Trump / Musk (other than DOGE)

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gizmodo.com

Elon Musk Fans Are Losing So Much Money to Crypto Scams

Read the complaints filed with the FTC about scams that use Elon Musk's face.
gizmodo.com gizmodo.com

Some people in the complaints believed they were talking directly with Musk, a sadly common story that has popped up in news reports before. But they weren’t talking with Musk, of course. They were communicating with scammers engaging in what’s called pig butchering—the name for a type of fraud popularized in the mid-2010s where scammers extract as much money as possible through flattery and promises of tremendous profits if the victim just “invests” where they’re told.

...

One person in Michigan who reported losing $700,000 to scammers explained they became suspicious “because I am not able to get information about the company, such as an address, email address or any other contact information except the phone number.” Another victim in Nevada who lost over $220,000 said they “saw a commercial featuring Elon Musk” that appeared “on either TikTok or Instagram” that was “asking people to join his AI trading platform.”
 
altmin said:
gizmodo.com

Elon Musk Fans Are Losing So Much Money to Crypto Scams

Read the complaints filed with the FTC about scams that use Elon Musk's face.
gizmodo.com gizmodo.com

Some people in the complaints believed they were talking directly with Musk, a sadly common story that has popped up in news reports before. But they weren’t talking with Musk, of course. They were communicating with scammers engaging in what’s called pig butchering—the name for a type of fraud popularized in the mid-2010s where scammers extract as much money as possible through flattery and promises of tremendous profits if the victim just “invests” where they’re told.

...

One person in Michigan who reported losing $700,000 to scammers explained they became suspicious “because I am not able to get information about the company, such as an address, email address or any other contact information except the phone number.” Another victim in Nevada who lost over $220,000 said they “saw a commercial featuring Elon Musk” that appeared “on either TikTok or Instagram” that was “asking people to join his AI trading platform.”
Click to expand...
John Oliver did a great piece on pig butchering several months ago.

 

Trump Treasury Contender Pledges to Work With Musk to Slash Spending​

Investor John Paulson, a Trump ally, says he would also work on trade and energy if he became Treasury secretary​


“…
Paulson, an ally of the former president, said in an interview his top priority would be extending Donald Trump’s expiring 2017 tax cuts, followed by “working with Musk to reduce federal spending,” particularly by getting rid of the subsidies for green energy in the Inflation Reduction Act, which he referred to as the Green New Deal.

“All of these tax subsidies for solar, for wind, inefficient, uneconomic energy sources,” said Paulson. “Eliminate that. That brings down spending.”

…
Trump has promised to make Musk the head of a new “government efficiency commission” if he wins in November. The Musk-led group would advise Trump where to make cuts in federal spending. Paulson said he hasn’t spoken to Musk about teaming up.

Musk said this week he could cut at least $2 trillion from the federal budget, but didn’t say how. The U.S. government spent $6.75 trillion in the last fiscal year, according to the Congressional Budget Office, over half of which went to Social Security and Medicare—which Trump has promised not to touch—defense, and interest on the debt.

… While the 2022 law’s tax credits have helped Tesla, Musk said during his company’s second-quarter earnings call that a rollback of the incentives would only “slightly” hurt the company, but it would also be “devastating for our competitors” and in the “long term, it probably actually helps” Tesla. …”
 

Elon Musk ordered to court over potentially illegal $1 million giveaway after DA receives ‘avalanche’ of threats​

Musk’s posts have inspired calls for masked intruders to visit the Philadelphia prosecutor’s home, attorneys claim

www.independent.co.uk

Elon Musk ordered to court over $1 million giveaway after ‘avalanche’ of threats

Musk’s posts have inspired calls for masked intruders to visit the Philadelphia prosecutor’s home, attorneys claim
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk

"Elon Musk has been ordered to appear in a Philadelphia courtroom after the city’s top prosecutor accused the world’s wealthiest person of illegally awarding $1 million to registered voters in the state.

The same day Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner sued Musk and his political action committee this week, the billionaire shared a post on X — the social media platform he owns — that claimed Krasner “knows it’s not illegal but wants a leftist judge to stop it before Election Day.”


That post “immediately triggered an avalanche of posts from Musk’s followers,” including “antisemitic attacks” against the district attorney and threats of violence, attorneys for Krasner’s office told a judge on Wednesday in a push for additional security at an upcoming court hearing.


“Even worse, one account responded to posts about the lawsuit at least 19 times by inviting political violence, posting Krasner family’s home address,” according to the filing, which quotes one user as repeatedly posting on X that “Krasner loves visitors. Mask up and leave all cellphones at home.”

“These posts, which unquestionably are criminal … remain posted on Musk’s X website today,” the complaint states. ..."​

 
nycfan said:
Click to expand...

I had previously posted that but deleted it because I could not find the original tweets. This tweet only has an image.

Not saying that this isn’t true but
nycfan said:

Elon Musk ordered to court over potentially illegal $1 million giveaway after DA receives ‘avalanche’ of threats​

Musk’s posts have inspired calls for masked intruders to visit the Philadelphia prosecutor’s home, attorneys claim​

​

www.independent.co.uk

Elon Musk ordered to court over $1 million giveaway after ‘avalanche’ of threats

Musk’s posts have inspired calls for masked intruders to visit the Philadelphia prosecutor’s home, attorneys claim
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk

​

"Elon Musk has been ordered to appear in a Philadelphia courtroom after the city’s top prosecutor accused the world’s wealthiest person of illegally awarding $1 million to registered voters in the state.​

​

The same day Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner sued Musk and his political action committee this week, the billionaire shared a post on X — the social media platform he owns — that claimed Krasner “knows it’s not illegal but wants a leftist judge to stop it before Election Day.”​

​

​

That post “immediately triggered an avalanche of posts from Musk’s followers,” including “antisemitic attacks” against the district attorney and threats of violence, attorneys for Krasner’s office told a judge on Wednesday in a push for additional security at an upcoming court hearing.​

​

​

“Even worse, one account responded to posts about the lawsuit at least 19 times by inviting political violence, posting Krasner family’s home address,” according to the filing, which quotes one user as repeatedly posting on X that “Krasner loves visitors. Mask up and leave all cellphones at home.”​

​

“These posts, which unquestionably are criminal … remain posted on Musk’s X website today,” the complaint states. ..."​

Click to expand...
Someone really needs to get Musk into rehab.

No doubt he was always a narcissistic and racist person, but he wasn’t actively causing himself harm such as putting himself at legal risk, overpaying by several fold for Twitter, and cratering its reputation.

I don’t think he is mentally well and the ketamine abuse might explain it.
 
Generally speaking, it's a good idea for your door knockers to, you know, like you. 'Cause you're, you know, not monitoring their communications with voters.
 
ChapelHillSooner said:
I had previously posted that but deleted it because I could not find the original tweets. This tweet only has an image.

Not saying that this isn’t true but

Someone really needs to get Musk into rehab.

No doubt he was always a narcissistic and racist person, but he wasn’t actively causing himself harm such as putting himself at legal risk, overpaying by several fold for Twitter, and cratering its reputation.

I don’t think he is mentally well and the ketamine abuse might explain it.
Click to expand...
It ain’t just ketamine.
 
nycfan said:

Trump Treasury Contender Pledges to Work With Musk to Slash Spending​

Investor John Paulson, a Trump ally, says he would also work on trade and energy if he became Treasury secretary​


“…
Paulson, an ally of the former president, said in an interview his top priority would be extending Donald Trump’s expiring 2017 tax cuts, followed by “working with Musk to reduce federal spending,” particularly by getting rid of the subsidies for green energy in the Inflation Reduction Act, which he referred to as the Green New Deal.

“All of these tax subsidies for solar, for wind, inefficient, uneconomic energy sources,” said Paulson. “Eliminate that. That brings down spending.”

…
Trump has promised to make Musk the head of a new “government efficiency commission” if he wins in November. The Musk-led group would advise Trump where to make cuts in federal spending. Paulson said he hasn’t spoken to Musk about teaming up.

Musk said this week he could cut at least $2 trillion from the federal budget, but didn’t say how. The U.S. government spent $6.75 trillion in the last fiscal year, according to the Congressional Budget Office, over half of which went to Social Security and Medicare—which Trump has promised not to touch—defense, and interest on the debt.

… While the 2022 law’s tax credits have helped Tesla, Musk said during his company’s second-quarter earnings call that a rollback of the incentives would only “slightly” hurt the company, but it would also be “devastating for our competitors” and in the “long term, it probably actually helps” Tesla. …”
Click to expand...
Ah, yes, John Paulson. The guy who made one great trade in his life, and it was a bet on Americans losing their homes in large numbers.

Last I checked, we already had a Paulson as Treasury Secretary. Maybe I'm misremembering, but I'm not sure his tenure was a great success.
 
“…
A judge delayed ruling on whether Elon Musk’s cash giveaways to voters are unlawful, amid a battle over where the case should be decided.
Philadelphia’s district attorney is seeking a court order shutting down the sweepstakes, which are being run by Musk’s pro-Trump political action committee. Musk meanwhile is seeking to move the case from state court to federal court. During a 20-minute hearing Thursday morning, Judge Angelo Foglietta said he couldn’t dive into the case until the jurisdictional questions were resolved. On Wednesday, Foglietta issued an order that required all parties in the case to be present at the hearing, but Musk wasn’t in court Thursday. A lawyer for Musk told the judge his client couldn’t be at the hearing because it was convened on short notice, but would attend future proceedings in the case if required. The district attorney’s office said it might seek penalties if Musk doesn’t attend. …”

 
It won't matter much, but the removal to federal court issue seems laughable to me. First, federal election interference laws do not preempt state anti-gambling laws. Krasner in Phlily was only suing under the illegal and fraudulent lottery system. Second, there are no free speech issues implicated by anti-fraud and anti-gambling laws. If there were, gambling would be legal everywhere because free speech (??). This isn't a speech issue.
 
nycfan said:


“Long before he became one of Donald Trump’s biggest donors and campaign surrogates, South African-born Elon Musk worked illegally in the United States as he launched his entrepreneurial career after ditching a graduate studies program in California, according to former business associates, court records and company documents obtained by The Washington Post.

… What Musk has not publicly disclosed is that he did not have the legal right to work while building the company that became Zip2, which sold for about $300 million in 1999. It was Musk’s steppingstone to Tesla and the other ventures that have made him the world’s wealthiest person — and arguably America’s most successful immigrant.

… Musk and his brother, Kimbal, have often described their immigrant journey in romantic terms, as a time of personal austerity, undeterred ambition and a willingness to flout conventions. Musk arrived in Palo Alto in 1995 for a graduate degree program at Stanford University but never enrolled in courses, working instead on his start-up.
Leaving school left Musk without a legal basis to remain in the United States, according to legal experts.

Foreign students cannot drop out of school to build a company, even if they are not immediately getting paid, said Leon Fresco, a former Justice Department immigration litigator.

“If you do anything that helps to facilitate revenue creation, such as design code or try to make sales in furtherance of revenue creation, then you’re in trouble,” Fresco said. …”
Click to expand...

Musk is definitely a hypocrite on this. With that said, that immigration policy and a lot of other immigration policy needs to be changed. Smart, hard-working immigrants that start $300 million companies and employ thousands of people are exactly the kind of people we should be letting into this country.

And yes, I am for a much looser immigration policy but I think a lot of people on both sides of the aisle can agree that immigrants that start companies that employ hundreds of people are the ones that should be first in line.
 
Searching for studies on the feasibility of converting from income taxes to tariffs, I found this government produced article from July 2024. I thought it might be worth adding to this thread. Apologies if already referenced and I missed it.

As I figured, analysis points toward a cluster fuck of chain reactions that would disproportionately harm lower income households.

www.whitehouse.gov

Tariffs as a Major Revenue Source: Implications for Distribution and Growth | CEA | The White House

In the early days of our nation, tariffs, or taxes on imported goods, were a primary source of government revenue. Over time, however, as the nation’s economy and businesses matured, it became clear that it was both fairer for American households and better for businesses, many of whom...
www.whitehouse.gov www.whitehouse.gov

Several excerpts:

“It is mathematically unlikely that a broad tariff could ever replace the revenue raised by the individual income tax. For example, given the value of goods imports during FY2023 ($3.12 trillion), an across-the-board 70 percent tariff would be required to replace the equivalent revenue raised by the individual income tax”

“an across-the-board tariff is likely to spark retaliatory tariffs that reduce U.S. exports and subsequently induce transfers of collected duties to impacted U.S. businesses”

“ the increase in imported input prices adversely impacts the efficiency of domestic production. Indeed, the evidence shows that large-scale tariffs result in significant declines in domestic output and productivity, higher unemployment, more inequality and real exchange rate appreciation implying a loss of international competitiveness”

“Because lower-income households spend a larger share of their income on consumption of these goods, they will be disproportionately burdened by a broad tariff.”
 
gizmodo.com

NASA Tells SpaceX to Focus on Safety After Astronaut Hospitalizations

A crew of astronauts was recently hospitalized following a return to Earth on board SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft.
gizmodo.com gizmodo.com

A NASA safety panel warned SpaceX to focus on crew safety for its commercial trips to the International Space Station (ISS) after four astronauts were recently hospitalized.


During a meeting of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel on Thursday, Kent Rominger, a former astronaut and member of the committee, highlighted a series of recent anomalies with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and its Dragon crew capsule, SpaceNews reported. SpaceX has been NASA’s trusted partner for years, launching nine crews to the ISS on largely reliable hardware. The recent anomalies, however, might be the result of the company’s commitment to launching missions at an increasingly faster pace and to maintain its lead in the industry.

“When you look at these recent incidents over the last handful of weeks, it does lead one say that it’s apparent that operating safely requires significant attention to detail as hardware ages and the pace of operations increases,” Rominger is quoted as saying. “Both NASA and SpaceX need to maintain focus on safe Crew Dragon operations and not take any ‘normal’ operations for granted.”

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 recently returned from the ISS, riding on board a Dragon spacecraft. Following the spacecraft’s splashdown off the coast of Florida on Friday, all four astronauts were transported to a hospital and one crew member was kept for an overnight stay. NASA did not release any further information about why the crew was hospitalized or whether it was related to the Dragon splashdown.
 
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