“We recognize that this will impact a number of individuals who have made valuable contributions to Twitter, but this action is unfortunately necessary to ensure the company’s success moving forward.”

The email also stated that employees will be notified of their termination by their professional or personal email account.

Since this email was sent out, an employee described reactions as “It’s total chaos, house melting down…”

Their reaction is justified. Before Musk officially bought the company, Twitters general counsel told employees that they should not dwell on rumors of an employee mass exodus. There has also not been any direct communication to employees like this since the acquisition on October 27^th. So, this email warning employees of upcoming terminations must have been the last thing they were expecting. Imagine sitting at home constantly refreshing your email wondering if you will have a job that day.

Another tactic being used to weed out employees by assigning impossible tasks like redesigning their subscription and verification systems in a week.

Musk has also fired people on Twitter’s leadership team like Parag Agrawal, the now former CEO, and executives have left the company throughout the week.

With this, Musk has also invited employees from his other companies to help. 50 of them are from Tesla, 2 from The Boring Company, and 1 from Neuralink. CNBC lists out some of the employees brought over from Tesla:

“Director of software development Ashok Elluswamy, director of Autopilot and TeslaBot engineering Milan Kovac, senior director of software engineering Maha Virduhagiri; Pete Scheutzow, a senior staff technical program manager, and Jake Nocon, who is part of Tesla’s surveillance unit, as a senior manager of security intelligence.”

Elon Musk’s goal of making Twitter a platform for free speech has led to concerns of the app to become a vessel for people to do or say whatever they want. But Reuters reported Monday that Musk promised the European Union that they would follow the Digital Services Act. The Digital Services Act punishes companies that do not control illegal content. He also plans to have a council that would moderate and be made up of “widely diverse viewpoints.”

It’s 2022, and Teslas still aren’t stopping for children. pic.twitter.com/GGBh6sAYZS

— Taylor Ogan (@TaylorOgan) August 9, 2022

After over 13.5 million people viewed the video, speculation of the results and the test itself, originally taken in May, has now escalated. Now, according to The Washington Post, Tesla is calling for the video to be taken down claiming that the video is defamatory and does not represent their Full-Self Driving system.

Who ran the test and why is it so important? The short answer: a smear campaign.

If we look at other accounts that posted a video like the one done by Taylor Ogan, one that sticks out the most is one called The Dawn Project, and another ran by Dan O’Dowd. The Dawn Project, according to their website, is an organization that advocates for “software that never fails and can’t be hacked.”  The website is full of anti-Tesla ad campaigns and even promises a $10,000 reward for the first person who can name a Fortune 500 company that has a malfunction every 8 minutes. Dan O’Dowd, the other account mentioned, is the founder of the project is also in one of the videos asking Elon Musk if FSD is a trillion-dollar Ponzi scheme. O’Dowd also, according to Tesmanian, ran for California’s State Senate office. His main campaign: banning Tesla’s Full-Self-Driving system.

After examining the coordinators of the “failed” FSD test, it is clear that there was a desired outcome. The idea of technology that cannot fail or be hacked is almost impossible. If we were to go by that logic, The Dawn Project’s website or any website could fall under that category. I guess we’ll have to resort back to carrier pigeons.

But do not take my word for it. Other people have pointed out that the video shows that autopilot, which is activated by pulling down on the drive stalk twice, was conveniently not engaged during the test. You can see that the driver makes a hand motion that is supposed to show that the stalk was pulled but it is 1: hard to tell and, 2: the motion was only made once. When a Tesla is in autopilot, the center display indicates that the driver is in FSD mode. This obvious indicator of FSD being activated does not match the video.

The cease-and-desist letter was sent to the company and O’Dowd. It stated that they had to remove all defamatory ads, videos the included the caption “test track,” issue a public statement retracting all allegations against Tesla, make all of those who funded and endorsed the test known.

Elon Musk has also announced that Tesla is setting up a “hard-core litigation department” for those who are trying to defame the company.

As of now, Electrek writes that O’Dowd has made the rational decision to not comply and has doubled down by calling Elon Musk a “coward.”

The South China Morning Post writes that the report was written by researchers in the Beijing Institute of Tracking and Telecommunications and other organizations that protect China.

Published on China Military Online, concerns of the satellites being used to aid the U.S. military was the reason listed in the study. It claims that SpaceX wants to use Starlink “for military purposes” and that Starlink has worked with the U.S. military on satellite connection to military aircraft and data transmission.

Starlink has aided in the U.S. military before. Newsweek writes that a Federal Communications Commission filing made in March detailed tests of information being sent and received on the ground and via aircraft. They also tested Starlink in February to “provide tactical network speeds of up to 70 megabits per second” which reduced the normal lag time of military satellites.

As for the details of “soft and hard kill methods” of disabling Starlink’s satellites, there is not a lot. However, the researchers suggested that the solutions should be “low-cost, high-efficiency” and that they are worried about the 4,200 satellites as a whole rather than one or two of them. Newsweek suggests that lasers, and microwaves could be of use.

So where did this talk of destroying Starlink satellites come from? Why is there an interest in one facet of U.S. military performance?

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Starlink satellites have given aid to Ukraine by enhancing government communication, internet access, help companies stay afloat, and drone attack performance. This outreach has led to Elon Musk being threatened by Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos. In a supposed statement given to the Russian media, Rogozin stated,” Elon, you will be held accountable like an adult—no matter how much you’ll play the fool.” Musk then joked that he will “die under mysterious circumstances”

If I die under mysterious circumstances, it’s been nice knowin ya

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2022

Along with Russia’s attempt to take back Ukraine, recent comments made by President Joe Biden increased tensions between Taiwan and China. During the week, Biden told reporters that the U.S would keep their promise to help defend Taiwan against China. Though Biden’s statement was later walked back by Washington, the Chinese were quick to respond. CNN writes that Chinese officials made aggressive comments like, “Those who play with fire will certainly burn themselves,” and military drills near Taiwan began.

The performance of Starlink satellites on the battlefield has undoubtedly left an impression on China. What started as a tool to benefit humanity by giving basic internet access to remote areas has become a tool to enhance military performance. Could this continue to the U.S. military? Would it be for the better or for the worst?

Seeing the reactions of people online and conversing with peers has made my opinion on the issue mixed. Do not get me wrong, I love watching chaos unfold. The original tweet Elon made was like adding water to a grease fire. I thought a change in management could direct Twitter in the direction of neutrality. But questions about the ethicality of a Twitter edit button and whether Musk would have banned Donald Trump’s Twitter account on January 6^th, 2021, made me wonder if he would be fit for the job.

But, before we dive into the big questions, let us go over some of the more interesting changes Twitter could face.

The first possible change, and Musk’s main motivation, was free speech, and to make Twitter a place that was politically neutral. He reinforced this on Twitter by stating that:

By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the law.

I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.

If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect.

Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2022

Despite this, fears of allowing accounts like those involved in the organization of the January 6^th terrorist attack and Donald Trump back on Twitter have been raised. Though Musk has not made a statement about unbanning Donald Trump, many of the accounts that day tweeted, shared images, and videos threatening members of government. Some, including Donald Trump made tweets that, in their context, could be used to influence others to further incite violence. This is the grey area. Do the tweets themselves have to contain threats for them to be considered illegal? Will context matter in the future?

The next change that could potentially happen is making Twitter’s algorithm more transparent. According to ABC News, Musk believes that Twitter should make “the algorithms open source to increase trust.” The push for this is for people to see which posts are promoted over others and if there is a bias. Though there is no concrete proof that a bias occurs in Twitter’s algorithm, many right-wing accounts accuse the platform of allowing leftist accounts to receive more views.

Among the changes that could be happening, the most interesting of the bunch is the edit button. Now, if you are like me, spelling was not your best subject. I have found myself countless times having to delete a tweet because I caught an obvious spelling mistake, I did not notice while writing. Though an edit button might be beneficial for people like me, could an edit button be used unethically? One could use the edit button to change what they said and deceive others of what the tweet was. But, according to the New York Post, a Twitter code breaker was able to edit her tweet. It also shows that the tweet has been edited and notifies users when there is an updated version of the tweet.

How an edited Tweet looks like on Twitter Web App: pic.twitter.com/boouYlvhA3

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) May 2, 2022

Another interesting change that could be coming to Twitter is account authentication. One of the proposals that Elon Musk brought up is giving more accounts the blue check mark. Fortune writes that an increase in two-factor authentication could make people less likely to make different spam accounts.

Although Twitter released a paid subscription called Twitter Blue, it did not seem to garner a lot of success. YouTube has a similar feature called YouTube Premium. Business of Apps cites that this ad free option has 30 million subscribers as of 2020. With YouTube Premium’s success, a similar subscription service may be a promising move for Twitter.

The shakeup in Twitter’s leadership has a lot of people questioning if Twitter is in good hands. Though, after researching I have concluded that I am optimistic for the future of Twitter. The changes proposed, I believe will make the platform more trustworthy and politically neutral.

During the event, Elon Musk gave a presentation that commemorated the hard work of Tesla workers, the company’s history, information about the factory, production announcements, and mentions of their upcoming projects.

This new $1.1 billion dollar factory in Austin, according to CNBC, is a planning on manufacturing 500,000 Model Y units a year. Elon Musk also doted on the size of the factory by saying: “If you put the building on its side, it’s taller than the Burj Khalifa, “and that, “194 billion hamsters could fit in the building.” I mean, why wouldn’t you?

Elon Musk also mentioned a new vehicle that would be used as a “robo taxi.” Though they were shy in giving any other details other than that it will look quite futuristic.

Tesla’s robot Optimus was also in attendance during the evening. Elon Musk claimed that he believes that Optimus, whose production is starting next year, would help trigger a new age of humanity.

Though one of the big questions on everyone’s mind during the event was when production was going to start for the infamous Cybertruck. Though it was shown off on stage during the event, Franz Holzhausen chose not to hit the window of the Cybertruck with a hammer and then promised that Tesla would start production in 2023.

“Production of Cybertruck is coming next year. We will be in production with Roadster, and with Semi. That is all coming. This year is all about scaling up and next year there is going to be a massive wave of new products.”

In all, the event had all the bells and whistles it needed but there was nothing new or exciting to be celebrated. In terms of the Cybertruck, the production date has been pushed back ever since it was first revealed in 2019. So, the promise of production in 2023 will have to be seen to be believed.

Since receiving Starlink antennas, Ukrainians have been able to have Internet access, technology companies have been able to stay afloat, the government can communicate and receive updates, and perform drone attacks. Mykahailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation and the one who initially pleaded to Elon Musk for help, told the Washington post that:

“The quality of the link is excellent,” and that, “We are using thousands, in thousands, of terminals with new shipments arriving every other day.”

With an increase of shipments, The Mirror reports that Starlink’s app was downloaded close to 100,000 times in Ukraine and even more around the world.

This has also led to the curious decision of taunting Vladimir Putin over Twitter where Elon Musk challenged him to a fight.

I hereby challenge
Владимир Путин
to single combat

Stakes are Україна

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2022

With the success of Starlink, security concerns arise. Could receiving Starlink internet result in putting targets on the people’s backs, and giveaway government intel? A Berkeley security researcher, Nicholas Weaver, told CNN that:

“It isn’t necessarily easy, but the Russians have a lot of practice on tracking various signal emitters in Syria and responding. Starlink may work for the moment, but anyone setting a [Starlink] dish up in Ukraine needs to consider it as a potential giant target.”

Afterward, Elon Musk added that the use of Starlink can be used against Ukraine:

Important warning: Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of being targeted is high. Please use with caution.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 3, 2022

So far, there is no news indicating that this has happened yet. But the risk has been acknowledged by Ukrainian officials.

Sure, @elonmusk. We are going to use them for Ukrainians also after our victory ?

— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) March 3, 2022

Starlink aiding Ukraine amidst the risks involved is a real test of their technology. But there is no doubt that even a slow internet speed in a war-torn area could help civilians get the latest information and help support infrastructure. Though, the internet providers in Ukraine have been compromised by possible Russian-state hackers. Could the aid Starlink is giving end the same way and or be used to geolocate potential targets? We will have to wait and see.

Earlier this week, WiTricity announced that their Halo charging system allows EV batteries to charge with a power receiver attached to the battery, a charging pad, and a wall box that is connected to a power source and pad. The pad can either be installed on or below the ground. The car will need to park on top of the pad to receive power.

“With the WiTricity Halo solution you just park and walk away, knowing you will return to a fully charged car,” said Alex Gruzen, CEO of WiTricity. “Day to day, it’s as if your car had infinite range, which will help accelerate EV adoption and propel us to a greener future.”

Green Car Reports writes that the WiTricity Halo Charging system can give up to 11kW. This will add 40-60 miles after charging for one hour

The height of the car from the energy pad does not seem to matter. According to them, the pad will give “high energy transfer over a wide air gap.”

Tests have been done with the Model 3 since October 2021. They have found that it will take about 6 hours to fully charge. This is about the same length of time it takes to charge with a plug-in.

As of now, they are looking to test other EV’s like the Ford Mach E to give a wider range of availability.

The lawsuit that was filed this week by the state was made after a three-year-long investigation where the CDFEH got multiple complaints by former employees and obtained evidence that coincided with these claims.

DFEH director, Kevin Kish, stated that:

After receiving hundreds of complaints from workers, DFEH found evidence that Tesla’s Fremont factory is a racially segregated workplace where Black workers are subjected to racial slurs and discriminated against in job assignments, discipline, pay, and promotion creating a hostile work environment.

Here is a more detailed accounts of what allegedly took place. The purpose of including these events is to give these former workers a voice. If you do not wish to read them, please skip to the section: Tesla’s Comment.

Racist Comments, Slurs, and Segregation

According to Electrek, co-workers, leads, managers, and supervisors continuously made racial comments like “from the ghetto,” and “go back to Africa,” and called Black employees racial slurs not limited to the n-word, “hood rats,” and “horsehair.” To add to this, the complaints made to the DFEH claimed that Black workers were not given opportunities to advance in the workplace. This caused the Black workers to get stuck in the same line of work as other Black employees. A lot of the jobs that these employees were given were more physically demanding. These areas were called “the plantation” and “porch monkey station.”

Harassment

The evidence reported by the DFEH paints the picture of a work environment where employees test the limits to see what they can get away with and eventually get comfortable showing their true thoughts and views. This is evident in the more violent actions that occurred in the Fremont factory. Some of the most notable are employees proudly displaying their confederate flag tattoos in a way that would intimidate minority workers, racist graffiti on the breakroom walls, workstations, and bathrooms. The Verge writes that the defendants claimed that the graffiti was not cleaned up for months on end.

Tesla’s Comment

After the lawsuit was filed, Tesla’s blog post not only said that the lawsuit was ‘unfair’ but that the DFEH is actively choosing to not work with Tesla to solve these issues. Tesla also states that the events that the DFEH chose to focus on occurred between 2015 and 2019. They say that the 50 times people complained to the organization during that time, the investigation closed and found that Tesla was not at fault.

As part of the Rocket Cargo Program, Space News reported that SpaceX will aid the Air Force in enhancing the speed of US Department of Defense planning while also delivering humanitarian aid and disaster relief all over the world.

Greg Spanjers, the manager of the program, emphasized this stating that SpaceX will “determine exactly what a rocket can achieve when used for cargo transport, what is the true capacity, speed, and cost of the integrated system,” and that the Air Force is, “very interested in the ability to deliver the cargo anywhere on Earth to support humanitarian aid and disaster relief.”

The contract does not list which vehicle they plan to use or when tests will commence. Though, Starship Super-Heavy is the only launch vehicle owned by SpaceX that is built for point-to-point travel, Tech Times reports. Until then, the US Air Force will have access to commercial launches and their data. When it comes to delivering disaster relief, they will explore various landing options since there is no direct connection between military bases and the people who need it.

“We are therefore exploring a wider range of novel trajectories to mitigate overflight issues, exploring a broad range of landing options for austere sites, researching human factors when landing near populations, and integrating a broader range of cargo including medical supplies,” Greg Spanjers said.

To expand the Rocket Cargo Program, Spanjers brought up their plan to involve other commercial space transportation companies. This is very reminiscent of SpaceX’s moon mission deal with NASA that led to a lawsuit with Blue Origin. Blue Origin’s claims of NASA’s “unlawful and improper evaluation of proposals” and safety concerns over SpaceX’s “high-risk” launch system were unfounded.

Though a new chapter of Tesla’s success is beginning, we need to look on the other side of the coin.

On New Year’s Eve, Tesla opened a showroom in Xinjiang. A ceremony was held with people holding ‘Tesla Loves Xinjiang’ signs on their Weibo page. Xinjiang is the same place where the Chinese Government has been accused of genocide and other hate crimes against the Uyghur Muslims.

The Wall Street Journal has gone over Chinese reports that show they have affected over 1 million minorities not limited to the Uyghur people. These crimes include torture, forced labor, population control, and surveillance. Despite this, the Chinese government has refuted these claims.

According to The Verge, President Joe Biden signed the Uyghur Forced Protection Act which told China to cease the genocide and the abuse of the Uyghur Muslims and other minority groups in the region. US senator Marco Rubio commented on the news of Tesla’s new Xinjiang dealership on twitter where he claimed that Tesla is helping China cover up the genocide and hate crimes against the Uyghur Muslims.

Right after President Biden signed Sen. Rubio’s Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act into law, @Tesla opened a store in #Xinjiang. Nationless corporations are helping the Chinese Communist Party cover up genocide and slave labor in the region. https://t.co/2yWBTQSLbM

— Senator Rubio Press (@SenRubioPress) January 3, 2022

Tesla is not the only company that has been faced backlash on conducting business in Xinjiang. Intel was criticized for writing a letter to suppliers telling them to not use labor or resources from Xinjiang. Later, Intel apologized for writing the letter. The BBC noted that H&M and Nike took heat for sourcing cotton from the forced labor of the Uyghur people.

There is no question that the new factories in Europe and China have helped aid Tesla in deliveries. Expansion of factory locations is key to Tesla’s success, but why would you choose to open a dealership in a place where accusations of slave labor is just the tip of the iceberg? The lack of transparency of the treatment of minorities in the Xinjiang region could cause doubt on the treatment of Tesla workers. Could the production and profits from Tesla’s vehicles potentially be the result of the blood and suffering of minorities in China? It is in Tesla’s best interest to at the very least comment on the issue. Though, with how censorship and lies seem to be hand in hand with business in Xinjiang and the Chinese government, it is not likely to occur.