<p>Bitcoin's value plunged on Wednesday after China signaled a new crackdown on the cryptocurrency, but its losses were cushioned after Tesla head Elon Musk spoke up on Twitter.</p>

<p>The virtual currency fell to almost $30,000 — less than half the record value it reached last month — before climbing back over $39,500 around 2000 GMT. It was still above its level at the start of the year.</p>

<p>Bitcoin recovered somewhat following tweets from Musk that featured a diamond and hands emoji, taken as a signal the company had not sold off its huge bitcoin holdings as the CEO appeared to suggest recently.</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/elon-musks-tesla-halts-bitcoin-purchases-amid-concerns-of-increasing-carbon-emissions-384647" hreflang="en">Elon Musk's Tesla halts bitcoin purchases amid concerns of increasing carbon emissions</a></strong></p>

<p>At its daily low on Wednesday, the unit lost nearly a third of its value compared to the start of the week and more than half compared to its record, reached just a month ago, on April 14, at $64,869.78.</p>

<p>Making matters worse, Chinese authorities on Wednesday said cryptocurrencies would not be allowed in transactions and warned investors against speculative trading in them, despite the country powering most of the world's mining.</p>

<p>Trading in cryptocurrencies has been banned in China since 2019 to prevent money laundering, as leaders try to stop people from shifting cash overseas. The country had been home to around 90 percent of the global trade in the sector.</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/musk-pokes-fun-at-himself-admits-twitter-puts-him-in-trouble-383862" hreflang="en">Musk pokes fun at himself, admits Twitter puts him in trouble&nbsp;</a></strong></p>

<p>In a statement, three state-backed industry associations said "cryptocurrency prices have skyrocketed and plummeted, and cryptocurrency trading speculation activities have rebounded."</p>

<p>The price fluctuations "seriously violate people's asset safety and disrupt normal economic and financial order," said the statement posted to social media by the People's Bank of China.</p>

<p>The notice warned consumers against wild speculation, adding that the "losses caused by investment transactions are borne by the consumers themselves," since Chinese law offers no protection to them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It reiterated that providing cryptocurrency services to customers and crypto-based financial products was illegal for Chinese financial institutions and payment providers.</p>

<p>"This is the latest chapter of China tightening the noose around crypto," said Antoni Trenchev, managing partner and co-founder of London-based crypto lender Nexo.</p>

<p>Linghao Bao, analyst at Trivium China, said that despite the ban, Chinese investors could still find ways to buy cryptocurrencies through illegal vendors.</p>

<p>"There will always be a way to circumvent regulations," he said. "The point of this order is to tell financial institutions to up their game to detect these crypto-related transactions."</p>

<p>Bitcoin had a roller-coaster day on Wednesday, falling from $45,600 to under $40,000, then climbing back before dropping to $30,017 and up again.</p>

<p>"This looks like your typical flash crash, but there seems to be some hesitancy in getting back in," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.</p>

<p><strong>'Here to stay'</strong></p>

<p>Adam Reynolds, of Saxo Markets, added that avoiding use of cryptocurrency, which can be transferred out of the country, is "essential to maintaining capital controls" in China.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Bitcoin has had a torrid few days, in good part because of Musk and Tesla.</p>

<p>Last week Tesla hit the brakes on letting people pay for its electric cars with bitcoin, citing concerns about the harmful effects that mining cryptocurrencies has on the environment.</p>

<p>Then Musk appeared to suggest Tesla was planning to sell its huge holdings of the unit, before clarifying that the company had not sold any bitcoin.</p>

<p>"Elon Musk started the ball rolling," Germany-based crypto analyst Timo Emden told AFP. "It will take some time for them to recover from this shock."</p>

<p>Mining cryptocurrency is a hugely energy-intensive process requiring large amounts of electricity in giant data centers.</p>

<p>China, which powers nearly 80 percent of the global cryptocurrency trade, relies on a particularly polluting type of coal, lignite, to power some of its mining.</p>

<p>"If bitcoin was a country, it would use around the same amount of electricity a year to mine as Switzerland does in total," Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note.</p>

<p>Some Chinese enthusiasts, however, remained unfazed.</p>

<p>"This has happened before and it happens every year...," said trader and ex-tech industry worker Zeng Jiajun. "Crypto is here to stay." &nbsp;</p>

<p>China is in the midst of a wide-ranging regulatory crackdown on its fintech sector. Its biggest players — including Alibaba and Tencent — have been hit with big fines after being found guilty of monopolistic practices.</p>


Bitcoin's value plunged on Wednesday after China signaled a new crackdown on the cryptocurrency, but its losses were cushioned after Tesla head Elon Musk spoke up on Twitter.

Bitcoin's value plunged on Wednesday after China signaled a new crackdown on the cryptocurrency, but its losses were cushioned after Tesla head Elon Musk spoke up on Twitter. The virtual currency fell to almost $30,000 — less than half the record value it reached last month — before climbing back over $39,500 around 2000 GMT. It was still above its level at the start of the year. Bitcoin recovered somewhat following tweets from Musk that featured a diamond and hands emoji, taken as a signal the company had not sold off its huge bitcoin holdings as the CEO appeared to suggest recently. Also read | Elon Musk's Tesla halts bitcoin purchases amid concerns of increasing carbon emissions At its daily low on Wednesday, the unit lost nearly a third of its value compared to the start of the week and more than half compared to its record, reached just a month ago, on April 14, at $64,869.78. Making matters worse, Chinese authorities on Wednesday said cryptocurrencies would not be allowed in transactions and warned investors against speculative trading in them, despite the country powering most of the world's mining. Trading in cryptocurrencies has been banned in China since 2019 to prevent money laundering, as leaders try to stop people from shifting cash overseas. The country had been home to around 90 percent of the global trade in the sector. Also read | Musk pokes fun at himself, admits Twitter puts him in trouble In a statement, three state-backed industry associations said "cryptocurrency prices have skyrocketed and plummeted, and cryptocurrency trading speculation activities have rebounded." The price fluctuations "seriously violate people's asset safety and disrupt normal economic and financial order," said the statement posted to social media by the People's Bank of China. The notice warned consumers against wild speculation, adding that the "losses caused by investment transactions are borne by the consumers themselves," since Chinese law offers no protection to them. It reiterated that providing cryptocurrency services to customers and crypto-based financial products was illegal for Chinese financial institutions and payment providers. "This is the latest chapter of China tightening the noose around crypto," said Antoni Trenchev, managing partner and co-founder of London-based crypto lender Nexo. Linghao Bao, analyst at Trivium China, said that despite the ban, Chinese investors could still find ways to buy cryptocurrencies through illegal vendors. "There will always be a way to circumvent regulations," he said. "The point of this order is to tell financial institutions to up their game to detect these crypto-related transactions." Bitcoin had a roller-coaster day on Wednesday, falling from $45,600 to under $40,000, then climbing back before dropping to $30,017 and up again. "This looks like your typical flash crash, but there seems to be some hesitancy in getting back in," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA. 'Here to stay' Adam Reynolds, of Saxo Markets, added that avoiding use of cryptocurrency, which can be transferred out of the country, is "essential to maintaining capital controls" in China. Bitcoin has had a torrid few days, in good part because of Musk and Tesla. Last week Tesla hit the brakes on letting people pay for its electric cars with bitcoin, citing concerns about the harmful effects that mining cryptocurrencies has on the environment. Then Musk appeared to suggest Tesla was planning to sell its huge holdings of the unit, before clarifying that the company had not sold any bitcoin. "Elon Musk started the ball rolling," Germany-based crypto analyst Timo Emden told AFP. "It will take some time for them to recover from this shock." Mining cryptocurrency is a hugely energy-intensive process requiring large amounts of electricity in giant data centers. China, which powers nearly 80 percent of the global cryptocurrency trade, relies on a particularly polluting type of coal, lignite, to power some of its mining. "If bitcoin was a country, it would use around the same amount of electricity a year to mine as Switzerland does in total," Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note. Some Chinese enthusiasts, however, remained unfazed. "This has happened before and it happens every year...," said trader and ex-tech industry worker Zeng Jiajun. "Crypto is here to stay." China is in the midst of a wide-ranging regulatory crackdown on its fintech sector. Its biggest players — including Alibaba and Tencent — have been hit with big fines after being found guilty of monopolistic practices.

Bitcoin tumble slows with help from Elon Musk

<p>Bitcoin tumbled below the $40,000 mark on Wednesday for the first time in more than three months after China banned financial and payment institutions from providing cryptocurrency services.</p>

<p>Trading in cryptocurrencies has been banned in China since 2019 to prevent money laundering as leaders try to stop people from shifting cash overseas. The country had been home to around 90 percent of the global trade in the sector.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/china-extends-its-cryptocurrency-ban-to-banks-385962/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>And in a statement, three state-backed industry associations said "cryptocurrency prices have skyrocketed and plummeted, and cryptocurrency trading speculation activities have rebounded".</p>

<p>The price fluctuations "seriously violate people's asset safety and disrupt normal economic and financial order", said the statement, which was posted to social media by the People's Bank of China.</p>

<p>The notice warned consumers against wild speculation, adding that the "losses caused by investment transactions are borne by the consumers themselves" since Chinese law offers no protection to them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It reiterated that providing cryptocurrency services to customers and crypto-based financial products was illegal for Chinese financial institutions and payment providers.</p>

<p>China is in the midst of a wide-ranging regulatory crackdown on its fintech sector, whose biggest players, including Alibaba and Tencent,&nbsp;have been hit with big fines after being found guilty of monopolistic practices.</p>

<p>The central bank has also sought to promote its own heavily regulated digital yuan, which it is testing across the country in pilot schemes.</p>

<p>Bitcoin, the biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, had already been under pressure from a series of tweets from Tesla boss Elon Musk, but the news from China sent it as low as $36,250, a 15 per cent&nbsp;drop in the trading session.</p>

<p>Bitcoin's decline whacked other crypto assets, with Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, shedding as much as 28% on Wednesday to $2,426. It brings losses in the week since it hit a record high on May 12 to 40 per cent.</p>

<p>Meme-based dogecoin also tumbled,&nbsp;losing nearly 30&nbsp;per cent&nbsp;at one point, according to market tracker Coingecko.</p>

<p>Shares in the crypto exchange Coinbase dropped 5&nbsp;per cent&nbsp;in pre-market trading. Coinbase's share price has nearly halved from the peak hit on the day of its direct listing in April.</p>

<p>Cryptocurrency price declines last week were sparked by Musk's reversal on Tesla accepting bitcoin as payment. His subsequent tweets caused further confusion over whether the carmaker had shed its holdings of the coin.</p>

<p>The crypto asset selloff at a time when inflation fears are rising hurts the idea of the asset class as an inflation hedge.</p>

<p>Instead, more traditional hedges have been gaining ground, with gold up almost 6&nbsp;per cent&nbsp;this month.</p>

<p>The recent selloff in bitcoin and other digital currencies has sent market capitalisation of all cryptocurrencies to $1.7 trillion, down from the $2.5 trillion record hit earlier this month.</p>


Bitcoin tumbled below the $40,000 mark on Wednesday for the first time in more than three months after China banned financial and payment institutions from providing cryptocurrency services.

Bitcoin tumbled below the $40,000 mark on Wednesday for the first time in more than three months after China banned financial and payment institutions from providing cryptocurrency services. Trading in cryptocurrencies has been banned in China since 2019 to prevent money laundering as leaders try to stop people from shifting cash overseas. The country had been home to around 90 percent of the global trade in the sector. And in a statement, three state-backed industry associations said "cryptocurrency prices have skyrocketed and plummeted, and cryptocurrency trading speculation activities have rebounded". The price fluctuations "seriously violate people's asset safety and disrupt normal economic and financial order", said the statement, which was posted to social media by the People's Bank of China. The notice warned consumers against wild speculation, adding that the "losses caused by investment transactions are borne by the consumers themselves" since Chinese law offers no protection to them. It reiterated that providing cryptocurrency services to customers and crypto-based financial products was illegal for Chinese financial institutions and payment providers. China is in the midst of a wide-ranging regulatory crackdown on its fintech sector, whose biggest players, including Alibaba and Tencent, have been hit with big fines after being found guilty of monopolistic practices. The central bank has also sought to promote its own heavily regulated digital yuan, which it is testing across the country in pilot schemes. Bitcoin, the biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, had already been under pressure from a series of tweets from Tesla boss Elon Musk, but the news from China sent it as low as $36,250, a 15 per cent drop in the trading session. Bitcoin's decline whacked other crypto assets, with Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, shedding as much as 28% on Wednesday to $2,426. It brings losses in the week since it hit a record high on May 12 to 40 per cent. Meme-based dogecoin also tumbled, losing nearly 30 per cent at one point, according to market tracker Coingecko. Shares in the crypto exchange Coinbase dropped 5 per cent in pre-market trading. Coinbase's share price has nearly halved from the peak hit on the day of its direct listing in April. Cryptocurrency price declines last week were sparked by Musk's reversal on Tesla accepting bitcoin as payment. His subsequent tweets caused further confusion over whether the carmaker had shed its holdings of the coin. The crypto asset selloff at a time when inflation fears are rising hurts the idea of the asset class as an inflation hedge. Instead, more traditional hedges have been gaining ground, with gold up almost 6 per cent this month. The recent selloff in bitcoin and other digital currencies has sent market capitalisation of all cryptocurrencies to $1.7 trillion, down from the $2.5 trillion record hit earlier this month.

Bitcoin tumbles below $40,000 after China's new crypto ban

<p>Fake promised giveaways by celebrities such as Telsa CEO Elon Musk are being used by scammers to cash in on interest in cryptocurrencies, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Monday in noting a jump in complaints about cryptocurrency fraud since October.</p>

<p>In one type of scam, people are told that if they give a certain amount of cryptocurrency to a "celebrity" they will get more back.</p>

<p>"People have reported sending more than $2 million in cryptocurrency to Elon Musk impersonators over just the past six months," the FTC said.</p>

<p>Musk had been a supporter of cryptocurrencies but recently knocked dogecoin by calling it "a hustle" on national television. He has also recently said that bitcoin would not be accepted to buy a Tesla because of the environmental costs associated with mining it.</p>

<p>Scammers also impersonate government authorities or a potential romantic partner, the FTC said.</p>

<p>Overall, nearly 7,000 people reported losses of more than $80 million since October, with a median loss of $1,900, the agency said. That's twelve times more reports of scams than the same period a year earlier, the agency said.</p>

<p>People in their 20s and 30s were the biggest victims, reporting losing much more money on investment and cryptocurrency fraud than any other type of scam. Older people, over 50, were less likely to report falling for the scams but when they did the losses were bigger, with a median loss of $3,250.</p>


Fake promised giveaways by celebrities such as Telsa CEO Elon Musk are being used by scammers to cash in on interest in cryptocurrencies, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Monday in noting a jump in complaints about cryptocurrency fraud since October.

Fake promised giveaways by celebrities such as Telsa CEO Elon Musk are being used by scammers to cash in on interest in cryptocurrencies, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Monday in noting a jump in complaints about cryptocurrency fraud since October. In one type of scam, people are told that if they give a certain amount of cryptocurrency to a "celebrity" they will get more back. "People have reported sending more than $2 million in cryptocurrency to Elon Musk impersonators over just the past six months," the FTC said. Musk had been a supporter of cryptocurrencies but recently knocked dogecoin by calling it "a hustle" on national television. He has also recently said that bitcoin would not be accepted to buy a Tesla because of the environmental costs associated with mining it. Scammers also impersonate government authorities or a potential romantic partner, the FTC said. Overall, nearly 7,000 people reported losses of more than $80 million since October, with a median loss of $1,900, the agency said. That's twelve times more reports of scams than the same period a year earlier, the agency said. People in their 20s and 30s were the biggest victims, reporting losing much more money on investment and cryptocurrency fraud than any other type of scam. Older people, over 50, were less likely to report falling for the scams but when they did the losses were bigger, with a median loss of $3,250.

Crypto scammers made over $2 million through fake Elon Musk giveaways 

<p>The Tesla car that was involved in a fatal crash on the California freeway in the US on May 05 was set on autopilot at the time of the accident, authorities have reported.</p>

<p>This is the 29th Tesla accident that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating.</p>

<p>On May 05, a Tesla Model 3 crashed into an overturned semi-truck on a freeway around 2:30 am (local time), leading to the death of the 35-year-old man sitting in the car and a man being injured who was helping the truck driver out of his vehicle.</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/elon-musks-tesla-halts-bitcoin-purchases-amid-concerns-of-increasing-carbon-emissions-384647">Elon Musk's Tesla halts bitcoin purchases amid concerns of increasing carbon emissions</a></strong></p>

<p>After investigating, authorities have found the electric car by <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/elon-musk?page=1">Elon Musk's</a> Tesla was operating on the company’s partially automated driving system, dubbed as Autopilot.</p>

<p>This is the fourth accident of a Tesla car operating on the autopilot feature.</p>

<p>"While the CHP does not normally comment on ongoing investigations, the Department recognizes the high level of interest centered around crashes involving Tesla vehicle," the agency said. "We felt this information provides an opportunity to remind the public that driving is a complex task that requires a driver's full attention."</p>

<p>This incident has raised concerns about the company's features of autopilot and self-driving. However, the user manuals do caution the drivers to pay attention to the road even if the car is operating on autopilot or self-driving mode.</p>


The Tesla car that was involved in a fatal crash on the California freeway in the US on May 05 was set on autopilot at the time of the accident, authorities have reported.

The Tesla car that was involved in a fatal crash on the California freeway in the US on May 05 was set on autopilot at the time of the accident, authorities have reported. This is the 29th Tesla accident that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating. On May 05, a Tesla Model 3 crashed into an overturned semi-truck on a freeway around 2:30 am (local time), leading to the death of the 35-year-old man sitting in the car and a man being injured who was helping the truck driver out of his vehicle. Also read | Elon Musk's Tesla halts bitcoin purchases amid concerns of increasing carbon emissions After investigating, authorities have found the electric car by Elon Musk's Tesla was operating on the company’s partially automated driving system, dubbed as Autopilot. This is the fourth accident of a Tesla car operating on the autopilot feature. "While the CHP does not normally comment on ongoing investigations, the Department recognizes the high level of interest centered around crashes involving Tesla vehicle," the agency said. "We felt this information provides an opportunity to remind the public that driving is a complex task that requires a driver's full attention." This incident has raised concerns about the company's features of autopilot and self-driving. However, the user manuals do caution the drivers to pay attention to the road even if the car is operating on autopilot or self-driving mode.

Tesla in California car crash was on Autopilot: Officials

<p>Tesla Inc boss&nbsp;Elon&nbsp;Musk has&nbsp;denounced the "insane" amount of energy used to produce bitcoin, doubling down on his sudden rejection of the cryptocurrency as a means of payment over environmental concerns.</p>

<p>Musk, one of bitcoin's most ardent backers, tweeted a graph of bitcoin's power consumption and said: "Energy usage trend over past few months is insane."&nbsp;</p>

<p>Obtaining&nbsp;bitcoin&nbsp;is an energy-intensive endeavour, and the chart showed the evolution of its power usage, rising constantly from 2016 and accelerating sharply in 2020 on an annualized basis to hit its current level of 149 terawatt-hours (TWh), an all-time high.</p>

<p>That's compared to Google's entire energy usage of 12.2 TWh, and the approximately 200 TWh used by all data centers in the world except those that mine&nbsp;bitcoin, according to George Kamiya, an analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA).</p>

<p>"If&nbsp;Bitcoin&nbsp;was a country, it would use around the same amount of electricity a year to mine as Switzerland does in total," Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note.</p>

<p>Indeed, the IEA predicts the situation could worsen: if miners used the most energy intensive equipment, their consumption could rise to 500 TWh.</p>

<p>Citing its energy consumption particularly by miners who use coal, Musk on Wednesday said Tesla would no longer accept&nbsp;bitcoin&nbsp;as a means of payment for its electric cars.</p>

<p>The announcement sent the cyrptocurrency's value down 15 percent to a two-and-a-half month low, a reversal from late March, when Tesla announced it would accept the digital currency as payment after announcing a $1.5 billion investment in&nbsp;bitcoin.</p>

<p>The promise of a juicy reward has fueled the rise in giant data centers dedicated to&nbsp;bitcoin, which reached a $1 trillion market capitalization earlier this year, before falling back.</p>

<p>The cryptocurrency is earned by participants in the network called "miners," who solve deliberately complicated equations using brute force processing power under the so-called "proof of work" protocol.</p>

<p>"Proof of work" was one of the founding principles of the best-known cryptocurrency, created in 2008 by an anonymous person or group that wanted a decentralized digital currency.</p>

<p>The system is designed so that around every 10 minutes, the network awards some&nbsp;bitcoin&nbsp;to those who have successfully cracked the puzzle.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But as the price of&nbsp;bitcoin&nbsp;has risen, interest in obtaining it has followed, along with electricity consumption.</p>

<p>Last month, scientific journal Nature published a study saying that emissions from mining in China, which powers nearly 80 percent of the global cryptocurrency trade, could compromise the country's climate goals.</p>

<p>That country relies on a particularly polluting type of coal, lignite, to power some of its mining.</p>

<p>Bloomberg predicts that it will take until 2060 before China can meet its cryptocurrency industry's needs through renewable energy.</p>

<p>One way to reduce energy consumption would be to move away from the processor-intensive "proof of work" model, similar to changes being considered for the Ethereum cryptocurrency.</p>

<p>But it's hard to imagine&nbsp;bitcoin&nbsp;making such a change, which could make its network less secure and decentralized.</p>

<p>"Tesla's move might serve as a wake-up call to businesses and consumers using&nbsp;Bitcoin, who hadn't hitherto considered its carbon footprint," said Laith Khalaf, a financial analyst at AJ Bell.</p>

<p>"This highlights that the long-term adoption of cryptocurrencies by businesses, consumers and investors is still highly uncertain."</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk has denounced the "insane" amount of energy used to produce bitcoin, doubling down on his sudden rejection of the cryptocurrency as a means of payment over environmental concerns.

Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk has denounced the "insane" amount of energy used to produce bitcoin, doubling down on his sudden rejection of the cryptocurrency as a means of payment over environmental concerns. Musk, one of bitcoin's most ardent backers, tweeted a graph of bitcoin's power consumption and said: "Energy usage trend over past few months is insane." Obtaining bitcoin is an energy-intensive endeavour, and the chart showed the evolution of its power usage, rising constantly from 2016 and accelerating sharply in 2020 on an annualized basis to hit its current level of 149 terawatt-hours (TWh), an all-time high. That's compared to Google's entire energy usage of 12.2 TWh, and the approximately 200 TWh used by all data centers in the world except those that mine bitcoin, according to George Kamiya, an analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA). "If Bitcoin was a country, it would use around the same amount of electricity a year to mine as Switzerland does in total," Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note. Indeed, the IEA predicts the situation could worsen: if miners used the most energy intensive equipment, their consumption could rise to 500 TWh. Citing its energy consumption particularly by miners who use coal, Musk on Wednesday said Tesla would no longer accept bitcoin as a means of payment for its electric cars. The announcement sent the cyrptocurrency's value down 15 percent to a two-and-a-half month low, a reversal from late March, when Tesla announced it would accept the digital currency as payment after announcing a $1.5 billion investment in bitcoin. The promise of a juicy reward has fueled the rise in giant data centers dedicated to bitcoin, which reached a $1 trillion market capitalization earlier this year, before falling back. The cryptocurrency is earned by participants in the network called "miners," who solve deliberately complicated equations using brute force processing power under the so-called "proof of work" protocol. "Proof of work" was one of the founding principles of the best-known cryptocurrency, created in 2008 by an anonymous person or group that wanted a decentralized digital currency. The system is designed so that around every 10 minutes, the network awards some bitcoin to those who have successfully cracked the puzzle. But as the price of bitcoin has risen, interest in obtaining it has followed, along with electricity consumption. Last month, scientific journal Nature published a study saying that emissions from mining in China, which powers nearly 80 percent of the global cryptocurrency trade, could compromise the country's climate goals. That country relies on a particularly polluting type of coal, lignite, to power some of its mining. Bloomberg predicts that it will take until 2060 before China can meet its cryptocurrency industry's needs through renewable energy. One way to reduce energy consumption would be to move away from the processor-intensive "proof of work" model, similar to changes being considered for the Ethereum cryptocurrency. But it's hard to imagine bitcoin making such a change, which could make its network less secure and decentralized. "Tesla's move might serve as a wake-up call to businesses and consumers using Bitcoin, who hadn't hitherto considered its carbon footprint," said Laith Khalaf, a financial analyst at AJ Bell. "This highlights that the long-term adoption of cryptocurrencies by businesses, consumers and investors is still highly uncertain." (With inputs from agencies)

Here is why Elon Musk decried bitcoin's 'insane' energy use after Tesla payment U-turn

<p>Russia&nbsp;said Thursday it would send an actress and a director to space to make the first feature film in the cosmos.</p>

<p>Moscow is seeking to boost its embattled space programme, which has stagnated since the Soviet Union under corruption and been overtaken by US tech billionaire Elon Musk's company SpaceX.</p>

<p>The Russian space agency announced the film project Thursday after NASA confirmed last year it was teaming up with US actor Tom Cruise to make a movie on the ISS.</p>

<p>The Russian "space drama", whose working title is "Challenge," will feature popular Russian actress&nbsp;Yulia Peresild, 36, and Klim Shipenko, a 37-year-old director and actor, Roscosmos said.</p>

<p>They will have to undergo training, including tests on a centrifuge and flights in zero gravity, starting no later than June 1.</p>

<p>The film is being co-produced by the flamboyant head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, and state-run network Channel One.</p>

<p><strong>Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/japanese-billionaire-entrepreneur-yusaku-maezawa-to-travel-to-international-space-station-384793" hreflang="en">Japanese billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa to travel to International Space Station</a></strong></p>

<p>The space agency also announced plans to take Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa to the ISS in December, resurecting its space tourism programme in the face of US competition.</p>

<p>Maezawa, 45, who made his fortune in online retail, said he planned to document the mission and share it with the world on his YouTube channel with over 700,000 subscribers.</p>

<p>Roscosmos said Maezawa would make the flight from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with production assistant Yozo Hirano aboard a Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft that is scheduled for December 8.</p>

<p>"I'm so curious 'What's life like in space?' So, I am planning to find out on my own and share with the world on my YouTube channel," Maezawa was quoted as saying by Roscosmos.</p>

<p>The eccentric billionaire has previously announced plans to take eight people with him on a 2023 mission around the moon aboard a Starship spacecraft built by Musk's SpaceX.</p>

<p>Maezawa and film producer Hirano will begin approximately three months of pre-flight training in June at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City outside of Moscow, Roscosmos added.</p>

<p>They have already passed the required medical examinations, it said.</p>

<p>Roscosmos said the flight will last 12 days and the crew will be led by Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, who has already been on two missions to the ISS.</p>

<p>A total of eight private self-funded space travellers have visited the ISS and Maezawa will be the first from Japan.</p>

<p>His flight will also be the first time that two of the three spots on a Soyuz space rocket will be occupied by tourists.</p>

<p>"We are excited for Maezawa-san and we are honoured to have enabled this opportunity for him to fly to space," said Eric Anderson, CEO of Space Adventures, a private spaceflight company.</p>

<p>It has cooperated with Roscosmos since the first space tourist flight in 2001.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Maezawa will be the first space tourist to travel to the ISS since 2009 when Canadian Guy Laliberte, co-founder of Cirque du Soleil, travelled to the station.</p>

<p>According to Forbes magazine, space tourists could pay anywhere between $20 million and $35 million per person for 8-12 days in space.&nbsp;The cost of Maezawa's flight has not been disclosed.</p>

<p>The resumption of tourist flights comes after Roscosmos lost its monopoly on ferrying crews to the ISS when a reusable SpaceX rocket last year successfully delivered NASA astronauts to space.</p>

<p>Russia's space industry has suffered a number of setbacks in recent years, from corruption scandals to lost spacecraft to an aborted take-off during a manned mission in 2018.</p>

<p>Russia's ageing Soyuz rockets are reliable and allow Moscow to remain relevant in the modern space industry, but the country is struggling to innovate and keep up with other key players.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Russia&nbsp;launched the first artificial satellite on October 4, 1957. The Soviets maintained their lead in the initial years of the race.&nbsp;</p>

<p>They boasted the first manned flight to space by Gagarin on April 12, 1961, the first spacewalk four years later by Alexei Leonov and the first lunar probe in 1966. But the United States beat them to the moon with the first manned landing in 1969.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Russia said Thursday it would send an actress and a director to space to make the first feature film in the cosmos. Moscow is seeking to boost its embattled space programme, which has stagnated since the Soviet Union under corruption and been overtaken by US tech billionaire Elon Musk's company SpaceX.

Russia said Thursday it would send an actress and a director to space to make the first feature film in the cosmos. Moscow is seeking to boost its embattled space programme, which has stagnated since the Soviet Union under corruption and been overtaken by US tech billionaire Elon Musk's company SpaceX. The Russian space agency announced the film project Thursday after NASA confirmed last year it was teaming up with US actor Tom Cruise to make a movie on the ISS. The Russian "space drama", whose working title is "Challenge," will feature popular Russian actress Yulia Peresild, 36, and Klim Shipenko, a 37-year-old director and actor, Roscosmos said. They will have to undergo training, including tests on a centrifuge and flights in zero gravity, starting no later than June 1. The film is being co-produced by the flamboyant head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, and state-run network Channel One. Also read| Japanese billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa to travel to International Space Station The space agency also announced plans to take Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa to the ISS in December, resurecting its space tourism programme in the face of US competition. Maezawa, 45, who made his fortune in online retail, said he planned to document the mission and share it with the world on his YouTube channel with over 700,000 subscribers. Roscosmos said Maezawa would make the flight from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with production assistant Yozo Hirano aboard a Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft that is scheduled for December 8. "I'm so curious 'What's life like in space?' So, I am planning to find out on my own and share with the world on my YouTube channel," Maezawa was quoted as saying by Roscosmos. The eccentric billionaire has previously announced plans to take eight people with him on a 2023 mission around the moon aboard a Starship spacecraft built by Musk's SpaceX. Maezawa and film producer Hirano will begin approximately three months of pre-flight training in June at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City outside of Moscow, Roscosmos added. They have already passed the required medical examinations, it said. Roscosmos said the flight will last 12 days and the crew will be led by Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, who has already been on two missions to the ISS. A total of eight private self-funded space travellers have visited the ISS and Maezawa will be the first from Japan. His flight will also be the first time that two of the three spots on a Soyuz space rocket will be occupied by tourists. "We are excited for Maezawa-san and we are honoured to have enabled this opportunity for him to fly to space," said Eric Anderson, CEO of Space Adventures, a private spaceflight company. It has cooperated with Roscosmos since the first space tourist flight in 2001. Maezawa will be the first space tourist to travel to the ISS since 2009 when Canadian Guy Laliberte, co-founder of Cirque du Soleil, travelled to the station. According to Forbes magazine, space tourists could pay anywhere between $20 million and $35 million per person for 8-12 days in space. The cost of Maezawa's flight has not been disclosed. The resumption of tourist flights comes after Roscosmos lost its monopoly on ferrying crews to the ISS when a reusable SpaceX rocket last year successfully delivered NASA astronauts to space. Russia's space industry has suffered a number of setbacks in recent years, from corruption scandals to lost spacecraft to an aborted take-off during a manned mission in 2018. Russia's ageing Soyuz rockets are reliable and allow Moscow to remain relevant in the modern space industry, but the country is struggling to innovate and keep up with other key players. Russia launched the first artificial satellite on October 4, 1957. The Soviets maintained their lead in the initial years of the race. They boasted the first manned flight to space by Gagarin on April 12, 1961, the first spacewalk four years later by Alexei Leonov and the first lunar probe in 1966. But the United States beat them to the moon with the first manned landing in 1969. (With inputs from agencies)

Roscosmos to send film crew to space for first feature film

<p>Elon Musk's SpaceX announced Thursday that Google would team up with its Starlink satellite internet service to deliver cloud computing services to business customers.</p>

<p>Under the partnership, SpaceX will place its Starlink ground stations within Google data center properties, which can help the service support businesses requiring cloud-based applications.</p>

<p>Starlink is in the process of launching its satellite broadband internet service, which can reach customers without ground-based connections and is one of several space-based systems.</p>

<p>"Combining Starlink's high-speed, low-latency broadband with Google's infrastructure and capabilities provides global organizations with the secure and fast connection that modern organizations expect," said SpaceX president and chief operating officer&nbsp;Gwynne Shotwell.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"We are proud to work with Google to deliver this access to businesses, public sector organizations, and many other groups operating around the world."</p>

<p>Urs Hoelzle, senior vice president at Google Cloud, said the tie-up would help ensure "that organisations with distributed footprints have seamless, secure, and fast access to the critical applications and services they need to keep their teams up and running."</p>

<p>This new capability for enterprise customers is expected to be available in the second half of 2021, the companies said in a joint statement.</p>

<p>SpaceX is seeking regulatory approval for broadband service for both consumers and businesses around the world from thousands of satellites.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Elon Musk's SpaceX announced Thursday that Google would team up with its Starlink satellite internet service to deliver cloud computing services to business customers.

Elon Musk's SpaceX announced Thursday that Google would team up with its Starlink satellite internet service to deliver cloud computing services to business customers. Under the partnership, SpaceX will place its Starlink ground stations within Google data center properties, which can help the service support businesses requiring cloud-based applications. Starlink is in the process of launching its satellite broadband internet service, which can reach customers without ground-based connections and is one of several space-based systems. "Combining Starlink's high-speed, low-latency broadband with Google's infrastructure and capabilities provides global organizations with the secure and fast connection that modern organizations expect," said SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell. "We are proud to work with Google to deliver this access to businesses, public sector organizations, and many other groups operating around the world." Urs Hoelzle, senior vice president at Google Cloud, said the tie-up would help ensure "that organisations with distributed footprints have seamless, secure, and fast access to the critical applications and services they need to keep their teams up and running." This new capability for enterprise customers is expected to be available in the second half of 2021, the companies said in a joint statement. SpaceX is seeking regulatory approval for broadband service for both consumers and businesses around the world from thousands of satellites. (With inputs from agencies)

Elon Musk's SpaceX signs deal with Google Cloud for satellite broadband

<p>Observing an increase in climate-harming emissions, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/elon-musk?page=1">Elon Musk’s</a> electric car company, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/tesla">Tesla</a>, has decided to temporary suspend payment for cars with bitcoin.</p>

<p>"Tesla has suspended vehicle purchase using Bitcoin. We are concerned about the rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel," Musk&nbsp;said in a statement.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Tesla &amp; Bitcoin <a href="https://t.co/YSswJmVZhP">pic.twitter.com/YSswJmVZhP</a></p>
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1392602041025843203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 12, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-elon-musk-reveals-he-has-asperger%E2%80%99s-syndrome-on-%E2%80%98saturday-night-live%E2%80%99-383885" hreflang="en">Elon Musk reveals he has Asperger’s syndrome on ‘Saturday Night Live’</a></strong></p>

<p>Recently, Tesla shifted towards fulfilling its owner’s dream of making electric cars mainstream and tried to drive people away from combustion engines pumping out emissions contributing to climate change.</p>

<p>In a bid to give a boost to digital currency, in March, the electric car company started accepting bitcoin in exchange for electric cars from Tesla.</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/elon-musks-tesla-says-it-appears-driver-was-at-the-wheel-in-crash-380728" hreflang="en">Elon Musk's Tesla says it appears driver was at the wheel in crash</a></strong></p>

<p>"Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future, but this can not come at great cost to the environment," the statement read.</p>

<p>Musk also said that Tesla will not be selling any of its bitcoin and will wait to resume bitcoin purchases and sales only after "mining transitions to more sustainable energy".</p>

<p>Meanwhile, the company is also looking at other options in digital currency that do not harm the environment like bitcoin.</p>


Observing an increase in climate-harming emissions, Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, has decided to temporary suspend payment for cars with bitcoin. "Tesla has suspended vehicle purchase using Bitcoin.

Observing an increase in climate-harming emissions, Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, has decided to temporary suspend payment for cars with bitcoin. "Tesla has suspended vehicle purchase using Bitcoin. We are concerned about the rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel," Musk said in a statement. Tesla & Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/YSswJmVZhP — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 12, 2021 × Also read | Elon Musk reveals he has Asperger’s syndrome on ‘Saturday Night Live’ Recently, Tesla shifted towards fulfilling its owner’s dream of making electric cars mainstream and tried to drive people away from combustion engines pumping out emissions contributing to climate change. In a bid to give a boost to digital currency, in March, the electric car company started accepting bitcoin in exchange for electric cars from Tesla. Also read | Elon Musk's Tesla says it appears driver was at the wheel in crash "Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future, but this can not come at great cost to the environment," the statement read. Musk also said that Tesla will not be selling any of its bitcoin and will wait to resume bitcoin purchases and sales only after "mining transitions to more sustainable energy". Meanwhile, the company is also looking at other options in digital currency that do not harm the environment like bitcoin.

Elon Musk's Tesla halts bitcoin purchases amid concerns of increasing carbon emissions

<p>Japanese billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano will be the next tourists to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), Russia's space agency Roscosmos said Thursday.</p>

<p>Maezawa and Hirano will travel aboard a Russian "Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft that is scheduled for launch on December 8, 2021 from the Baikonur cosmodrome" in Kazakhstan, the agency said in a statement.</p>

<p>Maezawa, 45, who made his fortune in online retail, also plans to participate in a 2023 mission around the moon aboard a Starship spacecraft of SpaceX, the Roscosmos rival of US billionaire Elon Musk.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Maezawa and film producer Hirano, who will be documenting the mission, will begin pre-flight training in June at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, a closed town outside of Moscow, Roscosmos added.</p>

<p>It said that the flight will last 12 days and the crew will be led by Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin.</p>

<p>"I'm so curious 'what's life like in space?' So, I am planning to find out on my own and share with the world on my YouTube channel," Maezawa said, as quoted by Roscosmos.</p>

<p>It will be the first time that two of the three spots on a Soyuz space rocket will be occupied by tourists.</p>

<p>The last time Roscosmos took a tourist to the ISS was in 2009, with the flight of Canadian Guy Laliberte, co-founder of Cirque du Soleil.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The resumption of these tourist flights comes as Roscosmos lost its monopoly for ferrying crews to the ISS after a reusable SpaceX rocket last year successfully delivered NASA astronauts to space.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Japanese billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano will be the next tourists to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), Russia's space agency Roscosmos said Thursday.

Japanese billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano will be the next tourists to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), Russia's space agency Roscosmos said Thursday. Maezawa and Hirano will travel aboard a Russian "Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft that is scheduled for launch on December 8, 2021 from the Baikonur cosmodrome" in Kazakhstan, the agency said in a statement. Maezawa, 45, who made his fortune in online retail, also plans to participate in a 2023 mission around the moon aboard a Starship spacecraft of SpaceX, the Roscosmos rival of US billionaire Elon Musk. Maezawa and film producer Hirano, who will be documenting the mission, will begin pre-flight training in June at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, a closed town outside of Moscow, Roscosmos added. It said that the flight will last 12 days and the crew will be led by Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin. "I'm so curious 'what's life like in space?' So, I am planning to find out on my own and share with the world on my YouTube channel," Maezawa said, as quoted by Roscosmos. It will be the first time that two of the three spots on a Soyuz space rocket will be occupied by tourists. The last time Roscosmos took a tourist to the ISS was in 2009, with the flight of Canadian Guy Laliberte, co-founder of Cirque du Soleil. The resumption of these tourist flights comes as Roscosmos lost its monopoly for ferrying crews to the ISS after a reusable SpaceX rocket last year successfully delivered NASA astronauts to space. (With inputs from agencies)

Japanese billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa to travel to International Space Station

<p>A senior executive at Goldman Sachs in London has quit the US investment bank after making millions from investing in Dogecoin, the joke crypto-asset which has risen by more than 1,000 per cent in value this year.</p>

<p>According to the media reports, a spokesman for Goldman Sachs confirmed Aziz McMahon, a managing director and head of emerging market sales based in London, has left the investment bank. But the spokesman also said that he had no knowledge of the investment in dogecoin.<br />
<br />
He graduated from Trinity College in Dublin with a master’s degree in Economics in 1998.</p>

<p>The Guardian newspaper reported McMahon made the money investing on his own personal account and wasn’t involved in trading cryptocurrencies for Goldman Sachs. While not much is known about the amount McMahon reportedly made, the newspaper cites unnamed sources claiming it was a “substantial sum.”</p>

<p>A report in eFinancialCareers suggested he might be starting a hedge fund, but it did not provide any information backing those claims.</p>

<p>SpaceX and Tesla chief Elon Musk's favourite cryptocurrency has gone up more than 130-fold this year. SpaceX announced the "DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon" in the first quarter of next year, with Musk's commercial rocket company accepting the meme-inspired cryptocurrency Dogecoin as payment.</p>

<p>However, Dogecoin lost more than a third of its price on May 9, after Musk called it a "hustle" during his guest-host spot on the Saturday Night Live (SNL) comedy sketch TV show.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


A senior executive at Goldman Sachs in London has quit the US investment bank after making millions from investing in Dogecoin, the joke crypto-asset which has risen by more than 1,000 per cent in value this year.

A senior executive at Goldman Sachs in London has quit the US investment bank after making millions from investing in Dogecoin, the joke crypto-asset which has risen by more than 1,000 per cent in value this year. According to the media reports, a spokesman for Goldman Sachs confirmed Aziz McMahon, a managing director and head of emerging market sales based in London, has left the investment bank. But the spokesman also said that he had no knowledge of the investment in dogecoin. He graduated from Trinity College in Dublin with a master’s degree in Economics in 1998. The Guardian newspaper reported McMahon made the money investing on his own personal account and wasn’t involved in trading cryptocurrencies for Goldman Sachs. While not much is known about the amount McMahon reportedly made, the newspaper cites unnamed sources claiming it was a “substantial sum.” A report in eFinancialCareers suggested he might be starting a hedge fund, but it did not provide any information backing those claims. SpaceX and Tesla chief Elon Musk's favourite cryptocurrency has gone up more than 130-fold this year. SpaceX announced the "DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon" in the first quarter of next year, with Musk's commercial rocket company accepting the meme-inspired cryptocurrency Dogecoin as payment. However, Dogecoin lost more than a third of its price on May 9, after Musk called it a "hustle" during his guest-host spot on the Saturday Night Live (SNL) comedy sketch TV show. (With inputs from agencies)

Goldman Sachs director quits after making millions from Dogecoin: Report

<p>Elon Musk may have brought the house down with his super hosting gig on 'Saturday Night Live' but Musk and his girlfriend Grimes had a brief run at the hospital soon after.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
During one of the sketches, Musk, 49, played the Nintendo character Wario while his girlfriend, Grimes, made a small cameo as Princess Peach.<br />
<br />
Later on Tuesday, in a post shared on Instagram, Grimes revealed that she had suffered a panic attack and was hospitalised briefly.</p>

<p>"Forgot to post these cuz I somehow caused myself to have a panic attack and went to the hospital yesterday which tbh was quite scary and I suppose it’s a good time to start therapy," she revealed.<br />
<br />
It seems that she suffered an attack on Monday, days after&nbsp;her 'SNL' debut and that her gig had nothing to do with it.<br />
<br />
Her post contained a pair of photos of herself in costume with Miley Cyrus, who served as the musical guest on the popular late-night sketch show. Musk and Grimes later parted with Cyrus post their SNL gig.<br />
<br />
Grimes praised both Cyrus and Musk in her social media post.</p>

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<p>"But nonetheless - wowwwww @mileycyrus is good live and so chill!" the musician continued. "So grateful to the SNL team for being so kind and letting me sneak in as princess peach snd so proud of my beautiful E (which I know will upset the grimes fans so I apologize in advance) but he killed it."</p>


Elon Musk may have brought the house down with his super hosting gig on 'Saturday Night Live' but Musk and his girlfriend Grimes had a brief run at the hospital soon after.

Elon Musk may have brought the house down with his super hosting gig on 'Saturday Night Live' but Musk and his girlfriend Grimes had a brief run at the hospital soon after. During one of the sketches, Musk, 49, played the Nintendo character Wario while his girlfriend, Grimes, made a small cameo as Princess Peach. Later on Tuesday, in a post shared on Instagram, Grimes revealed that she had suffered a panic attack and was hospitalised briefly. "Forgot to post these cuz I somehow caused myself to have a panic attack and went to the hospital yesterday which tbh was quite scary and I suppose it’s a good time to start therapy," she revealed. It seems that she suffered an attack on Monday, days after her 'SNL' debut and that her gig had nothing to do with it. Her post contained a pair of photos of herself in costume with Miley Cyrus, who served as the musical guest on the popular late-night sketch show. Musk and Grimes later parted with Cyrus post their SNL gig. Grimes praised both Cyrus and Musk in her social media post. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ☘︎𝔊𝔯𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰࿎ (@grimes) × "But nonetheless - wowwwww @mileycyrus is good live and so chill!" the musician continued. "So grateful to the SNL team for being so kind and letting me sneak in as princess peach snd so proud of my beautiful E (which I know will upset the grimes fans so I apologize in advance) but he killed it."

Elon Musk's girlfriend Grimes was hospitalised due to panic attack days after 'SNL' debut 

<p>Elon Musk's hosting debut on 'Saturday Night! Live' seems to have been lapped up by the audience. The SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO`s hosting gig brought the NBC late-night mainstay its third-highest ratings of the season.<br />
<br />
According to Variety, the May 8 edition of `SNL` averaged a 4.8 household rating in Nielsen`s overnight metered markets and a 2.7 rating in adults 18-49.That put Musk`s episode at no. 3 behind Dave Chappelle`s outing as host on November 7 and the October 3 season premiere fronted by Chris Rock.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
Musk tied the ratings mark set October 24 with the episode hosted by Adele with H.E.R. in the music slot.<br />
<br />
During the show, Musk made headlines by revealing that he has Asperger syndrome during his opening monologue on the show. He marked the rare choice of a business world personality to host the NBC late-night institution although his pop-culture profile has grown in recent years thanks to some of his antics and business ventures, all of which were spoofed on `SNL`.<br />
<br />
Musk`s prominence in social media and his status as one of the world`s wealthiest moguls boosted interest in his appearance on the sketch comedy series.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
For the first time ever, `SNL` was also live-streamed on YouTube in more than 100 countries. Musk has been scolded by financial regulators for his pronouncements about his publicly held businesses in unusual channels for a CEO.&nbsp;</p>

<p>During his monologue, he joked about 'SNL' being live and the risk that posed for him. He said, "I could say something truly shocking -- like I drive of Prius."<br />
<br />
The most recent `SNL` original, the April 10 edition hosted by `Promising Young Woman` star Carey Mulligan, averaged 3.6 ratings in 44 overnight metered markets that measure late-night weekend viewership, and a 1.5 in adults 18-49.NBC noted that `SNL` to date is enjoying its most-watched season in four years based on total viewers with an average of 12.6 million across 17 episodes to date.<br />
<br />
&nbsp;As per Variety, `SNL` will close out its 46th season with two more original episodes: May 15 with host Keegan-Michael Key and musical guest Olivia Rodrigo and the May 22 finale with host Anna Taylor-Joy and musical guest Lil Nas X.&nbsp;</p>


Elon Musk's hosting debut on 'Saturday Night! Live' seems to have been lapped up by the audience. The SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO`s hosting gig brought the NBC late-night mainstay its third-highest ratings of the season.

Elon Musk's hosting debut on 'Saturday Night! Live' seems to have been lapped up by the audience. The SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO`s hosting gig brought the NBC late-night mainstay its third-highest ratings of the season. According to Variety, the May 8 edition of `SNL` averaged a 4.8 household rating in Nielsen`s overnight metered markets and a 2.7 rating in adults 18-49.That put Musk`s episode at no. 3 behind Dave Chappelle`s outing as host on November 7 and the October 3 season premiere fronted by Chris Rock. Musk tied the ratings mark set October 24 with the episode hosted by Adele with H.E.R. in the music slot. During the show, Musk made headlines by revealing that he has Asperger syndrome during his opening monologue on the show. He marked the rare choice of a business world personality to host the NBC late-night institution although his pop-culture profile has grown in recent years thanks to some of his antics and business ventures, all of which were spoofed on `SNL`. Musk`s prominence in social media and his status as one of the world`s wealthiest moguls boosted interest in his appearance on the sketch comedy series. For the first time ever, `SNL` was also live-streamed on YouTube in more than 100 countries. Musk has been scolded by financial regulators for his pronouncements about his publicly held businesses in unusual channels for a CEO. During his monologue, he joked about 'SNL' being live and the risk that posed for him. He said, "I could say something truly shocking -- like I drive of Prius." The most recent `SNL` original, the April 10 edition hosted by `Promising Young Woman` star Carey Mulligan, averaged 3.6 ratings in 44 overnight metered markets that measure late-night weekend viewership, and a 1.5 in adults 18-49.NBC noted that `SNL` to date is enjoying its most-watched season in four years based on total viewers with an average of 12.6 million across 17 episodes to date. As per Variety, `SNL` will close out its 46th season with two more original episodes: May 15 with host Keegan-Michael Key and musical guest Olivia Rodrigo and the May 22 finale with host Anna Taylor-Joy and musical guest Lil Nas X.

Elon Musk's hosting gig lifts ratings for 'Saturday Night Live'

<p>A string of lights that lobbed across the night sky in parts of the US on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday had some people wondering if a fleet of UFOs was coming, but it had others, mostly amateur stargazers and professional astronomers, lamenting the industrialisation of space.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The train of lights was actually a series of relatively low-flying satellites launched by Elon Musk's SpaceX as part of its Starlink internet service earlier this week. Callers swamped TV stations from Texas to Wisconsin reporting the lights and musing about UFOs.&nbsp;</p>

<p>An email to a spokesman for SpaceX was not returned on Saturday, but astronomy experts said the number of lights in quick succession and their distance from Earth made them easily identifiable as Starlink satellites for those, who are used to seeing them. &nbsp;</p>

<p>"The way you can tell they are Starlink satellites is they are like a string of pearls, these lights travelling in the same basic orbit, one right after the other," said Dr Richard Fienberg, press officer for the American Astronomical Society.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Fienberg said the satellites that are being launched in large groups called constellations string together when they orbit, especially right after launching. The strings get smaller as time goes on.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This month, SpaceX has already launched dozens of satellites. It is all part of a plan to bridge the digital divide and bring internet access to underserved areas of the world, with SpaceX tentatively scheduled to launch another 120 satellites later in the month. Overall, the company has sent about 1,500 satellites into orbit and has asked for permission to launch thousands more.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;</em></p>


A string of lights that lobbed across the night sky in parts of the US on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday had some people wondering if a fleet of UFOs was coming, but it had others, mostly amateur stargazers and professional astronomers, lamenting the industrialisation of space.

A string of lights that lobbed across the night sky in parts of the US on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday had some people wondering if a fleet of UFOs was coming, but it had others, mostly amateur stargazers and professional astronomers, lamenting the industrialisation of space. The train of lights was actually a series of relatively low-flying satellites launched by Elon Musk's SpaceX as part of its Starlink internet service earlier this week. Callers swamped TV stations from Texas to Wisconsin reporting the lights and musing about UFOs. An email to a spokesman for SpaceX was not returned on Saturday, but astronomy experts said the number of lights in quick succession and their distance from Earth made them easily identifiable as Starlink satellites for those, who are used to seeing them. "The way you can tell they are Starlink satellites is they are like a string of pearls, these lights travelling in the same basic orbit, one right after the other," said Dr Richard Fienberg, press officer for the American Astronomical Society. Fienberg said the satellites that are being launched in large groups called constellations string together when they orbit, especially right after launching. The strings get smaller as time goes on. This month, SpaceX has already launched dozens of satellites. It is all part of a plan to bridge the digital divide and bring internet access to underserved areas of the world, with SpaceX tentatively scheduled to launch another 120 satellites later in the month. Overall, the company has sent about 1,500 satellites into orbit and has asked for permission to launch thousands more. (With inputs from agencies)

String of satellites baffles residents, bugs astronomers 

<p>Billionaire Elon Musk dropped a surprise early in his hotly anticipated turn as host of "Saturday Night Live," saying in his monologue that he "is the first person with Asperger`s" to host the show, before clowning through skits for the first global live stream of the NBCUniversal comedy show.<br />
<br />
Musk, one of the world`s richest individuals, opened his monologue by telling an audience in more than 100 countries he is "the first person with Asperger`s to host SNL. At least the first to admit it." The billionaire poked fun at himself, saying "I`m pretty good at running human in emulation mode."<br />
Asperger syndrome is a condition on the autism spectrum that is associated with difficulty in social interaction and sometimes is referred to as high functioning autism.<br />
<br />
Throughout the show, Musk gently poked fun at himself, including his penchant for provocative tweets and his one-time choice to smoke a joint on a podcast.<br />
<br />
"To anyone I’ve offended I just want to say, I reinvented electric cars and send people to Mars on a rocket ship. Did you think I would be a Joe normal dude?"<br />
<br />
Musk`s mother, Mae, joined him on stage and the two made a joke about Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency Musk has touted.<br />
Anticipation of Musk`s "Saturday Night Live" appearance excited investors in cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin, a digital currency with a shiba inu dog as its avatar. Dogecoin prices had surged ahead of Musk`s television appearance.<br />
<br />
Musk will keep his day jobs. Still, the "Saturday Night Live" appearance turned out to be an extension of his gigs as "technoking" and Chief Executive of Tesla Inc and head of rocket launch company SpaceX.<br />
<br />
Musk got days of attention across all forms of media ahead of the show, and shared the spotlight with a prototype of Tesla`s futuristic Cybertruck that Tesla brought to Manhattan on Friday. Video of the hulking, angular pickup prowling Manhattan streets blew up on social media.<br />
<br />
Musk often boasts that Tesla doesn`t spend billions on advertising the way established automakers do. He doesn`t have to so long as he has access to platforms like Twitter or "Saturday Night Live."<br />
<br />
Musk`s appearance also boosted NBCUniversal. The media company used Musk`s global celebrity - and the controversy surrounding his appearance on a stage normally reserved for film stars or professional comedians - to get attention for launching the "Saturday Night Live" franchise beyond the confines of broadcast television. The company said Saturday`s show was streamed live via Alphabet Inc`s YouTube to more than 100 countries.</p>


Billionaire Elon Musk dropped a surprise early in his hotly anticipated turn as host of "Saturday Night Live," saying in his monologue that he "is the first person with Asperger`s" to host the show, before clowning through skits for the first global live stream of the NBCUniversal comedy show.

Billionaire Elon Musk dropped a surprise early in his hotly anticipated turn as host of "Saturday Night Live," saying in his monologue that he "is the first person with Asperger`s" to host the show, before clowning through skits for the first global live stream of the NBCUniversal comedy show. Musk, one of the world`s richest individuals, opened his monologue by telling an audience in more than 100 countries he is "the first person with Asperger`s to host SNL. At least the first to admit it." The billionaire poked fun at himself, saying "I`m pretty good at running human in emulation mode." Asperger syndrome is a condition on the autism spectrum that is associated with difficulty in social interaction and sometimes is referred to as high functioning autism. Throughout the show, Musk gently poked fun at himself, including his penchant for provocative tweets and his one-time choice to smoke a joint on a podcast. "To anyone I’ve offended I just want to say, I reinvented electric cars and send people to Mars on a rocket ship. Did you think I would be a Joe normal dude?" Musk`s mother, Mae, joined him on stage and the two made a joke about Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency Musk has touted. Anticipation of Musk`s "Saturday Night Live" appearance excited investors in cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin, a digital currency with a shiba inu dog as its avatar. Dogecoin prices had surged ahead of Musk`s television appearance. Musk will keep his day jobs. Still, the "Saturday Night Live" appearance turned out to be an extension of his gigs as "technoking" and Chief Executive of Tesla Inc and head of rocket launch company SpaceX. Musk got days of attention across all forms of media ahead of the show, and shared the spotlight with a prototype of Tesla`s futuristic Cybertruck that Tesla brought to Manhattan on Friday. Video of the hulking, angular pickup prowling Manhattan streets blew up on social media. Musk often boasts that Tesla doesn`t spend billions on advertising the way established automakers do. He doesn`t have to so long as he has access to platforms like Twitter or "Saturday Night Live." Musk`s appearance also boosted NBCUniversal. The media company used Musk`s global celebrity - and the controversy surrounding his appearance on a stage normally reserved for film stars or professional comedians - to get attention for launching the "Saturday Night Live" franchise beyond the confines of broadcast television. The company said Saturday`s show was streamed live via Alphabet Inc`s YouTube to more than 100 countries.

Elon Musk boosts his brand, and NBCUniversal's, on 'Saturday Night Live'

<p>On Saturday, Elon Muck made his controversial Saturday Night live debut.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
The entrepreneur and the world’s richest man appeared on the sketch show, which was live-streamed internationally via YouTube in more than 100 countries. The moment becomes a historic occasion for the long-running sketch show as it was the first time ever the show was live-streamed internationally.<br />
<br />
During his opening monologue, Musk called himself to be the first person with Asperger syndrome to host the 'SNL'.<br />
<br />
“It’s an honor to be hosting Saturday Night Live, I mean that,” Elon said. “Sometimes after I say something, I have to say I mean that so people really know I mean it. That’s because I’ve always had a lot of intonational variation when I speak, which I’ve been told makes for great comedy.”<br />
<br />
“I’m actually making history tonight as the first person with Asperger’s to host SNL. Or at least the first to admit it,” Elon said.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="fr">Monologue! 💫 <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elonmusk</a> <a href="https://t.co/xeH1EOU79A">pic.twitter.com/xeH1EOU79A</a></p>
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) <a href="https://twitter.com/nbcsnl/status/1391242333467947014?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<p>Later in the monologue, the 49-year-old&nbsp;Tesla CEO&nbsp;also joked about his and Grimes‘ son X Æ A-XII name, saying it’s “pronounced like a cat running across a keyboard,”. For the unversed, last year, the unusual name of their son become the talk of the world. (Musk &nbsp;pronounces it as ' X Ash A Twelve')<br />
<br />
Although, later everyone pointed out that Elon is not the first person with Asperger’s to host the show. Previous cast member Dan Aykroyd also had Asperger’s and he hosted the show in 2003.<br />
<br />
As it was mother's day special, Elon was joined by his mother Maye Musk on stage. By mentioning cryptocurrency Dogecoin in their chat, her mother said, ''I'm excited (about) my mother's day gift. I just hope it's not Dogecoin," Maye told her son.&nbsp;"It is. It sure is," Musk replied.</p>


On Saturday, Elon Muck made his controversial Saturday Night live debut. The entrepreneur and the world’s richest man appeared on the sketch show, which was live-streamed internationally via YouTube in more than 100 countries.

On Saturday, Elon Muck made his controversial Saturday Night live debut. The entrepreneur and the world’s richest man appeared on the sketch show, which was live-streamed internationally via YouTube in more than 100 countries. The moment becomes a historic occasion for the long-running sketch show as it was the first time ever the show was live-streamed internationally. During his opening monologue, Musk called himself to be the first person with Asperger syndrome to host the 'SNL'. “It’s an honor to be hosting Saturday Night Live, I mean that,” Elon said. “Sometimes after I say something, I have to say I mean that so people really know I mean it. That’s because I’ve always had a lot of intonational variation when I speak, which I’ve been told makes for great comedy.” “I’m actually making history tonight as the first person with Asperger’s to host SNL. Or at least the first to admit it,” Elon said. Monologue! 💫 @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/xeH1EOU79A — Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) May 9, 2021 × Later in the monologue, the 49-year-old Tesla CEO also joked about his and Grimes‘ son X Æ A-XII name, saying it’s “pronounced like a cat running across a keyboard,”. For the unversed, last year, the unusual name of their son become the talk of the world. (Musk pronounces it as ' X Ash A Twelve') Although, later everyone pointed out that Elon is not the first person with Asperger’s to host the show. Previous cast member Dan Aykroyd also had Asperger’s and he hosted the show in 2003. As it was mother's day special, Elon was joined by his mother Maye Musk on stage. By mentioning cryptocurrency Dogecoin in their chat, her mother said, ''I'm excited (about) my mother's day gift. I just hope it's not Dogecoin," Maye told her son. "It is. It sure is," Musk replied.

Elon Musk reveals he has Asperger’s syndrome on ‘Saturday Night Live’

<p>Tesla and SpaceX CEO was at his hilarious best as he hosted the popular American TV show ‘Saturday Night Live’ for the first time, acknowledging that his public comments on Twitter do get him in trouble at times.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Appearing alongside American singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus to host the late-night comedy show on NBC Television that was streamed in over 100 countries including India for the first time, Musk said, "Sometimes after I say something I have to say, 'I mean that,'.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He pointed to his ‘69 days after 4/20 again haha’ tweet but didn’t mention the 2018 tweet that got him in trouble with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reports The Verge.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Musk revealed that he was the first person with Asperger Syndrome to host SNL.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Asperger Syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a neuro-developmental disorder characterised by significant difficulties in social interaction and non-verbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour and interests.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Throughout the TV show, Musk joked and poked fun at himself, saying that people sometimes don't know what to expect from him.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"I reinvented electric cars and I'm sending people to Mars on a rocket ship. Did you think I was going to be a chill, normal dude?" He told the viewers.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He said that his famous appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast where he smoked weed wasn't his usual habit.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Musk also said the name of his youngest child from musician-singer Grimes, spelled X AE A-12, is "pronounced 'cat running across keyboard’."&nbsp;</p>

<p>Musk's mother Faye also made an appearance during the programme.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"I'm excited for my Mother's Day gift, I just hope it's not Dogecoin," she said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>To which Elon replied, "it is."&nbsp;</p>

<p>However, Dogecoin, which is fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market value and promoted by Musk fell sharply during his show.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;</em></p>


Tesla and SpaceX CEO was at his hilarious best as he hosted the popular American TV show ‘Saturday Night Live’ for the first time, acknowledging that his public comments on Twitter do get him in trouble at times.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO was at his hilarious best as he hosted the popular American TV show ‘Saturday Night Live’ for the first time, acknowledging that his public comments on Twitter do get him in trouble at times. Appearing alongside American singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus to host the late-night comedy show on NBC Television that was streamed in over 100 countries including India for the first time, Musk said, "Sometimes after I say something I have to say, 'I mean that,'. He pointed to his ‘69 days after 4/20 again haha’ tweet but didn’t mention the 2018 tweet that got him in trouble with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reports The Verge. Musk revealed that he was the first person with Asperger Syndrome to host SNL. Asperger Syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a neuro-developmental disorder characterised by significant difficulties in social interaction and non-verbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour and interests. Throughout the TV show, Musk joked and poked fun at himself, saying that people sometimes don't know what to expect from him. "I reinvented electric cars and I'm sending people to Mars on a rocket ship. Did you think I was going to be a chill, normal dude?" He told the viewers. He said that his famous appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast where he smoked weed wasn't his usual habit. Musk also said the name of his youngest child from musician-singer Grimes, spelled X AE A-12, is "pronounced 'cat running across keyboard’." Musk's mother Faye also made an appearance during the programme. "I'm excited for my Mother's Day gift, I just hope it's not Dogecoin," she said. To which Elon replied, "it is." However, Dogecoin, which is fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market value and promoted by Musk fell sharply during his show. (With inputs from agencies)

Musk pokes fun at himself, admits Twitter puts him in trouble 

<p>Elon Musk is making his Saturday Night Live hosting debut this week. Following it, the makers released the first teaser featuring Musk.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
In the video, Musk is joined by Miley Cyrus, who will be the musical guest for the evening and a cast member Cecily Strong. In a new promo video, released, Elon and Miley teases what to expect from the most awaited and talked episode.</p>

<p><a href="http://13.235.153.162/entertainment/hollywood/news-not-all-saturday-night-live-cast-members-are-thrilled-to-see-elon-musk-as-a-host-380762">Not all 'Saturday Night Live' cast members are thrilled to see Elon Musk as a host</a><br />
<br />
Amid all the controversy surrounding his hosting. In the clip, Elon says&nbsp;“Hi, I’m Elon Musk, and I’m hosting SNL this week with musical guest Miley Cyrus. And I’m a wild card, so there’s no telling what I may do,” Elon says in the clip. Miley then adds, “Same here. Rules? No thanks.”</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">ELON MUSK. MILEY CYRUS.<br />
THIS SATURDAY <a href="https://t.co/6miGBj90XJ">pic.twitter.com/6miGBj90XJ</a></p>
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) <a href="https://twitter.com/nbcsnl/status/1390474854722424847?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<p>By reminding them of Mother's day and the presence of their mom's, Cecily says, “Well, it’s also the Mother’s Day show so your moms are going to be here.” Miley then says, “Ugh, forget what I said.” To which Miley says, “Ugh, forget what I said.” and Elon promises that he will be good, “Fine, we’ll be good… ish.”</p>

<p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/mothers-day-special-famous-music-star-moms-and-daughters-383230">Mother's Day special: Famous music star moms and daughters</a><br />
<br />
In the clip, The Tesla founder wore an all-black ensemble with a bandana tied around his face as a face mask, while Miley is in a red boa with a black face mask, and Strong wore a black silk dress with a mask.</p>


Elon Musk is making his Saturday Night Live hosting debut this week. Following it, the makers released the first teaser featuring Musk. In the video, Musk is joined by Miley Cyrus, who will be the musical guest for the evening and a cast member Cecily Strong.

Elon Musk is making his Saturday Night Live hosting debut this week. Following it, the makers released the first teaser featuring Musk. In the video, Musk is joined by Miley Cyrus, who will be the musical guest for the evening and a cast member Cecily Strong. In a new promo video, released, Elon and Miley teases what to expect from the most awaited and talked episode. Not all 'Saturday Night Live' cast members are thrilled to see Elon Musk as a host Amid all the controversy surrounding his hosting. In the clip, Elon says “Hi, I’m Elon Musk, and I’m hosting SNL this week with musical guest Miley Cyrus. And I’m a wild card, so there’s no telling what I may do,” Elon says in the clip. Miley then adds, “Same here. Rules? No thanks.” ELON MUSK. MILEY CYRUS. THIS SATURDAY pic.twitter.com/6miGBj90XJ — Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) May 7, 2021 × By reminding them of Mother's day and the presence of their mom's, Cecily says, “Well, it’s also the Mother’s Day show so your moms are going to be here.” Miley then says, “Ugh, forget what I said.” To which Miley says, “Ugh, forget what I said.” and Elon promises that he will be good, “Fine, we’ll be good… ish.” Mother's Day special: Famous music star moms and daughters In the clip, The Tesla founder wore an all-black ensemble with a bandana tied around his face as a face mask, while Miley is in a red boa with a black face mask, and Strong wore a black silk dress with a mask.

'SNL' promo: Elon Musk and Miley Cyrus promise to be 'good-ish'

<p>SpaceX managed to land its prototype Starship rocket at its Texas base without blowing it up on Wednesday, the first time it has succeeded in doing so in five attempts.</p>

<p>The test flight represents a major win for the hard-charging company, which eventually wants to carry crew inside Starship for missions to Mars.</p>

<p>"Starship landing nominal!" tweeted founder Elon Musk triumphantly, after the last four tries ended in big explosions.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Starship landing nominal!</p>
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1390073153347592192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<p>"Nominal" means normal in the context of spaceflight.</p>

<p>The execution wasn't quite perfect, with a small fire engulfing the base of the 50 meter- (160 feet-) high rocket, dubbed SN15, shortly after landing.</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/international-space-station-astronauts-splashdown-off-florida-on-spacex-craft-382170">International Space Station astronauts splashdown off Florida on SpaceX craft</a></strong></p>

<p>SpaceX webcaster John Insprucker explained this was "not unusual with the methane fuel we're using," adding engineers were still working out design issues.</p>

<p>The flames were quickly put out with water cannons, footage showed.</p>

<p>Earlier, the rocket took off at around 5:25 pm local time (2225 GMT) from the Starbase in Boca Chica in southern Texas, reached an altitude of 10 kilometers (6 miles) and performed a series of maneuvers, including a horizontal descent called a "belly flop."</p>

<p>SpaceX was facing added pressure to succeed with Wednesday's flight after NASA last month announced a version of Starship will be used as a lunar lander when the space agency returns humans to the Moon.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But the $2.9 billion contract is currently suspended after two rival companies, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Dynetics, lodged a protest.</p>

<p>Nevertheless, if the award is eventually confirmed, it will transform Starship from Musk's pet project to a major tax payer-funded venture, with all the scrutiny that entails.</p>

<p>The first two flight tests of Starship, SN8 and SN9, both crash landed and exploded when they launched in December and February, respectively.</p>

<p>The next, SN10, successfully landed then blew up a few minutes later on March 3.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The video feed cut out during the test flight of the fourth, SN11, with Musk later confirming it too had exploded, this time in mid-flight.</p>

<p>Eventually, SpaceX plans to combine the Starship spaceship with a Super Heavy rocket, creating a fully reusable system to explore deep into our solar system.</p>

<p>This final version will stand 394 feet (120 meters) tall and will be able to carry 100 metric tonnes into Earth orbit -- the most powerful launch vehicle ever developed.</p>

<p>Musk wants to use this to help realize his goal of transforming humanity into a multiplanetary species with a colony on Mars.</p>

<p>The planned lunar version of Starship would however serve a more modest goal -- docking with a future lunar orbital station, collecting astronauts, then setting them down on the Moon.</p>

<p>To get the astronauts to the lunar station in the first place, NASA has a more traditional plan in mind: using its own giant SLS rocket with a crew capsule called Orion affixed on top.</p>

<p>But the SLS rocket has suffered severe delays and cost overruns, and observers have mused if Starship succeeds, it could one day make SLS obsolete.</p>


SpaceX managed to land its prototype Starship rocket at its Texas base without blowing it up on Wednesday, the first time it has succeeded in doing so in five attempts.

SpaceX managed to land its prototype Starship rocket at its Texas base without blowing it up on Wednesday, the first time it has succeeded in doing so in five attempts. The test flight represents a major win for the hard-charging company, which eventually wants to carry crew inside Starship for missions to Mars. "Starship landing nominal!" tweeted founder Elon Musk triumphantly, after the last four tries ended in big explosions. Starship landing nominal! — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 5, 2021 × "Nominal" means normal in the context of spaceflight. The execution wasn't quite perfect, with a small fire engulfing the base of the 50 meter- (160 feet-) high rocket, dubbed SN15, shortly after landing. Also read | International Space Station astronauts splashdown off Florida on SpaceX craft SpaceX webcaster John Insprucker explained this was "not unusual with the methane fuel we're using," adding engineers were still working out design issues. The flames were quickly put out with water cannons, footage showed. Earlier, the rocket took off at around 5:25 pm local time (2225 GMT) from the Starbase in Boca Chica in southern Texas, reached an altitude of 10 kilometers (6 miles) and performed a series of maneuvers, including a horizontal descent called a "belly flop." SpaceX was facing added pressure to succeed with Wednesday's flight after NASA last month announced a version of Starship will be used as a lunar lander when the space agency returns humans to the Moon. But the $2.9 billion contract is currently suspended after two rival companies, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Dynetics, lodged a protest. Nevertheless, if the award is eventually confirmed, it will transform Starship from Musk's pet project to a major tax payer-funded venture, with all the scrutiny that entails. The first two flight tests of Starship, SN8 and SN9, both crash landed and exploded when they launched in December and February, respectively. The next, SN10, successfully landed then blew up a few minutes later on March 3. The video feed cut out during the test flight of the fourth, SN11, with Musk later confirming it too had exploded, this time in mid-flight. Eventually, SpaceX plans to combine the Starship spaceship with a Super Heavy rocket, creating a fully reusable system to explore deep into our solar system. This final version will stand 394 feet (120 meters) tall and will be able to carry 100 metric tonnes into Earth orbit -- the most powerful launch vehicle ever developed. Musk wants to use this to help realize his goal of transforming humanity into a multiplanetary species with a colony on Mars. The planned lunar version of Starship would however serve a more modest goal -- docking with a future lunar orbital station, collecting astronauts, then setting them down on the Moon. To get the astronauts to the lunar station in the first place, NASA has a more traditional plan in mind: using its own giant SLS rocket with a crew capsule called Orion affixed on top. But the SLS rocket has suffered severe delays and cost overruns, and observers have mused if Starship succeeds, it could one day make SLS obsolete.

Touchdown! SpaceX successfully lands Starship rocket

Electric vehicle maker Tesla, facing scrutiny in China over safety and customer service complaints, is boosting its engagement with mainland regulators and beefing up its government relations team.

World Business Watch: Tesla under scrutiny in China, steps up engagement with regulators

<p>The US&nbsp;Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Tuesday it had voted to approve a SpaceX plan to deploy some Starlink satellites at a lower earth orbit than planned as part of its push to offer space-based broadband internet.</p>

<p>Elon Musk's SpaceX had asked the FCC for approval to fly 2,824 satellites at a lower orbit as part of the plan to provide high-speed broadband internet services to people who currently lack access.</p>

<p>The change in altitude would improve space safety, reduce power flux density emissions to improve the interference environment, and lower "elevation angles to improve the customer experience," SpaceX told the FCC.</p>

<p>The FCC's decision to grant the approval&nbsp;includes a number of conditions to ensure the plan's safety.</p>

<p>"SpaceX’s operations at lower altitudes and significant maneuverability should result in lower collision risk and an improved orbital debris environment," the FCC said.</p>

<p>The FCC also said SpaceX agreed to accept that their lower-altitude satellites may encounter interference from satellites deployed under Amazon's Kuiper Systems satellite project.</p>

<p>In July, Amazon said it would invest more than $10 billion to build a network of 3,236 low-earth orbit satellites.</p>

<p>Musk and Amazon have sparred publicly over the competing satellite plans.</p>

<p>Amazon praised the FCC order for placing "clear conditions on SpaceX, including requirements that it remains below 580 km and accept additional interference resulting from its redesign. These conditions address our primary concerns regarding space safety and interference."</p>

<p>SpaceX, which plans to eventually deploy 12,000 satellites in total, has said previously the Starlink constellation will cost it roughly $10 billion.</p>

<p>While extremely costly to deploy, satellite&nbsp;technology&nbsp;can provide high-speed internet for people who live in rural or hard-to-serve places where fiber optic cables and cell towers do not reach. The&nbsp;technology&nbsp;could also be a critical backstop when hurricanes or other natural disasters disrupt communication.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Tuesday it had voted to approve a SpaceX plan to deploy some Starlink satellites at a lower earth orbit than planned as part of its push to offer space-based broadband internet.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Tuesday it had voted to approve a SpaceX plan to deploy some Starlink satellites at a lower earth orbit than planned as part of its push to offer space-based broadband internet. Elon Musk's SpaceX had asked the FCC for approval to fly 2,824 satellites at a lower orbit as part of the plan to provide high-speed broadband internet services to people who currently lack access. The change in altitude would improve space safety, reduce power flux density emissions to improve the interference environment, and lower "elevation angles to improve the customer experience," SpaceX told the FCC. The FCC's decision to grant the approval includes a number of conditions to ensure the plan's safety. "SpaceX’s operations at lower altitudes and significant maneuverability should result in lower collision risk and an improved orbital debris environment," the FCC said. The FCC also said SpaceX agreed to accept that their lower-altitude satellites may encounter interference from satellites deployed under Amazon's Kuiper Systems satellite project. In July, Amazon said it would invest more than $10 billion to build a network of 3,236 low-earth orbit satellites. Musk and Amazon have sparred publicly over the competing satellite plans. Amazon praised the FCC order for placing "clear conditions on SpaceX, including requirements that it remains below 580 km and accept additional interference resulting from its redesign. These conditions address our primary concerns regarding space safety and interference." SpaceX, which plans to eventually deploy 12,000 satellites in total, has said previously the Starlink constellation will cost it roughly $10 billion. While extremely costly to deploy, satellite technology can provide high-speed internet for people who live in rural or hard-to-serve places where fiber optic cables and cell towers do not reach. The technology could also be a critical backstop when hurricanes or other natural disasters disrupt communication. (With inputs from agencies)

Space-based broadband internet: US FCC approves SpaceX's plan to deploy Starlink satellites

<p>Elon Musk is all set to make his 'Saturday Night Live' debut on May 8 but not all cast members are happy about the choice.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
NBC announced the news in a press release on Saturday. But the decision to invite the controversial billionaire to Studio 8H has seemed to lead to discontentment amongst some of the 'SNL'&nbsp;cast members.</p>

<p>Hours after NBC posted the lineup, which features Miley Cyrus as the musical guest, Musk reiterated the news on Twitter. "Am hosting SNL on May 8," the 49-year-old wrote to his 52 million followers.</p>

<p>"Let's find out just how live Saturday Night Live really is," he continued, adding a purple devil emoji.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Let’s find out just how live Saturday Night Live really is 😈</p>
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1386158212970340354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Several of the season 46 'SNL'&nbsp;cast members appeared to respond to the news on social media.</p>

<p>Bowen Yang, a featured player that joined the show as a staff writer in 2018, posted a frowning emoji on his Instagram story around the same time NBC released the May 8 lineup. Though it remains unconfirmed that Yang's story was related to the announcement, he later responded directly to Musk's tweet.</p>

<p>"what the f--- does this even mean," he wrote on his Instagram story, reposting the tech executive's question regarding "how live" the show is.</p>

<p>Many suspected that Aidy Bryant, a repertory player that's been on the "SNL" roster since 2012, disapproved of the hosting decision as well after she reshared Sen. Bernie Sanders' tweet about the "absurd" economic inequality in the US on Saturday.</p>

<p>The tweet didn't directly mention Musk, but it did point to the "50 wealthiest people in this country." And as of Monday, Forbes listed Musk's net worth at $179.5 billion, putting him at the top of the list that Sanders' mentioned.</p>

<p>Andrew Dismukes, an 'SNL'&nbsp;writer-turned-featured player, also appeared to weigh in on Musk's upcoming appearance.</p>

<p>"Only CEO I wanna do sketch with is Cher-E Oteri," he wrote on his Instagram story, referring to Cheri Oteri, a cast member on the comedy-sketch series from 1995 to 2000.</p>

<p>In 2015, the show drew falk after Donald Trump hosted the series while campaigning for president. The episode sparked backlash, as many didn't agree with creator and executive producer Lorne Michael's decision to give him a platform.</p>


Elon Musk is all set to make his 'Saturday Night Live' debut on May 8 but not all cast members are happy about the choice. NBC announced the news in a press release on Saturday.

Elon Musk is all set to make his 'Saturday Night Live' debut on May 8 but not all cast members are happy about the choice. NBC announced the news in a press release on Saturday. But the decision to invite the controversial billionaire to Studio 8H has seemed to lead to discontentment amongst some of the 'SNL' cast members. Hours after NBC posted the lineup, which features Miley Cyrus as the musical guest, Musk reiterated the news on Twitter. "Am hosting SNL on May 8," the 49-year-old wrote to his 52 million followers. "Let's find out just how live Saturday Night Live really is," he continued, adding a purple devil emoji. Let’s find out just how live Saturday Night Live really is 😈 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2021 × Several of the season 46 'SNL' cast members appeared to respond to the news on social media. Bowen Yang, a featured player that joined the show as a staff writer in 2018, posted a frowning emoji on his Instagram story around the same time NBC released the May 8 lineup. Though it remains unconfirmed that Yang's story was related to the announcement, he later responded directly to Musk's tweet. "what the f--- does this even mean," he wrote on his Instagram story, reposting the tech executive's question regarding "how live" the show is. Many suspected that Aidy Bryant, a repertory player that's been on the "SNL" roster since 2012, disapproved of the hosting decision as well after she reshared Sen. Bernie Sanders' tweet about the "absurd" economic inequality in the US on Saturday. The tweet didn't directly mention Musk, but it did point to the "50 wealthiest people in this country." And as of Monday, Forbes listed Musk's net worth at $179.5 billion, putting him at the top of the list that Sanders' mentioned. Andrew Dismukes, an 'SNL' writer-turned-featured player, also appeared to weigh in on Musk's upcoming appearance. "Only CEO I wanna do sketch with is Cher-E Oteri," he wrote on his Instagram story, referring to Cheri Oteri, a cast member on the comedy-sketch series from 1995 to 2000. In 2015, the show drew falk after Donald Trump hosted the series while campaigning for president. The episode sparked backlash, as many didn't agree with creator and executive producer Lorne Michael's decision to give him a platform.

Not all 'Saturday Night Live' cast members are thrilled to see Elon Musk as a host

<p>Tesla&nbsp;said that the&nbsp;scrutiny of wreckage from a fatal crash in Texas indicated that someone was at the wheel, contrary to an early report that the driver's seat was empty.</p>

<p>During an earnings call on Monday, the electric car maker led by Elon Musk defended itself anew against a report that a&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;had been fooled into driving with no one behind the wheel, with tragic results.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-how-safe-are-self-driving-cars-378886/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>"It was claimed to be autopilot, but this is completely false," Musk responded while fielding questions.</p>

<p>Tesla&nbsp;has been working with federal and state investigators, and a study of the wreckage indicated there was someone at the wheel at the time of the impact, according to vice president of vehicle engineering&nbsp;Lars Moravy.</p>

<p>"We were able to find that the steering wheel was indeed deformed, leading to a likelihood that someone was in the driver's seat at the time of the crash," Moravy said on the call.</p>

<p>Tesla's auto-steer feature was not engaged, and all the seat belts were found to be unbuckled after the crash, according Moravy.</p>

<p>Tesla&nbsp;came under renewed scrutiny last week following a report its cars could be fooled into driving with no one behind the wheel, with two senators demanding a vigorous federal probe of the crash.</p>

<p>The accident, which killed two people, involved a&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;Model S that caught fire after hitting a tree late on April 17 near Houston. Investigators found no one in the driver's seat of the vehicle, local police said.</p>

<p>The developments added to questions about the high-flying electric car maker led by the mercurial Musk, who said last week that data logs show Autopilot was not engaged during the Texas crash.&nbsp;</p>

<p>On its website,&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;describes Autopilot as a driver enhancement system that, despite its name, requires a human operator.</p>

<p>"Autopilot enables your car to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within its lane," the website says. "Current Autopilot features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous."</p>

<p>But engineers from Consumer Reports "easily tricked"&nbsp;Tesla's Autopilot to drive without anyone in the driver's seat, "a scenario that would present extreme danger if it were repeated on public roads," the magazine said on its website last week.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Tesla said that the scrutiny of wreckage from a fatal crash in Texas indicated that someone was at the wheel, contrary to an early report that the driver's seat was empty.

Tesla said that the scrutiny of wreckage from a fatal crash in Texas indicated that someone was at the wheel, contrary to an early report that the driver's seat was empty. During an earnings call on Monday, the electric car maker led by Elon Musk defended itself anew against a report that a Tesla had been fooled into driving with no one behind the wheel, with tragic results. "It was claimed to be autopilot, but this is completely false," Musk responded while fielding questions. Tesla has been working with federal and state investigators, and a study of the wreckage indicated there was someone at the wheel at the time of the impact, according to vice president of vehicle engineering Lars Moravy. "We were able to find that the steering wheel was indeed deformed, leading to a likelihood that someone was in the driver's seat at the time of the crash," Moravy said on the call. Tesla's auto-steer feature was not engaged, and all the seat belts were found to be unbuckled after the crash, according Moravy. Tesla came under renewed scrutiny last week following a report its cars could be fooled into driving with no one behind the wheel, with two senators demanding a vigorous federal probe of the crash. The accident, which killed two people, involved a Tesla Model S that caught fire after hitting a tree late on April 17 near Houston. Investigators found no one in the driver's seat of the vehicle, local police said. The developments added to questions about the high-flying electric car maker led by the mercurial Musk, who said last week that data logs show Autopilot was not engaged during the Texas crash. On its website, Tesla describes Autopilot as a driver enhancement system that, despite its name, requires a human operator. "Autopilot enables your car to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within its lane," the website says. "Current Autopilot features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous." But engineers from Consumer Reports "easily tricked" Tesla's Autopilot to drive without anyone in the driver's seat, "a scenario that would present extreme danger if it were repeated on public roads," the magazine said on its website last week. (With inputs from agencies)

Elon Musk's Tesla says it appears driver was at the wheel in crash

<p>Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, the space rocket company, is now formally challenging the $2.9 billion moon lander contract which was recently awarded to its rival&nbsp;SpaceX by NASA.</p>

<p>On Monday, Blue Origin said it had filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office, accusing the space agency of making tweaks for contract bidders at the last minute.</p>

<p>"NASA has executed a flawed acquisition for the Human Landing System programme and moved the goalposts at the last minute",&nbsp;Reuters cited Blue&nbsp;Origin&nbsp;as saying in a statement.</p>

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<p>"Their decision eliminates opportunities for competition, significantly narrows the supply base, and not only delays, but also endangers America's return to the moon. Because of that, we've filed a protest with the GAO”, it added.</p>

<p>While Elon Musk’s SpaceX made the bid alone, Bezos’ Blue Origin made the bid in partnership with Lockheed Martin Corp, Northrop Grumman Corp and Draper.</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://13.235.153.162/science/astronauts-arrive-at-space-station-aboard-spacex-endeavour-379931" hreflang="en">Astronauts arrive at space station aboard SpaceX Endeavour</a></p>

<p>The world’s first and third richest people respectively, Bezos and Musk have been competing to be at the helm of man’s return to moon for the first time since 1972.</p>

<p>The contract will see NASA’s first commercial human lander, constituent of its Artemis programme. NASA says that the lander will carry in it two American astronauts to the moon’s surface.</p>

<p>"We should accomplish the next landing as soon as possible… If they hit their milestones, we have a shot at 2024," Steve Jurczyk, NASA's acting administrator said during the announcement made virtually on April 17.</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://13.235.153.162/science/mars-sucks-people-troll-elon-musks-idea-of-space-colonisation-379864" hreflang="en">'Mars sucks!' People troll Elon Musk's idea of space colonisation</a></p>

<p>Apollo landings from 1969-1972 mark the only human visits to the moon’s surface. Now, NASA is relying on private companies to send astronauts to the moon to complete its space ambition projects.</p>

<p>But before humans make the journey, SpaceX will be required to conduct a test flight of the lander to the moon.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, the space rocket company, is now formally challenging the $2.9 billion moon lander contract which was recently awarded to its rival SpaceX by NASA.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, the space rocket company, is now formally challenging the $2.9 billion moon lander contract which was recently awarded to its rival SpaceX by NASA. On Monday, Blue Origin said it had filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office, accusing the space agency of making tweaks for contract bidders at the last minute. "NASA has executed a flawed acquisition for the Human Landing System programme and moved the goalposts at the last minute", Reuters cited Blue Origin as saying in a statement. "Their decision eliminates opportunities for competition, significantly narrows the supply base, and not only delays, but also endangers America's return to the moon. Because of that, we've filed a protest with the GAO”, it added. While Elon Musk’s SpaceX made the bid alone, Bezos’ Blue Origin made the bid in partnership with Lockheed Martin Corp, Northrop Grumman Corp and Draper. Also read: Astronauts arrive at space station aboard SpaceX Endeavour The world’s first and third richest people respectively, Bezos and Musk have been competing to be at the helm of man’s return to moon for the first time since 1972. The contract will see NASA’s first commercial human lander, constituent of its Artemis programme. NASA says that the lander will carry in it two American astronauts to the moon’s surface. "We should accomplish the next landing as soon as possible… If they hit their milestones, we have a shot at 2024," Steve Jurczyk, NASA's acting administrator said during the announcement made virtually on April 17. Also read: 'Mars sucks!' People troll Elon Musk's idea of space colonisation Apollo landings from 1969-1972 mark the only human visits to the moon’s surface. Now, NASA is relying on private companies to send astronauts to the moon to complete its space ambition projects. But before humans make the journey, SpaceX will be required to conduct a test flight of the lander to the moon. (With inputs from agencies)

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin protests NASA's moon lander contract with Elon Musk's SpaceX

<p>Elon Musk is ready to make his hosting debut with Saturday Night Live!&nbsp;<br />
<br />
The Tesla CEO is set to host the May 8 release of the well-known sketch show with musical guest Miley Cyrus.<br />
<br />
<a data-ved="2ahUKEwiQl6-p7pjwAhXXAnIKHQ4xCUUQxfQBMAB6BAgDEAM" href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/eyeing-mars-elon-musk-wants-humans-to-be-multi-planet-species-379777" ping="/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;url=https://www.wionews.com/technology/eyeing-mars-elon-musk-wants-humans-to-be-multi-planet-species-379777&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiQl6-p7pjwAhXXAnIKHQ4xCUUQxfQBMAB6BAgDEAM">Eyeing Mars, Elon Musk wants humans to be `multi-planet species`</a><br />
<br />
As indicated by Variety, the 49-year-old business magnate is an uncommon illustration of a business big shot to be included as the host of the NBC late-night show. The news comes on the heels of Musk`s SpaceX travel venture adventure launching the second operational flight of its Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station on Friday.</p>

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Variety reported that New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner facilitated `SNL` in 1990. At that point, NBC programming head Brandon Tartikoff fronted the show in 1983 as the network began its storied run of success under his leadership.</p>

<p><a data-ved="2ahUKEwiQl6-p7pjwAhXXAnIKHQ4xCUUQxfQBMAJ6BAgDEA0" href="https://www.wionews.com/science/mars-sucks-people-troll-elon-musks-idea-of-space-colonisation-379864" ping="/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;url=https://www.wionews.com/science/mars-sucks-people-troll-elon-musks-idea-of-space-colonisation-379864&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiQl6-p7pjwAhXXAnIKHQ4xCUUQxfQBMAJ6BAgDEA0">`Mars sucks!` People troll Elon Musk`s idea of space colonisation</a></p>

<p><br />
<br />
Musk has become one of the most talked-about business leaders of the past decade with his bold moves in the electric car arena with Tesla. He has also been a boss of the plan to at last build up a market for space tourism with his SpaceX venture.<br />
<br />
The episode will mark Cyrus` sixth visit to `SNL` as a musical guest. Her latest album, `Plastic Hearts,` was released last November.&nbsp;</p>


Elon Musk is ready to make his hosting debut with Saturday Night Live! The Tesla CEO is set to host the May 8 release of the well-known sketch show with musical guest Miley Cyrus.

Elon Musk is ready to make his hosting debut with Saturday Night Live! The Tesla CEO is set to host the May 8 release of the well-known sketch show with musical guest Miley Cyrus. Eyeing Mars, Elon Musk wants humans to be `multi-planet species` As indicated by Variety, the 49-year-old business magnate is an uncommon illustration of a business big shot to be included as the host of the NBC late-night show. The news comes on the heels of Musk`s SpaceX travel venture adventure launching the second operational flight of its Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station on Friday. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) × Variety reported that New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner facilitated `SNL` in 1990. At that point, NBC programming head Brandon Tartikoff fronted the show in 1983 as the network began its storied run of success under his leadership. `Mars sucks!` People troll Elon Musk`s idea of space colonisation Musk has become one of the most talked-about business leaders of the past decade with his bold moves in the electric car arena with Tesla. He has also been a boss of the plan to at last build up a market for space tourism with his SpaceX venture. The episode will mark Cyrus` sixth visit to `SNL` as a musical guest. Her latest album, `Plastic Hearts,` was released last November.

Elon Musk to make his 'Saturday Night Live' hosting debut with Miley Cyrus

<p>Tech entrepreneur <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a> is usually celebrated for his ideas, but as the popular saying claims, you cannot please everyone. &nbsp;</p>

<p>Musk recently stressed the importance of space colonisation and talked about establishing a permanent presence of human beings on Mars as soon as possible.</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/elon-musk-announces-100-million-prize-money-to-fight-global-warming-379568" hreflang="en">Elon Musk announces $100 million prize money to fight global warming</a></strong></p>

<p>While the idea was appreciated by a few, some have used this opportunity to express their views against the SpaceX owner and troll him, especially due to the timing as the world celebrated Earth Day on April 22.</p>

<p>To voice their opinion against Musk’s ideas, some activists put up a large billboard outside SpaceX’s Hawthorne campus with the message "Mars sucks".</p>

<p><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/nasa-and-spacex-launch-a-new-four-astronaut-team-to-international-space-station-379500" hreflang="en">NASA and SpaceX launch a new four-astronaut team to International Space Station</a></strong></p>

<p>The billboard was reportedly set up by a creative agency known as Activista, which also tweeted out the same message.</p>

<p>"What doesn't suck? #earth But the way we treat it frankly, sucks. And then, you dream of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/mars?src=hashtag_click">#mars</a>. A hellhole. A barren, desolate, wasteland you can’t set foot on fast enough. Great, we got to Mars.," the tweet read.</p>

<p>While some were amused by the trolling message, others criticised the ‘careless’ message and pointed out the importance of space exploration.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">What doesn't suck? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/earth?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#earth</a> But the way we treat it frankly, sucks. And then, you dream of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/mars?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#mars</a>. A hellhole. A barren, desolate, wasteland you can’t set foot on fast enough. Great, we got to Mars. Now let's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/prioritizeearth?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#prioritizeearth</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/marssucks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#marssucks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/earthday?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#earthday</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ElonMusk?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ElonMusk</a> <a href="https://t.co/7bkybArErU">pic.twitter.com/7bkybArErU</a></p>
— Activista (@ActivistaLA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ActivistaLA/status/1384894578189291527?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">My head: The limited resources of Mars might be the fastest driver to create the sustainable living tech needed to save Earth though.<br />
My heart: Epic Troll 😂</p>
— Jonathan Davies (@jonjo) <a href="https://twitter.com/jonjo/status/1385272172244082688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Smart move troll a bloke who has pioneered the integration of electric cars ... Activista thick as 💩</p>
— Chris Blackburn (@BlackyCB) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlackyCB/status/1385178909654884355?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Every penny spent on space exploration is worth it. If you want more money to be spent on solving Earth problems, ask governments to cut their military budgets.</p>
— H.H. (@Hrach90) <a href="https://twitter.com/Hrach90/status/1385143651878252544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk is usually celebrated for his ideas, but as the popular saying claims, you cannot please everyone. Musk recently stressed the importance of space colonisation and talked about establishing a permanent presence of human beings on Mars as soon as possible.

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk is usually celebrated for his ideas, but as the popular saying claims, you cannot please everyone. Musk recently stressed the importance of space colonisation and talked about establishing a permanent presence of human beings on Mars as soon as possible. Also read | Elon Musk announces $100 million prize money to fight global warming While the idea was appreciated by a few, some have used this opportunity to express their views against the SpaceX owner and troll him, especially due to the timing as the world celebrated Earth Day on April 22. To voice their opinion against Musk’s ideas, some activists put up a large billboard outside SpaceX’s Hawthorne campus with the message "Mars sucks". Also read | NASA and SpaceX launch a new four-astronaut team to International Space Station The billboard was reportedly set up by a creative agency known as Activista, which also tweeted out the same message. "What doesn't suck? #earth But the way we treat it frankly, sucks. And then, you dream of #mars. A hellhole. A barren, desolate, wasteland you can’t set foot on fast enough. Great, we got to Mars.," the tweet read. While some were amused by the trolling message, others criticised the ‘careless’ message and pointed out the importance of space exploration. What doesn't suck? #earth But the way we treat it frankly, sucks. And then, you dream of #mars. A hellhole. A barren, desolate, wasteland you can’t set foot on fast enough. Great, we got to Mars. Now let's #prioritizeearth #marssucks #earthday #ElonMusk pic.twitter.com/7bkybArErU — Activista (@ActivistaLA) April 21, 2021 × My head: The limited resources of Mars might be the fastest driver to create the sustainable living tech needed to save Earth though. My heart: Epic Troll 😂 — Jonathan Davies (@jonjo) April 22, 2021 × Smart move troll a bloke who has pioneered the integration of electric cars ... Activista thick as 💩 — Chris Blackburn (@BlackyCB) April 22, 2021 × Every penny spent on space exploration is worth it. If you want more money to be spent on solving Earth problems, ask governments to cut their military budgets. — H.H. (@Hrach90) April 22, 2021 ×

'Mars sucks!' People troll Elon Musk's idea of space colonisation

<p>SpaceX’s founder and CEO Elon Musk on Friday revealed his plans for humanity as the company races to put humans into space as soon as possible. Musk claims that he does not wan human beings to be limited to just Earth, and that humans should be a “multi-planet species”.</p>

<p>“We don’t want to be one of those single planet species, we want to be a multi-planet species,” Musk said on Friday after the launch of SpaceX’s “Crew-2” mission. Musk added how it had been almost 50 years since human beings set foot on the moon. “That’s too long”, he said.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-the-story-of-elon-musk-355489/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>“We need to get back there and have a permanent base on the moon”, Musk added while proposing a city to be built on Mars for humanity to become a “spacefaring civilisation” and a “multi-planet species”.</p>

<p>Currently, Musk’s company is working on its Starship series which are huge stainless steel rockets aimed at putting human beings on Mars and Moon.&nbsp;SpaceX is building them at its facility in Texas. The current Starship prototypes stand 150 feet tall. Each Starship requires three Raptor rocket engines.</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://13.235.153.162/science/elon-musk-announces-100-million-prize-money-to-fight-global-warming-379568" hreflang="en">Elon Musk announces $100 million prize money to fight global warming</a></p>

<p>Last week, SpaceX won a NASA contract worth $2.9 billion to help the agency put astronauts on the moon. Currently, the estimated target for the mission is 2024.</p>

<p>The contract will see NASA’s first commercial human lander, constituent of its Artemis programme. The agency added that the lander will carry in it two American astronauts to the moon’s surface.</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;</strong><a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/elon-musks-spacex-wins-nasas-29-billion-moon-lander-contract-over-bezos-blue-origin-378081" hreflang="en">Elon Musk's SpaceX wins NASA's $2.9 billion moon lander contract over Bezos' Blue Origin</a></p>

<p>"We should accomplish the next landing as soon as possible… If they hit their milestones, we have a shot at 2024," Steve Jurczyk, NASA's acting administrator said during the announcement made virtually.</p>

<p>According to NASA, SpaceX’s Starship system included a cabin and two airlocks to facilitate moonwalks. In addition, the architecture of the system allows it to to eventually used for reusable launch and landing.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


SpaceX’s founder and CEO Elon Musk on Friday revealed his plans for humanity as the company races to put humans into space as soon as possible. Musk claims that he does not wan human beings to be limited to just Earth, and that humans should be a “multi-planet species”.

SpaceX’s founder and CEO Elon Musk on Friday revealed his plans for humanity as the company races to put humans into space as soon as possible. Musk claims that he does not wan human beings to be limited to just Earth, and that humans should be a “multi-planet species”. “We don’t want to be one of those single planet species, we want to be a multi-planet species,” Musk said on Friday after the launch of SpaceX’s “Crew-2” mission. Musk added how it had been almost 50 years since human beings set foot on the moon. “That’s too long”, he said. “We need to get back there and have a permanent base on the moon”, Musk added while proposing a city to be built on Mars for humanity to become a “spacefaring civilisation” and a “multi-planet species”. Currently, Musk’s company is working on its Starship series which are huge stainless steel rockets aimed at putting human beings on Mars and Moon. SpaceX is building them at its facility in Texas. The current Starship prototypes stand 150 feet tall. Each Starship requires three Raptor rocket engines. Also read: Elon Musk announces $100 million prize money to fight global warming Last week, SpaceX won a NASA contract worth $2.9 billion to help the agency put astronauts on the moon. Currently, the estimated target for the mission is 2024. The contract will see NASA’s first commercial human lander, constituent of its Artemis programme. The agency added that the lander will carry in it two American astronauts to the moon’s surface. Also read: Elon Musk's SpaceX wins NASA's $2.9 billion moon lander contract over Bezos' Blue Origin "We should accomplish the next landing as soon as possible… If they hit their milestones, we have a shot at 2024," Steve Jurczyk, NASA's acting administrator said during the announcement made virtually. According to NASA, SpaceX’s Starship system included a cabin and two airlocks to facilitate moonwalks. In addition, the architecture of the system allows it to to eventually used for reusable launch and landing. (With inputs from agencies)

Eyeing Mars, Elon Musk wants humans to be 'multi-planet species'

<p class="MsoNormal">Tesla owner and billionaire entrepreneur, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>, has announced a prize of $100 million to any investor who is able to find a solution to battle global warming.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">Musk has urged people to come ahead with ideas on fighting global warming by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and ocean.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/nasa-and-spacex-launch-a-new-four-astronaut-team-to-international-space-station-379500" hreflang="en">NASA and SpaceX launch a new four-astronaut team to International Space Station</a></strong></p>

<p class="MsoNormal">"Right now we've only got one planet," he said. "Even a 0.1 percent chance of disaster – why run that risk? That's crazy!"</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">The SpaceX owner has given a period of four years for investors to come up with successful ideas to win the prize money. The "largest incentive prize in history" will last till Earth Day, 2025.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>ALso read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tesla-issues-rare-apology-after-coming-under-pressure-over-disgruntled-customers-viral-video-379180" hreflang="en">Tesla issues rare apology after coming under pressure over disgruntled customer's viral video</a></strong></p>

<p class="MsoNormal">"Both cost and scalability need to be addressed. Is it going to be enough carbon to matter, and can we afford it as a civilisation? Those are two things that matter," Musk said in a video message.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">As per calculations made by experts, removing carbon can cost more than $300 per metric tonne as the world emits nearly 50 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in a year.</p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/two-dead-as-tesla-car-believed-to-be-driverless-crashes-in-texas-378510" hreflang="en">Two dead as Tesla car believed to be driverless crashes in Texas</a></strong></p>

<p class="MsoNormal">"I think this is one of those things that is going to take a while to figure out what the right solution is," he said. "And especially to figure out what the best economics are for CO2 removal."</p>

<p class="MsoNormal">Organisers will go through the initial guidelines and churn out a list of rules by May. Till then one of the important things the contenders should remember is that they are required to have a plan to sustain the technology for at least the next 100 years.</p>


Tesla owner and billionaire entrepreneur, Elon Musk, has announced a prize of $100 million to any investor who is able to find a solution to battle global warming.

Tesla owner and billionaire entrepreneur, Elon Musk, has announced a prize of $100 million to any investor who is able to find a solution to battle global warming. Musk has urged people to come ahead with ideas on fighting global warming by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and ocean. Also read | NASA and SpaceX launch a new four-astronaut team to International Space Station "Right now we've only got one planet," he said. "Even a 0.1 percent chance of disaster – why run that risk? That's crazy!" The SpaceX owner has given a period of four years for investors to come up with successful ideas to win the prize money. The "largest incentive prize in history" will last till Earth Day, 2025. ALso read | Tesla issues rare apology after coming under pressure over disgruntled customer's viral video "Both cost and scalability need to be addressed. Is it going to be enough carbon to matter, and can we afford it as a civilisation? Those are two things that matter," Musk said in a video message. As per calculations made by experts, removing carbon can cost more than $300 per metric tonne as the world emits nearly 50 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in a year. Also read | Two dead as Tesla car believed to be driverless crashes in Texas "I think this is one of those things that is going to take a while to figure out what the right solution is," he said. "And especially to figure out what the best economics are for CO2 removal." Organisers will go through the initial guidelines and churn out a list of rules by May. Till then one of the important things the contenders should remember is that they are required to have a plan to sustain the technology for at least the next 100 years.

Elon Musk announces $100 million prize money to fight global warming

NASA and SpaceX launch a new four-astronaut team to International Space Station

<p>Tesla&nbsp;Inc has had a terrible week in China, but sentiment against the US&nbsp;electric car company in its second-biggest market had been building as it struggled to keep pace with rapid growth.</p>

<p>The pile-on by media and scolding by regulators show how precarious China can be for big foreign brands, and how a company's handling of an incident can turn into a crisis if the country's tightly-controlled news outlets turn against it.</p>

<p>Tesla's defiance of industry convention, embodied by founder Elon Musk and a corporate culture that rarely admits mistakes, has won fans in the United States, but has backfired in China.</p>

<p>Musk had such cachet that China's government allowed&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;to be the first foreign carmaker not forced to team up with a partner to make cars locally. Now,&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;is learning lessons its longer-established rivals got years ago.</p>

<p>Tesla's troubles in China also underscore a problem Musk and senior&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;executives have acknowledged, though mainly in relation to the company's North American business.&nbsp;Tesla's rapid sales growth has outrun its capacity to repair vehicles when hardware goes bad.</p>

<p>"Service expansion is really important to the future strategy of the company,"&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;Chief Financial Officer Zach Kirkhorn told investors in January.</p>

<p>When a&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;customer, angry over the handling of her complaint about malfunctioning brakes, climbed on top of a&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;in protest on Monday at the Shanghai auto show, videos of the incident went viral.</p>

<p>The incident escalated after Grace Tao,&nbsp;Tesla's vice president for external relations - a former anchor at state broadcaster CCTV - questioned whether the angry customer, surnamed Zhang, was acting on her own.</p>

<p>In an interview with a local news outlet, Tao said, "maybe she ... I don't know, I think she is quite professional, there should be (someone) behind her."</p>

<p>"We have no means to compromise, it's just a process in the development of a new product," she added.</p>

<p>Tesla&nbsp;scrambled into damage-control mode, asking the online news outlet to withdraw the report, the outlet said on Tuesday on WeChat.</p>

<p><strong>'INSINCERE' APOLOGY</strong></p>

<p>Tesla&nbsp;issued a series of increasingly contrite late-night statements, from Monday's "no compromise" to Tuesday's "apology and self-inspection." By Wednesday night,&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;said it was "working with regulators for investigation."</p>

<p>The official Xinhua news agency said&nbsp;Tesla's apology was "insincere" and called for removal of a "problematic senior executive," while the Global Times cited Tao's comments in calling&nbsp;Tesla's "blunder" a lesson for foreign firms in China.</p>

<p>Tao, who joined&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;in 2014, could not be reached for comment.&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;did not reply to a request for further comment.</p>

<p>"There have been consistent complaints on social media with&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;in China regarding its quality and service issues, which seem to have been largely ignored by the local team until Tuesday," said Tu Le, analyst at research firm Sino Auto Insights.</p>

<p>"It's a delicate dance, though, since&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;helps highlight the entire EV sector helping ALL companies grow their sales and raise their profiles," he said.</p>

<p>Tesla&nbsp;cars, made at its own Shanghai factory, are highly popular in China, which is by far the world's biggest EV market and accounts for 30 per cent&nbsp;of&nbsp;Tesla's sales.</p>

<p>Investors have not shown worry.&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;shares rose this week.</p>

<p><strong>PRECARIOUS POSITION</strong></p>

<p>Pressure on&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;had been building.</p>

<p>Last month, it came under scrutiny when the military banned&nbsp;Teslas from entering its complexes, citing security concerns over vehicle cameras, sources told Reuters. Days later, Musk appeared by video at a high-level forum, saying that if&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;used cars to spy in China or anywhere, it would be shut down.</p>

<p>Tesla&nbsp;appeared to have scrapped much of its public relations team in the United States last year, although it has been hiring public relations staff in China.</p>

<p>For communications, it relies heavily on Musk's Twitter feed, which has over 50 million followers. As of Thursday, he had been silent on the China situation, which remained a hot topic, as&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;owners took to Weibo to complain about quality issues such as sudden acceleration or steering failure.</p>

<p>On Thursday, Global Times Editor-in-Chief Hu Xijin said the intent is not to force&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;from China.</p>

<p>"Our ultimate goal is to make foreign companies adapt to the Chinese market, seriously abide by Chinese laws and regulations, respect Chinese culture and consumers, and become a positive element in the Chinese economy. Whether it is a lesson or help, it all points to the same goal."</p>


Tesla Inc has had a terrible week in China, but sentiment against the US electric car company in its second-biggest market had been building as it struggled to keep pace with rapid growth.

Tesla Inc has had a terrible week in China, but sentiment against the US electric car company in its second-biggest market had been building as it struggled to keep pace with rapid growth. The pile-on by media and scolding by regulators show how precarious China can be for big foreign brands, and how a company's handling of an incident can turn into a crisis if the country's tightly-controlled news outlets turn against it. Tesla's defiance of industry convention, embodied by founder Elon Musk and a corporate culture that rarely admits mistakes, has won fans in the United States, but has backfired in China. Musk had such cachet that China's government allowed Tesla to be the first foreign carmaker not forced to team up with a partner to make cars locally. Now, Tesla is learning lessons its longer-established rivals got years ago. Tesla's troubles in China also underscore a problem Musk and senior Tesla executives have acknowledged, though mainly in relation to the company's North American business. Tesla's rapid sales growth has outrun its capacity to repair vehicles when hardware goes bad. "Service expansion is really important to the future strategy of the company," Tesla Chief Financial Officer Zach Kirkhorn told investors in January. When a Tesla customer, angry over the handling of her complaint about malfunctioning brakes, climbed on top of a Tesla in protest on Monday at the Shanghai auto show, videos of the incident went viral. The incident escalated after Grace Tao, Tesla's vice president for external relations - a former anchor at state broadcaster CCTV - questioned whether the angry customer, surnamed Zhang, was acting on her own. In an interview with a local news outlet, Tao said, "maybe she ... I don't know, I think she is quite professional, there should be (someone) behind her." "We have no means to compromise, it's just a process in the development of a new product," she added. Tesla scrambled into damage-control mode, asking the online news outlet to withdraw the report, the outlet said on Tuesday on WeChat. 'INSINCERE' APOLOGY Tesla issued a series of increasingly contrite late-night statements, from Monday's "no compromise" to Tuesday's "apology and self-inspection." By Wednesday night, Tesla said it was "working with regulators for investigation." The official Xinhua news agency said Tesla's apology was "insincere" and called for removal of a "problematic senior executive," while the Global Times cited Tao's comments in calling Tesla's "blunder" a lesson for foreign firms in China. Tao, who joined Tesla in 2014, could not be reached for comment. Tesla did not reply to a request for further comment. "There have been consistent complaints on social media with Tesla in China regarding its quality and service issues, which seem to have been largely ignored by the local team until Tuesday," said Tu Le, analyst at research firm Sino Auto Insights. "It's a delicate dance, though, since Tesla helps highlight the entire EV sector helping ALL companies grow their sales and raise their profiles," he said. Tesla cars, made at its own Shanghai factory, are highly popular in China, which is by far the world's biggest EV market and accounts for 30 per cent of Tesla's sales. Investors have not shown worry. Tesla shares rose this week. PRECARIOUS POSITION Pressure on Tesla had been building. Last month, it came under scrutiny when the military banned Teslas from entering its complexes, citing security concerns over vehicle cameras, sources told Reuters. Days later, Musk appeared by video at a high-level forum, saying that if Tesla used cars to spy in China or anywhere, it would be shut down. Tesla appeared to have scrapped much of its public relations team in the United States last year, although it has been hiring public relations staff in China. For communications, it relies heavily on Musk's Twitter feed, which has over 50 million followers. As of Thursday, he had been silent on the China situation, which remained a hot topic, as Tesla owners took to Weibo to complain about quality issues such as sudden acceleration or steering failure. On Thursday, Global Times Editor-in-Chief Hu Xijin said the intent is not to force Tesla from China. "Our ultimate goal is to make foreign companies adapt to the Chinese market, seriously abide by Chinese laws and regulations, respect Chinese culture and consumers, and become a positive element in the Chinese economy. Whether it is a lesson or help, it all points to the same goal."

Tesla's bad week in China was months in making

<p>Elon Musk's Tesla has issued a rare apology after coming under pressure&nbsp;in China on Wednesday from regulators and state media over a viral video of a&nbsp;disgruntled customer at the Shanghai auto show.</p>

<p>The singling-out of&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;in China, which accounts for 30 per cent&nbsp;of the US&nbsp;firm's global sales and where it makes cars at its own factory in Shanghai, comes amid ongoing US-China tensions and as other foreign firms have encountered backlash.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-how-safe-are-self-driving-cars-378886/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>"China will continue to open up its market to foreign business, but that does not mean foreign companies will be offered any privilege," the Global Times, a tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, said in an opinion piece on the "Tesla&nbsp;blunder".</p>

<p>On Monday, an unhappy customer clambered on top of a&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;at the auto show in protest over the company's handling of her complaints about malfunctioning brakes, triggering a social media storm, with regulators and state media also weighing in.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eugtrFvA-yY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>Late on Wednesday, China's market regulator urged&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;to ensure product quality in the country, while the official Xinhua news agency said that&nbsp;Tesla's apology was "not sincere".</p>

<p>"The arrogant and overbearing stance the company exhibited in front of the public is repugnant and unacceptable, which could inflict serious damage on its reputation and customer base in the Chinese market," the Global Times write.</p>

<p>Tesla, whose cars are popular in China, declined to comment, but said in a statement it would share data on the brake incident with regulators, after a local regulator demanded it.</p>

<p>In videos that went viral from Monday's car show, a woman wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "The brakes don't work" shouted similar accusations while staff and security struggled to restore calm.</p>

<p>Tesla&nbsp;on Tuesday apologised to Chinese consumers for not addressing the complaint in a timely way, and said it would launch a review of its service operations in the world's biggest auto market.</p>

<p>However, the Xinhua news agency said&nbsp;Tesla's apology fell short.</p>

<p>"A big company should have the responsibility of being a big company, no company can do whatever it wants," it said in a commentary on Wednesday night.</p>

<p>"If a company does not rectify when it has a problem, if it does not change a problematic senior executive ... it will eventually make mistakes again," it said.</p>

<p><strong>'Arrogance'</strong></p>

<p>On Monday, Grace Tao, a&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;vice-president, told a local media outlet that "there is no possibility&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;will compromise" and said she suspected that there was someone putting the customer up to the protest. The interview prompted accusations of "arrogance" on&nbsp;Tesla's part from state media.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, the Global Times published a story on a deadly accident reportedly involving a&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;that “surfaced online on Wednesday," which it said raises further&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;quality control concerns.</p>

<p>Last month,&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;came under scrutiny in China when the military banned its cars from entering its complexes, citing security concerns over cameras in its vehicles. Earlier this month,&nbsp;Tesla&nbsp;said cameras in its cars are not activated outside of North America.</p>

<p>Chinese internet users last month began calling for boycotts of brands including H&amp;M, Adidas, and Nike over past statements saying they do not use cotton from Xinjiang, where some researchers and foreign lawmakers say authorities use coercive labour to meet seasonal needs, which China denies.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Elon Musk's Tesla has issued a rare apology after coming under pressure in China on Wednesday from regulators and state media over a viral video of a disgruntled customer at the Shanghai auto show.

Elon Musk's Tesla has issued a rare apology after coming under pressure in China on Wednesday from regulators and state media over a viral video of a disgruntled customer at the Shanghai auto show. The singling-out of Tesla in China, which accounts for 30 per cent of the US firm's global sales and where it makes cars at its own factory in Shanghai, comes amid ongoing US-China tensions and as other foreign firms have encountered backlash. "China will continue to open up its market to foreign business, but that does not mean foreign companies will be offered any privilege," the Global Times, a tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, said in an opinion piece on the "Tesla blunder". On Monday, an unhappy customer clambered on top of a Tesla at the auto show in protest over the company's handling of her complaints about malfunctioning brakes, triggering a social media storm, with regulators and state media also weighing in. Late on Wednesday, China's market regulator urged Tesla to ensure product quality in the country, while the official Xinhua news agency said that Tesla's apology was "not sincere". "The arrogant and overbearing stance the company exhibited in front of the public is repugnant and unacceptable, which could inflict serious damage on its reputation and customer base in the Chinese market," the Global Times write. Tesla, whose cars are popular in China, declined to comment, but said in a statement it would share data on the brake incident with regulators, after a local regulator demanded it. In videos that went viral from Monday's car show, a woman wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "The brakes don't work" shouted similar accusations while staff and security struggled to restore calm. Tesla on Tuesday apologised to Chinese consumers for not addressing the complaint in a timely way, and said it would launch a review of its service operations in the world's biggest auto market. However, the Xinhua news agency said Tesla's apology fell short. "A big company should have the responsibility of being a big company, no company can do whatever it wants," it said in a commentary on Wednesday night. "If a company does not rectify when it has a problem, if it does not change a problematic senior executive ... it will eventually make mistakes again," it said. 'Arrogance' On Monday, Grace Tao, a Tesla vice-president, told a local media outlet that "there is no possibility Tesla will compromise" and said she suspected that there was someone putting the customer up to the protest. The interview prompted accusations of "arrogance" on Tesla's part from state media. Meanwhile, the Global Times published a story on a deadly accident reportedly involving a Tesla that “surfaced online on Wednesday," which it said raises further Tesla quality control concerns. Last month, Tesla came under scrutiny in China when the military banned its cars from entering its complexes, citing security concerns over cameras in its vehicles. Earlier this month, Tesla said cameras in its cars are not activated outside of North America. Chinese internet users last month began calling for boycotts of brands including H&M, Adidas, and Nike over past statements saying they do not use cotton from Xinjiang, where some researchers and foreign lawmakers say authorities use coercive labour to meet seasonal needs, which China denies. (With inputs from agencies)

Tesla issues rare apology after coming under pressure over disgruntled customer's viral video

<p>Meme-based cryptocurrency&nbsp;Dogecoin&nbsp;fell on Tuesday after hitting an all-time high in a wild session that saw supporters of the token once considered a parody use hashtags to fuel a rally until it lost steam.</p>

<p>Dogecoin&nbsp;ultimately fell 15.4 per cent&nbsp;to US$0.33, but during the session when it hit a record peak, its market capitalisation soared to more than $50 billion. After the slump, its market cap dropped roughly $45 billion, according to coinmarketcap.com.</p>

<p>By comparison, the wildly popular bitcoin has a market cap of more than $1 trillion.</p>

<p>Dogecoin&nbsp;fans used the hashtags #DogeDay and #DogeDay420 to post memes, messages and videos on Twitter, Reddit and TikTok, referring to the informal April 20 holiday to celebrate cannabis which is marked by smoke-ins and street parties.</p>

<p>"GIMME THAT&nbsp;DOGECOIN&nbsp;LAMBO!!! #DogeDay" one tweeted, referring to the Lamborghini sports car popular in crypto culture.</p>

<p>An 8,000% price increase this year has seen&nbsp;Dogecoin, launched as a satirical critique of 2013's cryptocurrency frenzy, overtake more widely-used cryptocurrencies like Litecoin and briefly Tether, to become the sixth-largest coin.</p>

<p>"The current retail fervor probably won't completely give up on&nbsp;Dogecoin," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at online FX trading platform OANDA, but he did anticipate the "sell the event reaction" for the cryptocurrency.</p>

<p>Dogecoin's logo features a Shiba Inu dog at the center of the meme. It can be traded on crypto exchanges and more popular mainstream trading apps.</p>

<p>"The Doge rally represents an interesting convergence," said Diana Biggs, CEO of crypto start-up Valour, after&nbsp;Dogecoin's price soared by more than five-fold in the last week to a record $0.42, according to CoinMarketCap.</p>

<p>"A meme coin created as a joke for early crypto adopters whose community found that kind of thing to be fun, with now a new generation of retail investors for whom memes are a native language," Biggs added.</p>

<p><strong>Online trading</strong></p>

<p>Dogecoin's rise came during a surge in online trading of stocks and crypto by retail investors, stuck at home with extra cash because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The coin has not seen much growth in usage for payments or in commerce.</p>

<p>A boom in usage of online trading apps like Robinhood also fueled the social-media driven rally in GameStop Corp stock this year, which pitted retail investors against hedge funds.</p>

<p>"It's an extension of the same phenomenon that has led Tesla stock to be valued well beyond fundamentals and more recently to the GME (GameStop) short squeeze," said Ajit Tripathi, head of institutional business at decentralised finance startup Aave.</p>

<p>Like other cryptocurrencies,&nbsp;Dogecoin's price is heavily influenced by social media users including Tesla chief Elon Musk, whose tweets on the cryptocurrency in February sent its price soaring over 60 per cent.</p>

<p>Dogecoin&nbsp;currently has a 16.7&nbsp;per cent&nbsp;implied probability to be worth more than $1 at the end of 2021, according to betting aggregators US-Bookies.com, a significant improvement from earlier this month, when it had just a 2.9&nbsp;per cent&nbsp;chance to do so.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Meme-based cryptocurrency Dogecoin fell on Tuesday after hitting an all-time high in a wild session that saw supporters of the token once considered a parody use hashtags to fuel a rally until it lost steam.

Meme-based cryptocurrency Dogecoin fell on Tuesday after hitting an all-time high in a wild session that saw supporters of the token once considered a parody use hashtags to fuel a rally until it lost steam. Dogecoin ultimately fell 15.4 per cent to US$0.33, but during the session when it hit a record peak, its market capitalisation soared to more than $50 billion. After the slump, its market cap dropped roughly $45 billion, according to coinmarketcap.com. By comparison, the wildly popular bitcoin has a market cap of more than $1 trillion. Dogecoin fans used the hashtags #DogeDay and #DogeDay420 to post memes, messages and videos on Twitter, Reddit and TikTok, referring to the informal April 20 holiday to celebrate cannabis which is marked by smoke-ins and street parties. "GIMME THAT DOGECOIN LAMBO!!! #DogeDay" one tweeted, referring to the Lamborghini sports car popular in crypto culture. An 8,000% price increase this year has seen Dogecoin, launched as a satirical critique of 2013's cryptocurrency frenzy, overtake more widely-used cryptocurrencies like Litecoin and briefly Tether, to become the sixth-largest coin. "The current retail fervor probably won't completely give up on Dogecoin," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at online FX trading platform OANDA, but he did anticipate the "sell the event reaction" for the cryptocurrency. Dogecoin's logo features a Shiba Inu dog at the center of the meme. It can be traded on crypto exchanges and more popular mainstream trading apps. "The Doge rally represents an interesting convergence," said Diana Biggs, CEO of crypto start-up Valour, after Dogecoin's price soared by more than five-fold in the last week to a record $0.42, according to CoinMarketCap. "A meme coin created as a joke for early crypto adopters whose community found that kind of thing to be fun, with now a new generation of retail investors for whom memes are a native language," Biggs added. Online trading Dogecoin's rise came during a surge in online trading of stocks and crypto by retail investors, stuck at home with extra cash because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The coin has not seen much growth in usage for payments or in commerce. A boom in usage of online trading apps like Robinhood also fueled the social-media driven rally in GameStop Corp stock this year, which pitted retail investors against hedge funds. "It's an extension of the same phenomenon that has led Tesla stock to be valued well beyond fundamentals and more recently to the GME (GameStop) short squeeze," said Ajit Tripathi, head of institutional business at decentralised finance startup Aave. Like other cryptocurrencies, Dogecoin's price is heavily influenced by social media users including Tesla chief Elon Musk, whose tweets on the cryptocurrency in February sent its price soaring over 60 per cent. Dogecoin currently has a 16.7 per cent implied probability to be worth more than $1 at the end of 2021, according to betting aggregators US-Bookies.com, a significant improvement from earlier this month, when it had just a 2.9 per cent chance to do so. (With inputs from agencies)

Dogecoin cryptocurrency slumps after hashtag-fueled surge to record high

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