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☆ Musk explains why he's rebranding Twitter to X: It's not just a name change
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk recently explained why he decided to rebrand Twitter to X and noted that it's more than just a name change. "Twitter was acquired by X Corp both to ensure freedom of speech and as an accelerant for X, the everything app. This is not simply a company renaming itself, but doing the same thing," Musk explained in a post Monday night. Musk recently hired former NBCUniversal advertising executive Linda Yaccarino as CEO, seen as a move to help reassure advertisers. WATCH: Elon Musk kills Twitter name for 'X' super app

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, it's, Linda Yaccarino, Yaccarino Organizations: Twitter, X Corp, CNBC, YouTube

☆ Elon Musk wants everyone to conduct their entire 'financial world' on X as he doubles down on his vision for an 'everything app'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk's grand ambition for X: Make it the place you manage finances and make payments. The billionaire said X users would be able to conduct their "entire financial world" on the app. The shake-up comes as Musk aims to see off a threat from Mark Zuckerberg's Threads. Elon Musk is preparing to transform X, formerly known as Twitter, into a social-media service where users can manage their "entire financial world" as part of his vision for an "everything app." Musk added that in the months to come, new features would be added to X that would give users "the ability to conduct your entire financial world."

Persons: Elon Musk's, Mark Zuckerberg's, Elon Musk, It's, Musk, Twitter, Esther Crawford, Mark Zuckerberg

☆ Elon Musk pushed for PayPal's website to be rebranded as X.com more than 20 years ago, but focus groups reportedly thought it sounded like a porn website
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Gabriel Rivera | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk rebranded Twitter as X over the weekend — a name that has long been one of his favorites. But focus groups thought the name sounded "seedy," according to Musk biographer Walter Isaacson. Musk wanted the company to be rebranded either as X.com or X-PayPal, but his fellow executives disagreed. Several of Musk's brands among his slate of companies include the letter X, including SpaceX and the more recent company xAI. Over the weekend, he changed the company's logo from the iconic blue bird to a white letter X against a black backdrop.

Persons: Walter Isaacson, Elon Musk, Musk, Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, Max Chafkin, Chafkin, Isaacson Organizations: Elon, PayPal, Service, Twitter, musing, SpaceX Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Musk risks even more damage to Twitter's business as the messaging app changes name to X
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk announced that there will be a rebranding of Twitter soon, and speculation points to the implementation of X.Elon Musk has long been enamored with the letter X. Musk had already converted Twitter's corporate name to X Corp, which itself is a subsidiary of X Holding Corp, as revealed in an April court filing. Musk's desire to turn X into a super app requires "time, money and people," which Twitter "no longer has," said Proulx. "Twitter's rebrand is a reminder that Elon Musk, not Threads or any other app, is and has always been the most likely 'Twitter killer,'" Enberg wrote. WATCH: Elon Musk wouldn't be who he is without 'demon mode' and his drive.

Persons: Elon Musk, that's, China's, Mike Proulx, Musk, " Proulx, didn't, It's, X.com, adieu, Linda Yaccarino, Proulx, Ralph Schackart, William Blair, Jasmine Enberg, Enberg, Elon, wouldn't Organizations: Twitter, Forrester, X Corp, X Holding, SpaceX, PayPal, Facebook, Google, CNBC, Insider Intelligence

☆ Elon Musk plans to rebrand Twitter as 'X' — an idea that harkens back to the CEO's early days when he was ousted from PayPal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk announced Saturday that he plans to rebrand Twitter and change the bird logo to 'X.' Musk previously wanted X to be the name of a banking services site now known as PayPal. Musk said a new "interim" X logo will go live Sunday. Elon Musk in Palo Alto, California, on August 7, 2000. According to Ashlee Vance's biography "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future," almost everyone in the company preferred the name PayPal.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Elon, Pauline Lubens, Julie Anderson Ankenbrandt, Ankenbrandt, x.com, X.com, Peter Thiel, Max Levchin, Musk's, Thiel, Ashlee Vance's Organizations: Twitter, PayPal, MediaNews, Mercury, Getty, Elon, SpaceX, X Corp Locations: Silicon Valley, Palo Alto , California, Palo Alto, Nevada

☆ Tesla's Cybertruck is finally starting production, 2 years behind schedule. Here are 6 other projects Elon Musk promised to deliver by now.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Sebastian Cahill | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Tesla's Cybertruck is finally beginning production two years behind schedule. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been known to make lofty promises that go undelivered for years at a time. In 2017, Inverse reported, Musk expanded the promise, assuring buyers that it would be just two more years before self-driving Teslas could be used to travel cross-country while passengers sleep. An 'everything' social media app, XIn late 2022, Musk tweeted that his purchase of Twitter was an "accelerant" to the creation of 'X,' the "everything app." According to the same CNBC article, in its most productive year, 2022, Tesla only installed an average of 21 solar system installations per week.

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Tesla, Musk, Musk's, Will Organizations: Tesla, CNBC, Boring Company, SpaceX, Twitter, University of Cincinnati Locations: Giga , Texas, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Southern California

☆ Mayor says home ‘rammed’ and set on fire as France detains hundreds more protesters
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Jake Kwon Heather Chen Xiaofei Xu Martin Goillandeau Alex Hardie Alex Stambaugh | Jake Kwon | Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

He said the mayor’s wife and two children, aged 5 and 7, fled through the back garden. While running away, the mayor’s wife hurt her shin which “appears to be broken,” according to the prosecutor. His mother, Mounia, told television station France 5 on Friday that she blamed only the officer who shot her son for his death. Hundreds detainedWhile the French government has deployed security forces and riot police across the country, the unrest continued with another night of protests. More than 700 people were detained across France overnight, according to a provisional tally from the Interior Ministry.

Persons: ”, Vincent Jeanbrun, “, ” Jeanbrun, Stéphane Hardouin, Hardouin, Nahel, Mounia, Gérald Darmanin Organizations: CNN, France, Interior Ministry, China’s Locations: Paris, Jeanbrun’s, France, Nanterre, China, Marseille

☆ Review: A Jew and 16 ‘Nerf Nazis’ Meet Cute in ‘Just for Us’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Jesse Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

It may be too much to ask a human hummingbird like Alex Edelman to try to stick to the subject. In “Just for Us,” his three-jokes-per-minute one-man show, he zooms from punchline to punchline almost as fast as he caroms around the stage of the Hudson Theater. (At 34, he’s part of what he calls the overmedicated ADHD generation.) And even though he’s telling a story about white supremacy, you are. Growing up a “proudly and emphatically” Orthodox Jew in “this really racist part of Boston called Boston,” he clocked the wariness between races but also within them.

Persons: Alex Edelman, ”, Ibsen, —, it’s, Edelman, Jason Zinoman, Jackie Mason, he’d Organizations: Hudson Theater, Broadway, Twitter Locations: London, Edinburgh, Washington, Boston, Queens

☆ Adobe CEO says AI will won't replace human ingenuity, it'll augment it
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Julie Coleman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen told CNBC's Jim Cramer that generative artificial intelligence will augment humans' ingenuity, not replace it. Adobe's Firefly software makes heavy use of generative AI, which users can employ in the company's popular suite of programs like Photoshop and Illustrator. Narayen said the software will increase productivity and give smaller businesses the chance to more easily develop their ideas. Narayen added that Firefly is integrated with the company's free software, Adobe Express. The company is fresh off a successful quarter, reporting $4.82 billion in revenue, exceeding estimates of $4.77 billion.

Persons: Shantanu Narayen, CNBC's Jim Cramer, Narayen, I've Organizations: Adobe Express, Adobe

☆ Morgan Stanley says this retailer is set up for an 'inflection point'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Urban Outfitters could see big gains from here as an "inflection point" draws near, according to Morgan Stanley. Analyst Alex Straton upgraded the retailer to overweight from equal weight, saying that its low valuation relative to peers creates an attractive risk-reward balance to the upside. Given this setup, Straton lifted her price target to $41 from $27 a share, implying 27% upside from Monday's close. But key to this potential re-rating is a cooperative inflection at its Anthropologie brand. On the valuation front, Straton noted that shares look cheap relative to peers at 11 times forward price-to-earnings and a 20% discount to historical averages.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Alex Straton, oppty, Straton, CNBC's Michael Bloom Locations: Capri

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Target, Tesla, Toast, Chevron, Meta, Toll Brothers and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

JPMorgan downgrades Okta to neutral from overweight JPMorgan Chase said it sees too many macroeconomic pressures for the company. " JPMorgan downgrades Target to neutral from overweight JPMorgan Chase said in its downgrade of the stock it sees a "weakening" consumer. Bank of America initiates Toast as buy Bank of America said the restaurant tech company is "best in class." JPMorgan upgrades Domino's Pizza to overweight from neutral JPMorgan Chase said in its upgrade of Domino's that it's too cheap to ignore. Bank of America reiterates Dick's as buy Bank of America said it's bullish on the company's new store format.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Johnson, it's, Salesforce, JPMorgan downgrades, JPMorgan Chase, we've, Horton, PulteGroup, TOST, BorgWarner, Morgan Stanley, Tesla, XOM, Cowen, Phillips, Wedbush, Macquarie, Dick's, it's bullish, DKS Organizations: AAP, Barclays, JCI, RBC, Chevron, JPMorgan, JPMorgan downgrades Target, Deutsche Bank, " Bank of America, Bank of America, Restaurant Association, BorgWarner Deutsche Bank, Citi, Meta, ExxonMobil, UBS, CSX, Garden Entertainment, Knicks, Rangers, Networks Locations: Europe, New York

☆ Shares of Unity pop on revenue beat, rosy forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of Unity Software popped more than 11% in extended trading Wednesday after the company released first-quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations for revenue and raised its full-year revenue forecast. Unity said it expects to report $510 million to $520 million in second-quarter revenue, above analyst estimates of $509 million. For the full year, Unity said it expects between $2.08 to $2.2 billion in revenue. The company said it increased the low-end of its revenue guide by $30 million after considering its "stronger than expected" first quarter. "We expect these decisions will make Unity stronger, and set us up for even stronger long-term profitable growth," the company said of the layoffs Wednesday.

☆ Inside LinkedIn's new push to use AI tools to amplify — not replace — creators' voices
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

LinkedIn sees potential for AI to amplify — not replace — creators' voices. Firmly of the view that artificial intelligence technology can augment and amplify those users' voices — not replace them — LinkedIn is eyeing opportunities in the burgeoning space. LinkedIn's collaborative articles begin with a thread generated with the help of AI, and then invite select users to contribute their perspective. Enter collaborative articles, which invited the several dozen teachers to offer up ideas like exhibiting "vulnerability" in the classroom. Think of these seminars like LinkedIn's version of Master Classes on topics like generative AI, machine learning with Python, and AI accountability.

☆ Elon Musk edges closer to his 'everything app' dream as Twitter enables trading via eToro
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter has partnered with brokerage firm eToro to give users more financial data. The collaboration is a step toward Musk's plans to create an "everything app." The new feature will begin appearing in the app on Thursday, eToro disclosed to CNBC. Twitter's new trading feature comes after Musk merged Twitter under the X Corp this week and filed for regulatory licenses that would facilitate in-app payments. Musk has plans to create a go-to app for a variety of services, and in October, he tweeted, "Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app."

☆ Elon Musk further teased his ambition to turn Twitter into an 'everything app' with a cryptic tweet a week after the company merged into X Corp
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk simply tweeted "X" a week after Twitter Inc merged into his X Corp Holdings. Musk has said X will be an "everything app," and has applied for financial licenses for Twitter. "Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app," the billionaire tweeted three weeks before his acquisition went through last October. The Twitter chief developed an affinity for the letter back in the 1990s, founding the company "X.com" which later became PayPal. That seems to include a payment service, as Twitter applied for regulatory licenses after his takeover, per the Financial Times.

☆ How Elon Musk Is Changing the Twitter Experience
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Kate Conger | More About Kate Conger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk has declared he wants to transform Twitter into an all-inclusive app that people can use for payments, news and food orders. “Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app,” Mr. Musk posted in October, weeks before completing a $44 billion acquisition of the social network. He later said Twitter could be like WeChat, the popular Chinese app that combines social media, instant messaging and payment services. But nearly six months after Mr. Musk took over Twitter, his ambitions for the platform have remained mostly that — ambitions. Although the billionaire has made dozens of tweaks to Twitter, they have largely been cosmetic.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mr, Musk, Jane Manchun Wong Organizations: Twitter

☆ What is Atomwaffen? The small neo-Nazi group uses violence to try and bring about societal collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russell is a founding member of Atomwaffen, which uses violence to try and bring about societal collapse. Russell is named by the FBI complaint as the founder of Atomwaffen Division, a terroristic neo-Nazi group known for its far-right ideals and obsession with violence. "It's an incredibly dangerous group," Schubiner told Insider. Even at the height of the organization's relevance, extremism researchers estimated there were only 30 to 80 active members, according to The New York Times. "But certainly as we've seen," she added, "some of the people in the group have not stopped engaging in violence."

☆ What Elon Musk has said publicly — and in private texts — on his ideas for Twitter and X, an 'everything app'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Elon Musk has discussed his plans for X, an "everything app," on Twitter and in private texts. AP Photo/Jacquelyn MartinPrivate texts about a blockchain-based platformMusk has also discussed creating a social media platform built on a blockchain. In April, the billionaire privately outlined his idea for a "Doge" social media platform in texts to his younger brother, Kimbal Musk. "I have an idea for a blockchain social media system that does both payments and short text messages/links like Twitter," Musk texted. Shortly after buying Twitter, Musk began charging Twitter users for the app's blue check mark.

☆ StoryCo and 'Halo' showrunner team up to launch 'Disco Ball,' a blockchain-based immersive story that's a model for Hollywood's move into Web3
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The blockchain-based creative platform StoryCo is launching a new immersive storytelling concept. People who sign up for a StoryPass (an NFT) can collect digital art and have creative control over "The Disco Ball." StoryCo just raised $6 million in a seed funding round led by VC firms Collab + Currency and Patron. At the end of "Disco Ball," NFT holders "will assume control over the infinitely expanding Disco Ball universe." Half of all net revenue from projects like "Disco Ball" would then be split among the treasury's members after its story writers and creators are compensated.

☆ Hunt on for alleged arsonist in Illinois Planned Parenthood clinic fire days after state enacted new abortion rights laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | David K. Li | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

An arsonist, driving a pickup truck, set fire to a Planned Parenthood clinic in central Illinois, police said Tuesday, just days after the state enacted new laws protecting abortion rights. The attacker used a "fire accelerant" at about 11:31 p.m. CT on Sunday in the 2700 block of North Knoxville Avenue, Planned Parenthood and Peoria police said. A Planned Parenthood clinic in Peoria, Ill., that was the target of an arson attack. The arsonist "threw a fire accelerant through a window, causing a fire in the building," Illinois Planned Parenthood CEO Jennifer Welch said in a statement. "We will not stop providing the essential health care our patients need and deserve.

☆ Qatar's 2022 World Cup ends with modest ceremony, titans clash
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Andrew Mills | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

After 63 matches, the World Cup in Qatar comes to a close with reigning champions France taking on Argentina in a showpiece final with both teams looking to add a third star to their crest. France's Mbappe and Argentina's Messi, both playing for the Qatari-owned club, are also a reminder of Qatar's influence on global soccer beyond the FIFA World Cup organisation. CONTROVERSYQatar's hosting of the 2022 World Cup, which has been marred by controversy, was part of a carefully built strategy by the tiny but rich state to bolster its global influence. "There is the Workers Support and Insurance Fund that will be looking into any matters relating to unfortunate deaths. And that will continue beyond the World Cup," Thawadi said.

☆ Strange reports have claimed humans spontaneously burst into flames, but science can explain how bodies sometimes act like a candle wick
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nearly a year later, a coroner officially ruled that he'd died of a peculiar phenomenon, the Irish Independent reported — spontaneous human combustion. But if spontaneous human combustion is a real phenomenon, Byard added, why doesn't it happen more often? 'Spontaneous' human combustion over the centuriesIn the 17th century, a Danish anatomy expert described the first known case of spontaneous human combustion. Science says bodies can act like a candleThe prevalent scientific explanation for spontaneous human combustion is known as the wick effect, which proposes that humans can act like candles do. The pig's feet were left behind — exactly the result of many reported cases of spontaneous human combustion.

☆ Did That Hit Arrive in 2022 or 1987? This Year, It Was Hard to Tell.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jon Caramanica | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

Turns out it’s the same sample, a sleight of ear designed to trigger warm nostalgia, and also maybe a little confusion. Even its video is optimized for recognition, with Santana doing the same stomp Beyoncé does in hers, in an almost identical outfit. Throughout 2022, that gambit has been deployed again and again — by pop singers and rappers, established stars and newbies. Here, old songs — hip-hop classics, pop novelties and more — are scrunched and stretched sometimes to the point of absurdity. These songs are concessions that say the quiet part out loud — everyone has always been borrowing voraciously, from everyone else, constantly.

☆ Even Elon and Zuck don't have the juice to make an all-in-one 'super app' happen
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Mark Zuckerberg and Evan Spiegel harbor super app ambitions; Microsoft reportedly wants to build its take on a super app that would rival Google. At Facebook's parent company Meta, "super app" is a taboo word precisely because it's too abstract, Insider's Kali Hays reported last month. A newcomer super app has a tougher sell accessing this sophisticated, less trusting type of user. Silicon Valley's gatekeepers stand in the way of the super app dreamUS tech firms harboring super app ambitions will need to fend off their own regulators, overseas regulators, and Apple's App Store. As the CPP Investments white paper notes, super apps "can be thought of as operating platforms for mobile devices."

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried gave $2.5 million to a leading political ethics watchdog. The group says it can't give the money back because officials already spent it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The Campaign Legal Center fights against lawlessness and unethical behavior in politics. Brendan Quinn, a spokesperson for the Campaign Legal Center, says the nonprofit organization cannot return or give away Bankman-Fried's money because the money is already spent. Asked whether the Campaign Legal Center would consider disgorging an amount of money equivalent to what Bankman-Fried contributed, Quinn noted that the Campaign Legal Center is not a political candidate or committee. The Campaign Legal Center has not yet provided Insider a copy, first requested December 2, of the most recent IRS 990 tax document filed by Campaign Legal Center Action, its advocacy arm. Former President Donald Trump has been a frequent target of the Campaign Legal Center's legal and ethics efforts.

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