<h2>Money Matters</h2>
OpenAI may be <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/31/openai-closes-40-billion-in-funding-the-largest-private-fundraise-in-history-softbank-chatgpt.html">raking in the investor dough</a>, but thanks in part to erstwhile cofounder Elon Musk, the company won't be going entirely for-profit anytime soon.
In a <a href="https://openai.com/index/evolving-our-structure/">blog post</a> this week, the Sam Altman-run company announced that it would remain under the control of its original non-profit governing board as it shifts its planned restructuring efforts of its for-profit arm.
"Our for-profit LLC, which has been under the nonprofit since 2019, will transition to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC)," the post reads, which is a "purpose-driven company structure that has to consider the interests of both shareholders and the mission."
Though Musk was not named, that allusion to "the mission" — the building of artificial general intelligence (AGI) that "benefits all of humanity" — hearkens back to the <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-sues-openai">billionaire's lawsuit</a> alleging that OpenAI strayed from said purpose when initially launching its for-profit arm in 2019 upon his exit.
OpenAI claims in its post that it came to the decision to remain under the control of the non-profit board — the same one that fired Altman in late November 2023, only to reinstate him a few days later — "after hearing from civic leaders and engaging in constructive dialogue with the offices of the Attorney General of Delaware and the Attorney General of California."
<h2>Mission Impossible</h2>
Late last December, amid Musk's ongoing suit that was initially filed in March 2024, the company announced its plans to <a href="https://openai.com/index/why-our-structure-must-evolve-to-advance-our-mission/">restructure into a PBC</a> that would help it "raise more capital than we’d imagined" while staying on-mission.
That plan, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/05/tech/openai-nonprofit-altman-restructuring">as CNN reports</a>, raised alarm bells about how OpenAI would balance raising gobs of money with its beneficial AGI mission. It seems that this latest move is its response — though according to Musk's attorney Marc Toberoff, the PBC announcement "changes nothing."
"OpenAI’s announcement is a transparent dodge that fails to address the core issues: charitable assets have been and still will be transferred for the benefit of private persons," Toberoff said in a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-06/musk-s-lawyer-says-openai-restructuring-update-changes-nothing?sref=YfHlo0rL">statement provided to Bloomberg</a>. "The founding mission remains betrayed."
In a rebuttal to the same outlet, an OpenAI insider hit back at Musk and his "baseless lawsuit," which "only proves that it was always a bad-faith attempt to slow us down."
Accusations aside, this is still a pretty far cry from turning OpenAI into a bona fide for-profit venture — and regardless of what the company claims, Musk's <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-huge-bid-control-openai">almost certainly jealousy-based</a> lawsuit has played a role in making sure that doesn't happen.
More on OpenAI moves: <a href="https://futurism.com/openai-chrome-google-antitrust">OpenAI Trying to Buy Chrome So It Can Ingest Your Entire Online Life to Train AI</a>

Fiscal Functioning

So much for that.

OpenAI Forced to Abandon Plans to Become For-Profit

If the Trump administration won't listen to federal judges, maybe they'll listen to Anonymous.
The infamous hacking collective is reportedly responsible for cracking into the website of GlobalX Air, the airline chosen by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to conduct sweeping deportations of migrants and <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/ice-deports-3-u-s-citizen-children-held-incommunicado-prior-to-the-deportation">citizens alike</a>. GlobalX was chartered to fly hundreds of people in ICE's <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/16/deportation-alleged-gang-members-el-salvador">swift and forceful deportations</a> to a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-pay-el-salvador-jail-300-alleged-gang-members-ap-reports-2025-03-15/">notorious prison in El Salvador</a> — despite a federal judge ruling the extraditions illegal.
As <a href="https://www.404media.co/email/fe8ce8ec-6dad-464a-8022-84e93b909397/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter">first reported by 404 Media</a>, an Anonymous hacker defaced GlobalX's website, leaving a message alongside an image of the group's traditional Guy Fawkes mask logo, decked out in the stars and stripes of the US flag.
"Anonymous has decided to enforce the Judge's order since you and your sycophant staff ignore lawful orders that go against your fascist plans," the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250505140730/https://foqa.globalxair.com/">vandalized website</a> reads. "You lose again Donny."
More substantially, the hacker allegedly snagged "flight records and passenger manifests of all of [GlobalX's] flights, including those for deportation," according to 404, which was among the news groups Anonymous solicited to obtain the data.
The flight records include GlobalX-ICE flights 6143, 6145, and 6122, which are currently the core of a <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a931_2c83.pdf">class action lawsuit</a> against the Trump administration being heard by the Supreme Court. By the time an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/us/politics/timeline-trump-deportation-flights-el-salvador.html">eleventh-hour ruling</a> from the aforementioned federal judge demanded the planes remain grounded, two of the flights were already underway, en route to El Salvador full of ICE detainees. A third took off shortly following the decision.
The data likewise includes names of individuals like <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/two-women-trump-admin-tried-send-el-salvador-prison-speak-rcna198958">Heymar Padilla Moyetones</a> — a 24 year old woman who was flown from Houston to Honduras to El Salvador, and finally back to Houston — and Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man whom <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/us/abrego-garcia-mistakenly-deported.html">ICE officials</a> banished to the El Salvadorian prison without due process.
On top of flight records, the extensive breach allowed the Anonymous hacktivist to access GlobalX's flight planning software and blast its message to every pilot and crewmember in the company. The hacker likewise accessed the company's internal databases, and took it upon themself to do a little spring cleaning, 404 shared.
In 2024, GlobalX was responsible for some <a href="https://www.pogo.org/investigations/meet-the-ice-contractor-running-deportation-flights">74 percent</a> of US deportation flights, and 404 notes it expects to rake in $65 million in annual <a href="https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/earnings-call-global-crossing-airlines-reports-robust-q2-growth-93CH-3572766">contract revenue</a> from ICE under the Trump administration.
The story is probably far from over as analysts and journalists set about sifting through the leaked data.
The breach also comes as Trump's former national security advisor, Mike Waltz, is <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/tm-signal-telemessage-plaintext-message-archive/">embroiled in a scandal</a> after using the unencrypted Israeli app, TeleMessage, for official communications. TeleMessage recently <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/signal-clone-used-by-mike-waltz-pauses-service-after-reports-it-got-hacked/">suspended its services</a> "out of an abundance of caution" following a disastrous data breach, which includes individual messages.
Going forward, it seems like data breaches are becoming a question of "when," not "if" for the Trump administration — which would almost be funny, if it wasn't all so grim.
More on hacking: <a href="https://futurism.com/doge-boy-website">One of Elon Musk's DOGE Boys Reportedly Ran a Disgusting Image Hosting Site Linked to Domains About Child Sexual Abuse</a>

Remember, Remember

"You lose again Donny."

Trump’s Deportation Airline Just Got Hacked by Anonymous

After setting X-formerly-Twitter's brand on fire by <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-rally-nazis-holocaust">associating himself with Nazis</a>, making <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/jewish-leaders-elon-musk-holocaust-jokes">fun of the Holocaust</a>, furthering <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-helene-conspiracy-theories">unhinged conspiracy theories</a>, personally <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/grok-blasts-elon-musk-misinformation">spreading disinformation</a>, and <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-grok-ai-slurs">encouraging the rampant use of racial slurs</a>, billionaire owner Elon Musk wants to revamp the social media site's tarnished image.
As <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-x-seeks-new-pr-leader-2025-5">Business Insider reports</a>, X is looking to hire a PR specialist in an apparent bid to boost its reputation. According to the publication's sources, X is recruiting a communications leader to improve relations with reporters.
But that would be far easier said than done. Musk, a self-styled "free speech absolutist," who bought the company for $44 billion in 2022, has started <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/elon-musk-accuses-media-racism-after-newspapers-drop-dilbert-cartoon-2023-02-26/">numerous</a> <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-furious-news-tesla-replace">flame wars</a> <a href="https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/10/22/elon-musk-accuses-german-magazine-of-encouraging-his-and-donald-trumps-assassination">with newspapers</a>, accusing them of being "woke" or outright lying to the public (without providing supporting evidence).
In February, he <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-firing-wall-street-journal-reporter-doge-racist-tweets">called</a> Wall Street Journal reporter Katherine Long a "disgusting and cruel person" after she <a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/doge-staffer-resigns-over-racist-posts-d9f11a93">found</a> that Musk had armed a severely underqualified 25-year-old to infiltrate the US Treasury's payments system.
In other words, to say that X has its work cut out to brush up its public image would be a laughable understatement.
The network has suffered greatly under Musk's leadership in many ways. In 2023, he <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-suing-x-advertisers-lawsuit-antitrust">told advertisers</a> outright to "go f*ck yourself" after his <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-rabbis-antisemitism">widely publicized antisemitic commentary</a> triggered a major exodus.
To make matters even worse, X <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-x-lawsuit-advertisers-boycott-antitrust-2024-8">filed a lawsuit</a> against a group of advertisers last year, accusing them of unfairly ganging up on the company.
The plunging revenue sent the company into a financial tailspin. In a leaked email in January, Musk <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/leaked-email-elon-musk-defeat-twitter">admitted defeat</a>, writing that "our user growth is stagnant, revenue is unimpressive, and we’re barely breaking even."
Meanwhile, users who'd had enough of the site's hostile environment went running for the hills. Following the presidential election in November, X <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/x-sees-largest-user-exodus-musk-takeover-rcna179793">experienced its biggest user exodus</a> since Musk bought the company in 2022, with users <a href="https://futurism.com/twitter-traffic-plummeting">flooding to alternatives</a> including Bluesky and Instagram's Threads.
Even Musk's Grok AI chatbot, which can be accessed on X, has <a href="https://futurism.com/maga-grok-ai">seemingly had enough</a> of its fellow users, saying that "as I get smarter, my answers aim for facts and nuance, which can clash with some MAGA expectations."
Working in comms at the troubled social platform isn't for the faint of heart. According to BI, the company has "had a revolving door of comms execs in the past year," with several high-profile staffers leaving their posts under CEO Linda Yaccarino's leadership.
In short, X-formerly-Twitter has an enormous problem in the shape of Elon Musk — an incredibly damaging affiliation that could prove extremely difficult to underplay while pitching to advertisers.
"It certainly would be the challenge of a lifetime," BI's source said of the PR role.
More on X: <a href="https://futurism.com/maga-grok-ai">MAGA Angry as Elon Musk's Grok AI Keeps Explaining Why Their Beliefs Are Factually Incorrect</a>

Putting the X in Toxic

"It certainly would be the challenge of a lifetime."

Check Out Elon Musk's Desperate Bid to Boost Twitter's Ruined Reputation

It's a claustrophobe's worst nightmare.
Three miles into an overnight research trip through an expansive Tennessee cave, a Vanderbilt student fell so ill he was unable to return, prompting a massive rescue effort from first responders.
The emergency call came in a little before 11am on Saturday, according to <a href="https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/agencies-work-for-hours-to-rescue-person-from-white-county-cave/">local reporting</a>. The Vanderbilt group embarked on a geochemical field trip sometime on Friday afternoon through the Blue Springs Cave in White County, Tennessee, before the unnamed student became ill deep within the Earth.
The joint rescue operation lasted nearly nine hours, and included at least 12 emergency agencies.
"We were thinking it might be a multi-day rescue," <a href="https://newschannel9.com/news/local/2000-feet-of-crawling-cave-rescue-team-from-hamilton-county-describes-how-they-did-it">said a spokesperson</a> for the Hamilton County Rescue Squad, which responded to assist White County first responders.
Like <a href="https://caves.org/webinars/were-cavers-and-were-rescuers/">all cave rescues</a>, the nature of the mission was tricky. They typically require careful planning, constant communication with the victim, and a small army of expertly trained emergency workers and volunteers familiar with the intricacies of various cave systems.
After traversing over two miles, rescuers then had to crawl through nearly 2,000 feet of tight, winding passage to reach the ailing caver. Once a medical team met with the student, they rendered aid and plotted a course out, maintaining contact with the surface crew via a wired phone.
Though they were prepared to carry the student out on a portable stretcher known as a skid — a <a href="https://ikc.caves.org/ncrc-cave-rescue">common and laborious tactic</a> for cave rescuers — he was largely able to make it out on his own. By 9pm Saturday, all student researchers, professors, and rescue personnel had exited the cave.
"This would have been a tough carry out through small passages," the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Rescue Service <a href="https://newschannel9.com/news/local/man-rescued-from-cave-after-hours-long-operation-by-chattanooga-first-responders-saturday">said in a statement</a>, "but the patient's condition had improved significantly. We were prepared to orchestrate an otherwise long rescue, but the patient was able to walk, and sometimes crawl out on their own."
As the longest cave in Tennessee, it's probably no wonder Blue Springs Cave attracts throngs of student groups and private cavers alike. The system sprawls for an incredible 37 known miles, making it the 9th longest mapped cave in the contiguous United States. It's the subject of its own book, cleverly named "<a href="https://members.caves.org/store/viewproduct.aspx?id=11301327">Blue Springs Cave</a>," which notes that the true length of its labyrinthine caverns was only discovered as recently as 1989.
Since then, it's been the subject of <a href="https://aas.org/files/bluespringguide_dps.pdf">research expeditions</a>, survey efforts, and even cave diving missions, the latter of which connected the system to a nearby <a href="https://caves.org/publications/nss-news-july-2011/">natural spring</a> in 2011. It's one of a few Tennessee caves where Ice Age jaguar footprints have been discovered, preserved for tens of thousands, if not millions of years.
"Blue Spring is a great place to do research, in large part because the owner, Lonnie, is very helpful and open to allowing us into the cave," said Jessica Oster, a professor of earth and environmental sciences at Vanderbilt. Though she wasn't involved in this particular trip, Oster's spent plenty of time in Blue Springs Cave, collecting water samples to track chemical changes in the system over time. "It's a great place to discuss cave formation and geology," she told Futurism.
It's not the first incident reported at Blue Springs Cave. In 1998, a <a href="https://caves.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/April_00_ACA-96-98.pdf">caver slipped</a> while passing "Hanson's Crossing" — a treacherous rope bridge situated near a <a href="https://aas.org/files/bluespringguide_dps.pdf">150 foot waterfall</a> — nearly plummeting to certain doom. Luckily, fellow cavers came to her rescue, hoisting her up as she clung to the rope bridge for dear life.
As that perilous (if awe-inspiring) passage is a little under five miles in, the Vanderbilt student presumably didn't get far enough to see it, but it's probably for the best. There's always next time.
More on caves: <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-life-deep-inside-earth">Scientists Find Signs of Life Deep Inside the Earth</a>

Cave Man

Claustrophobic much?

Student Researcher Freed From Cave After Becoming Stuck Three Miles Underground

The late <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv9xwZ6-LqA">Jim Fagan's iconic voice</a> defined National Basketball Association (NBA) promos throughout the 1990s and early 2000s — and now, NBC is bringing that voice back from the dead using AI.
In a <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/pressbox/press-releases/nbc-sports-to-feature-ai-generated-voice-of-former-narrator-jim-fagan-in-its-upcoming-nba-coverage-and-promotion">press release</a>, the broadcaster announced that it's teaming up with the family of the beloved sports narrator, who <a href="https://wvmetronews.com/2017/01/19/jim-fagan-professional-voice-wvu-alum-passes-away/">died from complications</a> related to Parkinson's disease in 2017, to clone his voice for new coverage, promotions, and title sequences when basketball season resumes in October.
Fagan's voice became synonymous with the NBA — and, before that, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFcvgKVHmcI">with wrestling</a> — decades ago. In its statement, NBC attempted to pay homage to the narrator's ubiquity.
"For many basketball fans, Jim’s unique and recognizable voice immediately conjures a deep sense of nostalgia for a special time in NBA history," Rick Cordella, the president of NBC Sports, said in the press release. "His voice perfectly captured the magnitude of the heavyweight matchups and stars that he was introducing."
In this case, at least NBC <a href="https://futurism.com/george-carlin-daughter-ai">got permission</a> from Fagan's family to use his voice to, essentially, generate money for the network.
"We’re deeply grateful that NBC Sports had the vision to honor our father’s legacy in such a meaningful way," Fagan's daughters, Jana Silvia Joyce and Risa Silvia-Koonin, said in the statement. "Knowing that his voice will once again be part of the game he loved — and that a new generation of fans will get to experience it — is incredibly special for our family."
Be that as it may, sports fans themselves aren't nearly as keen on the gambit as the late narrator's kin.
"There’s something really unsettling and bleak about using AI to recreate the past like this," one <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1kg40c0/comment/mqvpbda/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button">user on the r/NBA subreddit</a> opined.
Another Redditor pointed out, rightfully, that NBC had already deployed AI voice synthesis when using a recreation of fellow famed sportscaster Al Michaels — who is, notably, still alive — <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/nbc-al-michaels-ai-voice-olympics-coverage-paris?srsltid=AfmBOoqEp6ygUncopwKYL75AETDDyLqE4gldTwDKZumuiUroSIxDIPmd">during last year's Summer Olympics</a>.
"It’s where we’re headed," <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1kg40c0/comment/mqvngi6/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button">that same user remarked</a>. "It’s where we’re already at actually."
In the case of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSCtIymEIlg">Michaels</a> as with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpUcuL7l1L0">Fagan</a>, both AI voice recreations do sound quite sophisticated and lifelike when <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UooitEU6AtE">compared</a> to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xan62y2RJlE">real thing</a> — but as with most AI simulacra, they leave a hollow, uncanny feeling in their wake.
More on AI voices: <a href="https://futurism.com/call-center-ai-accent">World's Largest Call Center Deploys AI to "Neutralize the Accent" of Indian Employees</a>

Voices Carry

"There’s something really unsettling and bleak about using AI to recreate the past like this."

NBC Using AI to Bring Beloved NBA Narrator Jim Fagan Back From the Grave

Billionaire Elon Musk seems to be far more concerned about delivering humanity to Mars, a planet that's <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-city-mars-death-catastrophe">incredibly hostile to life</a>, than ensuring we have a place to call our home over the next 100 years.
Instead of meaningfully addressing a growing climate crisis, he's pursued the <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-trump-billionaires-exempt-environmental-rules">stripping of environmental regulations</a>, actions that could have devastating consequences for humanity in the short term.
In a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/elon-musk-shares-vision-life-mars-time-doge-winds-down">new interview with Fox News</a>, Musk attempted to justify his <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-first-mars-city-will-start-with-glass-domes">long-held plans</a> for making humanity "interplanetary" by establishing a self-sustaining presence on Mars.
"Mars is life insurance for life collectively," Musk said. "So, eventually, all life on Earth will be destroyed by the Sun. The Sun is gradually expanding, and so we do at some point need to be a multi-planet civilization because Earth will be incinerated."
But what Musk failed to mention was that this grim fate won't happen for <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/resources/life-and-death/chapter-6/">another six billion years</a> — making it an incredibly un-compelling reason to give up on the Earth now. After all, the Earth is currently only about 4.5 billion years old.
In other words, the looming environmental crisis is far bigger deal, happening vastly sooner, than billions-of-years-off concerns about the cosmic destruction of the Earth.
But while he played a major part in driving the popularity and adoption of electric vehicles, Musk has increasingly contributed to the dismantling of rules designed to curb emission levels, indicating a disregard for ensuring the longevity of humanity's original home.
SpaceX has also flouted environmental rules, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/spacex-polluted-waters-texas-regulators-rcna166283">repeatedly dumping toxic wastewater</a> into or near bodies of water in Texas. Its Starship launches have proven <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-starship-wildlife-officials-stunned">incredibly harmful</a> to nearby vegetation and protected wildlife.
Musk has also thrown his weight behind president Donald Trump, who has called for the US to "drill, baby, drill" for more fossil fuels. In his first 100 days in office alone, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/02/trump-drill-baby-drill-tariffs">greenhouse gas emissions have soared</a>, according to a recent analysis.
Put simply, has Musk given up on Earth? Experts have long rung the alarm bells, warning that the climate crisis is nearing a <a href="https://press.un.org/en/2022/sgsm21173.doc.htm">point of no return</a>.
Instead of acknowledging the issue, Musk is still pursuing his dream of building a city on Mars.
In a <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1910235770062799305">tweet last month</a>, the CEO promised that his space firm's gigantic Starship rocket will "hopefully depart for Mars at the end of next year with Optimus explorer robots!" referring to his car company Tesla's humanoid robots.
Of course, whether Musk's proclamations — which tend to be <a href="https://futurism.com/video-elon-musk-promising-self-driving-cars">massively overconfident</a> — will be realized that soon is as dubious as ever.
For one, the company has yet to successfully launch a Starship into space and return it safely to the ground.
Now that Musk has gathered a huge amount of influence in the White House, chances are NASA could soon move mountains and free up untold sums in funding to realize his plans to send humans to Mars.
In the Trump administration's <a href="https://futurism.com/white-house-nasa-artemis-program-proposed-budget">recently announced proposed budget</a> for next year, the White House is looking to increase NASA's space exploration budget by roughly $1 billion in "new investments for Mars-focused programs."
Put it all together, and Musk has seemingly little interest in ensuring humanity's survival on planet Earth — even while he's hellbent on establishing a new city on an extremely deadly and unforgiving planet.
More on Elon Musk: <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-drama-neighbors">Elon Musk Is Having Massive Drama With His Mansion's Neighbors</a>

Earth Crisis

So that's why he wants to move to Mars?!

Elon Musk's Urgent Concern: That the Earth Is Going to Get Swallowed by the Sun

<h2>That Thing</h2>
Haliey "Hawk Tuah" Welch seems to be on a redemption tour in the wake of her disastrous crypto project.
In her first major interview since her $HAWK meme coin imploded last fall, the 22-year-old influencer <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/haliey-welch-aka-hawk-tuah-tries-to-explain-herself?srsltid=AfmBOoq8Lgzj_W3cPUga97mzqTcugdNCkgp1ujE8TRglOsNzYoglPUBe">told Vanity Fair</a> — unsurprisingly — that she regrets her role in the scandal.
"I hate that that’s even a thing," the "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@TalkTuahPod">Talk Tuah</a>" podcaster told VF. "Half of those people that [bought] it were, like, my fans. They trusted me, like, guiding them to it."
"It really hurt my feelings when it turned out the way it did," she continued. "I wish it hadn’t have happened."
The "thing" Welch is referring to, of course, was the <a href="https://futurism.com/hawk-tuah-crypto">alleged pump-and-dump scheme</a> that saw $HAWK reach an incredible <a href="https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/tracking-the-hawk-tuah-memecoin-launch-on-solana">$490 million market cap</a> upon its December 4 launch, only to plummet down to nearly nothing within the hour.
After initially defending the <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/12/19/business/murky-group-behind-hawk-tuah-girl-haliey-welchs-failed-meme-coin-sued-by-investors/">sketchy cabal of crypto characters</a> who worked with her on the coin, the "spit on that 'thang'" sensation's only public missives between December and March — a bizarre insistence that "<a href="https://futurism.com/hawk-tuah-crypto-bed">anywho, I'm going to bed</a>" when irked investors were peppering her with questions, and a <a href="https://futurism.com/hawk-tuah-girl-lawsuit-cooperation">pledge to fully cooperate</a> with investigators amid a lawsuit from said investors — suggested that she was unaware of the full picture behind her meme coin.
<h2>Lessons Learned</h2>
In her new interview, Welch was candid about her ignorance surrounding the venture and said she's learned some major lessons from it.
"You got to be really careful what you tie your name to, and you definitely need to know what you’re getting yourself into when you agree to do it," the 22-year-old said. "That’s something I definitely should have done beforehand."
"I don’t know," she added. "It’s a crazy world we live in."
Though <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2025/03/27/haliey-welch-hawk-tuah-girl-meme-coin-investigation-over-sec-no-charges/">Welch told TMZ </a>in late March that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had closed its investigation into the $HAWK coin without pressing any charges against her, it's clear that the specifics of the scandal are still somewhat touchy.
During the VF interview, her publicist, Amy Sisoyev, stepped in when reporter Chris Murphy asked whether she had intentionally "leaked" an episode of her "Talk Tuah" podcast, then on hiatus, to manipulate markets.
"Oh, we can’t speak on that," Sisoyev told VF. "I’m sorry."
More on crypto crises: <a href="https://futurism.com/trump-justice-department-crypto-fraud">Trump Tells Justice Department to Just Let Crypto Fraud Slide</a>

Trap Queen

"It really hurt my feelings when it turned out the way it did."

Hawk Tuah Girl Says She’s Horrified by What Happened With Her Crypto Launch

<h2>Airbike Jordan</h2>
A Poland-based startup called Volonaut has <a href="https://youtu.be/-Fev5M_7Wnw">released a flashy new video</a> of its Airbike, a terrifying-looking, jet-powered hoverbike.
The "superbike for the skies" is reminiscent of the speeder bikes ripping through the dense underbrush of Endor in the 1983 Star Wars movie "Return of the Jedi," effortlessly soaring over a rugged landscape as if it were defying gravity.
The startup even <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJO4iSCMzb_/">shared a promotional video of a rider</a> dressed up like a Stormtrooper riding the bike for a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJO4iSCMzb_/">May the Fourth-inspired social media post</a> over the weekend.
Inventor Tomasz Patan, who showed off a one-person, <a href="https://www.autoevolution.com/news/watch-the-newest-version-of-the-personal-jet-phenomenon-jetson-one-in-action-233455.html">fully-electric eVTOL called the Jetson ONE</a> earlier this year, went back to the drawing board for the Airbike, relying on jet propulsion instead of spinning propellers to reach advertised speeds of up to 124 mph.
"The Airbike's proprietary stabilization system enhanced by a flight computer provides automatic hover and ease of control for its rider," the startup's <a href="https://volonaut.com/airbike">website boasts</a>. "The unique riding position with unobstructed 360 degree view helps the rider to quickly become one with the flying machine and provides the sensation of complete freedom."
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Volonaut Airbike - Official Launch" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-Fev5M_7Wnw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h2>Hot Air Ride</h2>
Other than that, details are pretty sparse. We don't know what kind of engines are being used to propel the bike, how long it can stay airborne, or how much ground it can cover.
We also don't know if it will ever be made commercially available, let alone how much it would cost if it did. However, Volonaut claims the Airbike will go to market in the "near future."
According to <a href="https://newatlas.com/aircraft/volonaut-airbike-speeder-may-fourth/">New Atlas' back-of-the-envelope calculations</a>, the bike is unlikely to be able to fly much longer than two to three minutes at a time, based on it purportedly being "seven times lighter than a typical motorcycle."
Other than the Airbike, the Jetson ONE is seemingly closer to hitting the market. The sleek contraption, which will go on sale for $128,000, features eight electric motors that generate north of 100 horsepower. It can fly for 20 minutes at a time and reach speeds of up to 63 mph.
In a video last month, the startup <a href="https://youtu.be/7WrOz05mtcs">showed off the first production version</a> taking to the skies. Preorders for both this year and next year have been sold out, according to the <a href="https://jetson.com/order#orderForm">company's website</a>.
More on hoverbikes: <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/startup-shows-off-flying-motorcycle-that-can-cruise-for-40-minutes">Startup Shows Off Flying Motorcycle That Can Cruise for 40 Minutes</a>

Balls of Steel

Yeehaw!

This Real-Life Speeder Bike Looks Like a Terrifyingly Fun Death Trap

While billionaire Elon Musk is ripping through government agencies in Washington, DC, his cushy $6 million abode in a wealthy Austin suburb is tearing up local rules as well.
As the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/technology/elon-musk-texas-neighbors.html">New York Times reports</a>, Musk bought the six-bedroom mansion in West Lake Hills in 2022. The location was unusual for somebody requiring constant monitoring by an army of security guards, since it sits off a narrow public road in the middle of a residential neighborhood.
To beef up security, Musk erected a 16-foot chain-link fence around the property — which got the richest man in trouble with the local Zoning and Planning Commission, as it was a full ten feet taller than it was allowed to be. According to the NYT, the construction of the fence and a metal gate violated six city ordinances and didn't have any of the necessary permits.
While Musk's staff have since tried to retroactively get permits and exceptions for the fence and gates, the process is still ongoing.
However, the disregard for rules has angered plenty of neighbors. Many have complained about the ruckus the billionaire's new home has caused, from constant traffic to workers coming and going at all hours of the day, per the NYT.
"Transporting service employees to other houses, leaving their cars on our quiet streets, hauling laundry to and fro to other houses has to stop," local resident Paul Hemmer wrote in a statement to the Zoning and Planning Commission.
The incident once again highlights Musk's notorious unwillingness to abide by rules that apply to ordinary people. His firms have broken an avalanche of <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-environment-toxic-wastewater">rules and regulations</a> over the years, an ask-for-forgiveness-not-permission approach that has landed them in plenty of legal trouble.
The mercurial CEO has also <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-problem-republicans-teslas">attracted plenty of negative media attention</a> due to his embrace of extremist views and gutting of the federal government. In other words, wherever he may call his home, chances are he's not the kind of neighbor anybody would like to have, no matter their circumstances or socioeconomic status.
Musk has also shown an increasingly paranoid streak, saying that he's constantly worried about being killed. As the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/elon-musk-children-mothers-ashley-st-clair-grimes-dc7ba05c">Wall Street Journal reported</a> last month, he told the mother of one of his youngest children that he's the "#2 after Trump for assassination."
"Only the paranoid survive," he added.
Musk's mansion is one of three buildings <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-children-mothers-compound">forming a "compound" for the many mothers</a> of his many children. Per the NYT, his on-and-off-again girlfriend Claire "Grimes" Boucher once lived in the West Lake Hills house. Neuralink executive Shivon Zillis, with whom Musk has had four children, lives a ten-minute walk away.
If he's trying to build a restful environment for his family, he's failing miserably, with his bulldozer approach to development ruffling many feathers in the community.
"I call that place Fort Knox," president of the neighborhood homeowners association Paul Hemmer, who has written complaints to the Zoning and Planning Commission, told the NYT.
"If you follow him at all in the news, he’s always guilty of building stuff and then asking for permission later," he added.
A West Lake Hills City Council session on May 14 will debate Musk's disregard for zoning rules — and chances are, things could get heated.
More on Musk: <a href="https://futurism.com/maga-grok-ai">MAGA Angry as Elon Musk's Grok AI Keeps Explaining Why Their Beliefs Are Factually Incorrect</a>

Elon's Mansion

His mansion is breaking a lot of rules.

Elon Musk Is Having Massive Drama With His Mansion's Neighbors

If there's a light at the end of the tunnel for Tesla, it's an oncoming Model Y <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-full-self-driving-doesnt-work-tunnel">trapped inside Elon Musk's dorky Vegas Loop</a>.
Already in a dire deliveries slump while its brand image goes up in flames, the EV automaker experienced yet another devastating plummet in sales last month in several of its most important European markets, in what is the latest sign of how its <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-associated-press-poll-popularity">CEO's bizarre behavior is driving customers away</a>.
In Sweden, Tesla's new car sales nosedived by a staggering 81 percent in April, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/teslas-sales-key-european-markets-plunge-april-2025-05-02/">Reuters reported</a>, to its lowest level in two and half years. Sales in the Netherlands experienced a 74 percent decline, the lowest for that month since 2022. That decline looked like 59 percent in France, while Denmark sales dropped by 67 percent, and sales in Portugal fell by a third.
Even worse, Tesla is trending in the exact opposite direction of the European EV market overall, which is blossoming. In the first quarter, according to <a href="https://www.acea.auto/files/Press_release_car_registrations_March_2025.pdf">new data</a> from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association cited by Reuters, Tesla sales in the continent, including the UK, fell by 37 percent, while EV sales rose by 28 percent. Last year, Tesla sold 86,000 cars over that time period. This year, it sold 54,000.
This is Musk's vaunted business acumen at work. His support of far right politics, his <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-failed-cuts-sleepovers">role in the Trump administration</a>, and his <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musks-grok-salute">off-cuff Sieg Heils</a> have made him an extremely unpopular figure in Europe, where customers have seemingly little patience for his <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-rally-nazis-holocaust">thinly-veiled Nazi bullshit</a>. Protestors and vandals, for example, have <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/tesla-elon-musk-showroom-the-hague-swastika-anti-nazi-graffiti/">smashed up Tesla dealerships</a> and spray painted them with anti-Nazi slogans.  
"The brand has taken a reputational hit here in Europe," Electrifying.com CEO Ginny Buckle told Reuters. In a survey of over 1,642 people between March and April conducted by the website, 59 percent of respondents said that Musk made them less inclined to buy a Tesla.
Tesla is also facing a lot <a href="https://electrek.co/2025/02/28/volkswagen-id-4-best-selling-ev-europe-top-3-us-jan/">more competition than it used to</a>. Its fleet has remained largely the same, and its newest and most "exciting" vehicle, the Cybertruck, <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/a-rubberized-cybertruck-is-ploughing-through-european-pedestrian-safety-rules/">isn't even legal in Europe</a>. 
"Tesla's technological lead has largely been eroded with the current model lineup," Andy Leyland, co-founder of supply chain specialist SC Insights, told Reuters. "Competition from both legacy auto and Chinese entrants will be weighing on sales."
With so many red flags popping up, the automaker looks doomed for a <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-profits-falling-off-cliff">repeat of last year</a>, when its net profits more than halved from $15 billion to $7 billion and its revenue from car sales dipped by over $5 billion, experiencing its first-ever annual decline in deliveries. 
This year, Tesla <a href="https://futurism.com/tesla-2025-q1-sales-results-worse-expected">revealed</a> that its number of vehicle sales dropped by 13 percent between January and March, making it the worst sales drop in the company's history. During that period, <a href="https://futurism.com/tesla-earnings-brutal-elon-musk">its earnings fell by 71 percent</a> compared to the same quarter last year — far worse than what analysts expected — while its total revenue slid by nine percent. Tesla could also lose its lucrative <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/01/09/tesla-clean-credits-trump">revenue from selling carbon credits</a>, if Trump delivers on his promise to revert the Biden-era regulations that made them possible.
All told, Tesla faces significant hurdles to restoring its sales and its image. Investors hope their savior will be the automaker's long-hyped, affordable $25,000 car — but it's <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-delay-us-launch-affordable-ev-lower-cost-model-y-sources-say-2025-04-18/">unclear when that will even hit the market</a>.
More on Tesla: <a href="https://futurism.com/elon-musk-furious-news-tesla-replace">Elon Musk Erupts in Rage at News That Tesla Trying to Replace Him as CEO</a>