Ramaswamy wants Musk as presidential advisor
At a Newton, Iowa, town hall, Ramaswamy says he wants Musk as an adviser if he becomes president. The candidate says he wants advisors who do not come from within government.
I’ve enjoyed getting to know better, Elon Musk recently, I expect him to be an interesting adviser of mine because he laid off 75% of the employees at Twitter. And then the effectiveness actually went up.
DOJ sues SpaceX for hiring discrimination
The U.S. Department of Justice sues SpaceX for discriminatory hiring practices, accusing the company of discouraging asylum seekers from applying to open positions and refusing to hire those who did. The complaint says SpaceX’s “routine, widespread, and longstanding” hiring practices “harmed asylees and refugees,” alleging that its job postings wrongly stated that only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents could apply. (Exactly which positions those were is unclear, but U.S. law protects asylees and refugees from hiring discrimination in general, regardless of their citizenship status.) After the investigation began, Musk tweeted:
US law requires at least a green card to be hired at SpaceX, as rockets are considered advanced weapons technology.
The DOJ says Musk was incorrect, however, and the tweet is being used as evidence in the suit.
Musk: X to file action against anti-hate legislation
Responding to a post blaming “hate misinformation” for a potential “draconian crackdown on free speech” in Ireland and elsewhere, Musk says X Corp. will “be filing legal action to stop this.” This comes after controversial anti-hate legislation passed the Dáil in Ireland, waiting to be approved by the Seanad.
X will be filing legal action to stop this. Can’t wait for discovery to start!
Exactly.
X will be filing legal action to stop this. Can’t wait for discovery to start! https://t.co/ROxXEuO8it
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 23, 2023
Musk: Cybertruck parts must have ‘sub 10-micron’ Lego-like accuracy
In a leaked email to Tesla employees, Musk says that the Cybertruck needs to be manufactured to single-digit micron tolerance due to its straight edges.
Due to the nature of Cybertruck, which is made of bright metal with mostly straight edges, any dimensional variation shows up like a sore thumb. All parts for this vehicle, whether internal or from suppliers, need to be designed and built to sub 10 micron accuracy. That means all part dimensions need to be to the third decimal place in millimeters and tolerances need be specified in single digit microns. If LEGO and soda cans, which are very low cost, can do this, so can we. Precision predicates perfectionism.
Elon
Musk to remove headlines from news articles shared on X
Musk will remove headlines that are automatically generated as part of the preview image and text that appeasr when news organisations share articles to X. Anyone sharing a link on X—from individual users to publishers—would need to manually add their own text alongside the links they share on the service; otherwise the post will display only an image with no context other than an overlay of the URL. According to a source, the change is being pushed directly by Musk, to reduce the height of tweets and allow more posts to fit on screen. Musk also believes the change will help curb clickbait. Musk:
This is coming from me directly. Will greatly improve the esthetics.
This is coming from me directly. Will greatly improve the esthetics.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 22, 2023
Musk: ‘How does the medicine taste?’
Musk mocks users on X for complaining about plans to remove the platform’s “block” feature (which he announced in response to an account questioning its utility), asking how “the medicine” tastes and saying that he is using the feature while it still exists to ignore users who want it to stay.
Pretty fun blocking people who complain that blocking is going away. How does the medicine taste?
Pretty fun blocking people who complain that blocking is going away.
How does the medicine taste? 😂😂
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 20, 2023
Musk blocks Woods after actor complains about block feature removal
Musk blocks Woods following his comments on the X CEO’s plans to remove the block feature from Twitter.
If @elonmusk removes the ability to block concerted harassment by trolls or organized political entities, how will “X” be any different from Jack Dorsey’s horrid Twitter? Musk, whom I once championed, is only doing this to protect his advertisers anyway. Users of X are mere pawns to turn the site into an electronic shopping mall. The man I thought was a defender of free speech is just another greedy capitalist. Disappointing, but not surprising.
To which Musk responds:
Then delete your account
Then delete your account
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 20, 2023
Woods then posts a screenshot showing that Musk has blocked him:
Your prerogative, sir, which is exactly my point. Have a nice day.
You prerogative, sir, which is exactly my point. Have a nice day. pic.twitter.com/qt8ZD3wbM9
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) August 20, 2023
Musk: X may fail
Musk says that X may fail:
The sad truth is that there are no great ‘social networks’ right now. We may fail, as so many have predicted, but we will try our best to make there be at least one.
The sad truth is that there are no great “social networks” right now.
We may fail, as so many have predicted, but we will try our best to make there be at least one.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 19, 2023
Musk says he will ‘delete’ X’s block feature
In response to a post asking if ‘there is ever a reason to block vs. mute someone,’ Musk says that he will delete the block feature from the app, except for DMs.
Block is going to be deleted as a “feature”, except for DMs. It makes no sense.
Later, a community note is added to Musk’s post, saying that the block feature cannot be removed as it is a required feature for social media apps sold on Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
It makes no sense
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2023
Musk live-streams Grimes ‘Sonicmania’ set in Japan
Visiting Japan for the first time since 2014, Musk shares a poster of the all-night “Sonicmania” music festival and then live-streams it on his X account. (The poster features his ex-girlfriend, Grimes.) Stars like American DJ and rapper Flying Lotus, UK singer and rappers James Blake, Shygirl and Slowthai, The Stickmen Project, Thundercat, and Zutomayo are expected to perform at Sonicmania.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 18, 2023
Musk: Ramaswamy is a ‘promising candidate’
In response to a video of Tucker Carlson interviewing Ramaswamy, Musk says he is a “promising candidate.”
He is a very promising candidate https://t.co/bEQU8L21nd
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2023
SpaceX profitable: first quarter 2023
Documents reveal that SpaceX turned a small profit during the first quarter of 2023. After two annual losses, the company generated $55 million in profit on $1.5 billion in revenue. (First-quarter results are preliminary, though, while annual results are final.) SpaceX is also valued at roughly $150 billion at an employee stock sale, putting its valuation near those of Intel and Disney.
Musk: ‘arrived in amazing Japan’
On X, Musk announces his first arrival in Japan since 2014, calling it “amazing Japan” and adding two Japanese flag emojis.
Just arrived in amazing 🇯🇵 Japan 🇯🇵
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2023
Musk: ‘fight is on’ at Zuckerberg’s house
Musk says he is going to Zuckerberg’s house “tonight” to fight him in an unscheduled bout.
For the Tesla FSD test drive in Palo Alto tonight, I will ask the car to drive to @finkd’s house. Will also test latest X livestream video, so you can monitor our adventure in real-time! If we get lucky and Zuck my actually answers the door, the fight is on!
For the Tesla FSD test drive in Palo Alto tonight, I will ask the car to drive to @finkd’s house.
Will also test latest X livestream video, so you can monitor our adventure in real-time!
If we get lucky and Zuck my 👅 actually answers the door, the fight is on!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 14, 2023
Zuckerberg: Musk ‘isn’t serious’ about fight
On threads, Zuckerberg says Musk isn’t serious about the proposed cage fight:
I offered a real date. Dana White (UFC boss) offered to make this a legit competition for charity. Elon won’t confirm a date, then says he needs surgery, and now asks to do a practice round in my backyard instead. If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me. Otherwise, time to move on. I’m going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously.
Musk: ‘Zuck is a chicken’
Musk calls Zuckerberg a “chicken” after the Meta founder says it is time to forget about their caged fight. In another post, he says Zuckerberg “can’t eat at chic fil a because that would be cannibalism.”
Zuck is a chicken
Zuck is a chicken
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 13, 2023
He can’t eat at chic fil a because that would be cannibalism
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 13, 2023
Musk: ABC prefers ‘censorship-friendly’ social media
Musk says ABC prefers “censorship-friendly” social media after the company announces it is shutting down all but four of its X (formerly Twitter) accounts. ABC will now operate just four accounts on X: ABC News, ABC Sport, ABC Chinese and ABC Australia. While still posting to its main @abcnews X account, ABC’s media team will be trying to grow its TikTok audience. ABC’s managing director David Anderson says “toxic interactions” on X led to the move.
[C]losing individual program accounts helps limit the exposure of team members to the toxic interactions that unfortunately are becoming more prevalent on X. Concerningly, X has reduced its trust and safety teams. Additionally, it is introducing charges which make the platform increasingly costly to use.
Musk writes:
Well of course they prefer censorship-friendly social media. The Australian public does not.
Grimes takes credit for Musk’s ‘dick measuring’ tweet
Grimes takes credit for Musk’s “dick measuring” challenge to Zuckerberg. In July 2023, after calling Zuckerberg a “cuck” in a Twitter post, Musk challenged him to “a literal dick measuring contest.” Grimes says that while she did not exactly tell Musk to write the tweet, she gave him the idea for it, but she “didn’t think he was going to tweet it.”
I’m going to take credit for that one…I was like, why don’t you cut to the chase and get out a ruler. I didn’t think he was going to tweet it.
Musk says he may need back surgery
In response to a post about Zuckerberg saying he has been waiting for a confirmation of the date for their fight (Zuckerberg says he suggested Aug 26th, but did not hear back), Musk says:
Exact date is still in flux. I’m getting an MRI of my neck & upper back tomorrow. May require surgery before the fight can happen. Will know this week,
Exact date is still in flux. I’m getting an MRI of my neck & upper back tomorrow.
May require surgery before the fight can happen. Will know this week.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2023
Zuckerberg ‘ready’ to fight Musk
Zuckerberg says he is “ready today” for his cage fight with Musk. He says he even proposed a date for it on Threads (August 26th), but Musk has not responded. Musk has said that he might need surgery for a neck and back problem and has to undergo an MRI scan. He says the exact date of the fight is “in flux.” Zuckerberg reportedly has been eating 4,000 calories a day and has built an octagon in his backyard.
I’m ready today… but [Musk] hasn’t confirmed.