee individually, and I do not mean to raise the same objections about each of them. But I do mean to register in the strongest terms my concern that not everyone on this years slate reflects the values to which the Justice dedicated her career, and for which the Justice is rightly revered around the world.

According to Morrison, the foundation did not consult Ginsburgs family about the awardees. He informed Opperman that Ginsburgs two children, Jane and James Ginsburg, have indicated to me that, unless the original award criteria, as accepted by Justice Ginsburg, are restored, they very much want their mothers name to be removed from the award. He added, Each of this years awardees has achieved notable success in their careers, and each may well deserve accolades of one form or another. But the decision to bestow upon them the particular honor of the RBG Award is a striking betrayal of the Justices legacy.

Julie Opperman according to Federal Election Commission filings, is a major Republican donor. In 2016, she donated $50,000 to Rebuilding America Now, a super PAC founded by Paul Manafort and Tom Barracktwo top Trump advisersto support the Trump presidential campaign. That year, she also donated $2,700, the legal maximum, directly to the Trump campaign. In 2020 Opperman contributed $200,000 to Republican campaigns and PACs, including a $100,000 donation to the Take Back The House 2020 PAC and $92,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee.

The awards are to be handed out April 13 at a gala at the Library of Congress that will be part of an exclusive three-day event for 100 invited guests, which, according to the foundation, is the most anticipated in Washington, DC. With guests arriving from across the country and from around the world, gala chair Amy Baier said, we aim to make this as memorable an event for them as we are for these outstanding honorees. Yet with the Ginsburg family absent, it will be little more than a high-rent farce and an insult to her legacy.

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Justice Ginsburg's family decries bestowing RBG award on Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch - Mother Jones