Twitter initiates ‘poison pill’ to block Elon Musk’s takeover bid

The Twitter board isn’t willing to let Elon Musk buy the company without a fight. The board members unanimously approved a limited duration shareholder rights plan, which will be in place for one year starting today.

The rights will come into play if a single entity acquires at least 15 percent of Twitter’s outstanding common stock without the board’s approval. Should that become the case, certain shareholders will have the right to buy more stock. Flooding the market with new shares to dilute other investors’ holdings is called a poison pill strategy, and it’s designed to ward off a hostile takeover attempt.

Musk briefly became Twitter’s largest shareholder when it emerged he had quietly snapped up a 9.2 percent stake in the company. He was offered a seat on the board and if he had accepted, he would not have been allowed to build up an ownership stake of more than 15 percent. Musk turned down the board seat earlier this month, though. This week, Musk made an offer to buy the entire company for around $43 billion.

The company said in a press release that adopting the rights plan will “reduce the likelihood that any entity, person or group gains control of Twitter through open market accumulation without paying all shareholders an appropriate control premium or without providing the Board sufficient time to make informed judgments and take actions that are in the best interests of shareholders.” In other words, the move will make it harder for Musk to take his buyout offer directly to shareholders and acquire their stakes in piecemeal fashion.

Twitter says the plan is similar to one carried out by other publicly traded companies that have been subject to a non-binding acquisition proposal. Notably, the rights plan doesn’t prevent Twitter from accepting a buyout offer if it believes that’s in the best interest of its shareholders.

Musk claimed in his buyout offer Twitter has “extraordinary potential” and that he would “unlock it.” During a TED Talk just hours after making the proposal, Musk argued that Twitter’s algorithm should be open source, “so anyone can see […] there’s no sort of behind-the-scenes manipulation, either algorithmically or manually.” He also suggested he’d err on the side of having less moderation and expressed reservation about issuing permanent bans to users who break the rules.

See Overwatch 2’s first new hero Sojourn in action

The Overwatch 2 PvP beta starts later this month and Blizzard has released a gameplay trailer for one of the sequel’s main additions, Sojourn. She’s the 33rd hero in the Overwatch lineup, but is the first character to be introduced in two years. Sojourn is a damage hero best suited for mid-range combat and you can take a look at her in action below.

Sojourn has a railgun with two modes of fire. The primary fire sends out rapid projectiles that build up energy on impact. With her secondary fire, you can fire that stored energy as a high-impact shot.

There’s a movement ability called Power Slide. You’ll be able to cancel that with a high jump (similar to Moira’s Fade). She also has a Disruptor Shot, which is an area-of-effect ability that slows and damages enemies in its radius.

Sojourn’s ultimate ability is called Overclock. This supercharges the secondary fire of the railgun by automatically restoring the energy. Shots fired while the ability is active will pierce enemies, so if you can line a couple up, you can take them both out at once. In other words, you’ll need to have decent aim and positioning to get the most out of her.

Blizzard also released a trailer that delves into Sojourn’s origin story. She was a member of the Canadian Special Forces whose unit linked up with the Overwatch task force during the Omnic Crisis. She forged a partnership with Jack Morrison (aka Soldier: 76) and, after the war, he recruited her to the group.

Sojourn is the first playable Black woman in the series. She will be available in the Overwatch 2 PvP beta, which starts on April 26th. The competitive side of the sequel will mark a shift from teams of six to five-player squads and add new maps, an updated game engine, a ping system and many changes to the current roster of heroes. The Overwatch League will also play games using the Overwatch 2 beta when it returns next month.

Watch Elon Musk’s TED talk live for free

It’s a busy time in the world of Elon Musk. On the same day it emerged he made a bid to buy Twitter, he’s giving a TED Talk. The organizers of TED are opening up the conference’s livestreaming channel to all, so anyone can watch the talk for free. 

As ever, Musk should have plenty to talk about. He recently became Twitter’s largest shareholder. He was offered a seat on the board but turned it down. Soon after, Musk was hit with a class action lawsuit relating to how he disclosed his investment. And that’s not to mention his own companies, SpaceX and Tesla, which he might discuss as well.

Grab some popcorn. You can watch the talk below.

Update 4/15 12:43PM ET: Added the archived version of the talk.

Alexa devices now support TuneIn Premium radio streaming

TuneIn is bringing its paid service to Amazon Alexa-enabled devices. You’ll be able to access TuneIn Premium content such as live sports from any Alexa smart speaker or display.

You’ll be able to listen to MLB, NHL and college sports games featuring your favorite team simply by saying “Alexa, listen to sports.” TuneIn Premium also offers more than 600 commercial-free radio stations, and you won’t hear pre-roll ads for the tens of thousands of other radio stations on the platform. Additionally, you’ll be able to listen to ad-free news.

TuneIn Premium typically costs $10 per month. However, Amazon and TuneIn are offering new members a three-month trial. Existing TuneIn Premium members can connect their accounts to Alexa to help them get the most out of their subscription. Alexa has supported TuneIn’s regular service for years, so having access to the Premium service is a welcome upgrade.

YouTube gives Shorts creators the ability to remix most videos

YouTube is giving Shorts creators access to a much larger toolkit. Creators will be able to clip and remix up to five seconds of any eligible video or Short in their own shorts. The feature should be available for everyone on iOS in the coming weeks, and it’ll come to Android later this year.

The tool builds on an audio remixing option YouTube added last year. To remix a regular video, tap the Create button and then Cut from the remix options. You can then choose which part of the video that you want to use in your Short. If you’d like to remix someone else’s short, tap the three-dot menu button, then select Cut.

Shorts that remix other videos will automatically include attribution for the original. Those who don’t want their videos to be remixed can opt out in YouTube Studio.

Adding a video remix tool is a smart move. Remixing options played an important role in TikTok’s success, while Instagram added a similar option in January. The feature will give current Shorts creators a much bigger palette and it might entice some newcomers to try making Shorts as well. Limiting the length of remix clips to five seconds might seem a little constricting, but inventive creators should still be able to make the most of it.

On top of that, it’ll now be somewhat easier for Shorts creators to find an audience. Those videos will be available to view on the web and YouTube’s tablet app in the coming weeks. Until now, they’ve only been viewable in the mobile app. 

Peloton increases its subscription fees for the first time

Peloton is bumping up subscription fees for the first time in the US and Canada. It’s balancing out those increases (at least for newcomers) by reducing the prices on some hardware: the Bike, Bike+ and Tread.

Starting on June 1st, the cost of the all-access plan is going up by $5 per month to $44 in the US and by $6 CAD to $55 in Canada, as CNBC reports. The company won’t change pricing for users elsewhere for now. The cost of the digital-only plan will remain the same.

From 6PM ET today, Peloton will cut prices on some of its products. The price of the Bike will be reduced from $1,745 to $1,445 (which includes shipping and setup). The company is lowering the price of Bike+ by $500 to $1,995. As for Tread, Peloton is cutting the price by $200 to $2,695.

The company is hoping that reducing the upfront cost of its fitness equipment will lower the barrier to entry and help it find more customers. “The pricing changes being announced today are part of CEO Barry McCarthy’s vision to grow the Peloton community,” a spokesperson said.

Peloton’s share price has dropped significantly over the last year, in part due to a pandemic-driven spike in demand for its products tapering off. Reports earlier this year suggested Peloton had thousands of products sitting in warehouses and on cargo ships and that it was changing its production levels.

In February, Peloton replaced its CEO at the same time it cut 2,800 jobs (around 20 percent of its corporate workforce). Only a few days before that, rumors suggested the likes of Amazon, Apple and Nike were interested in buying the company.

By shaking up the pricing structure, Peloton is hoping it can correct course. Focusing on recurring revenue from subscriptions and lowering the cost of hardware could help. The company had already showed a willingness to reduce the price of its devices. It started selling the Peloton Guide set-up camera (which comes with its heart-rate monitor) this month for $295. It initially said the system would cost $495.

Juul will pay $22.5 million to settle a Washington state lawsuit

Vape pen maker Juul has agreed to settle another state lawsuit alleging that it targeted minors with its marketing. It will pay $22.5 million and undertake measures to prevent underage use and sales to settle a suit filed by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson in September 2020. Juul admits no wrongdoing under the settlement, though it told the Associated Press the agreement marked “another step in our ongoing effort to reset our company and resolve issues from the past.”

The AG claimed that when Juul debuted in 2015, it promoted itself with colorful ads on social media, leading to an increase in nicotine use and addiction in teens. Ferguson also claimed in the filing that the company deceived consumers about the addictiveness of its product. His office said the money from Juul’s settlement will be used to establish a health equity unit that will “respond to deceptive and discriminatory health care practices that disproportionately impact vulnerable communities and communities of color.”

Under the consent decree, Juul is not allowed to promote its products on social media and can’t use advertising that appeals to youths. It agreed to monitor and report social media posts from underage users about its products and to require an adult’s signature when delivering products that it sells online. Additionally, it must run a secret shopper program in the state for at least two years to ensure retailers aren’t selling its products to underage users.

Over the last year, Juul has settled several cases brought by state AGs. It agreed to pay $40 million to settle a case in North Carolina and $14.5 million to settle one in Arizona. The company says it has also resolved a suit in Louisiana but lawsuits in several otherstates remain active. “We will continue working with federal and state stakeholders to advance a fully regulated, science-based marketplace for vapor products,” the company said.