A Republican lawmaker in the North Carolina statehouse has apologised after questioning whether one of his Black Democratic colleagues in the legislature was only admitted to Harvard due to his race. It was an appalling moment that occurred during official proceedings and led to the white Republican who made the remarks, Jeff McNeely, walking them back only a few hours later. The remarks in question were directed at state Rep Abraham Jones, a Democrat who has represented Wake County, North Carolina, since 2021. Mr Jones is a graduate of both Harvard’s undergraduate program as well as the university’s law school. "Would you have not been able to achieve these if you were not an athlete or a minority?" Mr McNeely asked Mr Jones on Wednesday. Mr Jones responded by noting his student rank at Harvard, the second-highest out of five, before commenting calmly in response: “I earned my place, and I did well.” Mr McNeely was reportedly suspended from speaking further during the proceedings at hand and later issued an apology. “I respect Representative Jones. I think he’s a great legislator. I think he’s a great man. What I tried to ask or say did not come out right. That happens a lot, and I apologize,” said Mr McNeely, according to statehouse reporter Bryan Anderson. North Carolina’s legislature is home to a supermajority of Republican lawmakers, thanks to a recent surprise defection of a Democratic lawmaker who blamed the mistreatment supposedly coming from her colleagues for her shift in ideology. But the state also is presided over by a Democratic governor and is often a purple state in presidential elections. Mr McNeely’s statements were condemned by Democrats in the state legislature, including Mr Jones himself who described the “thinly-veiled racial aspect” of the encounter in his statement. He added separately: “I worked hard to get where I am today. It is disappointing that another member of our chamber would imply that I have been successful simply because of the color of my skin, or because I am an athlete. I appreciate the member apologizing for his remarks.” Read More EPA rule would force clean-up of toxic waste from coal-fired power plants Minnesota prosecutors drop state sex charges against R&B singer R. Kelly, citing federal convictions North Carolina’s 12-week abortion ban joins sweeping restrictions across US South Key abortion debates this week in US courts and statehouses AP News Digest 3:30 am 'Mississippi miracle': Kids' reading scores have soared in Deep South states

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PORTLAND, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 29, 2023--

Tesla’s “Master of Coin” has stepped down after working at the Elon Musk-owned electric vehicle company for over 13 years. Zachary Kirkhorn became Tesla’s chief financial officer four and a half years ago in 2019, and was reportedly a potential successor to Mr Musk in running the EV company. The Tesla boss had dubbed him “Master of Coin” in 2021 – a reference to a title in hit TV series Game of Thrones. “During his tenure, Tesla has seen tremendous expansion and growth. Tesla thanks Mr Kirkhorn for his significant contributions,” Tesla noted in an SEC filing. Tesla’s current chief accounting officer, Vaibhav Taneja, will succeed Mr Kirkhorn, the electric automaker said on Monday. “This morning Tesla announced that I’ve stepped down from my role as Chief Financial Officer, succeeded by our Chief Accounting Officer, Vaibhav Taneja,” Mr Kirkhorn posted on his LinkedIn profile. “Being a part of this company is a special experience and I’m extremely proud of the work we’ve done together since I joined over 13 years ago,” he said. Mr Taneja previously worked as Tesla’s chief accounting officer up to March 2019, prior to which he worked as corporate controller from May 2018. It remains unclear what led to Mr Kirkhorn’s surprise decision to quit his role as Tesla’s CFO. Tesla recently announced its second quarter earnings, reporting a 20 per cent increase from the same quarter last year, better than what analysts estimated. Mr Kirkhorn’s departure also comes ahead of Tesla’s much-anticipated launch of its Cybertruck later this year. “As I shift my responsibilities to support this transition, I want to thank the talented, passionate, and hard-working employees at Tesla, who have accomplished things many thought not possible,” he said. Tesla shares dropped by about 3.5 per cent on Monday following the news, and continued to fall as the market opened. Mr Kirkhorn is expected to stay on till the end of 2023 to assist his successor with the transition. “I would like to thank Zach Kirkhorn for his many contributions to Tesla over the course of 13 often difficult years,” Mr Musk tweeted. Read More ‘It’s the factories that won’t be built’: Understanding the Brexit damage to economy Mark Zuckerberg’s wife not happy as he puts UFC octagon in garden ahead of Elon Musk fight Elon Musk ‘stopped Ukraine military using Starlink for military operation’ Zuckerberg says he is ‘ready today’ but ‘not holding breath’ for cage fight with Musk Musk pledges to fund legal bills of X users ‘unfairly treated’ by employers for posts Mark Zuckerberg reveals his 4,000 calorie diet and large McDonald’s order