News
Elon Musk holds all-hands meeting, executives depart Twitter, & Twitter usage continues to rise
Update: Robin Wheeler confirmed that she is still working for Twitter.
I'm still here.
— Robin Wheeler (@robinw) November 11, 2022
Twitter CEO Elon Musk held an all-hands meeting on Thursday, and following that, there have been reports of several executives departing the company as Twitter’s usage continues to grow.
Zoë Schiffer, the managing editor of Platformer, said that multiple sources claimed that Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of safety and integrity, was leaving.
NEW: Multiple Twitter sources say Yoel Roth is leaving the company.
— Zoë Schiffer (@ZoeSchiffer) November 10, 2022
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Shiffer added that Elon Musk told employees if they cannot physically make it to an office and they don’t show up, “resignation accepted.” In an email to Twitter employees before the meeting, Elon Musk said,
“We are also changing Twitter policy such that remote work is no longer allowed unless you have a specific exception. Managers will send the exception lists to me for review and approval.”
“Starting tomorrow (Thursday), everyone is required to be in the office for a minimum of 40 hours per week. Obviously, if you are physically unable to travel to an office or have a critical personal obligation, then your absence is understandable.”
Read Elons email to employees below. He talks about the state of the company, economy and no more WFH. pic.twitter.com/V5ouGGef0a
— X Daily News (@xDaily) November 10, 2022
In addition to Roth’s departure, Schiffer noted that Elon Musk said that he wasn’t sure how much run rate Twitter has and that “bankruptcy isn’t out of the question.”
Schiffer also added that in a message on Slack, Twitter’s legal team said that Twitter’s Chief Information Security Officer, Lea Kissner, Chief Privacy Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer resigned last night. In a tweet posting on Thursday morning, Kissner announced her departure.
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Tweeps, like always, I'm here for you. You can find me at lea.makes.respect@gmail.com if you'd like to catch up.
— Lea Kissner (@LeaKissner) November 10, 2022
Sources have also said that the company’s client solutions leader, Robin Wheeler, is also leaving the company. Wheeler debunked those claims stating on Twitter, “I’m still here.” On Wednesday, Wheeler hosted the Twitter Space Q&A with Elon Musk on advertising and Twitter’s future. Twitter’s chief privacy officer Damien Kieran, and chief compliance officer, Marianne Fogarty, were also reported to have left Twitter.
The Federal Trade Commission said it was “tracking the developments at Twitter with deep concern,” and that it was prepared to take action to ensure Twitter complies with a consent order. The consent order requires the platform to comply with certain privacy and security requirements due to allegations of past data misuse that took place before Elon Musk took over.
Douglas Farrar, the agency’s director of public affairs, told The Washington Post,
“No CEO or company is above the law, and companies must follow our consent decrees. Our revised consent order gives us new tools to ensure compliance, and we are prepared to use them.”
On Wednesday, Elon Musk tweeted that Twitter may make a lot of mistakes in the coming months. “We will keep what works & change what doesn’t,” he said. However, his acquisition of the company has brought more attention to it in the form of users. On Thursday, Elon Musk said the usage of the platform continues to rise.
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Despite reports claiming that users are leaving Twitter en masse since Elon Musk took over, the platform’s records show another story, including its monetizable daily user (mDAU) growth of over 20% since his takeover.
Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months.
We will keep what works & change what doesn’t.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 9, 2022
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Tesla Energy has introduced the Powerwall Lease in conjunction with Tesla Electric, making the service available in Texas. This new option delivers whole-home backup power using two Powerwall units for a net monthly cost of $35 after credits, accompanied by a low fixed electricity rate.
Under the lease terms, customers pay a one-time order fee of $100. The base lease payment for the two Powerwalls is approximately $122 per month during the first year, subject to a 3 percent annual escalator thereafter. Enrollment in a qualifying Tesla Electric Backup plan or Virtual Power Plant plan provides an $87 monthly credit.
Powerwall Lease is now available with Tesla Electric in Texas
Whole-home backup for $35/month, with a low fixed electricity rate
– Two Powerwalls, $0 installation
– Storm Watch outage protection
– One app to manage it all pic.twitter.com/oTzqc6K3aF— Tesla Energy (@teslaenergy) August 13, 2026
This credit lowers the effective cost to roughly $35 per month plus applicable tax.
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Installation of the standard system carries no additional charge. The package features Storm Watch for outage protection and allows complete management through a single Tesla application. The system supplies continuous whole-home backup capability.
The Powerwall system enables households to maintain electricity during severe storms that disrupt the utility grid. When outages occur, the batteries automatically provide seamless backup power to the home.
Tesla announces 100k Powerwalls are participating in Virtual Power Plants
Tesla Storm Watch monitors weather forecasts and ensures the units are fully charged ahead of anticipated severe weather events so that power remains available throughout the disruption, keeping lights, refrigeration, and other essential systems operating without interruption.
Availability is restricted to select Texas locations where retail electric choice exists. Participants must lease exactly two Powerwall units and maintain continuous enrollment with Tesla Electric. Solar panels cannot be included under this particular lease arrangement.
The monthly credit activates automatically once the system is installed, receives permission to operate, and enrollment is confirmed. To retain the credit, customers are required to stay enrolled in Tesla Electric and fulfill all program conditions.
Nonstandard installations that involve electrical upgrades or special permitting may lead to extra expenses and might impact eligibility for the credit, so be sure to check with either your installer or Tesla to ensure you will still qualify.
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Elon Musk continues to tease the unveiling event for the Tesla Roadster, a continuing trend that has grown into a bigger game of “When” for fans who have been waiting years for the car to finally enter production.
A video shared on X of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that Musk appeared on last year, teasing the Roadster unveiling, was shared once again on the social media platform. The poster said the Roadster event will be “unforgettable.”
Musk agreed:
Yes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2026
The timing is interesting because just yesterday, Musk said that we will be getting flying cars, and for years, Tesla has hinted that it could develop a SpaceX cold gas thruster package that would help the car float or fly for a short period of time.
It would be reasonable to assume Tesla’s major delays with this unveiling event are likely caused by the company’s need to break the rules and push the envelope on nearly everything. Last July, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, said:
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“Roadster is definitely in development. We did talk about it last Sunday night. We are gearing up for a super cool demo. It’s going to be mind blowing. We showed Elon some cool demos last week of the tech we’ve been working on and he got a little excited.”
The latest updates that Tesla has given us are that the Roadster is in design development, and it did have several potential dates for an unveiling event this year, including April. It was then pushed to August.
However, there are no clues as to when Tesla will be ready, and fans are certainly getting frustrated with the delays.
For what it is worth, Franz von Holzhausen told Jay Leno this week that the event would be “very soon.”
We sure hope.
Lifestyle
Tesla’s driverless Cybercab just passed a big test with State Governor
Florida’s governor rode Tesla’s Cybercab at a closed test track and called the experience impressive.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis rode in a Tesla Cybercab on a closed test track this week and came away impressed, posting on X that the vehicle “successfully navigated all hazards — a kid running into the street, a crash with police stopping traffic, a Model S cutting us off, etc.” He called the ride “impressive.”
The stop was part of a broader event Monday at SunTrax, a 775 acre state owned proving ground in Auburndale that Florida built specifically to test autonomous and connected vehicles before they reach public roads. Standing next to a gold Cybercab, DeSantis described the car in plain terms: “You go in there and you just sit. You have a screen. There’s no steering wheel, no pedals. Clearly these things could be very beneficial.”
We took a ride on a robotaxi on the Suntrax course and it successfully navigated all hazards — a kid running into the street, a crash with police stopping traffic, a Model S cutting us off, etc.
Impressive! https://t.co/FVAkzFLz3r
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 11, 2026
DeSantis paired the praise with a caveat that has followed autonomous vehicles since the category existed. “You don’t want to be in an autonomous vehicle and it drives you into a ditch. That would not be good,” he said, framing safety validation as the gate before wider deployment.
SunTrax, the 2.25 mile oval which the state calls the only high speed autonomous vehicle test track in the Southeast, can simulate rain, pedestrian crossings, hills and crowded urban conditions at highway speeds, letting companies push a car past what an early public rollout would risk. Tesla, Waymo and Beep all use the facility, and Florida’s regulatory approach, among the most permissive for autonomous vehicles in the country, doesn’t require a human operator inside a fully autonomous car.
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Tesla has reason to want the blessing of Florida and states beyond, as the Cybercab entered volume production at Gigafactory Texas this spring and has since self certified as SAE Level 4 under Texas law. Public road testing so far has kept a safety monitor in the passenger seat, and Florida is where Tesla has been expanding its existing Model Y based Robotaxi service instead, adding Miami in July and then Orlando and Tampa two weeks later. A closed track endorsement from a sitting governor doesn’t change any of that, but it does put Tesla’s newest hardware in front of a state that has already shown it will move fast on rules.
Tesla launches Powerwall Lease for affordable home backup
Elon Musk teases Tesla Roadster unveiling once again
