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By: Tech Desk | Pune | November 12, 2021 3:01:31 pm Twitter sets up a cryptocurrency team. (Photo: Twitter) Twitter is assembling a new team to look into development in the decentralised cryptocurrency space led by seasoned Blockchain engineer Tess Rinearson. According to Rinearson, Twitter Crypto—will serve as a “centre of excellence for all things blockchain and Web3” at the social media network. This development has come after the social media giant in September said that it was introducing a new tool that will enable users to send tips to others for their content using Bitcoin. Rinearson on Twitter revealed the social media giant’s crypto plans. She tweeted, “First, they’ll (Twitter) grow decentralized apps (DApps) for creators to manage virtual goods, currencies and ways for their fans to support their community.” Rinearson pointed out that her team will look to crypto tech to augment identity, community, and ownership on Twitter. Further, she notes that her team will collaborate with Blue Sky, Twitter’s decentralized social networking project to “help shape the future of decentralized social media.” Twitter is also experimenting with ways to verify NFT used as profile pictures. Meanwhile, Twitter isn’t the only social media giant looking to explore Blockchain-based…

Tesla works on software ... SpaceX gets hit with another delay… Elon Musk will pay taxes. It’s the free edition of Musk Reads #272 — subscribe now to receive two more emails later this week.Last week, Musk Reads+ members heard from David Anderman, former SpaceX general counsel, about plans for a Mars constitution. This week, members will hear from Anderman about how it's about to get a whole lot easier to go to space.A version of this article appeared in the “Musk Reads” newsletter. Sign up for free here.Musk quote of the week — “Why does ur pp look like u just came?” — Elon Musk sadly tweeted in response to Senator Ron Wyden on November 7. Wyden shared his reaction to Musk’s Twitter poll, which requested that his Twitter followers decide whether he should sell 10 percent of his Tesla stock and pay taxes (57.9 percent of respondents clicked “yes”), saying that “Whether or not the world’s wealthiest man pays any taxes at all shouldn’t depend on the results of a Twitter poll.” That’s a fair assessment, but Musk had to hit him with the “pp came,” asking why the Senator’s profile photo seems to be taken right after…

Credit: Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty In August 2021, a journalist in Finland criticized the value of certain research projects on Twitter. Others joined in, with a more hostile tone. Sami Syrjämäki, head of publications for the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies in Helsinki, which includes 282 societies and 4 academies of the arts and sciences, describes what happened next.What was the background to the campaign?A journalist at one of Finland’s big media publishers tweeted critical comments about some research projects, saying, ‘This is not science, it’s ridiculous that these kinds of project are being financed by public money.’A number of academics responded, hoping that others would read their replies and maybe learn more about research. But then, more journalists joined in on Twitter and on blogs, and their tone was not so nice. I was involved in these Twitter exchanges. We tried to explain how these projects are being evaluated. The discussion continued for a couple of weeks.What happened next?On 5 September, Tapio Määttä, academic rector at the University of Eastern Finland, tweeted that it might be a good idea for individual researchers to write a very simple tweet explaining what they are researching, in just 140 characters. Some of…

Elon Musk has sold shares in his company worth $5bn (£3.73bn) after promising to abide by a Twitter poll.The Tesla chief executive had asked his followers whether he should sell 10% of his holdings and 57.9% of the voters supported the sale. Musk said: "I was prepared to accept either outcome."The money generated from the sales - disclosed in two regulatory filings late on Wednesday - will cover tax obligations for stock options granted to Musk in September. I will abide by the results of this poll, whichever way it goes— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2021 He exercised options to buy just over 2.1 million shares for $6.24 (£4.66). On Wednesday, the company's stock closed at $1,067.95 dollars (£796.72) per share. In his first sale since 2016, he sold 3.6 million Tesla shares, worth around $4bn (£2.98bn), and a further 934,000 shares worth $1.1bn (£820m). It equates to around 3% of his total holdings in the electric vehicle manufacturer.The sale follows a proposal by Democrat US senators to tax billionaires' stocks and other tradeable assets and end a loophole that has allowed them to defer capital gains taxes.After the transactions, Musk - the world's richest billionaire - still owns…

The 2021 Champions Classic is in the books, as the No. 10 Kentucky Wildcats suffered a 79-71 loss to the No. 9 Blue Devils at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. It was likely the last game Duke’s legendary head coach, Mike Krzyzewski, will coach against the Wildcats. The entire first half was tightly contested, as Duke took a narrow 39-35 into the halftime locker room. However, the second half was a different story, as the Blue Devils pulled away by outscoring the Wildcats 40-36. Oscar Tshiebwe led the Wildcats with a double-double that saw him grab 19 rebounds and score 17 points in an impressive UK debut. Sahvir Wheeler also had a strong Wildcat debut scoring 16 points. Duke was led by their three-headed monster of Trevor Keels (25), Pablo Banchero (22) and Wendell Moore Jr (12), who all finished in double-figures. Here’s how Twitter reacted to the Cats’ opening night loss: Still very optimistic. Duke is legit, and Kentucky has a ton of growing to do. Really looking forward to the season.— Jamie Boggs (@jamiewboggs) November 10, 2021 Kentucky ain't gonna shoot 37% from the field much this year. Nor will they have a 23-7 FT differential. Not…

Los Angeles Clippers forward Marcus Morris and Nikola Jokic’s brothers have a feud brewing. It spilled onto Twitter. Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic was ejected in the Denver Nuggets win over the Miami Heat Monday. Nuggets star Nikola Jokic took a cheap shot at Heat forward Markieff Morris. Jokic came flying from behind Morris and trucked him, as shown by Bally Sports Sun: Heat. Nikola Jokic clobbers Markieff Morris from behind late in the fourth quarter and things get intense. pic.twitter.com/9RclknqIKB — Bally Sports Sun: HEAT (@BallyHEAT) November 9, 2021 A stretcher was brought onto the court out of precaution. Heat star Jimmy Butler took exception. He was seen yelling and gesturing for someone to come at him. Morris reportedly suffered a neck injury and further tests will be done. The game was well in hand. There were only a couple minutes remaining and the Nuggets up 17. The action prompted Markieff’s brother, Marcus, to respond online. He posted his thoughts on twitter. You got the right ones believe that! — Marcus Morris (@MookMorris2) November 9, 2021 But the Jokic brothers were not about to let it be, replying… @MookMorris2 You should leave this the way it is instead of…

Twitter said Monday that Rep. Paul Gosar's (R-Ariz.) sharing of a doctored video to Twitter and Instagram showing him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and attacking President Biden with two swords violates the company's policies.Why it matters: Dozens of social media users flagged the video, posted Sunday, as a potential violation of Twitter's rules regarding violent threats and the glorification of violence, and other users have called for his Twitter and Instagram accounts to be suspended, the Washington Post reports.Of note: A Twitter spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the company placed a public interest notice on his tweet "as it violates our hateful conduct policy.""As is standard with this notice, engagements with the Tweet will be limited. People will be able to Quote Tweet the Tweet, but will not be able to Like, Reply or Retweet it," the spokesperson said.State of play: The 90-second video is seemingly a photoshopped version of a popular anime video and depicts Gosar, alongside Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), fighting giant creatures with photoshopped faces of Ocasio-Cortez and Biden, per the Post.The video — shared with the caption, "Any anime fans out there?" — also shows flashing images of…

SILVER SPRING, Md. >> Tesla shares were down almost 3% in early trading today after CEO Elon Musk said he would sell 10% of his holdings in the electric car maker — more than $20 billion worth by most calculations — based on the results of a poll he conducted on Twitter over the weekend. According to analyst Daniel Ives of WedBush Securities, Musk owns about 23% of Tesla’s stock and has about $10 billion in taxes coming due to stock options that vest next summer. Much of Musk’s wealth is held in shares of Tesla, which does not pay him a cash salary. “I only have stock, thus the only way for me to pay taxes personally is to sell stock,” Musk tweeted. Many on Wall Street assumed Musk would be selling closer to 5% of his stake, Ives said, but even doubling that number doesn’t cause him or his firm great concern. Ives said better to “rip the Band-Aid off now” and avoid speculation. “Tesla remains in pole position to drive this EV adoption curve to the next level both domestically and globally with Musk & Co. leading the way,” Ives wrote in a note to clients. Tesla…

Business|Behind Elon Musk’s Twitter Poll Is a Tax Bill Coming Duehttps://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/08/business/elon-musk-twitter-poll.htmlHe asked whether he should sell 10 percent of his stock, and Twitter voters said yes. Stock options he was granted in 2012 are “a ticking tax time bomb,” one expert said.Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, last month at a company factory outside Berlin.Credit...Patrick Pleul/DPA, via Associated PressNov. 8, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ETElon Musk may have already been compelled to sell a sizable portion of his Tesla shares even if he hadn’t issued an unusual Twitter pledge over the weekend.Mr. Musk on Saturday polled Twitter users as to whether he should sell 10 percent of his stake in his company. The poll appeared to be a response to a Democratic proposal to tax the unrealized gains of billionaires. “Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock,” he tweeted. Mr. Musk said he was raising the question because he does not take a cash salary as Tesla’s chief executive, and therefore wouldn’t have any way to pay a large tax bill without selling some of his Tesla shares, which make up the vast majority of his wealth.Mr.…

Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, stands in the foundry of the Tesla Gigafactory during a press event.Patrick Pleul | picture alliance | Getty ImagesTesla shares fell by more than 5% in pre-market trading Monday after CEO Elon Musk asked his Twitter followers if he should sell 10% of his stock in the electric vehicle company.Shares of Tesla were down 5.5% to $1,155 at 5 a.m. ET Monday, a significant fall on the $1,222.09 price they closed at when markets shut Friday.The fall comes after Musk asked his 62.5 million Twitter followers to determine the future of a chunk of his Tesla holdings.In a Twitter poll launched Saturday, Musk said: "Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock. Do you support this?"The billionaire gave people the option to vote "Yes" or "No" and pledged to abide by the results of the poll, whichever way it went.Some 3,519,252 people responded, and 57.9% of them voted for "Yes."Musk previously said he was likely to sell "a huge block" of his shares in the fourth quarter.In September, Musk said at the Code Conference in Beverly Hills, California, that his marginal tax rate…