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Oct 21, 2024
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Welcome back! Elon Musk's promise to offer a $1 million payout to voters in swing states is raising legal questions. Perplexity is discussing fundraising that would more than double its valuation to $8 billion. A Netflix show has prompted the Los Angeles district attorney to review evidence in a decades-old case.
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Elon Musk has vowed to dole out $1 million each day to registered voters in swing states who sign an internet petition that ostensibly supports free speech and gun rights—part of his efforts to support Donald Trump’s reelection bid. Musk announced the bounty on Saturday in Pennsylvania and paid out the first $1 million to John Dreher, a Pennsylvania man. The payouts immediately sparked concerns about whether Musk’s actions were legal: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said “it’s something that law enforcement could take a look at” on Sunday, while Rick Hansen, a director at UCLA Law School, described Musk’s move as “clearly illegal vote buying” in a widely shared X post.
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Perplexity, an AI search startup, is discussing fundraising that would more than double its valuation to $8 billion, the latest indication that investor enthusiasm for AI is far from waning. Perplexity has been on a hot streak this year: It has already raised two other funding rounds in 2024—catapulting its valuation to $250 million and then to $3 billion. At the same time, Perplexity has drawn the ire of media giants like the New York Times Co., which recently sent Perplexity a cease-and-desist notice to force it to stop accessing its content. Perplexity CEO Arvind Srinivas has insisted he doesn’t want an antagonistic relationship with the media industry.
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A hit Netflix show has prompted the Los Angeles district attorney to review evidence in the decades-old case against the Menendez brothers that ended with the pair sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996 for murdering their parents. The Ryan Murphy series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” debuted last month and its popularity has sparked a groundswell campaign for prosecutors to reconsider the circumstances around the case—and take into account the alleged sexual abuse that the brothers suffered. Their supporters, which include TikTokers, their own family members and Los Angeles officials, hope the DA will reconsider their life sentences. In 1989, Erik and Lyle Menendez killed their parents with shotguns after an argument.
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U.S. regulators are investigating whether Tesla’s self-driving software stringently requires motorists to retake the wheel in dangerous driving conditions, following a fatal crash involving a Tesla electric vehicle equipped with the technology. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened the probe Thursday after Tesla reported four crashes involving sun glare, fog and airborne dust. A pedestrian died in one of the crashes and another was injured in a second accident, Tesla told the agency. In a report, NHTSA said it would “examine the system’s potential failure to detect and disengage in
specific situations where it cannot adequately operate.” The investigation comes a week after Tesla disclosed plans to deploy autonomous robotaxis by 2026. In the Oct. 11 event, CEO Elon Musk said deployment of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software depended on regulators allowing it. The NHTSA investigation covers some 2.4 million Teslas sold from 2016 through 2024. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
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Netflix stock hit an all-time high of $763.89 on Friday, up 11%, as investors applauded the company’s third quarter earnings released Thursday evening. At Friday’s price, Netflix has a market capitalization of just under $328 billion, about what Walt Disney and Comcast are worth between them. The video streaming giant reported 15% growth in revenue and sharply higher net income, projecting similar growth next quarter. The company projected a slowdown in revenue growth next year. It is hoping the still-nascent ad business helps reaccelerate growth after 2025. The uncertainty about when Netflix’s advertising business will lift growth significantly has divided Wall Street analysts, with several saying the stock is now above what they think its worth. But judging by Friday’s close, investors aren’t too
worried.
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The judge hearing Epic Games’ antitrust lawsuit against Google has temporarily suspended his order that Google make a range of changes to its app store, Google Play, giving Google more time to appeal the ruling. The ruling was to go into effect on Nov. 1 but the judge on Friday put a stay on its implementation. The ruling has the potential to erode the profitability of Google’s app store. Among other things, the judge said that for the next three years, Google can’t require developers to only use Google’s app payment methods. Google has appealed the ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
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