“Mark Has Surrounded Himself With Sycophants”: Zuckerberg’s Big Bet on the Metaverse Is Backfiring

“Republicans in Ruin” • Ivanka Dumps Dad • Elon Goes “Hardcore” [View in your browser]( | [Update your preferences](newsletter=vf) [Vanity Fair Hive logo image]( “Mark Has Surrounded Himself With Sycophants”: Zuckerberg’s Big Bet on the Metaverse Is Backfiring Good morning from the Hive newsroom! “No one wants to live in the metaverse…they don’t want to go on dates dressed as a digital porcupine on a virtual beach with a pink ocean”—except, maybe, Mark Zuckerberg. Nick Bilton [reports]( on Zuckerberg’s insistence that the virtual universe is the future, despite Meta dropping by hundreds of billions of dollars in valuation and undergoing mass layoffs. “In a previous era, someone would have been able to reason with Mark about the company’s direction, but that is no longer the case,” one former Facebook executive tells Bilton. Also in tech-land, Caleb Ecarma [sums up]( Elon Musk’s latest edict to Twitter’s staff: They can either work crazy hours and be “hardcore,” or get lost. On this week’s [Inside the Hive](, Bilton joins hosts Emily Jane Fox and Joe Hagan to talk about Musk’s reign over Twitter. The episode also features a conversation with Vanity Fair’s Molly Jong-Fast and Gabe Sherman on what to make of Donald Trump’s 2024 announcement. Speaking of which, Abigail Tracy [caught up with]( Democratic lawmakers on the Trump announcement, and let’s just say they’re sitting back with a big bowl of popcorn for now. It seems like Ivanka Trump might be doing a lot of that as well these next two years, officially breaking up with her dad’s political ambitions in a statement fittingly on Instagram Stories, Bess Levin [writes](. [Image may contain: Head, Person, Face, Happy, Smile, Mark Zuckerberg, Laughing, Dimples, and Adult]( [“Mark Has Surrounded Himself With Sycophants”: Zuckerberg’s Big Bet on the Metaverse Is Backfiring]( By [Nick Bilton]( [Despite plummeting stock prices, massive layoffs, and deep skepticism in Silicon Valley, the Facebook cofounder is sticking with his Meta rebrand. “There is no question that AR and VR are the future,” says one startup cofounder. “It’s just a matter of when.”]( [Read more button](   [Elon Musk Threatens to Fire Employees Who Won’t Be “Extremely Hardcore” Workers]( By [Caleb Ecarma]( [The billionaire’s bleak demand comes days after he gutted the company’s workforce and reportedly fired individual employees who criticized his conduct publicly.]( [Read more button](   [“Sit Back and Let Trump Implode”: 2024 Looks Better and Better for DeSantis—But Dems Need a Message]( By [Joe Hagan and Emily Jane Fox]( [And Merrick Garland—will he or won’t he? Plus, Nick Bilton joins the team to talk incessant chaos at Elon Musk’s “hardcore” Twitter.]( [Read more button](   [“Let’s Get the Popcorn Out”: Democrats Cautiously Delight at a Republican Implosion]( By [Abigail Tracy]( [As Republicans tussle over the future of their party, from Trump’s 2024 bid to their congressional leadership, Democratic lawmakers are basking in what one lawmaker called “Republicans in ruin.” Though, as another warned, the stakes couldn’t be higher.]( [Read more button](   [Ivanka Trump Formally Dumps Her Dad]( By [Bess Levin]( [She did it over Instagram Stories, which somehow feels so right.]( [Read more button](   Get on the list Subscribe to our Hollywood newsletter for your essential industry and awards-season news, every day. [Sign Up Now](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn](   This e-mail was sent to you by The Hive. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe](newsletter=vf) Sent from Condé Nast, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007 Copyright © 2022 Condé Nast