Published 12:25 IST, January 12th 2021
'Use Signal': Elon Musk's app recommendation spikes stocks of tiny medical company
Elon Musk’s two-word app recommendation on Jan 7 turned into a massive rally in the shares of a medical device company, in the latest case of mistaken identity.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s two-word app recommendation on January 7 turned into a massive rally in the shares of a medical device company, in the latest case of mistaken identity. While Musk referred to the encrypted messaging service, by the end of that day Signal Advance Inc. shares had surged more than sixfold, according to a Bloomberg report. This boost was enough for Signal Advance’s rally more than 5,100% in three trading days giving it a market valuation of $390 million.
Further, even after the reports of confusion on Friday, the stock reportedly continued to spike up. Before paring the gains, the shares of the Rosharon, Texas-based company surged nearly 885% on Monday. As per the media outlet, the company’s CEO, Dr. Chris Hymel said that “We strongly recommend people do their due diligence and always invest with care”. Signal Advance has no association with Musk or the mobile application he recommended. Even the messaging app clarified the same on Twitter.
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New users switch to ‘Signal’ from ‘WhatsApp’
Following Musk’s brief app recommendation, encrypted messaging app Signal received a fresh wave of new users and the surge in sign-ups delayed sending out the verification codes that are needed to activate new user accounts. Tesla CEO’s tweet about the app came after he indirectly criticized Facebook as bearing responsibility for the rioters who attacked the US Capitol, via meme.
A WhatsApp spokesperson reportedly said that the change was to allow businesses to store WhatsApp chats by basically using Facebook's enhanced infrastructure. However, it didn't explain why the platform decided to make changes. Mike Butcher also tweeted and said as Whatsapp will share it's users personal information, the only way out is to leave service and switch to Signal or Telegram.
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“WhatsApp is updating its terms and privacy policy,” reads the notification that popped up on the app. The updated WhatsApp Privacy Policy mentions processing of user data, how businesses can use Facebook hosted services to store and manage their WhatsApp chats, and how the company partners with Facebook. Users who choose not to agree to WhatsApp new policy, will no longer be able to use the services from February 8.
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12:27 IST, January 12th 2021