Business

Elon Musk has settled with the SEC, stepping down as chairman of the Tesla board and paying $20m in penalties - a figure matched by the automaker - though the biggest loss may well be on his Twitter account. The outspoken and often controversial billionaire found himself on the wrong side of the US Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year, after tweets about taking Tesla public were accused of being securities fraud.

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MoviePass has angered former customers by notifying them of a new plan that involves resuming charges and forcing them to opt-out of being a renewed customer. Only "a select test group" is being forced back onto their plan without request, though an email indicates that MoviePass may expand this to cover more people in the future. Those who fail to opt out in the next week or so will be charged $9.95/month.

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The US government recently failed to get wiretap access to Facebook Messenger, according to a new report. The legal spat allegedly took place in the US District Court in Fresno, California, and was sealed from the public. Sources claim the case involved suspected gang members and law enforcement's desire to monitor their communications.

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Tesla is recruiting its own employees to be part of an internal fully autonomous car testing program, according to a new report. Details about the testing program were revealed by a leaked email, which reportedly states that approximately 100 additional employees are needed to work as beta testers. This will be in additional to their regular job, according to the report, and come with a couple big perks.

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California police announced the arrest and charges of a ring of Apple product thieves from across the state. The announcement came from California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who noted that they'd arrested 17 individuals who were then charged for their roles in a robbery scheme that seemed to target Apple retail stores over the period of several months.

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Over the years, eBay has become a pretty popular place to buy and sell phones, and now the company is trying to turn buying a phone into a more holistic experience. eBay has announced that it will begin offering wireless plans alongside every phone it sells on its platform, allowing buyers to get up and running without having to visit a carrier. To accomplish this, eBay has partnered with Red Pocket Mobile.

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Early last year, Nintendo revealed that it was suing the MariCAR go-kart service over intellectual property infringement. The Japanese company specializes in go-kart tours through Tokyo; customers could dress like popular Nintendo characters during these trips, something Nintendo never authorized. Now, more than a year later, Nintendo has announced victory in the legal matter, stating that it has successfully put an end to the costumes.

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Last month, Elon Musk published a tweet stating that he was "considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured." He later clarified the latter part of that tweet, pointing toward past talks with the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund. Questions were soon raised over whether the tweet would get Musk in trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and now we have the answer.

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Amazon is opening a new type of retail store in New York City called Amazon 4-star. As the name suggests, this store is selling items that have a rating of at least 4 stars with few exceptions. The destination covers a variety of products in many categories, including kitchen, home, games, and electronics. The company is also leveraging its customer data to offer collections like "Most-Wished-For."

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Uber has announced a new move toward "urban sustainability" and efforts that will help improve the cities in which it operates. Among the efforts is a new sustainable mobility fund; the company has pledged to put $10 million toward ideas that'll benefit the public interest in the future. As well, the company plans to launch electric charging stations for dockless, shared e-bikes.

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Twitter has updated its hateful conduct policy with a planned ban on dehumanizing language. This restriction addresses content that may not have violated its previous policies, but that can contribute to a hostile environment for users and groups toward whom such language is directed. The company is asking its users to complete a survey to share their thoughts on the new policy.

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Qualcomm has accused Apple of not only stealing its trade secrets but sharing them with Intel, alleging that the iPhone-maker turned to nefarious means in order to prop up the rival chip company. Apple and Qualcomm are currently embroiled in an ongoing legal battle over chip licensing and how the Cupertino firm uses third-party technology.

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