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Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living

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Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs

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Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998

1

Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living

2

Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs

3

Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
Tech

Tesla Canceled a VC’s Model X Order Because He Was ‘Super Rude’

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Kia Kokalitcheva
Kia Kokalitcheva
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Kia Kokalitcheva
Kia Kokalitcheva
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February 3, 2016, 1:20 PM ET
Tesla Motors Inc. Model X SUV Reveal
The Tesla Motors Inc. Model X sport utility vehicle (SUV) is displayed during an event in Fremont, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. Elon Musk handed over the first six Model X SUVs to owners in California Tuesday night, as Tesla reached a milestone of having two all-electric vehicles in production at the same time. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by David Paul Morris — Bloomberg via Getty Images
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If you’re awaiting to receive a Tesla car, you may want to hold back any public complaints, or at least until you receive it.

Stewart Alsop, a Silicon Valley investor and self-proclaimed Tesla (TSLA) enthusiast, wrote in a blog post on Monday that the company had canceled his car order for a Model X. The reason? He criticized Tesla and CEO Elon Musk a few months ago for what he describes as a quite disorganized customer event.

At the time, Alsop wrote that the event, whose goal was to let customers test drive the upcoming Model X, started incredibly late, without any apology from Musk, and was so disorganized that Alsop left without ever getting into the car.

According to Alsop, the two subsequently spoke, and Musk expressed that he’s not comfortable with him owning a Tesla car. And now, he’s canceled Alsop’s order. It’s not clear whether it’s a lifetime ban, though Alsop seems to have accepted he’ll never own one.

We reached out to Alsop and have yet to hear back. A Tesla spokesperson declined to comment, but on Wednesday, Musk tweeted the following:

Must be a slow news day if denying service to a super rude customer gets this much attention

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2016

The incident highlights a tension between Silicon Valley companies and entrepreneurs who lash out at any criticism (often calling into question the source’s ethics, motives, and competence), and the Internet’s ability to act as a megaphone for virtually anything.

 

Software developer and writer Dave Winer says in his reaction to Alsop’s situation, a company’s “job is to please people like Stewart, not ban them.” But The Verge notes Alsop has history of publicly posting his criticism of companies, which is likely warranted in many cases, but also opens him to whatever reaction the company chooses.

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