Connect with us

News

Tesla’s Elon Musk is now an active Twitter investor, as per updated SEC filing

Credit: Tobias Lindh/Youtube

Published

on

It appears that Tesla CEO Elon Musk does not really intend to become a passive investor on Twitter, after all. As per a form 13-D filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk has reclassified himself as an active investor in the social media company. Such a designation makes sense considering his place as part of Twitter’s Board of Directors. 

Earlier this week, Musk filed a beneficial ownership report paperwork with the SEC to indicate his 9.2% stake on Twitter, which is comprised of 73,486,938 common stock. Interestingly enough, the box that was checked on the filing indicated that the document was a Schedule 13-G, which is a relatively simple disclosure for investors who wish to take a passive role in a company. 

Musk’s designation as a “passive” Twitter investor became quite confusing to some on Tuesday following reports that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO was taking a role as part of the social media company’s Board of Directors. If Musk had intentions to maintain an active role on Twitter, a more detailed Section 13-D form should have been filed. Sure enough, an updated filing was posted on Tuesday, seemingly as an amendment to Musk’s Schedule 13-G. 

Musk’s updated SEC filing is a Section 13-D form, which signifies that he intends to take on the role of an active investor. Interestingly enough, the 13-D form included sections about Musk not owning more than 14.9% of the company as a condition for joining Twitter’s Board of Directors. 

More importantly, Musk’s 13-D filing revealed that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO used cash to purchase Twitter stock from January 31 to April 1, 2022. The prices of Musk’s Twitter purchases ranged from $32.80 to $40.30 per share, which is quite a bit lower than Twitter’s closing price of $50.98 per share on Tuesday. Musk’s Twitter stock purchases were made in increments, with the largest one being 4,839,507 shares that were brought on February 7, 2022. 

Advertisement
-->

Musk’s new role as part of Twitter’s Board of Directors and his place as the social media company’s single largest shareholder has been received warmly by the company’s executives. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, while confirming Musk’s appointment to the company’s Board, welcomed the Tesla and SpaceX CEO. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey was the same, stating that Musk and Agrawal both “lead with their hearts.” Musk, for his part, noted that he is excited about his role on Twitter, especially since “significant improvements” are in store for the social media platform in the coming months. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla lands approval for Robotaxi operation in third U.S. state

On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in.

Published

on

Tesla has officially landed approval to operate its Robotaxi ride-hailing service in its third U.S. state, as it has landed a regulatory green light from the State of Arizona’s Department of Transportation.

Tesla has been working to expand to new U.S. states after launching in Texas and California earlier this year. Recently, it said it was hoping to land in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida, expanding to five new cities in those three states.

On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in:

Tesla has also been working on approvals in Nevada and Florida, and it has also had Robotaxi test mules spotted in Pennsylvania.

The interesting thing about the Arizona approval is the fact that Tesla has not received an approval for any specific city; it appears that it can operate statewide. However, early on, Tesla will likely confine its operation to just one or two cities to keep things safe and controlled.

Over the past few months, Robotaxi mules have been spotted in portions of Phoenix and surrounding cities, such as Scottsdale, as the company has been attempting to cross off all the regulatory Ts that it is confronted with as it attempts to expand the ride-hailing service.

It appears the company will be operating it similarly to how it does in Texas, which differs from its California program. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat, unless the route requires freeway travel. In California, there is always a Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat. However, this is unconfirmed.

Earlier today, Tesla enabled its Robotaxi app to be utilized for ride-hailing for anyone using the iOS platform.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla ride-hailing Safety Monitor dozes off during Bay Area ride

We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.

Published

on

Credit: u/ohmichael on Reddit

A Tesla Robotaxi Safety Monitor appeared to doze off during a ride in the California Bay Area, almost ironically proving the need for autonomous vehicles.

The instance was captured on camera and posted to Reddit in the r/sanfrancisco subreddit by u/ohmichael. They wrote that they have used Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area in the past and had pleasant experiences.

However, this one was slightly different. They wrote:

“I took a Tesla Robotaxi in SF just over a week ago. I have used the service a few times before and it has always been great. I actually felt safer than in a regular rideshare.

This time was different. The safety driver literally fell asleep at least three times during the ride. Each time the car’s pay attention safety alert went off and the beeping is what woke him back up.

I reported it through the app to the Robotaxi support team and told them I had videos, but I never got a response.

I held off on posting anything because I wanted to give Tesla a chance to respond privately. It has been more than a week now and this feels like a serious issue for other riders too.

Has anyone else seen this happen?”

Advertisement

-->

My Tesla Robotaxi “safety” driver fell asleep
byu/ohmichael insanfrancisco

The driver eventually woke up after prompts from the vehicle, but it is pretty alarming to see someone like this while they’re ultimately responsible for what happens with the ride.

We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.

They should have probably left the vehicle immediately.

Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area differs from the one that is currently active in Austin, Texas, due to local regulations. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat unless the route requires the highway.

Tesla plans to remove the Safety Monitors in Austin by the end of the year.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla opens Robotaxi access to everyone — but there’s one catch

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially opened Robotaxi access to everyone and everyone, but there is one catch: you have to have an iPhone.

Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin and its ride-hailing service in the Bay Area were both officially launched to the public today, giving anyone using the iOS platform the ability to simply download the app and utilize it for a ride in either of those locations.

It has been in operation for several months: it launched in Austin in late June and in the Bay Area about a month later. In Austin, there is nobody in the driver’s seat unless the route takes you on the freeway.

In the Bay Area, there is someone in the driver’s seat at all times.

The platform was initially launched to those who were specifically invited to Austin to try it out.

Tesla confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.

Slowly, Tesla launched the platform to more people, hoping to expand the number of rides and get more valuable data on its performance in both regions to help local regulatory agencies relax some of the constraints that were placed on it.

Additionally, Tesla had its own in-house restrictions, like the presence of Safety Monitors in the vehicles. However, CEO Elon Musk has maintained that these monitors were present for safety reasons specifically, but revealed the plan was to remove them by the end of the year.

Now, Tesla is opening up Robotaxi to anyone who wants to try it, as many people reported today that they were able to access the app and immediately fetch a ride if they were in the area.

We also confirmed it ourselves, as it was shown that we could grab a ride in the Bay Area if we wanted to:

The launch of a more public Robotaxi network that allows anyone to access it seems to be a serious move of confidence by Tesla, as it is no longer confining the service to influencers who are handpicked by the company.

In the coming weeks, we expect Tesla to then rid these vehicles of the Safety Monitors as Musk predicted. If it can come through on that by the end of the year, the six-month period where Tesla went from launching Robotaxi to enabling driverless rides is incredibly impressive.

Continue Reading