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Tag: Elon Musk

  • Musk ‘frees’ hen, provides its keepers marching orders

    Categorical Information Carrier

    BENGALURU:  Hours after taking keep watch over of Twitter, its new proprietor Elon Musk on Friday fired 4 most sensible executives of the corporate CEO Parag Agrawal, felony head Vijaya Gadde, leader monetary officer Ned Segal and normal suggest Sean Edgett. The sacked executives have been reportedly “escorted out of Twitter’s administrative center”. They’re entitled to anything else between $100 million and $200 million in severance, in keeping with US media studies. 

    Musk, who calls himself a ‘unfastened speech absolutist’, was once extremely vital of Twitter’s control and its content material moderation insurance policies. He had known as out Gadde for her position in banning former US president Donald Trump’s account in January final 12 months. 

    Previous within the day, Musk tweeted: “The hen is freed… let the great occasions roll,” indicating the crowning glory of his takeover of Twitter. The dramatic tendencies are in step with Musk’s promise that he’ll exchange the way in which Twitter is administered. He’s anticipated to ease content material moderation, comb out dummy accounts, and raise the ban on Trump. “Twitter can be forming a content material moderation council with broadly numerous viewpoints. No main content material selections or account reinstatements will occur ahead of that council convenes,” Musk tweeted.

    The alacrity with which Musk fired the CEO displays his aggressiveness, says former Twitter India head Manish Maheshwari. “He has got Twitter at a prime worth. He would wish to turn out himself proper and can proceed to make daring strikes,” he added. 

    BENGALURU:  Hours after taking keep watch over of Twitter, its new proprietor Elon Musk on Friday fired 4 most sensible executives of the corporate CEO Parag Agrawal, felony head Vijaya Gadde, leader monetary officer Ned Segal and normal suggest Sean Edgett. The sacked executives have been reportedly “escorted out of Twitter’s administrative center”. They’re entitled to anything else between $100 million and $200 million in severance, in keeping with US media studies. 

    Musk, who calls himself a ‘unfastened speech absolutist’, was once extremely vital of Twitter’s control and its content material moderation insurance policies. He had known as out Gadde for her position in banning former US president Donald Trump’s account in January final 12 months. 

    Previous within the day, Musk tweeted: “The hen is freed… let the great occasions roll,” indicating the crowning glory of his takeover of Twitter. The dramatic tendencies are in step with Musk’s promise that he’ll exchange the way in which Twitter is administered. He’s anticipated to ease content material moderation, comb out dummy accounts, and raise the ban on Trump. “Twitter can be forming a content material moderation council with broadly numerous viewpoints. No main content material selections or account reinstatements will occur ahead of that council convenes,” Musk tweeted.

    The alacrity with which Musk fired the CEO displays his aggressiveness, says former Twitter India head Manish Maheshwari. “He has got Twitter at a prime worth. He would wish to turn out himself proper and can proceed to make daring strikes,” he added. 

  • GM briefly suspends promoting on Twitter following Elon Musk takeover

    DETROIT — Common Motors is postponing its promoting on Twitter following Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media platform, the corporate advised CNBC on Friday.

    The Detroit automaker, a rival to Musk-led electrical car maker Tesla, mentioned it’s “pausing” promoting because it evaluates Twitter’s new path. It is going to proceed to make use of the platform to engage with shoppers however now not pay for promoting, GM added.

    “We’re attractive with Twitter to grasp the path of the platform underneath their new possession. As is commonplace route of commercial with a vital exchange in a media platform, we’ve briefly paused our paid promoting. Our buyer care interactions on Twitter will proceed,” the corporate mentioned in an emailed observation.

    Below CEO Mary Barra, the Detroit corporate was once a number of the first automakers to announce billions of bucks in spending to raised compete towards Tesla within the battery electrical car section.

    A Common Motors signal is noticed throughout an match on January 25, 2022 in Lansing, Michigan. – Common Motors will create 4,000 new jobs and conserving 1,000, and considerably expanding battery cellular and electrical truck production capability.

    Jeff Kowalsky | AFP | Getty Photographs

    A spokesperson for Ford Motor, some other Tesla rival, advised CNBC that the automaker isn’t lately promoting on Twitter, and had now not been doing so previous to Elon Musk’s take-private deal. They added, “We will be able to proceed to judge the path of the platform underneath the brand new possession.”

    On the other hand, when offered with a screenshot of a promoted tweet from Ford CEO Jim Farley, the spokesperson may just now not ascertain when was once the ultimate time Ford or its collaborators could have paid for advertisements, together with promoted tweets, at the platform.

    Ford is continuous to have interaction with its shoppers on Twitter.

    Different auto corporations, together with Rivian, Stellantis and Alphabet-owned Waymo, didn’t straight away reply to requests for touch upon whether or not they plan to droop promoting or discontinue the use of the social media platform in wake of Musk’s $44 billion buyout of Twitter.

    Electrical truck maker Nikola mentioned it had no plans to switch the rest in regards to the platform.

    The longer term path of Twitter has been central to the takeover tale. Musk has mentioned he’s a “unfastened speech absolutist,” who would repair the account of former President Donald Trump, who was once banned over his tweets throughout the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol revolt.

    Musk mentioned on Friday that he plans a “content material moderation council” and won’t reinstate any accounts or make primary content material selections prior to it’s convened. Musk additionally mentioned in a observation to advertisers this week that he can not let Twitter turn out to be a “free-for-all hellscape.”

    Henrik Fisker, CEO of EV startup Fisker Inc., deleted his Twitter account previous this 12 months when Twitter’s board authorised Musk’s bid to shop for the corporate and take it inner most. Fisker Inc. continues to make use of Twitter, which each primary automobile logo makes use of for buyer engagement and advertising and marketing.

    Musk has lengthy boasted that Tesla does now not pay for standard promoting, a value that has added up for typical automakers’ manufacturers over the years.

    As an alternative, Tesla rewards individuals who run, or are contributors of, Tesla homeowners’ golf equipment in addition to different social media influencers who advertise the corporate’s merchandise, inventory and Musk on social networks, particularly Twitter and YouTube in addition to on fan blogs.

    They’re continuously granted early get admission to to Tesla merchandise, like the corporate’s Complete Self Riding Beta device, and given passes to corporate occasions the place attendance is restricted.

    In September 2020, Tesla weighed a stockholder proposal to start strategic, paid promoting to coach the general public about its automobiles and charging community. The Tesla board really useful towards it, and shareholders voted with the board towards beginning to pay for standard advert campaigns. 

    Within the corporate’s annual record for 2021, Tesla wrote: “Traditionally, we’ve been in a position to generate vital media protection of our corporate and our merchandise, and we imagine we can proceed to take action. Such media protection and phrase of mouth are the present number one drivers of our gross sales leads and feature helped us reach gross sales with out conventional promoting and at moderately low advertising and marketing prices.”

    It reported advertising and marketing, promotional and promoting prices have been “immaterial” for the years ended Dec. 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 in monetary filings with the Securities and Change Fee.

    — CNBC’s John Rosevear contributed to this record.

  • Elon Musk plans Twitter content material moderation council as questions on Trump go back loom

    On this picture representation, the picture of Elon Musk is displayed on a pc display and the emblem of twitter on a cell phone in Ankara, Turkiye on October 06, 2022.

    Muhammed Selim Korkutata | Anadolu Company | Getty Photographs

    After remaining a $44 billion transaction to take Twitter personal, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — now the de facto CEO of Twitter — introduced that he plans to shape a “content material moderation council” on the social networking corporate. He says he’ll no longer make any “primary content material choices” or reinstate any accounts that had been prior to now banned ahead of the council convenes.

    In Would possibly 2022, after Musk had agreed to shop for Twitter at $54.20 according to proportion, he mentioned he would opposite Twitter’s lifetime ban on former President Donald Trump if the purchase went thru.

    On the time, Musk mentioned, “I’d opposite the everlasting ban… I do not personal Twitter but. So this isn’t like a factor that may surely occur, as a result of what if I do not personal Twitter?”

    Musk has no longer but presented information about how his content material moderation council will paintings, who will likely be invited to it and whether or not Twitter’s will likely be roughly unbiased or robust than Fb’s oversight board.

    Twitter rival Fb has been roundly criticized for the usage of a council option to making content material moderation choices.

    One in every of Musk’s first large strikes after remaining the deal used to be to fireside Twitter’s CEO, Parag Agrawal, and different executives together with its prior head of protection, Vijaya Gadde, who used to be concerned within the resolution to droop Trump, and ban political promoting on Twitter.

    Twitter banned Trump from the platform in January 2021 following the assault through his supporters at the U.S. Capitol, which happened simply as a joint consultation of Congress met to certify the election of President Joe Biden. The revolt used to be supposed to disrupt the counting of the electoral votes.

    As CNBC prior to now reported, Trump used to be issued a subpoena previous this month through the Area make a selection committee investigating the Jan. 6 revolt.

    The committee, which voted unanimously in this transfer, is requiring Trump’s testimony below oath subsequent month and information related to their probe into the assault, which the panel famous got here after weeks of his denying dropping the 2020 election to President Joe Biden.

    Committee Chair Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Omit., and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., in a letter to Trump cited what they referred to as his central position in a planned effort to opposite his loss within the 2020 presidential election and to stay in energy.

    As NBC Information prior to now reported, a Twitter worker named Anika Navaroli equipped testimony to the Jan. 6 committee suggesting that the social community didn’t do the entirety in its energy in time to stop violence on that day.

    It used to be transparent that people the usage of Twitter had been plotting violence, consistent with her testimony, and Twitter detected a surge in violent tags like “Execute Mike Pence” round Jan. 6, as an example. Trump had “fanned the flames” of violent customers’ continual calls to hold Mike Pence, she testified.

    CNBC may just no longer in an instant verify whether or not Navaroli continues to be hired at Twitter.

    Early within the Trump presidency, Musk served on a White Area financial advisory board and a producing jobs initiative council. However he stepped down from each in 2017, after Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris local weather accords.

    Regardless of this, Trump praised Musk effusively in 2020, calling him “one in all our nice geniuses” all the way through an interview with “Squawk Field” co-host Joe Kernen on the International Financial Discussion board in Davos, Switzerland.

    Trump praised Musk once more on Friday for taking Twitter personal. The previous president prior to now mentioned he would no longer go back to the platform, however that would exchange now that the corporate is administered through Musk.

    In Would possibly, Musk tweeted, “Previously I voted Democrat, as a result of they had been (most commonly) the kindness celebration. However they have got grow to be the celebration of department & hate, so I will now not strengthen them and can vote Republican.”

  • Reality Social merger spouse’s stocks slip after Trump weighs in on Elon Musk Twitter deal

    The TRUTH Social website online is observed on a cellular tool with a picture of former US president Donald Trump within the background on this photograph representation in Warsaw, Poland on 23 February, 2022.

    Nurphoto | Getty Pictures

    Stocks of Virtual Global Acquisition Corp., the clean take a look at corporate set to take Trump Media and Era Workforce and its Reality Social platform public, slipped Friday as Elon Musk took the reins at Twitter.

    Musk has up to now mentioned that he would reinstate Trump’s account on Twitter, which was once banned after the Jan.6, 2021, Capitol rebellion. The previous president had round 88 million fans on Twitter, however he is accumulated most effective 4.37 million on Reality Social.

    DWAC stocks are down about 68% to this point this yr, buying and selling round $16. Its 52-week prime was once $101.87.

    Barring criminal intervention, Trump Media these days has till December to finish the merger with DWAC and move public. A shareholder vote is about for Thursday to increase that cut-off date to September 2023, however the previous 4 such votes have didn’t garner the vital 65% shareholder approval.

    Trump posted on Reality Social Friday praising Musk’s acquisition, but in addition touting his personal platform.

    “TRUTH SOCIAL has transform reasonably a phenomena. Remaining week it had larger numbers than all different platforms together with TikTok, Twitter, Fb, and the remaining,” Trump wrote. “I’m more than happy that Twitter is now in sane arms, and can not be run through Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs.”

    DWAC did not instantly reply to a request for remark.

    The ex-president’s platform nonetheless has to transparent some criminal and fiscal hurdles.

    A Securities and Change Fee whistleblower criticism from a former Reality Social government, William Wilkerson, alleged that Trump Media and DWAC mentioned a merger previous to DWAC’s announcement, which might violate securities regulations. The merger is these days the topic of a federal felony probe.

    DWAC has up to now warned {that a} failure to increase the deal would possibly consequence within the SPAC liquidating, and Trump has warned that he would possibly not want the masses of hundreds of thousands from the deal.

    “If they do not include the financing I’m going to have it personal,” Trump mentioned to supporters in an early-October rally in Michigan. “Simple to have it personal.”

    The ex-president has amassed a justifiable share of personal financing for Trump Media and Era Workforce.

    Top-profile investments, first reported through Reuters on Friday, come with $9.8 million from Karl Pfluger, an oil government and brother of Trump-endorsed U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas.

    A spokesperson for August Pfluger advised Reuters that he does not have a non-public funding in Trump Media & Era Workforce, announcing: “He earned the endorsement of President Trump lengthy prior to the introduction of Reality Social.”

    Different buyers come with Patrick Walsh, a former affiliate of Trump Media Leader Monetary Officer Philip Juhan, who has a $6.2 million stake. Roy Bailey, who was once the co-finance chair of Trump’s 2020 re-election marketing campaign, gave $200,000 to Trump Media. George Glass, Trump’s ambassador to Portugal, gave $500,000. Texas fruitcake magnate Bob McNutt invested $100,000.

    About $1 billion extra in personal making an investment was once set to return via DWAC upon the of completion of the merger, however a key cut-off date handed in September, permitting buyers to tug their stake. Since then, a minimum of $138 million in financing has been pulled.

  • Trump applauds Musk’s Twitter takeover, says the platform that banned him ‘is now in sane palms’

    Elon Musk, left, and Wendell P. Weeks, heart, pay attention to President Donald Trump as he meets with trade leaders on the White Area on Monday January 23, 2017 in Washington, DC.

    Matt McClain | The Washington Publish | Getty Pictures

    Twitter’s most renowned banned person, former President Donald Trump, applauded the platform’s new possession beneath billionaire Elon Musk, who up to now mentioned he does not imagine in everlasting suspensions.

    “I’m more than happy that Twitter is now in sane palms, and can not be run via Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs that in reality hate our nation,” Trump wrote on his Fact Social account, a Twitter-like platform run via the Trump Media & Generation Workforce.

    The previous president didn’t cope with the potential of a go back to the platform. Musk has mentioned he would raise Trump’s everlasting suspension, which Twitter put in within the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, rise up on the U.S. Capitol after its management feared additional violence may stem from his tweets. Musk mentioned he favors extra transient measures.

    Trump, for his phase, mentioned months in the past that he would no longer go back to the platform although Musk reversed the ban. He started his message Friday via touting Fact Social and claiming with out proof or specifics that the platform “had larger numbers” closing week “than all different platforms, together with TikTok, Twitter, Fb, and the remainder.”

    “Twitter should now paintings arduous to rid itself of all the bots and pretend accounts that experience harm it so badly,” Trump wrote on Friday. “It’ll be a lot smaller, however higher.”

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    WATCH: Jan. 6 committee votes to subpoena former President Donald Trump

  • Kanye West’s Twitter Account Reactivated After Elon Musk Takes Keep watch over

    Ye, the rapper previously referred to as Kanye West, regained regulate of his Twitter account Friday after it used to be suspended following antisemitic remarks he made on a number of social media accounts.

    Previous this month, Ye threatened on Twitter to “pass loss of life con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”

    It is a growing tale. Please take a look at again for updates.

  • Rahul hopes Twitter will now act towards hate speech, now not stifle voice of opposition in India

    Via PTI

    NEW DELHI: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was hoping on Friday that Twitter would now act towards hate speech, take a look at info extra robustly and now not stifle the voice of the opposition in India, quickly after billionaire Elon Musk took over the social media large and fired 4 of its most sensible executives.

    Gandhi’s Twitter deal with used to be briefly locked after he shared an image of a rape sufferer and gained a understand from the Nationwide Fee for Coverage of Kid Rights (NCPCR).

    He had now not used his account at the microblogging web site for a while after that. The Congress chief has been the usage of his Twitter deal with to assault the Narendra Modi executive frequently.

    “Congrats @elonmusk. I am hoping @Twitter will now act towards hate speech, reality take a look at extra robustly, and can not stifle the opposition’s voice in India because of executive force,” Gandhi tweeted.

    Congrats @elonmusk.

    I am hoping @Twitter will now act towards hate speech, reality take a look at extra robustly, and can not stifle the opposition’s voice in India because of executive force. %.twitter.com/j2unZeYYj6

    — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 28, 2022

    Musk closed the deal to shop for Twitter and tweeted: “The hen is freed”, quickly after finishing the whopping USD 44 billion takeovers of the web site and firing 4 of its most sensible executives, together with CEO Parag Agrawal and prison govt Vijaya Gadde.

    Bringing up other folks with wisdom of the placement, a information document stated Musk “has began cleansing the home at Twitter with the firings of no less than 4 most sensible executives”.

    But even so Agrawal and Gadde, Twitter’s leader monetary officer Ned Segal and normal suggest Sean Edgett have been additionally fired.

    “No less than one of the crucial executives who used to be fired used to be escorted out of Twitter’s workplace,” the document stated. Gandhi additionally shared a graph of “manipulation” of his Twitter deal with.

    It highlighted how, between August 2021 and February 2022, the brand new fans of the Congress chief have been suppressed.

    ALSO READ | Parag Agrawal’s 11-month tenure as Twitter CEO ends as Elon Musk takes regulate

    Gandhi claimed that he had made 20 appeals to Twitter, even because the social media large denied any wrongdoing.

    The graph additionally presentations from January 2021, Gandhi’s Twitter account noticed the choice of new fans rising and after February 2022, it began rising once more.

    NEW DELHI: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was hoping on Friday that Twitter would now act towards hate speech, take a look at info extra robustly and now not stifle the voice of the opposition in India, quickly after billionaire Elon Musk took over the social media large and fired 4 of its most sensible executives.

    Gandhi’s Twitter deal with used to be briefly locked after he shared an image of a rape sufferer and gained a understand from the Nationwide Fee for Coverage of Kid Rights (NCPCR).

    He had now not used his account at the microblogging web site for a while after that. The Congress chief has been the usage of his Twitter deal with to assault the Narendra Modi executive frequently.

    “Congrats @elonmusk. I am hoping @Twitter will now act towards hate speech, reality take a look at extra robustly, and can not stifle the opposition’s voice in India because of executive force,” Gandhi tweeted.

    Congrats @elonmusk.
    I am hoping @Twitter will now act towards hate speech, reality take a look at extra robustly, and can not stifle the opposition’s voice in India because of executive force. %.twitter.com/j2unZeYYj6
    — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 28, 2022
    Musk closed the deal to shop for Twitter and tweeted: “The hen is freed”, quickly after finishing the whopping USD 44 billion takeovers of the web site and firing 4 of its most sensible executives, together with CEO Parag Agrawal and prison govt Vijaya Gadde.

    Bringing up other folks with wisdom of the placement, a information document stated Musk “has began cleansing the home at Twitter with the firings of no less than 4 most sensible executives”.

    But even so Agrawal and Gadde, Twitter’s leader monetary officer Ned Segal and normal suggest Sean Edgett have been additionally fired.

    “No less than one of the crucial executives who used to be fired used to be escorted out of Twitter’s workplace,” the document stated. Gandhi additionally shared a graph of “manipulation” of his Twitter deal with.

    It highlighted how, between August 2021 and February 2022, the brand new fans of the Congress chief have been suppressed.

    ALSO READ | Parag Agrawal’s 11-month tenure as Twitter CEO ends as Elon Musk takes regulate

    Gandhi claimed that he had made 20 appeals to Twitter, even because the social media large denied any wrongdoing.

    The graph additionally presentations from January 2021, Gandhi’s Twitter account noticed the choice of new fans rising and after February 2022, it began rising once more.

  • ‘I do not lose sleep’: Financial institution of The us CEO is not frightened about financing the Twitter deal

    The CEO of Financial institution of The us, probably the most financiers of Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, does not seem frightened concerning the deal.

    CNBC reported on Thursday that Musk is now in command of Twitter. Binance, probably the most traders within the deal, instructed CNBC the purchase has closed.

    After Musk first introduced plans to shop for Twitter in April, he secured fairness financing from an array of traders, together with era companies, in addition to debt financing from plenty of funding banks. A kind of was once Financial institution of The us.

    However with the rout in era shares this yr and traders wary on dangerous belongings, that debt might be arduous to promote directly to traders, that means the banks can have to carry onto the debt.

    The Wall Boulevard Magazine reported Wednesday that the funding banks would possibly grasp onto the debt till subsequent yr prior to promoting it. Credit score analytics company 9fin estimates the banks may face losses of $500 million in the event that they bought the debt within the present atmosphere.

    In an interview with CNBC on Friday, Financial institution of The us CEO Brian Moynihan, gave the impression unfazed then again.

    When requested if he would lose sleep over the deal, he mentioned: “I have were given professionals that maintain the shoppers and I do not lose sleep on them. I lose sleep for numerous different issues, however no longer for that.”

    The banks that pledged to finance the deal have began freeing the finances into an escrow account, in keeping with the Wall Boulevard Magazine. When the purchase closes, the finances can be passed to Musk to finance the deal.

    There was no reliable affirmation that the deal has been finished but, however Musk alluded to it being closed in tweet which mentioned: “the hen is freed,” relating to Twitter blue hen brand.

  • Stephen Colbert Makes use of ‘Unhinged’ Elon Musk’s Personal Dumb Comic story Towards Him

    Musk entered Twitter headquarters on Wednesday wearing a sink as he ready to take keep watch over of the corporate, then tweeted a video of the instant together with the remark: “Let that sink in!”

    So, the “Past due Display” host answered in sort with various props starting from a hinge to a photograph of a goose.

    Musk finished the $44 billion deal on Thursday and promptly fired CEO Parag Agrawal and several other different best executives.

    “The rationale I received Twitter is as a result of you will need to the way forward for civilization to have a not unusual virtual the town sq., the place a variety of ideals can also be debated in a wholesome method, with out resorting to violence,” he stated in a commentary.