Verzuz, the multimedia platform co-founded by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, announced a new distribution deal with Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter). Episodes will stream for free exclusively on X, while VERZUZ maintains full ownership and creative control. VERZUZ comes to X This partnership follows Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s reacquisition of VERZUZ from Triller after a lawsuit over $28 million in unpaid fees. Despite legal issues, the founders kept their equity in Triller and retained the artists who participated in VERZUZ. Swizz Beatz expressed excitement about the partnership: “We are beyond
Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has been running ads on the search results for least 20 racist and antisemitic hashtags, according to a review by NBC News. The ad placements allowed X to monetize the hateful content more than 18 months after Elon Musk said that he would demonetize such posts on the platform. X Runs Racist Ads NBC News found the advertisements by searching several hashtags used to promote racism and antisemitism and by searching X accounts known for racial or religious hatred. The hashtags found varied from #whitepride
US Judge Charles R. Breyer has sided with the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), dismissing a high-profile lawsuit filed by Elon Musk and his social media company, X. Musk’s Lawsuit Against CCDH Last year, Musk’s X, formerly Twitter Inc, sued the nonprofit CCDH over its report describing the extent of hate speech on the social media platform. Led by Imran Ahmed, CCDH aims to protect online human rights and civil liberties. The CCDH report said that X failed to act against 99% of 100 Blue accounts that it had
Tesla has settled a racial discrimination lawsuit with former employee Owen Diaz after a protracted legal battle. After filing a lawsuit in 2017, Diaz was awarded a staggering $137 million in 2022. However, US District Court Judge William Orrick reduced this to $15 million and then to $3.2 million. The settlement terms remain confidential but mark the end of a lawsuit that revealed disturbing practices within Tesla’s Fremont factory. Diaz vs. Tesla Diaz, who worked as a freight elevator operator for less than a year starting in June 2015, encountered
Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor, has announced that Elon Musk canceled the deal for his upcoming talk show on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. What Happened? Lemon revealed that Musk’s decision came hours after interviewing him for the show’s debut episode. “Elon Musk has canceled the partnership I had with X, which they announced as part of their public commitment to amplifying more diverse voices on their platform,” Lemon shared in a statement. Despite this setback, Lemon remains optimistic, confirming that his show, “The Don Lemon Show,” will still premiere
Tesla Inc. is currently involved in a significant lawsuit involving nearly 6,000 Black employees from its California factory. The group, alleging rampant racism at Tesla’s Fremont plant, received tentative approval from Judge Noël Wise of Alameda County Superior Court to proceed with their class-action lawsuit. This development underscores a continuing struggle with racial discrimination allegations for the renowned electric vehicle manufacturer. A ‘hotbed’ of racism The lawsuit, initiated in 2017 by Tesla employee Marcus Vaughn, claims the factory’s production floor was a “hotbed of racist behavior,” with racial slurs routinely used by co-workers
Tesla has given $2,000 to The Giving Pies, a small Black woman-owned bakery in San Jose, following its cancellation of a significant pie order during Black History Month. The order, initially set for 2,000 pies and then doubled, was worth between $6,000 to $16,000. However, the cancellation left the bakery with a financial loss of approximately $2,000 and missed opportunities during Black History Month. Musk’s Intervention Voahangy Rasetarinera, the bakery owner, took to Instagram to detail the financial strain caused by Tesla’s decision. “To me, it was clear that Tesla’s
After Elon Musk’s comments criticizing diversity initiatives, Tesla has removed language about having a majority-minority workforce. Tesla has omitted a line from its latest Securities and Exchange Commission filing. In its 10-K filing last month, a comprehensive report on Tesla’s activities throughout 2023, the company removed a line it used a year ago. The original line read, “With a majority-minority workforce, empowering our employee resource groups to take charge in driving initiatives that attract, develop, and retain our passionate workforce is vital to our continued success.” What Has Musk Said?
In recent days, Elon Musk has drawn criticism from business, tech, and civil rights leaders for his disparaging tweets about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). DEI initiatives aim to rectify historical and ongoing discrimination by providing equal access and opportunities for underrepresented groups. However, South African billionaire and owner of Tesla, Space X, and X – formerly known as Twitter – has repeatedly labeled these efforts discriminatory and called for them to “die”. “DEI is just another word for racism. Shame on anyone who uses it,” Musk said in a
Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has reportedly raised $30 million in funding for his artificial intelligence startup. Agrawal was the first Indian-origin CEO of Twitter – now X but was ousted from his position following Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover in 2022. Who is Parag Agrawal? Born in Rajasthan, India, Agrawal immigrated to the US to complete his PhD in computer science at Stanford University. After joining Twitter as a software engineer in 2011, Agrawal worked his way up to the position of Chief Technology Officer for just under a
