Business

The Insider reports: Elon Musk has created a culture of peer pressure among his friends and business associates that encourages them to use drugs with him, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal that details how board members and directors of his various companies either participate in or enable his substance use to stay close to the …

The New York Post reports: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s love of “high-risk activities” pose a “risk of serious injury and death,” the company warned investors in its latest Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The warning was included for the first time under “risk factors” in Meta’s 10-K filing — a comprehensive report on the tech behemoth’s activities throughout 2023 — …

Ars Technica reports: Hulu and Disney+ subscribers have until March 14 to stop sharing their login information with people outside of their household. Disney-owned streaming services are the next to adopt the password-crackdown strategy that has helped Netflix add millions of subscribers. An email sent from “The Hulu Team” to subscribers yesterday and viewed by Ars Technica tells customers that …

Ars Technica reports: Hot on the heels of Google’s “One” subscription plan obtaining 100 million users, YouTube is also hitting that big milestone, with 100 million people paying for Premium and YouTube Music. YouTube’s subscription data didn’t make it into the earnings call three days ago. Ad-free videos have been getting the most aggressive promotion lately, with Google cracking down …

From the Energy Department: Electricity demand associated with U.S. cryptocurrency mining operations in the United States has grown very rapidly over the last several years. Our preliminary estimates suggest that annual electricity use from cryptocurrency mining probably represents from 0.6% to 2.3% of U.S. electricity consumption. This additional electricity use has drawn the attention of policymakers and grid planners concerned …

CNBC reports: Amazon on Thursday announced a new artificial intelligence assistant for shopping called Rufus. The tool is designed to help users search and shop for products. Shoppers type or speak a question into the search bar in Amazon’s mobile app and a chat window will appear at the bottom of their screen. Users can ask conversational questions such as, …

The Associated Press reports: Disney on Thursday appealed a judge’s dismissal of its free speech lawsuit over what it described as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ retaliatory takeover of Walt Disney World’s governing district, as the Florida governor separately called any appeal “a mistake.” “They were wrong and we were right,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Jacksonville a day after …

Reuters reports: Tesla will hold a shareholder vote to transfer its state of incorporation to Texas from Delaware, CEO Elon Musk said on Thursday, days after a judge invalidated his $56 billion pay package at the electric vehicle (EV) maker. On Tuesday, Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick called the 2018 share-based pay package, the largest in corporate America, “an unfathomable sum” …

From the Justice Department: eBay Inc., an e-commerce company headquartered in San Jose, California, has agreed to pay $59 million and to enhance its compliance program to resolve allegations that it violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in connection with thousands of pill presses and encapsulating machines that were sold through its website. Pill presses and encapsulating machines can be …

Florida Politics reports: If Florida bans cultivated meat, it will be the first in the nation to do so. With food scarcity challenging modern agriculture, those behind the development of alternative protein sources fear this will set a dangerous precedent. That hasn’t stopped legislation from plowing forward in the House and Senate. Language completely banning the manufacturing, sale or distribution …

Reuters reports: Hotelier Robert Bigelow told Reuters on Tuesday he gave Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump $1 million for his legal fees and agreed to donate another $20 million to a pro-Trump outside group for campaign purposes. “I gave him $1 million towards his legal fees a few weeks ago. I made a promise to give him $20 million more, …

Bloomberg News reports: Elon Musk’s $55 billion pay package at Tesla Inc. was struck down by a Delaware judge after a shareholder challenged it as excessive, a ruling that would take a giant bite out of Musk’s wealth if it survives a likely appeal. The decision Tuesday means that more than five years after the electric car maker’s co-founder was …

Bloomberg News reports: Elon Musk said that the first human patient has received a brain implant from his startup Neuralink Corp., a significant step forward for the company that aims to one day let humans control computers with their minds. Neuralink’s brain implant aims to help people with traumatic injuries operate computers using only their thoughts. On X, Musk wrote …

Axios reports: Amazon and Roomba maker iRobot on Monday said that they’ll terminate their $1.4 billion merger agreement, due to opposition from European antitrust regulators. This is the first time Amazon has ever been stopped from buying another company. The deal originally was announced in mid-2022 with a $1.7 billion price-tag, with Amazon hoping to expand a smart home device …

Reuters reports: Social media company X is in the process of hiring 100 content moderators for a new office in Austin, Texas that will focus on fighting child abuse content, a goal it hopes to complete by the end of the year, an X executive said on Saturday. The Elon Musk-owned company announced the new “Trust and Safety center of …

Reuters reports: Martin Shkreli, known for once hiking the price of a life-saving drug more than 4,000%, cannot return to the pharmaceutical industry after a federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld his lifetime ban. A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said a lower court judge acted properly in imposing the ban and ordering …

NBC News reports: The CEO of Alaska Airlines said new, in-house inspections of the carrier’s Boeing 737 Max 9 planes in the wake of a near-disaster earlier this month revealed that “many” of the aircraft were found to have loose bolts. In an exclusive interview with NBC News senior correspondent Tom Costello, Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci discussed the findings …

Business Insider reports: A second plane has been dragged into the Boeing 737 Max 9 saga as the Federal Aviation Administration recommended a new set of inspections on Sunday. The Boeing 737-900ER uses the same door-plug design as the Max 9, which has come under scrutiny since the Alaska Airlines blowout on January 5. The Max 9 remains grounded as …

The Drive reports: Gas station and convenience store chain Kum & Go will reportedly rebrand after being bought out in 2023. The new owners are reportedly worried the double entendre in Kum & Go’s name could hurt its business prospects. Established in Iowa in 1959, Kum & Go was acquired by FJ Management’s Maverik chain in April 2023. After blowing …

CNBC reports: A federal judge blocked JetBlue Airways’ purchase of budget rival Spirit Airlines, a major win for Biden’s Justice Department, which sued to stop the merger, alleging it would drive up fares for some of the most price-sensitive consumers. JetBlue’s proposed $3.8 billion purchase of discounter Spirit would have produced the country’s fifth-largest airline, a deal the carriers said …