Welcome to Wednesday, readers. I tremble here in New York City, I’m your host, Jordan Parker Erb.
It’s time to ditch everything you thought you knew about the Elon Musk Twitter legal saga, because Musk has stirred it up even further.
The billionaire has (again) offered to buy Twitter for $44 billion. Twitter is still reviewing the offer but seems likely to accept the deal.
I have the details on that and more below. Let us begin.
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1. Elon Musk has again offered to buy Twitter. In a surprising twist in his months-long legal battle with Twitter, Musk said he would buy the social media company at the original price of $44 billion. Twitter said it intends to close the deal at that price.
- The letter, filed in confidence late Monday, is a no-nonsense renewal of Musk’s agreement to privatize Twitter for $54.20 per share. The letter is being reviewed by Twitter lawyers – and the deal looks likely to go through.
- If approved, the agreement would quickly end the months-long legal battle between Twitter and Musk. Musk agreed to buy the company for $44 billion in April but backed out of the deal in July. Twitter sued him shortly after.
- Experts told insiders Musk’s decision was an attempt to avoid a likely court loss, as the pre-trial investigation showed his odds of winning were slim. See what other experts have said.
Read Musk’s letter to Twitter here.
In other news:
2. Amazon has imposed a corporate hiring freeze for its retail division. The company’s hiring freeze will last until the end of 2022, according to The New York Times. Everything we know so far.
3. A software engineer who left the Bay Area explains why she has no regrets about leaving Silicon Valley. Maricris Bonzo, a 28-year-old software developer working on Web3 communities, moved to Sacramento after living in the Bay Area. Here she tells how the move was.
4. Elon Musk said he was “obviously” pro-Ukraine. Hours after being slammed for mimicking Russian President Vladimir Putin’s propaganda, the Tesla CEO tweeted his support for Ukraine, adding that SpaceX spent $80 million to run Starlink in the country. More of his comments here.
5. A leaked Microsoft presentation sheds light on Azure cloud revenue. Instead of reporting Azure revenue directly, Microsoft has chosen to report all cloud revenue. We watched an internal presentation showing how much US customers spent on Azure – $11 billion last fiscal year. Everything else we learned from the leaked presentation.
6. An Amazon delivery driver describes what the job is like. Ulises Perez, 22, told Insider he mentally prepares himself for the busy and hectic day every morning, but he loves the flexibility and the connections he makes with people along his route. He tells what it’s like to drive for Amazon.
7. What influencers should learn from Kim Kardashian’s $1.26 million SEC settlement. Kardashian’s settlement, which comes after she failed to disclose how much she was paid to promote EMAX tokens, is a wake-up call for influencers and marketers. We’ve outlined what influencers should do to comply with the SEC – these are the top six takeaways.
8. America’s “first solar-powered city” was a success story in the midst of Hurricane Ian. As millions of other Floridians lost power, one community was largely unscathed by the storm, CNN reported. Take a look at the solar powered Babcock Ranch.
Bits and pieces:
9. Are you going on a trip this fall? These gadgets will make your life easier. From a portable battery to noise-cancelling headphones, we’ve got a list of technologies to help ensure you’re ready for anything on your next trip. Check out our guide to must-have travel gadgets.
10. You can use Netflix secret codes to unlock hidden categories. If you’re looking for something new to watch — especially if your favorite genre is an obscure one — you can use Netflix codes to find and watch titles hidden on the homepage. That’s how they work.
What we see today:
- TechEx North America starts today in Silicon Valley.
- SpaceX’s Crew 5 mission is scheduled to launch to the ISS.
- The EV World Congress begins in London.
- A year ago today, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before a congressional committee.
Stay up to date with the latest tech news throughout the day by watching The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen.
Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email [email protected] or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.
