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☆ Elon Musk says he doesn't want to be CEO of any company and tries to walk back SEC insults
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk said in court on Wednesday that he does not want to be the CEO of any company. "I expect to reduce my time at Twitter and find somebody else to run Twitter over time," he said. Musk explained during the testimony that CEO is not necessarily an apt description for the work he says he does at his companies. Musk said he only called on Tesla employees to assist him at Twitter on a "voluntary basis," and to work "after-hours" at Twitter. The Tesla CEO specified that, "This was an after hours-- just if you're interested in evaluating, helping me evaluate Twitter engineering… that'd be nice.

☆ Elon Musk demands Twitter staff commit to 'long hours' or leave: Read the email
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Twitter profile page belonging to Elon Musk is seen on an Apple iPhone mobile phone. This week, he also fired veteran engineers at Twitter after they criticized him in public, or in the company's internal Slack channels. One change that he insisted the company roll out quickly, called Twitter Blue verification, had to be rescinded, however. Musk now plans a revised Twitter Blue Verified release on Nov. 29th. Here's the full email that Elon Musk sent to Twitter employees on Wednesday (transcribed by CNBC):From: Elon MuskTo: Team [at Twitter]Subj.

Elon Musk fired one of Twitter’s software engineers on Monday after the pair argued publicly over what Musk said was the company’s subpar experience for Android users. Some of the software engineer’s colleagues appeared initially uncertain as to whether Musk's tweet firing Frohnhoefer was sincere. Musk began exchanging tweets with Frohnhoefer on Sunday after the software engineer disputed a tweet from Musk about why the app had been "super slow in many countries" for those who use the Android operating system. "I have spent ~6yrs working on Twitter for Android and can say this is wrong," Frohnhoefer tweeted. Amid the back-and-forth, a Twitter user on Monday suggested Musk may not want Frohnhoefer "on your team."

Electric vehicles are among the least reliable cars and trucks in the automotive industry today, according to Consumer Reports rankings released Tuesday. When compared with hybrid and gas-powered cars and trucks, electric vehicles powered entirely by batteries were the worst performing segment, aside from traditional full-size pickup trucks, according to Consumer Reports. Reliability issues with electric vehicles were expected, since most automakers, with the exception of early EV-leader Tesla, launched fully electric models in recent years, said Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports surveyed owners of more than 300,000 vehicles from model years 2000 to 2022 and used that data to make predictions about the reliability of 2023 model year vehicles. Electric vehicles can also become "greener" over time as power supplied from clean or renewable resources like nuclear, solar and wind increases.

☆ SpaceX just bought a big ad campaign on Twitter for Starlink
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

SpaceX founder Elon Musk during a T-Mobile and SpaceX joint event on August 25, 2022 in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. The ad campaign SpaceX is buying to promote Starlink is called a Twitter "takeover." Users should see Starlink brand messaging for the first three times that they open the Twitter app on the day or days of the planned takeover campaign in Australia and in Spain. Pressure on Twitter ad salesMusk is also the CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla , in addition to his responsibilities at SpaceX and Twitter. Instead, Tesla garners headlines from fan blogs, news sites, and creates buzz through motor clubs, fan or shareholder events and social media engagement.

☆ Musk tells Twitter employees they can still receive stock even though the company is private
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Musk said the stock plan will resemble the one in place at SpaceX, where he is also CEO. SpaceX employees are granted their stock awards twice a year, on May 15 and Nov. 15. Musk told Twitter employees that "exceptional amounts" of shares will be granted for "exceptional performance." When Musk first took over, some Twitter employees were concerned that he would hasten to fire them before a crucial vesting date. As with SpaceX, exceptional amounts of stock will be awarded for exceptional performance.

In this photo illustration a Twitter logo seen displayed on a smartphone screen with Elon Musk Twitter in the background in Athens, Greece on October 30, 2022. A large number of Twitter's contract workers discovered they were suddenly terminated this weekend after they lost access to Slack and other work systems, according to internal communications shared with CNBC by full-time Twitter employees. An estimated 4,400 of its 5,500 contract workers were cut, according to Platformer, which first reported on the cuts. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey apologized last week for growing the company "too quickly," a day after the social media company carried out the layoffs. Since he has taken over, Musk has informed remaining Twitter employees that he sold billions of dollars worth of shares in Tesla , his electric vehicle business, to "save" Twitter.

☆ Elon Musk is now working out of Twitter headquarters, thanks employees for long hours
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

On Friday, Twitter 's new owner Elon Musk sent a companywide email to employees of the social media giant thanking them for working long hours since he took over on Oct. 28. Two current Twitter employees told CNBC that they were fielding calls from colleagues and clients about all the changes to the platform. Two employees told CNBC that they have not gotten formal guidance from the company's human resources department on remote work. This week, Musk told Twitter employees that he was reversing the company's previous "work from home forever" policy which had been enacted by his personal friend and collaborator, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Here's the e-mail from Elon Musk to Twitter employees on Friday, transcribed by CNBC:

In his first companywide email to Twitter employees, new owner and CEO Elon Musk said he was ending the social network's "work from home forever" policy. He also warned employees that the company might not survive the economic downturn without significant subscription revenue. From: Elon Musk [email removed] Date: Nov 9, 2022 [time stamp removed] To: Team Sorry that this is my first email to the whole company but there is no way to sugarcoat the message. We are also changing Twitter policy such that remote work is no longer allowed unless you have a specific exception. Thanks, ElonWATCH: Twitter is now Elon Musk's company — Here's how experts responded to the news

☆ Elon Musk tells Twitter staff he sold Tesla stock to save the social network
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Twitter's new owner Elon Musk, who is also CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla and U.S. defense contractor SpaceX, told employees of the social media business on Thursday that he recently sold shares of Tesla to "save Twitter." He made the remarks during an all-hands meeting that he hosted in part to motivate Twitter employees who remain after sweeping layoffs to work hard. Musk let go of about half of Twitter employees following his acquisition of the company for $44 billion, or $54.20 per share. As CNBC previously reported, to finance his portion of that take-private deal, last week Musk sold at least another $3.95 billion worth of Tesla stock. Earlier this year, he also sold over $8 billion worth of Tesla stock in April and roughly $7 billion worth in August.

An image of new Twitter owner Elon Musk is seen surrounded by Twitter logos in this photo illustration in Warsaw, Poland on 08 November, 2022. "We are tracking recent developments at Twitter with deep concern," an FTC spokesperson said in a statement. Since then, other executives have announced their departures, including most recently Chief Information Security Officer Lea Kissner. According to internal communications obtained by CNBC, three execs involved in information security, privacy and compliance all resigned in recent days, including Kissner. Under that order, Twitter agreed to install an enhanced privacy program and information security program with specific requirements.

☆ Elon Musk sells at least $3.95B of Tesla shares after Twitter takeover
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk sold $3.95 billion worth of shares in his electric car company Tesla after closing his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk sold 19.5 million shares of Tesla. On August 9, 2022, Musk told fans he was done selling shares to fund a possible Twitter take-private deal. Since he has taken over Twitter, Musk has pulled dozens of Tesla engineers in to assist him at Twitter with code review and other work. Please check back for updates.

☆ President Biden says Elon Musk's relationships with other countries are worth looking into
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

In this article TSLATWTR Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTJoe Biden, left, and Elon Musk Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters; Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAsked on Wednesday whether Tesla , SpaceX and Twitter CEO Elon Musk posed a threat to national security, President Joe Biden said that the centi-billionaire's "relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at." Biden said, "Elon Musk's cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at. Throughout 2022, Musk has accused the President of ignoring his electric vehicle venture, Tesla, despite its success, and favoring legacy automakers and their unions. The kingdom of Qatar also participated in Musk's Twitter deal. The Ukrainian government, which generally praises SpaceX and Musk, is now looking for alternatives to Starlink, Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said last Thursday.

☆ Tesla sinks to almost two-year low on Elon Musk stock sales, Twitter distraction
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

According to an analysis by Ben Silverman, Director of Research for Verity, Musk's latest Tesla stock sales were very well-timed. Verity's InsiderScore notes that Musk had 267.6 million shares of Tesla pledged as collateral for personal indebtedness as of Mar. Musk still owns 445.6 million Tesla shares and holds exercisable options for 177.3 million more Tesla shares at $23.34, as well as some smaller tranches of options. Musk sold $8.5 billion worth of Tesla shares at $294.36 per share in April and $6.9 billion worth of his stock at $289.79 per share. Late last year, Musk sold $6.6 billion worth of Tesla shares at $357.23.

☆ $2 billion Powerball jackpot winner: The 3 smartest moves to make first—and 1 thing to avoid
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Mike Winters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In fact, lottery winners are more likely to declare bankruptcy within three to five years than the average American, according to 2011 academic study. Get professional financial adviceHire a financial team consisting of a fiduciary financial planner, estate planning attorney and accountant "at a minimum," says Brady. A fiduciary financial planner can be found on the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors's website, Collado says. These tips can help people find a financial planner that's a good fit for their needs. But everyone's situation is different, which is why consulting a financial planner is a good first step.

☆ Elon Musk reverses course, kills new 'official' designation for big-name tweeters
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In his latest series of changes to Twitter's verification system, Twitter owner Elon Musk said he has already "killed" the new "official" designation Wednesday that had started rolling out for some of the platform's biggest names earlier in the day. Some originally verified accounts would sport an "official" label, Crawford said, while any user who pays $7.99 per month for Twitter Blue, the company's subscription product, would sport a blue check mark. Musk himself has benefited from having the Twitter verification check mark. In a tweet Wednesday, Musk wrote, "Blue check will be the greatest leveler." Under Musk's direction, the new Twitter Blue check mark will instead work as a paying subscriber badge that the company nonetheless plans to call "verification."

☆ Elon Musk sells at least $3.95 billion worth of Tesla shares after Twitter deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk has sold at least another $3.95 billion worth of shares in his electric car company Tesla after closing his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission published Tuesday, Musk sold 19.5 million more shares of Tesla. Musk sold almost $22 billion worth of Tesla shares in 2021, a year when the stock jumped over 50%. This year, he sold over $8 billion worth of Tesla stock in April and another roughly $7 billion worth in August. On Aug. 9, Musk told fans he was done selling Tesla shares to fund a possible Twitter acquisition.

☆ Twitter exec says there will soon be three types of accounts: official, paid, and unlabeled
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Some originally verified accounts will soon sport an "official" label, she said, while any user who pays $7.99 per month for Twitter Blue, the company's subscription product, will sport a blue checkmark. Musk himself has benefitted from having the Twitter verification checkmark. Under Musk's direction, the new Twitter Blue checkmark will instead work as a paying subscriber badge that the company nonetheless plans to call "verification." "The new Twitter Blue does not include ID verification – it's an opt-in, paid subscription that offers a blue checkmark and access to select features. "Not all previously verified accounts will get the 'Official' label and the label is not available for purchase.

☆ Elon Musk bans impersonation without parody label on Twitter raising questions about free speech commitment
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Muhammed Selim Korkutata | Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesAfter several celebrity and blue-check verified Twitter users changed their accounts to mimic the social network's new owner Elon Musk, he called for a swift change to policy enforcement. Musk wrote on Sunday that, moving forward, Twitter will now permanently suspend impersonators' accounts without warning if they are not clearly labeled as parody. In May, after he agreed to buy Twitter, Musk argued against lifetime bans and said he would reverse one on Donald Trump. The platform would not usually jump to a permanent ban of a user's account for impersonation prior to Musk's takeover. Twitter and Elon Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment or confirmation as to whether Sommer and Griffin were permanently banned.

☆ Twitter co-founder Dorsey apologizes for growing the company 'too quickly' in wake of mass layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey addresses students during a town hall at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi, India, November 12, 2018. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey apologized Saturday for growing the company "too quickly," a day after the company laid off approximately half of its employees under new owner Elon Musk. They will always find a way no matter how difficult the moment," Dorsey wrote in a tweet. Twitter's reduction in force extended beyond California, and CNBC could not immediately confirm whether Musk's description is accurate. Dorsey stepped down as Twitter's CEO last year and has since shifted his focus to solely managing his payments company Block, formerly known as Square.

☆ Twitter cut more than 950 California employees after Elon Musk took over, WARN notice shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

According to the letters from Twitter, shared by the California Employment Development Department, Twitter notified affected employees on Nov. 4. This kind of arrangement may serve as "payment in lieu of notice," in California depending on specific terms of employment. At the company's satellite locations in Santa Monica, Twitter cut approximately 93 employees including 17 mid-level officials and managers, 66 professionals and 10 combined sales and administrative support workers, the WARN notice showed. At a San Jose office, Twitter cut approximately 106 employees, including one executive or senior-level official or manager, 18 mid-level officials and managers, 85 professionals and two administrative support workers, according to the WARN notice. Shannon Liss-Riordan, a worker's rights attorney representing the terminated Twitter employees, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ Tesla stock has dropped more than 35% since Elon Musk first said he'd buy Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

(Photo by Gotham/Getty Images)Since Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced his bid to buy social network Twitter , shares in his electric vehicle maker have dipped by more than 35%, and closed down just 3.6% for the day on Friday, amid a market rally that followed a volatile week. Musk first announced he had agreed to buy Twitter on April 25, 2022. Tesla shares closed that day at $332.67, and closed today at $207.47 capping his first full week of Twitter ownership. He has not said who, if anyone, may replace him as Twitter CEO, although he has told followers on Twitter that his position as sole director and CEO of the social network is temporary. Musk's ownership of the social network has caused some automakers, including GM and Audi, to pause ad spending there.

☆ Elon Musk says Twitter has had 'massive' revenue drop as advertisers pause spending
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk, Founder and Chief Engineer of SpaceX, speaks during the Satellite 2020 Conference in Washington, DC, United States on March 9, 2020. Twitter has suffered a "massive drop in revenue" because of advertisers pausing advertising on the social media platform, Elon Musk, the new owner of the company, said Friday. In recent days, a number of companies said they would temporarily pause their advertising spending on Twitter to see how things would change there under Musk's ownership. Tesla competitors General Motors and Audi, and food titan General Mills are among the companies that have paused Twitter spending after Musk completed his $44 billion acquisition on October 28. Ad giant IPG advised clients to temporarily pause their Twitter media plans as well.

☆ Here's how Twitter and Elon Musk can prevent racist 'raids' on the social network
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In this photo illustration, the image of Elon Musk is displayed on a computer screen and the logo of twitter on a mobile phone in Ankara, Turkiye on October 06, 2022. When Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took over at Twitter, showing up at headquarters on Oct. 27, 2022, online trolls and bigots raided the social network, polluting it with a deluge of racist epithets and other hate speech. Their campaign was waged across myriad social platforms including Twitter and Reddit, and manifested in real world rape and death threats, and a bomb scare targeting the critic. Some people engage in so-called "inauthentic" activity on social networks just to see if they can get away with it ("for the lulz"). NCRI uses sophisticated machine learning software and systems to monitor huge amounts of social network content, and to track rising hatred and threats against marginalized groups online, including Black, Jewish, Hindu and Muslim people.

☆ Toho plans to release a new Japanese Godzilla film next year as the monster's audience grows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

To capitalize on this moment, Toho, the Japanese film studio that owns the monster and licenses it to Legendary in the U.S., said it will produce a new Godzilla film a year from Thursday, the anniversary of the monster's first film. The new film comes as global audiences have more access to Godzilla content than ever before thanks to deep libraries of movies and TV series on streaming services. The recent box office success of U.S. studio Legendary's Monsterverse, which kicked off with a Godzilla film in 2014 and led to "Godzilla vs. Kong" in 2021, has also helped. The films, especially the most recent installment, have been among some of the most in demand on streaming services. "There's more access to Godzilla than ever before because of streaming services and the internet," said Bill Tsutsui, a historian and academic known for his expertise in Godzilla.

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