The $50 billion Musk referendum

PLUS: A January 6 Rioter Is Leading an Armed National Militia From Prison, and more. [View in browser]( | [Your newsletter preferences]( 06.12.24 [SUBSCRIBE TO WIRED]( [FOR UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THESE STORIES]( [Collage of a group of people wearing military gear and holding guns inside the shape of a January 6th rioter holding a flag]( EXTREMELY ONLINE | 6-MINUTE READ [A January 6 Rioter Is Leading an Armed National Militia From Prison]( BY DAVID GILBERT As the US election approaches, Edward “Jake” Lang says that the militia will focus on potential “civil unrest” around the vote and will be ready to activate at a moment’s notice.   [Change Healthcare logo]( CASH COW | 4-MINUTE READ [Medical-Targeted Ransomware Is Breaking Records After Change Healthcare’s $22M Payout]( BY ANDY GREENBERG Cybersecurity firm Recorded Future counted 44 health-care-related incidents in the month after Change Healthcare’s payment came to light—the most it’s ever seen in a single month.   [House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries giving a speech]( STONEWALLING | 5-MINUTE READ [US Leaders Dodge Questions About Israel’s Influence Campaign]( BY DELL CAMERON Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has joined US intelligence officials in ignoring repeated inquiries about Israel’s “malign” efforts to covertly influence US voters.   [Blue, yellow, and black photo collage of Elon Musk; a Tesla car silhouette shape, stock market graphs, money, and a torn paper texture]( PAYBACK TIME | 4-MINUTE READ [The $50 Billion Musk Referendum]( BY MORGAN MEAKER AND AARIAN MARSHALL Tesla shareholders will decide whether to back Elon Musk’s leadership—and unprecedented 11-figure bonus—in a pivotal moment for the carmaker. ADVERTISEMENT   [AI generated image of a silver-haired person in a blue suit with a view of a beach pier in the background]( VOTE ROBOT | 2-MINUTE READ [There’s an AI Candidate Running for Parliament in the UK]( BY VITTORIA ELLIOTT If it wins the UK general election, “AI Steve” will be represented by businessman Steve Endacott in Parliament. Endacott says he’ll merely be a conduit, and the AI will make the policy decisions.   [A diptych of two black and white photographs; the photo on the left is a close-up of a hand placing a bicycle lock around a bike and on the right is a close-up photo of someone cutting a bike lock with a handheld electric saw]( BOOSTED | 21-MINUTE READ [Silicon Valley’s Fanciest Stolen Bikes Are Getting Trafficked by One Mastermind in Jalisco, Mexico]( BY CHRISTOPHER SOLOMON "We have people stealing all over the world." A digital sleuth named Bryan Hance has spent the past four years obsessively uncovering a bicycle-theft pipeline of astonishing scale, running from the US West Coast to Mexico.   [Repeated images of a hand holding a camera, an artist painting, a hand on a potter's wheel, part of a painted fresco around two hands holding a frame with a grid.]( DIGITAL CULTURE | 6-MINUTE READ [Worried About AI Killing Art? This App Offers a Refuge—If Its Founder Can Keep the Lights On]( BY KATE KNIBBS Artists are fleeing Meta’s platforms over fears their work will be used to train AI. Photographer Jingna Zhang’s Cara promises protection, but the influx of new users is taxing her niche portfolio app.   [Billboard that reads %22We Love You, We Miss You, We Hate Money%22]( VIDEO GAMES | 2-MINUTE READ [Behind That Viral LA Billboard That Trolled Microsoft and Other Game Companies]( BY MEGAN FAROKHMANESH As big studios showed up in Los Angeles for Summer Game Fest, they were greeted by a message to recently shuttered developers: “We miss you. We hate money.”   [Apple iPhones]( FIRMWARE UPDATE | 11-MINUTE READ [The Top New Features Coming to Apple’s iOS 18 and iPadOS 18]( BY JULIAN CHOKKATTU What exactly is Apple Intelligence? We break down Apple’s AI onslaught plus all the features worth talking about in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18.   Looking for a new job? Check out these featured listings and search for openings all over the world on [jobs.wired.com](. [Machine Learning Engineering Manager]( [Spotify]( [Location: London, UK]( [APPLY NOW]( [Threat Detection Team Lead]( [Experian]( [Location: USA]( [APPLY NOW]( ADVERTISEMENT   [WIRED logo image]( Thanks for reading. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Sign up here](. Plus, [browse more newsletters]( from WIRED. [(image) WIRED on Facebook]( [(image) WIRED on Twitter]( [(image) WIRED on Instagram]( [(image) WIRED on LinkedIn]( [(image) WIRED on YouTube]( [Podcasts]( [TikTok](   You’re receiving this email because you signed up for the Daily newsletter from WIRED. [Manage your preferences]( | [View our Privacy Policy]( | [Unsubscribe]( Have questions or comments? [Send us a message](mailto:hello@wired.com?subject=Daily newsletter feedback). Need help? [Contact us](. Copyright © Condé Nast 2024. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.