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☆ Neuralink Implanted a Device in a Patient’s Brain, Elon Musk Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Ryan Mac | More About Ryan Mac | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Neuralink, a company working to develop computer interfaces that can be implanted in human brains, placed its first device in a patient on Sunday, said its founder, Elon Musk. Mr. Musk, the billionaire chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, said on Monday that the company’s first product was called Telepathy and would allow a human to control a phone or computer “just by thinking.”“Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs,” Mr. Musk wrote in a series of posts on X, his social media platform. “Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer.”

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Tesla, ”, Mr, Stephen Hawking Organizations: SpaceX

X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter, could lose as much as $75 million in advertising revenue by the end of the year as dozens of major brands pause their marketing campaigns after its owner, Elon Musk, endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory this month. They list how much ad revenue X employees fear the company could lose through the end of the year if advertisers do not return. On Friday, X said in a statement that $11 million in revenue was at risk and that the exact figure fluctuated as some advertisers returned to the platform and others increased spending. The company said the numbers viewed by The Times were either outdated or represented an internal exercise to evaluate total risk. X is also running ad campaigns during the holiday period to try to make up for revenue shortfalls.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, X, Musk’s, Linda Yaccarino, ” Leesha Anderson, ”, Uber, Jack, Netflix’s, Chris Christie, it’s Elon Musk, Yaccarino, ” X, “, ’, Ms, “ Lean, Tiffany Hsu Organizations: The New York Times, IBM, Apple, Disney, X, Microsoft, The Times, Twitter, Netflix, Google, NBC Universal, NBC, Press, Republican, Media, National Football League, New York Times, Athletic Locations: ”, Gaza, Israel

X, the social media service formerly known as Twitter, sued Media Matters in federal court on Monday after the advocacy organization published research showing that ads on X appeared next to antisemitic content. A post last week from Elon Musk that endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory, which he wrote a day before the Media Matters research was published, kicked off an advertiser exodus, with major brands like IBM, Apple, Warner Bros. X has rejected Media Matters’ findings, saying they were not representative of a regular user’s experience on the platform. On Friday, Mr. Musk promised a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against Media Matters and its backers. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, claims that Media Matters tried to damage X’s relationships with advertisers.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, ’, X Organizations: Twitter, Media, Elon, IBM, Apple, Warner Bros . Discovery, Sony, Media Matters, Northern, Northern District of, “ Locations: U.S, Northern District, Northern District of Texas

The blowback over Elon Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory on X gathered steam on Friday, as several major advertisers on his social media platform cut off their spending after his comments. Disney said it was pausing spending on X, as did Lionsgate, the entertainment and film distribution company. They followed IBM, which cut its spending with X on Thursday. Mr. Musk, who bought Twitter last year and renamed it X, has been under scrutiny for months for allowing and even stoking antisemitic abuse on the site. Jewish groups have compared the statement in the original post to a belief known as replacement theory, a conspiracy theory that posits that nonwhite immigrants, organized by Jews, intend to replace the white race.

Persons: Disney, Musk, ” Mr, Robert Bowers Organizations: Elon, Lionsgate, Apple, IBM, Twitter Locations: Israel, Pittsburgh

☆ X Says It Is Worth $19 Billion, Down From $44 Billion Last Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Ryan Mac | More About Ryan Mac | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

X, the company formerly known as Twitter, handed out stock grants to employees on Monday that showed it was worth about $19 billion, down about 55 percent from the $44 billion that Elon Musk paid to buy the firm a year ago, according to internal documents seen by The New York Times. Mr. Musk paid $54.20 a share to buy Twitter just over a year ago. The tech billionaire has since said he overpaid for the social network. Employees will still be paid in cash in the amount of $54.20 for any outstanding shares that were granted to them under previous management, the company said. It’s unclear why the share price has not dropped by the same percentage as the company’s valuation, though X could have altered the amount of shares outstanding.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, overpaid, X Organizations: Twitter, Elon, The New York Times, ”, Employees

☆ LinkedIn issues warning to a site shaming pro-Palestinian sentiment.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Ryan Mac | More About Ryan Mac | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Online posts asking to “#PrayForPalestine.” Entreaties for peace. The site asked users to submit posts that they believed should be exposed, and included a numeric “hate score” for companies. Some people who were highlighted on the site have already deleted their LinkedIn posts or their LinkedIn profiles. Mr. Liptz, who said he did not expect the site to become as popular as it did after spreading via WhatsApp groups, called the far-ranging capture of all pro-Palestinian sentiment a mistake. Mr. Liptz denied that his site extracted the LinkedIn information through scraping, while Mr. Ophir said he believed that LinkedIn was trying to infringe on his right to free speech.

Persons: employees.com, Ernst & Young, Itai, ” “, ”, Liptz, “, Guy Ophir, Ophir, ’ Organizations: LinkedIn, Amazon, Mastercard, Ernst, The New York Times, Meta, Facebook, The Times Locations: Gaza, israel, Israel, Palestine

Elon Musk has over the last year threatened legal action against tech competitors, employees and people who use Twitter, which he owns. Now he is also taking aim at an organization that studies hate speech and misinformation on social media. The letter cited research published by the Center for Countering Digital Hate in June examining hate speech on Twitter, which Mr. Musk has renamed X.com. The research consisted of eight papers, including one that found that Twitter had taken no action against 99 percent of the 100 Twitter Blue accounts the center reported for “tweeting hate.” The letter called the research “false, misleading or both” and said the organization had used improper methodology. The letter added that the center was funded by Twitter’s competitors or foreign governments “in support of an ulterior agenda.”

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, “ Organizations: X Corp, Center, Twitter

☆ Elon Musk’s Quixotic Quest to Turn X Into an ‘Everything App’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Ryan Mac | More About Ryan Mac | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Four years ago, a billionaire tech executive leading one of the world’s pre-eminent social platforms laid out a vision to transform it into an app that could do it all. The idea was akin to that of an “everything app” espoused recently by Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter. But the dream belonged to Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and chief executive of Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Mr. Zuckerberg tried it. So did Dara Khosrowshahi, the chief executive of Uber.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber, Evan Spiegel Organizations: Twitter, Meta, “ Locations: Silicon Valley, Asia, Japan’s, KakaoTalk .

For more than 10 years, Twitter has been recognizable for its blue and white bird logo, which became a symbol of the social network’s unique culture and lexicon. “Tweeps” became the moniker for Twitter employees. Late on Sunday, Elon Musk began getting rid of it all. The tech billionaire, who bought Twitter last year, renamed the social platform X.com on its website and started replacing the bird logo with a stylized version of the 24th letter of the Latin alphabet. Inside Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco, X logos were projected in the cafeteria, while conference rooms were renamed to words with X in them, including “eXposure,” “eXult” and “s3Xy,” according to photos seen by The New York Times.

Persons: Tweeps ”, Elon Musk, “, Musk, adieu Organizations: Twitter, The New York Times Locations: San Francisco

Elon Musk said he was about to make one of the most visible changes to Twitter since he took control of the social media company last fall: replacing its widely recognized bird logo. In a tweet early Sunday morning Eastern time, Mr. Musk said that “soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.”He added shortly after, “If a good enough X logo is posted tonight,” it would “go live worldwide tomorrow.”“X” is a term for what Mr. Musk has described as an “everything app” that could combine social media, instant messaging and payment services, akin to the popular Chinese app WeChat.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, “, adieu Organizations: Twitter

Twitter’s parent company sued a leading corporate law firm on Friday for what it said were unjust payments related to Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of the social media company last year. A $90 million payment that Twitter made to Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, a top mergers and acquisitions firm, amounted to “unjust enrichment” and should be paid back, according to the lawsuit, which the parent company, X Corp., filed in San Francisco Superior Court. The lawsuit said Wachtell Lipton took “funds from the company cash register while the keys were being handed over” to Mr. Musk, who owns X Corp.Twitter’s previous management hired Wachtell Lipton after Mr. Musk tried to terminate his agreement to acquire the company last year. He was unsuccessful, and the purchase closed in October.

Persons: Elon, Wachtell, Lipton, Katz, Wachtell Lipton, Musk Organizations: Elon Musk’s, Rosen, X Corp, San, San Francisco Superior Court Locations: San Francisco, ”

The investigation focused on an allegation by the nonprofit that Mr. Powell, who also founded the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, had interfered with its computer accounts, blocking access to emails and other messages, the people said. and the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of California have been looking into Mr. Powell since at least last fall, three people with knowledge of the case said. Agents searched Mr. Powell’s home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and seized electronic devices, according to a person familiar with the search and documents reviewed by The New York Times. Prosecutors have not accused Mr. Powell of any crimes. Brandon Fox, a lawyer for Mr. Powell, confirmed that he was under investigation by federal prosecutors in Northern California.

Persons: Jesse Powell, Powell, Powell’s, Brandon Fox, Fox, Powell “, ” Organizations: U.S, Northern, Northern District of, The New York Times, Prosecutors, Verge, Arts Locations: Northern District, Northern District of California, Brentwood, Los Angeles, Northern California

SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk had a demand. On Oct. 28, hours after completing his $44 billion buyout of Twitter the night before, Mr. Musk gathered several human-resource executives in a “war room” in the company’s offices in San Francisco. But Mr. Musk’s team said he was used to going to court and paying penalties, and was not worried about the risks. Two days later, Mr. Musk learned exactly how costly those potential fines and lawsuits could be, three people said. The order for immediate layoffs, the ensuing panic and the about-face reflect the chaos that has engulfed Twitter since Mr. Musk took over the company two weeks ago.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Musk’s Organizations: FRANCISCO, Twitter Locations: San Francisco

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