elon musk
Sheryl Crow is bidding farewell to her Tesla. The Grammy-winning singer, 63, announced on Instagram Friday (Feb. 14) that she’s selling her Tesla and donating the proceeds to NPR. Her decision comes in response to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s push for government efficiency through his unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to cut […]
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President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly set to strike a deal with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to the tune of $400 million. President Trump is putting a fleet of armored Tesla Cybertrucks on order, prompting many online to call out the hypocrisy of DOGE and the White House.
As spotted on Drop Site, it appears that the State Department, now headed by Marco Rubio, was in line to receive the fleet of armored Tesla Cybertrucks with a value of $400 million and is slated to take place in the fourth quarter of the year for a period of five years. The outlet notes that the forecasted purchase was modified on Dec. 13 of last year, ahead of when Trump was officially sworn in last month.
Drop Site added that the plan was set in motion by President Joe Biden’s administration, with the aim of transforming the Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s fleet of over 3,000 armored vehicles into all-electric, zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
After reports of the deal went wide, including outlets such as MSBNC and NPR, speculation pointed to the Cybertruck as the vehicle of choice after the word “Tesla” was seen in the State Department document. However, that word was removed Wednesday evening, prompting some to think that there is trickery afoot.
Elon Musk is currently spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, which has aimed efforts to cut government overspending. Critics of Musk and DOGE have aimed their concerns about the raging conflict of interest should Musk’s company retain the contract despite his pledge to cut the country’s deficit by trillions.
Cybertruck owners have recently been the target of vandalism and ridicule after Musk’s public alignment with Trump. Some owners are saying they’re being targeted while viral clips online show the vehicle marked with insults and taking surface damage.
On X, the reaction to the reports that Tesla could potentially earn $400 in government contracts for a fleet of decked-out Cybertrucks has garnered some passionate responses. We’ve got those listed below.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: Kayla Bartkowski / Getty
A 19-year-old teen engineer with a dubious nickname has access to highly sensitive government information, thanks to Elon Musk, and online observers are outraged.
As tech billionaire Elon Musk has directed his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Team to gain access to sensitive federal servers under the premise of cutting government waste, the identities of six prominent technologists have been revealed, among them a 19-year-old high school graduate named Edward Coristine. Coristine has gained attention due to his nickname, “Big Balls,” and also for having a background that officials state would not have allowed him the clearance to obtain security clearance under normal circumstances.
Coristine, a former student at Northeastern University, was revealed to have worked for the Path Network in 2022, a firm known for hiring reformed blackhat hackers. Blackhat hackers specialize in cyberwarfare and other computer-based forms of malice. Coristine was also linked to a Telegram account that solicited a cyberattack-for-hire job that year. In addition, he has been linked to the ownership of at least five different companies in the last four years, including one named Tesla.Sexy LLC. The company, according to WIRED, controls dozens of web domains which include two registered in Russia. One of those is still active under the name of Helfie, operating an AI bot targeting Discord servers in the Russian market.
Coristine’s presence on the DOGE team adds more chaos and uncertainty to a situation that has been brewing since last week, with Democratic lawmakers and others expressing concern and outrage over Musk and his team’s unfettered access to information at the US Treasury, USAID, the Social Security Administration, and others. “It’s highly likely they’re improperly accessing, transferring and storing highly sensitive data outside of the environments it was intended to be contained within,” said British cybersecurity expert and hacker Marcus Hutchins in an interview. “If I were a nation like China, Russia, or Iran, I’d be having a field day with a bunch of college kids running around with sensitive federal government data on unencrypted hard drives.” Musk has threatened to shut down the accounts of those on X, formerly Twitter, disclosing more information about him and the other five. This was highlighted in a post by X user Kiera Golden.
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Elon Musk and his alignment with President Donald Trump was under scrutiny long before the inauguration, and now, the DOGE chieftain is wielding seemingly unchecked power within the federal government despite not being elected. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), an independent agency, has been ordered to shut down and possibly be moved under the direction of the U.S. Department of State under President Trump’s orders, and workers for the agency are speaking out.
To explain the function of USAID, the agency was established in 1961 under the guidance of President John F. Kennedy and provides funding for humanitarian efforts around the globe. Over 100 countries benefit from the agency’s billions and does not absorb a large portion of the federal budget. The agency employs over 10,000 people.
However, Trump has vehemently expressed that the agency is a tool of his political opponents and wants to stamp out what he feels is criminal activity and has employed Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to head the cleanup effort.
Trump ordered an end to foreign financial assistance with Musk taking a larger role in the handling of shutting down USAID despite not being an elected official and a foreign national. It has been an unprecedented takeover of the federal government that has largely been endorsed by the Republican Party, which has marched lockstep along party lines.
Surprisingly, some Democrats have warmly embraced the actions of Trump and Musk, and some Democratic Party senators have voted in favor of the president’s controversial cabinet. A coalition of Democratic Party has staged protests to halt the rapid nature of the Trump administration’s moves, which has run into a few legal snags yet not nearly enough to halt the carnage.
Of the damage left in the wake of Trump and Musk are USAID workers who have been cut off from their workstations and ripped away from assisting those in need. One worker shared details that Musk’s DOGE squad, a grouping of engineers largely new to the workforce and assumably not at the federal government level. One of the named DOGE engineers was a former software engineer for Twitter, now known as X.
In a small glimmer of hope for the agency, the AFL-CIO and other government unions have sued DOGE to protect the data of workers from Musk’s engineering team.
From the information and reactions we’ve gleaned on X and from government websites, we’re sharing thoughts from the public at the recent happenings between DOGE and USAID. Those responses can be viewed below.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty
President Donald Trump accused South Africa of “confiscating land” in a social media post and cut aid to them, prompting that country’s government to fire back with a denial.
The nation of South Africa is the latest target of President Donald Trump’s wrath, as he falsely attacked the country in a post on Truth Social Sunday night (Feb. 2). “South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” he wrote, continuing by stating that he would be cutting off aid as a response: “I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa briskly denied the allegation in a post on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “South Africa is a constitutional democracy that is deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality. The South African government has not confiscated any land.”
https://x.com/CyrilRamaphosa/status/1886319401101910311
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Trump would repeat the claim to journalists, and allegations were echoed by his backer, tech billionaire Elon Musk (who was born in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1971) who wrote in a post on X that South Africa had “openly racist ownership laws.” Musk, through his actions with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has already announced the shutdown of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), claiming it was a joint decision with Trump. David Sacks, the billionaire PayPal co-founder and Trump ally, also hails from South Africa.
Land ownership in South Africa has been a hotly contested issue for over a century since the British restricted Black ownership of land beginning in 1913 with the Natives Land Act, transferring large swaths of land to white settlers including, the Afrikaner community and confining Black people to townships and homelands. Currently, Black people (who compose 80% of the population) constitute 4% of landowners in South Africa, while three-quarters of the land is owned by whites who constitute 8% of the population.
Trump has spoken out about this issue before in his first term, but having Musk as a supporter suggests that he’s inclined to be more aggressive in cutting off aid. Members of the African National Congress, the ruling party in South Africa, have also pointed to the right-wing AfriForum group as having lobbied Trump and others in the U.S. AfriForum, who represents the Afrikaner population in South Africa, has fought for Ramaphosa to change the new law but has opposed Trump’s proposed removal of aid to the country.
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Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty
President Donald Trump’s administration has offered federal workers a buyout. However, many see it as a false offer, speaking out about it on social media.
On Tuesday (January 28), the administration of President Donald Trump announced that it was offering buyouts to all federal employees who choose to leave their positions by February 6. The buyout offer was presented in an email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), where employees were offered seven months’ pay if they accepted the buyout. The move is seen as a dramatic effort to shrink the federal government workforce, with the administration claiming that only 6% of federal workers are physically in office. (That was found to be false in a report by Axios.)
“The substantial majority of federal employees who have been working remotely since Covid will be required to return to their physical offices five days a week,” the detailed memo from OPM reads. The offer exempts those in the Postal Service as well as those with positions of national security. The email was found to have a subject line and wording similar to an email Elon Musk sent to employees of X, formerly Twitter, in 2022 after he acquired the social media platform (in that email he asked that employees leave, or stay and become “hardcore.” Musk, a Trump ally, is currently overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and acknowledged the similarities on X.
The move comes with further pushes by Trump and his administration to institute a system of loyalists. On Monday (January 27), it removed a 2024 protection for workers from firing from the Biden administration in a memo. “Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration’s goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to,” said Everett Kelley, the president of AFGE, the largest federal union in a statement.
Others swiftly called out Trump for trying to bully federal workers with the buyout online and offline, noting that those who choose it won’t even get retirement benefits. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine joined others of his party sounding the alarm in a speech. “He’s tricked hundreds of people with that offer. If you accept that offer and resign, he’ll stiff you just like he stiffed the contractors. He doesn’t have any authority to do this. Do not be fooled by this guy,” he said.
Grimes is attempting to mediate the toxicity in her fandom.
The singer took to X on Monday (Jan. 27) to “address a certain toxicity in the Grimes fandom,” adding that “some persistent trolls on Reddit have been pushing this white supremacy/ Nazi thing,” and that Reddit has not responded to help requests.
“If it wasn’t clear – ****I very much denounce Nazi-ism and white supremacy*****. I am sorry I didn’t take this more seriously sooner, I did not realize the extent of the issue. But it has come to my attention from some of yall that this has been creating a lot of trouble,” she wrote, noting that the perpetrating accounts have been “stalking and harassing friends and family of mine,” and calling “workplaces of non white friends and trying to get them fired for being supposed nazis.”
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Grimes then apologized for “not realizing it was a bigger issue for” her fans. “I am sad at the division in the world rn,” she concluded. “And I’m rly sorry anyone who has had to see super toxic negative things in the grimes fandom on my behalf. I am sorry to the few fans who I also know have been harassed in this way as well. If u report accounts to me that are harassing people or creating problems I will work harder to deal with it.”
Hello! I’d like to address a certain toxicity in the Grimes fandom. For a few years now some persistent trolls on Reddit have been pushing this white supremacy/ Nazi thing. (Reddit refuses to respond to us about this). If it wasn’t clear – ****I very much denounce Nazi-ism…— 𝖦𝗋𝗂𝗆𝖾𝗌 ⏳ (@Grimezsz) January 28, 2025
Grimes previously spoke out last week in response to what many have described as a Nazi-like salute given by her ex, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, during one of Donald Trump’s inaugural events. The tech titan who has reportedly created the Department of Government Efficiency in the White House made two rapid, straight-armed hand gestures during the celebration, which quickly comparisons to the signature “Sieg Heil” salute made by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
In her post, Grimes pushed back at those who she said appeared willing to cancel her for the seemingly fascist gesture made by her ex, “before [I] even heard it happened.” That said, Grimes made it clear: “I am not him. I will not make a statement every time he does something. I can only send love back into a world that is hurting.”
She added that “in a world stimulated by scandal, I feel a moral imperative to only add to the mess when something positive can be done. Otherwise I’m just adding tot he desensitization. To be clear i could go talk s–t and be on a bunch of magazine covers and be a feminist hero and get clout – but it would serve no purpose. I choose my children’s wellbeing. I promise you it doesn’t feel good to be hated all the time for things I don’t even know about, cannot predict and cannot control. But I also chose this path, I accept it. I make the best of it, and I simply wish happiness and health to all.”
Grimes then changed the narrative shortly after, writing, “I’m happy to denounce Nazi-ism – and the far alt right. Would that help clear things up? I’ve just gotten out of breakfast and have to catch a flight, and am still debating how to approach things diplomatically because I feel in over my head. But if there’s concern about that, I am happy to set the record strait in a meaningful way.”
Musk and Grimes share three children together: sons X Æ A-Xii, 4, and Techno Mechanicus, 2, as well as daughter Exa Dark Sideræl, 3.
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Source: Charley Gallay / Getty / Elon Musk
Elon Musk couldn’t be the fake gamer allegations and admitted to cheating. Now, understandably, real gamers are BIG MAD with Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2 developers for not banning Phony Stark for his egregious gaming behavior.
Spotted on IGN, Blizzard Entertainment, and Grinding Gear Games, quietness on the matter of whether action will be taken against Musk has been deafening.
Gamers are now lashing out at the studio’s hesitation to ban Elon Musk’s accounts, leading some to believe that the developers are undermining the integrity of their games, IGN reports.
Rolling Stone shared screenshots of a private conversation between the world’s richest loser and a YouTuber where he openly admitted to paying for account boosting in Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2.
“Have you level boosted (had someone else play your accounts) and/or purchased gear/resources for PoE2 [Path of Exile 2] and Diablo 4?” YouTuber NikoWrex asked. Musk replied with a 100% emoji, adding, “It’s impossible to beat the players in Asia if you don’t, as they do!”
“But when I post a video of a game or am streaming, that’s 100% me,” Musk continued. He was then asked if he would take credit for his high-level Path of Exile 2 character. “No. Never claimed that. The top accounts in Diablo or PoE require multiple people playing the account to win a leveling race.”
What Is Account Boosting?
For those who don’t know, account boosting occurs when a player logs into another player’s account to boost their rank. This directly violates every live service game’s terms of service. Account boosting or power-leveling, in exchange for payment, is prohibited per Blizzard’s end-user license agreement.
So it’s no surprise folks are mad that Musk has yet to be punished for his actions, and they are sounding off on the devs and the X/Twitter owner.
Per IGN:
Following Musk’s admission this week, Diablo 4 developer Blizzard Entertainment and Path of Exile 2 developer Grinding Gear Games have faced questions about whether they will now take action and ban Musk’s accounts for cheating.
“So now billionaires can buy their way to the top of the HC ladder as a vanity project like owning a football club. Are the TOS not being enforced even when openly broken?” asked one Path of Exile player in a post on the game’s official forum.
“Are there any comments from GGG regarding this? Maybe in [Early Access] it’s not a high priority, or it’s garnering too much free press, but as a longtime supporter, this is a massive blow to the credibility of RMT [real money trading] enforcement.
“I’m not trying to shitpost or troll with this, I’m just extremely disappointed that GGG isn’t getting out the ban hammer.
“Anyone else feel this is undermining the integrity of the game?”
Both Grinding Gear Games and Blizzard Entertainment declined to comment on the matter, with Blizzard telling IGN, “it does not comment on individual player account behaviors or enforcements.”
Again, this behavior from Elon Musk isn’t surprising.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
1. We call him Phony Stark within good reason
2. Sh*t’s crazy
6. Exactly
13. Expeditiously
14. A very loud one
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Source: Christopher Furlong / Getty / Elon Musk
Fresh off his Nazi salute (no debate on that), Elon Musk, the billionaire nuisance, will have an office in the White House, according to a report and straight from Felon 47, aka Donald Trump’s mouth.
Yup, you read that nonsense correctly. Musk, the current co-chair of the completely made-up non-governmental organization Department of Government Efficiency, will have West Wing office space in the White House, as seen on Raw Story, according to a report in the New York Times.
Per Raw Story:
Musk, a close confidant of Donald Trump who had notably spent the weeks after Election Day at a $2,000 a night cottage at the president’s Mar-a-Lago golf resort, was expected to work out of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, The New York Times reported Monday.
That would have placed him inside the White House complex, but not exactly in the West Wing itself, the publication added.
The development comes as the world’s richest man spent “many days asking about his level of access, signaling a desire for proximity to Mr. Trump, according to the people,” according to the Times report, which cited conversations with two people familiar with the planning.
According to the New York Times, “Mr. Trump had wanted Mr. Musk to have the space, one of the people said. Mr. Musk has been given a badge for the White House complex and filled out paperwork to be brought onboard for the role.”
Bruh.
Trump signs an order creating the Department of Governmental Efficiency
Doocy: Is Elon Musk getting a West Wing office? pic.twitter.com/kqxUGKXyWd
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 21, 2025
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DOGE Is Off To Very Non-Efficient Start
The agency, which Trump announced during the campaign, isn’t running efficiently. Word on the political streets is that DOGE’s other co-chair, Vivek Ramaswamy, is out as co-chair and has his sights on Ohio’s Governor’s seat. The seat will soon be vacated by the current Governor, Mike DeWine, who can no longer hold it due to term limits.
According to Politico, it was Musk himself who also wanted Ramaswamy out and accomplished his goal thanks to the failed Republican presidential candidates’ rant about H-1B visas where he called MAGA’s most prominent supporters, White folks, L A Z Y.
Musk and DOGE also look foolish after promising to slash at least $2 trillion from federal spending. DOGE was hit with a lawsuit, claiming it violates federal transparency rules on disclosure, hiring, and other practices.
Social media has thoughts on the matter; spoiler alert, they had nothing nice to say.
You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
1. Exactly
2. Yeah congress how do you feel aboput this?
3. Interesting
4. He probably won’t have to do anything because there is no accountability anymore
7. Sounds like waste to us too.
Green Day delivered a politically charged performance during their Jan. 19 concert at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium, marking their debut in South Africa.
While performing their iconic 2004 hit “American Idiot,” frontman Billie Joe Armstrong swapped the lyric “I’m not a part of the redneck agenda” with “I’m not a part of the Elon agenda,” a direct jab at billionaire Elon Musk, who was born in Pretoria.
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The show in South Africa, part of the Calabash 2025 festival, saw Green Day headlining alongside The Offspring and local punk heroes Fokofpolisiekar.
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The jab at Musk comes amidst controversy surrounding the billionaire’s behavior at Trump’s second inauguration.
During his speech at the celebration, Musk made a hand gesture that sparked widespread online comparisons to a Nazi salute. Critics lambasted the gesture, while Musk dismissed the criticism, calling it a “tired” attack. The Anti-Defamation League ultimately described the gesture as an “awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm” rather than malicious intent, but the incident added to the polarizing figure’s contentious reputation.
This isn’t the first time Green Day has called out Musk; after their 2023 New Year’s Rockin’ Eve performance, where they altered the lyrics of “American Idiot” to say “I’m not a part of the MAGA agenda,” Musk criticized the band on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “Green Day goes from raging against the machine to milquetoastedly raging for it.”
In response, bassist Mike Dirnt quipped as per The Independent, “Elon Musk actually is the machine. I can’t take anything else from that. He’s not shy about saying stupid s**t on the internet. Whatever. The song’s twenty years old, and we’re Green Day. What did you expect?”
Musk is yet to comment on their latest jab.
Green Day has a long history of challenging political figures through their music. The band famously chanted “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA” during their performance at the 2016 American Music Awards. In 2023, they released the “Ultimate Nimrod” t-shirt, featuring Trump’s mugshot styled after their Nimrod album cover, with proceeds supporting Maui wildfire relief efforts.
“Good Riddance. The ultimate Nimrod shirt is available for 72 hours only,” Green Day posted at the time. “Limited edition shirt proceeds will be donated to…[Greater Good Music], a charity which is bringing food to those affected by the Maui wildfires.”
Armstrong has also been vocal in urging fans to vote for progressive candidates, recently endorsing Kamala Harris for the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
As Green Day continues their tradition of blending music and activism, they’ve also maintained their stature as one of the most influential punk bands on the Billboard charts.
Their Grammy-winning album American Idiot debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2004 and has sold over seven million copies in the U.S. alone. “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” one of the band’s most enduring hits, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “Wake Me Up When September Ends” reached No. 6. Their follow-up album, 21st Century Breakdown, also debuted at No. 1 in 2009, continuing their legacy of chart dominance.