Latest news with #Anti-Musk
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tesla Accused Of Speeding Up Odometers So Their Warranties Expire Faster
A Tesla owner in California is seeking a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all other Tesla owners in the state after he says the company has been systematically altering odometers so their warranties expire faster. Lead plaintiff Nyree Hinton said he bought a used Model Y in December 2022 with 36,772 miles on it. But after several visits to Tesla for repairs completed under warranty, he said, he began to notice odd quirks with the odometer, which regularly overestimated his mileage by at least 15% but sometimes as much as 117%. From March 2023 to June 2023, for instance, Hinton said, his car logged 72.35 miles per day despite him having a consistent driving routine of just 20 miles per day. After the vehicle's 50,000-mile basic warranty expired in July 2023, Hinton said, the odometer then began to underreport his daily usage. In April 2024, the lawsuit alleges, the Model Y reported around 50 average daily miles, despite Hinton driving a 100-mile commute two to three days a week. The lawsuit points to similar tales shared by other Tesla owners online as the basis for class-action status. According to the lawsuit, Tesla's odometer system isn't physically linked to the number of miles the vehicle has traveled, instead relying on data like energy consumption, driving behavior and predictive algorithms to estimate distance traveled. 'By tying warranty limits and lease mileage caps to inflated 'odometer' readings, Tesla increases repair revenue, reduces warranty obligations, and compels consumers to purchase extended warranties prematurely,' the suit said. Odometer fraud constitutes a federal crime, with cumulative penalties that can be applied for every instance of odometer tampering. Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment. 'SNL' Imagines Tesla's Next Innovation: A Car That Destroys Itself Tesla Sales Tumble 13% In First Quarter As Elon Musk Backlash, Aging Models Turn Off Buyers Man Allegedly Drives Into Crowd Of Anti-Musk Protesters, Declares He 'Stands' With Tesla Elon Musk Finds Women On X To Have His Babies For 'Legion' Of Children: Report
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Huge Number of People Who Used to Like Elon Musk Now Detest Him, Polling Shows
Billionaire Elon Musk's popularity has fallen off a cliff — a particularly precipitous decline, because he used to be immensely popular before squandering it. According to the latest polling averages aggregated by Silver, the richest man in the world's favorability is in free-fall, with a mere 39.4 percent of Americans seeing Musk positively, while a majority of 52.7 percent see him negatively. In total, that's a net favorability of -11 points — a significant drop since Donald Trump took office at the beginning of the year, when it stood at -3 points, and a stomach-churning plunge from 2016, when his favorability was a glowing +29. The latest numbers highlight an astonishing degree of disillusionment with Musk's indiscriminate and sloppy slashing of government budgets with the help of his so-called Department of Government Efficiency. His embrace of far-right extremist views has also proven extremely polarizing, with the billionaire going as far as to perform two Nazi salutes during Trump's post-inauguration celebration. Anti-Musk sentiment has risen considerably since then, inspiring an entire movement, called Tesla Takedown, which has seen thousands of people peacefully demonstrating in front of the EV maker's dealerships. The carmaker has seen its sales plummet as a result across the globe. Many investors have also grown fed up with Musk's antics and refusal to fully commit his time to the company. How much longer Musk will continue to gut the government remains to be seen. Trump recently suggested he could be out in the coming months. Experts have since speculated that Musk's unpopularity could be a political liability for the president, who's battling issues with his own favorability. Trump's ratings have dipped this month, following a disastrous rollout of global tariffs. "Although Musk may eventually leave the government, he'll remain an exceptionally important and controversial public figure even if he does," Silver wrote. "Until then, he could be a liability for Trump because he's less popular than the president is even as Trump's numbers have also declined." The cracks are already starting to show. After Musk threw $25 million behind Republican judge Brad Schimel, who ran against liberal candidate judge Susan Crawford during a pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court election earlier this month, Crawford beat Schimel handily. It was a resounding defeat for Musk, who went as far as to hand out $1 million checks to voters in a desperate bid to sway election results. Could his backfiring political efforts be a sign of what's still to come? Given that he's widely expected to leave his post at DOGE — while potentially falling comically far short of his initial goal of excising $2 trillion from the government budget — it remains to be seen whether surging anti-Musk sentiment will die down again. But now that Tesla's brand has been raked through the mud, it'll likely take some time for his favorability to recover. More on Musk: When Elon Musk Hears About Lives He's Destroyed, He Reportedly Responds With Laugh-Cry Emojis
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Someone Is Hacking Crosswalk Buttons to Speak in the Voice of Elon Musk Lamenting the Terrible Sadness in His Life
Last week, hackers took over the crosswalk buttons of downtown intersections in Palo Alto, Redwood City, and Menlo Park in California, to play seemingly AI-generated clips of Elon Musk's voice. As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, the satirical clips mock the billionaires in a number of creative ways, as seen in videos going viral on social media. While the perpetrator — or perpetrators — have yet to come forward, the hack highlights growing disillusionment and anger aimed at ultra-wealthy tech oligarchs who have accumulated huge amounts of influence and power. Anti-Musk sentiment, in particular, has surged as of late, with his embrace of far-right extremism and dismantling of federal agencies spawning a major protest movement across the country. One crosswalk voice clip relentlessly skewers Musk's close — but possibly unraveling — relationship with president Donald Trump. "You know, it's funny, I used to think he was just this dumb sack of sh*t," Musk's cloned voice says in a video shared on TikTok. "But once you get to know him, he's actually pretty sweet and tender and loving." "Sweetie, come back to bed," a second voice mimicking Trump's replies. A different clip paints Musk as a lonely billionaire who struggles to maintain friendships and is desperate for attention. "Hi, I'm Elon Musk," the crosswalk button says in a separate video. "Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla engineering. You know, they say money can't buy happiness, and yeah, okay, I guess that's true. God knows I've tried. But it can buy a Cybertruck, and that's pretty sick, right? Right?" "Fuck, I'm so alone," the Musk-alike added, heartbroken, garnering a major guffaw from the person who hit the button in the video. "Will you be my friend? I'll give you a Cybertruck, I promise," the fake Musk begged in a separate clip. "Okay, look, you don't know the level of depravity I would stoop to just for a crumb of approval." It's still unclear who's behind the stunt and how they exploited the crosswalks to play these messages, and City officials are investigating. A spokesperson for Palo Alto told Palo Alto Online that the voice feature was disabled until they could fix the issue. But the damage has already been done, with users on Bluesky calling the stunt "hilarious" and "next level." "I am sending all of my love to whoever hacked these crosswalk boxes with the Elon voice," one user wrote. Given previous statements, there could be a degree of truth to the brutal satire. "There are times when I feel lonely, yes," the SpaceX CEO said during a 2022 interview with Business Insider. "I'm working on the Starship rocket and I'm just staying in my little house by myself, especially if my dog is not with me, then I feel quite lonely because I'm just in a little house by myself with no dog." Experts have suggested that growing up with an emotionally abusive father, among other instances of childhood trauma, caused him to become increasingly isolated. The billionaire has also made plenty of enemies over the years, including his ex Claire "Grimes" Boucher, with whom he's had an on-and-off-again relationship for quite some time now, culminating in a nasty custody battle. Meanwhile, Musk has played the victim card, claiming that he has no idea why he's become a major target of hate lately. "My companies make great products that people love and I've never physically hurt anyone," Musk complained in a tweet last month. "So why the hate and violence against me?" More on Elon Musk: Tesla Shows Off Cheaper and Slower Cybertruck That's an Even Worse Deal
Forbes
01-04-2025
- Forbes
The Wiretap: Cops Tracked A Tesla Arsonist Using His Own Car's Wi-Fi
The Wiretap is your weekly digest of cybersecurity, internet privacy and surveillance news. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here. (Photo by) When an unknown individual shot and threw molotov cocktails at a number of Teslas at one of the electric car maker's centers in Las Vegas this March, investigators used a number of surveillance techniques to locate and eventually charge a suspect with domestic terrorism. While establishing the suspect getaway vehicle's direction of travel using surveillance cameras and license plate readers, law enforcement acquired records from telecom companies running cell towers along the vehicle's route to and from the Tesla garage. Typically used to get information on all mobile phones connecting to towers in the vicinity of a crime, these 'tower dumps' have long been controversial. In this case, cops used the tower dumps to track not only the suspect's phone but also the vehicle. Detectives asked Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T to send information on all connecting devices to six relevant towers. They saw a Verizon BlueLink onboard Wi-Fi system had pinged two of the towers. According to a complaint against the eventual suspect - 36-year-old Paul Hyon Kim - investigators believe the BlueLink was inside his Hyundai. It's a rare case of a vehicle being tracked via a tower dump, just a matter of weeks after one judge in Mississippi declared that the surveillance technique was unconstitutional. That ruling has since been appealed by the Justice Department, according to Court Watch, an independent publication focused on finding stories in federal court records. The investigation into Kim shows how the Trump administration's Justice Department is continuing to use such surveillance to track down those venting their fury at Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk. Since Musk undertook a massive restructuring of America's civil service via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), activists and vandals launched a wave of attacks against his electric car company. 'The Department of Justice has been clear: anyone who participates in the wave of domestic terrorism targeting Tesla properties will suffer severe legal consequences,' said Attorney General Pam Bondi, announcing the charges against Kim last week. 'We will continue to find, arrest, and prosecute these attackers until the lesson is learned.' Anti-Musk sentiment is causing not only damage to physical cars but also Tesla's business as a whole. As Forbes' Alan Ohnsman reported last week, Tesla rivals are making significant gains in the marketplace, especially China's BYD. Got a tip on surveillance or cybercrime? Get me on Signal at +1 929-512-7964. (Photo by) Members of Musk's DOGE gained access over the weekend to a payroll system housed in the Interior Department that processes salaries for about 276,000 federal employees across various agencies, according to the New York Times. The DOGE move overruled IT officials who had raised concerns about access to such sensitive information. The officials were later put on administrative leave and under investigation. After Defense Department chief Pete Hegseth shared information about strikes on Houthis in Yemen over encrypted messaging app Signal, downloads of the app have soared across the world. That includes a big jump in installs in Yemen. Staff over at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency told Forbes they were flabbergasted at the leaks, with one echoing some calls from Democratic lawmakers that there should be a criminal inquiry into the sharing of classified information outside of official government channels. The Justice Department announced the seizure of approximately $201,400 in cryptocurrency accounts linked to Hamas. The DOJ said it had identified crypto addresses that were used to launder more than $1.5 million in virtual currency since October 2024 for the benefit of Hamas. Microsoft is rolling out 11 cybersecurity-focused AI agents for Copilot. Each will focus on a different task. For instance, one will identify potential phishing emails. Another can craft messages to authorities in the event of a breach. Oracle has reportedly suffered two breaches in quick succession: one in its healthcare division, the other in its cloud unit. Larry Ellison's tech giant has denied the latter, though further reports alleged the information leaked online belongs to Oracle customers. The healthcare-related breach, which Oracle had flagged to customers in March, is now being investigated by the FBI, according to Bloomberg.
Chicago Tribune
31-03-2025
- Automotive
- Chicago Tribune
Protests against Elon Musk's purge of US government swarm Tesla showrooms
SAN FRANCISCO — Protesters against billionaire Elon Musk's purge of the U.S. government under President Donald Trump demonstrated outside Tesla dealerships throughout the U.S. and in some cities in Europe on Saturday in the latest attempt to dent the fortune of the world's richest man. The protesters were trying to escalate a movement targeting Tesla dealerships and vehicles in opposition to Musk's role as the head of the newly created Department of of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, where he has gained access to sensitive data and shuttered entire agencies as he attempts to slash government spending. The biggest portion of Musk's estimated $340 billion fortune consists of his stock in the electric vehicle company, which continues to run while also working alongside Trump. After earlier demonstrations that were somewhat sporadic, Saturday marked the first attempt to surround all 277 of the automaker's showrooms and service centers in the U.S. in hopes of deepening a recent decline in the company's sales. By early afternoon crowds ranging from a few dozen to hundreds of protesters had flocked to Tesla locations in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Minnesota and the automaker's home state of Texas. Pictures posted on social media showed protesters brandishing signs such as ' Honk if you hate Elon ' and ' Fight the billionaire broligarchy.' As the day progressed, the protests cascaded around the country outside Tesla locations in major cities such as Washington, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Seattle, as well as towns in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Colorado. Smaller groups of counterprotesters also showed up at some sites. 'Hey, hey, ho, ho, Elon Musk has got to go!' several dozen people chanted outside a showroom in Dublin, California, about 35 miles (60 miles) east of San Francisco, while a smaller cluster of Trump supporters waved American flags across the street. A much larger crowd circled another showroom in nearby Berkeley, chanting slogans to the beat of drums. 'We're living in a fascist state,' said Dennis Fagaly, a retired high school teacher from neighboring Oakland, 'and we need to stop this or we'll lose our whole country and everything that is good about the United States.' Anti-Musk sentiment extends beyond the U.S. The Tesla Takedown movement also hoped to rally protesters at more than 230 locations in other parts of the world. Although the turnouts in Europe were not as large, the anti-Musk sentiment was similar. About two dozen people held signs lambasting the billionaire outside a dealership in London as passing cars and trucks tooted horns in support. One sign displayed depicted Musk next to an image of Adolf Hitler making the Nazi salute — a gesture that Musk has been accused of reprising shortly after Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration. A person in a Tyrannosaurus rex costume held another sign with a picture of Musk's straight-arm gesture that said, 'You thought the Nazis were extinct. Don't buy a Swasticar.' 'We just want to get loud, make noise, make people aware of the problems that we're facing,' said Cam Whitten, an American who showed up at the London protest. Tesla Takedown was organized by a group of supporters that included disillusioned owners of the automaker's vehicles, celebrities such as actor John Cusack, and at least one Democratic Party lawmaker, Rep. Jasmine Crockett from Dallas. 'I'm going to keep screaming in the halls of Congress. I just need you all to make sure you all keep screaming in the streets,' Crockett said during an organizing call this month. Another Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, showed up at a protest in Seattle, which she represents in Congress. Musk backlash has included some vandalism Some people have gone beyond protest, setting Tesla vehicles on fire or committing other acts of vandalism that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has decried as domestic terrorism. In a March 20 company meeting, Musk indicated that he was dumbfounded by the attacks and said the vandals should 'stop acting psycho.' Crockett and other Tesla Takedown supporters have been stressing the importance of Saturday's protests remaining peaceful. But police were investigating a fire that destroyed seven Teslas in northwestern Germany in the early morning. It was not immediately clear if the blaze, which was extinguished by firefighters, was related to the protests. In Watertown, Massachusetts, local police reported that the side mirror of a black pickup struck two people at a protest outside a Tesla service center, according to the Boston Herald. The suspect was promptly identified by police at the scene, who said there were no serious injuries. Musk maintains that the company's future remains bright A growing number of consumers who bought Tesla vehicles before Musk took over DOGE have been looking to sell or trade them in, while others have slapped on bumper stickers seeking to distance themselves from him. But Musk did not appear concerned about an extended slump in new sales in the March meeting, during which he reassured the workers that the company's Model Y would remain 'the best-selling car on Earth again this year.' He also predicted that Tesla will have sold more than 10 million cars worldwide by next year, up from about 7 million currently. 'There are times when there are rocky moments, where there is stormy weather, but what I am here to tell you is that the future is incredibly bright and exciting,' Musk said. After Trump was elected last November, investors initially saw Musk's alliance with the president as a positive development for Tesla and its long-running efforts to launch a network of self-driving cars. That optimism helped lift Tesla's stock by 70% between the election and Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, creating an additional $560 billion in shareholder wealth. But virtually all those gains have evaporated amid investor worries about the backlash, lagging sales in the U.S., Europe and China, and Musk spending time overseeing DOGE. 'This continues to be a moment of truth for Musk to navigate this brand tornado crisis moment and get onto the other side of this dark chapter for Tesla,' Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said in a recent research note.
