Tag: Elon Musk

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Elon Musk puts Twitter bid on hold pending details on fake and spam accounts

Elon Musk has put a temporary hold on his deal to buy Twitter, requesting details on claims that spam and fake account represent less than five percent of users.

Musk tweeted the news in the early morning hours Friday, linking to a May 2nd Reuters article detailing a Twitter filing of the fake and spam accounts.

“We have performed an internal review of a sample of accounts and estimate that the average of false or spam accounts during the first quarter of 2022 represented fewer than 5% of our mDAU during the quarter,” Twitter’s filing notes.

“The false or spam accounts for a period represents the average of false or spam accounts in the samples during each monthly analysis period during the quarter. In making this determination, we applied significant judgment, so our estimation of false or spam accounts may not accurately represent the actual number of such accounts, and the actual number of false or spam accounts could be higher than we have estimated.”

Hours after his original tweet linking to the article, Musk tweeted to confirm he’s “still committed to acquisition.”

A day before, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal made several changes at the company, including firing Kayvon Beykpour, Twitter’s general manager of consumer products. Agrawal shared the news with staff in an internal email, The Verge reported.

It’s clear Twitter is preparing for the Musk take over, even though it has yet to be officially approved. Musk has plans to cut jobs and costs once the acquisition is complete. 

Source: The Verge 

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Musk aims to significantly increase Twitter’s revenue by 2028

We already know that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk plans to cut jobs and costs over at Twitter, if and when the acquisition is complete. Now, according to a new report from The New York Times, the world’s richest man aims to quintuple (5x) Twitter’s revenue by 2028.

According to the report, Musk recently had a word with Twitter investors where he outlined his plans for the social media company’s financial targets moving forward, with a target of $26.4 billion USD ($34.2 billion CAD) to be achieved by 2028, compared to the company’s $5 billion USD ($6.4 billion CAD) revenue in 2021.

Musk plans to achieve the targets primarily by cutting down the reliance on generating revenue through advertising. Up until now, 90 percent of Twitter revenue came through advertising, and Musk wants to bring this down to 45 percent. On the other hand, subscriptions would become an integral revenue driver, according to Musk. “In 2028, advertising would generate $12 billion in revenue and subscriptions nearly $10 billion, according to the document. Other revenue would come from businesses such as data licensing,” reads the report.

This adds credibility to a recent report that said commercial and government Twitter users might soon have to pay to tweet.

The report also suggests that in addition to Twitter Blue, the social media company will launch a new subscription tier, though nothing about it was mentioned. Musk said he’s aiming for the new tier to rack in nine million sign-ups in the first year, with a target of 104 million sign-ups by 2028.

Additionally, Twitter’s payment business, which includes tipping and shopping, will be expanded to generate an estimated revenue of $15 million USD (about $19.5 million CAD) by next year, and $1.3 billion USD (about $1.69 billion CAD) by 2028.

With all of the above changes, Musk expects to increase the average revenue per user from $24.83 USD (about $32.27 CAD) as of 2021 to $30.22 USD (about $39.26) by 2028.

These are big promises, though Musk’s commitments as CEO of his other two companies are already bearing major fruits, so it wouldn’t be prudent to doubt him. On the other hand, Musk has no prior experience running a social media company, and since the news came out about him taking over Twitter, and his stance about free speech on the platform, users have been flocking away from the social media service.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: The New York Times

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Former Tesla employee being sued for stealing sensitive information and lying on resume

Concha Zaspa, Ukraine – July 20, 2018: Tesla sign on the building on car sales

Tesla is suing a former employee who the company accuses of stealing trade secrets related to its ‘Dojo Supercomputer.’ The Supercomputer, which Tesla unveiled at its AI day is reportedly the fastest AI training machine in the world.

According to Bloomberg, former Tesla thermal engineer Alexander Yatskov was hired specifically to work on Project Dojo, and that is when he copied information about the device onto his personal computer. Yatskov agreed to the claims when confronted, though he handed over a “dummy” laptop when asked to surrender any of Tesla’s stolen intellectual property.

In addition to theft, Tesla is also suing Yatskov for lying about his work history, skills and experience on his resume, saying that he was “repeatedly unable” to fulfill tasks he was hired for.

“This is a case about illicit retention of trade secrets by an employee who, in his short time at Tesla, already demonstrated a track record of lying and then lying again by providing a ‘dummy’ device to try and cover his tracks,” Tesla wrote in its U.S. District Court filing, according to Bloomberg.

“Access to the Tesla Trade Secrets would enable engineers at other companies to reverse engineer Tesla’s Trade Secrets to create similar supercomputer thermal systems in a fraction of the time and with a fraction of the expense it took Tesla to build it,” reads the filing.

Tesla is seeking monetary and exemplary compensation in damages, as well as a court order for Yatskov to hand over the sensitive information.

Source: Bloomberg

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Elon Musk might temporarily serve as Twitter CEO post acquisition

Twitter’s new CEO Parag Agrawal might be in danger of losing his job, at least temporarily.

According to a CNBC News report, after Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition officially goes through, he’ll become the social media platform’s temporary CEO. The information comes from an unnamed source that is familiar with the matter, said CNBC News.

For those who don’t know, Agrawal was named CEO of Twitter in November of last year, when former CEO Jack Dorsey announced his resignation. Just over six months in, he is already in danger of losing his position. The report also suggests that Musk is in talks with Dorsey about him making a comeback.

On the other hand, a Reuters report from last week suggests that Musk has a new CEO lined up to take over Twitter.

While there’s a lot of uncertainty about the takeover, and no statements from Agrawal yet, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who also is a major investor in Twitter, believes that Musk will be an “excellent leader” for the social media platform. Considering Musk’s experience running other companies, there’s a possibility the prince might be right.

On the contrary, Musk’s yet-to-complete takeover has already frustrated some, so much so that people are leaving the social media platform. Since the news about Musk’s acquisition came out, popular left-wing figures have experienced a relentless drop in followers, including former President Barack Obama, the most followed user on Twitter, who has lost more than 300,000 followers in the recent week. If Musk was to take on the role of CEO, I would imagine that more people would leave the platform.

In other Twitter and Musk-related news, the world’s richest man reportedly plans to cut jobs and costs once the acquisition of Twitter is complete.

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Commercial and government users might soon have to pay to tweet

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition hasn’t even been finalized yet, but that is not stopping the world’s richest man from tossing ideas up in the air about the social media platform’s future.

From what we already know, Musk has already floated the idea of cutting both jobs and company costs once he takes over, and to generate revenue, he might add new subscription tiers to the platform. In a now-deleted Tweet, he also floated the idea of adding a new profile checkmark for those who pay for Twitter Blue and a Tweet about converting the company’s San Francisco office to a homeless shelter.

Now, it appears as though Musk wants to charge corporations and governments around the world to use Twitter.

Comparing Twitter as a free service with Freemasons who gave away their expertise in stonecutting for free, which eventually led to their downfall,  Musk said, “Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users.”

Considering that Musk has already stated in talks with banks that he aims to find ways to drive recurring revenue from Twitter, the Tweet seems plausible. Though like with anything Musk Tweets, we’ll wait until something materializes to take it seriously.

Source: @elonmusk

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How to delete your Twitter account

The ongoing Twitter acquisition by Elon Musk has left many worried.

Musk’s adamancy about transforming the platform into a hub that supports free speech is a noble idea in theory, but comes with unforeseen consequences, with sudden follower fluctuations, the spread of misinformation and rampant abuse being a few main concerns.

Since the news about Musk’s acquisition came out, popular left-wing figures have experienced a relentless drop in followers, whereas those with right-wing ties are enjoying follower growth. For example, former President Barack Obama, the most followed user on Twitter, has lost more than 300,000 followers in recent days, whereas Jair Bolsonaro, a popular right-wing figure, gained about 100,000 followers. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis saw his Twitter follow increase by roughly 100,000 as well.

According to Twitter, the growth and shrinkage of followers are entirely organic and are owed to people leaving or joining the platform in abundance.

If you think its time for you to pull out of the platform, here are a few simple steps you can follow:

You can deactivate your Twitter account regardless of the device you’re using it on. This means that, unlike Instagram, you can deactivate your Twitter account either from the Android or iOS mobile app or on the web. The steps for all three devices are the same, though the example below has been illustrated on the web version of Twitter.

  • Click on ‘More’ on the left-aligned dashboard and head to ‘Settings and privacy.’
  • Navigate to ‘Your account’ and then ‘Deactivate your account.’
  • Read the parting message and click on ‘Deactivate’

You’ll then be asked to enter your password one last time and your account will be deactivated. Follow the screenshots below for visual reference.

It’s worth noting that deactivating your account doesn’t mean that it is entirely deleted. Your account will live in Twitter’s database for the next 30 days, within which you can reactivate your account simply by signing in as you normally would.

If you’re absolutely sure that you want to leave Twitter in the past, don’t attempt to login in during the 30-day window and your account will be permanently deleted.

Image credit: Shutterstock

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Musk reportedly plans to cut jobs and costs once Twitter acquisition is complete

Elon Musk’s tenure at Twitter hasn’t even officially begun, but a new Bloomberg report suggests that the world’s richest man intends to cut costs and jobs in a bid to generate financial returns.

The snippet of information comes from unnamed people familiar with the matter, who say that while in talks with bankers to acquire along for the $44 billion USD (about $56 billion CAD) purchase, Musk floated the idea of cutting both jobs and company costs. “He didn’t go into details about which departments or positions might be affected,” said the unnamed source. 

Additionally, new subscription tiers might be coming to the social media platform, as Musk was heard discussing subscription services to drive recurring revenue.

While we aren’t entirely sure how Musk intends to lead Twitter, his statement in the company’s acquisition press release suggests that his focus is primarily on free speech.

“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” said Musk. “I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential — I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”

Musk abolished Tesla’s PR (public relations) department back in 2020, so something similar might be on the table for Twitter as well.

In other Musk and Twitter-related news, two Canadian banks have lent $1.46 billion to Musk for his Twitter acquisition.

Source: Bloomberg

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Twitter admits it overstated user figures between 2019 and 2021

Twitter overstated user numbers by two million between 2019 and 2021, according to the social media giant’s latest financial report.

The company introduced a feature in March 2019 allowing for multiple accounts to be linked together so users could easily switch between their accounts.

But the company admits people with multiple accounts were counted as separate users, inflating its figures.

The admission comes as billionaire Elon Musk is acquiring the company for $54.20 USD a share (about $69 CAD). The entire transaction is valued at roughly $44 billion USD (about $56 billion CAD).

According to the Globe and Mail, two Canadian banks are also helping to finance the purchase.

Musk is borrowing $25 billion in loans from 12 banks. RBC has pledged $750 million USD (about $955 million CAD) and CIBC put up $400 million USD (roughly $500 million CAD).

Source: Twitter Via: Engadget

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Twitter’s sudden follower fluctuation post acquisition is organic

Following the news that Elon Musk is acquiring Twitter in a deal valued at approximately $44 billion USD (about $56 billion CAD), users with big followings have seemingly started experiencing significant fluctuations in their Twitter following in both directions.

Twitter says that these fluctuations in follower count are completely organic, owing the change to several new and departing users.

“While we continue to take action on accounts that violate our spam policy which can affect follower counts, these fluctuations appear to largely be a result of an increase in new account creation and deactivation,” Twitter said in a statement given to NBC News.

Since the acquisition, former President Barack Obama, the most followed user on Twitter, has lost more than 300,000 followers, whereas American artist Katy Perry lost more than 200,000 followers.

On the other hand, Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, a popular right-wing figure gained about 90,000 followers, and so did Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who gained nearly 100,000 new followers.

The sudden volatility in follower count indicates that people who support liberal ideas and left-wing politicians, in general, are leaving the platform, fearing Musk’s adamancy to establish free speech on the platform, which will bring a major change in the content moderation policies of the platform, and bring back users like former president Donald Trump who has long been banned from the platform.

Trump did say that he won’t be returning to the social media platform in favour of his TRUTH Social.

Source: NBC News

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Hawaiian Airlines’ passengers would be able to use Starlink Wi-Fi onboard next year

Apart from Twitter, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has made another less-talked-about deal in the past week.

SpaceX’s Starlink will now provide in-flight internet for Hawaiian Airlines’ trans-pacific fleet, which are flights to and from the continental U.S, Asia and Oceania.

According to Hawaiian Airlines, the two companies are in the initial phase of implementing the agreement, and the wireless internet will be placed aboard select planes next year.

“When we launch with Starlink we will have the best connectivity experience available in the air,” said Hawaiian Airlines’ president and CEO Peter Ingram in its news release. “We waited until technology caught up with our high standards for guest experience, but it will be worth the wait. Our guests can look forward to fast, seamless and free Wi-Fi to complement our award-winning onboard Hawaiian hospitality.”

While not much else was revealed, Hawaiian Airlines did say that passengers will be able to connect to the internet without going through any registration or payment procedures. Additionally, the airline won’t deploy the service on its Boeing 717 aircraft that operate short flights between the Hawaiian Islands.

The deal also marks the first major partnership with an airline for SpaceX’s Starlink.

The Starlink service essentially beams down internet service through satellites in orbit down to antennas on earth. The service is currently available in parts of Canada as part of Starlink’s beta program, including locations in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: Hawaiian Airlines