Trolling the UK: the issues enraging Elon Musk, world’s richest ‘pub bore’

While Keir Starmer was trying to enjoy a family holiday in Madeira over the new year, Elon Musk was trying to spoil it. The world’s richest man has been using X to lob insults and slurs in the direction of the prime minister, while teasing the prospect of donating tens of millions of dollars to the Reform UK party.This potentially gamechanging money has meant his comments – which have been compared to those of a “pub bore” by some users on his own social media platform – have provoked (arguably unmerited) political reaction and media debate. So what issues have been enraging Musk?It was New Year’s Eve and 5.48 in the morning in London when Musk turned his attention to the “Pakistani-ancestry grooming gangs”, an issue to which he seems to have been new

Halal tech: how Muslim-friendly websites and apps blossomed in 2024

Amany Killawi made a breakup playlist every time she was dumped, three in all. The playlists, which feature songs such as Gotye’s Somebody That I Used to Know and Apologize by OneRepublic, would make good soundtracks to romantic splits, but that’s not what they were. The playlists came together after Killawi was told by three different banks and payment processors they would no longer work with LaunchGood, the crowdfunding platform for the Muslim community she co-founded.Stripe said its banking partner instructed the company to cut ties with LaunchGood after five years of working with the crowdfunding platform. Stripe also told the company it couldn’t be associated with any international humanitarian work in sanctioned jurisdictions like Syria – a prerequisite for a crowdfunding platform that caters to the Muslim community

Nick Clegg, former UK deputy prime minister, leaves Meta

Nick Clegg, Britain’s former deputy prime minister and Meta’s current president of global affairs, is leaving the company after six years.“It truly has been an adventure of a lifetime!” Clegg said in a post on Facebook. “I am proud of the work I have been able to do leading and supporting teams across the company to ensure innovation can go hand in hand with increased transparency and accountability, and with new forms of governance.”Clegg joined the Facebook parent company in 2018 as the social media platform’s vice‑president for global affairs and communications. At the time the company faced intense scrutiny over the Cambridge Analytica data scandal and its role in the 2016 US presidential election

Tesla shares fall as company reports first decline in annual deliveries

Tesla reported its first decline in annual deliveries on Thursday, as the automaker handed over fewer-than-expected electric vehicles in the fourth quarter and incentives failed to boost demand for its ageing lineup of models. The company failed to meet quarterly delivery targets multiple times in 2024.Deliveries for 2024 were 1.79m, 1.1% lower than a year ago, below estimates of 1

Elon Musk’s calls for Tommy Robinson release anger Labour MPs

Elon Musk has caused anger by calling for the release of Tommy Robinson and accusing Keir Starmer of failing to prosecute child rapists in Oldham in Greater Manchester.The billionaire ally of Donald Trump pinned a message at the top of his X feed overnight saying “Free Tommy Robinson!”, tagging the far-right activist who is in jail for contempt of court.As well as a number of messages in support of Robinson, Musk posted several times about rape gangs in Rochdale and Oldham, attacking the prime minister and the safeguarding minister, Jess Phillips, over their responses to the scandal.In one post Musk said: “In the UK, serious crimes such as rape require the Crown Prosecution Service’s approval for the police to charge suspects. Who was the head of the CPS when rape gangs were allowed to exploit young girls without facing justice? Keir Starmer, 2008-2013

If smart AI is so scary, why even develop it? | Brief letters

Prof Geoffrey Hinton claims “we’re going to develop AIs that are smarter than people. And that’s a very scary thought” (‘Godfather of AI’ shortens odds of the technology wiping out humanity over next 30 years, 27 December). The obvious response to this is: if something is “very scary”, why do it?Máire DaviesLondon Geoffrey Hinton seems to think humans are, so far, the most intelligent beings. To willingly contrive to get ourselves into this predicament suggests otherwise.Neil BlackshawAlnwick, Northumberland Delighted that the King’s daughter has been honoured with an MBE – Dawn Astle, that is, daughter of Jeff Astle, the King of the Baggies, rewarded for her work campaigning for research into head injuries in football (Report, 30 December)