The states plan to file the lawsuit in defense of Americans’ “right to privacy.” © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Category: Elon Musk
doge, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government, Government & Policy, TC, X
DOGE staffer steps down after racist posts emerge
A 25-year-old Doge staffer resigned over racist posts on X. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
AI, Dojo, Elon Musk, evergreens, Global IT News, Global Security News, Tesla, Tesla FSD, Transportation
Tesla Dojo: Elon Musk’s big plan to build an AI supercomputer, explained
Dojo is Tesla’s custom-built supercomputer that’s designed to train its “Full Self-Driving” neural networks. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Cybersecurity, data breach, Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Security, us government
The biggest breach of US government data is under way
Elon Musk’s DOGE has taken control and accessed large swathes of Americans’ private information held by the U.S. federal government. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Bennie Thompson, Department of Government Efficency, Department of Treasury, Elon Musk, Global Security News, Government, House Homeland Security Committee, Mark Warner, Matthew Vaeth, North America, office of management and budget, Office of Personnel Management (OPM), privacy, Senate Intelligence Committee, Susie Wiles, Treasury Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID
Lawmakers fear Elon Musk, DOGE not adhering to privacy rules
Congress is getting vocal about the privacy and security implications of Elon Musk and his cohorts at the Department of Government Efficiency accessing federal systems. Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee said Wednesday DOGE must comply with security and privacy laws as they obtain access to federal systems, something the lawmakers say they don’t…
doge, Elon Musk, elon musk act, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy
The Elon Musk Act aims to ban ‘special government employees’ from having federal contracts
U.S. Democratic Representative Mark Pocan plans to introduce a bill designed to ban “special government employees” like Elon Musk from having federal contracts so they can’t steer spending towards their own self-interest. The proposed bill is called the ELON MUSK Act, which stands for Eliminate Looting of Our Nation by Mitigating Unethical State Kleptocracy. “No…
Data Breaches, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Exploits, FISMA, Global Security News, Government, OPM breach, Policy, Threats, Treasury Department
Cybersecurity, government experts are aghast at security failures in DOGE takeover
As the world’s richest man and his team from the Department of Government Efficiency continue their quest to dismantle federal agencies, cybersecurity experts, good government experts and Democrats are increasingly expressing outrage and alarm, in some cases likening the actions to an ongoing data breach. Elon Musk and employees from DOGE — which is, legally,…
AI, budget, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Tesla
Former Tesla engineer heading government agency reportedly outlines ‘AI-first strategy’
Thomas Shedd, the former Tesla engineer now serving as the director of Technology Transformation Services, reportedly outlined an “AI-first strategy” for the U.S. government department. According to a report from Wired citing multiple sources, the Musk ally described the plan to run the office like a “startup software company” during a Monday meeting. The New…
Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Politics, Starlink, trade tariffs
Ontario cancels, then restores, $68 million Starlink contract after protesting US tariffs
On Monday, Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, one of Canada’s most populous provinces, announced on X that the province’s government would be “ripping up” its $68 million ($100 million CAD) contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service. The news came soon after President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on nearly all Canadian…
Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Politics, Starlink
Ontario cancels $100 million Starlink contract in protest at U.S. tariffs
Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, one of Canada’s most populous provinces, announced on X that the province’s government would be “ripping up” its $100 million contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service. The news comes soon after President Donald Trump announced this weekend a 25% tariff on nearly all Canadian imported goods, causing…
Elon Musk, Global Security News, linda yaccarino, Social, X
X expands lawsuit over advertiser ‘boycott’ to include Lego, Nestlé, Pinterest, and others
X is now suing more advertisers in an antitrust lawsuit focusing on what the company’s CEO Linda Yaccarino has claimed is a “systematic illegal boycott.” The company formerly known as Twitter first filed the lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers and its brand safety initiative the Global Alliance of Responsible Media in August 2024.…
Apple Intelligence, deepseek, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Google, Perplexity, Social, TechCrunch Week in Review
DeepSeek gets Silicon Valley talking
Welcome back to Week in Review. This week we’re looking at DeepSeek’s major boost in the U.S.; Elon Musk admitting he was wrong about FSD; teens losing trust in Big Tech; and more! Let’s do it. DeepSeek went viral this week after its AI models led Wall Street analysts and technologists to question whether the…
doge, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, TC, White House
Elon Musk is reportedly taking control of the inner workings of US government agencies
People working for, or with, Elon Musk are reportedly taking over the inner workings of multiple government agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management and the Treasury Department. The Washington Post reported Friday that the highest-ranking career official at Treasury is leaving the department after “a clash” with people working for Musk’s so-called Department of…
autonomous vehicles, Elon Musk, FSD, Global IT News, Global Security News, TC, Tesla, Transportation
Elon Musk reveals Elon Musk was wrong about Full Self-Driving
For nearly nine years, Elon Musk has promised Tesla vehicles had the hardware needed to support a self-driving car. This week, he made his latest admission that many are not. Musk said on a conference call Wednesday evening that Tesla cars equipped with so-called Hardware 3 will need an upgrade before they can support unsupervised…
boom, Cruise, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Rivian, techcrunch mobility, Tesla, Transportation
Boom goes supersonic and Elon promises a self-driving service by summer
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! In case you missed it, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company would launch a paid ride-hailing service with a fleet of driverless vehicles in Austin in…
Elon Musk, Fintech, Global IT News, Global Security News, payments, Twitter, visa
X announces a partnership with Visa to power X Money’s wallet
Elon Musk-owned social network X announced a partnership with Visa to handle person-to-person payments for its upcoming X Money product. The company will use Visa Direct, which is Visa’s solution for real-time money transfers, to load money into X Money’s wallet, connect to a debit card for paying other users, and transfer money back to…
AI, chatbot, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, grok 3, X, xAI
Grok 3 seemingly went live for some users
The next flagship AI model from Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, might be nearing release. Over the weekend, several users on X, including reverse engineer Alexey Shabanov, reported gaining access to Grok 3, the successor to xAI’s current model, Grok 2, via X’s Grok chatbot app. Before their access was revoked, the users say that…
Elon Musk, fitbit, Global IT News, Global Security News, Meta, openai, Social, TechCrunch Week in Review, Week in Review
OpenAI wants to take over your browser
Welcome back to Week in Review. This week we’re diving into OpenAI’s newly released AI agent, called Operator. We also look at where TikTok stands after being resuscitated, whether it’s time to go back to Tumblr, and more! Let’s get into it. OpenAI launched a research preview of Operator, a general-purpose AI agent that can…
AI, Elon Musk, fight, Global IT News, Global Security News, openai, sam altman, Social, social media, stargate, xAI
Elon Musk and Sam Altman take to social media to fight over Stargate
Billionaire Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are fighting on X about Stargate, the enormous infrastructure project to build data centers for OpenAI across the U.S. Stargate, announced Tuesday during a press conference at the White House, would funnel as much as $500 billion from investors including SoftBank and Middle East AI fund MGX…
Apps, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Larry Ellison, Social, TikTok, TikTok Ban
Trump open to Elon Musk or Larry Ellison buying TikTok
President Donald Trump has said he would be open to Tesla CEO Elon Musk or Oracle chairman Larry Ellison buying TikTok as part of join venture with the U.S. government. Trump was asked at a press conference on Tuesday if he was open to “Elon buying TikTok.” He responded that he would be, and added:…
doge, Elon Musk, Exclusive, Global IT News, Global Security News, Mark Zuckerberg, Startups, Trump
Startup founders flooded inauguration parties hopeful for dealmaking
All throughout America’s capital, founders enjoyed the fruits of their industry’s political jockeying. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
bytedance, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Social, TikTok, TikTok Ban, Twitter
X is rolling out a dedicated vertical video feed for US users
Social network X is trying to capitalize on the removal of ByteDance apps like TikTok and Lemon8 from U.S. app stores by launching a dedicated vertical video feed. The company is adding a video tab in the app’s bottom bar for users in the U.S. to let them quickly access video content on the platform.…
Blue Origin, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Space, SpaceX, Transportation
SpaceX and Blue Origin must investigate this week’s big rocket tests, FAA says
The Federal Aviation Administration is requiring Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to investigate what went wrong on their respective mega-rocket test flights this week. The regulator said both companies must perform what’s known as a “mishap investigation.” These probes involve the companies and the FAA working together to understand what went wrong,…
AI, Apple Safari, data breach, Data loss, Elon Musk, Firefox, Global Security News, Google Chrome, Operating Systems, Podcast, privacy, Smashing Security, surveillance, video game
Smashing Security podcast #400: Hacker games, AI travel surveillance, and 25 years of IoT
The video game Path of Exile 2 suffers a security breach, we explore the issues of using predictive algorithms in travel surveillance systems, and the very worst IoT devices are put on show in Las Vegas. Oh, and has Elon Musk accidentally revealed he cheats at video games? All this and much more is discussed…
Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, SEC, TC, Twitter, twitter/x
SEC sues Elon Musk for allegedly failing to disclose Twitter acquisition on time
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk on Tuesday over an alleged securities violation relating to his acquisition of Twitter, now called X. The SEC claims Musk failed to disclose his 5% ownership stake of Twitter in a timely manner, violating federal securities law, according to a complaint filed in federal…
Elon Musk, elon musk's x dma, Global IT News, Global Security News, Polymarket, Social, TC
Elon Musk tweets so much, people bet over $1M weekly to guess how many posts
Will Elon Musk post more than 400 tweets this week? With Polymarket, this to be one of the silliest ways people spend their money on the internet. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Qantas, Space, spacetech, SpaceX
Flights delayed by SpaceX’s falling rocket debris
Qantas has been forced to delay several flights to South Africa due to last minute warnings about SpaceX rocket debris falling from the sky. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
AI, ChatGPT, Elon Musk, Global Security News, Grok, Podcast, robot, The AI Fix
The AI Fix #33: AI’s deliberate deceptions, and Elon’s “unhinged” mode
In episode 33 of The AI Fix, our hosts watch a robot fall over, ChatGPT demonstrates that it can’t draw a watch face but it can fire a gun, a man without a traffic cone gets trapped in his Waymo taxi, Graham discovers what social robots are, and both hosts watch horrified as somebody rips…
Elon Musk, Global Security News, Government & Policy, In Brief, musk, North America, Social, TikTok, TikTok Ban
China is reportedly open to Elon Musk acquiring TikTok US
Chinese government officials have reportedly discussed a scenario where ByteDance sells TikTok’s United States arm to Elon Musk, should the Supreme Court uphold the law banning the app on January 19. Bloomberg reports that China would strongly prefer for TikTok to stay under ByteDance’s ownership, but says government officials have considered a sale to Musk…
Apps, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Social networks, Twitter
X says it is rolling out labels for parody accounts
Elon Musk-owned social network X said today that it is rolling out labels for parody or satire accounts to differentiate them from other accounts. In the past, users, including news presenters, have mistaken posts from parody accounts as authentic statements made by real people or entities. The company’s safety account on the platform said that…
AI, AI chatbot, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Grok, Twitter, xAI
xAI is testing a standalone iOS app for its Grok chatbot
Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, is testing out a standalone iOS app for its chatbot, Grok, which was available only to X users until now. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
AI, CES, ces 2025, Elon Musk, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, synthetic data, TC, training data
Elon Musk agrees that we’ve exhausted AI training data
Elon Musk concurs with other AI experts that there’s little real-world data left to train AI models on. “We’ve now exhausted basically the cumulative sum of human knowledge …. in AI training,” Musk said during a live-streamed conversation with Stagwell chairman Mark Penn streamed on X late Wednesday. “That happened basically last year.” Musk, who…
AI, chatbot, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Grok, musk, Social, social media, unhinged model, X
Grok may soon get an ‘Unhinged Mode’
Last April, Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, teased a mysterious “Unhinged Mode” for X’s AI-powered chatbot, Grok. Nearly a year later, xAI, the Musk-owned company behind Grok, has updated an FAQ page on its website that sheds light on the new mode. Grok in Unhinged Mode will provide responses “intended to be objectionable,…
Diablo 4, Elon Musk, Gaming, Global IT News, Global Security News, TC
Gamers can’t fathom how 6x CEO Elon Musk found time to best Diablo IV
On October 16 and November 20, Elon Musk tweeted videos of himself clearing the highest level of the Diablo IV video game in about 2 minutes. While Diablo IV has been out since mid-2023, the latest “season,” called The Pit, launched on October 7. Many asked: How did he find the time to do it…
Adrian Dittman, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Social
Bad news for Adrian Dittman/Elon Musk truthers
After days of speculation that X owner Elon Musk was secretly posting under an account named Adrian Dittman, there’s new evidence suggesting that Dittman is, in fact, a real person living in Fiji. Attempts to connect Dittman and Musk go back at least to 2023; Dittman frequently makes fawning posts about Musk, and his voice…
AI, Elon Musk, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, Grok, grok 3, musk, scaling. laws, xAI
xAI’s next-gen AI model didn’t arrive on time, adding to a trend
The list of flagship AI models that missed their promised launch windows continues to grow. Last summer, billionaire Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of AI company xAI, said that Grok 3, xAI’s next major AI model, would arrive by “end of year” 2024. Grok, xAI’s answer to models like OpenAI’s GPT-4o and Google’s Gemini,…
Cybertruck, electric vehicles, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Tesla, Transportation
Tesla Cybertruck fails to boost 2024 sales as annual deliveries fall for first time
Tesla delivered fewer cars last year than it did in 2023, marking its first year-to-year drop and signaling that the company is struggling to reach new buyers. That means Tesla’s Cybertruck, which is the company’s first true new model since 2020, did little to boost the company’s growth in its first full year of sales.…
Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Social, TC, Twitter, X
Elon Musk’s pro-Trump critics claim they’re being censored on X
Conservative activists claim X is censoring them for being critical of its owner, Elon Musk. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
cybercab, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Optimus, robotaxi, Tesla, Transportation
Elon Musk’s promises for Tesla in 2024, from robotaxis to Optimus bots
Elon Musk had an eventful 2024, what with his hard push into right-wing politics and leveraging his X social media platform and considerable influence to help Donald Trump win the presidential election. Putting politics aside for a moment, it’s worth focusing on another Musk pastime: making promises for Tesla. The Tesla CEO’s promises — and…
AI, Elon Musk, encode, for-profit, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, injunction, nonprofit, openai
Nonprofit group joins Elon Musk’s effort to block OpenAI’s for-profit transition
Encode, the nonprofit organization that co-sponsored California’s ill-fated SB 1047 AI safety legislation, has requested permission to file an amicus brief in support of Elon Musk’s injunction to halt OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit company. In a proposed brief submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Friday afternoon, counsel for…
AI, Elon Musk, encode, for-profit, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, injunction, nonprofit, openai
Nonprofit group joins Elon Musk’s effort to block OpenAI’s for-profit transition
Encode, the nonprofit org that co-sponsored California’s ill-fated SB 1047 AI safety legislation, has requested permission to file an amicus brief in support of Elon Musk’s injunction to halt OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit. In a proposed brief submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Friday afternoon, counsel for Encode…
Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, mar-a-lago, SpaceX, Tesla
Elon Musk’s jets made 355 trips in 2024, including 31 to or from the Mar-a-Lago area
Elon Musk’s jets took over 355 flights this year, with 31 of those flights heading to or from near Mar-a-Lago. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
AI, Elon Musk, Enterprise, Funding, Fundraising, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, startup, Startups, xAI
Elon Musk’s xAI lands $6B in new cash to fuel AI ambitions
Updated December 25, 12:21 p.m. Pacific: Added details of xAI’s valuation and Kingdom Holdings’ contribution. xAI, Elon Musk’s AI company, has raised $6 billion in a Series C financing round. The company announced this week that Andreessen Horowitz , Blackrock, Fidelity, Lightspeed, MGX, Morgan Stanley, OIA, QIA, Sequoia Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Nvidia,…
AI, Elon Musk, Enterprise, Funding, Fundraising, generative ai, Global IT News, Global Security News, startup, Startups, xAI
Elon Musk’s xAI lands $6B in new cash to fuel AI ambitions
xAI, Elon Musk’s AI company, has raised $6 billion, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. Investors gave a minimum of $77,593, per the filing (97 participated, but the document doesn’t reveal their identities). xAI later announced (confirming some earlier reporting) that Andreessen Horowitz , Blackrock, Fidelity, Kingdom Holdings,…
AI, AI chatbot, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Grok, Twitter, xAI
xAI is testing a standalone iOS app for its Grok chatbot
Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, is testing out a standalone iOS app for its chatbot, Grok, which was available only to X users until now. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Social, TC, Twitter, X Premium+
X jacks up Premium+ prices 37.5%, hits some markets harder
X is raising prices for its top-tier subscription service by 37.5%, marking the largest price increase since the platform’s acquisition by Elon Musk in 2022. The Premium+ service will cost $22 monthly in the U.S., up from $16, effective December 21, according to a company statement. Annual subscriptions will increase to $229 from $168. X…
autonomous vehicles, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Tesla, Transportation
Tesla is courting Texas cities to test its promised robotaxi service
Tesla is evaluating multiple Texas cities where it wants to test a long-promised robotaxi service, including Austin, according to emails obtained by Bloomberg News. An employee has apparently been in touch with Austin officials since May, and recently held an event in December to “train first responders on how to best work with Tesla’s autonomous…
AI, david sacks, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Marc Andreessen, TC
Trump’s Silicon Valley advisers have AI ‘censorship’ in their crosshairs
President-elect Donald Trump has surrounded himself with Silicon Valley entrepreneurs — including Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen, and David Sacks — who are now advising him on technology and other issues. When it comes to AI, this crew of technologists is fairly aligned on the need for rapid development and adoption of AI throughout the U.S.…
AI, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, Government & Policy, Meta, openai, Startups
Meta asks California AG to block OpenAI’s conversion to for-profit
Facebook’s parent company Meta is supporting Elon Musk’s effort to block OpenAI’s conversion from a non-profit company into a for-profit one. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, Meta sent a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta arguing that allowing the shift would have “seismic implications for Silicon Valley.” And while the company asked…
autonomous vehicles, Elon Musk, Global IT News, Global Security News, In Brief, Tesla, Transportation, zoox
Tesla’s loss is Zoox’s gain
Zoox co-founder and CTO Jesse Levinson told the crowd at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 that he didn’t think Tesla would launch a robotaxi ride-hailing service in California (or anywhere else) next year, despite what Elon Musk had claimed. The “fundamental issue is they don’t have technology that works,” he said at the time. But it seems that…
AI, ChatGPT, Elon Musk, Global Security News, James Bond, jeff bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, openai, Podcast, Tesla, The AI Fix, Zoom
The AI Fix #27: Why is AI full of real-life Bond villains?
In episode 27 of The AI Fix, robots catch a ball, lead a revolt, and enjoy a juicy steak. Or do they? Graham struggles with a Micro USB cable, a student struggles with a school’s anti-AI rules, and OpenAI’s Sora video generation AI is leaked by hacktivists. Graham circles back into an outside-the-box deep-dive where…