A Reuters report Friday suggesting Tesla has abandoned plans to make inexpensive vehicles for consumers couldn't have come at a worse time for the company.
Why it matters: The picture for Tesla's future is growing murkier.
A federal Manhattan jury on Friday found Terraform Labs and co-founder Do Kwon liable for securities fraud in a civil trial brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Bloomberg reports.
Why it matters: The 2022 collapse of Kwon's Terra stablecoin helped accelerate a brutal cryptocurrency downturn that obliterated billions in market value, wiped out many crypto investors — and eventually culminated in FTX's dramatic implosion.
Kwon eventually went into hiding, sparking a wild extradition saga that spanned Montenegro, South Korea and the U.S.
From Hawaiian cruises to curated viewing parties, wealthy travelers will be able to watch Monday's solar eclipse in the lap of luxury.
The big picture: Cities and towns in the "path of totality" will be flooded with eclipse superfans, many of whom will be taking road trips or camping to catch a glimpse of this rare celestial event, but there are also more exclusive options — for a price.
Family members of the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. are commending Beyoncé for her new country album, "Cowboy Carter," which draws attention to other Black country artists.
The big picture: From members of the Little Rock Nine to Beatles legend Paul McCartney, listeners are lauding Beyoncé's genre-bending project that pays homage to civil rights and Black Americans' legacy in country music.
Procter & Gamble is voluntarily recalling 8.2 million "defective bags" of Tide, Gain, Ace and Ariel brand laundry detergent packets for "risk of serious injury," the company announced Friday.
Why it matters: The bags "can split open near the zipper track" and pose a risk to children and others "if the contents of the laundry detergent packets are ingested," according to the recall notice.
Tesla's stock partially recovered from a sharp drop in midday trading Friday after CEO Elon Musk refuted a report that the company is killing off a long-planned affordable electric car.
Why it matters: Tesla and other automakers need to make affordable, mass-market electric cars in order to stay competitive — especially with cheaper Chinese EVs knocking on America's doorstep.
Workday, the cloud-based platform that helps companies manage their people and money, has named Gina Sheibley chief communications officer, Axios first learned.
Why it matters: Sheibley is part of a broader leadership shakeup, which includes newly appointed CEO Carl Eschenbach and chief marketing officer Emma Chalwin.
Zoom in: Sheibley, a Salesforce and Qualtrics alum, assumed the role March 25, reporting to Chalwin.
Sheibley will oversee the team responsible for all global internal and external communications, including public relations, analyst and influencer relations, content strategy, customer advocacy, and employee and executive communications.
Chobani named Peloton and Edelman alum Ben Boyd chief communication officer. Nishant Roy is now chief impact officer.
Wells Fargo's Amy Bonitatibus joined PayPal as chief corporate affairs and communications officer.
M&T Bank appointed Sarah Knakmuhsas chief communications officer.
Capital One alum Bridget Lowell joins TD Bank AMCB as chief communications officer.
Lam Research promoted Steve Fine to chief communications officer.
Anthropic named Salesforce alum Steve Mnich head ofproduct communications, Meta alum Devon Kearnsapolicy communications lead, and Stripe alum Sam McAllister a member of the communications team.
Burson named former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer a strategist; Intel and DeepMind alum Laura Anderson is chair of technology, for the Americas; and Allison Cirullo has been named global practice chair, consumer and brand.
Activision Blizzard alums Lulu Cheng Meservey and Toya Holness partner with former Substack engineer Sergey Alexashenkoto launch Rostra, a strategic communications firm geared toward tech founders and startups.
McDonald's has agreed to buy all of its Israel franchises from local operator Alonyal Ltd., which includes 225 stores with more than 5,000 employees.
Why it matters: Alonyal last October sparked global boycotts against McDonald's, particularly in some Muslim-majority countries, after saying it would donate free meals to the Israeli military.
South America's Amazon region, while extremely poor, sits on hugely valuable natural resources. The resulting tensions between environmentalists and wealth seekers are exploding once again.
Driving the news: The president of Guyana, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, went viral this week for a video in which he lectured a BBC journalist on hypocrisy around climate change.
GUANGZHOU, China— Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told U.S. executives in southern China on Friday that it's neither "practical nor desirable" to cut off economic relations with the country — even as the Biden administration is moving to contain huge business threats from China.
Why it matters: Yellen is aiming to strike a balance between calling out China for "unfair practices" she said were hurting American firms — while highlighting the importance of maintaining U.S.-China economic ties.
Why it matters: In our star-soaked culture, it's not enough for a celebrity to have a cute pooch in their pocketbook — the accoutrement du jour is a signature brand of booze.
Engineers are aiming to restore Port of Baltimore access to normal capacityby the end of May following the deadly Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse that forced the rerouting of container ships in the key shipping hub.
State of play: That's according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District statement Thursday night that noted first a "limited access channel 280 feet wide and 35 feet deep" to the port would open by the end of April ahead of reopening the permanent, 700-foot-wide by 50-foot-deep federal navigation channel.
The amazing response to my Finish Line columns inspired me to write a new book — "Just the Good Stuff" — out later this month, Axios CEO Jim VandeHei writes.
Why it matters: All net proceeds will go to the Zotheka Foundation, which my wife, Autumn, and I started to provide motivated individuals with mentoring support and financial aid to attend vocational programs and 2- and 4-year colleges.
Zotheka (pronounced zoe-TAY-kuh) means "It's possible!" in the Chichewa language in Malawi.
No B.S.: This book and foundation only happened because of the way Finish Line readers responded to and shared my columns.
The book is written both for people in leadership positions and for up-and-comers — young and old — to grapple with tough stuff in work and life. It's a blunt, fast, easy read. I open my private diary about starting and running two companies — the good, the bad and the ugly.
If the spirit moves you, you can preorder here. All profits will go to scholarships. Readers often ask what they can do to thank Axios for our free newsletters. This is it!
The backstory: Zotheka, the foundation's name, is tattooed on my shoulder. You'll find out why in Chapter 1.
🚨🚨 A meal on Mikey: Axios will hold a drawing for anyone who preorders the book. The prize: Mike Allen and I will fly to your hometown to talk politics — or whatever! — with you and a few friends. Our treat.
