🌎 Tech's new battlefield

Plus: Taylor Swift knew FTX was trouble Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Sign up here](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fdaily-brief%2F/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/42YfmJdOiTCZ8yy984Qv_riVmQ6dmAkWEiW6Sur7N-0=297) [Quartz](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fdaily-brief%2F1850356285%2Ftechs-new-battlefield%2F/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/zjEcx3Eu_nhXrdsRIk8TsLItZ0FUXrYkb1va3wd1I58=297) April 20, 2023 [View in browser](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fdaily-brief%2F1850356285%2Ftechs-new-battlefield%2F/2/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/s-MRS9AVMjX9GGo3hvIvu3LdrfYbJlcmJpkMf4VJTlk=297) Sponsored By Good morning, Quartz readers! Here’s what you need to know Microsoft sparked Elon Musk’s ire. The tech giant is shutting down a service that uses Twitter’s API rather [than paying for it](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Felon-musk-twitter-microsoft-api-payment-1850356180%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285%26rev=1681983540707/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/JHs4VI-wSIoHsYI7OyGdV11U0oTVOZGB9sCgIexKkSU=297), provoking threats of legal action from the chief twit. Tesla slashed prices for the sixth time this year. The markdowns, which attempt to compensate for the loss of [some EV tax credits](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Ftesla-slashed-prices-for-a-sixth-time-this-year-to-alle-1850352802%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/PMBlq38zGGhC-GgrEX340GjIBb3DTYdoc3vqwPGtTbY=297), were announced ahead of a muted [first- quarter earnings report](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Ftesla-first-quarter-2023-earnings-report-1850356283%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/xprommy9s7_lluZ1f-panbJTnwghC96rZLfDihDxhyQ=297). Disney made another agreement protecting its autonomy from Florida’s oversight. Governor Ron DeSantis’s appointees [just discovered their authority](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fdesantiss-florida-board-just-discovered-another-11th-h-1850356266%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285%26rev=1681980829886/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/L0lwkcDyUcgWblXaMByDuR795vG4ZTX2l0Mic-smKYY=297) was curtailed even in the utilities realm. Snap’s CEO would love a TikTok ban, in the short term. Evan Spiegel’s refreshing honesty highlighted the [catch-22 of a potential ban](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fsnap-ceo-evan-spiegel-would-love-a-tiktok-ban-1850356291%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285%26rev=1681984471534/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/EUXMRBQcCj6EdxJNtfgYoWsIt2Cede76YuCzpky97FI=297) on the popular Chinese app. Lydia Davis is boycotting Amazon. The award-winning author and translator will not sell [her new book on Amazon](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Flydia-davis-new-book-amazon-protest-1850353326%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/4tDHnQBFvP5mwmff1UeF01SG8_EGP63AQkmnwVfOs-0=297) as a form of protest against the company’s business model. Sponsor content by Henley & Partners [Henley & Partners]( Purchase Spanish real estate with a minimum value of EUR 500,000 and gain residence to this vibrant Mediterranean country with a high quality of life and one of the strongest economies in Europe. Within approximately 20 days, you and your family can live, work, and study in Spain and travel freely across the EU and Europe's Schengen Area. [advertisement][advertisement][advertisement] [Invest Now]( You can (legally) get high in these states today It’s April 20th, the day stoner culture claims as its own (even if the date’s [origins are a bit hazy](%2F%2Fqz.com%2F1255586%2F420-where-weed-is-legal-in-the-us-and-in-countries-around-the-world%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/2tVlmBLdn1i1FHnNWZSZYWzAWAHoj2RIaDUoFWHiAUA=297)). %2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fdaily-brief%2F1850356285%2Ftechs-new-battlefield%2F/3/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/fsC04UuaR1SR2ohKyR55lFwJ4-QPCv3ZVcV5se3e_qk=297 Graphic: (Clarisa Diaz) There may be more celebrating than usual this year. Medical use of cannabis is now legal in 40 states and in Washington, DC, and recreationally in 21 of those states. Oh, and [buzz around legalization](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fwhere-marijuana-is-legal-in-the-us-in-2023-1850352780%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/eRkfTjaUL-NYFI39QsCCcm8Ys-ub-egBswjNPoWjtQA=297) is blazing across several holdout states. Taylor Swift knew FTX was trouble %2F%2Fqz.com%2Femails%2Fdaily-brief%2F1850356285%2Ftechs-new-battlefield%2F/4/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/UmDLNM5D7iv3KQjUkyugMiJZhsdrbWLVH15z45BZg_0=297 Gif: Reuters (Giphy) “Can you tell me that these are not unregistered securities?” —[This simple question](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Ftaylor-swift-question-ftx-crypto-securities-collapse-1850351886%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/q1-n73OjGLmyqUhbm69Q8ekUFvI8ebHZJlUQNbMkcoo=297) helped save Taylor Swift from jumping on [the doomed FTX bandwagon](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fftx-bankruptcy-chapter-11-delaware-1849772476%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/aHldcv55wr16F32fYMUXil4bJcl_HmjOCpnR_F-dON4=297). South Korean regulators raided a K-pop agency 120,000 won ($90): Music label Hybe’s failed per-share offer for K-pop agency SM Entertainment On the last day of the offer period, SM’s stock value was higher than that bid. Hybe alleges a large trade of SM shares was made to artificially raise the company’s stock value, ultimately causing its tender offer to fail. Now [regulators are taking a look](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fkpop-sm-entertainment-hybe-kakao-stock-price-probe-1850353065%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/5xMyHt1Ry2Kf44P_Eari90oyHV2UepSM8kUnvSsIhVs=297). Quartz’s most popular 🧠[A Google AI model developed a skill it wasn’t expected to have](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fgoogle-ai-skills-sundar-pichai-bard-hallucinations-1850342984%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/t9d2oZYUgsMC77Q1A_I6T-eWq2pCBR8rrl76LwdsVgs=297) 🏖️ [The countries where people retire the youngest](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fthe-countries-where-people-retire-the-youngest-1850332782%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/3raJ_8mtpJgJRGHEfyTaTRP5tRkmrrVJgLk9C5oy3AU=297) 🤑 [Global mobile money transactions hit a record high in 2022](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fglobal-mobile-money-transactions-2022-record-trillion-1850351745%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/8Jl7EHB_mv_pCgrISZe9l9nZ8aZSimMq70R6FF1qTcA=297) 🚘 [These foreign cars no longer qualify for Biden’s EV tax credits](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fforeign-car-brands-do-not-qualify-ev-tax-credits-1850347031%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/ZKBScKdF3nYfImjXbYwTEhfcjkEywjt6XWIwZJGc78o=297) 🥚 [An Indian influencer has got under 200-year-old Cadbury’s skin](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Findians-are-talking-of-boycotting-cadburys-bournvita-1850347044%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/UmbMoR-rNRyDZBCq0-ALGlGXP4I4H_npB7rU9dGfII8=297) 🏏 [Saudi Arabia wants to do to cricket what it did to golf with LIV](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fsaudi-arabian-cricket-league-threatens-bccis-ipl-1850351698%2F%3Futm_source=email%26utm_medium=Quartz_Daily_Brief_US%26utm_content=1850356285/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/3irCPwGK-i5vHO7L4Wy03BA7_wQcigzi47W-SpdQtU0=297) Sponsor content by Henley & Partners [Henley & Partners]( Purchase Spanish real estate with a minimum value of EUR 500,000 and gain residence to this vibrant Mediterranean country with a high quality of life and one of the strongest economies in Europe. Within approximately 20 days, you and your family can live, work, and study in Spain and travel freely across the EU and Europe's Schengen Area. [advertisement][advertisement][advertisement] [Invest Now]( Surprising discoveries If Germany’s cloud storage was put on floppy disks that were stacked on top of one other, its height would be out of this world. [Way past the Moon](%2F%2Fknowhow.distrelec.com%2Fit-and-digital%2Feuropes-cloud-data-visualised%2F/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/Jc1bROEVaYNXgV_d6zJ3yEW2slSYGIkbJPJvgv5_8q4=297), even. Hershey is buttering up its popcorn business. The US chocolatier [bought two plants](%2F%2Fwww.fooddive.com%2Fnews%2Fhershey-buys-2-popcorn-plants-to-fuel-growth-of-its-skinnypop-brand%2F647476%2F/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/2h3OmvqUZHJo3nD3wAC8oW-XITjyejg89fgnTELlxCc=297) to expand its SkinnyPop brand and help more toddlers [cause controversial messes on planes](%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Ftravel%2F2023%2F04%2F18%2Fanthony-bass-wife-united-flight-attendant%2F/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/4tPieBGh2wHEXMb1vOBBfs_vDGw1qF1a01Zg4jWvBj4=297). The Crunchwrap Supreme was born out of countless hexagonal taco sketches. Creator Lois Carson’s creative process was [a lot like](%2F%2Fwww.newyorker.com%2Fmagazine%2F2023%2F04%2F24%2Ftaco-bells-innovation-kitchen-the-front-line-in-the-stunt-food-wars/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/o8jgVAznquSrpAxzU6nphP84hkYe0kORRAUx3r1aI8Q=297) Thomas Edison’s. Carnivorous plants may use odor to attract prey. Specialized scents might explain why [some mostly eat ants and others munch on bees.](%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2023%2F04%2F19%2Fworld%2Fcarnivorous-pitcher-plants-scents-scn%2Findex.html/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/OQXmk7tFMwMcmxmO2KhzA7POcdOaFRKDIvajLGeQe4g=297) Indians are getting biryani flown to them. Zomato is banking on [nostalgia for hometown dishes](%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-asia-india-65252499/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/MY1nhD4sHA16LzspfpiMg3XFx0j8EtW9grlx1hEw0Xo=297) to drive its food flight service. Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, chocolate-covered popcorn, and hexagonal tacos to talk@qz.com. Reader support makes Quartz available to all—[become a member](%2F%2Fqz.com%2Fsubscribe%2F/1/010001879e3844d8-b9c28957-45df-4a46-9dea-e4432296528b-000000/oHRSwtTXhzvc4nI-Euw5kADiYRn5V9-ScuCzgDjnWWI=297). Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Sofia Lotto Persio and Morgan Haefner. 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