elon musk
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Source: Anadolu Agency / Getty / Elon Musk
Elon Musk is not done making X (formerly known as Twitter) one of the worst social media experiences ever.
“I can’t believe this app is free” is starting to look like a phrase that has run its course on X.
Spotted on Variety, the Tesla Chief and current owner of X, Elon Musk, claims he wants to charge X/Twitter users a fee to use the platform.
His excuse is that it’s the only way to combat the bots plaguing the platform.
Per Variety:
Musk brought up the idea of charging all users of X/Twitter during a wide-ranging conversation focused on AI that featured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. “We’re moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the X system,” Musk told Netanyahu, claiming that “it’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots.” His comments were initially reported by Bloomberg’s Dave Lee.
As for the price, Musk did not share an exact dollar amount, noting that “a few dollars or something” would stop the creation of bot accounts. Musk also claims X has 550 million monthly active users, and they are sharing between 100-200 million posts daily on the social network, the website also reports.
X Is Still Bleeding Cash
According to Platformer, charging users to use X is not new, and he has been toying with it for some time. Before he begrudgingly bought it, Twitter was not a profitable business, and since his check cleared, ad sales, something the platform depended on tremendously, have plunged 50%.
We guess those Cheech and Chong gummy ads won’t be enough to keep X alive.
As you can imagine, X users are not feeling the news and are once again looking for another app where they take dating debates, sports hot takes, and any other forms of entertainment they came to X/Twitter exclusively for.
You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
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Photo: Anadolu Agency / Getty
1. Exactly
4. Heard you
6. Here’s a thought
It’s not every day that news of a new baby makes it out to the world before the parents are able to announce the bundle of joy on their own terms, but such is the life of Grimes and Elon Musk, whose baby news was revealed in a Saturday (Sept. 9) New York Times book review of a biography on Musk by Walter Isaacson. But the two parents have now spoken out separately to confirm that they share three children.
On Sunday (Sept. 10), Grimes took to X — formerly known as Twitter, which Musk owns — to address a family matter and subtly confirm that she and Musk have welcomed a third child. “Hey, I wud prefer to not breathe any more life into this current press cycle but I want to de-escalate the narrative atm,” she began, referencing a since-deleted post in which she accused the tech magnate of keeping her from one of their kids, and also took aim at Shivon Zilis, with whom Musk shares twins. “I spoke with Shivon at length finally, which was long overdue. This wasn’t her fault, plz don’t be angry at her! We respect each other a lot and we’re excited to become friends and have the kids grow up together.”
She ended her tweet by pointing out how women are often pitted against each other — and confirming she the name of her third child, which The New York Times reported is nicknamed “Tau.” “Speaking with Shivon, it’s very evident she’s an amazing human and we both just want what’s best for our kids,” she concluded. “I wish I could show u how cute little Techno is [alien emoji ] but my priority rn is keeping my babies out of the public eye.”
Musk also confirmed the news with a tweet on Saturday night (Sep. 9), writing, “Tau Techno Mechanicus. Circumference/Diameter” in a reply to a tweet listing the names of his and Grimes’ children.
Musk, 52, and Grimes, 35, co-parent two other children together: son X AE A-XII (“X”), who arrived in May 2020, and daughter Exa Dark Sideræl (“Y”), who was born via surrogate in December 2021, after the couple announced they were “semi-separated” in September that year. Neither has shared when their third child was born.
The Tesla CEO and Zilis — who is an exec at the Musk-owned Neuralink — welcomed twins named Strider and Azure in November 2021, according to a July 2022 Business Insider report. He is also dad to son Nevada (who died from sudden infant death syndrome), twins sons Griffin and Xavier, and triplet sons Kai, Saxon and Damian with first wife Justine Wilson. He and Wilson couple divorced in 2008.
Grimes has earned three entries on the Billboard 200: 2012’s Visions (No. 98), 2015’s Art Angels (No. 36) and 2020’s Miss Anthropocene (No. 32). Art Angels spent one week atop Top Alternative Albums.
Check out Grimes’ and Musk’s confirmations of their third child below:
Hey, I wud prefer to not breathe any more life into this current press cycle but I want to de-escalate the narrative atm. I spoke with Shivon at length finally, which was long overdue. This wasn’t her fault, plz don’t be angry at her! We respect each other a lot and we’re…— Grimes (@Grimezsz) September 10, 2023
Elon Musk and Grimes have secretly welcomed a third child together, a new biography about the Tesla CEO claims. Musk’s upcoming biography Elon Musk, penned by Walter Isaacson, reveals that the former couple have a new son named Techno Mechanicus, according to a review published by The New York Times on Saturday (Sept. 9). The […]
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Early this year, after Elon Musk had finalized his purchase of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, the Tesla CEO announced that it would relax its ban on political ads, which had been implemented in 2019. Well, now, it appears that Musk has made good on that promise and has announced that X will not only allow the ads but is promising transparency and “robust screening processes.”
From Deadline:
“Building on our commitment to free expression, we are also going to allow political advertising,” said a blog post today by X Safety called ‘Supporting people’s right to accurate and safe political discourse on X’ that outlined its plans.
“Starting in the U.S., we’ll continue to apply specific policies to paid-for promoted political posts. This will include prohibiting the promotion of false or misleading content, including false or misleading information intended to undermine public confidence in an election, while seeking to preserve free and open political discourse. We’ll also provide a global advertising transparency center so that everyone can review political posts being promoted on X, in addition to robust screening processes to ensure only eligible groups and campaigns are able to advertise,” the post read.
It noted that “more than half a billion people from around the world gather on X to talk about their interests in real-time, and that includes elections. X enables people to directly engage on important topics with elected representatives, local or national leaders and fellow citizens.”
And it said that during elections, “X works to get in front of a range of tactics that people use to target the process. To do this we hire the right people, update our policies and evolve our product.”
So what it seems like is that Musk’n’nem are allowing political ads again just in time for the 2024 presidential race. Musk, who is more of a political and social right-winger than he likes to admit, could be trying to use X to bolster political support for Donald Trump, or whatever other Republican looks like they might be next in line if Trump’s legal issues get in the way of him getting his orangey-rust dust all over the Oval Office furniture once again.
But at least he’s promising not to allow X to become the cesspool of election fraud propaganda and political misinformation Twitter was when Trump and Trump acolytes like Marjorie Taylor Green were allowed to run wild on the platform and lie all they wanted.
Although come to think of it, all of that was going on while Twitter was still banning political ads, so who knows?
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty / Elon Musk
Just when you thought there was no way Elon Musk could possibly ruin Twitter, oops, we mean X any further; he is now deciding to remove the one tool users love to keep themselves sane.
Last week bootleg Tony Stark, aka Elon Musk, claimed his trash a** platform X, formerly known as Twitter, was getting rid of the beloved block button claiming it “makes no sense.”
“Block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature’, except for DMs,” the so-called tech genius said in a tweet on a Friday.
Hilariously, Musk’s X post was slapped with a further content notice by an X user pointing out that if he removed the ability to block people, his app would violate Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store guidelines.
“If the ability to block users was to be removed, X would be in violation of the policies of the App Store as well as the Google Play Store. Potentially, this could lead to X being removed from these platforms,” the further content notice read.
Musk then suggested that X users instead utilize the mute feature that doesn’t block users from trolling your account but removes their posts from your timelines.
Elon Musk Is Very Unserious
In pure case of irony, right-wing trolls James Woods and Catturd decided to confront the Tesla chief about removing the block button and hilariously were blocked by Musk.
Another X user made a keen observation, pointing out that “Elon Musk probably wants to remove the block feature after he found out how many of us block him.”
Other users add they will leave X altogether; one X post read, “If this happens I’ll be leaving the app. Sorry friends.”
We shall see if Musk will follow through on removing the block feature, but it’s clear the devil works hard, but Elon Musk works harder to ruin his app.
You can see more reactions to Elon Musk possibly removing the block button and getting slam dunked by his community notes feature in the gallery below.
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Photo: NurPhoto / Getty
Elon Musk says his potential in-person fight with Mark Zuckerberg would be streamed on his social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.
The two tech billionaires seemingly agreed to a “cage match” face-off in late June. Zuckerberg is actually trained in mixed martial arts, and the CEO of Facebook’s parent company Meta posted about completing his first jiu jitsu tournament earlier this year.
“Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on X,” Musk wrote in a post Sunday (Aug. 5) on the platform. “All proceeds will go to charity for veterans.”
Musk said earlier Sunday he was training for the fight by lifting weights.
“Don’t have time to work out, so I just bring them to work,” Musk wrote.
Whether or not Musk and Zuckerberg actually make it to the ring in Las Vegas has yet to be seen — especially as Musk often tweets about action prematurely or without following through. But even if their cage match agreement is all a joke, the banter has gained attention.
It all started when Musk, who owns X, responded to a tweet about Meta preparing to release a new Twitter rival called Threads. He took a dig about the world becoming “exclusively under Zuck’s thumb with no other options” — but then one Twitter user jokingly warned Musk of Zuckerberg’s jiu jitsu training.
“I’m up for a cage match if he is lol,” Musk wrote.
Representatives of X, Meta and Ultimate Fighting Championship, which owns the venue where the fight might take place, didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Musk’s push to stream the video live on X comes as he aims to turn the platform into a “digital town square.” However, his much-publicized Twitter Spaces kickoff event in May with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announcing his run for president struggled with technical glitches and a near half-hour delay.
Musk had said the problems were due to “straining” servers because so many people were trying to listen to the audio-only event. But even at their highest, the number of listeners listed topped out at around 420,000, far from the millions of viewers that televised presidential announcements attract.
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty
Twitter is caught in controversy yet again, as Elon Musk is threatening to sue a group that’s been reporting on the increase of hate speech on the platform.
The social media platform which is now known as X is threatening legal action against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). The group states that it received a letter from their attorney Alex Spiro expressing that intent on July 20th from the company accusing them of “a series of troubling and baseless claims that appear calculated to harm Twitter generally, and its digital advertising business specifically,” claiming it had used improper methodology in its research. A blog post claimed that a lawsuit was filed in Northern California on Monday (July 31st).
The CCDH has published numerous reports highlighting research that alleges that the social media platform is failing to protect its users from rampant hate speech, particularly from those who subscribe to Twitter Blue. A recent study done by the group showed that the company refused to take action against 99% of hate speech that originated with those subscribers. It also follows previous studies from the group that Twitter failed to act on 89% and 97% of posts that had anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate speech, respectively.
In the letter, Spiro claims that CCDH’s findings weren’t credibly supported, continuing: “to the extent that CCDH is passing off as impartial “research” material that is, in fact, being funded in support of an ulterior agenda, your representations are all the more misleading.”
“Elon Musk’s actions represent a brazen attempt to silence honest criticism and independent research,” CCDH’s chief executive Imran Ahmed said when contacted by the New York Times, also adding that owner Elon Musk aimed to “stem the tide of negative stories and rebuild his relationship with advertisers.” Roberta Kaplan, the lawyer representing the CCDH, wrote in a statement: “These allegations not only have no basis in fact (your letter states none), but they represent a disturbing effort to intimidate those who have the courage to advocate against incitement, hate speech, and harmful content online.”
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Officials with the city of San Francisco have stated that the new giant “X” sign of Elon Musk’s rebranding of Twitter was done without a permit.
On Friday (July 28th), the tech entrepreneur announced a rebrand of the social media messaging platform Twitter to X, removing the bird logo many have come to associate with the company from the company’s headquarters on Market Street, with the Twitter logo replaced with a huge “X” that lights up at high intensity as night falls. But a complaint by city officials charges that the billionaire didn’t have a permit for the change and barred entry to inspectors.
“NOV issued for work without permit. Site visited by MH and spoke with Twitter (sic) representatives and Building maintenance engineer representatives. I explained BID’s complaint investigation process and requested access to roof area. Twitter (sic) representative declined to provide access but did explain that the structure is a temporary lighted sign for an event. I explained to all representatives that the NOV requires the structure to be removed with a building permit or legalize,” the complaint read.
Another detail in the complaint revealed that officials were denied access to the roof in another attempt to review the new sign on Saturday (July 29th). Patrick Hannah, a spokesperson for San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection said in an interview that “to ensure consistency with the historic nature of the building and to ensure the new additions are safely attached to the sign,” the city requires a permit. A Notice of Violation could mean that the company could incur permit fees in addition to those incurred for an investigation into why the situation occurred.
Residents have complained about the new sign’s brightness at night being a nuisance. KQED journalist Christopher Beale captured the sign’s strobe-light effect in a video he posted on the platform. “I feel like if I was a person that was maybe epileptic or had a sensitivity to bright lights and strobes it would be a major problem to live here. For now, it’s just an irritant,” he said to reporters. He did note that the X did go dark on Sunday night (July 30th).
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Source: Dan Kitwood / Getty / X / Twitter
The masterclass in successfully ruining a good thing continues with the worst attempt at rebranding ever. Elon Musk has officially got rid of Twitter’s iconic bird logo and replaced it with an “X.”
“X,” or whatever the hell Elon Musk is trying to shape the bird app into, is here. Over the weekend, the Tesla chief announced the name change was officially coming and starting today. It is officially here.
If you log onto Twitter.com via desktop, you will see the new logo in the top left corner where the Twitter bird used to be. Also, if you type X.com, you will be redirected to the Twitter website.
To keep the stupid rebranding going, Musk shared a photo of the bland “X” symbol projected on the side of Twitter’s headquarters early Monday morning.
Musk left the explaining of what precisely this rebrand is all about to Twitter; oops, we X’s new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, who tried her best to break down this asinine decision.
“It’s an exceptionally rare thing – in life or in business – that you get a second chance to make another big impression,” Yaccarino begins her tweet. “Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now, X will go further, transforming the global town square.”
She continues, “X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.”
Uh, okay.
Twitter Users Are Still Baffled At The Decision & Are Clowning Elon Musk
No surprise, Twitter OGs are reacting to the name change negatively and are vowing to continue to call X its original name, Twitter.
They also see this as another opportunity to clown Elon Musk, and we don’t blame them because this is one of the dumbest executions we honestly have ever seen.
We’re always here for a Phony Stark, aka Elon Musk dragging. You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
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Photo: Dan Kitwood / Getty
1. Accurate
2. Behold, a masterclass in headassery.