The conquest of the planet Mars is too boring. The dozens of multi-billionaires gathered from July 5 to 10 on a huge ranch in the depths of Idaho for the famous conference organized by Allen & Company hoped that friend Elon Musk would tell them about the soap opera of his takeover of Twitter. Alas, tell Bloomberg, the unpredictable boss of Twitter and SpaceX preferred to stick to his routine: the probable end of humanity in a solar cataclysm, his chances of survival by a massive interstellar migration of which Mars would be the first bivouac.
Thank you, but this green dollar elite had even more vital questions: Was Elon kidding when he offered to buy the social network for nearly $44 billion? It’s possible. Did he lose interest in this new toy less than a week later? Likely too. Will he have to pay 1 billion dollars in penalties for withdrawing? Maybe. Has he harmed his other businesses? Certainly.
summer of billionaires
We would still like to know more about this mysterious Sun Valley conference where, since 1983, the elite of American business have been meeting, at the invitation of the investment bank Allen & Company. This year again, protected from the plebs by an army of gorillas, Reed Hastings (co-director of Netflix), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), John Malone (Liberty Media), Tim Cook (Apple), the Murdoch sons, Mike Ovitz (the Hollywood agent) and many others picnic or have fun like real humans with the political and media elite, think tank analysts, and even two former CIA bosses.
Boisedev, a local newspaper, publishes the list of guests of this Woodstock for moguls, and the New York Times investigate the logistical headache caused by the arrival of dozens of private jets on the single runway of the tiny Sun Valley airfield. “In 2017, (a particularly prosperous year), it looked like an air raid”, remembers the manager, who sometimes had to ensure 300 landings and take-offs in twenty-four hours.
Hollywood et Tesla
Tesla doesn’t just sell cars. He launches into the show by inaugurating a new concept of drive-in in Los Angeles. These open-air cinemas, where, until the 1960s, mega-productions were watched sprawled in giant Cadillacs or Buicks, were resurrected during the pandemic, because they offered a rare opportunity to go out while respecting the rules of distancing. Tesla adds a utilitarian touch to it. On Santa Monica Boulevard, in the Hollywood district, its customers will be able to recharge their car while watching a long film of about half an hour, the time of refueling with a supercharger. The Spoon, a restaurant industry publication, and Electrek, a site on the electric car, share the scoop: they obtained the plans for this drive-in which will offer two screens, thirty-four car spaces and a restaurant open 24 hours a day. One question: where will the films of such a special format? Tesla studios?
retro
While we’re at it: if you’re in the New York area this summer and even in a gas-powered car, find out with this little guide to magazine drive-ins Hudson Valley these retro treasures (with state-of-the-art spotlights) within a two-hour drive north of town. Hyde Park, one hour from Manhattan, also offers a sumptuous restaurant diner and a roller skating rink straight out of the fifties.
Imposture
Another reason to be wary of telecommuting. According Mashable, the FBI has warned tech companies about a new kind of identity theft through deepfakes. A job candidate is having a video interview, but his face on screen is completely fictitious or taken from a photo found online. It’s another person, invisible this one, who answers the questions by his voice and by his mouth thanks to an artificial intelligence program… and who gets the job.
What purpose ? The FBI claims that foreign spy services are breaking into the workforce of tech companies to steal their industrial secrets and data. Police Tip: Look for anomalies in the timing of the candidate’s mouth movements to the screen. Poor defense.
bitcoin hopes
The Tech Letter admits to a little “cryptofatigue” after the hype about the bitcoin collapse, but this astonishing article from the Financial Times deserves a mention. He says the collapse of cryptocurrencies in recent weeks has hit black American investors much harder than white ones. The former are much more exposed, because a quarter of them own cryptos, while only 15% of the latter take this risk.
This difference is partly explained by American racial history. Long shunned from real estate and stock market investing due to banking racism, capitalist pariahs have seen the bitcoin boom as a way to close the wealth gap with white people and redress injustice through easy investments with no minimum down payment.
Moreover, blacks are the target of powerful advertising and marketing campaigns for cryptocurrencies that feature emblems of black social success such as musicians Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg, actor Jamie Foxx, boxer Floyd Mayweather or director Spike Lee.