Elon Musk might have hundreds of billions of dollars and a social media megaphone, but President Trump's power over the levers of government may put Musk's business empire at much more immediate risk.
The big picture: Virtually everything Musk does has huge regulatory exposure, from cars to spaceflight to neural implants.
Elon Musk and Donald Trump's very public clash is rekindling a debate over gender stereotypes.
Why it matters: The reality is few leaders could get away with feuding on social media. But the debacle revealed competing views about how powerful men — and women — might be expected to communicate.
Republicans are increasingly worried that budget cuts by Elon Musk's DOGE could cost them dearly in November's vote for Virginia governor — an early electoral test of President Trump's policies.
Why it matters: Virginia has one of the highest percentages of federal employees in the country — more than 5% of the state's workforce by some estimates — and Republicans' internal polls are starting to show the damage from tens of thousands of federal layoffs.
A panel of judges from a U.S. federal appeals court on Friday said parts of the White House's ban on the Associated Press could remain, dealing a devastating blow to AP.
Why it matters: Press freedom advocates are closely watching AP's case for any precedents it could set around free speech protections for journalists.
Democrats are making clear Elon Musk has no place in their party as the billionaire former DOGE head quickly becomes persona non grata among Republicans.
Why it matters: While Democrats are basking in Musk's open break with President Trump, they see little political value — and potentially great risk — in actually embracing him as an ally.
Cash from Elon Musk's companies has prompted finger-pointing in Democratic primaries, with candidates targeting donations their opponents received in some cases years before Musk's full embrace of the MAGA movement.
Why it matters: It has turned into a de facto purity test, with Democratic candidates in New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota facing questions about donations from Musk's SpaceX's political arm and its lobbyists.
President Trump is considering selling his new Tesla as his scuffle with Elon Musk escalates, a White House official confirmed to Axios.
The big picture: The feud between the president and the billionaire is costing them billions, and Tesla shares specifically dropped 14.3% as of Thursday at a price tag of just under $20 billion for Musk.
Republicans overwhelmingly said they'd side with President Trump over Elon Musk in the duo's explosive feud, according to Thursday polling.
Why it matters: Republicans' loyalty to Trump remains strong, and the acrimony only adds to Americans' existing dissatisfaction with the former head of DOGE.
Just a few months ago, investors were willing to massively increase the valuations of Elon Musk's companies, in part because of his proximity to Donald Trump and the centers of Washington power. That ended yesterday.
Why it matters: Markets and private investors attributed literally hundreds of billions of dollars of value to the idea that Musk's privileged access would flow to the success of Tesla, SpaceX, xAI and the like.
U.S. Steel workers and shareholders remain in limbo as to the status of its pending takeover by Japan's Nippon Steel, one week after President Trump suggested it was a done deal.
The big picture: We may not get a White House decision today, despite widespread expectations to the contrary.
Deel and Rippling are scheduled for a California court hearing in September, to begin hashing out their duelingcharges of corporate espionage.
Until then, it seems the HR software unicorns plan to keep escalating.
The latest: Rippling yesterday filed an amended complaint against Deel, which includes claims that Deel also illicitly targeted four other competitors (only one of which was named).
Private equity firm EQT on Friday said it'sagreed to acquire Waga Energy, via a two-part deal that would value the French biomethane producer at over $600 million.
Why it matters: This could set up expansion for Waga into the U.S., where biomethane may be one of the few types of renewables unhampered by the Trump administration — given that it utilizes existing natural gas infrastructure.
Elon Musk's threat Thursday to decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft would haveleft NASA reliant on Russian capsules to get its astronauts into space.
Why it matters: Musk's rift with President Trump exposes how reliant NASA has become on a single private sector partner to reach the International Space Station after ending the space shuttle program in 2011.
Why it matters: Musk personally targeted Johnson (R-La.) in a series of posts on Thursday. Johnson refers to Musk as a friend, and said he and Musk had a "very friendly conversation" as recently as Monday.
Shortly after President Trump unexpectedly withdrew Elon Musk's pick to lead NASA last weekend, one name quickly surfaced as a major force behind the surprise decision: top White House aide Sergio Gor.
Why it matters: Trump acknowledged Thursday that canceling Jared Isaacman's NASA nomination had "upset" Musk, who's close to Isaacman. It was a factor, among many, that led to Thursday's shocking falling out between the president and his one-time "First Buddy," the world's richest person.
To honor the end of Elon Musk's "incredible" government service, President Trump presented his friend, adviser and billionaire benefactor with a golden key to the White House.
Six days later, Musk lit the place on fire.
Why it matters: The most powerful civilian ever has effectively declared war on the president of the United States, incinerating their relationship — at least for now — in one of history's most extraordinary political meltdowns.
Free doughnuts are on the menu Friday for National Doughnut Day, also known as National Donut Day in some circles.
The big picture: June 6 is the made-up food holiday for one of America's favorite treats, and national chains — including 7-Eleven, Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' — are celebrating with savings on a sugar fix.
Generative AI is evolving so fast that security leaders are tossing out the playbooks they wrote just a year or two ago.
Why it matters: Defending against AI-driven threats, including autonomous attacks, will require companies to make faster, riskier security bets than they've ever had to before.
The big picture: After a day that was marked by Trump threatening to cancel billions of dollars of government contracts with Musk's companies and the world's richest person calling for the president's impeachment, there are signs that tensions between them might be easing.
Elon Musk unleashed a fresh round of tweets late Thursday afternoon, calling for President Trump to be impeached and declaring that SpaceX would begin decommissioning a spacecraft essential to NASA's operation — though he later backtracked on this threat.
Why it matters: Trump's threat to cancel billions of dollars of government contracts with Musk's companies has ignited a new round of escalation in the explosive civil war between the two former allies.
House Democrats are asking the Department of Justice and FBI whether it is true, as Elon Musk now claims, that President Trump is in the Epstein files, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: It's the starkest example to date of how the highly public feud between the president and his onetime lieutenant is playing right into the hands of the Trump's political opponents.
