News
Elon Musk isn’t the reason Twitter shelved its OnlyFans competition plans
Elon Musk is not responsible for Twitter’s decision to change its mind on creating an OnlyFans competition feature as some headlines imply. In fact, he isn’t even involved with this problem at all. This has been an issue that Twitter has been plagued with well before Elon made his bid to buy Twitter earlier this year.
The Verge initially reported that Twitter’s problem with child sexual abuse ruined its plans for an OnlyFans competitor and cited internal documents and Twitter employees.
The only connection to Elon Musk was his bid on Twitter earlier this spring. However, several headlines are linking Elon Musk to this fiasco and this is creating a dangerous narrative that takes the focus from the problem of sexual exploitation of children and refocuses it on Elon Musk.
My friend and fellow journalist, Eliza Bleu (TheBlaze), is a survivor of human trafficking and is now a survivor and advocate. Her article about Elon Musk’s vision for Twitter potentially solving the problem with the platform’s child sexual abuse material was actually censored by Twitter.
She brought the following misleading headlines to my attention. According to Business Insider, Twitter canceled its plans with competing with OnlyFans after Elon Musk placed his takeover bid. Although that headline has been changed, the narrative has been set.
In the report by The Verge, Twitter employees said that the company could not accurately detect child sexual exploitation and non-consensual nudity at scale.” And this was concluded in April 2022. This had absolutely nothing to do with Elon Musk’s bid to buy the company.
The Washington Post also published a similar article touching upon child exploitation, Twitter, and connecting Elon Musk’s decision to bid on buying Twitter.
However, as Eliza pointed out in the tweet below, this issue with child sexual exploitation isn’t new. She pointed to a 2012 article by The Guardian that is over 10 years old, titled “Twitter is failing to police child pornography efficiently.”
I appreciate you writing about this but “now apparently” the Guardian wrote about this issue in 12’.
The platform is currently being sued by two minor survivors headed to @US9thCircuit
Multiple countries have threatened to remove Twitter because of child sexual abuse material https://t.co/7Ga6tHetMI
— 𝔈𝔩𝔦𝔷𝔞 (@elizableu) August 31, 2022
The real issue isn’t Elon Musk.
The issue has been long-standing and bringing Elon Musk into the narrative takes the focus away from the actual problem. In 2021, The New York Post reported that Twitter refused to take down widely shared pornographic images of a teenage sex trafficking victim because Twitter “didn’t find a violation.” of its policies.
Earlier this month, the San Francisco Examiner reported that Twitter declined to remove a video that shows the sexual exploitation of minors. The child was only 13 years old and he and his family begged Twitter to remove the videos. Twitter refused, stating that it had reviewed the content and didn’t find a violation of its policies.
Hany Farid, the creator of PhotoDNA, an image identification, and content filtering technology that has been used as part of digital forensics, pointed out that this was child sexual abuse material.
“It’s child sexual abuse material. He was 13 years old and being extorted. What the hell is Twitter doing?”
I spoke with Eliza and she pointed out that this problem was well before Elon Musk made his bid to purchase the platform.
“Unfortunately, Twitter has had a long history of being unwilling to tackle child sexual exploitation material at scale. John Doe # 1 and John Doe #2, the two minor survivors currently suing Twitter, bravely stepped forward to sue the platform for refusal to remove the content long before Elon Musk made a bid to purchase Twitter.”
“Elon Musk is truly the least of Twitter’s concerns. The suffering of vulnerable children exploited and monetized on its platform should be a higher priority. Any attempt by the corporate media to act like the Elon Musk bid had a hand in stopping their plans to monazite adult sexual content is disrespectful to the brave minor survivors currently suing the platform. It’s also not factual.”
Recently, Elon Musk outlined several more reasons as to why he wanted out of the Twitter buyout deal. Perhaps he’ll add this to the list.
Your feedback is important. If you have any comments, or concerns, or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @JohnnaCrider1
Tesla Full Self-Driving is set to get an awesome new feature in the near future, CEO Elon Musk confirmed on X.
Full Self-Driving is the company’s semi-autonomous driving program, which is among the best available to the general public. It still relies on the driver to ultimately remain in control and pay attention, but it truly does make traveling less stressful and easier.
However, Tesla still continuously refines the software through Over-the-Air updates, which are meant to resolve shortcomings in the performance of the FSD suite. Generally, Tesla does a great job of this, but some updates are definitely regressions, at least with some of the features.
Tesla Cybertruck owner credits FSD for saving life after freeway medical emergency
Tesla and Musk are always trying to improve the suite’s performance by fixing features that are presently available, but they also try to add new things that would be beneficial to owners. One of those things, which is coming soon, is giving the driver the ability to prompt FSD with voice demands.
For example, asking the car to park close to the front door of your destination, or further away in an empty portion of the parking lot, would be an extremely beneficial feature. Adjusting navigation is possible through Grok integration, but it is not always effective.
Musk confirmed that voice prompts for FSD would be possible:
Coming
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 21, 2026
Tesla Full Self-Driving is a really great thing, but it definitely has its shortcomings. Navigation is among the biggest complaints that owners have, and it is easily my biggest frustration with using it. Some of the routes it chooses to take are truly mind-boggling.
Another thing it has had issues with is being situated in the correct lane at confusing intersections or even managing to properly navigate through local traffic signs. For example, in Pennsylvania, there are a lot of stop signs with “Except Right Turn” signs directly under.
This gives those turning right at a stop sign the opportunity to travel through it. FSD has had issues with this on several occasions.
Parking preferences would be highly beneficial and something that could be resolved with this voice prompt program. Grocery stores are full of carts not taken back by customers, and many people choose to park far away. Advising FSD of this preference would be a great advantage to owners.
Cybertruck
Elon Musk clarifies Tesla Cybertruck ’10 day’ comment, fans respond
Some are arguing that the decision to confirm a price hike in ten days is sort of counterproductive, especially considering it is based on demand. Giving consumers a timeline of just ten days to make a big purchase like a pickup truck for $60,000, and basically stating the price will go up, will only push people to make a reservation.
Elon Musk has clarified what he meant by his comment on X yesterday that seemed to indicate that Tesla would either do away with the new All-Wheel-Drive configuration of the Cybertruck or adjust the price.
The response was cryptic as nobody truly knew what Musk’s plans were for the newest Tesla Cybertruck trim level. We now have that answer, and fans of the company are responding in a polarizing fashion.
On Thursday night, Tesla launched the Cybertruck All-Wheel-Drive, priced competitively at $59,990. It was a vast improvement from the Rear-Wheel-Drive configuration Tesla launched last year at a similar price point, which was eventually cancelled just a few months later due to low demand.
Tesla launches new Cybertruck trim with more features than ever for a low price
However, Musk said early on Friday, “just for 10 days,” the truck would either be available or priced at $59,990. We can now confirm Tesla will adjust the price based on more recent comments from the CEO.
Musk said the price will fluctuate, but it “depends on how much demand we see at this price level.”
Depends on how much demand we see at this price level
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 20, 2026
Some are defending the decision, stating that it is simply logical to see how the Cybertruck sells at this price and adjust accordingly.
Case 1: You don’t like it -> don’t buy it
Case 2 (me): You like it, it’s fits your situation and needs -> you buy it.
Case 3: Complain endlessly for no reason, you weren’t going to get one anyway, but you want people to know you’re mad, for some reason.Silly netizens.
— Ryan Scanlan 👥 (@Xenius) February 21, 2026
Others, not so much.
Alright I’m obviously not the one successful enough to be calling the shots at Tesla and worth almost a trillion dollars
But people were excited about the awesome Cybertruck news and then it got taken away, that’s why people are annoyed. The wording felt more like a threat.… pic.twitter.com/NWVNklcXoJ
— Dirty Tesla (@DirtyTesLa) February 21, 2026
No but fr wtf you doing dude???????
— Greggertruck (@greggertruck) February 20, 2026
It’s how it was communicated.
If it had been stated clearly on the website for everyone to see, everyone would be fine.— KiTT_2020 (@kitt_2020) February 20, 2026
Some are arguing that the decision to confirm a price hike in ten days is sort of counterproductive, especially considering it is based on demand. Giving consumers a timeline of just ten days to make a big purchase like a pickup truck for $60,000, and basically stating the price will go up, will only push people to make a reservation.
Demand will look strong because people want to lock in this price. The price will inevitably go up, and demand for the trim will likely fall a bit because of the increased cost.
Many are arguing Musk should have kept this detail internal, but transparency is a good policy to have. It is a polarizing move to confirm a price increase in just a week-and-a-half, but the community is obviously split on how to feel.
Cybertruck
Tesla Cybertruck’s newest trim will undergo massive change in ten days, Musk says
It appears as if the new All-Wheel-Drive trim of Cybertruck won’t be around for too long, however. Elon Musk revealed this morning that it will be around “only for the next 10 days.”
Tesla’s new Cybertruck trim has already gotten the axe from CEO Elon Musk, who said the All-Wheel-Drive configuration of the all-electric pickup will only be available “for the next ten days.”
Musk could mean the price, which is $59,990, or the availability of the trim altogether.
Last night, Tesla launched the All-Wheel-Drive configuration of the Cybertruck, a pickup that comes in at less than $60,000 and features a competitive range and features that are not far off from the offerings of the premium trim.
Tesla launches new Cybertruck trim with more features than ever for a low price
It was a nice surprise from Tesla, considering that last year, it offered a Rear-Wheel-Drive trim of the Cybertruck that only lasted a few months. It had extremely underwhelming demand because it was only $10,000 cheaper than the next trim level up, and it was missing a significant number of premium features.
Simply put, it was not worth the money. Tesla killed the RWD Cybertruck just a few months after offering it.
With the news that Tesla was offering this All-Wheel-Drive configuration of the Cybertruck, many fans and consumers were encouraged. The Cybertruck has been an underwhelming seller, and this seemed to be a lot of truck for the price when looking at its features:
- Dual Motor AWD w/ est. 325 mi of range
- Powered tonneau cover
- Bed outlets (2x 120V + 1x 240V) & Powershare capability
- Coil springs w/ adaptive damping
- Heated first-row seats w/ textile material that is easy to clean
- Steer-by-wire & Four Wheel Steering
- 6’ x 4’ composite bed
- Towing capacity of up to 7,500 lbs
- Powered frunk
It appears as if this trim of Cybertruck won’t be around for too long, however. Musk revealed this morning that it will be around “only for the next 10 days.”
Only for the next 10 days https://t.co/82JnvZQGh2
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 20, 2026
Musk could mean the price of the truck and not necessarily the ability to order it. However, most are taking it as a cancellation.
If it is, in fact, a short-term availability decision, it is baffling, especially as Tesla fans and analysts claim that metrics like quarterly deliveries are no longer important. This seems like a way to boost sales short-term, and if so many people are encouraged about this offering, why would it be kept around for such a short period of time?
Some are even considering the potential that Tesla axes the Cybertruck program as a whole. Although Musk said during the recent Q4 Earnings Call that Cybertruck would still be produced, the end of the Model S and Model X programs indicates Tesla might be prepared to do away with any low-volume vehicles that do not contribute to the company’s future visions of autonomy.
The decision to axe the car just ten days after making it available seems like a true head-scratcher.
Tesla Full Self-Driving set to get an awesome new feature, Elon Musk says
Elon Musk clarifies Tesla Cybertruck ’10 day’ comment, fans respond
