Complaint alleges Musk’s America Pac deceived voters by falsely claiming prize winners would be chosen at random * US election 2024 – live updates * US election results 2024: live map and tracker Elon Musk was sued in a proposed class action on Tuesday by registered voters who signed his petition to support the constitution for a chance to win his $1m-a-day giveaway, and now claim it was a fraud. The complaint, filed by the Arizona resident Jacqueline McAferty in federal court, said Musk and his America Pac organization falsely induced voters to sign a petition by claiming they would choose winners by chance. In fact, members of the Pac selected the winners, the suit alleges. Musk’s own attorneys said in court that the sweepstakes’ results were not random; they disclosed that the winners were chosen to be spokespeople for the group. When will we know the result? Abortion ballot measure results by state Senate, House and governor results Everything you need to know Continue reading...

The evolution of Musk’s X network is complete; why Reddit is profitable; and niche Halloween costumes * Don’t get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m Blake Montgomery, technology news editor at Guardian US. Today in the newsletter: X’s final form, learnings from a packed week of earnings, and niche online Halloween costumes. Thank you for joining me. With the US election, X’s transformation into Elon Musk’s weapon reaches its peak. He has succeeded in bending his social network to his will. Continue reading...

Feed is rife with posts of individuals deemed suspicious and calls for doxxing with little evidence provided of fault While Elon Musk faces his own election integrity questions offline, the X owner has deputized his followers to spot and report any “potential instances of voter fraud and irregularities”. The community he spawned is rife with unfounded claims passed off as evidence of voter fraud. Musk opted not to show up to a required court appearance Thursday in Philadelphia to respond to a lawsuit challenging his political action committee’s daily $1m voter giveaway. Meanwhile, online, he has started a dedicated community space on X, formerly Twitter, where he’s asked users to share any issues they see while voting. Users posting on the self-contained feed, the “election integrity community”, quickly began pointing out what they deemed as evidence of fraud and election interference. Continue reading...

The tech titans have picked up the phone and called the ex-president. Plus: AI chatbots and sharing your baby’s photos * Don’t get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Welcome back. Today in the newsletter: tech executives play phone tag with Donald Trump, the liability of AI chatbots, and talking through sharing your baby’s photos online with your family. Thank you for joining me. The CEOs of the biggest tech companies in the world are looking at the neck-and-neck polls, picking up their phones, and putting their ducks in a row for a potential Donald Trump presidency. The former US president has never shied away from threatening revenge against his perceived enemies, and tech’s leaders are heading off retributive regulatory scrutiny. Continue reading...

The platform’s billionaire owner has seen its value plunge as advertisers run shy, revenues drop and user numbers fall Two years ago, there was some trepidation among advertisers, anti-hate-speech groups and staff about Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. Those concerns have been borne out: advertisers have sharply reduced spending on the platform, Musk has sued nonprofits over their coverage of a rise in controversial content and about eight out of 10 employees have been sacked. Continue reading...

The megalomaniacs who control X and Facebook are only able to pollute the public sphere and undermine democracy because of our deference to money There are two kinds of aphrodisiac. The first is power. A good example was provided by the late Henry Kissinger, who could hardly be described as toothsome yet was doted upon by a host of glamorous women. The other powerful aphrodisiac is immense wealth. This has all kinds of effects. It makes people (even journalists who should know better) deferential, presumably because they subscribe to the delusion that if someone is rich then they must be clever. But its effects on the rich person are more profound: it cuts them off from reality. When they travel, writes Jack Self in an absorbing essay: “The car takes them to the aerodrome, where the plane takes them to another aerodrome, where a car takes them to the destination (with perhaps a helicopter inserted somewhere). Every journey is bookended by identical Mercedes Vito Tourers (gloss black, tinted windows). Every flight is within the cosy confines of a Cessna Citation (or a King Air or Embraer)… The ultra-rich never wait in line at a carousel or a customs table or a passport control. There are no accidental encounters. No unwelcome, unapproved or unsanitary humans enter their sight – no souls that could espouse a foreign view. The ultra-rich do not see anything they do not want to see.” Continue reading...

X owner renews hostilities with Center for Countering Digital Hate after it is linked to US election interference row * UK politics live – latest updates A UK-founded anti-hate speech campaign group dragged into the Labour US election interference row has vowed to carry on its work after Elon Musk’s latest declaration of “war” against the organisation. The Center for Countering Digital Hate returned to the crosshairs of the world’s richest person this week after Musk alleged that it was violating laws against foreign interference in US elections. Continue reading...

Car company sees biggest single-day stock gain since 2013 as CEO Elon Musk forecasts up to 30% in sales growth Tesla shares closed up nearly 22% on Thursday – their biggest single-day gain in over a decade – as Elon Musk’s bold forecast of surging sales reassured investors he was still looking to grow its core business of selling electric cars. At close, nearly $150bn was added to the company’s market value. Musk forecast 20-30% in sales growth next year, promising to launch an affordable vehicle in the first half of 2025, and said efforts to slash production costs boosted margins in the third quarter. Continue reading...

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After two slow quarters, Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle maker reports higher-than-expected earnings per share Tesla shares saw a 12% jump after the company reported its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday. The electric-car manufacturer was able to bounce back from a tough second quarter, beating Wall Street expectations for earnings per share. The company reported an earnings-per-share of $0.72, surpassing investors’ projection of $0.60. At the end of the second quarter, Tesla’s chief executive, Elon Musk, said the nearly 50% drop in profits was temporary and due to difficulty competing with cheaper or price-slashed electric vehicles by rival companies such as BYD. “We don’t see this as a long-term issue,” Musk said in July, “but really fairly short term.” Continue reading...