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Tag: The Boring Company

  • Elon Musk’s Boring Co. is studying a tunnel project to Tesla Gigafactory near Reno | Fortune

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    Elon Musk’s tunneling startup Boring Company is working with a Nevada state-affiliated group to study a tunnel project that would go under the nine-mile stretch of highway from Reno to Tesla’s Gigafactory, according to documents reviewed by Fortune.

    The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN), a non-profit that recruits companies to do business and expand in the state, paid Boring Company $50,000 in October to draw up conceptual designs and conduct a feasibility report for a new transportation alternative to the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, the mega-business complex that houses Tesla’s Gigafactory, according to a copy of the study invoice, which was obtained by Fortune via a Freedom of Information Act Request.

    The potential tunnel project is one of several options various state groups are considering in order to alleviate the steep rise in traffic and accidents along Interstate 80 as more data centers and companies move into the 107,000-acre Industrial Center east of Reno and Sparks, Nev. Tesla and Panasonic, the two largest companies in the Center, have been in contact with the Nevada Governor’s Office since at least last spring about potential transportation solutions, according to emails, which were also obtained by Fortune via the FOIA request. Both Tesla and Panasonic are working with the local transportation agency to sponsor an ongoing study for a commuter rail system that would run on the freight rail next to the interstate. They also provided funding to EDAWN to look at other options, according to an email from Chris Reilly, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo’s former infrastructure director, who introduced a Boring Company executive to leaders at Tesla and Panasonic to discuss the tunnel study.

    It’s not clear if the report has been completed yet, and the specific details of the report—including the exact length of a proposed tunnel, the cost of the projet, and the types of vehicles envisioned for the tunnel, including the potential for autonomous vehicles—could not be learned.

    Boring Company, which currently operates a small stretch of tunnel with Teslas underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center, has been trying to pitch a tunnel that would go out to the Gigafactory since at least 2019. “The Boring Company is extremely interested [in] building a Loop tunnel beneath I-80 out to the Tesla Gigafactory, but would need NDOT’s support,” reads a research report published by the Nevada Department of Transportation seven years ago.

    Boring Company’s approach is novel, with small, single-lane tunnels made specifically for electric vehicles, and the Elon Musk-founded startup has struggled for many years to garner the political and regulatory support needed to undertake significant transportation projects. Even in Nevada, where Boring Company has successfully opened a tunnel system and begun chauffeuring passengers in Teslas in Las Vegas, the company has completed only four miles of operational tunnel and is currently experiencing delays as it tries to get necessary approvals to dig under land beyond the County and into the City of Las Vegas. The company is also reckoning with community blowback over safety and environmental issues during tunnel construction.  

    The prospect of a Reno tunnel is still very conceptual, and while more than 20 stakeholders—including city and county officials in the region—have been looped into conversations about a potential commuter rail alongside I-80, few of those parties have yet been roped into a potential Boring Co. project, according to two people regularly briefed on the progress of the rail study, including Bill Thomas, who runs the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County, the organization that spearheaded the commuter rail study and road studies.

    “We did not commission it. We’re not paying for it. I’m not involved in it. But I understand there are conversations exploring whether that could be done,” Thomas says, noting that, while he doesn’t understand what the plan would be, he is supportive of any transportation alternative that could help alleviate traffic and reduce accidents along the Interstate. “If there’s a private solution that helps the problem and improves safety, as far as I’m concerned, more power to them.”

    Representatives for Tesla, Panasonic, EDAWN, and the Governor’s Office did not respond to requests for comment on this story. Reilly declined to comment.

    A traffic surge

    Accidents and traffic have ramped up on I-80, which has two lanes going each direction—particularly since the construction of several data centers this past summer as part of Nevada’s push to draw more AI companies to the state. There are some 22,000 employees who work at the Industrial Center each day—70% of whom live in Reno or Sparks, Nev., according to a commuter rail study update report from March 2025 that was seen by Fortune. Nearly 8,000 of those people work for Tesla, and more than 4,000 at Panasonic, according to a second update report from October.

    While the state’s Department of Transportation is currently in the process of widening the highway, that expansion will not start until the end of 2027 and will take a few years to complete. Companies in the Center have requested the Governor’s Office help them with alternative solutions, according to the emails. The number of vehicles traveling on stretches of the Interstate during peak rush hour doubled between January and July 2025, according to data pulled by the Nevada Department of Transportation that was shared with Tesla’s senior facilities manager and Reilly, the former infrastructure director for Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo. “We are looking for creative ways to improve the Waltham ramp,” a NDOT employee wrote to the Tesla manager and Reilly in an email. 

    RTC Washoe, the regional transportation commission in Western Nevada, began prioritizing transportation alternatives for I-80 about two years ago, according to Thomas. “At this point in time, there’s about [one accident] every other day,” Thomas says.

    How effective the Boring Co’s tunnels would be at relieving the congestion is unclear and may depend on whether the tunnel is designed to function as a mass transit system, with a fleet of shared, centrally operated vehicles that commuters hop in and out of, or whether individuals drive their own cars through the tunnel. Boring Company’s 4-mile Las Vegas Loop is able to transport thousands of passengers per day during major conferences at the Convention Center, but those vehicles are operated by dedicated company-hired drivers. With individuals driving their own cars in a tunnel, the potential for accidents and other snafus would likely increase and raise the risk of a severe backlog in a single-lane tunnel.

    Boring Company’s involvement may also draw criticism from the public—particularly after the startup was fined for dumping wastewater in Las Vegas and after firefighters were burned by chemicals in a tunnel during a training drill. A Nevada Congresswoman recently sent a demand letter to Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, requesting more information on both incidents and requesting more information about his Office’s involvement in Nevada OSHA rescinding citations it had issued to the Boring Company last year.

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    Jessica Mathews

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  • TechCrunch Mobility: The robotaxi expansion that really matters | TechCrunch

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    Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility!

    It seems like a day doesn’t go by without Waymo making some kind of expansion announcement. Detroit, Las Vegas, Nashville, San Diego, and Washington, D.C., are just a few of the cities the company plans to bring its robotaxi to in the coming months. But as I have argued in this newsletter before, there is another “expansion” I think is more important. 

    Freeways. 

    And now after years of testing and development, the company’s commercial robotaxi service is using freeways around the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. 

    This is a critical expansion for the company. It’s the concrete and asphalt connective tissue in sprawling metro areas like the Bay Area. This new freeway access is fueling Waymo’s expansion in that region, which is now 260 square miles and encompasses Silicon Valley and San Francisco. 

    Robotaxi rides can have more efficient routes too. Waymo told me it will reduce ride times by up to 50%. 

    And using freeways is also essential for Waymo to offer rides to and from the San Francisco Airport, a location the company is currently testing in. 

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    That freeway-to-airport moment will be the big unlock for Waymo. But will it be enough to help push it in the black? Until someone over there slides me their balance sheet, I can’t say. It will certainly be a popular option for travelers. That doesn’t mean the economics will pencil out. 

    Read on for more news, including Einride’s SPAC bid, deals for Harbinger and Teradar, as well as how Via fared in its first earnings and a looming shutdown for Rad Power Bikes. Plus! Scroll down to get the results of the Tesla poll. 

    A little bird

    Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

    It’s been nearly nine months since Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson abruptly resigned, leaving the company without a permanent replacement. That may be about to change, though.

    A few little birds told us Lucid Motors has zeroed in on a candidate for the top role. It’s expected to be someone outside the organization, which is perhaps no surprise; in August, we shared here that the company and the executive hiring firm it’s using had cast a very wide net and was even cold-calling some candidates. This would likely mean that Marc Winterhoff, who’s been serving as interim CEO, would slide back to the COO role he occupied before Rawlinson left.

    Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com. 

    Deals!

    money the station
    Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

    Another SPAC has entered the AV world! Mergers with special acquisition companies may not be officially “back,” but they are certainly popular among autonomous vehicle companies. 

    Einride, the Swedish electric and autonomous truck startup, plans to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, just six weeks after it raised $100 million from investors. The SPAC merger with Legato Merger Corp. values Einride at $1.8 billion in pre-money equity.

    Einride does generate revenue, which may sound obvious but there have been plenty of pre-revenue transportation companies that have SPAC’d in recent years. 

    For now, its primary source of revenue is coming from its software-as-a-service product and a fleet of 200 heavy-duty electric trucks used by companies like Heineken and PepsiCo. Its unusual-looking autonomous podlike trucks are still in pilot mode. 

    The merger is expected to close in the first half of 2026, with Einride making its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

    Other deals that got my attention this week …

    Forterra, a company developing autonomous tech for defense, raised $238 million in equity and debt funding. Moore Strategic Ventures led the equity piece of the funding, while Crescent Cove provided the debt financing. 

    Gopuff, the rapid-delivery startup, raised $250 million in a round led by Eldridge Industries and Valor Equity Partners. Baillie Gifford, Robinhood, Equalis Capital, George Ruan, Yakir Gabay, and Gopuff’s co-founders. The funding put its valuation at $8.5 billion, according to Bloomberg, a significant markdown from its last raise in 2021. 

    Harbinger, the Los Angeles-based electric truck startup, raised $160 million in a Series C funding round co-led by FedEx. As part of the investment, FedEx ordered 53 of Harbinger’s electric truck chassis.

    Octopus Electric Vehicles, a U.K.-based electric vehicle-leasing business, has struck a deal with lenders, including Lloyds Banking Group, Morgan Stanley, and Credit Agricole, to take its total funding line to £2 billion ($2.6 billion), Sky News reported.

    Teradar, a Boston-based startup developing a solid-state sensor, raised $150 million in a Series B funding round from investors Capricorn Investment Group, Lockheed Martin’s venture arm, mobility-focused firm Ibex Investors, and VXI Capital, a new defense-focused fund led by the former CTO of the U.S. military’s Defense Innovation Unit.

    Upway, an e-bike refurbishment startup, raised $60 million in a Series C funding round led by A.P. Moller. Galvanize, Ora Global, and Sequoia Capital also participated. The company has raised more than $125 million since its founding in 2021.

    Vay, a German startup that remotely pilots rental cars to customers, announced a $60 million investment from Singaporean tech heavyweight Grab. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval and expected to close by the end of the year, may be followed by “an additional $350M as joint milestones are achieved within the first year.”

    Notable reads and other tidbits

    Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

    Ford is expanding the availability of its BlueCruise hands-free highway driving technology in Europe. The automaker will make the system available in several vehicles, including the Puma, Puma Gen-E, Kuga, and Ranger PHEV 5 models starting in spring 2026.

    Joby Aviation conducted the first flight of its turbine electric, autonomous VTOL aircraft. This demonstrator shouldn’t be confused with its all-electric air taxi, although it was built off that platform. This aircraft has a hybrid turbine powertrain and is designed for defense applications.

    Lyft has partnered with Curb, a ride-hailing platform for licensed taxis. Under the deal, Lyft riders will be connected with Curb’s network of drivers through an integration with the Curb Flow platform, which is already in Los Angeles. Other cities will soon follow. 

    Rad Power Bikes, one of the more popular e-bike companies, may not be long for this world. The company has informed its employees that it will shut down in January if it is unable to find new funding or get acquired, according to an internal staff email viewed by TechCrunch.

    Tesla might bring Apple CarPlay to its EVs. But at this point, should it? Meanwhile, the company’s energy storage division is dealing with an expanded recall of its consumer-based Powerwall 2 product after reports of fires.

    The Boring Company, an Elon Musk company, is under scrutiny again. This time because of reports that firefighters performing a safety drill at one of The Boring Company’s construction sites in Las Vegas received burns from chemicals used in the tunnel-excavation process. And the controversy doesn’t stop there. 

    Toyota started production at a new $13.9 billion battery plant in North Carolina. While Toyota has several facilities in the U.S., this is its first battery plant to be built outside of Japan. And it’s not done investing in the U.S. The company said it plans to invest up to $10 billion more than previously expected over the next five years.

    Uber has quietly begun piloting in-app video recording for its drivers in India. The ride-hailing company is also seeking more premium customers through new efforts like Uber Ski, which lets riders schedule a vehicle in advance to nearly 40 popular ski destinations in North America and Europe, including Vail in Colorado and Park City in Utah.

    Via had its first earnings since it became a publicly traded company, and, welp, it lost money. The tech transit software company reported a loss of $36.9 million in its third quarter, a 73% increase since the same period last year. Its revenue grew to $713 million, an 11% increase YoY.

    One more thing …

    Remember the poll in last week’s newsletter? I asked which product goal is Tesla most likely to achieve by 2035? The options are based on real goals laid out in Musk’s $1 trillion compensation package:

    • 20 million Tesla vehicles delivered
    • 10 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions
    • 1 million robots delivered
    • 1 million robotaxis in commercial operation
    • None of these will be reached

    And y’all are split between two options: Tesla delivering 20 million vehicles, which received 34.7% of the vote, and “None of these will be reached,” which received 32% of the vote. 

    The one item you seem to agree on is that Tesla is unlikely to deliver on the other three goals. About 9.5% of readers picked the 1 million robots option, 12.6% chose 10 million active Full Self-Driving subscriptions, and 10.5% picked 1 million robotaxis in commercial operation within 10 years.

    Note: If you want to participate in our polls, sign up for the Mobility newsletter here!

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    Kirsten Korosec

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  • Elon Musk’s Boring Company Accused of Nearly 800 Environmental Violations on Las Vegas Project

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    ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.

    Nevada state regulators have accused Elon Musk’s Boring Co. of violating environmental regulations nearly 800 times in the last two years as it digs a sprawling tunnel network beneath Las Vegas for its Tesla-powered “people mover.” The company’s alleged violations include starting to dig without approval, releasing untreated water onto city streets and spilling muck from its trucks, according to a new document obtained by City Cast Las Vegas and ProPublica.

    The Sept. 22 cease-and-desist letter from the state Bureau of Water Pollution Control alleged repeated violations of a settlement agreement that the company had entered into after being fined five years ago for discharging groundwater into storm drains without a permit. That agreement, signed by a Boring executive in 2022, was intended to compel the company to comply with state water pollution laws.

    Instead, state inspectors documented nearly 100 alleged new violations of the agreement. The letter also accuses the company of failing to hire an independent environmental manager to regularly inspect its construction sites. State regulators counted 689 missed inspections.

    The Boring Co. is disputing the violation letter, a state spokesperson said.

    The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection could have fined the company more than $3 million under the 2022 agreement, which allowed for daily penalties to be assessed. But regulators knocked down the total penalty to $242,800. For example, the bulk of the total possible fine was linked to the alleged missed inspections, but the agency chose to levy just a $10,000 penalty for each of the company’s 11 permits.

    “Given the extraordinary number of violations, NDEP has decided to exercise its discretion to reduce the penalty to two $5,000 violations per permit, which it believes offers a reasonable penalty that will still serve to deter future non-compliance conduct,” regulators wrote in the letter.

    Payment of the penalty isn’t required until after the dispute resolution process is complete, a state spokesperson said. In the letter, the agency reminded the company that it “reserves the right to direct TBC to cease and desist construction activities” under the agreement.

    In the past, Musk has espoused paying penalties rather than waiting for approvals as a way of doing business.

    ​​“Environmental regulations are, in my view, largely terrible,” he said at an event with the libertarian Cato Institute last year. “You have to get permission in advance, as opposed to, say, paying a penalty if you do something wrong, which I think would be much more effective.”

    Neither Musk nor Boring responded to requests for comment for this story.

    The Sept. 22 letter documents the latest in a string of alleged violations of state and local regulations by The Boring Co. since it began construction in 2019 of the Loop project, which uses driver-operated Teslas to move people through the tunnels. The project, initially a 0.8-mile underground route connecting the sections of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority campus to each other, has grown to a planned 68 miles of tunnels and 104 stations across the Las Vegas Valley. It’s carried out in partnership with the LVCVA, the tourism board best known for the “What Happens Here, Stays Here” slogan.

    Boring uses a machine known as Prufrock to dig the 12-foot-diameter tunnels, applying chemical accelerants as part of the process. For each foot the company bores, it removes about 6 cubic yards of soil along with any groundwater, according to a company document prepared for state environmental officials.

    Because it is privately funded and receives no federal money, the project is exempt from many exhaustive governmental vetting and environmental analysis requirements. But it is required to obtain state permits to ensure the waste does not contaminate the environment or local water sources.

    A January story by ProPublica and City Cast Las Vegas documented how the company worked to escape county and state oversight requirements by arguing its project didn’t fit under existing regulations and promising to hold itself accountable through independent audits — all while being cited for permitting and water pollution violations in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Last year, the company successfully lobbied to be exempted from holding a county “amusement and transportation system” permit, arguing instead for an oversight plan that removed multiple layers of inspection.

    Workers have complained of chemical burns from the waste material generated by the tunneling process, and firefighters must decontaminate their equipment after conducting rescues from the project sites. The company was fined more than $112,000 by Nevada’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration in late 2023 after workers complained of “ankle-deep” water in the tunnels, muck spills and burns. The Boring Co. has contested the violations. Just last month, a construction worker suffered a “crush injury” after being pinned between two 4,000-foot pipes, according to police records. Firefighters used a crane to extract him from the tunnel opening.

    After ProPublica and City Cast Las Vegas published their January story, both the CEO and the chairman of the LVCVA board criticized the reporting, arguing the project is well-regulated. As an example, LVCVA CEO Steve Hill cited the delayed opening of a Loop station by local officials who were concerned that fire safety requirements weren’t adequate. Board chair Jim Gibson, who is also a Clark County commissioner, agreed the project is appropriately regulated.

    “We wouldn’t have given approvals if we determined things weren’t the way they ought to be and what it needs to be for public safety reasons,” Gibson said, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal. “Our sense is we’ve done what we need to do to protect the public.”

    Asked for a response to the new proposed fines, an LVCVA spokesperson said, “We won’t be participating in this story.”

    The repeated allegations that the company is violating regulations — including the bespoke regulatory arrangement agreed to by the company — indicates that officials aren’t keeping the public safe, said Ben Leffel, an assistant public policy professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

    “Not if they’re recommitting almost the exact violation,” Leffel said.

    Leffel questioned whether a $250,000 penalty would be significant enough to change operations at The Boring Co., which was valued at $7 billion in 2023. Studies show that fines that don’t put a significant dent in a company’s profit don’t deter companies from future violations, Leffel said.

    A state spokesperson disagreed that regulators aren’t keeping the public safe and said the agency believes its penalties will deter “future non-compliance.”

    “NDEP is actively monitoring and inspecting the projects,” the spokesperson said.

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    Anjeanette Damon, ProPublica, and Dayvid Figler, City Cast Las Vegas

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  • Elon Musk vs. the regulators | TechCrunch

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    Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for all things “future of transportation.” To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility!

    Elon Musk has never had the best relationship with regulators, often bumping up against or outright sidestepping local and state laws where his numerous companies operate. 

    This week has been particularly active on the regulatory front. 

    Musk’s tunneling and infrastructure firm The Boring Company is accused of nearly 800 violations by Nevada regulators, including digging without approval, dumping untreated water onto city streets, failing to install silt fences, and tracking dirt from construction sites onto nearby roadways, a ProPublica investigation discovered. 

    Then there is Tesla, which was hit with an enforcement action by California’s Department of Insurance for routinely denying or delaying customer claims despite years of warnings from the state regulator. Reminder: Tesla is an insurance provider in certain states.  

    Tesla also has the attention, once again, of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency opened an investigation into Tesla’s Full Self-Driving tech after receiving reports the software caused vehicles to run red lights or cross into wrong lanes. 

    The NHTSA has investigated Tesla before. But this one is notable because it specifically targets Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) driver-assistance software. And Musk, as well as Tesla shareholders, have pinned the company’s future on its ability to be a leader in autonomous vehicle technology, as well as robotics and AI. 

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    This single investigation likely won’t derail Tesla’s plans; the company just rolled out the newest version of FSD (v14). But it is another example of increased scrutiny on the technology that Tesla is trying to put front and center and raises questions about its robotaxis, which uses a version of its FSD software.

    A little bird

    Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

    A Wired article from July discovered that General Motors repurposed a few Chevy Bolt EVs that had been part of the shuttered Cruise robotaxi program and was driving them on select highways in Michigan near Austin, Texas, and the San Francisco Bay Area to develop simulation models and new driver-assistance technology.

    Now it seems that General Motors might be moving forward with its autonomous vehicle development but in potentially surprising ways. When GM absorbed Cruise in December 2024, it said it would combine Cruise’s tech with its own ADAS efforts to develop fully autonomous personal vehicles.

    We’re hearing chatter here and there that GM is building out an AV team across Austin and Mountain View. This comes just a couple months after GM started rehiring laid-off Cruise employees, per Bloomberg.

    We’re poking around and if you know anything, reach out.

    Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com.

    Deals!

    money the station
    Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

    Joby Aviation sold 30.5 million shares to raise about $514 million, money that the company said would be used to fund certification and manufacturing efforts and prepare for commercial operations, as well as for general working capital and other general corporate purposes. The company plans to start carrying passengers in its electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in Dubai in 2026, followed by the United States. 

    Investors didn’t react too favorably, though, because shares went for a discount. Under the deal, they sold for $16.85 per share, nearly 11% lower than the previous close.

    Other deals that got my attention this week …

    I forgot this one last week. Futurail, a European startup developing an autonomy stack for self-driving trains, raised €7.5 million in seed funding co-led by Asterion Ventures and Leap435, joined by EIT Urban Mobility and U.S. investors Zero Infinity Partners and Heroic Ventures. Side note: The Autonocast, a podcast I co-host, recently had Alex Haag, CEO and co-founder of Futurail, on the show. Take a listen. 

    Nexcade, a London-based startup developing end-to-end automation for freight forwarders, raised $2.5 million in a pre-seed round led by Connect Ventures. MMC Ventures, Entropy Industrial Capital, and Inovia also participated.

    Toyota and Metal Mining have struck a deal to work together on the mass production of cathode materials for all-solid-state batteries to be installed in battery electric vehicles.

    Tycho AI, an autonomous drone navigation startup, raised $10 million in a Series A round led by FirstMark.

    Utilimarc, a Minneapolis-based fleet analytics and benchmarking company, was acquired by Smith System. The terms were not disclosed.

    Notable reads and other tidbits

    Image Credits:Bryce Durbin

    California governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that gives Uber and Lyft drivers in the state the right to unionize as independent contractors. 

    Just last week, we featured DoorDash’s efforts to build its own autonomous delivery robot. But that internal program isn’t stopping the company from outside partnerships. DoorDash and Serve Robotics announced a multi-year partnership that would see them using autonomous robots to make deliveries across the United States.

    Lucid delivered a record number of EVs in the third quarter. While it’s still nowhere near the projections it shared back when it was going public, the recent sales report does show progress.

    Lyft has locked in another AV partnership — this time with Tensor Auto. The plan, the companies said, is to deploy robotaxis in Europe and North America starting in 2027. Tensor Auto might not sound familiar, but Chinese robotaxi company AutoX might. Tensor Auto’s roots are from AutoX, although the San Jose-based company has told TechCrunch in the past that AutoX’s Chinese operations were fully divested.

    Transportation includes infrastructure like bridges. Climate tech reporter Tim De Chant looked into Allium Engineering, a startup developing paper-thin stainless steel that could change how bridges are built.

    Tesla revealed bare-bones versions of the Model 3 and Model Y, which start at $36,990 and $39,990, respectively. These “standard” versions are pretty stripped down. Senior reporter Sean O’Kane provides more detail here. 

    A few things jumped out at me. For one, I was surprised this standard version doesn’t include Autopilot. Also, Tesla is really known for innovating, from its manufacturing process and software-first approach to its business model. But this wasn’t an act of innovation or even cleverness. It was merely stripping away — and the end result wasn’t the deep discounts that had been previously touted. Remember, Elon Musk was once pushing a $25,000 vehicle, a program that was later scrapped. 

    Zero Motorcycles has moved its key operations from California to a new European headquarters in the Netherlands. The company told TechCrunch the move is designed to accelerate growth and sharpen focus on global opportunities.

    One more thing …

    If you’re in San Francisco later this month, come say hello. I’ll be at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, which will be held October 27 to October 29 at Moscone West. And there are a few transportation-related talks you won’t want to miss.

    For instance, TechCrunch will be interviewing Uber chief product officer Sachin Kansal and Nuro co-founder and president Dave Ferguson about the evolving relationship between AI and mobility. The discussion is expected to cover how predictive models and computer vision are improving road safety, why last-mile delivery is an autonomy proving ground, and what it will take to bring AI-driven transportation to scale.

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    Kirsten Korosec

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  • Where the ‘PayPal Mafia’ Is Today: Founders, Fortunes and Feuds

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    Peter Thiel, PayPal’s first CEO, turned his fintech fortune into a far-reaching empire of influence spanning venture capital, politics and power. Marco Bello/Getty Images

    In 2007, Fortune magazine reimagined a classic mafia scene with a Silicon Valley twist: 13 male founders and early employees of PayPal, all long gone from the company, posed at a San Francisco café with slicked-back hair, poker chips and dozens of whiskey glasses. The crowd included some of the most recognizable names in today’s tech scene, like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman. The magazine dubbed them the “PayPal mafia,” not for their time at the fintech company, but for their outsized impact on Silicon Valley through the companies they launched afterward.

    PayPal went public in early 2002 and was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion the same year. Most of its early employees left the company after the acquisition. They went on to found YouTube, SpaceX and LinkedIn, among other legendary names in Silicon Valley. However, like their cinematic namesake, the group hasn’t avoided controversy. These former colleagues have built billion-dollar businesses while also finding themselves in the crosshairs of public criticism.

    For instance, Thiel has faced controversy over his political affiliations and, most notably, for funding Hulk Hogan’s 2012 lawsuit against Gawker Media with $10 million — a case that ultimately drove the online media company into bankruptcy. Musk has also faced criticism for his takeover of Twitter and his prior role in the Trump administration, where he led widespread federal employee firings.

    Here’s what they are up to these days:

    Peter Thiel: venture capitalist 

    Peter Thiel speaking at the 2022 Bitcoin ConferencePeter Thiel speaking at the 2022 Bitcoin Conference
    Peter Thiel. Marco Bello/Getty Images

    Peter Thiel, Max Levchin and Luke Nosek founded PayPal in 1998, originally as a software security company. After merging with Elon Musk’s X.com (unrelated to the social media platform he owns today), PayPal shifted its focus to digital payments.

    Thiel served as CEO from 1998 until 2002, leaving after the company was sold to eBay. He then co-founded Palantir Technologies, a major U.S. government contractor providing data analytics services. The company now has a market capitalization of $439 billion.

    Thiel is also known as a prolific angel investor. He co-founded Clarium Capital, Founders Fund, Valar Ventures and Mithril Capital. In 2004, Thiel became Facebook’s first outside investor after acquiring a 10.2 percent stake in the company for $500,000.

    Thiel is among the many former PayPal employees who have entered political and high-profile public arenas. An active donor to the Republican Party, Thiel supported Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign but withheld donations during the 2024 election. He is also credited with helping JD Vance reach the Vice Presidential ticket.

    Elon Musk: entrepreneur, the world’s richest person

    Elon Musk gesturing at a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House in May 2025. Elon Musk gesturing at a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House in May 2025.
    Elon Musk. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

    Elon Musk briefly served as PayPal’s CEO before being ousted by the board in 2000. He went on to build one of the most influential portfolios in technology, spanning electric vehicles, space exploration, social media and A.I.

    Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 and has led Tesla since 2008. He also founded Neuralink and The Boring Company, expanding his reach into brain-computer interfaces and infrastructure. In 2022, Musk gained global attention for acquiring Twitter for $44 billion, later rebranding it as X.

    His ties to A.I. run deep: Musk co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman in 2015 but left in 2018 over strategic disagreements. In 2023, he returned to the field by launching xAI, a research venture focused on building A.I. that is more understandable for humans.

    Today, Musk is the richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $400 billion. He is also perhaps the only PayPal alumnus to ascend into direct political influence. During the Trump administration, he led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—a name shared with his cryptocurrency venture—before stepping down in May after clashing publicly with the President.

    Max Levchin: computer scientist 

    Max Levchin speaking at a FOX Network show in 2019.Max Levchin speaking at a FOX Network show in 2019.
    Max Levchin. John Lamparski/Getty Images
    • Position at PayPal: co-founder, chief technology officer from 1998 to 2002
    • Companies later founded: Affirm
    • Net worth: $1.8 billion

    As PayPal’s chief technology officer, Max Levchin helped lead the company’s anti-fraud efforts by co-creating the Gausebeck-Levchin test—the foundation for the widely used CAPTCHA security tool. After leaving PayPal, he launched the media-sharing platform Slide in 2004, which was acquired by Google in 2010. Levchin briefly served as Google’s vice president of engineering until Slide was shut down the following year.

    In 2012, he co-founded Affirm, a leading “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) company, where he continues to serve as CEO. Today, Affirm has a market capitalization of $27.5 billion, with 21.9 million consumers and more than 350,000 merchant partners on its platform.

    Levchin has also held board positions at Yahoo and Yelp. In 2015, he became the first Silicon Valley executive appointed to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s advisory board, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between companies and regulators.

    Reid Hoffman: entrepreneur, investor

    Reid Hoffman speaking at event for WIRED's 30th anniversary.Reid Hoffman speaking at event for WIRED's 30th anniversary.
    Reid Hoffman. Kimberly White/Getty Images for WIRED
    • Position at PayPal: chief operating officer
    • Companies later founded: LinkedIn, Greylock Partners
    • Net worth: $2.5 billion

    Before joining PayPal, Hoffman worked as a senior user experience architect at Apple, contributing to the company’s online social network eWorld. He later became director of product management at Fujitsu. After his online dating startup, SocialNet, folded, Hoffman joined PayPal in 2000 as chief operating officer.

    In 2003, he co-founded the career networking site LinkedIn. Following Microsoft’s $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn in 2017, Hoffman joined Microsoft’s board, a move that greatly increased his wealth.

    Over the years, Hoffman has served on the boards of Airbnb and OpenAI, where he was also an early investor. Through the venture capital firm Greylock Partners, he has backed dozens of A.I. startups. In 2022, he co-founded Inflection AI with Mustafa Suleyman, who now serves as CEO. Earlier this year, he teamed up with cancer researcher Siddhartha Mukherjee to launch Manas AI, a startup focused on drug discovery.

    David Sacks: investor, White House A.I. and Crypto Czar

    David Sacks being photographed on a red carpet in Los Angeles.David Sacks being photographed on a red carpet in Los Angeles.
    David Sacks currently serves as the White House A.I. and Crypto Czar. JC Olivera/Variety via Getty Images
    • Position at PayPal: chief operating officer from 1999 to 2002
    • Companies later founded: Craft Ventures
    • Net worth: $200 million

    Since leaving PayPal, David Sacks has built a career spanning film, tech, investing and politics. In 2005, he produced and financed a political satire that earned two Golden Globe nominations. The following year, he founded Geni.com, a genealogy-focused social network that later spun off Yammer, one of the earliest enterprise social networking platforms. He went on to co-found Craft Ventures, the startup Glue, and the podcast platform Callin.

    Today, Sacks serves as the White House’s Special Advisor for A.I. and Crypto, a role created by the Trump administration to guide policy on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.

    Jeremy Stoppelman: engineer, Yelp CEO 

    • Position at PayPal: vice president of engineering
    • Companies later founded: Yelp
    • Net worth: $100 million

    Jeremy Stoppelman joined Musk’s X.com in 1999 and became vice president of engineering after its transition to PayPal. In 2004, he co-founded Yelp, where he has served as CEO ever since. Under his leadership, the company turned down a 2010 acquisition offer from Google and went public two years later. Stoppelman’s net worth is estimated at more than $100 million.

    Ken Howery: investor, U.S. ambassador

    • Position at PayPal: chief financial officer from 1998 to 2002
    • Companies later founded: Founders Fund
    • Net worth: estimated $1.5 billion

    Ken Howery served as PayPal’s chief financial officer from 1998 to 2002. After PayPal’s sale to eBay, he became eBay’s director of corporate development until 2003. He later joined Peter Thiel at Clarium Capital as vice president of private equity and went on to co-found Founders Fund as a partner. Beyond investing, he is a member of the Explorers Club, a nonprofit dedicated to scientific exploration, and an advisor to Kiva, the micro-lending nonprofit founded by former PayPal colleague Premal Shah.

    Howery is also among the former PayPal executives who have moved into politics. He has donated at least $1 million to Donald Trump’s campaign through Elon Musk’s political action committee. During Trump’s first term, Howery was appointed U.S. ambassador to Sweden and today serves as the U.S. ambassador to Denmark.

    Roeloth Botha: venture capitalist

    Roelof Botha joined PayPal as director of corporate development shortly before graduating from Stanford University. He later became vice president of finance and went on to serve as chief financial officer until the company’s acquisition by eBay.

    After leaving PayPal, Botha joined Sequoia Capital, where he oversaw investments in YouTube and Instagram. He currently sits on the boards of MongoDB, Evernote, Bird, Natera, Square, Unity and Xoom.

    Russel Simmons: entrepreneur 

    • Position at PayPal: software architect from 1998 to 2003
    • Companies later founded: Yelp, Learnirvana

    Russel Simmons helped design PayPal’s payment system as a software architect. After leaving the company, he and fellow PayPal alum Jeremy Stoppelman set out to build a platform for restaurant reviews. With a $1 million investment from Max Levchin, they launched Yelp in July 2004. Simmons served as chief technology officer until his departure in 2010. At the time, Yelp said he would remain a “significant” shareholder, though the size of his stake—and whether he still holds it—remains unclear.

    In 2014, Simmons co-founded Learnirvana, an online learning platform.

    Andrew McCormack: entrepreneur

    • Position at PayPal: assistant to Thiel from July 2001 to November 2002
    • Companies later founded: Valar Ventures

    Andrew McCormack began his career as an assistant to Peter Thiel at PayPal and followed him into subsequent ventures. From November 2002 to April 2003, he oversaw operations at Thiel’s hedge fund, Clarium Capital.

    In 2010, McCormack co-founded Valar Ventures with Thiel and James Fitzgerald, focusing on fintech investments. He remains a general partner at the firm.

    Luke Nosek: investor 

    • Position at PayPal: co-founder and vice president of marketing and strategy from 1998 to 2002
    • Companies later founded: Founders Fund, Gigafund

    In 2005, Luke Nosek joined Peter Thiel and Ken Howery to launch Founders Fund, a San Francisco–based venture capital firm that has backed companies such as Airbnb, Lyft and SpaceX. While his exact net worth is unclear, Nosek has made substantial investments through his venture firms. At Founders Fund, he led one of the firm’s earliest major deals with a $20 million investment in SpaceX, later serving on its board.

    In 2017, Nosek left to co-found Gigafund, which went on to invest $1 billion in SpaceX, according to the company. He also sits on the board of ResearchGate.

    Premal Shah: entrepreneur 

    • Position at Paypal: product manager
    • Companies later founded: Kiva

    Three years after leaving PayPal, Premal Shah co-founded Kiva, a nonprofit that provides loans to entrepreneurs in underserved communities worldwide. He also serves on the boards of other nonprofits, including the Center for Humane Technology, the Change.org Foundation, Watsi and VolunteerMatch.

    Keith Rabois: investor

    • Position at PayPal: executive vice president of business development

    After leaving his executive role at PayPal, Keith Rabois became an active investor, backing companies including Slide, YouTube and Palantir. He also invested in LinkedIn, where he served as vice president of business and corporate development, and Square, where he was chief operating officer.

    Rabois joined venture capital firm Khosla Ventures from 2013 to 2019 and was a partner at Founders Fund from 2019 to 2024.

    Where the ‘PayPal Mafia’ Is Today: Founders, Fortunes and Feuds

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    Irza Waraich

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  • The Boring Company Reportedly Halts Tunneling in Las Vegas After ‘Crushing Injury’

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    Elon Musk’s tunneling firm, The Boring Company, has temporarily halted work at one of the company’s sites in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to a new report from Fortune. The disruption is related to a “crushing injury” sustained by one of the workers at the site, according to the magazine, which spoke to local firefighters.

    Emergency responders received a call around 10:12 p.m. local time on Wednesday night about an “industrial/machinery incident,” according to Fortune. Employees at the worksite in Las Vegas told responders that someone had “sustained a crushing injury,” according to Fortune, but further details haven’t been released. The Clark County Fire Department didn’t immediately return a phone call on Thursday.

    Fortune reports that an 18-person rescue crew used a crane to lift the worker out of the tunnel. The worker was transported to a local hospital and is reportedly stable, though the extent of their injuries is unclear at this point.

    The incident reportedly happened in the tunnel that’s being expanded to reach the Las Vegas Airport. The Boring Company first opened a tunnel that brings people along a 1.5-mile route at the convention center in 2021 and has made efforts to expand ever since. Musk’s original idea for a mass transit system, known as the Loop, was first planned to carry 16 people in driverless pods at more than 600 miles per hour.

    But that plan was downsized for Las Vegas. Visitors now travel at slow speeds of just 35 miles per hour in regular Tesla vehicles that anyone can buy. They also have human drivers, far from the autonomous rapid transit idea that was originally pitched. The Boring Company now has 3.5 miles of tunnels under Las Vegas and is expanding its operations in an effort to shuttle more people in a larger network under the city. The company has gained approvals for up to 68 miles.

    The Boring Company has previously been cited for worker safety issues in Nevada, according to investigations by ProPublica, Bloomberg, and Fortune. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) reportedly took a more “hands-on” approach to safety after injuries in 2024, according to Fortune. There were at least eight citations from Nevada’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, including the “collapse of a large concrete bin in front of the Las Vegas Convention Center.”

    The Boring Company didn’t reply to an email about the incident on Thursday. Gizmodo will update this article when we hear back.

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  • Elon Musk’s Boring Company suspends work on Vegas airport tunnel after ‘crushing injury’ | TechCrunch

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    Elon Musk’s Boring Company has reportedly stopped work on a tunnel it’s been digging to the Las Vegas airport after a worker sustained a “crushing injury” late Wednesday night, according to Fortune. Nevada’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has opened an investigation.

    The Clark County Fire Department received a call at 10:12 p.m. local time on Wednesday and dispatched an 18-person rescue crew to the site. It’s unclear exactly what happened to the worker, but the individual was lifted out of the job site by the local fire department, which used an on-site crane. The fire department told Fortune the worker is “reported to be stable.”

    The Boring Company has spent the last few years digging tunnels that connect the Las Vegas Convention Center with a small number of nearby hotel casinos. The underground transportation system has provided over 3 million rides across the 3.5 miles of tunnels currently in service. The company has much larger ambitions of connecting nearly all of Las Vegas by underground tunnels, including the airport.

    But dozens of workers have been injured during construction of these tunnels, and even the company’s former safety manager for the Las Vegas project has publicly voiced concerns about the dangers faced at these sites.

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    Sean O’Kane

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  • Elon Musk Names NBCU Executive New Twitter CEO

    Elon Musk Names NBCU Executive New Twitter CEO

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    Elon Musk has chosen NBCUniversal’s head of advertising Linda Yaccarino to become the new chief executive officer of Twitter, stepping into the role at a controversial and economically perilous time for the company. What do you think?

    “I wish her luck on her first performance review with Catturd2.”

    Kathy Weida, Mug Tester

    This Elon Musk Deepfake Cannot Be Real

    “I don’t trust a woman who uses a woke, gender-neutral title like CEO.”

    Robert Marcotte, Toxic Waste Removal

    “She already has plenty of experience working at a dying platform like NBC.”

    Sameer Gupta, Balloon Inflator

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  • Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

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    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    If you know someone who stans the almighty Meme Lord and CEO of the Boring Company Elon Musk, here are things you should never say.

    2 / 21

    “It sometimes seems like he craves attention.”

    “It sometimes seems like he craves attention.”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    Oh, so you’re one of those woke libtards, huh?

    3 / 21

    “I totally get it. I’m obsessed with Volvo CEO Martin Lundstedt.”

    “I totally get it. I’m obsessed with Volvo CEO Martin Lundstedt.”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    This will be a conversational dead end, as Lundstedt lacks Musk’s infectious charisma and je ne sais quoi.

    4 / 21

    “What’s your favorite Tesla lawsuit?”

    “What’s your favorite Tesla lawsuit?”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    For true stans, it’s impossible to choose between the 40-plus racial and sexual harassment cases.

    5 / 21

    “He dies in the end.”

    “He dies in the end.”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    You may know the end to his story, but there’s no need to ruin it for people who’ve never come to grips with the reality that he is but a man.

    6 / 21

    “It’s kinda weird that he wears diapers.”

    “It’s kinda weird that he wears diapers.”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    Actually, for a man like Musk, relieving himself in a diaper rather than a toilet is a far more efficient use of his valuable time.

    7 / 21

    “No one who has been close to him speaks well of him.”

    “No one who has been close to him speaks well of him.”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    This, however, is a trick, as no one has ever truly been close to him.

    8 / 21

    “He’s not even in my top five tyrants.”

    “He’s not even in my top five tyrants.”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    There’s no need to rank them.

    9 / 21

    “He’s impregnated everyone else. Why not you?”

    “He’s impregnated everyone else. Why not you?”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    Pointing out the obvious will just make her feel bad.

    10 / 21

    “Did you know that Henry Ford also once started an automobile company?”

    “Did you know that Henry Ford also once started an automobile company?”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    Implying that Elon Musk is in any way similar to anyone who existed before him is pretty much guaranteed to lead to a fistfight.

    11 / 21

    “Elon Musk is going to ruin Twitter.”

    “Elon Musk is going to ruin Twitter.”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    They will rightly point out that Twitter was already ruined. He will just make it worse.

    12 / 21

    “Elon Musk is too funny.”

    “Elon Musk is too funny.”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    Elon Musk is the perfect amount of funny, asshole.

    13 / 21

    “Age of consent laws are good.”

    “Age of consent laws are good.”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    Just testing something here…

    14 / 21

    “Elon’s definitely coming to your birthday party.”

    “Elon’s definitely coming to your birthday party.”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    Don’t give them false hope their father will acknowledge them.

    “As a woman, I…”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    The only two outcomes from saying this are a violent death threat or total dismissal of your personhood.

    16 / 21

    “Please stop harassing me on Twitter.”

    “Please stop harassing me on Twitter.”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    This will only make things worse.

    17 / 21

    “I’m looking for podcast recommendations.”

    “I’m looking for podcast recommendations.”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    Only terrors lie down this path.

    18 / 21

    “Please clean your room.”

    “Please clean your room.”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    Don’t be such a bitch, Mom.

    “Hi.”

    Image for article titled Things To Never Say To Someone Who Loves Elon Musk

    Bad idea all around.

    20 / 21

    You’ve Made It This Far…

    You’ve Made It This Far…

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  • Donald Trump Calls To Terminate Constitution

    Donald Trump Calls To Terminate Constitution

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    Former President Trump has claimed the Constitution can be terminated to reinstate him as president, falsely citing election fraud as grounds, after Elon Musk released information about Twitter’s role in limiting access to a story about Hunter Biden,. What do you think?

    “What’s gotten into him lately?”

    Elwood Staunton, Unemployed

    “The Founding Fathers had some pretty strong feelings about candidate offspring and their laptops.”

    Ferdinand Beser, Ingot Stacker

    “Before we say no, let’s hear how much money he’s offering.”

    Donna Castaneda, Fad Promoter

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  • Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

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    Elon Musk may have taken on $13 billion in debt to buy Twitter, but with his unparalleled brilliance, he’ll earn it back in no time. Here are the most genius ways Elon Musk will make the social media platform profitable.

    Slip And Fall Scam

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    Just in case you’re wondering why Elon Musk is writhing in pain outside Twitter HQ.

    Holding Fired Employees Upside Down And Shaking Them Until Loose Change Falls Out

    Holding Fired Employees Upside Down And Shaking Them Until Loose Change Falls Out

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    Gotta be worth a try.

    Good Old-Fashioned Tax Evasion

    Good Old-Fashioned Tax Evasion

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    If it works for his other companies, it’ll work for Twitter.

    Two-Drink Minimum

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    Twitter is better after a few drinks anyway.

    Adding Reels, Shorts, Stories, Blogs, Forums, Chat Rooms, Maps, Streaming, Bidding, VR, Dating, And Ride-Sharing

    Adding Reels, Shorts, Stories, Blogs, Forums, Chat Rooms, Maps, Streaming, Bidding, VR, Dating, And Ride-Sharing

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    One of them has got to work!

    Save Costs By Making The Site A Little Dimmer

    Save Costs By Making The Site A Little Dimmer

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    The site will also go completely dark during times when no one is using it.

    Charge People To Not Be On Twitter

    Charge People To Not Be On Twitter

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    There are an estimated 240 million active users worldwide, but this pales in comparison to the 7.7 billion people not using Twitter. That’s where the real money is.

    Buying All Other Major Social Media Platforms And Running Them Into The Ground

    Buying All Other Major Social Media Platforms And Running Them Into The Ground

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    If Twitter is the only option, people will have to give it a shot.

    Rentable Tweets

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    Instead of retweeting, Twitter users will be able to rent a limited number of views on favorite tweets.

    Charging For Ability To Stop Typing

    Charging For Ability To Stop Typing

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    Free users will be forced to keep typing until their fingers atrophy and the tendons in their hands snap.

    Replacing Staff With His Own Underpaid Progeny

    Replacing Staff With His Own Underpaid Progeny

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    He’s well on his way.

    Self-Tweeting Technology

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    Taking notes from the success of Tesla, Musk plans to roll out a feature that will take all of the stress out of tweeting by automatically generating thoughts and opinions for its users.

    Merch

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    He could sell shirts or something.

    The Sound Of Someone Repeating The C-Word Loudly Plays Until Users Pay To Mute It

    The Sound Of Someone Repeating The C-Word Loudly Plays Until Users Pay To Mute It

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    As a bonus, users will also get to chose what the next automatically played slur will be.

    Canceling His Car Insurance

    Canceling His Car Insurance

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    Trimming the fat in his own personal expenses will help focus his financial goals.

    Add A Paid Tier For People Who Want Access To Easily Dox Journalists And Public Officials

    Add A Paid Tier For People Who Want Access To Easily Dox Journalists And Public Officials

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    For too long, people have been able to threaten journalists and public officials without generating a direct profit for the social media platform.

    Changing Its Name To TikTok

    Changing Its Name To TikTok

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    He’ll definitely get sued, but it’ll temporarily boost users in the confused idiot demographic.

    Killing Two-Thirds Of Twitter’s Workforce

    Killing Two-Thirds Of Twitter’s Workforce

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    Dead people can’t collect severance or file wrongful termination lawsuits.

    Increase Profits

    Image for article titled Most Brilliant Ways Elon Musk Plans To Make Twitter Profitable

    The man truly is a genius.

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  • Week In Review: October 30, 2022

    Week In Review: October 30, 2022

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    Read more…

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  • Elon Musk launches ‘Burnt Hair’ perfume at Rs 8,400; 10,000 bottles sold so far

    Elon Musk launches ‘Burnt Hair’ perfume at Rs 8,400; 10,000 bottles sold so far

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    World’s richest man Elon Musk launched his own perfume line – Burnt Hair – at a cost of around $100 or Rs 8,400 on Wednesday. Within hours of its launch, 10,000 bottles of the perfume were sold. The perfume can be purchased from The Boring Company website and you can pay via Dogecoin, according to Musk. 

    Musk further said that Burnt Hair is an omnigender product, implying that it can be used both by men and women. The Tesla and SpaceX boss also said that he cannot wait to see what the news articles will be if 1 million bottles of the perfume were sold out. 

    Its listing on The Boring Company website read, “The Essence of Repugnant Desire.” Another description of the product read, “Just like leaning over a candle at the dinner table, but without all the hard work.” The site also read, “Stand out in a crowd! Get noticed as you walk through the airport.”

    Burnt Hair perfume going live on The Boring Company website should not come as a surprise. Musk had tweeted earlier today, “With a name like mine, getting into the fragrance business was inevitable- why did I even fight for it so long !?” He also changed his profile description to “Perfume Salesman”. 

    After Musk announced the launch of Burnt Hair perfume, Twitter users shared their take about the same. A user wrote, “Elon Musk thinks it’s all a simulation. And you are nothing more than computer generated characters. He made the worst named fragrance burnt hair. Selling it for 100 bucks. To make fun of you.”

    Another user replied to Musk’s tweet and shared a meme. The user wrote, “No hairline? No problem! I’ll be spraying my burnt hair.”

    Here are some more reactions on the same

    Meanwhile, Tesla stock is down 2,90 per cent to trade at $216.50 on the NASDAQ at the time of writing this story. 

    Also read: Elon Musk’s SpaceX to seek permit for Starlink services in India

    Also read: China thanks, Taiwan reprimands Elon Musk over plan to resolve China-Taiwan tensions

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