Happy Hump Day! It’s January 18, 2023, and there are 348 days left in the year. On today’s NOTICE News: A lawsuit against Elon Musk began yesterday—all over a tweet he sent in 2018. And we have the latest on a Russian missile strike in Ukraine that killed 44. Here’s a transcript of today’s show.
Discussion Questions
- Why were investors in Tesla’s stock angered by Elon Musk’s statements that he might take the company private?
- Why is exaggerating especially consequential when the stock market is involved?
- What did the removal of Elon Musk from his role as chairman at Tesla, and the fines both he and the company had to pay for his false statements, demonstrate?
- Despite the Russians having experienced several setbacks during the past few months of the war, what are the Ukrainians now concerned about?
- The fact that the United Kingdom is still sending Ukraine tanks (and Germany could soon as well), might suggest what about the international community?
Writing Prompts
- It’s often said that people should be especially aware of what they put online since that content–whether it’s eventually deleted or not–lives forever in the digital world. How does the trial against Elon Musk demonstrate this? How does it make you feel about what you put out on social media?
- Elon Musk’s overestimation of the capabilities of Tesla’s autopilot, and downplaying the system’s limitations, have resulted in lawsuits over crashes. Why might people have believed or wanted to believe that Tesla’s autopilot was as good as Musk made it out to be? What does this show about people’s relationship with technology?
- The war in Ukraine has been going on for almost a whole year. What could be some concrete effects of the war in Ukraine continuing on for that length of time? What may be some more nuanced effects of the war lasting that long?
Further Reading
- Full Story: Jury Seated In Tesla Shareholder Case Over Musk’s 2018 Tweets (Reuters)
- Go Deeper: The New York Times Magazine’s in-depth reporting on the issues surrounding Tesla’s autopilot feature.
- Update: Ukraine Ends Search For Survivors In Dnipro, Death Toll Hits 44 (Reuters)
- Go Deeper: A life on the world stage, but scant biographical details: What we know about the life of Vladimir Putin (USA Today)