Panic! Elon and Gas

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In Today's Morning 6 - 9:

• Elon is making Moves 👀

• Gasy Business

• Cultural Catch ups

• Bro-Tastic Memes

Elon the Bro-Lon

Are you behind on your rent? Don't worry, so is Elon.

Twitter is being sued by landlords in San Francisco and London after failing to pay rent on its offices since new owner Elon Musk took over and implemented extreme cost-cutting strategies that include not paying bills. The Crown Estate in London, which manages property belonging to King Charles III, filed a claim against Twitter in the High Court in the UK capital last week, while the owner of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters also sued Twitter after it failed to make its latest monthly rent payment for January, amounting to $3.4m. 😳

However, not all is gloomy in Elon's day, his net worth has risen by $10.6 billion to $145.2 billion, marking the largest two-day gain since November, while he is defending his 2018 tweet to take Tesla private for $420 per share in court. Musk is being sued by Tesla shareholders after tweeting he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private but the deal never happened, and investors are suing Musk for billions of dollars in damages. A wise man once told me that "the ultimate indicator of success in growing wealth is when you are being sued." That wise man was Bernie Madoff. (hahaha)

Speaking of The Morning Bro's favorite billionaire, Tesla announced it is investing $3.6 billion to expand its Nevada assembly plant to boost production of a new, larger type of battery cell and to build a dedicated factory to make its Semi truck. The company has said it expects the new-generation battery cells, about the size of a beer can, to be more energy-dense and lower cost than its current 2170 cells, which is a requirement to power heavy new models like the electric big rig and chunky Cybertruck pickup.

Gasy Business

Gas, the anonymous social media app, went viral and made $1 million in just three months. The app, which was launched in August 2022, allows users to send compliments to their friends and classmates through polls. When a user wins a poll, a "Flame" is sent to their inbox. However, users can also pay a $6.99 subscription to see who voted for them in the poll.

The app was created by a team of four engineers led by Nikita Bier, who had previously launched and sold the TBH app to Facebook in 2017 for a reported $100 million. However, TBH app was quickly shut down after the acquisition.

To generate buzz for the app, Bier and his team created Instagram accounts for various high schools, made them private, and followed everyone associated with that high school. On the day before the launch, they accepted everyone's requests at the same time, creating a viral effect as students were all getting notifications at the same time and talking about the app.

On January 17, 2023, Gas was acquired by Discord for an undisclosed amount. Bier had previously set a goal to make $10 million in three months, which was achieved before the acquisition.

In conclusion, the success of Gas highlights how a focus on positivity and smaller social circles can lead to viral growth and significant revenue. The app's creator, Nikita Bier, also demonstrates how a viral launch strategy and feeding into people's desires can lead to a successful outcome. However, it remains to be seen if the app will have long-term success, as similar apps in the past have had a short lifespan.

Some Cultural Catchups

Panic! at the Disco, the emo-pop band that began in 2004, is ending its run after nearly two decades, as announced by the band's frontman and last remaining original member, Brendon Urie, who said the band's upcoming European tour for the 2022 album Viva Las Vengeance will be it's last.

Pop star Justin Bieber has sold his share of the rights to his music to Hipgnosis Songs Capital for a reported $200m, including his publishing copyrights to his 290-song back catalog and his artist rights to his master recordings. This move joins a growing group of artists who have cashed out on their catalogs and allows Hipgnosis to receive a payment every time a song they own part of is played in public.

Tom Brady declined to offer any answers on his future in his first podcast appearance since the conclusion of his 23rd NFL season. He said, “If I knew what I was going to f-cking do, I’d have already f-cking done it.” He also said, “I’m taking it a day at a time”. DraftKings Sportsbook has odds for what team Brady would suit up for, posted last week. According to DraftKings, the probabilities are:- Tampa Bay Buccaneers 33%- Las Vegas Raiders 29%- San Francisco 49ers 22%- New England Patriots 12%- Miami Dolphins 12%- New York Giants 10%- New York Jets 10%

Rick and Morty Co-creator and voice actor, Justin Roiland, will no longer be providing the voice for the characters Rick and Morty following charges of felony domestic abuse. Adult Swim, the distributor of the animated series, has ended its association with Roiland and the show will continue with other voice actors. Roiland has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting his next court hearing in April.

Lastly, A cafeteria worker at a high school in Louisiana was arrested last week for allegedly selling homemade weed edibles to students. 😳 🥬 (No it wasn't Cheech and Chong or Walter White but that's what we thought of when we read the headline)

Bro-Tastic Memes

Thank you for reading, but more importantly, thank you for being you. We hope you found this edition informative and enjoyable. Be sure to follow us on social media for even more Culture, Tech, and Business insights and updates @TheMorningBro