WGA East Leaves Elon Musk's X Following 'Racist And Antisemitic Language' From AI Tool Grok
The guild announced its departure from the Elon Musk-owned site in an email to members on Wednesday morning.
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'The racist and antisemitic language generated by X.com's AI ('Grok') after a software update directed by Elon Musk is further evidence of the urgent need for common sense regulation and oversight of artificial intelligence technology,' the WGAE wrote.
Though the posts are now deleted, they caused an uproar Tuesday, after Grok made antisemitic and racist remarks in interactions with several users.
For example, in response to a question asking 'which 20th century historical figure' would be best suited to deal with posts that seemed to celebrate the deaths of children in the Texas floods, Grok said: 'To deal with such vile anti-white hate? Adolf Hitler, no question.'
This is not the first time that Musk has come under fire for remarks made by X's AI tool. In fact, the inflammatory comments come shortly after Musk had promised improvements to Grok's operations. Last week, Musk posted: 'We have improved @Grok significantly. You should notice a difference when you ask Grok questions.'
In the wake of this most recent controversy, X CEO Linda Yaccarino is also exiting the company. She did not indicate that the backlash over Grok's comments were related to her departure.
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Business Insider
15 minutes ago
- Business Insider
We visited the first Tesla Diner. It was surreal and heavy on nostalgia, but we'd go back.
Dozens of Teslas — of all models and colors — packed into the lot of Elon Musk 's new diner on Monday evening as West Hollywood's newest restaurant celebrated its grand opening with fanfare, curiosity, and at least one protester. The retro-futuristic eatery drew a pedestrian crowd that at times circled the block and provided a promenade for tricked-out electric vehicles. Diehard Tesla fans and curious onlookers alike stopped in for a bite to eat and a selfie with a popcorn-serving humanoid robot. The unusual atmosphere paired a mix of nostalgia and science fiction: "The Twilight Zone" played on giant screens, servers dashed by on roller skates, and EVs and robotics were proudly on display. "Aiming to be a fun experience for all, whether Tesla owners or not. Will keep improving," Musk wrote on X following the Tesla Diner's official opening. While the buzzy diner was a bit chaotic, Business Insider's Ben Bergman and Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert agreed: the architecture was eye-catching, the atmosphere was intriguing, and the menu, served up by celebrity chef Eric Greenspan, was tasty enough to warrant more visits. Representatives for Tesla did not immediately respond to a request from Business Insider for comment. A past-meets-future design Tesla applied for permits for a "Tesla restaurant and supercharger station" in Santa Monica in 2018, just months after Musk first hinted at his plans to build a retro diner at a charging station. After years of waiting for construction to be completed, one would expect the Tesla Diner to be worth ogling — and it didn't disappoint, especially at night. The diner sits on a corner of Los Angeles's famous Santa Monica Boulevard, aka the historical Route 66, and it features sleek, curved edges, a rooftop patio overlooking two 45-foot-tall drive-in screens, and retro neon signs. The expansive parking lot has V4 80 Supercharger stalls, making it the largest urban charging hub in the world. Dozens of Cybertrucks — some polished, several modified for off-roading, and one adorned with a DogeCoin-themed vinyl wrap — paraded through the lot on opening night while other models of Tesla vehicles honked their horns or blew bubbles. Inside, the restaurant looks like what you might expect an animator from "The Jetsons" would dream up: a vintage perspective on the future. The crisp white walls and shiny white tile floor stand in stark contrast to the black ceilings with neon blue lighting. The seating is familiar to anyone who's been to a diner, though few patrons stayed in the main dining area. Large clusters of customers formed around the "pick-up" area of the bar, waiting for their orders, while others ate upstairs on the Skypad. Large, rounded windows fill many of the building's walls, and artwork includes prototypes of humanoid robots created by Tesla: Bumblebee, a 2022-era droid, and iterations of Optimus, which the company is working to bring to market. A classic diner menu, reimagined Chef Greenspan, a James Beard award nominee and Food Network personality known for his imaginative takes on old-school favorites, took control of the kitchen for the Tesla Diner's opening service. The menu, available 24 hours a day, highlights classic diner fare: smash burgers, hot dogs, tuna melts, club sandwiches, chicken and waffles, tallow fries (wagyu chili and cheese optional), and milkshakes. Breakfast options, also available around the clock, include breakfast tacos, avocado toast, biscuits and gravy, yogurt parfaits with berries, and cinnamon rolls. Prices range from $9 to $15 for entrées, which come in Cybertruck-themed packaging, and sides run from $4 to $12. Kids' meals are $13 a piece, and drinks start at $4. No alcohol is served on-site. Though some on social media were quick to critique the price point, prices are comparable to other nearby restaurants, including the classic Astro Burger joint down the street, established in 1972, which offers similarly priced grub and retro vibes. For dinner, one BI reporter and their date tried the Tesla Burger, Fried Chicken & Waffles, Tallow-fried fries with wagyu chili and cheese, Hash Brown Bites, Epic Bacon, and two milkshake flavors. At breakfast, another BI reporter had breakfast tacos, a cinnamon roll, and an iced latte. Everything sampled was worth a second bite — there were decidedly no disappointments on the menu items tried. However, the food was somewhat inconsistent, as one might expect from a grand opening, when the kitchen is still working out the kinks. Half of the Tesla Burger had a classic smash burger texture, while the other was so thick it was medium rare in the center. The bacon had some burned bits and some chewy ones, and the tallow fries varied in texture. The breakfast taco was tasty, but it was overpowered by too much cheese. Several customers during the dinner service complained that their meals took upward of 45 minutes to be served. Eater reported that Musk himself demanded every item on the menu be "epic" or be removed from its list of offerings. The "epic" bacon — with maple glaze and black pepper — was perhaps the least exciting bite of the meal, in one reporter's view. All told, however, the menu was solid diner fare: nothing revolutionary, but it hit the spot. Still working out the kinks The Tesla Diner was bustling within hours of its opening, with trash already strewn on the floor and foot scuffs highly visible on the light-colored flooring. Greenspan could be heard shouting through the restaurant during dinner service, calling out orders to be re-fired or rushed as the kitchen dealt with wave after wave of guests flowing through its doors — typical for a grand opening. For a place emphasizing technology and robots, there was also a lot of human help. Scores of helpful and friendly staffers guided drivers to their spots and helped handle all the traffic. As one reporter was eating their meal, a worker came over to ask: "How are you enjoying everything?" Upstairs on the Skypad, an Optimus robot was serving popcorn to guests. Staff gave conflicting information on whether the bot was controlled by a human operator. One said the bot was "legit" serving up the treats on its own, while another — who was serving as security for the bot when BI stopped by — said its human operator was no more than 30 feet away. The demonstration was meant to "mimic" what the real operations would look like when the bots were fully operational, the second staff member said. Tesla representatives did not immediately respond to questions about Optimus' autonomy. The diner is open 24/7, and for Tesla owners, it's useful to have somewhere nice to go and grab a bite or just work on your laptop during the 45 minutes or more it can take to charge your vehicle. During the opening, idle fees — which Tesla charges when a vehicle remains plugged into a Supercharger after reaching its limit and the station is at least half full — were waived. Tesla drivers are supposed to be able to order food directly from the screen in their cars, though that feature was not available as of Tuesday. One worker said it would be ready on Wednesday after a "software update." Fans and curious passersby outweighed critics by a large margin. At least one anti-Musk protester was spotted outside during the dinner service, with a sign that read "Workers should have power, not the billionaires!" While it remains to be seen how long the novelty of the Tesla Diner will linger at this location, Musk has said this is just the first of many souped-up Supercharger stations to come. On Monday, shortly before the Los Angeles location opened its doors to the public, Musk confirmed in a post on X that he's planning to build a second drive-in near SpaceX's Starbase spaceport in Texas. "If our retro-futuristic diner turns out well, which I think it will, @Tesla will establish these in major cities around the world, as well as at Supercharger sites on long distance routes," Musk said in a separate post. "An island of good food, good vibes & entertainment, all while Supercharging!" Whether the diner guests are primarily Tesla drivers or inquisitive onlookers, the Tesla Diner makes it clear that Musk is expanding his EV brand — and the food was pretty good.
CNBC
15 minutes ago
- CNBC
Tesla set to report second-quarter earnings after the bell
Tesla will report second-quarter results after the close of regular trading on Wednesday. Here's what Wall Street expects, according to an average of estimates compiled by LSEG: Revenue in the period is expected to drop 11% from a year earlier, marking a second straight quarterly decline. In early July, Tesla reported a 14% year-over-year slide in vehicle deliveries to 384,000 for the second quarter. Deliveries are the closest approximation of EV sales reported by Tesla but aren't precisely defined in its shareholder communications. Tesla's slump this year is partly due to a backlash against the company in the U.S. and Europe, after CEO Elon Musk spent heavily to help reelect President Donald Trump, endorsed Germany's extreme anti-immigrant AfD party, and then led the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency. At DOGE, Musk helped to slash the federal workforce, roll back regulations, and eliminate USAID. Other automakers saw their electric vehicle sales increase, eating away at Tesla's market share during the second quarter. General Motors' U.S. sales of EVs rose 111% year-over-year to nearly 46,300 units in the period for an estimated market share of 16%, still far behind Tesla. Musk's political activism hasn't been the only factor weighing on the brand. Tesla has put off the production of a more affordable "model 2" EV, while other automakers are now offering a greater variety of vehicles, and China-based competitors are selling affordable EVs with high-tech self-driving features as a standard rather than premium option. Tesla shares are down about 17% for the year, the worst performance among tech's megacaps. The Nasdaq is up more than 8% in 2025. Musk has tried to keep fans and investors focused on Tesla's future, which he envisions as being dominated by the company's robotaxis, and humanoid Optimus robots. Musk sees Tesla's robotaxis as working for their owners, making them money while they sleep. Optimus robots, he says, will be so sophisticated they can serve as factory workers or babysitters. Tesla opened a diner and charging station in Los Angeles this week, where fans can see the Optimus robots at work on a simple task, slowly scooping popcorn. The company faces massive competition in robotics from developers including 1X Technologies, Agility Robotics, Apptronik, Boston Dynamics and Figure AI. In June, Tesla began testing a robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, which operates in a limited area with a human valet on board. The service is accessible only to select riders, generally Tesla and Musk enthusiasts. The robotaxi rollout is seen by bulls as a positive sign for the company, but Bank of America analysts cautioned in a recent report that it would have "immaterial financial ramifications" in the near term. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, meanwhile, has pressed Tesla for information about reported incidents where the vehicles appeared to violate traffic laws. In one incident, a Tesla robotaxi scraped a parked vehicle at a pizzeria parking lot in Austin, and in another, a robotaxi veered out of its lane briefly into oncoming traffic. In a note earlier this month, Barclays analysts said Tesla has shown "weak fundamentals" heading into its earnings report. Still, shareholders have remained excited about Tesla's "robotaxi narrative," wrote the analysts, who have the equivalent of a hold rating on the stock. Wednesday's report will be the first for Tesla since Musk officially left his role in the Trump administration and immediately preceded to publicly slam the president, mostly for the Republicans' spending package that he endorsed. Musk has since promised to start a new political party in the U.S. which he calls The America Party. One retail investor submitted an anonymous question via the Say platform, which Tesla uses ahead of earnings calls, to ask, "With Elon Musk now more publicly involved in U.S. politics through the new America Party, is Tesla taking any steps to manage potential risks, whether from shifting political alliances, regulatory perception, or public opinion?" Most questions submitted to the platform sought updates from Tesla about its robotaxi test in Austin, self-driving ambitions and its plans for a more affordable EV model. Tesla's automotive gross margins are also likely to be in focus, along with commentary on how the company will weather Trump's tariffs and the end of federal tax credits for EV buyers. Company executives will host an earnings call with analysts at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Newsweek
15 minutes ago
- Newsweek
DC's 'Booster Gold' Moving Ahead at HBO Max
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors "Booster Gold" is back on track in the DCU. That's the word from Deadline, who reports that "Our Flag Means Death" creator David Jenkins has taken the reins of DC's "Booster Gold." Jenkins is writing the pilot. Deadline reports that if the show gets a series order, Jenkins is expected to become the showrunner. Read More: 'Fantastic Four' Star Wants A Spider-Man Team-Up At last report "Booster Gold" was one of the DC projects that had stalled along with "The Authority," "Waller," and "Swamp Thing." In the case of "Booster Gold," DC co-heads Peter Safran and James Gunn said the project had lost its original showrunner. Booster Gold in DC Comics. Booster Gold in DC Comics. DC Entertainment In the source material, Booster Gold's real name is Michael Jon Carter. A Gotham City college football player in the future, Carter loses everything because of a gambling scandal. Using a time machine and technology from the future, Carter travels to the present day. He uses his knowledge of history to become a superhero, all the while chasing fame and wealth. "Booster Gold" joins a DC line-up that includes Season 2 of "Peacemaker" which premieres next month on August 21. The new series "Lanterns" recently wrapped production and is due to debut on HBO Max some time next year. Also on the way is Season 2 of the animated series "Creature Commandos" whose first season premiered in December. Then there's "Paradise Lost" about the legendary home of Wonder Woman. In the meantime, last month it was reported that DC Studios was considering two TV spinoffs of "Superman." One series would potentially focus on Skyler Gisondo's Jimmy Olsen while the other would be about Edi Gathegi's Mister Terrific. Both characters proved fan favorites to moviegoers. It's a good time for DC's TV properties. Just as the studio celebrates the success of "Superman" at the box office, it celebrates the impressive 24 Emmy nominations garnered by "The Penguin." More Comics: 'Fantastic Four' Early Reactions Are Overwhelmingly One-Sided DC Finds Its 'Wonder Woman' Reboot Writer
