Elon Musk

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on Elon Musk:

Change the X icon back to Twitter

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Give me back the bird!
Everyone’s favorite bird icon is back… kind of.
Image: Garrett Heath/Wikimedia Commons/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

If you miss the Twitter icon, you’re not alone. But there’s good news: You can easily change the app’s new X icon back to Twitter’s blue bird on your Home Screen by using a shortcut.

While it’s too late for Elon Musk to backtrack on many of the questionable business decisions he made since buying Twitter, you can at least patch over this latest one using my free downloadable Shortcut.

If you’re still using X, née Twitter, you might want the bright blue bird back on your Home Screen. I’ll show you how to get it.

Wozniak, Musk and leading researchers urge pause on ‘out of control’ AI

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The letter doesn't refer to the
The letter doesn't refer to the "rise of the machines" a la "Terminator," but it could have.
Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

A new open letter signed by tech leaders urges a six-month pause on development of advanced artificial intelligence applications that may pose “profound risks to society and humanity.”

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, other tech execs and many AI academics signed the letter. It urges caution concerning “emergent” AI more powerful than GPT-4. We’re not talking Siri here (at least not yet).

Elon Musk vs. Apple: Tech battle for the ages! [The CultCast]

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Elon Musk versus Apple on The CultCast podcast: Well, that escalated quickly!
Well, that escalated quickly!
Image: Steve Jurvetson/Flickr CC/Modified by Cult of Mac

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: After new Twitter CEO Elon Musk began publicly questioning some of Apple’s policies, he went mano-a-mano with Tim Cook. Maybe Musk’s meme-y declaration of war was a bit premature …

Also on The CultCast:

  • The sad state of iCloud storage.
  • A Twitter phone? Really?!?
  • 2023 MacBook Pro benchmarks reveal a big fat surprise.
  • A totally weird tale about the dangers of walking the streets of New York City with hundreds of iPhones.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Elon Musk declares war on Apple

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Elon Musk declares war on Apple over App Store rules.
1, 2, 3, 4 ... I declare a Twitter war.
Image: Steve Jurvetson/Flickr CC/Modified by Cult of Mac

Elon Musk declared war on Apple on Monday afternoon. A Twitter war, anyway. The new owner of Twitter very publicly objects to the 30% fee the iPhone-maker claims from purchases made through the iPhone software store, and also says Apple has threatened to pull the Twitter app from the App Store. He also asked, “Do they [Apple] hate free speech in America?”

An open conflict with Apple is a risky move by Musk, as Twitter needs Apple much more than Apple needs Twitter.

Elon Musk plans to end ‘Twitter for iPhone’ and Android labels

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Apple's Twitter account and other high-profile accounts hacked in massive Bitcoin scam.
Prepare to say goodbye to device labels on Twitter.
Photo: Ravi Sharma/Unsplash CC

Over the years, numerous celebrities have been caught promoting flagship Android phones on Twitter while tweeting from their iPhones. This could soon become a thing of the past, due to a change proposed by Twitter CEO Elon Musk.

The new Twitter owner plans to remove the “Twitter for iPhone” or “Twitter for Android” label below each tweet.

Elon Musk throws in towel, agrees to buy Twitter at original price

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The world's richest person will soon have total control of Twitter.
Looks like Musk will buy Twitter after all.
Photo: Elon Musk/Twitter/Cult of Mac

Elon Musk reportedly has stopped his efforts to get out of buying Twitter. He’s going to purchase the social media platform at his original price from April.

He spent the intervening months trying back out of the deal, which forces him to pay much more for the company than its current value.

Elon Musk puts Twitter acquisition on hold

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The world's richest person will soon have total control of Twitter.
He is still comitted to the deal, though
Photo: Elon Musk/Twitter/Cult of Mac

Elon Musk has put his Twitter acquisition on hold, he said early Friday in a tweet. Musk said he awaits further details and calculations confirming Twitter’s claims that spam accounts on the platform account for less than 5% of active users.

The move comes less than a month after Twitter accepted Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition offer.

Elon Musk buys Twitter for a cool $44 billion

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The world's richest person will soon have total control of Twitter.
The world's richest person will soon have total control of Twitter.
Photo: Elon Musk/Twitter/Cult of Mac

Twitter said Monday it accepted Elon Musk’s offer to purchase the company for $44 billion. That gives the billionaire — who is the world’s wealthiest person — absolute control of the social media platform after the deal is approved.

Elon Musk wants to take over Twitter by spending $41 billion

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Elon Musk
Elon Musk now wants to acquire the whole of Twitter
Photo: NORAD and USNORTHCOM Public Affair/Wikipedia CC

Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has offered $41 billion in cash to take over Twitter. He wants to take the social media company private to ensure it is able to thrive and “be the platform for free speech around the globe.”

The move comes less than two weeks after Musk spent $3 billion to become Twitter’s largest shareholder.

Elon Musk flip-flops on joining Twitter board

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A new Twitter threaded conversation layout might declutter the tweet machine.
Elon Musk changed his mind about joining the Twitter board of directors shortly before joining it.
Image: Twitter

Elon Musk is not going to be on the Twitter board of directors, despite what was announced a few days ago. The Twitter CEO says the change is “for the best.”

Musk is retaining his 9.2% stake in the company, though. And he’s has shown a lot of enthusiasm about Twitter recently. Why he’s not joining its board is unclear.

Twitter confirms it really is working on an edit button

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Twitter is working on an edit button
Twitter Blue subscribers will get to test it first.
Image: Twitter

Twitter is officially working on an edit button that will give users the ability to tweak tweets after they’ve been posted. It said Wednesday that the feature has been in development since last year — long before Elon Musk’s involvement.

Testing of the edit button will begin with Twitter Blue subscribers in the coming months before eventually rolling out to everyone.

Elon Musk bags a seat on Twitter’s board and teases an edit button

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Elon Musk joins Twitter's board
Musk paid almost $3 billion for a 9.2% stake in the social media company.
Image: Twitter

Elon Musk this week earned himself a spot on Twitter’s board after becoming the social media giant’s largest shareholder. It was revealed on Monday that the Tesla CEO purchased a 9.2% stake in the company, worth almost $3 billion.

Musk also teased an edit button for tweets, which has been one of the most-requested features among Twitter users for many years.

Elon Musk splashes $3 billion to become Twitter’s largest shareholder

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Elon Musk spends $3 billion on Twitter
What's next for Musk and Twitter?
Image: Elon Musk/Twitter/Cult of Mac

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has acquired a 9% stake in Twitter worth almost $3 billion. The purchase, revealed in a recent regulatory filing, gets Musk a whopping 73,486,938 shares in the popular social media platform.

Despite being described as a passive investment, one analyst believes the move is “just the start” of Musk’s involvement with Twitter.

Elon Musk: Don’t waste money on ‘silly’ Apple Polishing Cloth, buy our $50 Tesla whistle

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Tesla's $50 whistle
It's already sold out!
Photo: Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks you should avoid wasting your money on a “silly” Apple Polishing Cloth and instead spend it on his company’s $50 Cyberwhistle.

Inspired by Cybertruck, the limited-edition collectible — which is not a joke — is made from medical-grade stainless steel with a polished finish. It also features “an integrated attachment feature for added versatility.”

This $8,400 iPhone 13 contains a real piece of Tesla car

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Tesla Electro iPhone 13
It also includes a portrait of Elon Musk.
Photo: Caviar

Caviar is back with another crazy (and wildly expensive) custom iPhone. Its latest model, which is dubbed the Tesla Electro, contains a real piece from a Tesla car and is available in iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max versions.

You can get yours with up to 1TB of storage, but be warned that prices can reach an eye-watering $8,380.

F**k you! How Tim Cook responded when Elon Musk demanded his job

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Elon Musk
Tesla’s Elon Musk allegedly once demanded to become Apple CEO. It didn’t go well.
Photo: NORAD and USNORTHCOM Public Affair/Wikipedia CC

Many people think Apple’s refusal to buy Tesla when the car-maker was struggling was a serious mistake. But it turns out there might have been a previously unknown condition of the deal that made Apple immediately end negotiations: Tesla’s Elon Musk reportedly wanted to become Apple CEO.

Elon Musk takes a couple of digs at Apple during Tesla earnings call

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Elon Musk
Hasn't always been nice about Apple in the past.
Photo: NORAD and USNORTHCOM Public Affair/Wikipedia CC

Elon Musk took a couple of potshots at Apple during Tesla’s Monday earnings call. The Tesla and SpaceX boss started by claiming that Apple uses more cobalt in its batteries than Tesla. He later on talked about “walled gardens” in tech, and fake-coughed while saying Apple’s name.

This isn’t the first time that Musk, who currently has a net worth of $160 billion, has dissed Apple.

Apple turned down offer to buy Tesla on the cheap

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The Tesla Model 3 is the company’s sedan
When Tesla was struggling to launch the Model 3, the CEO investigated selling the company to Apple.
Photo: Tesla

Apple could have bought electric automaker Tesla at a bargain price, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. But Apple’s chief executive wasn’t interested.

Musk revealed this historic bombshell Tuesday, alongside his comments on a recent report about Apple’s plans for a self-driving vehicle.

‘Embarrassingly late’ Tesla app update will introduce two-factor authentication

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A Tesla Model X similar to this one crashed in 2018.
Tesla's app lets owners remotely operate vehicle features.
Photo: Tesla

The official Tesla app is finally getting two-factor authentication (2FA) — in an update that Tesla CEO Elon Musk himself admits is “embarrassingly late.”

2FA is necessary for the Tesla app because it allows users to remotely control features such as locking and unlocking the vehicle, locating it, flashing its lights, and more. The addition of extra security is therefore something that would be extremely useful.

Celebrate Elon Musk’s SpaceX Mars ambitions with custom iPhone 12 Pro

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Musk on Mars phone
All yours for around $5,000.
Photo: Caviar

The iPhone 12 isn’t out yet, and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has yet to fulfill his ambition of landing on Mars — but Russian luxury firm Caviar is getting ahead of the game.

This week, it announced a new limited series of 19 “Musk Be On Mars” iPhone 12 Pro handsets. Rather than being blinged out with gold and diamonds like previous Caviar iPhones, these special-edition units will feature “a piece from the SpaceX spaceship that was in space,” bas relief of the Dragon spacecraft, and a laser-engraved Musk signature.

All yours for a starting price of $4,990.

Avatarify lets you gatecrash your next Zoom call as Steve Jobs or Elon Musk

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Steve Jobs Zoom call
That's one way to liven up your next work meeting.
Photo: Avatarify

Zoom calls have exploded during the current coronavirus lockdown. But if you’ve already exhausted the possibilities of different angles and backdrops for your video calls, why not try being a different person entirely? You know, like former Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs.

At least, that’s the tech demo/experiment created by coders Ali Aliev and Karim Iskakov. They’ve developed an Animoji or Memoji-style tool called Avatarify that lets users superimpose a real-time mask onto themselves during video calls.

Tesla’s Cybertruck design looks better on an iPhone

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iphone that looks like Cybertruck
What are the chances Elon Musk will have one on order by the end of the day?
Photo: Caviar

Elon Musk’s Tesla Cybertruck was laughed at by critics for its angular, alien look. But the futuristic design may win more style points on an iPhone.

Russian luxury jeweler Caviar is showing off its latest mod job, a titanium iPhone 11 Pro inspired by Musk’s prototype of an electric truck unveiled in December.

Elon Musk borrowed Steve Jobs’ ‘One more thing’ trick for Cybertruck event

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Steve Jobs’ estate triumphs in battle over SteveJobs.com
Elon Musk learned from the best.
Photo: Kazuhiro Shiozawa/Flickr CC

Elon Musk borrowed Steve Jobs’ trademark “One more thing” announcement at the end of Thursday’s unveiling of its electric pickup, the Cybertruck.

Gearing to leave the stage after showing off the futuristic vehicle, Musk stopped for one last announcement. “Oh by the way, we made an ATV,” he said, before it was driven onto the stage.