Elon Musk news - live: Musk dumps $4bn worth of shares in Tesla shares as personal wealth drops below $200bn
Twitter lays off staff around the world as Musk continues to attract criticism in his new position
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Musk has been criticised for urging “independent-minded voters” to back Republican candidates in this week’s midterm elections.
The Tesla and SpaceX boss, who bought Twitter for $44 billion last month, told his 115m followers that “shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties”, and that voters should therefore limit a Democratic president by voting for a Republican Congress.
The move appeared to cause a price-drop in Tesla’s stock that caused Mr Musk’s net worth to drop below $200bn.
It is the latest episode in a week of chaos the San-Francisco-based social network, which reportedly may have to rehire some of the staff that it fired last week because it needs their expertise.
Mr Musk decided to lay off almost 50 per cent of Twitter staff, with the company’s employees alerted on their job status by email after barring their entrances to offices and cutting off their access to internal systems overnight.
Elon Musk’s other company Tesla could be at risk from new EV startup
Elon Musk‘s Tesla paved the way nearly two decades ago. Now, the global transition to fully electric vehicles is littered with startups, inspired by a new era in mobility and drawn by the lower cost of building EVs compared with their fossil-fuel-guzzling forbears.
Gone are the billion-dollar investments that have made legacy auto-making into such a cash cow. Suppliers offer ready-made generic electric platforms and manufacturers can take on contracts for assembly — approaches that translate into savings on jobs and infrastructure.
What has been missing in the new EV formula, according to a Milan-based startup, AEHRA, is a fresh design concept.
Colleen Barry has the full report.
Italian EV startup takes on US, Chinese rivals with design
A new fully electric vehicle startup in Italy is challenging U.S. and Chinese rivals with “Made in Italy" design
Whoopi Goldberg calls Elon Musk's Twitter takeover 'a mess' as she quits platform
Whoopi Goldberg has deactivated her Twitter account, joining other high-profile users in quitting the platform following Elon Musk’s $44bn takeover.
“It’s so messy, and I’m tired of now having certain kinds of attitudes blocked now getting back on. So I’m gonna get out, and if it settles down enough and I feel more comfortable maybe I’ll come back,” the co-host of The View said on the show.
Goldberg joins the likes of Gigi Hadid, Shonda Rhimes, Jameela Jamil, and Toni Braxton in leaving the platform.
More from Independent TV.
Whoopi Goldberg calls Elon Musk's Twitter takeover 'a mess' as she quits platform
Whoopi Goldberg has deactivated her Twitter account, joining other high-profile users in quitting the platform following Elon Musk’s $44bn takeover. “It’s so messy, and I’m tired of now having certain kinds of attitudes blocked now getting back on. So I’m gonna get out, and if it settles down enough and I feel more comfortable maybe I’ll come back,” the co-host of The View said on the show. Goldberg joins the likes of Gigi Hadid, Shonda Rhimes, Jameela Jamil, and Toni Braxton in leaving the platform. Sign up to our newsletters.
Elon Musk criticised for meme featuring Nazi soldier
Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, has come under fire for sharing a meme featuring a Nazi soldier as a joke about technological progress.
The Tesla and SpaceX billionaire tweeted a black and white photo of a solider carrying a cage full of carrier pigeons on his back, with the caption “3 unread messages” and a red notification badge superimposed onto the cage as if it were a smartphone app.
“How times have changed,” commented Mr Musk, adding: “Back when birds were real...”
But hawk-eyed Twitter users soon pointed out that the photo actually shows a member of the army of Nazi Germany, known as the Wehrmacht, during the invasion of France in May 1940, when portable radios were not yet ubiquitous in war.
Io Dodds has the story from San Francisco.
Elon Musk criticised for meme featuring Nazi soldier
The new boss of Twitter appeared to be trying to make a joke about technological change
Elon Musk may get EU Parliament grilling
Elon Musk could be asked to appear before the European Parliament to answer questions about his takeover of Twitter.
MEPs from the liberal Renew group have written to the EU legislature’s president asking her to invite the billionaire to attend a scrutiny session.
Check out this piece from Independent Premium.
MEPs want Elon Musk to come to European Parliament for Twitter grilling
European legislators say website must not become ‘dystopian hellscape’ and follow law
The big tech layoffs are coming
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is preparing to notify employees of large-scale layoffs this week.
The news, initially reported by The Wall Street Journal, comes days after mass firings at Twitter under new owner Elon Musk.
Meta is thought to be considering making thousands of employees redundant with an announcement planned as soon as Wednesday 9 November, after weak performances were reported across its various apps, including Facebook and Instagram.
As of September, Meta reported that it had a total of 87,000 employees.
Get the story from Independent TV.
Facebook parent company Meta expected to lay off thousands of employees
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is preparing to notify employees of large-scale layoffs this week. The news, initially reported by The Wall Street Journal, comes days after mass firings at Twitter under new owner Elon Musk. Meta is thought to be considering making thousands of employees redundant with an announcement planned as soon as Wednesday 9 November, after weak performances were reported across its various apps, including Facebook and Instagram. As of September, Meta reported that it had a total of 87,000 employees. Click here to sign up for our newsletters.
Twitter stock takes a massive hit
Tesla stock sank to hit a new 52-week low on Monday as chief executive Elon Musk’s rocky start to his Twitter regime appeared to spook investors.
Mr Musk’s net worth also dropped below the $200bn mark Musk, dipping to $194.8 billion, according to Forbes.
Shares in the electric vehicle maker plunged more than 4 per cent to $196.66 on Monday after Mr Musk tweeted that “independent-minded” voters should support Republicans in Tuesday’s midterms.
Get the details with Bevan Hurley’s full report.
Tesla stock plunges to new low as Elon Musk’s net worth drops below $200bn
Tesla stock fell below the key $200 price level on Monday after Musk encouraged “independent-minded” voters to support Republicans
What does Elon Musk actually believe? An investigation
“I prefer to stay out of politics.” Those were Elon Musk’s words when the tech exec was forced to respond to a claim by Texas governor Greg Abbott that he supported the state’s anti-abortion laws.
If so, Mr Musk has a funny way of showing it. Over his decade-plus of public fame as the chief executive of Tesla, SpaceX, and now Twitter, the South-African-born tycoon has attacked everyone and everything, from Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders through individual regulatory officials to Covid rules, trade unions, and “pronouns”.
In November, the day before the US midterms, he urged his 115m Twitter followers to vote Republicans into Congress in order to balance against a Democratic presidency and “curb [its] worst excesses”.
Io Dodds looks into what the world’s richest man actually thinks about politics, and how it could affect the rest of us.
Elon Musk’s big blue check revamp is delayed
Twitter has confirmed it has delayed the rollout of its updated Twitter Blue subscription, which will allow people to pay to be verified on the site, until after the US midterm elections on Tuesday.
New owner Elon Musk had announced that the company would let users buy a blue-tick verification badge by subscribing to Twitter Blue – a badge previously only given to prominent accounts which Twitter had identified as authentic.
Concerns were raised that this new system could be used by bad actors to pose as public figures and spread misinformation – particularly on the eve of major elections in the US – and now the social media firm’s head of safety and integrity has confirmed the Twitter Blue update is being deferred until after voting has closed.
Martyn Landi has more.
ICYMI: All the celebrities who have left Twitter after Elon Musk’s takeover
Ever since Elon Musk acquired Twitter, many celebrities have made the decision to leave the social media platform.
Last week, the Tesla founder showed up at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters carrying a kitchen sink as he closed in on his $44bn purchase of the social media platform.
“Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” the world’s richest person tweeted, along with a video of him in the lobby of the building.
Peony Hirwani has the details.
All the celebrities who have left Twitter after Elon Musk’s takeover
Elon Musk: Celebrities who’ve left Twitter after takeover
Elon Musk sells $4bn worth of Tesla shares after $44bn Twitter purchase
The world’s richest person unloaded 19.5 million shares in Tesla worth $3.95m, according to filings with financial regulatory body the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a report.
Elon Musk sells $4bn worth of Tesla shares after $44bn Twitter purchase
Billionaire has fired thousands of employees and introduced $8 tick since taking over paltform
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