Daily dispatch

April 30, 2026

Issue filed Apr 30, 2026 · 24 headlines · By Oz Gultekin

Daily dispatch for April 30, 2026. 24 headlines from labour, tech, and policy feeds, rewritten by hand for the class war in progress.

№ 01 The Guardian

‘Your questions are designed to trick me’: combative Musk grilled over battle with Sam Altman

Musk testified for a second day in his lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman, accusing the CEO of stealing the company's charter while lawyers portrayed him as a humanitarian visionary.
№ 02 The New York Times

Musk Says He ‘Was a Fool’ to Provide OpenAI’s Early Funding

Musk claimed he was foolish to fund OpenAI's early operations, alleging that Altman misled him about the company's nonprofit status and profit motives.
№ 03 The New York Times

A.I. Spending Sets a Record, With No End in Sight

Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta reported over $130 billion in quarterly capital expenditures on AI data centers, with no indication spending will slow.
№ 04 Financial Times

Musk says he was ‘a fool’ to fund the launch of OpenAI

Musk testified that Altman wanted the nonprofit halo effect while enriching himself personally, marking the second day of his courtroom testimony.
№ 05 The Verge

Live updates from Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s court battle over the future of OpenAI

Musk filed suit in 2024 accusing OpenAI of abandoning its mission to develop AI for humanity in favor of profit maximization, with trial proceedings underway.
№ 06 MIT Tech Review

The Download: Musk and Altman’s legal showdown, and AI’s profit problem

Elon Musk and Sam Altman are heading to trial over OpenAI's future, with sweeping consequences for the company's direction and potential IPO.
№ 07 MIT Tech Review

Elon Musk and Sam Altman are going to court over OpenAI’s future

A yearslong legal feud between Musk and OpenAI CEO Altman reached trial in Northern California, potentially determining whether the company can operate as a for-profit enterprise.
№ 08 Financial Times

Google outpaces rivals as Big Tech’s AI spending plans rise to $725bn

Google outpaced rivals in AI spending as Meta's stock dropped on capital expenditure increases, while Alphabet's cloud business grew faster than Amazon and Microsoft.
№ 09 Financial Times

Tech results as it happened: Google, Meta and Microsoft boost AI spending forecasts

Facebook owner's stock fell 6.5% as Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon reported strong cloud computing growth and increased AI spending forecasts.
№ 10 The Verge

Elon Musk’s worst enemy in court is Elon Musk

During cross-examination, Musk's testimony became a liability to his own case, with opposing counsel effectively using his own statements against him.
№ 11 TechCrunch

On the stand, Elon Musk can’t escape his own tweets

Musk's second day of testimony in his lawsuit against OpenAI was complicated by his own previous tweets being used as evidence against him.
№ 12 The New York Times

Even without OpenAI, Elon Musk has made A.I. a big part of his business empire.

Elon Musk has made artificial intelligence a significant component of his business empire independent of his involvement with OpenAI.
№ 13 The Verge

All the evidence unveiled so far in Musk v. Altman

Trial exhibits reveal email exchanges, photos and corporate documents from OpenAI's earliest days, including details about Nvidia's hardware contributions.
№ 14 VentureBeat

Salesforce rolls out new Slackbot AI agent as it battles Microsoft and Google in workplace AI

Salesforce launched a rebuilt Slackbot AI agent capable of searching enterprise data and drafting documents, competing with Microsoft and Google in workplace AI.
№ 15 TechCrunch

SoftBank is creating a robotics company that builds data centers, and already eyeing a $100B IPO

SoftBank is creating a robotics company to build data centers for AI infrastructure, with plans for a $100 billion initial public offering.
№ 16 TechCrunch

Satya Nadella says he’s ready to ‘exploit’ the new OpenAI deal

Microsoft will offer OpenAI's technology to cloud customers without paying for it, with CEO Satya Nadella stating the company plans to fully exploit the arrangement.
№ 17 The Verge

Tumbler Ridge families are suing OpenAI

Seven families of victims from a Canadian school shooting sued OpenAI and Sam Altman, alleging the company failed to alert police to the suspect's ChatGPT activity.
№ 18 MIT Tech Review

It’s time to make a plan for nuclear waste

Nuclear energy enjoys rare bipartisan support in the US, driven by tech companies' demand for massive data centers, but the industry must address the old problem of waste.
№ 19 VentureBeat

Claude Code costs up to $200 a month. Goose does the same thing for free.

Claude Code costs up to $200 monthly while free alternatives like Goose offer similar AI coding capabilities, sparking developer backlash over pricing.
№ 20 The New York Times

Palantir Is Making a French Chore Coat. Yes, That Palantir.

Palantir, a data analysis company, is selling a French chore coat as a statement about its commitment to reindustrializing America.
№ 21 The New York Times

Struggling With Phone Addiction? Try These Remedies.

Experts recommend mindful parenting, curated content and human connection as effective remedies for phone addiction rather than simply counting screen time minutes.
№ 22 The Guardian

Bernie Sanders urges international cooperation to halt AI’s ‘runaway train’

Senator Bernie Sanders convened a panel with leading Chinese scientists to discuss the need for international AI regulation before the technology becomes uncontrollable.
№ 23 TechCrunch

Amazon’s cloud business is surging, and so is its capital spending

Amazon's cloud business is surging with higher than expected profits, though the company will continue substantial capital spending in the near term.
№ 24 TechCrunch

Sources: Anthropic could raise a new $50B round at a valuation of $900B

Anthropic has received multiple preemptive funding offers at valuations between $850 billion and $900 billion for its Claude AI maker.

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