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Elon Musk's CEO Yaccarino Meets Banks Over Twitter/X app · Elon Musk Podcast

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  Hi everybody and welcome back to the Elon Musk podcast, where we
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  talk about innovation, technology and of course the
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  latest developments in the fascinating life and ventures of
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  Elon Musk. Today we're covering a story
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  that's been gaining a lot of attention.
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  Linda Yakorino, the new CEO of X, the social media and platform
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  formerly known as Twitter, is gearing up to meet with seven
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  banks that finance Elon Musk's acquisition of the company.
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  Now Yakorino, who took to the CEO seat in June, plans to
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  discuss her strategy for reviving the platform's
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  financial health with executives from Morgan Stanley, Bank of
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  America, Barclays, MUF GB, NP and Mizuho and Societ Generale
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  on October 5th. Now this meeting is crucial to
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  Yacorino. She aims to instill confidence
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  in Ex's bankers that she can breathe new life into the social
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  media platform, which was faced with declining revenues and a
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  myriad of other challenges. The bankers, who hold about $13
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  billion in debt related to the acquisition, are eager to hear
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  how Yakirino plans to attract advertisers back to the platform
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  and possibly diversify into subscriptions and payments in
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  the future. Just a few days ago, Yakirino
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  faced some tough questions at the Code Conference,
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  particularly about user metrics and the platform's business
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  model. Her performance at the
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  conference left some people skeptical about the direction of
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  which X is headed. The new CEO has also been
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  questioned about her relationship with Elon Musk and
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  how his influence might impact the platform, especially in the
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  context of attracting advertisers now.
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  Yacorino did mention that the company is close to breaking
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  even from an operational cash flow standpoint and expects to
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  turn a profit by early of 2024. The statement, alongside the
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  revelation that X currently has 245,000,000 daily active users,
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  provided some level of assurance, but questions still
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  linger now among the banks. This is apprehensive.
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  They have been shouldering the $13 billion debt tied to X's
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  acquisition for almost a year now.
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  They also had to reject offers to buy some of the senior debt
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  at a significant discount, opting instead to hold on to it
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  in hopes that the company's fortunes would improve.
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  And a significant issue Yakarino faces is the decline in the
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  platform's advertising revenue, which dropped 60% since the
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  takeover. And some of this decline is
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  rooted in broader economic worries.
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  But a chunk can also be attributed to Musk's less
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  traditional approach to running the platform, including relaxing
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  moderation policies. Although Musk himself
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  acknowledged the drop in revenues, he noted that the
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  platform was still covering its initial costs of around $1.5
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  billion a year, even before the takeover.
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  Twitter, now X, was facing difficulties in maintaining
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  advertising revenues and big name companies had started
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  pulling out their advertising budgets, partly due to fears of
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  an impending recession, but also because of concerns about Musk's
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  handling of the platform. Despite these setbacks, Yacorino
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  has pointed out some positive trends.
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  In a recent interview, she revealed that 90% of the
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  platform's top 100 global spenders have resumed
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  advertising on X. However, the exact amounts
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  they're spending remain undisclosed.
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  One of the most intriguing dynamics is the relationship
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  between Yacorino and Elon Musk. During interviews, Yacorino was
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  asked whether Musk consults with her on major decisions like
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  potentially moving the platform to a subscription model.
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  While she didn't give a straightforward answer, she
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  emphasized her broader role in running the company.
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  Jacorino has a background of advertising and was formerly the
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  head of advertising sales at NBC Universal.
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  Her expertise in this area could be vital in drawing advertisers
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  back to the platform, but her vision appears to extend beyond
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  just advertising revenue. She's also made it clear that
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  she's not just there to head the advertising department, but to
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  held the entire organization. And in this complex interplay,
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  Must continues to have a strong influence, especially in the
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  product side of things. This isn't necessarily seen as a
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  drawback, given Musk's known proficiency and technological
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  ovation. Now, as Linda Yakirino prepares
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  for this critical meeting, she's juggling several balls at once.
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  Not only is she dealing with operational challenges, but
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  she's also navigating the waters of public opinion and grappling
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  with the responsibility of reassuring nervous bankers.
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  And at the same time, she's working closely with one of the
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  most prominent and unpredictable tech entrepreneurs over time,
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  Elon Musk. There are also other matters to
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  attend to, such as the allegations of inadequate
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  actions against hate speech and disinformation.
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  Yacorino has defended Access new direction, emphasizing its
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  commitment to free expression, but the jury is still out on how
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  this will play out in the long run.
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  Allies are on the upcoming meeting, which has the potential
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  to define the future of X and by extension impact the fortunes of
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  the seven banks involved and possibly reshape the social
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  media ecosystem. Now let's shift our focus to a
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  topic that's been picking up steam in the recent years,
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  namely the role of commercial satellites in military
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  operations and the implications for national security.
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  Just last week, General Chant Saltzman, who is a high ranked
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  official in the US Space Force, spoke at a conference in Hawaii.
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  His remarks have added a new layer to the ongoing
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  conversations about the responsibility of the military
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  and safeguarding commercial assets in space like Starlink.
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  Now the focal point here is the increased dependence of the US
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  military on commercial networks for tests like communication and
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  surveillance. And General Saltzman's comments
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  not only reiterated the rising threats from nations like China
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  and Russia, but also explicitly address the role of the military
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  in defending commercial satellites.
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  Give a concrete example. The hypothetical situation was
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  posed about how the US military would act if Russia targeted
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  Spacex's Starlink broadband network, a commercial satellite
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  system that's been used for Internet connectivity by Ukraine
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  in its conflict with Russia. Now the situation surrounding
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  the military's role in protecting commercial assets and
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  spaces both complex and nuanced. While General Saltzman did not
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  directly respond to the hypothetical situation
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  concerning an attack on Spacex's Starlink network, he did make it
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  clear that the US military sees a role for itself in
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  safeguarding commercial activities in space.
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  His argument extends a well established philosophy of U.S.
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  policy to protect vital assets. Saltman compared space to sea
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  lanes and civilian airliner traffic, highlighting that the
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  same protective principles could apply in the extraterrestrial
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  domain. And to implement this kind of
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  defense, operations would likely be channeled through the US
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  Space Command, an entity district from the Space Force.
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  Now, Space Command's purpose is to provide combatant commands
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  with the resources and technology required for the
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  missions. It's led by the US Army General
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  James Dickinson, who interestingly did not give a
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  clear cut answer to a similar query regarding the defense of
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  commercial satellites. According to Saltzman, the
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  responsibility of deciding which commercial assets to protect
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  ultimately falls under the purview of space command and
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  higher level civilian leadership.
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  He spoke of the need for setting priorities, suggesting that
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  there could be limitations on the extent to which the military
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  can protect commercial satellites.
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  Such limitations would likely be determined by capacity strategy
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  in the value of the assets involved.
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  Last October, Russia weighed in on the subject.
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  A deputy director in Russia's Foreign Ministry flagged the use
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  of Western commercial satellites by Ukraine as a highly risky
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  trend. And while he did not need
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  specific satellites, the implication was that he was
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  talking about Spacex's Starlink. Now, this points to an
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  international aspect of commercial satellites becoming
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  potentially military targets. Similarly, Tara Brown, an
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  official in the Royal Air Force and a professor at the US Naval
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  War College who specializes in space law, concluded that
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  civilian satellites used for wartime objectives could
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  essentially be considered military targets.
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  The international community seems to be inching toward a
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  consensus that these commercial assets, once used for military
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  purposes, enter a new category of vulnerability.
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  As we venture further into this era of increasing
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  interdependence between commercial and military
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  operations in space, the points made by General Saltzman bring
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  essential questions into focus. What are the limits of military
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  involvement in protecting commercial assets in space, and
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  who gets to decide these limits? And how will international laws
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  adapt to these new challenges? The dialogue surrounding the
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  defense of commercial satellites is still evolving, but it is
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  undoubtedly a matter of critical importance.
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  It will continue to gain attention from both military and
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  civilian leadership. This topic brings in a relief
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  the necessity for an integrated and well thought out approach to
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  safeguarding what might become some of the most valued assets
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  of the 21st century. I want to say thank you for
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  listening to the show today. If you found this discussion to
• 9:01
  be of interest, don't forget to hit the subscribe or the follow
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  button on whatever podcast platform you're listening on
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  right now. It's free and only takes a
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  moment of your time and it helps out this show tremendously.
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  Thank you so much for doing that.
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  Also, please take care of yourselves and each other and
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  I'll see you in the next one.