Elon’s orbit

Hey all, it’s Kurt Wagner in Denver. We’re taking a deep dive into Elon Musk’s universe, but first…Three things you need to know today:• Sal [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hey all, it’s Kurt Wagner in Denver. We’re taking a deep dive into Elon Musk’s universe, but first… Three things you need to know today: • Salesforce said quarterly sales would jump [less than 10% for the first time ever]( • Apple is working on app for its streaming service [to go on Android phones]( • HP Inc said sales of personal computers rose [for the first time in two years]( Musk’s loyalists When Elon Musk first walked through the doors of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters more than 18 months ago, he wasn’t just bringing along a [porcelain sink](; he also brought with him a cadre of advisers, confidantes and loyalists who make up one of the most important business networks in the world: Elon Inc., the unofficial name given to Musk’s sprawling (and growing) empire. A who’s who of Musk’s empire appeared at Twitter HQ during those [first few weeks of his takeover](. There was Jared Birchall, Musk’s personal money man and fixer; Alex Spiro, his lawyer; friends and business associates like investor David Sacks and former Tesla and current SpaceX board member Antonio Gracias. Eventually, Musk was joined by dozens of engineers from his various companies to help sift through Twitter’s code base. The Twitter takeover was an all-hands-on-deck situation and offered the most visible example to date of Elon Inc. in action. It served as a good reminder that working for Musk at one of his companies can oftentimes mean working for Musk at all of his companies. This week, Bloomberg published an [ambitious graphics project]( intended to outline the most important players within the Elon Inc. universe. We wanted to answer a simple yet complicated question: Who does a man that is running six business actually rely on to get things done? Almost none of Musk’s companies have formal organization charts or easy-to-follow corporate structures, which meant answering this question required reporting and expertise from a broad collection of Bloomberg journalists and editors. We packaged it together in a fun and interactive graphic, and we hope you’ll check it out. Read More: [Elon Musk’s Empire Is Under Threat as Tesla Spirals]( One thing you’ll likely notice from the project is that Elon Inc. is a collection of people, as well as a collection of companies that are starting to overlap more and more frequently. As Musk’s wealth and power have increased in recent years, he’s started to merge his businesses together, too. Tesla is now advertising on X (formerly Twitter). Musk’s new artificial intelligence venture, xAI, is using data from posts on X to train its chatbot, Grok. When xAI was out fundraising earlier this year, a slide deck pitching the investment opportunity mentioned access to the collection of companies, referred to as the “Muskonomy,” as [one of the key reasons to invest](. At times, this corporate mingling has gotten Musk into trouble. When a Delaware Chancery Court judge [struck down Musk’s $56 billion pay package]( earlier this year, her decision included a reference to this complicated arrangement and his conflicts of interest. “Musk regularly uses Tesla resources to address projects at other companies he owns,” she wrote. Still, Elon Inc. is a reality that some within the mogul’s orbit are happy to lean into. At X, Chief Executive Officer Linda Yaccarino used Elon Inc. as a rallying cry for employees after Musk told advertisers to “go f--- yourself” from a conference stage. Shortly after the incident, Yaccarino sent a memo to staff: “X,” [she wrote](, “sits in a one-of-a-kind constellation of companies that are changing the world.”—[Kurt Wagner](mailto:kwagner71@bloomberg.net) The big story The FBI said it dismantled a massive botnet — an army of 19 million “zombie” computers infiltrated by hackers for a variety of cybercrimes. Criminals used malware to take over computers from unsuspecting owners. The alleged administrator of the network was arrested in Singapore and [is awaiting extradition to the US](. One to watch [Watch Lerer Hippeau Managing Partner Eric Hippeau talk on Bloomberg Television about the consequences of the declining number of US public companies.]( Get fully charged Walmart had a computer failure that led to [incorrect prices at 1,600 stores.]( Amazon’s Ring smart-camera business wants to get away from its reputation as just a [crime-fighting device](. Didi reported a widening loss as its stake in an [EV maker has yet to pay off.]( Meta removed AI-generated disinformation campaigns on Facebook and Instagram [in countries including China and Israel](. More from Bloomberg Get Bloomberg Tech weeklies in your inbox: - [Cyber Bulletin]( for coverage of the shadow world of hackers and cyber-espionage - [Game On]( for reporting on the video game business - [Power On]( for Apple scoops, consumer tech news and more - [Screentime]( for a front-row seat to the collision of Hollywood and Silicon Valley - [Soundbite]( for reporting on podcasting, the music industry and audio trends - [Q&AI]( for answers to all your questions about AI Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Tech Daily newsletter. 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