80 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Elizabeth Lopatto

Elizabeth Lopatto

Senior Reporter

Senior Reporter

    More From Elizabeth Lopatto

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Walter Isaacson recounts how Elon Musk bought Twitter.

    There aren’t a lot of surprises here, but there’s a lot more color on the events we all saw: Musk’s capriciousness about the deal, the attempt to recreate the dot-com boom company X, and Musk’s dialogue with Sam Bankman-Fried.

    One new petty detail: Musk was determined to fire then-CEO Parag Agrawal before Agrawal could quit — and so Musk cut Agrawal off from Twitter email, preventing Agrawal from sending his resignation letter.

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Tesla’s use of company funds is now being investigated by the US Southern District of New York.

    Apparently there was a “Project 42” — for Douglas Adams fans, this number is significant — at Tesla, “which called for a spacious glass structure to be built in the Austin, Texas, area,” according to The Wall Street Journal. The project was “described internally as a house for Chief Executive Elon Musk.”

    Tesla had internally investigated whether there was a misuse of company resources on the project. It’s unclear what the outcome of the Tesla investigation was, what the status of the project is, whether glass was ever delivered for it, and whether the investigations from the feds will result in charges.

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    The return of the chat room.

    Sorry, the “group chat.”

    In an era where a lot of frequent social-media users are sick of being “perceived” and having hundreds, or even thousands, of eyes on them, many are retreating to the days of tighter connections and communities.

    What’s old is new again, I guess. See you all on IRC!

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    OpenAI “on pace” to make more than $1 billion in revenues this year.

    But it’s not clear how much actual income the company will make, The Information reports. That’s still a pretty big leap from last year, when OpenAI had only $28 million in revenue. The Information cites a single anonymous source with “direct knowledge,” so that’s someone who thought this was important to put in industry press. Wonder who!

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Sam Bankman-Fried and his lawyers are disappointed by the internet quality in prison.

    In a letter to the judge, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers say they are unable to adequately prepare for trial because Bankman-Fried doesn’t have enough internet access. Also the battery life on his laptop isn’t good enough. His lawyers are asking that he be released to prepare for trial.

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Chamath Palihapitiya’s Social Capital wanted to offload some companies.

    The VC firm tried to sell stakes in 258 companies in June, The Information reports, citing anonymous sources. Those stakes were worth $312 million in total, and it’s not clear if they sold. Patreon was among the companies whose stakes were up for grabs, but about 40 percent of the firms were biotech or health.

    Elizabeth Lopatto
    Elizabeth Lopatto
    “In any just world, Chamath Palihapitiya would be ashamed of himself. “

    Eric Newcomer reviews the track record of the SPAC king of SIlicon Valley. (Read our explainer on SPACs here.) Newcomer reviews Palihapitiya’s involvement in the craze and concludes:

    You swapped your reputation for SPAC sponsor fees. You should have done some diligence on what you were getting yourself into. How were you underwriting the damage to your reputation?

    The Scam in the Arena

    [www.newcomer.co]