xAI raising $6bn to buy 100k Nvidia chips
Sources say xAI is raising up to $6 billion – $5 billion expected from sovereign funds in the Middle East and $1 billion from other investors – at a $50 billion valuation. The money will be used to acquire 100,000 Nvidia chips. Tesla’s Full Self Driving is expected to rely on the Memphis supercomputer.
DOGE wants to hire ‘super high-IQ small government revolutionaries.’
DOGE begins soliciting applications for staff jobs:
We don’t need more part-time idea generators. We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting. If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.
We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE. We don’t need more part-time idea generators. We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting. If that’s…
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) November 14, 2024
Musk says separately:
Even a brief stint in government by people with high competence and integrity would greatly help America…Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lots of enemies & compensation is zero…What a great deal!
X TOS venue changes to Northern District of Texas
X’s new terms of service, which take effect Nov. 15, stipulates that lawsuits against the social media platform must be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas — not the Western District of Texas, where the company is headquartered.
Tesla $1 trillion market cap, Musk worth $300 billion
Shares of Tesla increased more than 10% to nearly $330, giving the company a market value of over $1 trillion, for the first time since April 2022, sparked in part by Donald Trump’s presidential election win. The company’s valuation has nearly doubled over the last six months.
Musk’s net worth rose by $13 billion to over $300 billion for the first time in more than two years. Musk is $70 billion wealthier than the next closest competitor, Larry Ellison.
Tesla stock tops volatility charts, more than doubles bitcoin’s
With its stock topping volatility charts at 24%, Tesla (TSLA) more than doubles bitcoin’s October 2024 movement range of 11%. Tesla also records the highest single-day gain at +21.92%, which is a gain of more than twice its largest decline (of -8.78%).
Musk seeks £5bn xAI funding at $45bn valuation
Musk’s xAI is in early talks with new and existing investors for fresh capital to compete with OpenAI and other AI competitors. Musk has reportedly approached investors in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, with a potential valuation of $45bn, as well as existing investors inclusing Sequoia Capital and Valor Equity Partners, which is expected to lead the round.
Canvassers complain about conditions
Workers recruited by Musk’s America PAC to canvass in the battleground state of Michigan say they only discovered they were working for the Space X and Tesla entrepreneur to drum up voter turnout for Trump after signing non-disclosure agreements.
I knew nothing of the job, or much of the job description, other than going door to door and asking the voters who are they voting for. Then, after I signed over an NDA, is when I found out we are for Republicans and with Trump.
Canvassers were also told during a team meeting that if they didn’t hit a target of more than 1,000 a week total doors knocked, the organization would stop paying for their motel rooms.
Blitz Canvassing, which had received more than $9 million from America PAC for presidential campaign canvassing as of October 29, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Musk borrowed $1 billion from SpaceX in same month of Twitter deal
The Wall Street Journal reports that Musk borrowed $1 billion from SpaceX in October 2022, the same month he bought Twitter. The loan was backed by some of Musk’s SpaceX stock and Musk drew all of the funds down the same month. According to a filing with the Federal Communications Commission, as of March 2023, Musk is SpaceX’s largest shareholder with a 42% stake and almost 79% of its voting power. SpaceX had $4.7 billion in cash and securities on hand at the end of 2022.
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.
Twitter signs and equipment to be auctioned
In part due to its rebrand, X announces it is auctioning off a large number of Twitter-branded items, including the bird logo that was previously on the outside of the building. Other items for sale include sculptures, booths, chairs, computers, couches, musical equipment and artworks.
The auction, hosted by Heritage Global Partners, will start on September 12 at 7 a.m. PST and end on September 14 at 9 a.m. PST. All items have a starting bid of $25. They are all being sold out of X headquarters in San Francisco. According to HGP’s terms and conditions, buyers must use the items in their businesses and cannot purchase them for personal use.
Neuralink raises $280 million from Founders Fund
Nuralink announces it has raised $280m from Founder’s Fund, a venture capital company established by Peter Thiel.
We’re happy to announce our $280M Series D round led by @foundersfund. We’re extremely excited about this next chapter at Neuralink.
We’re happy to announce our $280M Series D round led by @foundersfund. We’re extremely excited about this next chapter at Neuralink.
If you’d like to help make the first human experience incredible and work on engineering challenges to restore vision and mobility, come join!…
— Neuralink (@neuralink) August 7, 2023
X sign removed from headquarter’s roof
The X sign on the former Twitter headquarters building’s roof is removed, after complaints were made to San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection. One complaint described the sign as displaying “extremely intense white stroboscopic light” that was “causing distress and nausea,” while others said it could topple in an earthquake. After earlier attempts to inspect the sign had been rebuffed by X staff, inspectors once again returned to the site, only to see the sign being dismanted. Inspector:
By the time I left the entire structure had been removed.
The city says that X would be assessed fees for the unpermitted installation of the illuminated structure, without mentioning an estimate.
The giant 𝕏 sign has been removed from the top of the HQ building.pic.twitter.com/AlAnlUpCQL
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 31, 2023
Musk rebrands Twitter as X
Musk confirms Twitter’s rebrand by changing the apps’s logo from the bird to X, which he describes as ‘minimalist art deco,’ He also changes his Twitter bio to ‘X.com’, which redirects to what used to be twitter.com, and his profile picture to X, In a late night email, Musk writes to Twitter employees confirming the changes.
We are indeed changing to X…This is my last message from a Twitter email.
Going with minimalist art deco on the upper right.
Probably changes later, certainly will be refined.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 24, 2023
In a Twitter Space – an audio livestream on the platform –Musk said the changes ‘should have been done a long time ago’ and that he was ‘sorry it took so long.’ Musk also said that posts made under the site’s new identity would be called ‘X’s.’
Musk: Twitter logo will change to X
Musk says Twitter is planning to change its logo, Larry the Bird, which has been in place since creation of the company in 2006, to an X. Along with the logo change, the domain for the social media site will become X.com, and Twitter will become a subsidiary of Musk-owned X-Corp.
And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds
And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
Musk then asked for logo suggestions:
If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make go live worldwide tomorrow
If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make go live worldwide tomorrow
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
Thousands of users replied before Musk posted a short video of an X with a flickering background.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
Daypart.AI founder details Burnt Hair domain trade with Boring
Jeremy Sonne, founder of Daypart.AI, details his trade of the burnthair.com website domain to the Boring Company. Just after Musk announced Boring’s plan to sell “Burnt Hair” cologne, Sonne bought the domain and tweeted at Musk, offering him the domain if the billionaire would “have lunch with me at the gigafactory or coffee or something like that.” (The tweet has since been deleted.) Minutes later, Boring messaged him directly, telling him to email them about the idea.
“They said lunch wouldn’t happen,” Sonne says, so he made more “outlandish” requests like a phone call with Musk or a “ride on his private plane,” until Boring finally agreed to give him a tour of its Texas facility and some Boring products (including one of the first 10 bottles of Burnt Hair cologne) in exchange for the domain. Sonne’s wife and four-year-old son also went on the tour, during which, for security reasons, they were not allowed to take out their phones. They also had to sign a non-disclosure agreement that prevented them from talking about what they saw inside. Ownership of the domain, which now redirects to Boring’s main website, was transferred in December 2022. Sonne says the tour left a big impression on his son:
My four year old is on the spectrum and is like really obsessed with construction and that’s a special interest for him, construction, diggers, that sort of thing. Since we’ve gotten home, he has been building tunnels with Magna-Tiles and running his cars through them and stuff. Honestly, that was worth the entire adventure, just seeing him get really hyped up about it.
Musk: Twitter’s ad revenue down ~50%
Musk says Twitter has a “negative cash flow” and its advertising revenue has declined by about 50% amid a “heavy debt load” as competition between Twitter and Threads intensifies. This comes just as Twitter began paying content creators for posting advertisements. Some users are reporting payouts of over $100,000, and Musk himself says Twitter will pay creators $5 million through its first block of payments. It is unclear, though, which kinds of posts or which users are eligible for advertising payments, and some users have criticized the platform’s payout program.
We’re still negative cash flow, due to ~50% drop in advertising revenue plus heavy debt load. Need to reach positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else.
We’re still negative cash flow, due to ~50% drop in advertising revenue plus heavy debt load. Need to reach positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2023
Musk announces formation of xAI
Musk announces the formation of a company called xAI. The startup is geared toward artificial intelligence and employs several engineers who have worked for companies like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. Along with the amount of funding it has, xAI’s specific objectives are unclear, as is exactly what it will focus on regarding AI. The company’s website says its goal “is to understand the true nature of the universe,” but adds that more information will be forthcoming “over the next couple of weeks and months.” Musk:
Announcing formation of @xAI to understand reality
Announcing formation of @xAI to understand reality
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2023
Tesla delivers record number of cars after price cuts
Tesla says it delivered a record number of vehicles for the three months from April to June, delivering 466,140 vehicles, 80% higher than last year. The company says it lowered prices in markets including the US, UK and China to compete with rival manufacturers. The company is due to report its financial results for the second quarter on 19 July. Musk,
We’re not ‘starting a price war’, we’re just lowering prices to enable affordability at scale.
Musk considers Cuban’s low-cost pharmacy for Tesla, SpaceX employees
After a Twitter user asks Cuban who costplusdrugs.com does not offer Invermectin, which the user says “costs $0.02 per pill in Africa, 100x mark-up in America”, Musk responds:
Good question
A few hours later, Cuban responds to Musk:
I’m sorry I didn’t see you enter the discussion @elonmusk. The price we were able to get was much higher than other available sources. We are trying to get a better price. We do sell HCQ. Our mission is to be the low cost provider of every med we are allowed to sell. You should have your employees use us. It will save them and @twitter a fuck ton of money. Costplusdrugs.com
Ok, I will ask Tesla & SpaceX to inquire further
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 19, 2023
Musk replies that he will ask Tesla & SpaceX to inquire into Cuban’s offer. In 2022, Tesla employed more than 127,000 people, while SpaceX has about 10,000 employees
Musk hires 14-year-old to work for SpaceX
Musk hires a 14-year-old to work as a software engineer at SpaceX. Having been described as a genius and a “wonder kid” for his academic achievements, Kairan Quazi’s IQ tests suggest he is in the 99.9th percentile of the general population. He already completed an internship at Intel, and after he graduates from Santa Clara University (where he is set to receive a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science and Engineering), he will work on SpaceX’s Starlink team, which is building the world’s largest satellite internet network. On LinkedIn, Quazi wrote:
I will be joining the coolest company on the planet as a software engineer on the Starlink engineering team. One of the rare companies that did not use my age as an arbitrary and outdated proxy for maturity and ability.
His LinkedIn profile has since been removed, because the platform requires users to be at least 16 years old. On Instagram, Quazi posted that his removal from LinkedIn was “illogical, primitive nonsense” that amounted to discrimination.
I can be qualified enough to land one of the most coveted engineering jobs in the world but not qualified enough to have access to a professional social media platform? LinkedIn showing everyone how regressive some tech company policies are.
LinkedIn spokesperson:
We appreciate his enthusiasm to join LinkedIn and applaud his incredible success, however we have an age limit in place of 16 years of age and that extends to all members.