Hyundai and LG Energy Solution paused construction of a joint battery plant in Georgia after U.S. Homeland Security yesterday arrested 475 workers, Axios' Joann Muller reports.

• The raid appears to be part of a lengthy investigation by U.S. officials to crack down on foreigners working in the U.S. without the proper work permits.

Zoom in: Many of those arrested are believed to be South Koreans on temporary assignment to help launch the $26 billion complex near Savannah, which includes a Hyundai vehicle assembly plant.

• An employee on the scene told South Korean media that authorities used helicopters, armored vehicles and guns, likening it to "a military operation."

The big picture: The Trump administration's fundamental economic policy is that companies should build factories in America. It's particularly keen on automakers — foreign or domestic — expanding their U.S. production.

• But the simultaneous crackdown on immigration means there can be a shortage of highly skilled engineers with the know-how America lacks — in this case, advanced battery production.

Friction point: The U.S. government is pressuring companies to hire local workers, but South Korean companies counter that it's impossible to recruit skilled workers in the U.S., where battery technology is still underdeveloped.

What to watch: Whether this puts a chill on U.S. expansion plans by other foreign manufacturers.

Go deeper

Elon Musk stands to become the world's first trillionaire if he fully earns a new pay package at Tesla — which comes with an astronomical series of goals for increasing the company's market value, Axios' Ben Berkowitz writes.

• 🤑 Achieving those goals would make Tesla the most valuable company in history, and Musk, already the world's richest person, massively wealthier still.

Driving the news: Tesla filed a preliminary proxy statement with securities regulators this morning, laying out a "2025 CEO Performance Award" that it wants shareholders to approve.

By the numbers: The award lays out a series of milestones to hit, essentially steps to unlock the full compensation package for Musk.

• At the highest end, if he takes Tesla's market capitalization by 2035 to $8.5 trillion — roughly 8 times where it is today, and about double the world's current most valuable company, Nvidia — he could unlock the full award.
• Tesla said the fair market value of the award was $87.75 billion and would let Musk acquire up to 12% of Tesla's outstanding stock.

The bottom line: If the company's market cap grows eightfold, that would make Musk the founder of the trillion-dollar club.

💉 Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly fell after the FDA published a "green list" of foreign manufacturers of the active ingredients in compounded versions of GLP-1 drugs. Both companies have been engaged in a fight to block compounded alternatives to their medications. (Bloomberg)

🧘 Lululemon shares plummeted after the company reported full-year earnings below expectations, citing the impact of tariffs. The company, which is also grappling with changing consumer tastes, said that same-store sales fell 4% in the Americas. (CNBC)

🏡 Mortgage rates hit their lowest point since October 2024. The average 30-year fixed rate is now 6.5%. (Yahoo Finance)

Context: Hiring stalled again in August, with the labor market adding just 22,000 jobs and the unemployment rate at the highest levels since 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday, Axios' Courtenay Brown writes.

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