Under the new leadership of Elon Musk, Twitter is working harder to thwart hateful conduct. The new Chief Twit took ownership of the platform just before Halloween weekend and has been rapidly implementing new changes, addressing the needs of Twitter’s users, such as wrongful suspensions and addressing a spike in the use of a racial slur that took place as Twitter transitioned to its new leadership.
Jason Calacanis, a host of the All-In podcast, is working with Twitter’s new leadership team to help Elon Musk make the necessary changes to the platform. Calacanis shared a tweet by Twitter’s Head of Safety & Integrity, Yoel Roth, and said that the coordinated, hateful conduct surge was quickly thwarted.
Update on the coordinated, hateful conduct surge — it was quickly thwarted. https://t.co/QUNveJRVY6
— @jason (@Jason) November 1, 2022
In his thread, Roth gave a very clear update on how Twitter is addressing the surge in hateful conduct. This is a very different Twitter since many users, including myself, have experienced hateful conduct and have seen Twitter’s slow response to it. Roth’s full thread reads as follows:
“Since Saturday, we’ve been focused on addressing the surge in hateful conduct on Twitter. We’ve made measurable progress, removing more than 1500 accounts and reducing impressions on this content to nearly zero. Here’s the latest on our work and what’s next.”
“Our primary success measure for content moderation is impressions: how many times harmful content is seen by our users. The changes we’ve made have almost entirely eliminated impressions on this content in search and elsewhere across Twitter.”
“Impressions on this content typically are extremely low, platform-wide. We’re primarily dealing with a focused, short-term trolling campaign. The 1500 accounts we removed don’t correspond with 1500 people; many are repeat bad actors.”
“Impressions don’t tell the whole story. These issues aren’t new, and the people targeted by hateful conduct aren’t numbers or data points. We’re going to continue investing in policy and technology to make things better.”
“Many of you have said you’ve reported hateful conduct and received notices saying it’s not a violation. Here’s why and what we’re doing to fix it:”
“To try to understand the context behind potentially harmful Tweets, we treat first-person, and bystander reports differently. First-person: This hateful interaction is happening to or targeting me. Bystander: This is happening to someone else.”
“Why? Because bystanders don’t always have full context, we have a higher bar for bystander reports in order to find a violation. As a result, many reports of Tweets that in fact, do violate our policies end up marked as non-violative on first review.”
“We’re changing how we enforce these policies, but not the policies themselves, to address the gaps here.”
“You’ll hear more from me and our teams in the days to come as we make progress. Talk is cheap; expect the data that proves we’re making meaningful improvements.”
Author’s note: There has been a huge uptick in bots over the weekend. I’ve noticed several bots targeting Teslarati and continuing to spam the replies of Elon Musk. There was even a verified account posting as “Tesla News” promoting a link to a YouTube that promoted a crypto scam.
That said, I don’t expect Elon Musk and his new team to solve these problems overnight. Seeing Twitter’s fast response to the hate is very hopeful. I also hope they apply this same speed to child sexual abuse materials. Advocate Eliza Blue has even offered to work with Twitter and Elon Musk for no charge to help spearhead the removal of the content.
I like to be as transparent with my followers as possible.
I have offered to work with X (Twitter) under the new leadership to remove child sexual exploitation material at scale. I offered to work for free.
— 𝔈𝔩𝔦𝔷𝔞 (@elizableu) October 26, 2022
As Eliza pointed out to me over the phone, Elon Musk was most likely not aware of the ongoing lawsuits against Twitter regarding child sexual abuse materials. Having this material up, she said, is a liability, and as a supporter of Elon’s, she would like to help Twitter remove it.
“One key benefit of Elon Musk prioritizing the removal of this content besides protecting children is that corporate media and governments won’t be able to weaponize this very real crime against him,” she told me.
It is a topic of the utmost importance and it's interesting that mainstream media never cared until Elon took over.
— Truth Nudge Unit (@TruthNudgeUnit) November 1, 2022
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Tesla starts showing how FSD will change lives in Europe
Local officials tested the system on narrow country roads and were impressed by FSD’s smooth, human-like driving, with some calling the service a game-changer for everyday life in areas that are far from urban centers.
Tesla has launched Europe’s first public shuttle service using Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in the rural Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm region of Germany, demonstrating how the technology can restore independence and mobility for people who struggle with limited transport options.
Local officials tested the system on narrow country roads and were impressed by FSD’s smooth, human-like driving, with some calling the service a game-changer for everyday life in areas that are far from urban centers.
Officials see real impact on rural residents
Arzfeld Mayor Johannes Kuhl and District Administrator Andreas Kruppert personally tested the Tesla shuttle service. This allowed them to see just how well FSD navigated winding lanes and rural roads confidently. Kruppert said, “Autonomous driving sounds like science fiction to many, but we simply see here that it works totally well in rural regions too.” Kuhl, for his part, also noted that FSD “feels like a very experienced driver.”
The pilot complements the area’s “Citizen Bus” program, which provides on-demand rides for elderly residents who can no longer drive themselves. Tesla Europe shared a video of a demonstration of the service, highlighting how FSD gives people their freedom back, even in places where public transport is not as prevalent.
What the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Transport says
Rhineland-Palatinate’s Minister Daniela Schmitt supported the project, praising the collaboration that made this “first of its kind in Europe” possible. As per the ministry, the rural rollout for the service shows FSD’s potential beyond major cities, and it delivers tangible benefits like grocery runs, doctor visits, and social connections for isolated residents.
“Reliable and flexible mobility is especially vital in rural areas. With the launch of a shuttle service using self-driving vehicles (FSD supervised) by Tesla in the Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm, an innovative pilot project is now getting underway that complements local community bus services. It is the first project of its kind in Europe.
“The result is a real gain for rural mobility: greater accessibility, more flexibility and tangible benefits for everyday life. A strong signal for innovation, cooperation and future-oriented mobility beyond urban centers,” the ministry wrote in a LinkedIn post.
News
Tesla China quietly posts Robotaxi-related job listing
Tesla China is currently seeking a Low Voltage Electrical Engineer to work on circuit board design for the company’s autonomous vehicles.
Tesla has posted a new job listing in Shanghai explicitly tied to its Robotaxi program, fueling speculation that the company is preparing to launch its dedicated autonomous ride-hailing service in China.
As noted in the listing, Tesla China is currently seeking a Low Voltage Electrical Engineer to work on circuit board design for the company’s autonomous vehicles.
Robotaxi-specific role
The listing, which was shared on social media platform X by industry watcher @tslaming, suggested that Tesla China is looking to fill the role urgently. The job listing itself specifically mentions that the person hired for the role will be working on the Low Voltage Hardware team, which would design the circuit boards that would serve as the nervous system of the Robotaxi.
Key tasks for the role, as indicated in the job listing, include collaboration with PCB layout, firmware, mechanical, program management, and validation teams, among other responsibilities. The role is based in Shanghai.
China Robotaxi launch
China represents a massive potential market for robotaxis, with its dense urban centers and supportive policies in select cities. Tesla has limited permission to roll out FSD in the country, though despite this, its vehicles have been hailed as among the best in the market when it comes to autonomous features. So far, at least, it appears that China supports Tesla’s FSD and Robotaxi rollout.
This was hinted at in November, when Tesla brought the Cybercab to the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, marking the first time that the autonomous two-seater was brought to the Asia-Pacific region. The vehicle, despite not having a release date in China, received a significant amount of interest among the event’s attendees.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk and Tesla AI Director share insights after empty driver seat Robotaxi rides
The executives’ unoccupied tests hint at the rapid progress of Tesla’s unsupervised Robotaxi efforts.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and AI Director Ashok Elluswamy celebrated Christmas Eve by sharing personal experiences with Robotaxi vehicles that had no safety monitor or occupant in the driver’s seat. Musk described the system’s “perfect driving” around Austin, while Elluswamy posted video from the back seat, calling it “an amazing experience.”
The executives’ unoccupied tests hint at the rapid progress of Tesla’s unsupervised Robotaxi efforts.
Elon and Ashok’s firsthand Robotaxi insights
Prior to Musk and the Tesla AI Director’s posts, sightings of unmanned Teslas navigating public roads were widely shared on social media. One such vehicle was spotted in Austin, Texas, which Elon Musk acknowleged by stating that “Testing is underway with no occupants in the car.”
Based on his Christmas Eve post, Musk seemed to have tested an unmanned Tesla himself. “A Tesla with no safety monitor in the car and me sitting in the passenger seat took me all around Austin on Sunday with perfect driving,” Musk wrote in his post.
Elluswamy responded with a 2-minute video showing himself in the rear of an unmanned Tesla. The video featured the vehicle’s empty front seats, as well as its smooth handling through real-world traffic. He captioned his video with the words, “It’s an amazing experience!”
Towards Unsupervised operations
During an xAI Hackathon earlier this month, Elon Musk mentioned that Tesla owed be removing Safety Monitors from its Robotaxis in Austin in just three weeks. “Unsupervised is pretty much solved at this point. So there will be Tesla Robotaxis operating in Austin with no one in them. Not even anyone in the passenger seat in about three weeks,” he said. Musk echoed similar estimates at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting and the Q3 2025 earnings call.
Considering the insights that were posted Musk and Elluswamy, it does appear that Tesla is working hard towards operating its Robotaxis with no safety monitors. This is quite impressive considering that the service was launched just earlier this year.
Tesla starts showing how FSD will change lives in Europe
Tesla China quietly posts Robotaxi-related job listing
