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Elon Musk’s deal with Twitter not ‘on hold,’ company won’t renegotiate from $44bn

Credit: Wall Street Journal/YouTube

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Elon Musk’s deal with Twitter, which was agreed upon on April 25 for $44 billion, is not on hold and will move forward, company executives told employees on Thursday. Musk, who said the deal was on hold pending proof of Twitter’s estimation of bots among its active users, has been backtracking the deal for several days and announced he would seek a lower price. Twitter does not plan to oblige.

A new report from Bloomberg on Thursday indicates Musk’s deal with Twitter will not be renegotiated after the Tesla CEO stated he could not be given concrete proof of the platform’s population of scam/spam accounts. Twitter estimated less than 5 percent of its user accounts were “fake” or “bot” accounts, while Musk challenged the figures.

“Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users,” Musk said last Friday. He would late reiterate his discontent for the deal, stating that his offer was based on SEC filings being accurate. If Twitter did not accurately portray the number of human accounts in its filing, Musk would have a case.

“20% fake/spam accounts, while 4 times what Twitter claims, could be *much* higher,” Musk said to Teslarati. “My offer was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate. Yesterday, Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%. This deal cannot move forward until he does.”

Twitter deal has ‘less than 50% chance’ to go through after Tesla’s market beating: Wedbush

However, Twitter executives are having no part of Musk’s controversy. Yesterday, Twitter said in a statement to the New York Times that, The board and Mr. Musk agreed to a transaction at $54.20 per share. We believe this agreement is in the best interest of all shareholders. We intend to close the transaction and enforce the merger agreement.”

Twitter is uploading this mindset moving forward. According to the Bloomberg report, Twitter’s top legal professionals are reassuring employees that the deal is still set to go through despite Musk’s comments.

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Vijaya Gadde, the platform’s top lawyer, said there is “no such thing as a deal being on hold,” according to people in attendance. She also stated Musk must “do everything he can” to line up his financing, which has been a story in itself. Additionally, Gadde said that Twitter could try and “enforce” the terms of the deal, but it was not likely to happen.

At the time of writing, Twitter shares were trading at $38.10, well below Musk’s offered price of $54.20.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Investor's Corner

SpaceX to report first-ever earnings today: here’s what to expect

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Credit: SpaceX

Elon Musk’s space exploration company, SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX), is set to report its earnings for the second quarter today in what will be its first-ever earnings call since going public in July.

SpaceX is trading down roughly 25 percent from its IPO. These early stock signals are usually a bit tumultuous, and considering this is the first company actively launching rockets that is available on the stock exchange, investors might have a tendency to be a bit skittish.

However, there are going to be some details that investors will hear for the first time today on the earnings call. Here’s what to look for:

Wall Street Expectations

Revenue is expected to fall somewhere around $6.8 billion, and will be heavily driven by Starlink, which is SpaceX’s widely popular satellite internet platform that has been adopted by numerous airlines, cruise ships, and other maritime operations. It is also available for consumers at home or in their cars.

Earnings Per Share (EPS) expectations fall at a net loss of $0.23 per share. Wall Street sees this as a total net loss of roughly $1.9 billion.

EBITDA is expected to come in between $2 billion and $2.1 billion.

What Investors Want to Know

Tesla uses the Say platform to help work with both retail and institutional investors to answer relevant and quality questions that address concerns or questions that they might have.

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However, SpaceX is doing things differently, as the company launched its own Investor Relations website where these questions are being fielded. Just like the Tesla questions, they seem to be less focused on the operational tasks and overall progress of the company, and more novelty.

Here are the top five:

  • Has the team thought about what possibilities there are with your mascot Asteroid? Whether it’s starting additional foundations for kids in its name, helping kids learn about space, etc. Kids are our future, and Asteroid would be a fun and easy way to help.
  • Baby Asteroid is already making a difference through charity around the world. Could SpaceX take it even further with programs that inspire kids to explore space?
  • SpaceX has some legendary vehicle names. Would you ever allow the public to name a Starship, even knowing there is a 99% chance it becomes Shipy McShipface?
  • When can we expect to see more footage of the Human Landing System?
  • Will Asteroid (your mascot) go to Mars?

SpaceX will report its earnings today, August 4, at 4:30 P.M. EDT.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving insurance program with heavy discount expands

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Lemonade has expanded its innovative Autonomous Car insurance program to Tennessee, giving Tesla owners in the state a substantial discount on Full Self-Driving (FSD) miles. Announced on August 3, the product offers 50 percent off every mile driven with FSD activated, positioning the digital insurer as a leader in pricing insurance around autonomous technology.

The program, marketed as Lemonade Autonomous Car insurance, uses a direct connection via Tesla’s Fleet API (with customer permission) to automatically distinguish FSD-engaged miles from manual driving. Policyholders pay a low base rate when the vehicle is stationary and a few cents per mile when moving, with the 50 percent reduction applied specifically to FSD miles.

Coverage includes standard protections such as liability, collision, comprehensive, roadside assistance, and Tesla-specific benefits like access to certified repair shops and emergency crash services. Eligible vehicles require Hardware 4, as well as recent firmware.

Lemonade first unveiled the product on January 21 of this year, describing it as a first-of-its-kind offering designed for self-driving cars, starting with Tesla FSD. It began rolling out in Arizona on January 26, followed by Oregon about a month later. Subsequent expansions brought it to Indiana in early June 2026 and Colorado later that month.

Tennessee marks the fifth state.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving gets outrageous insurance offer with insanely cheap rates

The discount rests on Lemonade’s strong belief in the safety of Tesla’s FSD system. The company cites Tesla’s data showing that FSD-driven miles are twice as safe as those driven manually, or associated with roughly a 50 percent crash reduction.

Lemonade Co-founder and President Shai Wininger has emphasized this distinction: “Traditional insurers treat a Tesla like any other car, and AI like any other driver. But a car that sees 360 degrees, never gets drowsy, and reacts in milliseconds can’t be compared to a human.”

He added that “Teslas driven with FSD are involved in far fewer accidents” and committed that as FSD software improves and becomes safer, Lemonade’s prices will drop further.

Tesla Full Self-Driving gets an offer to be insured for ‘almost free’

This approach leverages Lemonade’s existing pay-per-mile technology and AI-driven risk models, which analyze nuanced vehicle data including software version and sensor performance. The company expects the model to reward higher FSD usage with greater savings while supporting mixed households that include both Tesla and non-Tesla vehicles under one policy. Bundling with home, renters, or pet insurance can yield additional discounts.

As autonomous driving technology advances, Lemonade’s state-by-state expansion of usage-based pricing that directly reflects real-world safety data represents a notable shift in how insurers evaluate risk.

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Tesla owners in the five available states – Arizona, Oregon, Indiana, Colorado, and now Tennessee – can obtain quotes quickly through the Lemonade app or website, potentially lowering the overall cost of ownership for vehicles equipped with advanced driver-assistance systems. Further states are expected as regulatory approvals progress.

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Cybertruck

Tesla quietly made the Cybertruck even stronger

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has continued to flex the strength, rigidity, and robustness of its all-electric pickup, the Cybertruck. In fact, since 2019, Cybertruck’s ability to avoid dents, dings, and even gunfire has been one of the main selling points Tesla has used to attract buyers who are looking for a vehicle that can handle the most intense challenges.

But that does not mean Tesla is not still actively trying to make it even better.

In a new hardware update, Tesla has decided to change the material of the Cybertruck’s underbody panels from aluminum to carbon fiber, a move that aims to not only increase pricing efficiency but also improve strength.

RELATED:

Tesla Cybertruck is officially the safest pickup, IIHS says

Cybertruck Lead Engineer Wes Morrill confirmed the change was made to the Cybertruck recently after it was spotted by Coleton Guerin of Out of Spec. This particular trim level was a Cyberbeast, but it is being applied to all trims to keep supply chain efficiency high and have less variance across trim levels.

Morrill said that Tesla tested different materials for the underbody panel protection, and carbon fiber performed better than aluminum, which is what the company was using since its first deliveries in 2023.

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Additionally, there are some efficiency improvements because Tesla can better form the areas around the bolts to keep underbody airflow cleaner than previously.

Carbon fiber is traditionally lighter and more durable than aluminum, which is why it is such a popular material among luxury automakers, and EV makers will utilize some of the materials around battery packs to save weight.

This is the first instance of Tesla utilizing carbon fiber on the Cybertruck’s exterior to help with overall performance and strength. As previously mentioned, Tesla used aluminum to protect the underside of the body, but it is pretty typical for the company to continue making engineering changes that will improve the car in the future.

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