Silicon Valley Tech News Roundup – May 1st

Musk sells 9.5 million Tesla shares worth $8.5 billion – 4/30

A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows Elon Musk sold 9.5 million Tesla shares this week. The estimated worth of the shares is $8.5 billion. Musk still owns over 15% of the company.

Experts believe the sale will finance the Twitter buyout since Musk claims he plans to use $21 billion of his assets to fund the takeover. On Monday, Twitter’s Board agreed to accept the takeover bid from Musk.

After Musk announced his plans to buy Twitter, the value of Tesla shares dropped 20%. On Tuesday, after Twitter accepted the takeover bid, Tesla lost $125 billion of estimated stock market value.

Musk remains the world’s richest person, with a net worth of $250 billion. The majority of Musk’s net worth is down to his stake in Tesla. He also has a 40% stake in SpaceX, estimated at $100 billion.

Uber and Lyft to cover legal fees for drivers sued under Oklahoma abortion bill – 4/30

This week, Uber and Lyft announced they would cover their drivers’ legal fees if they get sued under the expected Oklahoma abortion bill. The companies did the same for their drivers in Texas in September last year.

On Thursday, the Oklahoma House passed the so-called Oklahoma Heart Beat Act. It prohibits abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt will sign the bill in the next few days. Under the new law, anyone who aids women in getting an abortion can be fined (including doctors, nurses, clinic workers, and rideshare drivers who transport women getting abortions). They face fines of up to $10,000.

Lyft released a statement via Twitter saying: “Women’s access to health care is under attack again, this time in Oklahoma. Lyft drivers are once again caught in the middle just for getting people where they need to go. We believe transportation shouldn’t be a barrier to accessing health care and it’s our duty to support both our rider and driver communities.” Furthermore, Lyft announced it is working with health care partners to provide a “safe state” program for women who want to go out of state for an abortion. It will include transportation to clinics and airports.

In a statement to CNBC, the Uber spokesperson said: “Like in TX, we intend to cover all legal fees for any driver sued under this law while they’re driving.”

In New York, lawmakers go against warehouse productivity quotas – 4/30

State Senator Jessica Ramos and Assembly Member Latoya Joyner introduced the Warehouse Worker Protection Act. The purpose of the bill is to limit the production quotas for warehouse workers and target companies like Amazon. It comes after California passed a similar bill last year.

Based on the reports, the bill will require all employers with more than 50 workers in a warehouse or 500 workers statewide to provide a detailed outline of their productivity quotas. It also ensures workers can take rest periods and bathroom breaks. Companies will have to explain how they develop the productivity quotas and how they are used for disciplinary purposes.

In her statement, Senator Ramos says productivity quotas are the reason for higher injury rates because they prevent workers from complying with the safety standards.

If the bill becomes the law, The New York State Department of Labor will enforce the law’s rules. Likewise, warehouses will have to go through an ergonomic assessment for all tasks and face penalties if they fall short.

National Council for Occupational Safety and Health named Amazon one of the most dangerous workplaces for the third time.

Amazon and Google suffer monthly declines for the first time since 2008 – 4/29

This April, Amazon and Alphabet (Google’s parent company) reported the biggest monthly declines since 2008.

Amazon suffered a drop of 23.8% (compared to 25.4% in November 2008). Google dropped 18.5% (compared to an 18% drop in November 2008). Both companies reported lower quarterly results than expected citing several macroeconomic reasons including the war in Ukraine. During the 2008 financial crisis, the reasons included financial institutions failing and people defaulting on home loans.

Amazon’s growth rate dropped down to its slowest since 2001 when the dot com bubble burst. Google reported its YouTube revenue grew by just 14%.

In 2021, Amazon was the worst-performing Big Tech stock with gains of 2.4%. On the other hand, Alphabet was the best performing stock with gains of 68%.