Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in an interview with CNN warned that an economic recession might be on the horizon and people should avoid making large purchases in the coming months. He said the US was staring at a recession, and people should postpone buying big-ticket items such as cars and TVs.

Bezos advised people to keep some dry powder on hand, while saying that if the US gets into even more serious problems, even a little bit of risk reduction can make a big difference for small businesses. CNN quoted Jeff Bezos as saying, "The economy does not look good right now. Things are slowing down. You're seeing layoffs in many many sectors of the economy."

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-accused-of-toxic-work-culture-involving-sexual-harassment-417357">Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin accused of 'toxic' work culture involving sexual harassment</a>

The billionaire’s warning comes amidst household debt soaring to $16.5 trillion in the US, and Americans relying more and more on credits for meeting daily expenses.

As per a report by Forbes, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon recently predicted that the US economy could slip into a recession in 2023. Economists expect the US economy to contract by 0.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023, with the slowdown dragging further into 2024.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/jeff-bezos-is-pouring-money-to-crack-secret-of-living-forever-412737">Jeff Bezos is pouring money to crack secret of living 'forever'</a>

Earlier this week, the Bank of America conducted a survey in which 77 per cent of fund managers agreed that a global recession was imminent.

In the same interview, Jeff Bezos also declared that the majority of his $124 billion fortune will be donated in his lifetime. He added that the money will be used to tackle the rising threats from climate change and help those affected by social and political conflicts.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in an interview with CNN warned that an economic recession might be on the horizon and people should avoid making large purchases in the coming months.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in an interview with CNN warned that an economic recession might be on the horizon and people should avoid making large purchases in the coming months. He said the US was staring at a recession, and people should postpone buying big-ticket items such as cars and TVs. Bezos advised people to keep some dry powder on hand, while saying that if the US gets into even more serious problems, even a little bit of risk reduction can make a big difference for small businesses. CNN quoted Jeff Bezos as saying, "The economy does not look good right now. Things are slowing down. You're seeing layoffs in many many sectors of the economy." Also read | Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin accused of 'toxic' work culture involving sexual harassment The billionaire’s warning comes amidst household debt soaring to $16.5 trillion in the US, and Americans relying more and more on credits for meeting daily expenses. As per a report by Forbes, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon recently predicted that the US economy could slip into a recession in 2023. Economists expect the US economy to contract by 0.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023, with the slowdown dragging further into 2024. Also read | Jeff Bezos is pouring money to crack secret of living 'forever' Earlier this week, the Bank of America conducted a survey in which 77 per cent of fund managers agreed that a global recession was imminent. In the same interview, Jeff Bezos also declared that the majority of his $124 billion fortune will be donated in his lifetime. He added that the money will be used to tackle the rising threats from climate change and help those affected by social and political conflicts. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Jeff Bezos sounds warning on US economy, urges people to avoid going on spending spree

On Monday, a report by the New York Times citing people with knowledge of the matter said Amazon is planning to lay off at least 10,000 employees as early&nbsp;as this week. They will focus on the company’s devices unit which includes several products including Alexa and other appliances, as well as the retail division and the e-commerce giants’ human resources department, said the report.&nbsp;

If the number of job cuts is in fact near 10,000 it would be the biggest layoff in company history as it represents at least one per cent of the total 1.6 million full-time and part-time employees across the world&nbsp;it had as of December 31. However, the report said that the total number of layoffs remains fluid.&nbsp;

ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/amazon-loses-usd-1-trillion-first-company-to-shed-such-value-533122">Amazon loses USD 1 trillion, first company to shed such value</a>

This comes after Amazon recently said that it would hold off on hiring new corporate staff for a few months. According to a report by Wall Street Journal, these job cuts are a part of the cost-cutting review which has been in the works for months now, during which the e-commerce giant also asked employees in certain unprofitable divisions to look for jobs elsewhere.&nbsp;

Furthermore, citing internal documents WSJ said that the unit which houses Alexa had posted an operating loss of more than $5 billion a year, while Amazon is considering whether they should invest in adding new capabilities to the company’s voice assistant, Alexa. As the device is used by customers for only a few functions and would require a greater investment, said the report citing people with knowledge of the matter.&nbsp;

ALSO WATCH:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/amazon-prime-video-to-raise-monthly-subscription-price-501030">Amazon prime video to raise monthly subscription price</a> 
 
The US-based company had also warned of a slowdown ahead of the busy holiday season which usually generates high sales, however, due to high inflation consumers and businesses now have less money to spend. So far, Amazon's shares have lost at least&nbsp;40 per cent&nbsp;of their value in 2022.

ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/amazons-leaked-documents-show-why-its-attrition-rate-is-so-high-526390">Amazon's leaked documents reveal why its attrition rate is so high</a>

The report comes amid mass layoffs seen across major firms announced recently, like Facebook’s parent company Meta which said that it would cut over 11,000 jobs, Elon Musk-owned Twitter which fired at least 50 per cent of its workforce, and Microsoft Corp which also laid off nearly 1,000 employees.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp; 
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On Monday, a report by the New York Times citing people with knowledge of the matter said Amazon is planning to lay off at least 10,000 employees as early as this week.

On Monday, a report by the New York Times citing people with knowledge of the matter said Amazon is planning to lay off at least 10,000 employees as early as this week. They will focus on the company’s devices unit which includes several products including Alexa and other appliances, as well as the retail division and the e-commerce giants’ human resources department, said the report. If the number of job cuts is in fact near 10,000 it would be the biggest layoff in company history as it represents at least one per cent of the total 1.6 million full-time and part-time employees across the world it had as of December 31. However, the report said that the total number of layoffs remains fluid. ALSO READ: Amazon loses USD 1 trillion, first company to shed such value This comes after Amazon recently said that it would hold off on hiring new corporate staff for a few months. According to a report by Wall Street Journal, these job cuts are a part of the cost-cutting review which has been in the works for months now, during which the e-commerce giant also asked employees in certain unprofitable divisions to look for jobs elsewhere. Furthermore, citing internal documents WSJ said that the unit which houses Alexa had posted an operating loss of more than $5 billion a year, while Amazon is considering whether they should invest in adding new capabilities to the company’s voice assistant, Alexa. As the device is used by customers for only a few functions and would require a greater investment, said the report citing people with knowledge of the matter. ALSO WATCH: Amazon prime video to raise monthly subscription price The US-based company had also warned of a slowdown ahead of the busy holiday season which usually generates high sales, however, due to high inflation consumers and businesses now have less money to spend. So far, Amazon's shares have lost at least 40 per cent of their value in 2022. ALSO READ: Amazon's leaked documents reveal why its attrition rate is so high The report comes amid mass layoffs seen across major firms announced recently, like Facebook’s parent company Meta which said that it would cut over 11,000 jobs, Elon Musk-owned Twitter which fired at least 50 per cent of its workforce, and Microsoft Corp which also laid off nearly 1,000 employees. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Amazon plans to lay off at least 10,000 people, job cuts may begin this week: Reports

Amazon founder, billionaire Jeff Bezos in an interview said that philanthropy is "hard work" and that he will give away most of his $124 billion fortune to charities fighting climate change.

In an interview with CNN, Bezos said that he and his partner journalist-turned-philanthropist Lauren Sánchez were "building the capacity to be able to give away this money".

Watch |&nbsp;WION Business Watch: Jeff Bezos on brink of $23 billion wealth drop

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However, as per Daily Mail, he did not specify exactly how much or to which charities. he did say that he wants to support people who "can unify humanity and heal deep social and political divisions."

"The hard part is figuring out how to do it in a levered way. It's not easy, building Amazon was not easy," he said adding &nbsp;"It took a lot of hard work, a bunch of very smart teammates and I'm finding that philanthropy is very similar – it's not easy it's very hard".

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/jeff-bezos-is-pouring-money-to-crack-secret-of-living-forever-412737">Jeff Bezos is pouring money to crack secret of living 'forever'</a>

While Bezos has already committed $10 Billion to fight climate change and protect nature through the 'Bezos Earth Fund', he has faced criticism for not joining the Giving Pledge. The pledge involves hundreds of the world's wealthiest people committing to donate the majority of their wealth to charity.

Recently the billionaire also awarded country music star and philanthropist Dolly Parton a $100 million prize from the "Bezos Courage &amp; Civility Award". As per Bezos, the award honours and recognizes leaders who "pursue solutions with courage and civility."

(With inputs from agencies)

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Amazon founder, billionaire Jeff Bezos in an interview said that philanthropy is "hard work" and that he will give away most of his $124 billion fortune to charities fighting climate change.

Amazon founder, billionaire Jeff Bezos in an interview said that philanthropy is "hard work" and that he will give away most of his $124 billion fortune to charities fighting climate change. In an interview with CNN, Bezos said that he and his partner journalist-turned-philanthropist Lauren Sánchez were "building the capacity to be able to give away this money". Watch | WION Business Watch: Jeff Bezos on brink of $23 billion wealth drop However, as per Daily Mail, he did not specify exactly how much or to which charities. he did say that he wants to support people who "can unify humanity and heal deep social and political divisions." "The hard part is figuring out how to do it in a levered way. It's not easy, building Amazon was not easy," he said adding "It took a lot of hard work, a bunch of very smart teammates and I'm finding that philanthropy is very similar – it's not easy it's very hard". Also read | Jeff Bezos is pouring money to crack secret of living 'forever' While Bezos has already committed $10 Billion to fight climate change and protect nature through the 'Bezos Earth Fund', he has faced criticism for not joining the Giving Pledge. The pledge involves hundreds of the world's wealthiest people committing to donate the majority of their wealth to charity. Recently the billionaire also awarded country music star and philanthropist Dolly Parton a $100 million prize from the "Bezos Courage & Civility Award". As per Bezos, the award honours and recognizes leaders who "pursue solutions with courage and civility." (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says will donate most of his $124 billion fortune to charity

Amazon's Jeff Bezos massive wealth drop is becoming the talk of the town - he could see as much as $23 billion erase from his fortune after Amazon recorded sluggish sales in holiday season on Thursday.

WION Business Watch: Jeff Bezos on brink of $23 billion wealth drop

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has filed for divorce from her second husband, Dan Jewett. According to the Court clerk’s office, she filed the papers in the King County Superior Court in Washington State on Monday.

WION Business News | Jeff Bezo's ex-wife files for divorce from her second husband Dan Jewett

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has filed for divorce from her second husband, Dan Jewett, The New York Times (NYT) has reported.

According to the Court clerk’s office, she filed the papers in the King County Superior Court in Washington State on Monday.

Scott married Jewett, a Seattle-based former science teacher, in early 2021 after separating from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2019.

The news about her second divorce was reported by The NYT on Wednesday after noticing that Scott deleted several of her posts online that mentioned Jewett, including on her Amazon author bio, and the Giving Pledge website— a philanthropic organisation which encourages the world’s richest people to give away a majority of their wealth to charitable causes.

The couple announced their union in 2021 through a message on their Giving Pledge webpage. Jewett had signed on to Scott's commitment to give away at least half her wealth during her lifetime or shortly after her death.

"I am married to one of the most generous and kind people I know — and joining her in a commitment to pass on an enormous financial wealth to serve others," Jewett wrote, accompanied by a photo of himself and Scott.

According to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, Scott is currently worth $27.8 billion. Her wealth is derived mainly from her 3 per cent stake in Amazon.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/billionaire-philanthropist-mackenzie-scott-ties-knot-with-science-teacher-368938">Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott ties knot with science teacher</a>

In March, Scott announced that she donated about $3.9 billion to 465 nonprofits in the previous nine months, bringing her total to&nbsp;over $12 billion.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/jeff-bezos-ex-wife-mackenzie-scott-gives-nearly-17-billion-of-amazon-fortune-to-social-causes-316772">Jeff Bezos ex-wife MacKenzie Scott gives nearly $1.7 billion of Amazon fortune to social causes</a>

The philanthropist recently donated two Beverly Hills mansions worth around $55 million to the California Community Foundation, a Los Angeles-based charity.

Notably, the foundation's CEO had thanked Scott alone.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has filed for divorce from her second husband, Dan Jewett, The New York Times (NYT) has reported. According to the Court clerk’s office, she filed the papers in the King County Superior Court in Washington State on Monday.

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has filed for divorce from her second husband, Dan Jewett, The New York Times (NYT) has reported. According to the Court clerk’s office, she filed the papers in the King County Superior Court in Washington State on Monday. Scott married Jewett, a Seattle-based former science teacher, in early 2021 after separating from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2019. The news about her second divorce was reported by The NYT on Wednesday after noticing that Scott deleted several of her posts online that mentioned Jewett, including on her Amazon author bio, and the Giving Pledge website— a philanthropic organisation which encourages the world’s richest people to give away a majority of their wealth to charitable causes. The couple announced their union in 2021 through a message on their Giving Pledge webpage. Jewett had signed on to Scott's commitment to give away at least half her wealth during her lifetime or shortly after her death. "I am married to one of the most generous and kind people I know — and joining her in a commitment to pass on an enormous financial wealth to serve others," Jewett wrote, accompanied by a photo of himself and Scott. According to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, Scott is currently worth $27.8 billion. Her wealth is derived mainly from her 3 per cent stake in Amazon. Also read | Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott ties knot with science teacher In March, Scott announced that she donated about $3.9 billion to 465 nonprofits in the previous nine months, bringing her total to over $12 billion. Also read | Jeff Bezos ex-wife MacKenzie Scott gives nearly $1.7 billion of Amazon fortune to social causes The philanthropist recently donated two Beverly Hills mansions worth around $55 million to the California Community Foundation, a Los Angeles-based charity. Notably, the foundation's CEO had thanked Scott alone. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife MacKenzie Scott files for divorce from second husband

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' rocket company blue origin suffered its first launch failure after liftoff on Monday. This is the first major failure for Jeff Bezos.

First launch failure for Jeff Bezos' rocket company 'Blue Origin'

In a first, Blue Origin's rocket suffered its first launch failure on Monday after it veered off course over West Texas about a minute after liftoff.

Lifting the craft off the top, the capsule’s launch abort system immediately kicked in and the capsule parachuted onto the remote desert floor.

Sharing the footage of the incident, the company tweeted ''Booster failure on today’s uncrewed flight. Escape system performed as designed.''

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Booster failure on today’s uncrewed flight. Escape system performed as designed. <a href="https://t.co/xFDsUMONTh">pic.twitter.com/xFDsUMONTh</a>
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) <a href="https://twitter.com/blueorigin/status/1569349950944985089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
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“It appears we’ve experienced an anomaly with today’s flight. This wasn’t planned,” the launch commentator said.

During the experiment, no one was aboard and the rocket was travelling nearly 700 mph (1,126 kph) at an altitude of about 28,000 feet (8,500 metres).

With the webcast showing it reaching a maximum altitude of more than 37,000 feet (11,300 meters), launch commentator Erika Wagner said the capsule managed to escape successfully.

Named after the first American in space Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, it was the 23rd flight for the New Shepard programme.

The aerospace company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, has used the same kind of rocket and capsule to carry paying passengers on 10-minute rides to the edge of space.

Since the launch of Blue Origin's New Shepard, the company has carried 31 people to the edge of space, with Bezos being one of them.

(With inputs from agencies)

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In a first, Blue Origin's rocket suffered its first launch failure on Monday after it veered off course over West Texas about a minute after liftoff. Lifting the craft off the top, the capsule’s launch abort system immediately kicked in and the capsule parachuted onto the remote desert floor.

In a first, Blue Origin's rocket suffered its first launch failure on Monday after it veered off course over West Texas about a minute after liftoff. Lifting the craft off the top, the capsule’s launch abort system immediately kicked in and the capsule parachuted onto the remote desert floor. Sharing the footage of the incident, the company tweeted ''Booster failure on today’s uncrewed flight. Escape system performed as designed.'' Booster failure on today’s uncrewed flight. Escape system performed as designed. pic.twitter.com/xFDsUMONTh — Blue Origin (@blueorigin) September 12, 2022 × “It appears we’ve experienced an anomaly with today’s flight. This wasn’t planned,” the launch commentator said. During the experiment, no one was aboard and the rocket was travelling nearly 700 mph (1,126 kph) at an altitude of about 28,000 feet (8,500 metres). With the webcast showing it reaching a maximum altitude of more than 37,000 feet (11,300 meters), launch commentator Erika Wagner said the capsule managed to escape successfully. Named after the first American in space Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, it was the 23rd flight for the New Shepard programme. The aerospace company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, has used the same kind of rocket and capsule to carry paying passengers on 10-minute rides to the edge of space. Since the launch of Blue Origin's New Shepard, the company has carried 31 people to the edge of space, with Bezos being one of them. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION's live TV here: ×

Watch | Blue Origin's rocket veers off its course, capsule parachutes onto remote desert floor

The fortunes of America’s richest people got slashed by $78 billion following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech.

During his speech, which was eight minutes long, Powell pointed out that the US central bank will keep raising interest rates and probably leave them elevated for a while to reduce inflation.

Powell, who was speaking at the Kansas City Fed’s annual policy forum in Jackson Hole, was seen pushing back on a recent rally in US stocks that was triggered by rumours that policymakers would soon reverse course from their aggressive monetary tightening.

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After an unprecedented run-up during the Covid-19 pandemic when interest rates were pinned near zero, Powell’s speech served as a reminder that valuations of giant technology companies remain high by historical standards.

Following Powell's speech, the S&amp;P 500 tumbled 3.4 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 plunged more than 4 per cent.

Not only this, billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates lost $6.8 billion, $5.5 billion, $2.7 billion and $2.2 billion respectively.

In the steepest six-month drop ever for the wealthiest people on the planet, the world’s 500 richest people lost $1.4 trillion in the first half of 2022.

Since November 2020, US stocks in July posted their strongest monthly advance leading investors to wager that the worst of the market rout was over.

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The fortunes of America’s richest people got slashed by $78 billion following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech. During his speech, which was eight minutes long, Powell pointed out that the US central bank will keep raising interest rates and probably leave them elevated for a while to reduce inflation.

The fortunes of America’s richest people got slashed by $78 billion following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech. During his speech, which was eight minutes long, Powell pointed out that the US central bank will keep raising interest rates and probably leave them elevated for a while to reduce inflation. Powell, who was speaking at the Kansas City Fed’s annual policy forum in Jackson Hole, was seen pushing back on a recent rally in US stocks that was triggered by rumours that policymakers would soon reverse course from their aggressive monetary tightening. × After an unprecedented run-up during the Covid-19 pandemic when interest rates were pinned near zero, Powell’s speech served as a reminder that valuations of giant technology companies remain high by historical standards. Following Powell's speech, the S&P 500 tumbled 3.4 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 plunged more than 4 per cent. Not only this, billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates lost $6.8 billion, $5.5 billion, $2.7 billion and $2.2 billion respectively. In the steepest six-month drop ever for the wealthiest people on the planet, the world’s 500 richest people lost $1.4 trillion in the first half of 2022. Since November 2020, US stocks in July posted their strongest monthly advance leading investors to wager that the worst of the market rout was over. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION's live TV here: ×

Fortunes of America’s richest people slashed by $78bn after Fed chief Powell's speech

Jeff Bezos owned Amazon has gone out shopping once again. After buying healthcare provider One Medical last month,&nbsp;the e-commerce giant has now acquired a robotic company named iRobot Corp, which manufactures the extremely popular&nbsp;robotic vacuum&nbsp;cleaner Roomba. The deal is reported to be worth $1.7 billion.

Announcing the deal, Amazon’s hardware devices chief Dave Limp said in a statement, “Over many years, the iRobot team has proven its ability to reinvent how people clean with products that are incredibly practical and inventive — from cleaning when and where customers want while avoiding common obstacles in the home, to automatically emptying the collection bin,”&nbsp;

However, Amazon's belief in Roomba can be gauged by the fact that despite iRobot suffering a 30 per cent fall in its second-quarter revenue, the company is willing to acquire it.&nbsp;

Read More:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/sign-that-delivery-costs-are-rising-as-amazon-hikes-prime-subscription-in-five-european-countries-500976">Amazon Prime`s subscription service price increases in five European countries</a>

One might have seen Roomba in numerous online videos where the pets are often petrified of the moving vacuum cleaner. When paired with Amazon's Alexa digital assistant, the consumers would not even have to get up to do the cleaning. A mere voice instruction will be enough for the Roomba-Alexa combo to show its magic.&nbsp;

Additionally, Amazon already owns&nbsp;Ring, which monitors homes, and a smart thermostat, giving it the full arsenal to be a leader in the 'internet of things' category.&nbsp;

Amazon's acquisition comes at a time when the company's sales figure reached $121 billion in the quarter while its cloud-computing platform Amazon Web Services managed to rake in $5.7 billion in revenue, registering a 33 per cent growth.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The numbers are particularly impressive for the Jeff Bezos company as online sales shrank by 4 per cent, declining for the second quarter in a row.&nbsp;

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/apple-and-amazon-post-impressive-numbers-amid-an-economic-slowdown-501724">Apple and Amazon post impressive numbers amid an economic slowdown</a>

While the deal is all but done, it still requires clearance from regulators and the shareholders. The US Federal Trade Commission, which is already on Amazon's tail might want to look into the numbers before giving the green light. However, if the deal doesn't go through, Amazon will have to shell out $94 million as a termination fee to iRobot.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies) 
 
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Jeff Bezos owned Amazon has gone out shopping once again. After buying healthcare provider One Medical last month, the e-commerce giant has now acquired a robotic company named iRobot Corp, which manufactures the extremely popular robotic vacuum cleaner Roomba.

Jeff Bezos owned Amazon has gone out shopping once again. After buying healthcare provider One Medical last month, the e-commerce giant has now acquired a robotic company named iRobot Corp, which manufactures the extremely popular robotic vacuum cleaner Roomba. The deal is reported to be worth $1.7 billion. Announcing the deal, Amazon’s hardware devices chief Dave Limp said in a statement, “Over many years, the iRobot team has proven its ability to reinvent how people clean with products that are incredibly practical and inventive — from cleaning when and where customers want while avoiding common obstacles in the home, to automatically emptying the collection bin,” However, Amazon's belief in Roomba can be gauged by the fact that despite iRobot suffering a 30 per cent fall in its second-quarter revenue, the company is willing to acquire it. Read More: Amazon Prime`s subscription service price increases in five European countries One might have seen Roomba in numerous online videos where the pets are often petrified of the moving vacuum cleaner. When paired with Amazon's Alexa digital assistant, the consumers would not even have to get up to do the cleaning. A mere voice instruction will be enough for the Roomba-Alexa combo to show its magic. Additionally, Amazon already owns Ring, which monitors homes, and a smart thermostat, giving it the full arsenal to be a leader in the 'internet of things' category. Amazon's acquisition comes at a time when the company's sales figure reached $121 billion in the quarter while its cloud-computing platform Amazon Web Services managed to rake in $5.7 billion in revenue, registering a 33 per cent growth. The numbers are particularly impressive for the Jeff Bezos company as online sales shrank by 4 per cent, declining for the second quarter in a row. Read more: Apple and Amazon post impressive numbers amid an economic slowdown While the deal is all but done, it still requires clearance from regulators and the shareholders. The US Federal Trade Commission, which is already on Amazon's tail might want to look into the numbers before giving the green light. However, if the deal doesn't go through, Amazon will have to shell out $94 million as a termination fee to iRobot. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Amazon acquires 'Roomba' vacuum maker for $1.7 billion

Taking on capitalism head-on, a&nbsp;Brooklyn, New York-based&nbsp;artist collective called MSCHF&nbsp;(pronounced mischief) recently started a novel ice-cream truck shop, albeit with a little twist. They sold ice-creams under the brand name 'Mschfsicle'&nbsp;at $10 apiece in and around New York City and Los Angeles from July 11-13.&nbsp;

A few of the varieties of Mschfsicle were named 'Bite Bezos', 'Much Musk', 'Gobble Gate', 'Snack on Jack' and 'Suck Zuck' amongst others. All of the ice-creams were referring to the big-tech billionaires viz. Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Tesla's Elon Musk, Microsoft's Bill Gates, Twitter's Jack Dorsey and Facebook aka Meta's Mark Zuckerberg.&nbsp;

The art project was named 'Eat the Rich' and the price of popsicles was inflated to reflect the irony of the situation. The popsicles and their packaging also had uncanny resemblances to the billionaires they were named after.&nbsp;

Read More:<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-the-kite-runner-author-khaled-hosseinis-daughter-comes-out-as-transgender-says-never-been-prouder-of-her-497183">&nbsp;'The Kite Runner' author Khaled Hosseini's daughter comes out as transgender, says 'never been prouder of her'</a>

Lately, there has been a growing internet trend of sorts, particularly amongst the Gey-Z and Millenials of taxing the rich and stopping them from exploiting their workers. The 'Eat the rich' slogan has also found its way into internet chatrooms. The company was looking to start a conversation. It received a significant boost to its campaign when internet celebrity David Dobrik also stumbled upon one of its pop trucks.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

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Taking on capitalism head-on, a Brooklyn, New York-based artist collective called MSCHF (pronounced mischief) recently started a novel ice-cream truck shop, albeit with a little twist.

Taking on capitalism head-on, a Brooklyn, New York-based artist collective called MSCHF (pronounced mischief) recently started a novel ice-cream truck shop, albeit with a little twist. They sold ice-creams under the brand name 'Mschfsicle' at $10 apiece in and around New York City and Los Angeles from July 11-13. A few of the varieties of Mschfsicle were named 'Bite Bezos', 'Much Musk', 'Gobble Gate', 'Snack on Jack' and 'Suck Zuck' amongst others. All of the ice-creams were referring to the big-tech billionaires viz. Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Tesla's Elon Musk, Microsoft's Bill Gates, Twitter's Jack Dorsey and Facebook aka Meta's Mark Zuckerberg. The art project was named 'Eat the Rich' and the price of popsicles was inflated to reflect the irony of the situation. The popsicles and their packaging also had uncanny resemblances to the billionaires they were named after. Read More: 'The Kite Runner' author Khaled Hosseini's daughter comes out as transgender, says 'never been prouder of her' Lately, there has been a growing internet trend of sorts, particularly amongst the Gey-Z and Millenials of taxing the rich and stopping them from exploiting their workers. The 'Eat the rich' slogan has also found its way into internet chatrooms. The company was looking to start a conversation. It received a significant boost to its campaign when internet celebrity David Dobrik also stumbled upon one of its pop trucks. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

'Bite Bezos' and 'Suck Zuck', Ice Cream truck endorses 'Eat the Rich'; netizens in fits

World third-richest person Jeff Bezos slammed United States President Joe Biden for calling on companies running gasoline stations to lower their prices. Bezos' latest remarks have, in a way, renewed his spat with the White House.

World third-richest person Jeff Bezos slammed United States President Joe Biden for calling on companies running gasoline stations to lower their prices. Bezos' latest remarks have, in a way, renewed his spat with the White House. Taking to his official Twitter handle, the Amazon founder wrote: "Ouch. Inflation is far too important a problem for the White House to keep making statements like this." "It’s either straight ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics," he added. Ouch. Inflation is far too important a problem for the White House to keep making statements like this. It’s either straight ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics. https://t.co/XgKfEICZpk — Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) July 3, 2022 × What did Biden say? On Saturday, Biden tweeted: "My message to the companies running gas stations and setting prices at the pump is simple: this is a time of war and global peril." Biden added, "Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you're paying for the product. And do it now." In response to Bezos' comments, the White House came to the US leader's defence on Sunday. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Twitter that oil prices have dropped about $15 a barrel over the past month. "But prices at the pump have barely come down. That's not 'basic market dynamics.' It's a market that is failing the American consumer," she wrote. White House spokesman on national security issues, John Kirby, also defended the president. In an appearance on Fox News, he said, "The president is working very, very hard across many fronts... to try to bring that price down. Citing Biden's proposal to suspend the federal gas tax this summer and his decision to tap the US strategic oil reserves to put more product on the market, Kirby said, "He knows that it is not going to solve all the problems, but it will help if everybody cooperates on this. We could bring the price down at least by about one dollar a gallon. Gasoline prices in US Gasoline prices have been above $5 a gallon since early June. Notably, the prices have fallen slightly since, but remain far from the $3 a gallon level of a year ago. Biden has regularly attacked oil companies for the high prices as he says that these companies care only about profits. On the other hand, the companies say in turn they have increased production in order to reduce prices. But they also say that the prices are set on the world market. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

'Ouch. Inflation is far too important a problem...': Bezos slams Biden's appeal for lower gasoline prices

Amazon founder Jeff Bezon criticised the United States President Joe Biden for calling on companies running gasoline stations to lower their prices.

Jeff Bezos slams President Biden's call for gasoline stations to cut prices

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos criticized a tweet by US President Joe Biden calling for oil executives to reduce gasoline prices. Bezos took to his Twitter handle and said, “Ouch. Inflation is far too important a problem for the White House to keep making statements like this. It’s either straight ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics”.

Jeff Bezos slams US President Biden's call for oil executives to lower gas prices

Billionaires including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Bernard Arnault, and Changpeng Zhao have lost billions in the first half of 2022.

The dizzying decline that marks the steepest six-month drop ever for the global billionaire class adversely affected the world’s 500 richest people.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, governments and central banks unleashed unprecedented stimulus measures but the present erosion of wealth is a sharp departure from the previous two years.

Although billionaires made a fortune during the pandemic, they are now losing altitude fast with policymakers now raising interest rates to combat elevated inflation.

With policymakers now raising interest rates to combat elevated inflation, Tesla Inc. had its worst quarter ever in the three months through June.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk is the wealthiest man on the planet with a net worth of $208.5 billion followed by Amazon’s Bezos with a $129.6 billion net worth and Bernard Arnault with a $128.7 billion fortune.

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Thorne Perkin, president of Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management, told Bloomberg that the billionaire class has amassed so much wealth in recent years that they can withstand the worst first half since 1970 for the S&amp;P 500 Index.

“Often their mindset is a bit more contrarian. A lot of our clients look for opportunities when there’s trouble in the streets,”&nbsp;Perkin said.&nbsp;

Global stock markets have plunged after Russia's invasion of Ukraine but amid the fallout Moscow's wealthiest man Vladimir Potanin with a $35.2 billion fortune, acquired Societe Generale SA’s entire position in Rosbank PJSC.

After the app-based brokerage’s share price tumbled 77 per cent from its hotly anticipated initial public offering last July, Sam Bankman-Fried, chief executive officer of crypto exchange FTX, bought a 7.6 per cent stake in Robinhood Markets Inc.

(With inputs from agencies)

Watch WION's live TV here:

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Billionaires including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Bernard Arnault, and Changpeng Zhao have lost billions in the first half of 2022. The dizzying decline that marks the steepest six-month drop ever for the global billionaire class adversely affected the world’s 500 richest people.

Billionaires including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Bernard Arnault, and Changpeng Zhao have lost billions in the first half of 2022. The dizzying decline that marks the steepest six-month drop ever for the global billionaire class adversely affected the world’s 500 richest people. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, governments and central banks unleashed unprecedented stimulus measures but the present erosion of wealth is a sharp departure from the previous two years. Although billionaires made a fortune during the pandemic, they are now losing altitude fast with policymakers now raising interest rates to combat elevated inflation. With policymakers now raising interest rates to combat elevated inflation, Tesla Inc. had its worst quarter ever in the three months through June. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk is the wealthiest man on the planet with a net worth of $208.5 billion followed by Amazon’s Bezos with a $129.6 billion net worth and Bernard Arnault with a $128.7 billion fortune. × Thorne Perkin, president of Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management, told Bloomberg that the billionaire class has amassed so much wealth in recent years that they can withstand the worst first half since 1970 for the S&P 500 Index. “Often their mindset is a bit more contrarian. A lot of our clients look for opportunities when there’s trouble in the streets,” Perkin said. Global stock markets have plunged after Russia's invasion of Ukraine but amid the fallout Moscow's wealthiest man Vladimir Potanin with a $35.2 billion fortune, acquired Societe Generale SA’s entire position in Rosbank PJSC. After the app-based brokerage’s share price tumbled 77 per cent from its hotly anticipated initial public offering last July, Sam Bankman-Fried, chief executive officer of crypto exchange FTX, bought a 7.6 per cent stake in Robinhood Markets Inc. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION's live TV here:

Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg among billionaires who lost $1.4 trillion in first half of 2022

Amazon chief Jeff Bezos lashed at US President Joe Biden over the latter’s tweet about taxing the large corporations to bring down the inflation.

The strong retort from the billionaire came a day after Biden in his tweet suggested that the only way inflation could be tamed is by charging the large corporation.

“You want to bring down inflation? Let’s make sure the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share,” Biden tweeted on early Saturday morning.

To which Bezos in a sly remark suggested that the tweet could be considered disinformation.

“The newly created Disinformation Board should review this tweet, or maybe they need to form a new Non Sequitur Board instead," Bezos said, referring to Homeland Security's Disinformation Governance Board that was announced in April.

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The newly created Disinformation Board should review this tweet, or maybe they need to form a new Non Sequitur Board instead. Raising corp taxes is fine to discuss. Taming inflation is critical to discuss. Mushing them together is just misdirection. <a href="https://t.co/ye4XiNNc2v">https://t.co/ye4XiNNc2v</a>
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffBezos/status/1525309091970699265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2022</a></blockquote>
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"Raising corp taxes is fine to discuss. Taming inflation is critical to discuss. Mushing them together is just misdirection," Bezos continued.

One of the major promises of Biden’s 2023 budget plan has been to tax the ultra-wealthy and cash-rich corporations.

Amazon, the company founded by Bezos, has long been accused of not paying its fair share of taxes. The company paid no federal income taxes in 2017 and 2018, according to reports.

Bezos has reportedly paid nothing in federal income taxes in 2007 and 2011.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/defying-death-jeff-bezos-other-big-tech-founders-fund-startups-doing-anti-aging-research-446362">Defying death: Jeff Bezos, other big tech founders fund startups doing anti-aging researc</a>h

Before Bezos, it was Tesla chief Elon Musk who had opposed Biden’s proposal to tax the top one-hundredth of one per cent (0.01 per cent) of American households worth over $100 million.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/jeff-bezos-loses-billions-as-amazon-shares-slump-wall-street-tumbles-475071">Jeff Bezos loses billions as Amazon shares slump; Wall Street tumbles</a>

The White House estimates that the proposed tax would increase the revenue by $360 billion over ten years.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Amazon chief Jeff Bezos lashed at US President Joe Biden over the latter’s tweet about taxing the large corporations to bring down the inflation. The strong retort from the billionaire came a day after Biden in his tweet suggested that the only way inflation could be tamed is by charging the large corporation.

Amazon chief Jeff Bezos lashed at US President Joe Biden over the latter’s tweet about taxing the large corporations to bring down the inflation. The strong retort from the billionaire came a day after Biden in his tweet suggested that the only way inflation could be tamed is by charging the large corporation. “You want to bring down inflation? Let’s make sure the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share,” Biden tweeted on early Saturday morning. To which Bezos in a sly remark suggested that the tweet could be considered disinformation. “The newly created Disinformation Board should review this tweet, or maybe they need to form a new Non Sequitur Board instead," Bezos said, referring to Homeland Security's Disinformation Governance Board that was announced in April. The newly created Disinformation Board should review this tweet, or maybe they need to form a new Non Sequitur Board instead. Raising corp taxes is fine to discuss. Taming inflation is critical to discuss. Mushing them together is just misdirection. https://t.co/ye4XiNNc2v — Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) May 14, 2022 × "Raising corp taxes is fine to discuss. Taming inflation is critical to discuss. Mushing them together is just misdirection," Bezos continued. One of the major promises of Biden’s 2023 budget plan has been to tax the ultra-wealthy and cash-rich corporations. Amazon, the company founded by Bezos, has long been accused of not paying its fair share of taxes. The company paid no federal income taxes in 2017 and 2018, according to reports. Bezos has reportedly paid nothing in federal income taxes in 2007 and 2011. Also read | Defying death: Jeff Bezos, other big tech founders fund startups doing anti-aging research Before Bezos, it was Tesla chief Elon Musk who had opposed Biden’s proposal to tax the top one-hundredth of one per cent (0.01 per cent) of American households worth over $100 million. Also read | Jeff Bezos loses billions as Amazon shares slump; Wall Street tumbles The White House estimates that the proposed tax would increase the revenue by $360 billion over ten years. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

Amazon's Bezos slams US Prez Biden over his tweet on taxing rich corps to tame inflation

Warren Buffet paid an 18% tax rate in 2007, while his secretary paid a 33% rate. In 2007, 2011, and 2018, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk paid a total of $0 in income taxes. Every year, billionaires in the United States save $160 billion in taxes. How is it possible to be a billionaire while paying so little in taxes?

How do American billionaires avoid paying taxes?

Amazon has reported its first quarterly loss since 2015, its money-making juggernaut stalled by a slowdown in pandemic-induced online shopping and a huge write-down of its investment in an electric-vehicle startup.

The Seattle-based e-commerce giant's stock fell 9 per cent&nbsp;on Thursday in after-hours trading.

Amazon reported a loss of $3.84 billion, or $7.56 a share, for the first three months of the year. A year ago, it reported a profit of $8.1 billion, or $15.79 a share, for the first quarter. Wall Street analysts expected a profit of $8.35 a share in the latest quarter, according to FactSet.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/amazon-workers-in-small-new-jersey-facility-file-for-union-election-472118">Amazon workers in small New Jersey facility file for union election</a>

The ocean of red ink in Amazon's report came mostly from the company's accounting for a $7.6 billion loss in value of its stock investment in Rivian Automotive. Rivian went public in late 2021 and its stock traded at close $180 at one point. It closed Thursday at $32.18. Ford Motor Co reported a similar write-down of the value of its Rivian investment Wednesday.

Amazon's e-commerce business also reported an operating loss of $1.57 billion in North America and $1.28 billion internationally.

Meanwhile, sales at Amazon's cloud-computing business, which helps power the online operations of Netflix, McDonald's and other companies, grew 37 per cent in the quarter. And sales in its advertising business, where brands pay to get their products to show up first when shoppers search on Amazon's site, rose 25 per cent.

Still, the slowdown in online spending is real and broad-based. While in-store sales rose, March is the first month to show decline in online sales since the pandemic began, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks spending made over the Mastercard payments network and survey estimates for other payments made with cash and checks.

Amazon prospered during the COVID-19 pandemic as homebound people eager to limit human contact turned online to purchase what they need. But growth has slowed as vaccinated Americans feel more comfortable going out. According to the e-commerce research firm MarketPlace Pulse, the value of goods sold on Amazon last year grew by half the rate compared to 2020.

Watch |&nbsp;Amazon's new union demands company start bargaining in early May

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Like many others, Amazon is dealing with pressure from inflation and supply-chain issues. In the past two years, Amazon's Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said the company has doubled the size of its operations and nearly doubled its workforce.

He said labour shortages and a lack of physical space are no longer major issues, but the company continues to face a variety of pressures such as increased shipping costs.

Inflation-related expenses added roughly $2 billion of incremental costs when compared to last year, Olsavsky said, adding that the company also incurred another $4 billion in costs related to productivity loss and other inefficiencies.

The pandemic and subsequent war in Ukraine have brought unusual growth and challenges,&nbsp;said Amazon CEO Andy Jassy in a statement. Our teams are squarely focused on improving productivity and cost efficiencies throughout our fulfillment network. We know how to do this and have done it before.

To offset rising fuel costs and inflation, the retail giant has added a 5 per cent&nbsp;surcharge to fees it charges third-party sellers who use its fulfillment services. Last quarter, Amazon also hiked its annual Prime membership fee by $20, a first since 2018. Despite the fee hike, Olsavsky said millions of new Prime members have enrolled during the quarter.

Revenue rose 7 per cent&nbsp;to $116.44 billion, compared with $108.52 billion in first quarter 2021, representing the company's sixth consecutive quarter of revenue topping $100 billion. Amazon had projected sales between $112 billion and $117 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting $116.5 billion.

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Given the pace at which the business grew over the past few years this shift is hardly surprising," said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail.

"It represents more of a post pandemic reset than catastrophic failure. Nevertheless, the slowdown raises important questions over how Amazon can restore momentum and regain its leadership position as one of the primary drivers of online growth.

Amazon said it forecasts sales for the current quarter to range between $116 billion and $121 billion, below the $125.33 billion that analysts are forecasting.

The results come as Amazon is closing all of its brick-and-mortar bookstores, as well as its 4-star shops and pop up locations, as the online retail behemoth reworks its physical footprint. The company also faces a growing unionisation push from inside its workforce.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/amazon-calls-for-election-re-run-after-workers-voted-for-first-us-union-469893">Amazon calls for election re-run after workers voted for first US union</a>

A second union election is currently underway at a company warehouse on Staten Island, New York, the same borough where workers at a nearby facility voted to unionise earlier this month. Amazon has filed objections over the election with the National

Labour Relations Board and is seeking to re-do the vote.

The final outcome of a separate union election in Bessemer, Alabama, is still up in the air with 416 outstanding challenged ballots hanging in the balance. Hearings to review the ballots are expected to begin in the coming weeks.

Amazon has reported its first quarterly loss since 2015, its money-making juggernaut stalled by a slowdown in pandemic-induced online shopping and a huge write-down of its investment in an electric-vehicle startup.

Amazon has reported its first quarterly loss since 2015, its money-making juggernaut stalled by a slowdown in pandemic-induced online shopping and a huge write-down of its investment in an electric-vehicle startup. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant's stock fell 9 per cent on Thursday in after-hours trading. Amazon reported a loss of $3.84 billion, or $7.56 a share, for the first three months of the year. A year ago, it reported a profit of $8.1 billion, or $15.79 a share, for the first quarter. Wall Street analysts expected a profit of $8.35 a share in the latest quarter, according to FactSet. Also read | Amazon workers in small New Jersey facility file for union election The ocean of red ink in Amazon's report came mostly from the company's accounting for a $7.6 billion loss in value of its stock investment in Rivian Automotive. Rivian went public in late 2021 and its stock traded at close $180 at one point. It closed Thursday at $32.18. Ford Motor Co reported a similar write-down of the value of its Rivian investment Wednesday. Amazon's e-commerce business also reported an operating loss of $1.57 billion in North America and $1.28 billion internationally. Meanwhile, sales at Amazon's cloud-computing business, which helps power the online operations of Netflix, McDonald's and other companies, grew 37 per cent in the quarter. And sales in its advertising business, where brands pay to get their products to show up first when shoppers search on Amazon's site, rose 25 per cent. Still, the slowdown in online spending is real and broad-based. While in-store sales rose, March is the first month to show decline in online sales since the pandemic began, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks spending made over the Mastercard payments network and survey estimates for other payments made with cash and checks. Amazon prospered during the COVID-19 pandemic as homebound people eager to limit human contact turned online to purchase what they need. But growth has slowed as vaccinated Americans feel more comfortable going out. According to the e-commerce research firm MarketPlace Pulse, the value of goods sold on Amazon last year grew by half the rate compared to 2020. Watch | Amazon's new union demands company start bargaining in early May Like many others, Amazon is dealing with pressure from inflation and supply-chain issues. In the past two years, Amazon's Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said the company has doubled the size of its operations and nearly doubled its workforce. He said labour shortages and a lack of physical space are no longer major issues, but the company continues to face a variety of pressures such as increased shipping costs. Inflation-related expenses added roughly $2 billion of incremental costs when compared to last year, Olsavsky said, adding that the company also incurred another $4 billion in costs related to productivity loss and other inefficiencies. The pandemic and subsequent war in Ukraine have brought unusual growth and challenges, said Amazon CEO Andy Jassy in a statement. Our teams are squarely focused on improving productivity and cost efficiencies throughout our fulfillment network. We know how to do this and have done it before. To offset rising fuel costs and inflation, the retail giant has added a 5 per cent surcharge to fees it charges third-party sellers who use its fulfillment services. Last quarter, Amazon also hiked its annual Prime membership fee by $20, a first since 2018. Despite the fee hike, Olsavsky said millions of new Prime members have enrolled during the quarter. Revenue rose 7 per cent to $116.44 billion, compared with $108.52 billion in first quarter 2021, representing the company's sixth consecutive quarter of revenue topping $100 billion. Amazon had projected sales between $112 billion and $117 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting $116.5 billion. WATCH WION LIVE HERE: Given the pace at which the business grew over the past few years this shift is hardly surprising," said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail. "It represents more of a post pandemic reset than catastrophic failure. Nevertheless, the slowdown raises important questions over how Amazon can restore momentum and regain its leadership position as one of the primary drivers of online growth. Amazon said it forecasts sales for the current quarter to range between $116 billion and $121 billion, below the $125.33 billion that analysts are forecasting. The results come as Amazon is closing all of its brick-and-mortar bookstores, as well as its 4-star shops and pop up locations, as the online retail behemoth reworks its physical footprint. The company also faces a growing unionisation push from inside its workforce. Also read | Amazon calls for election re-run after workers voted for first US union A second union election is currently underway at a company warehouse on Staten Island, New York, the same borough where workers at a nearby facility voted to unionise earlier this month. Amazon has filed objections over the election with the National Labour Relations Board and is seeking to re-do the vote. The final outcome of a separate union election in Bessemer, Alabama, is still up in the air with 416 outstanding challenged ballots hanging in the balance. Hearings to review the ballots are expected to begin in the coming weeks.

Amazon reports rare quarterly loss as online shopping slows

Elon Musk, world’s richest man, is set to takeover Twitter for $44 billion. But this deal may be ‘concerning’ for some. The White House Secretary Jen Psaki said US President Joe Biden has “long been concerned about the power of large social media platforms.” Some even speculate the road ahead of Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal while others find a China angle in the story.

Elon Musk’s Twitter deal has people ‘concerned’

Wang Wenbin, the spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry, on Tuesday (April 26) dismissed speculation that the country may&nbsp;try to influence Twitter through Tesla.

Addressing a press conference, Wenbin said, "I noticed that you're good at speculating but there is no basis."

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has bought Twitter with a cash deal of $44 billion and since China is the biggest market for the electric automobile company it was speculated that it might use this to influence the content on the microblogging site Twitter.

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Earlier, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had said the Twitter deal gives China "a bit of leverage over the town square."

"My own answer to this question is probably not. The more likely outcome in this regard is complexity in China for Tesla, rather than censorship at Twitter," Bezos had tweeted.

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Interesting question. Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the town square? <a href="https://t.co/jTiEnabP6T">https://t.co/jTiEnabP6T</a>
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In response, Musk, who is the world's richest man and a competitor of Bezos said, "I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means."

Interestingly, Twitter is blocked in China and Beijing uses Weibo as its replacement in the Communist country.

Also see |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/elon-musk-buys-twitter-here-are-other-biggest-ever-tech-acquisitions-so-far-473886">Musk buys Twitter, here are other biggest-ever tech acquisitions so far</a>

After Musk opened a new showroom in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang, American activists had urged him to close it as Beijing has made concentration camps over there to abuse Uighur Muslims.

According to Ibrahim Hooper, the communications director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, “No American corporation should be doing business in a region that is the focal point of a campaign of genocide targeting a religious and ethnic minority.”

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Even White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had condemned the move saying, “The international community, including the public and private sectors cannot look the other way when it comes to what is taking place in Xinjiang.”&nbsp;

In 2019, Musk opened Tesla's first factory outside the US in Shanghai. He has been at loggerheads with the US Securities Exchange Commission over a tweet claiming he will take Tesla private in 2018.

(With inputs from agencies)

Wang Wenbin, the spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry, on Tuesday (April 26) dismissed speculation that the country may try to influence Twitter through Tesla.

Wang Wenbin, the spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry, on Tuesday (April 26) dismissed speculation that the country may try to influence Twitter through Tesla. Addressing a press conference, Wenbin said, "I noticed that you're good at speculating but there is no basis." Tesla CEO Elon Musk has bought Twitter with a cash deal of $44 billion and since China is the biggest market for the electric automobile company it was speculated that it might use this to influence the content on the microblogging site Twitter. Earlier, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had said the Twitter deal gives China "a bit of leverage over the town square." "My own answer to this question is probably not. The more likely outcome in this regard is complexity in China for Tesla, rather than censorship at Twitter," Bezos had tweeted. Interesting question. Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the town square? https://t.co/jTiEnabP6T — Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) April 25, 2022 × In response, Musk, who is the world's richest man and a competitor of Bezos said, "I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means." Interestingly, Twitter is blocked in China and Beijing uses Weibo as its replacement in the Communist country. Also see | Musk buys Twitter, here are other biggest-ever tech acquisitions so far After Musk opened a new showroom in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang, American activists had urged him to close it as Beijing has made concentration camps over there to abuse Uighur Muslims. According to Ibrahim Hooper, the communications director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, “No American corporation should be doing business in a region that is the focal point of a campaign of genocide targeting a religious and ethnic minority.” Watch WION's live TV here: Even White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had condemned the move saying, “The international community, including the public and private sectors cannot look the other way when it comes to what is taking place in Xinjiang.” In 2019, Musk opened Tesla's first factory outside the US in Shanghai. He has been at loggerheads with the US Securities Exchange Commission over a tweet claiming he will take Tesla private in 2018. (With inputs from agencies)

Twitter-Elon Musk deal: China junks speculations it may gain influence over the site

Just hours after Tesla chief Elon Musk brought Twitter in a mega $44 billion deal, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos questioned China's influence with Tesla's electric car company running in China.

"Interesting question. Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the town square?" Bezos said in a tweet after a user set details on Tesla's operations in China and the fact that the Communist government had banned Twitter.

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Interesting question. Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the town square? <a href="https://t.co/jTiEnabP6T">https://t.co/jTiEnabP6T</a>
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The Amazon boss then added: "My own answer to this question is probably not. The more likely outcome in this regard is complexity in China for Tesla, rather than censorship at Twitter," adding, "But we'll see. Musk is extremely good at navigating this kind of complexity."

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My own answer to this question is probably not. The more likely outcome in this regard is complexity in China for Tesla, rather than censorship at Twitter.
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Watch:&nbsp;Twitter accepts Elon Musk's buyout deal

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Musk's bid to takeover Twitter was hampered by a hostile takeover threat as the Tesla chief sought to win over investors.&nbsp;

Musk had earlier bought nine per cent stake in Twitter but then&nbsp;sought to buy the social medial giant even as the Twitter board said it would adopt a "poison pill" approach to thwart Musk's plan.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-elon-musks-purchase-of-twitter-white-house-expresses-concerns-473856">Also Read:&nbsp;White House says concerned over 'power of large social media platforms'</a>

However, Musk won the fight as he informed that he had put together a mammoth $46.5 billion as the Twitter board accepted the offer.

(Wit inputs from Agencies)

Just hours after Tesla chief Elon Musk brought Twitter in a mega $44 billion deal, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos questioned China's influence with Tesla's electric car company running in China.

Just hours after Tesla chief Elon Musk brought Twitter in a mega $44 billion deal, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos questioned China's influence with Tesla's electric car company running in China. "Interesting question. Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the town square?" Bezos said in a tweet after a user set details on Tesla's operations in China and the fact that the Communist government had banned Twitter. Interesting question. Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the town square? https://t.co/jTiEnabP6T — Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) April 25, 2022 × The Amazon boss then added: "My own answer to this question is probably not. The more likely outcome in this regard is complexity in China for Tesla, rather than censorship at Twitter," adding, "But we'll see. Musk is extremely good at navigating this kind of complexity." My own answer to this question is probably not. The more likely outcome in this regard is complexity in China for Tesla, rather than censorship at Twitter. — Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) April 26, 2022 × Watch: Twitter accepts Elon Musk's buyout deal Musk's bid to takeover Twitter was hampered by a hostile takeover threat as the Tesla chief sought to win over investors. Musk had earlier bought nine per cent stake in Twitter but then sought to buy the social medial giant even as the Twitter board said it would adopt a "poison pill" approach to thwart Musk's plan. Also Read: White House says concerned over 'power of large social media platforms' However, Musk won the fight as he informed that he had put together a mammoth $46.5 billion as the Twitter board accepted the offer. (Wit inputs from Agencies)

Elon Musk-Twitter deal: Did Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage? Bezos trolls Musk

Online&nbsp;retailer&nbsp;Amazon.com Inc's employees in its&nbsp;New York facility have become the first to form a union in the United States.

According to a tally of ballots from the National Labor Relations Board, employees working at the company's warehouse in Staten Island warehouse voted 2,654 to 2,131 in support of the unionising drive.

The number of employees eligible to participate in the vote was 8,325, the NLRB said at the conclusion of the count.

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During the vote, Amazon's ability to remain union-free in its home market was at stake. The e-commerce giant has guarded the status fiercely since the company was set up in the 1990s.&nbsp;

Labor advocates, who for years have considered Amazon's labor practices a threat to workers, consider that the victory for organised labor at the second-largest employer is a historic first for the retailing behemoth in the United States.

"Welcome the 1st union in America for Amazon," organiser Christian Smalls tweeted.

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<a href="https://twitter.com/amazon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@amazon</a> wanted to make me the face of the whole unionizing efforts against them…. welp there you go! <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffBezos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JeffBezos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidZapolsky?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DavidZapolsky</a> CONGRATULATIONS 🎉 <a href="https://twitter.com/amazonlabor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@amazonlabor</a> We worked had fun and made History ‼️✊🏾 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ALU?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ALU</a> # ALUfortheWin welcome the 1st union in America for Amazon 🔥🔥🔥🔥
— Christian Smalls (@Shut_downAmazon) <a href="https://twitter.com/Shut_downAmazon/status/1509913203874189319?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
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He had been doubted when he announced plans to unionize JFK8 last year. However, his supporters had touted how a union could demand higher wages, safer conditions and job security.

“With the union together, we are united,” said Geebah Sando, a package sorter who voted for the union after working more than two years at JFK8.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/just-when-bezos-yacht-demands-unexpected-costs-amazon-prime-raises-price-450426">Also read |&nbsp;Just when Bezos’ yacht demands unexpected costs, Amazon Prime raises price</a>

It is noteworthy that Amazon had discouraged workers from supporting unions at mandatory meetings by using signs and literature during the contentious campaign.

The company had said that the formation of a union will destroy the company's direct relationship with workers and represent a jump into the unknown.

It had tried to convince its employees that the union's formation will not guarantee better wages or job security.

Meanwhile, in Alabama, by contrast, a majority of Amazon workers rejected unionisation. In the re-vote 993 workers cast ballots against the labor group, compared with 875 employees in favour. However, the outcome is still not final.

The contest could hinge on 416 challenged ballots to be adjudicated in the coming weeks, which are sufficient to change the result, said the NLRB.&nbsp;

Interestingly, the number of US workers who are members of a union has fallen from about 20 percent in 1983 to about 10 percent in 2021, as per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

(With inputs from agencies)

Online retailer Amazon.com Inc's employees in its New York facility have become the first to form a union in the United States. According to a tally of ballots from the National Labor Relations Board, employees working at the company's warehouse in Staten Island warehouse voted 2,654 to 2,131 in support of the unionising drive.

Online retailer Amazon.com Inc's employees in its New York facility have become the first to form a union in the United States. According to a tally of ballots from the National Labor Relations Board, employees working at the company's warehouse in Staten Island warehouse voted 2,654 to 2,131 in support of the unionising drive. The number of employees eligible to participate in the vote was 8,325, the NLRB said at the conclusion of the count. During the vote, Amazon's ability to remain union-free in its home market was at stake. The e-commerce giant has guarded the status fiercely since the company was set up in the 1990s. Labor advocates, who for years have considered Amazon's labor practices a threat to workers, consider that the victory for organised labor at the second-largest employer is a historic first for the retailing behemoth in the United States. "Welcome the 1st union in America for Amazon," organiser Christian Smalls tweeted. @amazon wanted to make me the face of the whole unionizing efforts against them…. welp there you go! @JeffBezos @DavidZapolsky CONGRATULATIONS 🎉 @amazonlabor We worked had fun and made History ‼️✊🏾 #ALU # ALUfortheWin welcome the 1st union in America for Amazon 🔥🔥🔥🔥 — Christian Smalls (@Shut_downAmazon) April 1, 2022 × He had been doubted when he announced plans to unionize JFK8 last year. However, his supporters had touted how a union could demand higher wages, safer conditions and job security. “With the union together, we are united,” said Geebah Sando, a package sorter who voted for the union after working more than two years at JFK8. Also read | Just when Bezos’ yacht demands unexpected costs, Amazon Prime raises price It is noteworthy that Amazon had discouraged workers from supporting unions at mandatory meetings by using signs and literature during the contentious campaign. The company had said that the formation of a union will destroy the company's direct relationship with workers and represent a jump into the unknown. It had tried to convince its employees that the union's formation will not guarantee better wages or job security. Meanwhile, in Alabama, by contrast, a majority of Amazon workers rejected unionisation. In the re-vote 993 workers cast ballots against the labor group, compared with 875 employees in favour. However, the outcome is still not final. The contest could hinge on 416 challenged ballots to be adjudicated in the coming weeks, which are sufficient to change the result, said the NLRB. Interestingly, the number of US workers who are members of a union has fallen from about 20 percent in 1983 to about 10 percent in 2021, as per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (With inputs from agencies)

Amazon's New York facility becomes its first in US to organise a union

Blue Origin's fourth crew to final frontier successfully lands after 10-minute voyage on Friday.

The space tourism venture launched by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos blasted off from the company's Launch Site One base in west Texas with six crew members.

Gary Lai, chief architect of the New Shepard programme, who was a part of the crew said "I felt my skin pulling taut," as the New Shepard spacecraft soared to an altitude of 66 miles (106 km).

"Someday you're going to see us launching every single week," he said.

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Views of a borderless Earth from space <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NS20?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NS20</a> <a href="https://t.co/0FIHvvMs69">pic.twitter.com/0FIHvvMs69</a>
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Lai replaced comedian Pete Davidson, the boyfriend of reality star Kim Kardashian, who canceled his participation when the planned launch was postponed from its original March 23 date to allow time for additional pre-flight tests.

Other than Lai, the crew members aboard the spacecraft included angel investor Marty Allen, real estate veteran Marc Hagle and his wife Sharon Hagle, entrepreneur and University of North Carolina professor Jim Kitchen and George Nield, founder and president of Commercial Space Technologies.

The unique rocket has reusable, zero greenhouse gas emissions.&nbsp;It crossed the Karman line that marks the start of space.

Also see |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/why-has-space-business-has-become-the-final-profitable-frontier-452928" hreflang="en">Why has space business has become the final profitable frontier?</a>

While in space, the passengers&nbsp;unbuckled their seatbelts and enjoyed a few minutes of weightlessness, taking in the majesty of Earth before the capsule re-entered the atmosphere

Bezos, the billionaire founder of online retail giant Amazon, was part of Blue Origin's inaugural crewed flight to the edge of space last July.&nbsp;

He was accompanied by his brother, Mark Bezos, trailblazing octogenarian female aviator Wally Funk and an 18-year-old Dutch high school graduate.

Meanwhile, his competitor Elon Musk's SpaceX is targeting next week to fly three tycoons and a former astronaut to the International Space Station on the Axiom-1 mission.

However, the crew involved in the mission insists they're doing serious research work rather than going on vacation. 
&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Blue Origin's fourth crew to final frontier successfully lands after 10-minute voyage on Friday. The space tourism venture launched by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos blasted off from the company's Launch Site One base in west Texas with six crew members.

Blue Origin's fourth crew to final frontier successfully lands after 10-minute voyage on Friday. The space tourism venture launched by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos blasted off from the company's Launch Site One base in west Texas with six crew members. Gary Lai, chief architect of the New Shepard programme, who was a part of the crew said "I felt my skin pulling taut," as the New Shepard spacecraft soared to an altitude of 66 miles (106 km). "Someday you're going to see us launching every single week," he said. Views of a borderless Earth from space #NS20 pic.twitter.com/0FIHvvMs69 — Blue Origin (@blueorigin) March 31, 2022 × Lai replaced comedian Pete Davidson, the boyfriend of reality star Kim Kardashian, who canceled his participation when the planned launch was postponed from its original March 23 date to allow time for additional pre-flight tests. Other than Lai, the crew members aboard the spacecraft included angel investor Marty Allen, real estate veteran Marc Hagle and his wife Sharon Hagle, entrepreneur and University of North Carolina professor Jim Kitchen and George Nield, founder and president of Commercial Space Technologies. The unique rocket has reusable, zero greenhouse gas emissions. It crossed the Karman line that marks the start of space. Also see | Why has space business has become the final profitable frontier? While in space, the passengers unbuckled their seatbelts and enjoyed a few minutes of weightlessness, taking in the majesty of Earth before the capsule re-entered the atmosphere Bezos, the billionaire founder of online retail giant Amazon, was part of Blue Origin's inaugural crewed flight to the edge of space last July. He was accompanied by his brother, Mark Bezos, trailblazing octogenarian female aviator Wally Funk and an 18-year-old Dutch high school graduate. Meanwhile, his competitor Elon Musk's SpaceX is targeting next week to fly three tycoons and a former astronaut to the International Space Station on the Axiom-1 mission. However, the crew involved in the mission insists they're doing serious research work rather than going on vacation. (With inputs from agencies)

Blue Origin successfully lands after 10-minute voyage in its fourth crew to final frontier

The fourth commercial&nbsp;flight&nbsp;of Jeff Bezos' space&nbsp;tourism&nbsp;venture&nbsp;Blue&nbsp;Origin, offering short suborbital joyrides to well-heeled thrill-seekers and celebrity guests, was due for liftoff on Tuesday from the company's&nbsp;launch&nbsp;site in rural west Texas.

Blue&nbsp;Origin's&nbsp;New Shepard spacecraft was slated for&nbsp;launch&nbsp;at 8:30 a.m. CDT (1330 GMT) with six would-be citizen&nbsp;astronauts strapped into the crew cabin atop the fully autonomous&nbsp;launch&nbsp;vehicle, standing nearly six stories tall, outside Van Horn, Texas.

But unlike&nbsp;Blue&nbsp;Origin's&nbsp;first three commercial&nbsp;flights, with passenger rosters including "Star Trek" actor William Shatner, morning TV host Michael Strahan and even Bezos himself, nobody among the latest group of customers even comes close to being famous.

The most recent household name confirmed as a non-paying promotional guest, "Saturday Night Live" comic Pete Davidson, dropped out earlier this month when the planned&nbsp;launch&nbsp;was postponed for six days from its original March 23 date to allow time for additional pre-flight&nbsp;tests.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/just-when-bezos-yacht-demands-unexpected-costs-amazon-prime-raises-price-450426">Just when Bezos’ yacht demands unexpected costs, Amazon Prime raises price</a>

Days later the company announced that Davidson, 28, the boyfriend of reality TV star Kim Kardashian, had been replaced on the latest "crew" manifest by veteran&nbsp;Blue&nbsp;Origin designer Gary Lai, architect of the New Shepard reusable&nbsp;launch&nbsp;system.

Lai is flying for free. He joins five previously announced paying customers - angel investor Marty Allen, real estate veteran Marc Hagle and his wife Sharon Hagle, entrepreneur and University of North Carolina professor Jim Kitchen and George Nield, founder-president of Commercial Space Technologies.

Kitchen's journey to the final frontier caps a lifelong dedication to travel that has taken him to all 193 U.N.-recognized countries, according to biographical material from&nbsp;Blue&nbsp;Origin.

Tuesday's entire&nbsp;flight, from liftoff to touchdown, is expected to last just over 10 minutes. The crew will experience a few minutes of weightlessness at the very apex of their suborbital ride, some 350,000 feet (106,680 metres) high, before their capsule falls back to Earth for a parachute landing on the desert floor.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/heres-how-jeff-bezos-superyacht-messing-up-with-history-of-this-dutch-port-city-450146">Here's how Jeff Bezos' superyacht messing up with history of this Dutch port city</a>

Bezos, the billionaire founder of online retail giant Amazon, tagged along himself on&nbsp;Blue&nbsp;Origin's&nbsp;inaugural crewed&nbsp;flight&nbsp;to the edge of space last July.

He accompanied his brother, Mark Bezos, trailblazing octogenarian female aviator Wally Funk and an 18-year-old Dutch high school graduate.

Later passengers included Shatner, who became the oldest person to fly to space at age 90, "Good Morning America" co-host and retired NFL star Strahan, and the eldest daughter of pioneering&nbsp;astronaut Alan Shepard, for whom&nbsp;Blue&nbsp;Origin's&nbsp;spacecraft is named.

The fourth commercial flight of Jeff Bezos' space tourism venture Blue Origin, offering short suborbital joyrides to well-heeled thrill-seekers and celebrity guests, was due for liftoff on Tuesday from the company's launch site in rural west Texas.

The fourth commercial flight of Jeff Bezos' space tourism venture Blue Origin, offering short suborbital joyrides to well-heeled thrill-seekers and celebrity guests, was due for liftoff on Tuesday from the company's launch site in rural west Texas. Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft was slated for launch at 8:30 a.m. CDT (1330 GMT) with six would-be citizen astronauts strapped into the crew cabin atop the fully autonomous launch vehicle, standing nearly six stories tall, outside Van Horn, Texas. But unlike Blue Origin's first three commercial flights, with passenger rosters including "Star Trek" actor William Shatner, morning TV host Michael Strahan and even Bezos himself, nobody among the latest group of customers even comes close to being famous. The most recent household name confirmed as a non-paying promotional guest, "Saturday Night Live" comic Pete Davidson, dropped out earlier this month when the planned launch was postponed for six days from its original March 23 date to allow time for additional pre-flight tests. Also read | Just when Bezos’ yacht demands unexpected costs, Amazon Prime raises price Days later the company announced that Davidson, 28, the boyfriend of reality TV star Kim Kardashian, had been replaced on the latest "crew" manifest by veteran Blue Origin designer Gary Lai, architect of the New Shepard reusable launch system. Lai is flying for free. He joins five previously announced paying customers - angel investor Marty Allen, real estate veteran Marc Hagle and his wife Sharon Hagle, entrepreneur and University of North Carolina professor Jim Kitchen and George Nield, founder-president of Commercial Space Technologies. Kitchen's journey to the final frontier caps a lifelong dedication to travel that has taken him to all 193 U.N.-recognized countries, according to biographical material from Blue Origin. Tuesday's entire flight, from liftoff to touchdown, is expected to last just over 10 minutes. The crew will experience a few minutes of weightlessness at the very apex of their suborbital ride, some 350,000 feet (106,680 metres) high, before their capsule falls back to Earth for a parachute landing on the desert floor. Also read | Here's how Jeff Bezos' superyacht messing up with history of this Dutch port city Bezos, the billionaire founder of online retail giant Amazon, tagged along himself on Blue Origin's inaugural crewed flight to the edge of space last July. He accompanied his brother, Mark Bezos, trailblazing octogenarian female aviator Wally Funk and an 18-year-old Dutch high school graduate. Later passengers included Shatner, who became the oldest person to fly to space at age 90, "Good Morning America" co-host and retired NFL star Strahan, and the eldest daughter of pioneering astronaut Alan Shepard, for whom Blue Origin's spacecraft is named.

Blue Origin's 4th astro-tourism flight set to launch without big names

The crowds that cheered the astronaut — about a quarter-million in Washington, four million in New York — adorned themselves in numerous ways. Some wore space helmets fashioned from cardboard and plastic. Others, less showily, wore buttons proclaiming John Glenn “the New Frontier man of the year,” a nod to John F. Kennedy’s famous phrase. Sixty years ago, Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth, opening up the frontier of human exploration in space — a frontier that stretched to the moon and beyond. The flight of Friendship 7 made it all seem possible.

Glenn’s feat marked the start of a spectacular decade: spacewalks, trips around the moon, six lunar landings. Then the frontier receded. Since 1972, no human being has ventured outside Earth’s orbit. A generation has reached middle age without any memory of Americans on the moon.

That could change soon. If NASA’s plan holds, its Artemis program will land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon in 2025. And this, NASA says, is just the beginning. The agency envisions at least 10 lunar landings. Its administrator, Bill Nelson, is waging a campaign to beat other nations in placing “boots on the moon” — not just boots but also, in time, a base. And “the sooner we get to the moon,” NASA has said, “the sooner we get American astronauts to Mars.”

But why bother? There is certainly much of interest on Mars — NASA’s newest rover, Perseverance, and its companion, the tiny helicopter Ingenuity, have made that clearer than ever. What is less evident is the role, the value, of human explorers. To most Americans, machines seem sufficient to the task. A Morning Consult poll last year showed a general interest in space exploration but not in having humans do the exploring.

In 1961, when Kennedy proposed to send Americans to the moon, a senator warned that the administration had “a lot of missionary work” to do. That is surely the case today. Mr. Nelson has been making a persistent pitch for funding, but Congress appears unpersuaded. President Biden, for his part, has signaled support for Artemis but is more focused on the nation’s commercial and military capabilities in space, as well as the vantage point that space provides to observe climate change. Vice President Kamala Harris, the chair of the National Space Council, rarely mentions human spaceflight, stressing instead “the responsibility to look to our home planet.”

And reasonably so. Our planet has plenty to worry about, not least the damage we do to its atmosphere. But there is an argument to be made for the human exploration of space — a better argument, at least, than the White House and NASA have put forward. If the administration fails to sharpen and press its case, if it shies from insisting that humans, not just our inventions, should roam the heavens, the United States will likely cede the moon — and a good deal more than that — to more determined competitors.

Chief among them is China. Its goal is plain: to become a “great space power,” as President Xi Jinping has said. China’s Mars rover, arriving on the heels of our own, has been an impressive success; China also has a probe on the far side of the moon — a first for any nation. Its space station is nearly complete, while the International Space Station, after more than two decades orbiting Earth, approaches obsolescence and NASA turns to private companies to build and run its successors. Like the United States, China hopes to build a research station on the lunar surface. Unlike the United States, China gives no reason to doubt its resolve. It will also have a partner: Russia. The two countries have already begun to align their efforts.

Mr. Nelson cites an “aggressive” China as a reason for Americans to “get off our duff,” but a few national security questions require a fuller airing. What if, for example, China stakes out strategic positions on the moon? What if it asserts control over the resources it and other nations are searching for there: silicon, titanium and, not least, the water that is needed to sustain a human settlement? As Namrata Goswami, an expert on China’s space policy, has argued, “An advantage in accessing the vast wealth of the inner solar system could have an effect on the balance of power” on Earth.

If anyone is as bullish on the new frontier as China, it is the billionaires. Their ambitions, too, should spur NASA to stay in the game. Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk might or might not be visionaries, but they are easily the most powerful people on this planet to speak with a straight face about colonizing other ones. Mr. Musk warns of an “extinction event” that will require us to leave Earth behind. There is a certain egalitarianism in the idea of an escape hatch for humanity, though it is the egalitarianism of rats leaving a sinking (or overheating) ship. It would have to get pretty bad down here before ordinary people follow the billionaires into the black void of space rather than bid them adieu. Mr. Musk’s product placement of a Tesla in orbit and Mr. Bezos’ postflight performance in his cowboy hat leave one wary of their motives and nostalgic for the military bearing of Glenn. If space travel lost its novelty in the early 1970s, it might now be in the process of losing its dignity.

Of course, this takes nothing away from the achievements of Mr. Musk’s aerospace company, SpaceX. Rarely in any industry has such boldness of imagination been matched by such brilliance in execution. The company is an indispensable partner to NASA; a SpaceX landing system will carry astronauts to and from the moon’s surface.

But there is an essential difference between exploration and colonization, and both are a far cry from commercialization. Left to the billionaires, space is less likely to become a haven for humanity than a playground for its wealthiest members. In that event, there will be no more John Glenns — no more astronauts to look up to and emulate, astronauts whose humility and awe in the vastness of space define them as much as their bravery does.

“The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not,” Kennedy said in 1962 at Rice University, warning that “no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space.” Perhaps this logic has lost its power; perhaps Americans don’t care if the billionaires and China have the moon to themselves. The idea of space as a new frontier, too, might be tired, overworked. (During the Super Bowl, a Salesforce ad dismissed it with an “Eh.”) But the thrilling discoveries by Perseverance — the evidence of ancient Martian river deltas and lava flows — give eloquent testimony to the mysteries that await on the frontier. Robots like these are stunningly capable. Still, they cannot invent or imagine; they cannot drive the process of discovery in space any more than they do here on Earth. Only humans can lead, and to lead, humans must go.

Science “is simply the exploration of the unknown,” James Head, a planetary geologist at Brown who helped train the Apollo astronauts, told me, adding that “the moon is unknown. Mars is unknown.” Perhaps this is what NASA should say, and without apology: We don’t know what we’ll find. We don’t know what the moon and Mars can tell us about the origins of the universe and life on Earth and possibly beyond it. And that, above all, is the reason for going. Six days after his return to Earth, Glenn addressed a joint meeting of Congress. “What benefits are we gaining from the money spent?” he asked, acknowledging that it was too early to say. “But exploration and the pursuit of knowledge,” he said, “have always paid dividends in the long run — usually far greater than anything expected at the outset.” Why bother? This is why.

The crowds that cheered the astronaut — about a quarter-million in Washington, four million in New York — adorned themselves in numerous ways. Some wore space helmets fashioned from cardboard and plastic.

The crowds that cheered the astronaut — about a quarter-million in Washington, four million in New York — adorned themselves in numerous ways. Some wore space helmets fashioned from cardboard and plastic. Others, less showily, wore buttons proclaiming John Glenn “the New Frontier man of the year,” a nod to John F. Kennedy’s famous phrase. Sixty years ago, Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth, opening up the frontier of human exploration in space — a frontier that stretched to the moon and beyond. The flight of Friendship 7 made it all seem possible. Glenn’s feat marked the start of a spectacular decade: spacewalks, trips around the moon, six lunar landings. Then the frontier receded. Since 1972, no human being has ventured outside Earth’s orbit. A generation has reached middle age without any memory of Americans on the moon. That could change soon. If NASA’s plan holds, its Artemis program will land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon in 2025. And this, NASA says, is just the beginning. The agency envisions at least 10 lunar landings. Its administrator, Bill Nelson, is waging a campaign to beat other nations in placing “boots on the moon” — not just boots but also, in time, a base. And “the sooner we get to the moon,” NASA has said, “the sooner we get American astronauts to Mars.” But why bother? There is certainly much of interest on Mars — NASA’s newest rover, Perseverance, and its companion, the tiny helicopter Ingenuity, have made that clearer than ever. What is less evident is the role, the value, of human explorers. To most Americans, machines seem sufficient to the task. A Morning Consult poll last year showed a general interest in space exploration but not in having humans do the exploring. In 1961, when Kennedy proposed to send Americans to the moon, a senator warned that the administration had “a lot of missionary work” to do. That is surely the case today. Mr. Nelson has been making a persistent pitch for funding, but Congress appears unpersuaded. President Biden, for his part, has signaled support for Artemis but is more focused on the nation’s commercial and military capabilities in space, as well as the vantage point that space provides to observe climate change. Vice President Kamala Harris, the chair of the National Space Council, rarely mentions human spaceflight, stressing instead “the responsibility to look to our home planet.” And reasonably so. Our planet has plenty to worry about, not least the damage we do to its atmosphere. But there is an argument to be made for the human exploration of space — a better argument, at least, than the White House and NASA have put forward. If the administration fails to sharpen and press its case, if it shies from insisting that humans, not just our inventions, should roam the heavens, the United States will likely cede the moon — and a good deal more than that — to more determined competitors. Chief among them is China. Its goal is plain: to become a “great space power,” as President Xi Jinping has said. China’s Mars rover, arriving on the heels of our own, has been an impressive success; China also has a probe on the far side of the moon — a first for any nation. Its space station is nearly complete, while the International Space Station, after more than two decades orbiting Earth, approaches obsolescence and NASA turns to private companies to build and run its successors. Like the United States, China hopes to build a research station on the lunar surface. Unlike the United States, China gives no reason to doubt its resolve. It will also have a partner: Russia. The two countries have already begun to align their efforts. Mr. Nelson cites an “aggressive” China as a reason for Americans to “get off our duff,” but a few national security questions require a fuller airing. What if, for example, China stakes out strategic positions on the moon? What if it asserts control over the resources it and other nations are searching for there: silicon, titanium and, not least, the water that is needed to sustain a human settlement? As Namrata Goswami, an expert on China’s space policy, has argued, “An advantage in accessing the vast wealth of the inner solar system could have an effect on the balance of power” on Earth. If anyone is as bullish on the new frontier as China, it is the billionaires. Their ambitions, too, should spur NASA to stay in the game. Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk might or might not be visionaries, but they are easily the most powerful people on this planet to speak with a straight face about colonizing other ones. Mr. Musk warns of an “extinction event” that will require us to leave Earth behind. There is a certain egalitarianism in the idea of an escape hatch for humanity, though it is the egalitarianism of rats leaving a sinking (or overheating) ship. It would have to get pretty bad down here before ordinary people follow the billionaires into the black void of space rather than bid them adieu. Mr. Musk’s product placement of a Tesla in orbit and Mr. Bezos’ postflight performance in his cowboy hat leave one wary of their motives and nostalgic for the military bearing of Glenn. If space travel lost its novelty in the early 1970s, it might now be in the process of losing its dignity. Of course, this takes nothing away from the achievements of Mr. Musk’s aerospace company, SpaceX. Rarely in any industry has such boldness of imagination been matched by such brilliance in execution. The company is an indispensable partner to NASA; a SpaceX landing system will carry astronauts to and from the moon’s surface. But there is an essential difference between exploration and colonization, and both are a far cry from commercialization. Left to the billionaires, space is less likely to become a haven for humanity than a playground for its wealthiest members. In that event, there will be no more John Glenns — no more astronauts to look up to and emulate, astronauts whose humility and awe in the vastness of space define them as much as their bravery does. “The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not,” Kennedy said in 1962 at Rice University, warning that “no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space.” Perhaps this logic has lost its power; perhaps Americans don’t care if the billionaires and China have the moon to themselves. The idea of space as a new frontier, too, might be tired, overworked. (During the Super Bowl, a Salesforce ad dismissed it with an “Eh.”) But the thrilling discoveries by Perseverance — the evidence of ancient Martian river deltas and lava flows — give eloquent testimony to the mysteries that await on the frontier. Robots like these are stunningly capable. Still, they cannot invent or imagine; they cannot drive the process of discovery in space any more than they do here on Earth. Only humans can lead, and to lead, humans must go. Science “is simply the exploration of the unknown,” James Head, a planetary geologist at Brown who helped train the Apollo astronauts, told me, adding that “the moon is unknown. Mars is unknown.” Perhaps this is what NASA should say, and without apology: We don’t know what we’ll find. We don’t know what the moon and Mars can tell us about the origins of the universe and life on Earth and possibly beyond it. And that, above all, is the reason for going. Six days after his return to Earth, Glenn addressed a joint meeting of Congress. “What benefits are we gaining from the money spent?” he asked, acknowledging that it was too early to say. “But exploration and the pursuit of knowledge,” he said, “have always paid dividends in the long run — usually far greater than anything expected at the outset.” Why bother? This is why.

Don’t cede the Space Race to China and the billionaires

Why has space business has become the final profitable frontier?

Almost 1,200 Dutch residents are planning an event in which they will throw eggs at the superyacht of billionaire Jeff Bezos.

Rotterdam, a city in the Netherlands will dismantle a historic bridge temporarily to make way for a superyacht built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.&nbsp;

The gigantic yacht is reportedly being built by Dutch firm Oceanco. But it is too tall to fit through the historic Koningshaven Bridge, known to Rotterdammers as De Hef.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/defying-death-jeff-bezos-other-big-tech-founders-fund-startups-doing-anti-aging-research-446362">Also read |&nbsp;Defying death: Jeff Bezos, other big tech founders fund startups doing anti-aging research</a>

In protest, people in the country have made a Facebook group for an event called "Throwing eggs at Jeff Bezos' superyacht."

"Calling all Rotterdammers, take a box of rotten eggs with you and let's throw them en masse at Jeff's superyacht when it sails through the Hef in Rotterdam," says the event's description.

"Rotterdam was built from the rubble by the people of Rotterdam, and we don't just take that apart for the phallic symbol of a megalomaniac billionaire. Not without a fight!"

While 4,900 people have shown interest in the event, approximately 1,200 people have said they will be attending it.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/worlds-10-richest-men-add-402bn-to-their-net-worth-in-2021-take-a-look-who-gained-more-441730#elon-musk-441715">Also see |&nbsp;World's 10 richest men add $402bn to their net worth in 2021. Take a look who gained more</a>

Reports have mentioned that the local council promised after a major renovation in 2017 that it would never again dismantle the bridge.&nbsp;

A spokesman for the mayor of Rotterdam told AFP, "It's the only route to the sea," adding that billionaire Bezos would foot the bill for the operation.&nbsp;

The vessel, known as Y721 during construction, will measure 127 metres (139 yards), making it the largest sailing yacht in the world when it launches in 2022, according to figures published by Boat International.

The mayor's office insisted on the economic benefits and jobs created by the construction of the boat. It has also been promised that the bridge would be rebuilt in its current form.

Local media reports mentioned that the middle section of the steel-girdered bridge will be removed to give enough clearance to the boat. However, the entire process will take a few weeks and is expected to happen this summer.

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Almost 1,200 Dutch residents are planning an event in which they will throw eggs at the superyacht of billionaire Jeff Bezos. Rotterdam, a city in the Netherlands will dismantle a historic bridge temporarily to make way for a superyacht built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Almost 1,200 Dutch residents are planning an event in which they will throw eggs at the superyacht of billionaire Jeff Bezos. Rotterdam, a city in the Netherlands will dismantle a historic bridge temporarily to make way for a superyacht built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The gigantic yacht is reportedly being built by Dutch firm Oceanco. But it is too tall to fit through the historic Koningshaven Bridge, known to Rotterdammers as De Hef. Also read | Defying death: Jeff Bezos, other big tech founders fund startups doing anti-aging research In protest, people in the country have made a Facebook group for an event called "Throwing eggs at Jeff Bezos' superyacht." "Calling all Rotterdammers, take a box of rotten eggs with you and let's throw them en masse at Jeff's superyacht when it sails through the Hef in Rotterdam," says the event's description. "Rotterdam was built from the rubble by the people of Rotterdam, and we don't just take that apart for the phallic symbol of a megalomaniac billionaire. Not without a fight!" While 4,900 people have shown interest in the event, approximately 1,200 people have said they will be attending it. Also see | World's 10 richest men add $402bn to their net worth in 2021. Take a look who gained more Reports have mentioned that the local council promised after a major renovation in 2017 that it would never again dismantle the bridge. A spokesman for the mayor of Rotterdam told AFP, "It's the only route to the sea," adding that billionaire Bezos would foot the bill for the operation. The vessel, known as Y721 during construction, will measure 127 metres (139 yards), making it the largest sailing yacht in the world when it launches in 2022, according to figures published by Boat International. The mayor's office insisted on the economic benefits and jobs created by the construction of the boat. It has also been promised that the bridge would be rebuilt in its current form. Local media reports mentioned that the middle section of the steel-girdered bridge will be removed to give enough clearance to the boat. However, the entire process will take a few weeks and is expected to happen this summer. (With inputs from agencies)

Dutch residents planning to chuck eggs at superyacht of billionaire Jeff Bezos

Amazon is raising the price of its Prime service by $20. The service will now be available for $139 per year, up from the $119, which was instated four years ago. "With the continued expansion of Prime member benefits as well as the rise in wages and transportation costs, Amazon will increase the price of a Prime membership in the US, with the monthly fee going from $12.99 to $14.99, and the annual membership from $119 to $139," read a statement by Amazon.&nbsp;

The price change will come in effect from February 18 for new Prime members. For current subscribers, the hike will come into effect from March 25.

The global supply chain shortage and disruption of labour across the board has majorly contributed to this increase in subscription's price.&nbsp;

In a statement, Amazon said, “the continued expansion of Prime member benefits as well as the rise in wages and transportation costs” is a reason for increasing the service’s price.&nbsp;

The analysts had expected Amazon to announce a rise in the prices during its earnings call this week. This is because the company has increased wages. Also, it is now offering larger signing bonuses to entice more workers.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/heres-how-jeff-bezos-superyacht-messing-up-with-history-of-this-dutch-port-city-450146">Also read |&nbsp;Here's how Jeff Bezos' superyacht messing up with history of this Dutch port city</a>

Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities, while speaking to Reuters said, "It’s about time. Shipping costs have gone up, period.”

The increase in subscription's price comes at a time when Jeff Bezos’ boat has required the temporary dismantling of a historic bridge.&nbsp;

Rotterdam, a city in the Netherlands will dismantle a historic bridge temporarily to make way for a superyacht built Bezos. The iconic Koningshaven Bridge dates from 1878 and was rebuilt after being bombed by the Nazis in 1940 during World War II.&nbsp;

The superyacht is said to be worth $485 million and is said to be 417ft long as the shipyard building the three-masted mammoth in Alblasserdam, near Rotterdam.&nbsp;

Reports have mentioned that the local council promised after a major renovation in 2017 that it would never again dismantle the bridge.&nbsp;

A spokesman for the mayor of Rotterdam told AFP, "It's the only route to the sea," He further added that billionaire Bezos would foot the bill for the operation.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Amazon is raising the price of its Prime service by $20. The service will now be available for $139 per year, up from the $119, which was instated four years ago.

Amazon is raising the price of its Prime service by $20. The service will now be available for $139 per year, up from the $119, which was instated four years ago. "With the continued expansion of Prime member benefits as well as the rise in wages and transportation costs, Amazon will increase the price of a Prime membership in the US, with the monthly fee going from $12.99 to $14.99, and the annual membership from $119 to $139," read a statement by Amazon. The price change will come in effect from February 18 for new Prime members. For current subscribers, the hike will come into effect from March 25. The global supply chain shortage and disruption of labour across the board has majorly contributed to this increase in subscription's price. In a statement, Amazon said, “the continued expansion of Prime member benefits as well as the rise in wages and transportation costs” is a reason for increasing the service’s price. The analysts had expected Amazon to announce a rise in the prices during its earnings call this week. This is because the company has increased wages. Also, it is now offering larger signing bonuses to entice more workers. Also read | Here's how Jeff Bezos' superyacht messing up with history of this Dutch port city Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities, while speaking to Reuters said, "It’s about time. Shipping costs have gone up, period.” The increase in subscription's price comes at a time when Jeff Bezos’ boat has required the temporary dismantling of a historic bridge. Rotterdam, a city in the Netherlands will dismantle a historic bridge temporarily to make way for a superyacht built Bezos. The iconic Koningshaven Bridge dates from 1878 and was rebuilt after being bombed by the Nazis in 1940 during World War II. The superyacht is said to be worth $485 million and is said to be 417ft long as the shipyard building the three-masted mammoth in Alblasserdam, near Rotterdam. Reports have mentioned that the local council promised after a major renovation in 2017 that it would never again dismantle the bridge. A spokesman for the mayor of Rotterdam told AFP, "It's the only route to the sea," He further added that billionaire Bezos would foot the bill for the operation. (With inputs from agencies)

Just when Bezos’ yacht demands unexpected costs, Amazon Prime raises price

Rotterdam, a city in the Netherlands will dismantle a historic bridge temporarily to make way for a superyacht built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.&nbsp;

A Dutch firm Oceanco is reportedly building the gigantic yacht for the billionaire but it is&nbsp;too tall to fit through the historic Koningshaven Bridge, known to Rotterdammers as De Hef.&nbsp;

The iconic Koningshaven Bridge dates from 1878 and was rebuilt after being bombed by the Nazis in 1940 during World War II.&nbsp;

ALSO&nbsp;READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/scientists-discover-a-way-to-target-destroy-cancer-cells-heres-how-the-ground-breaking-therapy-works-450088">Scientists discover a way to target &amp; destroy cancer cells: Here's how the ground-breaking therapy works</a>

The superyacht is said to be worth $485 million and is said to be 417ft long as the shipyard building the three-masted mammoth in Alblasserdam, near Rotterdam.&nbsp;

The company has asked the local council to remove the bridge's central section so it can pass through. However, locals are angry over the decision to let it happen.&nbsp;

Reports have mentioned that the local council promised after a major renovation in 2017 that it would never again dismantle the bridge.&nbsp;

A spokesman for the mayor of Rotterdam told AFP, "It's the only route to the sea," adding that billionaire Bezos would foot the bill for the operation.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/nasa-reveals-when-it-will-crash-international-space-station-on-earth-449998">NASA reveals when it will crash International Space Station on Earth</a>

The mayor's office insisted on the economic benefits and jobs created by the construction of the boat. It has also been promised that the bridge would be rebuilt in its current form.

Local media reports mentioned that the middle section of the steel-girdered bridge will be removed to give enough clearance to the boat. However, the entire process will take a few weeks and is expected to happen this summer.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Rotterdam, a city in the Netherlands will dismantle a historic bridge temporarily to make way for a superyacht built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. A Dutch firm Oceanco is reportedly building the gigantic yacht for the billionaire but it is too tall to fit through the historic Koningshaven Bridge, known to Rotterdammers as De Hef.

Rotterdam, a city in the Netherlands will dismantle a historic bridge temporarily to make way for a superyacht built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. A Dutch firm Oceanco is reportedly building the gigantic yacht for the billionaire but it is too tall to fit through the historic Koningshaven Bridge, known to Rotterdammers as De Hef. The iconic Koningshaven Bridge dates from 1878 and was rebuilt after being bombed by the Nazis in 1940 during World War II. ALSO READ | Scientists discover a way to target & destroy cancer cells: Here's how the ground-breaking therapy works The superyacht is said to be worth $485 million and is said to be 417ft long as the shipyard building the three-masted mammoth in Alblasserdam, near Rotterdam. The company has asked the local council to remove the bridge's central section so it can pass through. However, locals are angry over the decision to let it happen. Reports have mentioned that the local council promised after a major renovation in 2017 that it would never again dismantle the bridge. A spokesman for the mayor of Rotterdam told AFP, "It's the only route to the sea," adding that billionaire Bezos would foot the bill for the operation. ALSO READ | NASA reveals when it will crash International Space Station on Earth The mayor's office insisted on the economic benefits and jobs created by the construction of the boat. It has also been promised that the bridge would be rebuilt in its current form. Local media reports mentioned that the middle section of the steel-girdered bridge will be removed to give enough clearance to the boat. However, the entire process will take a few weeks and is expected to happen this summer. (With inputs from agencies)

Here's how Jeff Bezos' superyacht messing up with history of this Dutch port city

World's 10 richest men add $402bn to their net worth in 2021. Take a look who gained more

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that political correctness is the biggest threat to modern civilisation.

In an interview with comedian Dave Chappelle, Musk said ''At its heart, wokeness is divisive, exclusionary, and hateful.''

''It basically gives mean people… a shield to be mean and cruel, armored in false virtue,'' he added.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/in-fitting-reply-billionaire-elon-musk-vows-to-pay-over-11-bn-in-taxes-this-year-438306">Also read |&nbsp;In fitting reply, billionaire Elon Musk vows to pay over $11 bn in taxes this year</a>

The billionaire also defended his decision to sell his shares in Tesla. He said he wanted to reach his plan to sell 10 per cent&nbsp;of his shares in the world's most valuable car company.

"I sold enough stock to get to around 10 per cent&nbsp;plus the option exercise stuff and I tried to be extremely literal here," he said in the interview with satirical website Babylon Bee.

He asked ''Do we want a humorless society that is simply rife with condemnation and hate?'' and said ''Wokeness basically wants to make comedy illegal, which is not cool.''

Also read |&nbsp;Tesla CEO Elon Musk wealthier than Pakistan’s GDP

Talking about how it is "increasingly difficult to get things done" in California, Musk said, "California used to be the land of opportunity and now it is... becoming more so the land of sort of overregulation, overlitigation, overtaxation."

Musk also spoke ambitiously about his interest in colonising Mars, and plans orbital flights next year as part of SpaceX's planned American return to the Moon.

The brash South African-born 50-year-old has seen his wealth soar during the pandemic to over $250 billion, according to Forbes' real-time billionaires' list.&nbsp;

He became the world's wealthiest person after overtaking Amazon founder Jeff Bezos this year.

(With inputs from agencies)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that political correctness is the biggest threat to modern civilisation. In an interview with comedian Dave Chappelle, Musk said ''At its heart, wokeness is divisive, exclusionary, and hateful.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that political correctness is the biggest threat to modern civilisation. In an interview with comedian Dave Chappelle, Musk said ''At its heart, wokeness is divisive, exclusionary, and hateful.'' ''It basically gives mean people… a shield to be mean and cruel, armored in false virtue,'' he added. Also read | In fitting reply, billionaire Elon Musk vows to pay over $11 bn in taxes this year The billionaire also defended his decision to sell his shares in Tesla. He said he wanted to reach his plan to sell 10 per cent of his shares in the world's most valuable car company. "I sold enough stock to get to around 10 per cent plus the option exercise stuff and I tried to be extremely literal here," he said in the interview with satirical website Babylon Bee. He asked ''Do we want a humorless society that is simply rife with condemnation and hate?'' and said ''Wokeness basically wants to make comedy illegal, which is not cool.'' Also read | Tesla CEO Elon Musk wealthier than Pakistan’s GDP Talking about how it is "increasingly difficult to get things done" in California, Musk said, "California used to be the land of opportunity and now it is... becoming more so the land of sort of overregulation, overlitigation, overtaxation." Musk also spoke ambitiously about his interest in colonising Mars, and plans orbital flights next year as part of SpaceX's planned American return to the Moon. The brash South African-born 50-year-old has seen his wealth soar during the pandemic to over $250 billion, according to Forbes' real-time billionaires' list. He became the world's wealthiest person after overtaking Amazon founder Jeff Bezos this year. (With inputs from agencies)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes this is the 'biggest threat' to modern civilisation

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