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Elon Musk

Elon Musk409 posts

Elon Musk is a South-African born Canadian-American engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur, born in 1971. He was a co-founder of PayPal, which was sold to Ebay for $1.5 billion. He then founded Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Tesla Motors. He is chief executive and chief designer at SpaceX and CEO and head of product design at Tesla and chairman of Solar City. Musk purchased Twitter in September 2022.

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2 Dec, 2022

Musk, Macron meet

Meeting0 Comments

Macron and Musk meet in New Orleans, where they discuss environmental issues and freedom of speech. Macron:

I’ll say it here, on Twitter, because it’s all about the blue bird. This afternoon I met with @elonmusk and we had a clear and honest discussion: Transparent user policies, significant reinforcement of content moderation and protection of freedom of speech: efforts have to be made by Twitter to comply with European regulations. Elon Musk confirmed the Twitter’s participation to the Christchurch Call. There is no place for terrorist and violent extremist content anywhere. We will work with Twitter to improve online child protection. Elon Musk confirmed it to me today. Let’s better protect our children online !

Musk bans West from Twitter: ‘I tried my best’

Social media ban0 Comments

After West posts an image of a swastika inside a Star of David…

…and an image of Musk half- naked, Musk says that the latter is fine, but the swastika/star ‘is not’ and that West will be suspended for ‘incitement to violence’

I tried my best. Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended.

West then posted a screenshot of his Twitter ban message on TruthSocial. Musk appeared to comment on the ban by later posting:

FAFO [F*ck around, find out]

Musk delivers first Tesla Semi truck to Pepsi

Product Release0 Comments

At an event at Tesla’s Nevada plant, Musk delivers the first Tesla Semi to Pepsi. Musk says the battery-powered, long-haul truck will reduce highway emissions, outperform existing diesel models on power and safety and spin-off a fast-charging technology Tesla will use in its upcoming Cybertruck pickup. Musk did not announce pricing for the Semi, provide details on variants of the truck it had initially projected or supply a forecast for deliveries to PepsiCo or other customers.

Musk said the Semi has been doing test runs between Tesla’s Sparks, Nevada factory and its plant in Fremont, California. Tesla said it had completed a 500-mile drive on a single charge, with the Semi and cargo weighing in at 81,000 pounds in total.

Tesla said it would use the Semi to ship parts to its plant in Fremont, California. Musk has said Tesla would aim to produce 50,000 of the trucks in 2024. PepsiCo ordered 100 trucks in 2017.

If you’re a trucker and you want the most badass rig on the road, this is it…This thing has crazy power relative to a diesel truck. Basically it’s like an elephant moving like a cheetah.

Tesla Semi Delivery Event

1 Dec, 2022

Musk: Neuralink human trials to begin in six months

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At an event at Neuralink HQ, Musk says he expects the wireless brain chip developed by Neuralink to begin human clinical trials in six months, after the company missed earlier timelines he had set. Musk says the first two human applications of the dvice will be in restoring vision and enabling movement of muscles in people who cannot do so

Even if someone has never had vision, ever, like they were born blind, we believe we can still restore vision

Musk says human trials will progress slowly, and that he plans to get one of the chips himself.

We want to be extremely careful and certain that it will work well before putting a device into a human. The progress at first, particularly as it applies to humans, will seem perhaps agonizingly slow, but we are doing all of the things to bring it to scale in parallel. So, in theory, progress should be exponential.

Neuralink Show and Tell, Fall 2022

30 Nov, 2022

Musk: Twitter feud with Apple ‘resolved’

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Musk says that, after a walk around Apple’s HQ with Cook, that the ‘misunderstanding’ that Twitter would be removed form the App Store has been ‘resolved’

Good conversation. Among other things, we resolved the misunderstanding about Twitter potentially being removed from the App Store. Tim was clear that Apple never considered doing so.

Musk did not say if Apple’s advertising was discussed at the meeting.

Roth: Musk running Twitter ‘like a dictator’

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Speaking at an event hosted by the Knight Foundation, Roth, the former head of Trust and Saftey at Twitter, says the social networking site had started to stray from adhering to publicly available policies towards decisions made by Musk alone.

28 Nov, 2022

Musk’s bedside table: guns and Diet Coke cans

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Musk posts a picture of the items on his bedside table, including a replica of the Diamondback 357 pistol from the Deus Ex videogame, without a trigger; a replica of George Washington’s vintage flintlock pistol; a Tibetan Buddhist amulet used for meditation; four cans of caffeine-free Diet Coke; and a set of books in a box set which includes the US Constitution.

My bedside table. There is no excuse for my lack of coasters. Greetings, I’m Musket, Elon Musket

Musk to release Twitter free speech files

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Musk says he will release internal Twitter documents that he claims will show suppression of free speech:

The Twitter Files on free speech suppression soon to be published on Twitter itself. The public deserves to know what really happened…

Musk: Apple is threatening Twitter’s presence on the App Store

Accusation0 Comments

After Musk publishes a poll, asking if Apple should publish all censorship actions it has taken that affect its customers…

…a Twitter user asks if Apple is threatening Twitter’s presence in the App Store or otherwise making moderation demands? Musk:

Yes

Musk then directly tweets that Apple has threatened to withhold Twitter from its App store:

Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why

When a Twitter user points out that 97.5% of Apple’s political donations were to the Democratic Party, Musk replies:

Wow, they don’t sound biased at all!

Musk asks Cook: Why has Apple stopped advertising on Twitter?

Makes Statement0 Comments

Musk asks Cook to tell him why Apple has stopped advertising on Twitter.

What’s going on here @tim_cook?

26 Nov, 2022

King: Musk has been ‘a terrible fit’ for Twitter

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King says:

I think Elon Musk is a visionary. Almost singlehandedly, he’s changed the way Americans think about automobiles. I have a Tesla and love it. That said, he’s been a terrible fit for Twitter. He appears to be making it up as he goes along.

Musk replies:

Suggestions are welcome Mr. (crown emoji)….The goal is a trusted digital town square, where a wide range of views are tolerated, provided people don’t break the law or spam. For example, any incitement to violence will result in account suspension.

King also noted that “Twitter ain’t cars. And Twitter ain’t rockets.

Musk later praises King:

Stephen King is one of most creative people on Earth. While I may not agree with everything he says, I do actually want to hear it.

25 Nov, 2022

Musk will make phone if Apple, Google block Twitter

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In response to a Twitter user who says Musk should make his own phone if Apple and Google remove Twitter from their app stores, Musk replies:

I certainly hope it does not come to that, but, yes, if there is no other choice, I will make an alternative phone

Twitter to launch blue, gold and grey verification ticks

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Musk says Twitter verification will return on Friday next week with colour-coded categories for individuals, government accounts and companies.

Sorry for the delay, we’re tentatively launching Verified on Friday next week. Gold check for companies, grey check for government, blue for individuals (celebrity or not) and all verified accounts will be manually authenticated before check activates. Painful, but necessary.

All verified individual humans will have same blue check, as boundary of what constitutes “notable” is otherwise too subjective. Individuals can have secondary tiny logo showing they belong to an org if verified as such by that org. Longer explanation next week.

24 Nov, 2022

Musk offers ‘amnesty’ to suspended accounts

Announcement0 Comments

After a poll that Musk ran, asking users if Twitter should offer a ‘general amnesty’ to suspended accounts, provided they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam, ends in yes, Musk says Twitter will restore accounts from the end of November.  Musk does not give details on how the amnesty process would be carried out.

The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week. Vox Populi, Vox Dei.

More than 3.1m Twitter users responded to the poll, with 72.4% of them voting “Yes”. Mask has already reactivated some accounts, inculding Kanye West, Donald Trump and influencer Andrew Tate.

21 Nov, 2022

Musk invokes first child’s death for not restoring Jones’ Twitter account

Social media ban0 Comments

Musk refuses to restore Jones’ Twitter account saying:

He later elaborates:

My firstborn child died in my arms. I felt his last heartbeat. I have no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame.

20 Nov, 2022

Musk says Trump will be reinstated after 52% poll win

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Musk’s poll, asking if former President Trump’s account should be reinstated, ends at 51.8% Yes to 48.2% No. Musk claims 134 million people saw the poll, with over 15 million votes were cast. When the poll first started, Musk claimed it was receiving one million votes per hour.

Musk comments:

The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei.

19 Nov, 2022

Roth: Twitter ‘safer’ under Musk than before

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In an op-ed in the New York Times, Roth says Twitter is safer under Musk’s ownership:

Almost immediately upon the acquisition’s close, a wave of racist and antisemitic trolling emerged on Twitter. Wary marketers, including those at General Mills, Audi and Pfizer, slowed down or paused ad spending on the platform, kicking off a crisis within the company to protect precious ad revenue. In response, Mr. Musk empowered my team to move more aggressively to remove hate speech across the platform — censoring more content, not less. Our actions worked: Before my departure, I shared data about Twitter’s enforcement of hateful conduct, showing that by some measures, Twitter was actually safer under Mr. Musk than it was before.”

His ability to make decisions unilaterally about the site’s future is constrained by a marketing industry he neither controls, nor has managed to win over.

However:

[Even as Musk] criticizes the capriciousness of platform policies, he perpetuates the same lack of legitimacy through his impulsive changes and tweet-length pronouncements about Twitter’s rules. In appointing himself ‘chief twit,’ Mr. Musk has made clear that at the end of the day, he’ll be the one calling the shots. It was for this reason that I chose to leave the company: A Twitter whose policies are defined by edict has little need for a trust and safety function dedicated to its principled development.

18 Nov, 2022

Over 1000 staff leave Twitter after Musk’s ultimatum

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Fortune magazine estimates that Twitter loses 1000-1200 staff, out of 2700 remaining, including multiple ‘critical’ engineering teams after Musk send a mail asking staff to commit to hardcore work or leave the company. A former emplyee said the resignations will affect the company’s perfomance.

I know of six critical systems (like ‘serving tweets’ levels of critical) which no longer have any engineers. There is no longer even a skeleton crew manning the system. It will continue to coast until it runs into something, and then it will stop.

The estimated 2,500 who are said to remain, have been locked out of their offices until Monday at least over fears they could sabotage the site. Many staff shared their departures on social media, including Twitter staff in Boston, who counted down their final seconds in the company.

Following the mass resignations, Musk sends an email asking ‘anyone who actually writes software’ to meet him at the Silicon Valley office on Friday at 2pm:

Anyone who actually writes software, please report to the 10th floor at 2 pm today. Before doing so, please email a bullet point summary of what your code commands have achieved in the past ~6 months, along with up to 10 screenshots of the most salient lines of code,” Musk wrote in the first of three emails reportedly sent around midnight PT Friday.

Musk reinstates Peterson, Griffin & The Babylon Bee

Social media ban1 Comments

As part of of a thread talking about free speech at Twitter, Musk says:

Kathie Griffin (sic), Jorden Peterson & Babylon Bee have been reinstated. Trump decision has not yet been made.

Griffin responds on Instagram, by misspelling Musk’s name:

Dear Eilon, You f**ked up, fool. I’m going downstairs to my basement of heads. You’re up. Xxoo, The Beheader

Peterson says:

Twitter HQ projection trolls Musk

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A projection displayed on Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters trolls Musk with taunts and insults, including calling him a “bankruptcy baby”,”supreme parasite”,”petulant pimple”,”apartheid profiteer”,”space Karen” and “mediocre manchild”. It is not clear who ran the projection.