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U.S. House Republican to FTC: Preserve records of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition
U.S. Representative Jim Jordan, who is the top Republican on the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, is requesting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) preserve any records related to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s acquisition of social media platform Twitter.
Jordan expressed a level of concern regarding a request from the Open Markets Institute (OMI), which called for the FTC and FCC (Federal Communications Commission) to investigate and stop the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter by Musk. Jordan called OMI “an extreme left-wing political organization,” and accused the group of limiting free speech.
“OMI claims without evidence that Mr. Musk’s purchase is a ‘threat to free communications and debate in the United States.’ In reality, Mr. Musk has proposed ‘softening [Twitter’s] stance on content moderation,’ which will increase speech, and he has said that ‘Twitter should be more cautious when deciding to take down tweets or permanently ban users’ accounts.’ OMI’s desire to restrict and suppress free speech online helps explain why it supports a package of ill-advised Democrat-led antitrust bills that will lead to more censorship, and thus less speech, in the digital arena,” Jordan said.
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) May 4, 2022
“We are concerned that OMI – where you were previously employed as Legal Director – may be trying to leverage its close relationship with you to take action to further limit free speech online,” Jordan said in the letter to the FTC.
Just after the Twitter deal was announced, reports stated the FTC was looking into whether Musk obliged with an antitrust reporting requirement as he began to stock up on shares of Twitter in late January. A report from The Information showed the FTC was concerned about whether Musk was “initially buying as someone who wanted to influence Twitter management or whether he saw himself as more of a passive shareholder.”
Musk’s purchase of Twitter shares may have also violated SEC deadlines of when shareholders are required to disclose they own more than 5 percent of a public company. Musk filed his disclosure three weeks after he passed the 5 percent threshold, which is a violation of the agency’s timeframe.
Jordan has been vocally supportive of Musk’s purchase of Twitter, especially as the Tesla CEO’s main reasoning for acquiring the platform was to fight censorship through open-sourcing the network’s algorithm. Musk said Twitter was comparable to a 2022 version of a Town Square and is needed because it is an “inclusive arena for free speech.” Jordan believes that Musk may bring some Republican politicians who have been banned from the platform back by reactivating their accounts.
“We are concerned that OMI – where you were previously employed as Legal Director – may be trying to leverage its close relationship with you to take action to further limit free speech online,” Jordan said in the letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan. “Furthermore, this letter serves as a formal request to preserve all records and materials relating to Mr. Musk’s pending acquisition of Twitter. You should construe this preservation notice as an instruction to take all reasonable steps to prevent the destruction or alteration, whether intentionally or negligently, of all documents, communications, and other information, including electronic information and metadata, that is or may be potentially responsive to this congressional inquiry.”
Musk and Twitter reached a deal for $44 billion, or $54.20 per share for the platform, on April 25.
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SpaceX calls off Starship 10 flight attempt once again
SpaceX is calling off a potential launch of Starship this evening, marking the second consecutive night the tenth test flight of the massive rocket will be delayed.
SpaceX is calling off a potential launch of Starship this evening, marking the second consecutive night the tenth test flight of the massive rocket will be delayed.
Originally planning to launch on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. local time in Starbase, Texas, SpaceX was forced to delay the tenth launch of Starship due to a hardware issue.
“Ground side liquid oxygen leak needs to be fixed. Aiming for another launch attempt tomorrow,” CEO Elon Musk posted on the social media platform X.
Starship Flight 10 rescheduled as SpaceX targets Monday launch
The launch was then pushed to Monday night, and the launch window was set to start at the same time as Sunday. However, SpaceX would push it back to 6:44 p.m. due to some weather issues.
Eventually, Starship seemed like it was trending toward a launch, but weather continued to persist in the area, with thunder, rain, and lightning all threatening in the area.
At around 7:03 p.m., SpaceX decided to stand down once again, confirming weather was the culprit of yet another delay:
Launch called off for tonight due to anvil clouds over launch site (lightning risk)
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 26, 2025
SpaceX will likely try again on Tuesday night, but the company has not yet confirmed if it will open another launch window.
SpaceX is set to launch its tenth test flight of the Starship program, with a launch window that will open at 6:44 p.m. local time, or 7:44 p.m. on the East Coast.
Starship’s tenth test flight was originally scheduled for launch yesterday with a one-hour window that opened at 7:30 p.m. ET, but it was called off 17 minutes before that window even had a chance to open.
Starship Flight 10 rescheduled as SpaceX targets Monday launch
SpaceX moved the flight to tonight. It was also originally scheduled to have a launch window at the same time as Sunday, but it was pushed back 14 minutes to around 6:30 p.m. ET. There are storms in the area, as well as clouds over Starbase, so there is the off chance for another launch delay.
There are several big objectives for this launch, including the expansion of the operating envelope for the Super Heavy booster. SpaceX says there are “multiple landing burn tests planned.”
The booster will also be performing a few in-flight experiments to help with data collection. Specifically, real-world performance data on future flight profiles and off-nominal scenarios will be on the list of things SpaceX will be looking for.
Starship itself will have a few in-flight objectives that include the deployment of eight Starlink simulators that are similar in size to the next-gen satellites for the internet service. SpaceX was set to test this with Starship’s seventh test flight, which occurred in January 2025. However, the task was abandoned as the vehicle was destroyed before deployment could occur.
Liftoff conditions are currently looking favorable, and SpaceX will be eager to improve upon its Starship launch program as CEO Elon Musk has big plans for it in the coming years.
You can watch the launch below via SpaceX:
Watch Starship’s tenth flight test → https://t.co/UIwbeGoo2B https://t.co/MQg9ZAjCip
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 25, 2025
Elon Musk
Tesla looks to expand Robotaxi geofence once again with testing in new area
It looks as if Tesla is preparing for its next expansion of the geofence, potentially moving toward a much larger service area that could eclipse 150 square miles.
Tesla looks to be preparing for the potential expansion of the Robotaxi geofence once again, as the company was spotted testing the suite in an area well outside of the Austin service area.
After it first launched the Robotaxi platform on June 22, Tesla has managed to expand its geofence twice, essentially doubling the travel area both times.
The most recent expansion took the size of the geofence from 42 square miles to about 80 square miles, bringing new neighborhoods and regions of the city into the realm of where the driverless vehicles could take passengers.
However, it looks as if Tesla is preparing for its next expansion of the geofence, potentially moving toward a much larger service area that could eclipse 150 square miles.
Over the weekend, one fan noticed a Robotaxi validation vehicle testing in Bee Cave, Texas, which is roughly 25 minutes from the edge of the current geofence:
Tesla spotted doing Robotaxi validation testing in Bee Cave, Texas, about 15 miles west of Austin (20-25 minute drive from current edge of geofence). pic.twitter.com/JCOcoys8SJ
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 23, 2025
Tesla has been testing vehicles in the western suburbs of Austin for some time, and it seems the company is laying some groundwork to push its geofence expansion into Plaid Mode as competition with Waymo continues to be at the forefront of the conversation.
Waymo has been expanding with Tesla for some time, as the pace of expansion for the two companies has been relatively accelerated for the past couple of months.
Tesla’s expansions of the geofence sent a clear message to competitors and doubters, but it is still aiming to keep things safe and not push the envelope too quickly.
The geofence expansion is impressive, but Tesla is also focusing on expanding its vehicle fleet in both Austin and the Bay Area, where it launched a ride-hailing service in July.
Tesla Bay Area autonomous fleet to grow to over 100 units: Elon Musk
Still, safety is the priority at the current time.
“We are being very cautious. We do not want to take any chances, so we are going to go cautiously. But the service areas and the number of vehicles in operation will increase at a hyper-exponential rate,” CEO Elon Musk said during the Q2 Earnings Call.
SpaceX calls off Starship 10 flight attempt once again
WATCH: SpaceX Starship Flight 10 launch
Tesla looks to expand Robotaxi geofence once again with testing in new area
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