Elon Musk faces pressure Wednesday to show investors that he's refocused on building a brighter future for Tesla, as the company deals with backlash over his political activity.
The big picture: Tesla's set to deliver second-quarter earnings after the close of trading Wednesday amid myriad challenges, including slumping electric vehicle sales, tariffs and rising competition from Chinese EV makers like its arch rival BYD.
Utah U.S. Sen. Mike Lee caused another stir on social media Tuesday, when he reposted and then deleted an image of a fake resignation letter from Fed chair Jerome Powell.
Reality check: Powell had not resigned as of Tuesday afternoon.
Walmart is publicly revealing for the first time how it's policing its third-party Marketplace — sharing exclusively with Axios the efforts it takes to block counterfeit goods and keep consumers safe.
Why it matters: With more than 500 million items listed on Walmart's site, the retail giant is leaning into transparency as lawmakers and regulators ramp up scrutiny of online marketplaces.
President Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. and the Philippines have finalized a new trade agreement with zero tariffs on U.S. goods, while Filipino exports to the U.S. will face a 19% tariff.
Why it matters: This marks the second trade deal between the U.S. and its counterparts since the President sent letters earlier this month to dozens of other countries unilaterally setting tariff rates as of August 1.
President Trump is already embroiled in as many new media and defamation lawsuits halfway through 2025 as he was in lawsuits that were initiated — by or against him — during all of last year.
Why it matters: The record wave of litigation reflects how Trump's clashes with the media have escalated from public criticism to courtroom showdowns with major news organizations that are increasingly fighting back.
The Washington Post on Tuesday announced sweeping changes to its "third newsroom," called WP Ventures, that puts the unit under a commercial leader and separates it from its core news brand.
Why it matters: The shake-up represents a big shift in the Post's editorial strategy as it looks to overcome revenue challenges.
Why it matters: The switch to cane sugar reflects the Make America Healthy Again movement's growing influence over the food industry's use of ultra-processed ingredients.
A slew of Washington Post opinion columnists and journalists are taking buyouts, as the company weighs changes to the section under new management.
Why it matters: Opinion staffers told Axios the lucrative buyouts appear designed, in part, to help the Post cut down on the number of columnists it employs full time in favor of more audio and video talent.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says he is nervous about an imminent fraud crisis, warning that bad actors using AI to gain access to consumer accounts is coming "very, very soon."
Why it matters: Altman said society is unprepared for how quickly the technology is evolving and called for an overhaul of how consumers get into personal accounts.
Hunter Biden defended his father, former President Biden, in a pair of interviews released on Monday.
The big picture: In his first interviews since the 2024 election, Hunter Biden denied President Trump's insinuation that he used cocaine in the White House and said the Democratic Party's response to his father's infamous presidential debate performance last summer was overblown.
With the exception of Bluesky CEO Jay Graber and Signal CEO Meredith Whittaker, there are hardly any women leading major social media or messaging companies anymore.
Why it matters: Women and underrepresented groups are some of the internet's most active and engaged users, but they also tend to be the biggest targets of online abuse.
Invenergy, the company behind a huge proposed Kansas-to-Indiana transmission project facing political headwinds, will seek to connect a gas-fired power plant it's developing to the line, per a source close to the company.
State of play: Invenergy is also in active discussion with a company to bring existing coal-fired generation onto the proposed Grain Belt Express project, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Coca-Cola Co. on Tuesday said it plans to launch a new Coke product this fall made with U.S. cane sugar.
Why it matters: The move is a response to President Trump's statement last week that the company would use sugar, rather than high fructose corn syrup, in its sodas.
DOE's Oak Ridge National Lab and the AI startupAtomic Canyon will announce a collaboration Tuesday to streamline licensing for new nuclear plants.
Why it matters: Navigating the Nuclear Regulatory Commission process is complex and time-consuming, even as U.S. power demand rises and hyperscalers seek new electrons for AI data centers.
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell should step down in order to protect Fed independence, according to Mohamed El-Erian, long one of the bond market's most respected voices.
Why it matters: As the White House steps up its attacks on the head of the U.S. central bank, El-Erian said protecting the institution's independence is crucial, and that independence is at risk with Powell at the helm.
While the market is partying like it's 1999, investors would be smart to remember what came next: the 2000 dotcom bubble, when stock prices rose substantially above underlying asset values, resulting in a market crash.
Why it matters: Wall Street analysts are increasingly noting signals of a bubble, as stocks are priced to perfection while uncertainty remains on the political and economic fronts.
About two-thirds of U.S. counties have a below-average number of local journalists, per an ambitious new project aiming to illustrate "the stunning collapse in local reporting" as old business models falter and newsrooms scramble for sustainability.
Why it matters: Many American neighborhoods lack adequate news coverage for everything from school board meetings and elections to local sports and cultural events.
Higher-earning Americans are feeling pretty good these days, but sentiment among those at the bottom is stagnating at much lower levels.
Why it matters: There's long been a gap like this between rich and poor —more money often means fewer problems. But this year the difference in sentiment between the top and bottom is at its widest since Morning Consult began tracking the data in 2018.
Three Democratic senators wrote to Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian Monday to raise concerns about company plans to use AI to set individualized fares, which the airline maintains won't target customers with offers based on personal details.
Why it matters: Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote that Delta's personalized "current and planned individualized pricing practices" would present data privacy concerns and "likely mean" fare price rises "up to each individual consumer's personal 'pain point'" at a time when many families were struggling.
"The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert responded to President Trump's post that celebrated the cancelation of the program in his opening monologue on Monday.
Why it matters: Colbert wasn't just a vocal critic of Trump; he also criticized CBS' parent Paramount's decision to settle with him.
