Musk Takes Charge of Tesla Sales While Trump Tensions Build

Good morning. Elon Musk confronts Tesla’s sales drop—and a US president’s animosity. The world’s richest person under age 40 is all-in on green investing. Step right up to the latest shoe trend, a combination sneaker and loafer. Listen to the day’s top stories.

The fight never ends for Elon Musk, who’s battling a Tesla sales slump on one front and a testy relationship with Donald Trump on the other. The CEO is said to have taken control of Tesla’s sales in Europe and the US after the exit of a key confidant, with China-based Tom Zhu remaining head of Asia sales and overseeing manufacturing globally. The EV maker is poised to report an estimated 389,400 deliveries for the June quarter on Wednesday, a 12% drop from a year earlier that comes as broader US auto sales lose momentum. Trump threatened to examine South Africa-born Musk’s immigration status as tensions between the former allies grow.

A trade deal with Japan is unlikely, the president said, adding that he expects it to pay a tariff rate of “whatever the number is that we determine” and that there will be no extension to his July 9 deadline. He’s deepened his criticism of Tokyo for not accepting US rice exports and for imbalanced auto trade between the two nations. His Treasury chief, Scott Bessent, told Fox News he’s hopeful China will increase exports of rare earth magnets to the US and that a trade deal with India is “very close.”