Mia Sato
The Musk interview has taken a turn.
In a strange turn, we’re now watching Sorkin and Musk talk about the interior “storm” in Musk’s mind.
“Is it a happy storm?” No, says Musk. I’m not sure how we got here.
Mia Sato
Features Writer, The Verge
Features Writer, The Verge
More From Mia Sato
Mia Sato
“Go fuck yourself.”
That’s Musk’s on-stage message to advertisers who he says are “blackmailing” him — i.e. the companies like Disney, Apple, IBM, and many more that are pulling ads from the platform after his antisemitic posts.
Mia Sato
The first question is about Musk’s recent antisemitic posts on X.
“[The trip to Israel] wasn’t in response to that at all,” Musk says of his post — it wasn’t an “apology tour.”
“I have no problem being hated.”
Musk tells Sorkin the only reason he’s here is because he’s a friend. Musk keeps laughing. The vibe is chaotic.
Mia Sato
We’re waiting on Elon Musk.
The room here at DealBook is packed for the last session of the day — and perhaps the most anticipated one. Nobody has come up in more sessions throughout the day than Musk. X CEO Linda Yaccarino is here, too.
Mia Sato
On Disney pulling ads from X.
Disney is one on a growing list of companies that have stopped advertising on X, formerly known as Twitter, following antisemitic posts from Elon Musk.
During his interview at the DealBook 2023 event, Bob Iger didn’t comment on whether Disney would ever go back to advertising on X, but he had this to say about the decision:
By him taking the position he took, we felt that the association with that position, and Elon Musk and X, was not a positive one for us.
Mia Sato
Bob Iger on recent Disney flops.
Responding to a DealBook question about recent box office disappointments, Iger says, “we need to get more realistic” about what a hit looks like in the streaming age.
The Disney CEO also says it was a “definite mistake” to increase output for streaming and that an increase in quantity led to diluted quality.
Mia Sato
Zaslav says scrapping Batgirl took “courage.”
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is talking at the DealBook event about the business decisions behind axing projects like Batgirl. He says once money is spent on production, making a choice not to release a project and spend even more is a “strategic decision.”
What content is going to help us win? The content that wasn’t, we made a strategic decision on. It was difficult and it was painful. But I think it was the right decision for the company and it was necessary.
Mia Sato
Nvidia’s CEO thinks AGI will be here in the next 10 years.
Jensen Huang is on stage at DealBook, talking about how soon we might see artificial general intelligence, or AGI. But without a clear definition, it’s a hard question to answer.
One definition is AI software being able to complete basic intelligence tests with results competitive to a “normal human.” Under that definition, Huang says AGI could come within the next five years.
Mia Sato
Checking in from DealBook.
I’m here in New York at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit, an annual gathering of some of the most powerful people in the world.
Over the course of the day we’ll be hearing from people like Bob Iger, David Zaslav, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and FTC chair Lina Khan — and we’ll close out the day with an interview with Elon Musk. Check back in for news as the day goes on.
Mia Sato
Shein has filed to go public in the US.
That’s according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal that says the ultra fast fashion giant could IPO in 2024.
Last week I wrote about Shein’s quest to rebrand and shake some of the criticisms of the company — its labor practices, supply chain, and overall secrecy — in the lead up to a potential public offering. It has... not gone very well so far.
