A growing number of competitors are threatening Tesla's global EV dominance and putting it in an unfamiliar position — defense.

• Why it matters: That pressure, coupled with economic headwinds, has prompted the company to cut prices drastically to try to spark new demand, Axios' Hope King writes.

Tesla dropped prices across its Model 3s and Model Ys last week.

• The cuts ranged from 1% to 20% in the company's key markets — the U.S., China and Germany.
• The most serious threats are coming from EVs priced below $50,000, "where Tesla does not yet truly compete," according to S&P Global Mobility.

Tesla had been raising prices over the past two years as higher inflation increased costs. CEO Elon Musk said last year the company's prices had gotten "embarrassing," and he hoped to bring them down.

• With the cuts in the U.S., more Tesla models priced under $55,000 now will be eligible for newly revised tax incentives of $7,500 that kicked in Jan. 1 under the Inflation Reduction Act.
• That means models like the higher-end Model 3 Performance — now at $53,990 (down 14% from $62,990) — could be more attractive.

What to watch: Customer loyalty — and anger.

• People who bought before the cuts have been lamenting the tens of thousands of dollars in savings.
• Irate customers in China have been demanding rebates and protesting in showrooms.

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Visitors at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington.

Actor Chris Tucker joins today's Martin Luther King Jr. Beloved Community Commemorative Service at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

The tomb of King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, in Atlanta at sunrise today.

Ten states — all in the South — observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day + at least one Confederate holiday, Axios' Shoshana Gordon, Jacque Schrag and Russell Contreras report.

• Why it matters: All U.S. states honor King — a federal holiday. But the number of states also honoring the Confederacy highlights the country's struggle to reconcile its racial past.

Today, Alabama and Mississippi celebrate King-Lee Day — honoring both King and Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general and slaveholder.

• Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas all have at least one day commemorating the Confederacy on other days of the year.
• Mississippi and Alabama each celebrate a total of three Confederate holidays every year — Robert E. Lee Day, Confederate Memorial Day and Jefferson Davis' Birthday — all paid holidays for state employees.

In 2000, when South Carolina became one of the last states to honor MLK with a state holiday, the legislature also voted to create Confederate Memorial Day.

• And there it is on the official 2023 state calendar — May 10.

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Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy's No. 1 fugitive, was arrested today in Sicily after three decades on the run.

• Hundreds of police officers over the years had been tracking him down, AP reports.
• Police said he was captured at a medical clinic in Palermo, where he was receiving treatment for an undisclosed condition.

Denaro, 60, was considered the Sicilian Cosa Nostra's top boss — even while a fugitive — and is believed to be responsible for some of Italy's most heinous killings.