Down at the federal court in SF today to catch closing arguments in the Tesla/Musk securities fraud class action trial. Jury is deliberating… nooo idea how long a verdict may take. Getting coffee across the street before I pop back to the courtroom. Elon Musk has been in attendance, looking almost jovial at the start and then enervated during plaintiffs’ closing argument & rebuttal. Judge Chen said both parties’ counsel argued well and…

1/Twitter was previously associated with open societies, and freedom of expression. People used it to speak out about, and show videos of their experiences in a way that media would not cover -- at least not enough, if at all. 2/ Huge communities of people shared their experiences of extrajudicial killings, wage theft, corruption in courts, law enforcement, pollution and many other stories that weren't getting on radio, print, TV and online news. On Twitter people redirected public attention.

I report on Tesla, climate tech & other Elon Musk companies. While this doesn't fall into a business news category, I was stunned this week seeing poet Justine Musk, has called out her ex-husband for misrepresenting what happened when their child died. One does not tend to forget, or misrepresent the details of something as serious as a death in the family. They both have my sympathies, of course. I aim for compassionate understanding at all times. But there is not a clear reason for deceit when sharing a mournful experience.

A 2017 class action lawsuit against Tesla alleged racism & unsafe factory conditions in its Fremont factory. The complaint included an email from Elon Musk about how to deal with “huge jerks.” He told workers to be “thick skinned” and accept apologies. cnbc.com/2017/11/14/tes… I try to include the entire document whenever safe to do so - lawsuit, emails, decks, whatever - so people can learn more & draw their own conclusions. The full complaint is embedded at the bottom of that article.

1/ There was an Elon Musk related thread that went viral…I’m not retweeting it or @-ing the handle here. But it was from an account that appears to be interested in the real history of Tesla (good) and missed some existing research (bummer). 2/ Here’s a “2019 E-Mail From The University of Pennsylvania Confirming Elon Musk's Physics Degree@ <—- examine the claims of billionaires? Yes, absolutely. Call out bs? Yes! But when the records are there, acknowledge what they say. plainsite.org/documents/tbdm…

1/ TSLA in China, per Q3 2022 quarterly filing - Tesla writes, "We have an operating lease arrangement for an initial term of 50 years with the local government of Shanghai for land use rights where we are constructing Gigafactory Shanghai. Under the terms of the arrangement... 2/ "we are required to spend RMB 14.08 billion in capital expenditures by the end of 2023 and to generate RMB 2.23 billion of annual tax revenues starting at the end of 2023. If we are unwilling or unable to meet such target or obtain periodic project approvals...

Whaat? Keffals news. washingtonpost.com/technology/202…

https://twitter.com/keffals/status/1549179410573574145

Platform hopped over to YouTube from Twitch -

I moved away from New York a decade ago but will *never* stop loving that city. Need to get back for a proper work-and-play visit soon. Meant to do so recently and it didn't really work out. Used to work near Astor Place and there was a glorious coffee shop nearby - mudnyc.com/pages/mudspot Some of my best source meetings and writing days were spent here:

0/ AI Addict's story - getting fired by Tesla after nearly a year of posting FSD Beta reviews to YouTube - fascinated me because it is revealing of company culture. It was not the most urgent news of the day, but I took a little time to listen and report on it. 1/ It made me think... If I were a manager at a company and some employee started posting YouTube videos about our products that started going viral what would I do? If I thought the videos were out of bounds, I’d give them a warning, tell them what's wrong, train them on policy.

John Bernal, known as YouTuber AI Addict, had a dream job working as an ADAS test operator for Tesla. After ~1 year of his reviews of FSD Beta gaining viral notice, Tesla terminated his employment and revoked his access to the experimental, driver assistance system. more @cnbc

https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/1503865250529038337

And obviously check out AI Addict on YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCnSt1… <--- Bernal has a new post. "San Jose Stress Test"

A string of really interesting Tesla stories today by colleagues & peers in other business, tech & local news outlets… cnn has a look at Tesla phantom braking cnn.com/2022/03/14/car…

Tesla has purchased aluminum from a Russian company, Rusal, since late 2020. Rusal is not their primary source for aluminum, but the vendor relationship shows how war complicates the auto supply chain. My latest at @CNBC cnb.cx/3i6Rpdy If you're not familiar with Rusal - the company was previously sanctioned in the US. Sanctions were lifted during the Trump administration in 2019. Tesla started buying from them after that. Rusal was founded by a sanctioned Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska.

I asked SpaceX head of comms this weekend on details about Starlink in Ukraine. Didn't hear back. Still not clear on what's being provided to whom and how it will function amid the conflict. Will report on it if I get answers from the co. (or employees) obviously. Critics cast a skeptical eye on seemingly noble Musk promises. Why? There was the "mini-sub" he said Tesla would develop to help rescue kids from a flooded cave system in Thailand. It was promoted, went nowhere and drew criticism resulting in this fight: cnbc.com/2019/12/03/elo…

A few noteworthy Tesla whistleblower-related stories & law suits from recent years… 1/ cnbc.com/2018/08/16/tes… Tesla Ex Security Employee Alleges Theft, Drug Dealing & Wiretapping at Nevada Gigafactory 2/ Tesla allegedly under-counted worker injuries to make its safety record appear better cnbc.com/2018/04/15/rev…

1/ Every time I post about a Tesla crash that is noteworthy- and believe me I do not post about every Tesla crash, that's usually the domain of local reporters where the crash happened - people say why is this news? 2/ Some crashes are noteworthy because of a detail, like one offered up by police or a fire dept. Today? From a preliminary investigation, police said they thought (and told local reporters this) that nobody had been at the wheel before the Tesla crashed into a tree.

'No one was driving' in Tesla crash that killed two men in Spring, Texas police told local reporter @KPRC2Deven I'm following developments for @CNBCtech as well cnb.cx/3ecagkW "Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on a Feb. 11 episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast: 'I think Autopilot’s getting good enough that you won’t need to drive most of the time unless you really want to.'"

1/ Remember Tesla's "Warranty Adjustment Program" for Model S/X owners who had touchscreen display problems including straight up blackouts? Welp. NHTSA / ODI just expanded the investigation into an "engineering analysis," per @Reuters reuters.com/article/us-tes… 2/ From the NHTS Office of Defects Investigation filing on 11/12/2020: " There are precedents for addressing defects that result in loss of either backup camera, defogging, or turn signal functions under Investigation: EA 20-003." In other words... static.nhtsa.gov/odi/inv/2020/I…

appalling lack of empathy here. my friends and sources in healthcare are so far beyond “busy.” this jerky comment made me flinch. quote tweeting just to watch the ratio.

https://twitter.com/morninganswer/status/1327283077794631681

Good time to re-up this post about how to avoid FACIAL BRUISES from long shifts wearing PPE. rcni.com/nursing-standa…

1/ Revised thread: Why do people care so much about the photo of Elon Musk with Jeffrey Epstein’s “networker” Ghislaine Maxwell next to him? washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-s…
… Musk says she photo bombed him. A recap. 2/ Last year, NYT reported that sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein claimed a serious connection to Musk & said he was doing work for Musk’s biggest company, Tesla, in 2018. nytimes.com/2019/08/12/bus……
Musk & Tesla flatly denied it. But questions remained.

1/ Here are some of the questions I have for all involved in reopening the Tesla Fremont car plant: 2/ The county health officers said they see "progress" on certain Covid-19 indicators Tesla can go beyond min. basic operations this week, prepare to reopen next week. So - where have they see progress, on which indicators and from what starting date?

1/ Folks, this is not what Scott Haggerty told NYT... 2/ excerpts