May 20, 2025 3:57 PM

Trump’s mass layoff threat drives U.S. government workers to resign

Tens of thousands of U.S. government workers have chosen to resign rather than endure what many view as a torturous wait for the Trump administration to carry out its threats to fire them, say unions, governance experts and the employees themselves. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on taking office to dramatically slash the size and cost of government. Four months later, mass layoffs at the largest agencies have yet to materialize and courts have slowed the process. Instead, mo...

May 6, 2025 2:43 PM

OpenAI dials back conversion plan, nonprofit to retain control

OpenAI has dialed back a significant restructuring plan, with its nonprofit parent retaining control in a move that is likely to limit CEO Sam Altman’s power over the pioneering maker of ChatGPT.   The announcement follows a storm of criticism and legal challenges, including a high-profile lawsuit filed by rival and co-founder Elon Musk, who has accused OpenAI of straying from its founding mission to develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity.   “OpenAI was founded as ...

May 1, 2025 3:51 PM

Elon Musk says DOGE should examine Federal Reserve costs, Bloomberg News reports

Billionaire Elon Musk is considering sending his government efficiency team to the Federal Reserve, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing a costly renovation of the central bank's Washington DC headquarters as an example of potential government waste. U.S. President Trump has tasked the Tesla and SpaceX CEO with leading efforts through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut government funding and reshape the federal bureaucracy. Musk spoke on Wednesday at a briefing in the...

April 19, 2025 3:21 PM

Honour to speak with PM Modi, will visit India later this year: Elon Musk

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Saturday said it was an honour to speak with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and confirmed that he looks forward to visiting India later this year. The conversation between the billionaire entrepreneur and the Prime Minister revolved around potential collaborations in technology and innovation. “It was an honour to speak with PM Modi. I am looking forward to visiting India later this year,” Musk posted on X. PM Modi also shared details of the interaction, sa...

April 16, 2025 10:17 PM

Putin praises Elon Musk, compares him to father of Soviet space program

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday praised Elon Musk, comparing him to Sergei Korolev, the chief engineer behind the Soviet Union's space success in the 1950s and 1960s, state news agency TASS reported.   TASS cited Putin, who was speaking on Russia's space policy at a meeting with students, as saying: "You know, there's a person who lives in the States, you could say that he's absolutely crazy about Mars."   It quoted him as drawing a comparison between Musk and Sergei Korolev, ...

March 26, 2025 8:11 PM

Tesla to launch in Saudi Arabia as Musk and the kingdom mend relations

Tesla will start sales in Saudi Arabia next month, the electric carmaker said on its website, signalling CEO Elon Musk and the kingdom have healed a rift that dates back to the billionaire's short-lived bid in 2018 to take the company private. Tesla trades in other Middle Eastern countries, but not in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf region's largest market. The dispute started when Musk tweeted in 2018 he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private after meeting Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, th...

March 11, 2025 6:25 PM

Airtel partners with Musk’s SpaceX to bring Starlink’s high-speed internet to India

Telecom major Airtel on Tuesday said it has signed an agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring Starlink’s high-speed internet services to its customers in India. This is the first agreement to be signed in India, which is subject to SpaceX receiving authorisations to sell Starlink in the country. Airtel and SpaceX will explore offering Starlink equipment in Airtel’s retail stores, Starlink services via Airtel to business customers, opportunities to connect communities, schools, and hea...

March 7, 2025 9:31 AM

SpaceX’s Starship explodes in space, again raining debris over Caribbean

SpaceX's massive Starship spacecraft exploded in space on Thursday minutes after lifting off from Texas, prompting the FAA to halt air traffic in parts of Florida, in the second straight failure this year for Elon Musk's Mars rocket program. Several videos on social media showed fiery debris streaking through the dusk skies near south Florida and the Bahamas after Starship broke up in space shortly after it began to spin uncontrollably with its engines cut off, a SpaceX live stream of the missi...

February 21, 2025 11:40 AM

Centre likely to modify new EV policy as Tesla gears up to enter India

As Tesla prepares to enter India this year, the government is likely working on to modify the terms of a new policy that promotes manufacturing of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country. In a bid to attract the likes of Tesla, the tweaked EV policy may mandate carmakers to show a turnover of Rs 2,500 crore in the second year itself, as per sources. Centre may also offer further import duty relief. The government is likely to start accepting applications after the updated EV policy is notified ...

February 19, 2025 12:12 PM

Musk calls himself ‘tech-support’ for Trump, blasts U.S. bureaucracy for blocking executive orders

Tesla CEO and DOGE Head Elon Musk has accused the U.S. bureaucracy of obstructing President Donald Trump’s executive orders, claiming that officials are "fighting against the will of the people." In a Fox News interview aired Tuesday, Musk criticized the slow implementation of Trump’s directives and asserted that his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is working to ensure the orders are enforced. "The president makes these executive orders, which are very sensible and good for the c...