News of the Cyber World

[kyonides]

Tesla

Tesla Faces Backlash from Leftist Customers Outraged by Elon Musk’s Politics

In leftist strongholds like Seattle, Washington, driving a Tesla has become a politically charged act following CEO Elon Musk’s conservative statements and support for Republican Donald Trump. Fanatical Democrats who once thought they were saving the world by driving a Tesla EV now feel betrayed by Musk.

The Seattle Times reports that Seattle, a city renowned for its leftist politics and environmental consciousness, has long had a complex relationship with Tesla, the pioneering electric vehicle manufacturer. However, the recent political shift of Tesla CEO Elon Musk to support Donald Trump has further intensified the love-hate dynamic, leading to increased backlash against the brand and its owners.

Musk’s public support for Donald Trump coupled with his social media posts on issues such as immigration and transgender rights, has left many Seattle-area Tesla owners feeling conflicted. Some have reported instances of their vehicles being vandalized or receiving hostile gestures from other drivers, a marked change from the generally positive reception Tesla EVs once enjoyed in the region.

Despite the growing animosity, there are still those who remain loyal to the brand, citing Tesla’s innovative technology and potential to disrupt the traditional automotive industry. Matt Moreno, a Microsoft engineer from Everett, acknowledged the unfortunate nature of Musk’s political views but maintained that it does not affect his opinion of Tesla’s products.

However, others have reached a breaking point, choosing to abandon the brand altogether. John Wyss, a 60-year-old Seattle resident, grew increasingly uncomfortable with the perception that owning a Tesla was tantamount to endorsing Musk’s right-wing politics. He ultimately decided to trade in his leased Model 3 for an electric Hyundai.

The “Elon Effect” appears to be reflected in recent sales data, with Tesla deliveries in Washington state falling by 11 percent through September 30, even as overall electric vehicle registrations rose. This decline marks a significant shift for a region that once boasted the highest per capita Tesla ownership in the country.

Delaware Judge Upholds Ruling that Voids Elon Musk’s $56 Billion Tesla Pay Package

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has lost his bid to have his record-breaking $56 billion 2018 pay package reinstated after a Delaware judge upheld her previous ruling that the compensation plan was improperly granted.

CNBC reports that in a significant setback for Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery upheld her January ruling that voided Musk’s $56 billion pay package, the largest compensation plan in U.S. history for a public company executive. The judge reaffirmed that the process leading to the approval of the pay plan was “deeply flawed,” with Musk individually controlling Tesla and dictating the terms of his compensation to a board that failed to fairly negotiate.

Breitbart News previously reported on the ruling, in which the judge criticized Tesla’s “self-driving process.”

In her decision, McCormick asked: “Was the richest person in the world overpaid? The stockholder plaintiff in this derivative lawsuit says so. He claims that Tesla, Inc.’s directors breached their fiduciary duties by awarding Elon Musk a performance-based equity-compensation plan.”

McCormick continued: “In the final analysis, Musk launched a self-driving process, recalibrating the speed and direction along the way as he saw fit. The process arrived at an unfair price. And through this litigation, the plaintiff requests a recall.”

Following the initial ruling in January, Tesla conducted a shareholder vote in June at its annual meeting in Austin, Texas, asking investors to “ratify” Musk’s 2018 CEO pay plan. Musk’s attorneys attempted to persuade the judge to reverse her opinion after the trial, relying on the results of that vote. However, Chancellor McCormick rejected this argument, stating, “Even if a stockholder vote could have a ratifying effect, it could not do so here. Were the court to condone the practice of allowing defeated parties to create new facts for the purpose of revising judgments, lawsuits would become interminable.”

As part of Monday’s opinion, McCormick approved a $345 million attorney fee award for the lawyers who successfully sued on behalf of Tesla shareholders to void Musk’s pay plan. The attorneys from Bernstein, Litowitz, Berger & Grossmann, representing the plaintiff, expressed their satisfaction with the ruling, thanking the Chancellor and her staff for their hard work in overseeing the complex case.

Despite the legal setback, Musk has seen his net worth increase substantially in recent weeks. Since Donald Trump’s election victory in November, Musk’s wealth has grown by more than $43 billion, excluding the options tied to the pay package. Tesla shares have surged 42 percent in the four weeks following the election, driven by optimism that Musk’s close relationship with the incoming president will lead to favorable policies for his companies.

OpenAI & Musk

Elon Musk Seeks Court Injunction to Block OpenAI’s Conversion to For-Profit Entity

Elon Musk has filed for a preliminary injunction in federal court to prevent OpenAI from transitioning into a fully for-profit business.

CNBC reports that in a recent development in the ongoing legal battle between Elon Musk and OpenAI, attorneys representing Musk, his AI startup xAI, and former OpenAI board member Shivon Zilis have filed for a preliminary injunction against the AI powerhouse. The injunction aims to block OpenAI from converting into a fully for-profit business and allegedly requiring its investors to refrain from funding competitors, including Musk’s xAI.

The legal feud between Musk and OpenAI, along with its CEO Sam Altman and other long-involved parties such as tech investor Reid Hoffman and Microsoft, has escalated with this latest court filing. Musk had initially sued OpenAI in March 2024 in a San Francisco state court before withdrawing the complaint and refiling it in federal court several months later. The federal suit, led by attorney Marc Toberoff in Los Angeles, argues that OpenAI has violated federal racketeering (RICO) laws.

In mid-November, the complaint was expanded to include allegations that Microsoft and OpenAI had violated antitrust laws when OpenAI allegedly asked investors to agree not to invest in rival companies, including Musk’s xAI. The motion for preliminary injunction asserts that OpenAI should be prohibited from “benefitting from wrongfully obtained competitively sensitive information or coordination via the Microsoft-OpenAI board interlocks.”

OpenAI has emerged as one of the most prominent startups in recent years, with its AI chatbot ChatGPT becoming a major success and driving significant corporate enthusiasm for AI and related large language models. Meanwhile, Musk’s xAI, which debuted in July 2023, has released its Grok chatbot and is raising up to $6 billion at a $50 billion valuation to purchase 100,000 Nvidia chips.

Musk’s attorneys argue that the terms OpenAI asked investors to agree to amounted to a “group boycott” that “blocks xAI’s access to essential investment capital.” They further state that OpenAI “cannot lumber about the marketplace as a Frankenstein, stitched together from whichever corporate forms serve the pecuniary interests of Microsoft.”

SpaceX

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Achieves Record-Breaking 24th Flight as Company’s Valuation Soars

Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket today from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, setting a new record for rocket reusability.

Space.com reports that SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of rocket reusability and dominates the private space industry, as evidenced by the successful launch of a Falcon 9 rocket on its record-breaking 24th flight. The mission will deliver 24 Starlink internet satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO). The company’s recent success has caused its potential valuation to reach $350 billion, making it one of the most valuable startups in the world.
...
This particular Falcon 9 first stage booster had previously flown 23 times, a record it shared with two other boosters. With this 24th successful launch, it now stands alone as the most reused rocket in SpaceX’s fleet. The accomplishment highlights the company’s ongoing efforts to reduce the cost of spaceflight through the development of reusable rocket technology.

Approximately eight minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9’s first stage successfully landed on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. This marked the booster’s 24th successful landing, further demonstrating the reliability and durability of SpaceX’s rocket technology.

Meanwhile, the rocket’s upper stage continued its journey to deploy the 24 Starlink satellites into their intended orbit. Starlink, a massive satellite constellation project by SpaceX, aims to provide high-speed internet access to users worldwide, particularly in remote and underserved areas. With this launch, the number of operational Starlink satellites in orbit now exceeds 6,750, making it the largest satellite constellation ever assembled.

Scandinavia: Was it a Sabotage Attempt or Not?

Sabotage Concern as European Internet Backbone Fibre Optic Cables Cut Again

Whether sabotage or innocent accident, suspicion immediately fell on the much-discussed wave of Russian-backed acts of sabotage against European infrastructure when an internet backbone cable linking Sweden and Finland was cut twice overnight.

Thousands of Finnish homes were left without data connectivity on Tuesday morning after a submarine fibre optic cable linking Sweden and Finland was cut in two places on land overnight. The damage took place in two separate suburbs near the Finnish capital Helsinki, in Espoo and Vihti, and the infrastructure’s owner has dispatched teams for repairs they said.

Sweden’s Minister for Civil Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin told broadcaster SVT “sabotage is suspected” but the facts are not yet clear, nevertheless “we are taking this seriously”, he said, remarking Finnish Police are leading the investigation.

Finnish Police are investigating but say they have not launched a criminal probe yet. One of the breaks has been attributed to a man digging up the ground with a backhoe (‘JCB’ type digger) and may have been accidental, the telecom company said.

Niklas Ekström of cable owner Global Connect told Helsingin Sanomat that accident or not, it is odd to have two breaks in different places at the same time: “Cables break for many different reasons. It is certainly unusual for two cables to be damaged at the same time.”

Among the agencies notified in the response to the damage were the Swedish government’s postal and communications ministry, the Swedish armed forces, and the Norwegian Agency for ‘Social Security and Preparedness’.

While these incidents may yet turn out to be pure coincidental damage, European governments remain on high alert for acts of sabotage, given several similar events have taken place recently. Two submarine data cables connecting connecting Finland, Germany, Lithuania, and Sweden were cut last month by a Chinese-flagged ship, with Russia eyed as the motivating force behind what is thought to have been a ‘hybrid war’ attack.

While cutting cables in incidents that could be plausibly denied is less spectacular than other attack vectors open to malign actors, Western nations are ever-more reliant on high speed internet traffic for their economies, and to manage their infrastructure.

Intel's CEO Kicked Out

Intel Dumps CEO Pat Gelsinger as Chipmaker’s Turnaround Lags Behind Expectations

Intel’s board of directors has forced out CEO Pat Gelsinger due to frustrations over the slow pace of the company’s turnaround efforts.

Bloomberg reports that Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has been ousted from his position after the board lost confidence in his plans to revitalize the iconic chipmaker. The decision came to light following a meeting last week between Gelsinger and the board, where they discussed the company’s progress in regaining market share and closing the gap with rival Nvidia.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Gelsinger was presented with two options: retire or be removed. He ultimately chose to announce the end of his tenure at Intel. The company has appointed Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner and Executive Vice President Michelle Johnston Holthaus as interim co-CEOs while the board searches for Gelsinger’s permanent replacement.

Gelsinger, 63, had been hailed as a potential savior when he returned to Intel in 2021, nearly 12 years after leaving the company. He pledged to restore Intel to its former glory as a leader in the semiconductor industry, particularly in manufacturing – an area where it had fallen behind competitors like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).

As part of his turnaround strategy, Gelsinger launched an ambitious plan to expand Intel’s factory network, including the construction of a massive new complex in Ohio. This project received federal aid from the Chips and Science Act. However, despite these efforts, the board grew increasingly concerned about the lack of products capable of winning in the market, feeling that this crucial aspect had been neglected in the push to transform Intel into a made-to-order chip manufacturer.

The shake-up at Intel comes amid a rapidly evolving industry landscape, with the rise of AI computing posing significant challenges. Nvidia, once a niche rival struggling in Intel’s shadow, has now become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company, dominating the AI chip market and capturing tens of billions of dollars that would have previously gone to Intel.

Zuckerberg & Trump

Mark Zuckerberg Seeks ‘Active Role’ in Shaping Trump Administration’s Tech Policy

Meta head of global affairs Nick Clegg revealed in a press briefing that CEO Mark Zuckerberg is eager to play an “active role” in shaping tech policy for President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. In March Trump described Facebook as “the enemy of the people” and labeled its CEO “Zuckerschmuck.”

The New York Post reports that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is making moves to establish a closer relationship with the incoming Trump administration. Nick Clegg, Meta’s head of global affairs, recently stated that CEO Mark Zuckerberg is keen on having “an active role in the debates that any administration needs to have about maintaining America’s leadership in the technological sphere … and particularly the pivotal role that AI will play.”

This revelation comes on the heels of Zuckerberg’s recent dinner with President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago, where the billionaire reportedly requested a meeting to discuss “the incoming administration.” Meta later said that Zuckerberg was “grateful for the invitation.”

Clegg also acknowledged that Meta has been overzealous in its content moderation efforts, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re acutely aware — because users quite rightly raised their voice and complained about this — that we sometimes overenforce, we make mistakes and we remove or restrict innocuous or innocent content,” he admitted.

Meta’s efforts to improve the precision and accuracy of its content moderation will be “an area of ongoing focus” for the company, according to Clegg. This admission comes after Zuckerberg shocked the tech industry in August by revealing that the Biden administration had pressured Facebook to censor COVID-19 content in 2021, including lighthearted memes and satirical posts.

FTC Commissioner on Tech Platforms

FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson: Must Prosecute ‘Unlawful Collusion’ Between Tech Platforms

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Andrew Ferguson on Monday urged the antitrust commission to investigate “unlawful collusion” between big tech platforms and stop advertiser boycotts, which he believes threaten competition.

Ferguson noted that Commissioner Melissa Holyoak proposed reviving President Trump’s Executive Order 13925 to promote transparency regarding big tech’s content moderation and censorship practices.

“When Americans’ ability to engage in robust public debate on issues of national importance is at stake, no stone should be left unturned. The Commission should undertake these investigations,” he charged.

Ferguson, who is a top contender to replace FTC Chair Lina Khan, said that the government should use antitrust laws against any platforms limiting free speech:

We should address not just censorious conduct specifically, but also investigate the structural issues that may have given these platforms their power over Americans’ lives and speech in the first place. In particular, we must vigorously enforce the antitrust laws against any platforms found to be unlawfully limiting Americans’ ability to exchange ideas freely and openly. We must prosecute any unlawful collusion between online platforms, and confront advertiser boycotts which threaten competition among those platforms.

Ferguson noted that the major online platforms all censored in “lockstep,” which raise questions of antitrust violations if they made an agreement to censor:

For years, the major speech platforms seemed to censor in lockstep. They banned dissent on the origins of COVID-19, mask mandates, the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines, transgenderism, and the integrity of the 2020 election. Every major speech platform— Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube—banned President Trump roughly contemporaneously in early 2021.2 And this phenomenon was never more obvious than in 2020, when major Big Tech platforms simultaneously banned reporting on, and discussion of, the Hunter Biden laptop story.

The antitrust laws generally do not forbid competitors from engaging in unilateral, parallel conduct—that is, identical or substantially similar conduct that occurs at about the same time but coincidentally.4 They do, however, prohibit agreements among competitors not to compete. If the platforms colluded amongst each other to set shared censorship policies, such an agreement would be tantamount to an agreement not to compete on contract terms or product quality. “[A]s far as the Sherman Act … is concerned, concerted agreements on contract terms are as unlawful as boycotts.

Bitcoin's All-Time High

Bitcoin Hits Another All-Time High — $100,000

Bitcoin (BTC) sold for over $100,000 in Wednesday evening trading, hitting another all-time high benchmark value in its nascent bull run.

The digital asset peaked around its previous 2022 record of $73,000 in March 2024, weeks after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved several exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for investors seeking to acquire it, according to data from CoinMarketCap.com. At the end of October, Bitcoin came close to that $73,000 record before retreating in the 60,000s range, then rocketing to a new all-time high of $75,000 before the end of the first week of November. Since then, BTC has sailed past new price benchmarks, first selling for $90,000 on November 13.

In the course of an hour, BTC surged from roughly $98,500 to $103,000 Wednesday evening, smashing a six-figure price barrier that felt unthinkable a decade ago, when the asset spent an entire year under $1,000.

Several factors may have contributed to the past month’s price action; investors may have been energized by President-elect Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris (Trump vowed to create a BTC “strategic reserve” and appealed directly to Bitcoiners on the campaign trail) and the announcement that Gary Gensler — a villain in the eyes of many cryptocurrency fans — would step down from the SEC once Trump takes office.

But one of the key elements in Bitcoin’s perennial rise is its “halving” — a 50% reduction in its issuance of new “coin” units — that occurs every four years, making the “mining” that secures the network that records the ledger of BTC transactions more competitive and costly. The latest Bitcoin halving occurred in April 2024. Just as it did in 2012, 2016, and 2020, BTC appears to be entering price discovery roughly five months after the latest halving.

Historically, Bitcoin has grown in cycles of parabolic ascent and “crashes” down to prices far above the previous cycle’s highs.