In a stunning revelation, Mark Zuckerberg texted Elon Musk at 10 PM on a Monday night to offer content suppression services for DOGE operations, just 24 days after his public denunciation of government censorship on the Joe Rogan podcast. According to reports from Techdirt, Zuckerberg's text message read "Looks like DOGE is making progress" before offering to take down content identifying federal employees involved in DOGE operations. The exchange reveals the stark contrast between Zuckerberg's public stance on free speech and his private actions, as he volunteered censorship services to the government official he had previously criticized for alleged "coercion." This revelation comes from text messages designated as trial exhibits in Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI, with Zuckerberg's team now attempting to suppress this evidence from the court record.
Tesla's once-unrivaled brand loyalty has reportedly plummeted to industry-average levels, marking a concerning trend for the electric vehicle pioneer. Data from S&P Global Mobility indicates that Tesla, which historically boasted more repeat U.S. customers than any other major automotive brand, has seen its loyalty fall to 3% for the week ended January 28, compared to 9% in January 2024 and a robust 33% in January 2018. This rapid decline is largely attributed to CEO Elon Musk's increasingly visible political alignments and inflammatory public statements, particularly his endorsement of President Donald Trump. A 2024 Pew Research Center poll revealed that Democrats are three times more likely to buy an EV than Republicans, highlighting the partisan divide in consumer preferences. Tesla's "net favorability rating" has dropped significantly, with the company currently trading at $355.28, down 1.81% today, reflecting ongoing uncertainty.
A federal jury in San Francisco has found Elon Musk liable for defrauding Twitter investors by deliberately driving down the social media company's stock price in the months leading up to his $44 billion acquisition in 2022. The nine-person jury awarded shareholders between $3 and $8 per stock per day as damages, which plaintiffs' lawyers say amounts to approximately $2.1 billion in stock and another $500 million in options. This verdict comes as Musk faces separate class action lawsuits over his delayed Twitter stake disclosure, with the latest ruling exposing the world's richest person to potentially greater damages than individual lawsuits would have allowed. The case represents a significant legal precedent, as the jury's verdict sends a message that "just because you're a rich and powerful person, you still have to obey the law."
The jury found Musk liable for misleading investors with two specific tweets from May 2022, including one that stated the Twitter deal was "temporarily on hold" while he sought information on fake accounts. However, jurors absolved him of misleading investors with a statement he made on a podcast, determining it was an opinion rather than a deliberate scheme. The plaintiffs' lawyer argued that Musk's tweets were "carefully calculated to drive down Twitter's stock price" as Tesla's stock declined and buying Twitter became too expensive. Musk's legal team motioned for a mistrial several times during the contentious trial, contending he cannot get a fair trial in San Francisco due to public animosity toward him.
Musk's $56 billion Tesla compensation package faces an uphill battle for judicial approval in Delaware, creating ongoing uncertainty for TSLA. Despite a recent shareholder vote overwhelmingly ratifying the 2018 pay deal and approving a move of Tesla's legal domicile to Texas from Delaware, the battle is far from over. The company now faces the formidable task of convincing a skeptical Delaware Court of Chancery judge, Kathaleen McCormick, to reverse her earlier decision that voided the package. Judge McCormick had previously rescinded the pay package in January, citing that Musk improperly controlled the 2018 board process and that investors weren't fully informed. While Tesla argues the recent shareholder vote, conducted with extensive disclosures including McCormick's 200-page ruling, effectively corrected these issues, legal experts remain cautious. The stakes are incredibly high for Tesla, currently trading at $355.28 with a market cap of $1.33 trillion, with uncertainty surrounding Musk's compensation potentially impacting investor confidence.
The nearly three-week trial saw testimony from former Twitter executives including CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal, as well as Musk's extensive testimony. Musk maintained that Twitter's leadership lied about bot account numbers and withheld information, repeatedly describing the information as "BS." He argued that his decision to honor the original deal provided windfall profits for most Twitter shareholders, though Twitter's shares fell 40% below his original purchase price during the uncertainty. Legal experts view this as an important victory for public markets, with one attorney stating it sends a message that "no man is above the law." Musk's fortune remains estimated at approximately $814 billion, much of it tied to Tesla shares, while his political engagements continue to impact brand perception and sales performance.
