Issue #85

Lawyer sues Zuckerberg for being Zuckerberg, Tesla offers Musk $1 trillion to stay, Ben & Jerry’s founders want ice cream freedom, and more. 

News from September 4 - September 11, 2025

Lawyer Sues Zuckerberg for Being Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg, a bankruptcy lawyer from Indiana, has filed a lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, after his Facebook business page was disabled five times for allegedly impersonating himself.

The lawyer has spent over $11,000 advertising his legal practice on Meta's platforms, only to have his account repeatedly flagged by automated systems that assume he's pretending to be the tech billionaire. Meta continues charging him for ads even when his account is suspended.

Zuckerberg says that he has been practising law since CEO Zuckerberg was three years old. He created a website chronicling how sharing a name with the Meta founder has disrupted his life, from prank call assumptions, death threats, to disappointed crowds at speaking events. Mark Zuckerberg: "It's not funny. Not when they take my money.” 

Source

Tesla Offers Musk $1 Trillion to Stay

Tesla's board has proposed an unprecedented $1 trillion pay package for CEO Elon Musk, contingent on growing the company's market value to $8.5 trillion over the next decade.

The massive compensation plan would require Tesla to reach almost eight times its current $1.1 trillion valuation, making it more valuable than today's most valuable company, Nvidia. Success would also make Musk the world's first trillionaire while raising his Tesla stake to 25%, the threshold he previously demanded for leading the company's AI efforts.

The offer follows repeated legal battles over Musk's previous $50 billion pay package, which Delaware courts struck down twice. Tesla recently awarded him $29 billion worth of shares, arguing he hadn't received meaningful compensation since 2017 despite the company's turbulent performance amid slumping car sales. Analyst Gordon Johnson: "Things are going to get worse for them, not better. Is Tesla going to go to $8 trillion? Abso-f*****g-lutely not."

Source

Armani Empire Faces Succession Questions

Fashion icon Giorgio Armani's death at 91 has triggered speculation about the future of his €2.3 billion luxury empire, which he controlled entirely until his final days without leaving children to inherit the business.

The Italian designer established a foundation in 2016 to "safeguard governance" and prevent the company from being bought or broken up after his death. His niece Silvana, who designed women's collections, and right-hand man Pantaleo Dell'Orco, who collaborated on men's lines, are among five potential heirs alongside other family members.

Armani repeatedly rejected takeover approaches, including offers from Italy's Agnelli family and Gucci, while putting bylaws in place that would delay any potential stock listing for at least five years after his death. The company generated stable revenue but faced shrinking profits amid an industry downturn. Luxury advisor Mario Ortelli: "Could Giorgio Armani be an interesting target? Absolutely yes — it's one of the most recognised brands in the world.”

Source

Bulletin Board

• OpenAI Challenges LinkedIn with Job Platform. OpenAI plans to launch an AI-powered hiring platform by mid-2026, putting it in direct competition with LinkedIn, which was co-founded by one of OpenAI's earliest investors. The OpenAI Jobs Platform will use AI to match companies with workers and offer dedicated tracks for small businesses seeking AI talent. The company also plans to certify 10 million Americans in "AI fluency" by 2030 through its OpenAI Academy program, working with Walmart on the initiative. Source
• Ben & Jerry's Founders Want Ice Cream Freedom. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are calling for their former ice cream brand to be excluded from Unilever's planned initial public offering (IPO) of its ice cream division. The founders claim Unilever has "silenced" the brand's progressive voice on social justice issues and "eroded" its founding values. Ben Cohen: "Authenticity has always been at the very heart of what we do, and stripping this away risks destroying the very value of Ben & Jerry's." Source
• Corporate AI Usage Drops for First Time. US companies with over 250 employees reduced their AI adoption from nearly 14% in June to under 12% in August, marking the largest decline since the Census Bureau began tracking in November 2023. The drop comes after 95% of companies report that AI has failed to generate new revenue, despite massive tech industry investment in AI infrastructure. Source
• Chinese Scientists Create Rainbow Glow Plants. Researchers at South China Agricultural University have developed multi-coloured bioluminescent succulents that glow for up to two hours after sunlight exposure, surpassing American competitors' single-colour firefly petunias. The plants use injected nanoparticles made of strontium, aluminium and heavy metals rather than genetically modified mushroom genes, creating blue, green, violet, red and white glows bright enough for reading. Lead researcher Shuting Liu: "Picture the world of Avatar, where glowing plants light up an entire ecosystem. We wanted to make that vision possible." Source
• Lachlan Murdoch Wins Family Media War. The years-long succession battle within Rupert Murdoch's conservative media empire has ended with son Lachlan gaining control of Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post. Siblings Prudence, Elisabeth and James Murdoch will receive approximately $1.1 billion each from selling their stakes but lose all influence over the family's media conglomerate's political direction. Professor of communication Matthew Ricketson: "He seems to have torn apart his family in the process.” Source

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