Techmeme
April 30, 2022, 7:50 AM

Top News

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: PayPal Mafia members, Jack Dorsey, and others who disliked Twitter's direction pushed Musk to launch a bid; Musk is dismayed that Trump is still banned  —  Behind the scenes, fellow billionaires and internet provocateurs bent Tesla CEO's ear; Jack Dorsey's role  —  Elon Musk unveils the Tesla Model Y in 2019.
Casey Newton / Platformer:
At an all-hands, CEO Parag Agrawal acknowledged Twitter was vulnerable to a takeover since it had historically underachieved and asked staff to “embrace change”  —  CEO Parag Agrawal on five years of regrets  —  Late Thursday night, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced the company …
Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:
Right-wing users are celebrating Elon Musk buying Twitter not for his “free speech” promises but because he could make the platform serve their populist agenda  —  Conservatives on Twitter have greeted Elon Musk as a liberator.  The mega-billionaire is in the process of purchasing …
CNBC:
Filings: Elon Musk sold ~$8.4B worth of Tesla stock in the days after his bid to take Twitter private; on Thursday, Musk tweeted “No further TSLA sales planned”  —  - Elon Musk sold roughly $8.4 billion worth of Tesla shares in the days following his bid to take Twitter private …
Kate Conger / New York Times:
Inside Twitter, frustrations have mounted about Elon Musk's moderation plans, ahead of elections in Brazil and the midterm election in the US  —  Content moderators warn that Elon Musk doesn't appear to understand the issues that he and the company will face if he drops its guardrails around speech.
Eric Slivka / MacRumors:
Apple says apps that haven't been updated in past three years and have low downloads will be removed from App Store, extends time to update from 30 to 90 days  —  Late last week, controversy erupted after Apple began notifying some developers that their apps that had not been updated …
New York Times:
Instacart plans a strategy shift to sell software to grocers and more ads in its app, trying to avoid becoming another pandemic boom company that has fizzled  —  The grocery delivery start-up changed its leadership, slashed its valuation and shifted its strategy after sales slowed.
Ax Sharma / Wired:
Hollywood's fight against VPN providers like ExpressVPN now goes beyond piracy, as a recent lawsuit alleges VPNs enable crimes like hacking, murder, and more  —  Beyond accusations of encouraging copyright infringement, film companies have begun accusing VPNs of enabling a slew of illegal activity.
Meaghan Tobin / Rest of World:
Despite SpaceX's global ambitions for Starlink, data shows 98% of users live in the West; many delays come down to regulatory challenges in markets like India  —  Despite global ambitions, Elon Musk's Starlink struggles to reach users outside North America and Europe.
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Exafunction, which aims to reduce AI development costs by abstracting away hardware, raises a $25M Series A led by Greenoaks, with Founders Fund participating  —  The most sophisticated AI systems today are capable of impressive feats, from directing cars through city streets to writing human-like prose.
Business Wire:
Amazon reports Q1 revenue up 7% YoY to $116.4B, $3.8B net loss vs. $8.1B net income in Q1 2021, and AWS revenue up 37% YoY; stock down 10%+ on weak Q2 guidance  —  SEATTLE—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2022.
Sebastian Herrera / Wall Street Journal:

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Soxton:
AI-powered law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
Zoho:
Zoho CRM Plus in 2025: A year of thoughtful CX improvements  —  2025 marked 11 years of building a customer experience platform designed to support organizations as customer expectations, channels …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Lenny's Podcast:
10 contrarian leadership truths every leader needs to hear | Matt MacInnis (Rippling)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Big Technology Podcast:
Alex And Ranjan's 2026 Outlook: ChatGPT 1 Billion, AI Shopping, Apple's Big Year, AI Love Boom
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Where Is All the A.I.-Driven Scientific Progress?
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
The Talk Show With John Gruber:
'A Naughty Citizen', With Quinn Nelson
The director's commentary track for Daring Fireball. Long digressions on Apple, technology, design, movies, and more.
Subscribe to The Talk Show With John Gruber.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Podcast Pioneer PJ Vogt's Second Act: Less Budget, More Control
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:50 AM ET, April 30, 2022.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Bruce Lawson / Bruce Lawson's personal site:
Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:
Jay Peters / The Verge:

Earlier Picks

Tracy Qu / South China Morning Post:
Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch:
Business Wire: