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☆ The Tesla executive who was rumored to be next in line for CEO is leaving the company
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tesla's CFO Zachary Kirkhorn is leaving the carmaker, the company said in a regulatory filing. Zachary Kirkhorn, Tesla's chief financial officer, is leaving the electric-car company after working for the electric-car maker for about 13 years. Tesla staff told the Journal that Kirkhorn won Musk's approval by leading with "bad news" and staying in the billionaire's shadow. Kirkhorn worked as an analyst at McKinsey & Company before joining Tesla and previously interned at Microsoft, his profile says. Kirkhorn, Musk, and a spokesperson for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication.

Persons: Zachary Kirkhorn, Elon, Kirkhorn, Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla, Kirhorn, Elon Musk, James Murdoch, Musk, Tim Cook, Steve Jobs, Jobs, Cook, Deepak Ahuja, Afshar Organizations: Street, Elon Musk's, Tesla, EV, Securities and Exchange Commission, LinkedIn, Street Journal, Musk's, Apple, McKinsey & Company, Microsoft, SpaceX

☆ Tesla's board of directors will return $735 million on claims they were overpaid
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tesla directors are returning $735 million to the company to settle a suit that claims they were overpaid. That includes $458.6 million in company shares and $276.6 million in cash, per court filings. That totals to around $735 million, consisting of $458.6 million in company shares and $276.6 million in cash. The $735 million settlement stems from a 2020 lawsuit, wherein Detroit's Police and Fire Retirement System accused Tesla's board members of overpaying themselves in the form of stock options from 2017 to 2020. Tesla directors denied those claims, arguing that the company saw rapid growth sent the stock soaring.

Persons: Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, Rupert Murdoch's, James Murdoch, Elon Musk's, Kimbal Musk –, Tesla's, Tesla Organizations: Elon, Service, Oracle, Delaware Chancery, Reuters, Detroit's Police Locations: Wall, Silicon, Delaware

☆ See photos of tech's elite all dressed up at the White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Grace Mayer | Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Some of the tech and business industries' top CEOs attended a White House dinner Thursday. Take a look at the CEOs and industry giants who made the guest list and dressed up in their finest. The White House invited leaders from across the tech and business industries for a dinner held for Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi's visit to Washington. The visit has been a crucial one for Biden, as the White House looks to build closer ties with India. Here's a look at the CEOs and industry giants who made the guest list and dressed up in their finest.

Persons: OpenAI, India Narendra Modi's, Biden, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Tesla, Dana White, James Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch's, Jane Fraser, Adena Friedman, Deven Parekh, Hemant Taneja, Catalyst, Ralph Lauren, M, David Calhoun, Larry Culp, Doug McMillon Organizations: White, Apple, Google, Morning, Microsoft, White House, Meta, Twitter, UFC, Citigroup, Nasdaq, Insight Partners, Boeing, Electric, Walmart Locations: Washington, India, China, Taiwan

☆ While Musk and Zuck escalated their playground squabbles, the adults at Apple, Google, and Microsoft met Modi at the White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

This week, the tech billionaires discussed cage fighting as a way to settle their disputes. They did so as the CEOs of Apple, Google, and Microsoft met Narendra Modi at the White House. The CEOs of Apple, Google, and Microsoft attended a White House dinner with India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, on Thursday as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg escalated their beef with each other. Modi's visit to the US this week has been a crucial one for Biden, as the White House looks to build closer ties with India. On Thursday, the same day the White House dinner took place, Musk tweeted "let's go full MMA," suggesting that his fight with Zuckerberg should involve the style of combat seen in UFC bouts.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Narendra Modi, Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Joe Biden's, Modi, Ralph Lauren, James Murdoch, Mukesh Ambani, Modi's, Biden, Zuckerberg, Musk, let's Organizations: Apple, Google, Microsoft, White, Morning, Elon, Bloomberg, Twitter, Meta Locations: Washington, India, China, Taiwan

☆ Bankrupt Vice Media plans sale to Fortress Investment-led group
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Yuvraj Malik | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 22 (Reuters) - A group of buyers including Fortress Investment Group may take over Vice Media after the consortium's $225-million offer for the bankrupt company emerged as the only "qualified" bid on the table, according to a legal filing. Popular with millennial audience through its websites Vice and Motherboard, Vice Media filed for bankruptcy protection last month in a move that capped years of financial difficulties and top-executive departures. GoDigital Media told Reuters in an emailed statement that it made a higher bid for Vice but the offer was turned down by the sellers. "We think Fortress's decision is the wrong choice, and the company, employees, partners and consumers will suffer," GoDigital said. Fortress and Vice did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment on the potential deal, which must be approved by the bankruptcy judge.

Persons: GoDigital, Privately, James Murdoch's, Yuvraj Malik, Jonathan Stempel, Dietrich Knauth, Shailesh Kuber, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Fortress Investment, Media, U.S, Fortress, GoDigital Media, Reuters, Systems, TPG, Technology, Ventures, Antenna Group, Big Tech, Facebook, Google, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, Bengaluru, New York

☆ Elon Musk says he doesn't plan to give his kids control of his companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk said he's found potential successors for his companies if "something happens to me unexpectedly." The billionaire said he doesn't plan to hand over his companies or voting shares to his kids. Musk dispelled rumors earlier this month that he would bring in a new Tesla CEO. Elon Musk says he doesn't plan to hand over his companies to his kids any time soon. The Tesla CEO did not respond to a request for comment from Insider ahead of publication.

Persons: Elon Musk, he's, Musk, X, X's, Grimes, Steve Jobs, Bernard Arnault, Rupert Murdoch —, I've, Musk's, Zach Kirkhorn, Tesla, James Murdoch —, —, Tom Zhu, he'd, Dan Ives Organizations: Morning, Reuters, Twitter, Street Journal, Musk Locations: China, North America, Europe

May 16 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk warned on Tuesday that the electric-vehicle maker was not immune to the global economy, which he said will be difficult for the next 12 months. "We'll try out a little advertising and see how it goes," said Musk, who is also CEO of Twitter. Last week he announced that NBCUniversal's former advertising head, Linda Yaccarino, will succeed him as Twitter CEO and that he will focus on products and technology at the company. Tesla logo and Elon Musk silhouette are seen in this illustration taken, December 19, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationOne shareholder asked about rumors that he would step down as Tesla CEO, adding "Say it ain't so."

May 16 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk on Tuesday warned that the electric-vehicle maker was not immune to the global economy, which he said will be difficult for the next 12 months. At the meeting, shareholders voted to appoint the company's co-founder and former chief technology officer, JB Straubel, to the board. They also rejected a proposal to publish a report that sought to establish succession plans for Chief Executive Elon Musk. Tesla shareholders on Tuesday swiftly voted with the board's recommendations on nearly all proposals. In November, Tesla director James Murdoch testified in court that Musk had identified someone as a potential successor.

May 16 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) shareholders on Tuesday voted to appoint the company's co-founder and former chief technology officer, JB Straubel, to the board, and rejected a proposal to publish a report that sought to establish succession plans for Chief Executive Elon Musk. Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis had recommended that shareholders vote against Straubel's appointment, citing worries about his independence. Tesla shareholders on Tuesday swiftly voted with the board's recommendations on nearly all proposals. Shareholders also voted to re-elect Musk and Chair Robyn Denholm as board members. Tesla board members have discussed CFO Zach Kirkhorn as a possible successor as CEO, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The billionaire entrepreneur, also the top boss of Twitter, last week announced that NBCUniversal's former advertising head Linda Yaccarino will succeed him as Twitter CEO and that he will focus on products and technology at the social media firm. Here are some topics that may be discussed at the shareholder meeting. Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis recommended Tesla shareholders vote against Straubel's appointment, citing worries about his independence. DEMANDInvestors hope Musk will talk about demand against the backdrop of a slowing economy and growing competition. He had flagged strong demand for the Cybertruck, but it takes time to get the manufacturing line going for the "very radical product".

☆ Once valued at nearly $6 billion, Vice files for bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Vice filed for bankruptcy, wiping out equity holders who poured in hundreds of millions, including TPG and James Murdoch. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday in New York's Southern District Court. The company's filing listed assets and liabilities in the range of $500 million to $1 billion. Vice had run multiple sales processes with a range of different banks but never received an offer palatable to its owners. The bankruptcy filing reveals just how many companies and investors pinned their hopes on Smith's hype about the potential growth trajectory of the TV and online venture.

☆ Vice Media Nears Deal for $400 Million Sale Out of Bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Alexander Saeedy | Jodi Xu Klein | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Vice Media is nearing a deal for senior lenders including Fortress Investment Group and Soros Fund Management to acquire the troubled media company out of bankruptcy at a valuation of around $400 million, according to people familiar with the matter. Nearly every Vice stockholder—including backers such as private-equity firm TPG Group, Sixth Street Partners and media mogul James Murdoch—would be wiped out under the proposed reorganization, the people familiar with the matter said. Outstanding debts held by TPG and Sixth Street would also be impaired as part of the plan, the people said. The Murdoch family is a major shareholder in Journal parent News Corp .

REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File PhotoSummarySummary Companies Reliance's JioCinema to lock horns with Netflix, DisneyWarner deal to boost English content, local content in focus tooExecutives say Warner deal will boost Reliance streaming plansJioCinema content quality key to beat rivals, analyst saysMUMBAI, April 28 (Reuters) - The video streaming business of Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest person, is likely to focus on pricing and local content following a deal with Warner Bros as it seeks to challenge the likes of Disney and Netflix, industry sources said. While Netflix and other rivals boast of content specially created for the India audience, JioCinema's current free offerings largely include old Hindi and local language movies. The big challenge is lack of fresh local and global content on JioCinema, something that will be become even more critical as the IPL season ends next month. They have also diversified into regional local language content. The only way to scale up is to really differentiate your content and make sure execution is right," he said.

☆ Insiders say Tucker Carlson overplayed his hand at Fox but the 'whole universe' of right-wing media is courting him now
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

the Fox insider said. Lachlan Murdoch had defended Carlson time and again, most publicly in April 2021, pushing back against Anti-Defamation League complaints of the anchor's "great replacement theory" comments. Lachlan Murdoch and Rupert Murdoch. A second Fox News insider, who is familiar with conversations happening in Australia, said Lachlan Murdoch was looking long term. The board has also put pressure on the Murdoch family to change things at Fox News.

☆ Fox mogul Rupert Murdoch survived the phone-hacking scandal. Dominion's $1.6 billion lawsuit will test whether he can do it again.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Now, two voting-technology companies, Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic, want to make another Murdoch media property pay even more for Fox News's role in spreading election denial. But the phone-hacking scandal showed how Murdoch has weathered challenges to his power before. Another key difference from the phone-hacking scandal is the presence of written records that show Fox execs knew exactly what was going on. In the last quarter of 2022, Fox Corp. netted $321 million on $4.6 billion in revenue. And during the phone-hacking scandal, Murdoch showed fierce loyalty.

☆ James Murdoch's Bodhi Tree slashes planned investment in Reliance JV Viacom18
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, April 14 (Reuters) - Bodhi Tree, a joint venture between James Murdoch and a former Star India executive, has reduced its planned investment in Reliance's (RELI.NS) broadcast venture Viacom18 by 70% and will now pump in 43.06 billion rupees ($527.84 million), Viacom18 said late on Thursday. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries had said in April last year that Qatar Investment Authority-backed Bodhi Tree would spend 135 billion rupees out of a planned 151.45 billion rupees investment in the media behemoth that is also backed by Paramount Global (PARA.O). Reliance is now leading the investment with a 108.39 billion rupees infusion. A source familiar with the matter said the investment amount was reduced due to a broader funding squeeze amid a slowdown in dealmaking. Reliance, which is expanding in every sector from retail to ecommerce, made its big splash in the Indian streaming space last year, with its acquisition of digital streaming rights for the Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament from 2023 to 2027.

☆ Elon Musk says he gets 'swarmed' at parties by people wanting to discuss work, and struggles to trust people, reporter who secured rare interview says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk gave an unexpected interview to the BBC late Tuesday. According to James Clayton, the reporter who spoke to Musk, the billionaire opened up about his personal life. Musk said he's often "swarmed" by people at parties wanting to discuss work, Clayton wrote. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops — delivered daily to your inbox. Musk spoke with BBC correspondent James Clayton about his $44 billion takeover of Twitter in October and the six months that have followed including the layoffs.

☆ Tesla nominates ex-CTO JB Straubel to board of directors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

JB Straubel, Tesla Motors' former chief technical officer, speaks during a ribbon cutting for a new Supercharger station outside of the Tesla Factory on August 16, 2013 in Fremont, California. Tesla has nominated JB Straubel, the CEO and founder of e-waste recycler Redwood Materials, to its eight-member board of directors, according to an SEC filing out Thursday. Straubel is deemed a co-founder of Tesla due to his engineering and operations leadership at Tesla from early on. Mizuno was previously the chief investment officer Japan's government pension investment fund and has been a member of the Tesla board since April 2020. Besides Straubel, Tesla is nominating CEO Elon Musk and chair Robyn Denholm to be re-elected to the board of directors again.

☆ Rupert Murdoch is getting married for the fifth time at 92 years old. Here's a complete timeline of his past marriages.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Lauren Frias | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Anna Murdoch MannRupert Murdoch with his wife, Anna and their baby daughter, Elizabeth, at London Airport in 1968 Evening Standard/Getty ImagesShortly after his divorce from his first wife, Murdoch met his soon-to-be second bride, Anna Murdoch Mann, whose maiden name was Torv. They first met when Murdoch Mann was 18 years old when she had the opportunity to interview Murdoch while she worked for the Sydney newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, which he owned. The media mogul and Scottish-Australian novelist were married for 32 years and had three children together, Elisabeth Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, and James Murdoch. Murdoch and Torv divorced in 1999. "I thought we had a wonderful, happy marriage," she said in an interview with Australian Women's Weekly in 2001.

☆ Inside the demise of Vice, from turning away a $3.5 billion Disney offer to a 'painful' downward spiral that has the media giant scrambling for a buyer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

The talks fizzled, Disney backed off, and Smith set off for California to drum up other interest in Vice Media. Vice Media Group co-CEOs Bruce Dixon, left, and Hozefa Lokhandwala. Vice Media GroupOne former Vice insider familiar with the current situation told Insider that staffers were warning vendors they needed to threaten to stop work in order to get paid. Just a few months later, Rupert Murdoch tweeted, "Who's heard of Vice Media? Refinery29 quickly lost key staff and was not well integrated into Vice Media, the two former staffers said.

☆ Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc calls it quits after 5 years. Read her full memo to staff.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc is stepping down after a rocky tenure. Vice has struggled in recent years given the long shadow of its financial situation. Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc told staff in an email Friday that she is leaving the company after five years at the troubled, Brooklyn-based youth media giant. Read the memo Dubuc sent to staff on Friday:Dear Vice Media Group Team,I am writing today with bittersweet news. Despite all this the Vice, Vice Studios, Pulse, as well as Virtue, R29, i-D and Unbothered brands are strong.

☆ Vice owes FTI Consulting nearly $1 million, a new court filing alleges, one of multiple vendors chasing missed payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Vice Media owes FTI Consulting nearly $1 million in fees, some dating back to 2019, a court filing alleges. FTI is one of several vendors who say they've gone unpaid by the youth media company. The filing alleges that Vice Holding, the parent of Vice Media, hired Washington, DC-based FTI Consulting to help it with accounting projects and management and then failed to pay its bills. Ironically, Vice hired FTI to help it with "profitability analysis" and to design "cash management" tools, according to the filing. Fortress lent Vice $30 million, according to the Wall Street Journal, which confirmed Vice is in a process to sell itself.

☆ Elon Musk is currently working for Tesla for free. That could be about to change
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —For the moment at least, Elon Musk is working at Tesla for free. And last month the company disclosed Musk received the last remaining block of options granted under an even more lucrative 2018 pay package. Tesla stock closed Friday at $208.31. Still, some believe that the Tesla board could soon announce a new pay package for Musk. Some Tesla shareholders challenged the 2018 deal in a Delaware court, even though it was overwhelmingly approved by shareholders at that time.

Musk's Aug. 7, 2018 tweets sent Tesla stock soaring and after they fell back down, shareholders sued, alleging they lost money. But board members James Murdoch and Ira Ehrenpreis each said the tweets did not need to be vetted by the company before Musk sent them because he had done so in his individual capacity. The stock price soared after the tweet and then fell as it became clear the buyout would not happen. Tesla shareholders say they lost billions of dollars on their investments in stocks and other securities of the company. The buyout deal never came together because investors, particularly retail shareholders, expressed their interest in keeping the company public, according to testimony by Musk.

Companies Tesla Inc FollowFeb 1 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) board members are expected to take the stand on Wednesday to defend against claims that Elon Musk misled investors when he tweeted in 2018 he had "funding secured" to take the company private. The trial in San Francisco federal court is testing whether the world's second-richest person can be held liable for his sometimes impulsive use of Twitter. The defendants, which include Musk, Tesla, and current and former directors, are expected to begin calling witnesses on Wednesday. Current Tesla directors Kimbal Musk, and James Murdoch and Ira Ehrenpreis may testify about their communications with Musk about his proposed buyout, according to court documents. Musk told the jury last week he could have financed the potential deal from existing Tesla investors as well as Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund.

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