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.
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.
Saudi, Abu Dhabi companies to invest in SpaceX
An Abu Dhabi-based company and a unit of Saudi Arabia’s investment fund plan to invest in a multi-billion dollar funding round for SpaceX. The round is reportedly expected to value Musk’s company at about $140 billion.
SpaceX buys Twitter Starlink ad campaign
Musk confirms SpaceX purchased a $250,000 ad campaign on Twitter to promote Starlink services in Australia and Spain, which will place SpaceX’s ad on top of the main Twitter timeline for a full day. Users will see the ad the first three times they open Twitter when the ad campaign is scheduled. The ad buy is the first for any of Musk’s companies, including Tesla, which does not engage in traditional advertising.
SpaceX Starlink bought a tiny – not large – ad package to test effectiveness of Twitter advertising in Australia & Spain. Did same for FB/Insta/Google.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 14, 2022