Category: Business

• A British couple headed to Spain ended up in Lithuania due to an airport error.
• The couple, with disabilities, booked special assistance and were put on the wrong plane.
• They told BBC News that the incident left them "distraught" and "scared."

A British couple who booked a flight to Spain ended up in a different European country after airport staff escorted them onto the wrong plane.

Andrew and Victoria Gore, both 47, told BBC News that they had intended to board a flight to Barcelona with the budget airline Ryanair as part of a package vacation worth £1,500, or around $1,915, on Saturday, May 25.

They had booked the trip with their family to celebrate Andrew's birthday.

But Andrew, who is an amputee, and Victoria, who is autistic, ended up on a different flight to Lithuania after booking special assistance at Bristol Airport in England.

Passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility are legally entitled to special assistance without an additional charge when flying from the UK, the US, and many other countries.

Bristol Airport's website states that special assistance can be booked by passengers who have mobility issues or hidden disabilities to help with check-in, getting through security, and boarding the plane. It is facilitated through the airport's service partner, ABM, the website states.

"We have been away lots of times and always had special assistance, so this was nothing new to us," Victoria told the BBC.

"The minibus took us to the Ryanair plane and they checked our boarding pass and let us on the plane," she said.

The couple said their boarding passes were checked by airport staff multiple times, and they were also reassured that their family was already on board.

They didn't realize there had been a mix-up until they arrived at Kaunas Airport in Lithuania.

"When I woke up, it didn't look like Spain out the window, I turned my phone on and it said 'Welcome to Lithuania'," Andrew said.

"I was distraught, and scared. I didn't stop crying," Victoria said.

The couple said the airline provided them with overnight accommodation and transportation to Riga, the capital of neighboring Latvia, where they could board a flight the following day.

However, their bags didn't arrive in Barcelona until two days later.

Andrew and Victoria's experience follows a trend of travel nightmares that are sometimes experienced by airline passengers with disabilities.

A Department of Transportation report recorded a 108% increase in complaints from flyers with disabilities, from 76 in May 2019 to 158 in May 2022.

In a statement sent to Business Insider, a Ryanair spokesperson said special assistance is "provided by Bristol Airport's special assistance provider — not Ryanair."

"As these passengers did not board their flight to Barcelona, their bags were removed from the aircraft at Bristol Airport in line with standard safety procedures," part of the statement said.

"When it was realised that these passengers had been misrouted in error by Bristol Airport's special assistance provider, and rerouted to Barcelona, their bags were rushed from Bristol Airport to Barcelona to them.

"We sincerely apologise to these passengers for any inconvenience caused as a result of Bristol Airport's special assistance provider's error and have assured that they will be fully compensated by Bristol Airport," the statement concluded.

A spokesperson for Bristol Airport told BI that the situation is being investigated, and the couple will be contacted to "direct their complaint to the correct business partner for resolution."

Representatives for ABM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• Argentina is holding talks to send five fighter jets to Ukraine, Argentine media reported.
• Its Super Étendard jets are inoperable due to a Falkland War-era embargo, local outlet Infobae said.
• France could fit ejection seat cartridges as part of a weapons swap with Argentina, per the outlet.

An unusual legacy of the Falklands War could help Ukraine get a new set of fighter jets.

Argentine news outlet Infobae reported on Tuesday that the country is holding talks with NATO, the US, and France to provide Ukraine with five Super Étendard fighter jets.

The jets have been out of use and stored at an air-naval base since Argentina acquired them in 2019, due to a Falkland War-era embargo the UK imposed on Argentina, according to the outlet.

The Falklands War, a ten-week undeclared war between the UK and Argentina, took place in 1982 over control of the Falkland Islands.

Under existing UK sanctions, the South American country can't get cartridges needed to enable the pilot's seat to eject in case of emergency, the outlet reported, making the jets inoperable.

Argentina is now holding talks with France to swap the jets for other military gear, such as drones and helicopters, it said.

According to the outlet, the plan, approved by Argentina's President Javier Milei, would allow France to then fit the ejection seat cartridges and make them operable for use in Ukraine.

Argentina's foreign and defense ministries and the Élysée Palace in France didn't immediately respond to requests for comments.

According to the outlet, Argentina's foreign minister, Diana Elena Mondino, discussed the issue in a meeting held at NATO headquarters in Brussels with her French counterpart, Stéphane Séjourné, and during an unannounced visit with US national security advisor Jake Sullivan at the White House.

It didn't specify when these talks took place or what role the US and NATO are playing.

Earlier this month, President Emmanuel Macron said France would send Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine.

The jet — a multi-role fourth-generation fighter manufactured by French company Dassault Aviation — is a combat-proven aircraft like the F-16, having flown sorties in conflicts in the Middle East and the Balkans.

But its effectiveness is limited by its air-to-air missiles, Justin Bronk, an airpower and technology expert at the UK-based Royal United Services Institute think tank, told BI last week.

Meanwhile, an unnamed Ukrainian military source told Reuters in May that F-16s are expected to start arriving in Ukraine in either June or July.

They could play a vital role in helping Ukraine reclaim Crimea, Frederik Mertens, a strategic analyst at the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, told BI last month.

• When I moved in 2019 I was excited to meet other parents.
• Yet, the closest friend I've made is in an entirely different generation.
• We bonded over workouts and time on the lake.

About a month ago, I was sitting in a café with my friend. I'm not one to fret about aging, but I was having some feelings about turning 35 that week. The number felt very much like approaching middle age and leaving the youthful chaos of my 20s and early 30s behind.

"Don't worry. If I could go back to any age, it would be my 40s," Dorian told me.

I knew this wasn't just a shallow platitude. Dorian is 26 years older than me, so if she was telling me that the best was yet to come, I believed her. It immediately made me feel better. Not for the first time, I was so happy to have a friend of an entirely different generation to give me the perspective I just can't get from my peers.

We met at the gym

I met Dorian back in 2021 when I joined a CrossFit-style gym. The world was opening up after quarantine, and I knew virtually no one in the town I'd moved to in 2019. I joined the gym largely for a social outlet.

The mid-morning group classes drew a mixed crowd. I was in my early 30s and usually the youngest person there. There were a few parents in their 40s, with kids similar ages to mine (who were 4 and 8 at the time), and people in their 50s and 60s. Out of everyone, I really clicked with Dorian.

I can't explain why — she was one of the quieter people in the class and we were never partners for exercises. Maybe it was her "Gym and Tonic" t-shirt that made me laugh or her "Zookeeper" vanity license plate that reminded me to embrace the wilder moments of life. Perhaps because we couldn't bond over the frustrations of parenting, we were nudged toward more meaningful topics.

When it was just us training together, we became close

If she were closer to my age, I would have suggested Dorian and I get a drink or do a lake day with the kids, but I felt funny moving our gym friendship into the real world because of our age gap. Looking back, I think I was worried she would think it was odd. Really, my hesitation was just a good old fear of rejection.

Luckily, fate intervened. In the summer of 2022, our gym suddenly changed its model. Many of the customers felt like the rug had been pulled out from under us, so we started a co-op-style training program at a different local gym. During the switch, the mid-morning class size dwindled. Often, it was only Dorian and I working out together.

That's when our friendship blossomed. Since we were a duo rather than a group, we really got to know each other. When my daughter's pony died unexpectedly, Dorian hugged me while I cried and made burial arrangements. When she was overwhelmed with helping plan her daughter's upcoming summer wedding, I let her vent and reminded her it would all turn out perfectly.

It was years until I realized Dorian was the same age as my mom

Despite seeing each other at least five times a week, we never mentioned our age gap. I figured Dorian was about 20 years older than me, but at this point, it didn't matter at all — we were buddies. I asked her about plants, and she tried to help me overcome my brown thumb. We shared recipes. We gossiped and giggled over small-town dramas.

Then, in 2023, I was talking about planning a surprise 60th birthday celebration for my mom. Dorian responded that she hoped to slip quietly out of her house on her upcoming 60th. Turns out, my new best friend was almost exactly the age of my mom. We also have the same age difference between me and my oldest daughter.

Yet, that difference doesn't matter at all. If anything, it enhances our friendship. We're not brought together just by shared circumstances or obligations. We've formed a connection just because we like each other. When we get coffee, go for a walk, or spend a day on the dock at Dorian's lake house, we can enjoy spending time together just because.

On the day of my 35th birthday, Dorian handed me a card. It had the silhouette of a powerlifter squatting on the front, and she'd drawn a ponytail to make the card look a bit more like me. I had recently made a longtime squat goal, so this was perfect. Seeing how well Dorian knew me made me, I so appreciated her friendship, and that we didn't let our age gap get in the way.

• Francesca Bridgerton marries John Stirling, the Earl of Kilmartin, in "Bridgerton" season three.
• But the show makes a major creative choice at the end of the season that will deeply affect her story.
• It still remains to be seen how "Bridgerton" will handle it — but it will require some maneuvering.

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for "Brigerton" season three and the book "When He Was Wicked."

"Bridgerton" season three wrapped up Penelope and Colin's love story — but its finale set up a revelatory future for Francesca Bridgerton that's a major divergence from the books.

For those who have been praying for one of the Bridgerton siblings to get a queer storyline, season three delivered. Benedict Bridgerton experienced his first kiss with a man via a threesome with his paramour, Lady Tilley Arnold. But perhaps more shockingly, the show has staged a queer romance for Francesca, one that promises a deviation from her novel "When He Was Wicked."

By the end of season three, Francesca has finally married John Stirling, the Earl of Kilmartin. At the end of the season, at a ball hosted by Penelope Featherington's sisters, she finally gets to meet another member of John's family — his cousin, Michaela Stirling, played by Masali Baduza.

Book readers will note this as a significant change: In Quinn's novels, Michaela is actually Michael, John's cousin and a close friend of Francesca's after their marriage. He's also Francesca's eventual love interest after John dies suddenly two years into his marriage with Francesca.

"Bridgerton" doesn't really mince glances in the finale. Francesca is immediately visibly attracted to Michaela, tripping over her words as they meet and even briefly forgetting her own name. Even if you haven't read the books, the implication is clear — Francesca is going to fall in love with this woman.

"Bridgerton" has made some significant changes to Quinn's novels in the past — most notably, it asserted Queen Charlotte's Blackness, and takes place in a version of Regency-era London where people of color can hold titles. But three seasons in, it has yet to meaningfully change any of the siblings' love stories, making a divergence of this level unprecedented.

Showrunner Jess Brownell told Glamour that Francesca's story, and feeling of otherness, resonated with her as a queer woman and lent itself to this kind of change.

"I felt like there was fertile ground thematically in her book to nod toward telling a queer story," Brownell said.

It's notable that 'Bridgerton' has seemingly committed to a queer romance

"Bridgerton" has previously dabbled in queer relationships, but only between men. In season one, Benedict befriends an artist named Henry Granville, who's engaged in a secret relationship with another man. Granville is married and tells Benedict that he and his wife have an understanding that allows him to pursue the relationship — though only behind closed doors.

More prominently, in "Queen Charlotte," the king and queen's footmen, Reynolds and Brimsley, are also in a secret relationship that appears to have dissolved by the time they reach adulthood.

"Because of the world they inhabited, it was still a hangable offense to be gay, and it was just not possible," Hugh Sachs, who plays older Brimsley, told Vulture.

The rules between men and women differed at the time: Sodomy was a capitol offense in England until 1861, per the Encyclopedia Britannica, while lesbian sex acts didn't fall under any legislation. Obviously, "Bridgerton" is far from historical text, but it seems unlikely that an open, romantic relationship between two women would fly even in the show's alternate history. The show won't be able to write a romance between Francesca and Michaela without actively engaging with what it means to pursue a relationship with another woman in high-society Regency London.

That doesn't preclude their happiness though, according to Brownell.

"There are also some elements of her story that allow us to make sure we can tell a pretty happy ending for Francesca and Michaela," Brownell told Glamour. "It was important for me in telling a main queer story for us to be able to give them a happily ever after, as we have with every other couple."

Changing Michael to Michaela has other major plot implications

In "When He Was Wicked," Michael is forced to reluctantly assume John's title as Earl after Francesca miscarries, preventing it from passing on to one of John's sons. To make matters worse, he's also been in love with Francesca since they first met and does his best to conceal that through cultivating a rakish reputation. After John's death, he flees to India for four years, leaving Francesca to manage the Kilmartin estate.

"Bridgerton" has gone to great pains to remind us that women cannot inherit titles, especially in season three. Inquiries from the Crown leave the Featheringtons scrambling to produce a male heir (congrats to Penelope on winning that race), and the Mondrich family inherits the Kent estate after their young son miraculously turns out to be Lady Kent's closest male relative.

Michaela won't be able to inherit John's Earldom, nor presumably be able to sequester herself in India for years at a time, after his death. And as a presumably unmarried woman herself, she'll likely be facing pressure to marry, or living life as a spinster.

That doesn't mean that "Bridgerton" can't make adjustments to clear a thoughtful path for Francesca and Michaela. In the books, Francesca decides to pursue a second marriage after John's death not out of a need for companionship, but rather because of her desire for children. In fact, she's rather secure in her position as a widow, afforded the rare freedom to live an independent life as a woman. Should she not miscarry and give birth to John's son in the show, she would retain that freedom without question of which man would assume the title.

Brownell told Glamour that despite the change from Michael to Michaela, she still plans to "honor" the book on television.

"Obviously, some changes will have to be made to the storyline, but there are ways to honor a lot of the book," Brownell said.

At this point, we can't be certain of how "Bridgerton" will manage Michaela's gender swap, and her eventual romance. But for this gentle writer, it's heartening to see "Bridgerton" take a big swing like this — and set up a sweeping queer love story for one of its main characters.

• Patrick Synge fired one of his employees for secretly working a second remote job.
• He shared how he caught the employee and why he decided to fire them. 
• He says overemployment is "unethical" and hurts worker productivity. 

This as-told-to essay is based on an email conversation with Patrick Synge, the cofounder and CCO of the business-process-outsourcing and remote-recruitment company Metrickal. The business is headquartered in Barcelona and has 10 full time, fully remote employees, in addition to more than 200 contractors worldwide. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I'm the CCO of a business where every employee works fully remotely. In January, I caught one of them secretly working a second full-time remote job.

Here's how it all played out — and why I decided to fire them.

My business is headquartered in Barcelona, but one of my employees was based in Peru. He was hired in 2022, and in the beginning, he did his job very well. But then, I started to receive complaints from clients about missed assignments and deadlines. He had also become quite unresponsive. These complaints from clients started to become somewhat regular.

When this employee started refusing certain shifts he usually worked, I became suspicious. I had a feeling that he was doing something on the side, but because there was no proof, I didn't want to jump to any conclusions.

So instead, I had one-on-one meetings with him to discuss his job performance. When the same issues continued, I told him that if things didn't change, I'd have to let him go.

While he showed some signs of improvement, his overall performance didn't change much. This put a significant burden on the rest of the team, who had to cover his shifts and deal with missed deadlines.

How I ultimately caught him

In December, unrelated to this particular employee, my company rolled out the time-tracking software called DeskTime.

My long-term goal is to introduce a four-day workweek at my company, and I decided the first step in this process would be understanding how my employees spend their time and what could be optimized to boost productivity.

So our entire team of full-time employees and freelance contractors started using DeskTime. They each had to install the app on their computers, so everyone was well aware that this was being implemented.

After a few weeks, I looked through the tracking data of the struggling employee and noticed there was another company's name — a US business — that regularly appeared in the data. It became clear to me that this employee had worked on some other company's tasks.

I fired them the next day.

The DeskTime data showed that the employee was using software during the workday that was unrelated to his job tasks. It also included a screenshot feature that captured his computer screen — and showed him working on a platform where the other company's name was visible.

Based on the DeskTime data, I estimate that he had spent close to half of his work time working for this other company. It seems that he forgot about the tracking software since once it's downloaded, it doesn't require any manual switching on and off.

To be honest, all the other signs — missed deadlines, lack of flexibility, and unresponsiveness at certain times — had already made me quite certain that he was doing something else during working hours. I would have probably fired him anyway, but the tracked data was the missing hard proof.

I believe he was working for the other company full time because soon after I fired him, he updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect that he was working full time at the other company.

Why I think overemployment is unethical

I know some people may judge me, but I really don't support the trend of overemployment. I think it's unethical and just wrong.

First of all, I don't think it's fair to the rest of the team who have to cover up for someone else's low performance. This is why keeping this employee of mine in the company wasn't an option. He wasn't fair and respectful to the team, and that's something I can't tolerate — his actions were just selfish.

Secondly, I don't believe a person can productively do two jobs at the same time, even if you use AI or other tools. Their attention will be scattered, so the quality of their work will suffer. As an entrepreneur, I have to think about my business and clients first. I can't afford to lose clients because someone wants to make extra money.

I really don't mind people having side hustles to earn extra income. But this should be something they do on their own time and that doesn't affect the quality of their day job.

Are you working multiple remote jobs at the same time and willing to provide details about your pay and schedule? Has a coworker or employee of yours done so? If so, reach out to this reporter at jzinkula@businessinsider.com.

Correction: June 13, 2024 — An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Patrick Synge was the CEO of Metrickal. He is the CCO.

• Average air conditioning costs in the US could reach a 10-year high this summer due to extreme heat.
• Heat waves now happen six times a year on average, up from twice a year during the 1960s.
• Advocates are calling for more funding to help low-income residents with their energy bills. 

Many Americans are cranking up the air conditioning this summer to cope with scorching temperatures. And it's costing them.

The cost to keep homes cool between June and September could reach a 10-year high this summer, say two groups advocating for programs to help low-income residents pay their energy bills. The groups projected that the average cost across the country could be $719, a nearly 8% increase from the same period last year. In some regions that figure is higher; in Southern states like Texas, the average cost could hit $858.

"There's a price to ignoring climate change," said Mark Wolfe, the executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, which conducted the analysis with the Center for Energy Poverty and Climate. "The amount of electricity people use is going to go up, and it's a reaction to extreme heat."

The forecast comes as the Southwest swelters under a heat wave that's moving across the US this week. Federal data indicates heat waves happen six times a year on average, up from about twice a year during the 1960s. Meanwhile, climate scientists said May was the hottest month on record globally, continuing a 12-month streak where each one was warmer than the last.

The culprit is the climate crisis, and burning fossil fuels for electricity is the largest source of greenhouse-gas emissions trapping heat in the atmosphere. The US still relies on natural gas and coal to produce 60% of its power.

The forecast for summer cooling costs is based on federal data on regional electric prices, summer temperatures, and residential air conditioning, Wolfe said. His group's predictions are slightly higher than those by the US Energy Information Administration in June, which forecast average monthly bills of $173, or a 3% increase over last year.

"We are assuming a higher rate of temperature change, and recent heat waves are bearing this out," Wolfe said. "We also assumed a slightly higher rate for electricity."

Many factors affect electricity prices, including the costs of fuel, renewable energy, and power-grid maintenance. Wolfe said the cost projections would've been higher if natural-gas prices hadn't been falling since the global energy crisis in 2021. But he emphasized that burning more fossil fuels would worsen the already deadly and expensive heat waves causing Americans to use more energy.

Wolfe argued that federal, state, and local policymakers needed stronger policies and programs to protect vulnerable people during scorching summers. Cities with typically hot summers — including Phoenix; El Paso, Texas; and St. Louis — set up public cooling centers, but that isn't enough to help people stay safe, Wolfe said.

A 2020 survey from the US Energy Information Administration found that nearly 20% of families earning less than $20,000 had no air conditioning. Those who do may not turn it on in an effort to avoid higher bills, Wolfe said. Meanwhile, 33 states don't prevent utility companies from disconnecting residential power during extreme heat, putting children and older adults in particular at risk.

Wolfe argued that more states and cities should adopt shutoff protections and that Congress should boost funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which covers a portion of low-income families' utility bills. He estimated that about 1 million fewer households would get financial help this year because Congress approved less funding for the program than it did for fiscal 2023.

Homeowners could also install energy-efficient appliances, such as electric heat pumps, and take advantage of tax credits and rebates under the Inflation Reduction Act to make retrofits more affordable.

Some states are expected to this year start doling out rebates to homeowners with low and moderate incomes. The program is designed to offer point-of-sale discounts on heat pumps, electric stoves, insulation, new breaker boxes, and wiring — capped at $14,000 per household. Landlords who rent to people in low and moderate income brackets are also eligible. New York this month became the first state to open up applications.

"We need to change the way we think about helping families during the summer and how to upgrade their homes so they can stay cool while not increasing energy use and emissions," Wolfe said. "Now is the time to prepare for higher temperatures."

Are you struggling to pay your energy bill this summer or worried about power shutoffs? Contact cboudreau@businessinsider.com

• Apple is integrating ChatGPT into its operating systems as part of its big AI push.
• It gets to do it without paying ChatGPT's creator, according to a new report.
• That's because Apple's power lies in its vast reach. 

When Apple officially announced its partnership with OpenAI at WWDC on Monday, a big question remained unanswered: on what terms?

When Apple has previously partnered with an outside company on a core product, the value it brings to the table has been pretty clear, with its long-standing partnership with Google on search a case in point.

Google operates the world's most popular search engine but has made it a point to pay Apple each year to keep it the default on Apple devices. It's no small amount, either. In 2022, Google paid Apple $20 billion for that privilege.

So what would the terms be that bring Apple and OpenAI together?

In recent months, Apple has made no noise about an AI model of its own that can rival the performance of OpenAI's GPT-4o, the new premium model to power ChatGPT. It's a sign that it simply lacks one that can measure up favorably.

So, a fair question has been whether Apple would pay to integrate OpenAI's technology into its operating systems to give users as powerful a chatbot experience as possible.

Though its ambitions are different, Microsoft —which has partnered with OpenAI since 2019 — decided to invest an additional $10 billion into the ChatGPT maker last year to not only "accelerate AI breakthroughs" but to weave the AI into its products like Office and Bing too.

However, new details suggest Apple will not be handing cash to OpenAI anytime soon.

That's according to a new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman that said Apple was not paying OpenAI for the integration of its much-hyped chatbot into Siri.

Apple still holds the power

In part, Apple might be getting away without paying OpenAI because it has its own AI models set to hum beneath the surface of its devices. Apple Intelligence — the company's take on generative AI — will involve plenty of in-house technology.

But Apple can also avoid paying OpenAI for ChatGPT integration because its distribution power remains king.

OpenAI stands to benefit from its powerful chatbot gaining further reach thanks to the huge install base Apple oversees, which includes more than two billion active devices.

As influential tech analyst and Stratechery founder Ben Thompson noted, OpenAI can accept not being paid as its distribution through Apple devices could serve as a "play to acquire users and mindshare, with the potential of upselling those users" to a premium ChatGPT subscription.

Apple Intelligence, Thompson added, is designed "to maximize the advantages that Apple has in terms of being the operating system provider on your phone" while allowing OpenAI to come in with a "general-purpose chatbot" only.

Investors seem to have recognized Apple's power here, briefly pushing its stock above Microsoft on Wednesday. Only $11 billion separated the two companies after the closing bell.

What happens in the longer term remains to be seen.

Upgrade cycle

Apple has been battling declining iPhone sales in recent months in key markets like China, which means it will be banking on its new suite of AI features to trigger a big upgrade cycle later this year among consumers enticed by the idea of Apple Intelligence.

Apple is doing its bit to spur this upgrade cycle by making Apple Intelligence available on only its most advanced devices, such as the iPhone 15 Pro models, M1 iPads, and M1 Macbooks.

However, there's no guarantee that consumers will bite, as Apple CEO Tim Cook has already conceded that Apple's new AI features are "not 100%" and may be prone to hallucination problems that have proven a headache for competitors like Google.

That could all come back to haunt Apple down the track, especially if generative AI struggles to match the hype surrounding it.

For now, though, generative AI is everything in Silicon Valley. Companies trying to put the technology in everyone's hands know they could do worse than turn to Apple for help.

"Food Wars" hosts Harry Kersh and Joe Avella travel across Los Angeles to find the best doughnuts in the city. They'll be visiting five locations in just one day to see what the city has to offer. This is "Food Tours."

• Elon Musk appears to be emulating Donald Trump's playbook.
• The Tesla CEO also seems to be immune to scandals in a similar way to the former president.
• Supporters of both Musk and Trump appear willing to overlook their sometimes questionable behavior.

Elon Musk seems to be taking a page out of Donald Trump's playbook.

The Tesla CEO once took a jab at the former president for being too old to run again for the White House, essentially suggesting he sail off into the sunset.

But now it appears Musk is looking to Trump more and more as an example of how to play the public relations game — from the way he prematurely declares victory, to the feuds he starts and the scandals he navigates.

The approach might be serving him well.

Take, for instance, the almost Trumplike way in which Musk, with no attribution, prematurely declared victory in securing his mammoth pay package many hours ahead of an official announcement from Tesla.

Musk decided to celebrate early on X, declaring that the vote was passing by "wide margins." If that is the case, it definitely is a win for the Tesla CEO.

Headaches ahead

Trump is of course now a convicted felon who still faces a brimming docket of pending court cases. Yet Musk also faces some headaches of his own.

Eight former SpaceX employees have filed a lawsuit against him, alleging they were wrongfully fired for speaking out against a hostile work environment in 2022.

Then there are new claims by The Wall Street Journal that Musk blurs lines with the women who work for him. That story also included a claim that Musk asked a SpaceX employee to have his babies, before denying her a promotion when she refused.

Immune to scandal

Musk also seems to be immune to scandals in a similar way to Trump.

Both have the backing of some prominent Silicon Valley figures. Reuters reported that tech venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya hosted a fundraiser in San Francisco earlier this month for the Republican presidential candidate.

And where Musk is concerned, no matter how salacious the scandals he can always rely on the support of his many fans on X.

Following Trump's playbook doesn't appear to have hurt his payday ambitions at all. If Musk has won shareholder approval, they've apparently overlooked some Trumpy tendencies — like feuding with plenty of his tech peers.

Zuck feud

One of Musk's long-running battles has been a near eight-year feud with Mark Zuckerberg that saw him challenge the Meta CEO to a cage fight.

Most recently, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, accusing the ChatGPT maker of violating its nonprofit mission by partnering with Microsoft — although that lawsuit was dropped on Tuesday for unknown reasons.

There's also the drug use. Musk admitted in his March interview with Don Lemon that he takes a "small amount" of ketamine every other week. When Lemon questioned him further, Musk seemed to imply that Wall Street didn't have a problem with it.

Supporters of both Musk and Trump appear very willing to overlook behavior that lesser public figures might not be allowed to get away with.

Representatives for Musk didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

• McDonald's didn't care about Grimace's birthday this year.
• Grimace didn't get a happy birthday post on the chain's Instagram or TikTok and his special purple shake hasn't returned to US menus.
• Fans are sad. They want to slurp his shake and pretend to die again.

After spoiling him rotten last year, McDonald's has completely ignored Grimace's birthday in 2024.

The McDonald's mascot made a comeback in 2023 when the burger giant released a limited-edition Grimace Shake to celebrate his birthday on June 12.

The fuzzy purple blob, believed by some to be a taste bud or a milkshake, became an internet sensation as TikTokers posted videos of themselves pretending to be injured or even dying after drinking the shake.

The trend generated huge buzz for McDonald's, which sold the shake as part of the Grimace Birthday Meal. The mascot's 52nd birthday celebrations appeared in a number of social media posts by the chain in June and July, before McDonald's said that it was "time to say goodbye" on July 5.

Since then, Grimace has barely appeared on McDonald's social media. It was his birthday again on Wednesday, and the chain was completely silent.

The Grimace Shake is back on menus in Canada, but Americans have been left empty-handed.

Fans are confused and upset. They've been commenting on McDonald's latest Instagram post, which promotes its Grandma McFlurry, to ask whether the Grimace Shake is returning. On TikTok, dozens commented on McDonald's most recent video on Thursday to wish the mascot a happy birthday.

McDonald's reaped the success of Grimace's birthday promotion last year, with Gen Zs scrambling to get their hands on his birthday shake so they could join in the viral trend.

"It quickly became one of our most socially engaging campaigns of all time with millions of reactions on our social media posts, a true demonstration of how the power of our brand emerges in organic and creative ways in our fans," McDonald's CFO Ian Borden told investors last year. "It contributed to the strong double-digit comparable sales growth for the quarter in the US."

If McDonald's was hoping it could replicate the success of the Grimace Shake with this summer's Grandma McFlurry — which also plays on feelings of nostalgia — then it's got another thing coming.