Why Would Musk Pick This Fight with Trump?
They were powerful together.
But now the clash between the president and the world's richest man threatens to tear their ambitions apart—if they can't find a way to detente.
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Forbes
10 minutes ago
- Forbes
More Colleges Freeze Hiring And Suspend Salary Increases
Colleges and universities continue to look for ways to cut spending because of the Trump Administration's policies towards higher education. One June 2nd, Johns Hopkins University announced a set of policies to prepare for a possible decline in revenue. They join a list of schools including Brown University, Duke University, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Washington, and the University of California system, that have temporarily paused hiring and vow to hold off on capital spending. Hopkins has already seen $850 million in grant cuts resulting from the culling of USAID and other program terminations, plus the school has a large number of international students (many who pay full tuition) who may be dissuaded from studying in the U.S. due to the Administration's more restrictive visa policies. Like a number of elite universities, Johns Hopkins relies heavily on tuition from international students attending its undergraduate and graduate programs. In the 2024-2025 academic year, over ten thousand foreign students were enrolled at Johns Hopkins according to the Institute of International Education. In addition to the hiring freeze, University President Ron Daniels also announced a pause in annual pay increases for employees earning $80,000 or more, a slowing of capital projects by 10% to 20%, and spending cuts for travel, events, food, and supplies. The salary freezes will likely squeeze faculty, who have seen real wages decline. From 2013 to 2023, average pay for faculty (when adjusted for inflation) has decreased by 1.5%, while administrative pay has risen by 4% for the same time frame. In addition, administrative staff positions at most universities and colleges has grown faster than faculty. There is no doubt the universities and colleges need to take steps to address the impact of the Trump Administration's policies. Although painful, the policies issued by Johns Hopkins and other schools are necessary in the near-term. But a different approach is needed long-term. One that doesn't rely on higher student tuition or faculty salaries that fall further behind inflation. These policies should include: The Trump Administration's policies towards colleges and their students may eventually be rolled back or reversed at some point, but in the meantime, higher education needs to rethink their budgets and what should be prioritized.
CNN
11 minutes ago
- CNN
How Kilmar Abrego Garcia's case became a political flashpoint
Kilmar Abrego Garcia's case started quietly, boiling down to a clerical error that moved him up on a list to land on a deportation flight destined to El Salvador in March. And then a court filing from the Trump Justice Department acknowledging the mistake brought it to the national forefront – culminating in a fraught legal battle and heated political debate. On Friday, the Trump administration announced that Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who had resided in Maryland until he was mistakenly deported to his home country, landed in the United States, and was facing criminal charges. It was an extraordinary development in a case that's come to define the president's hardline immigration policies and a striking about-face from the Trump administration, which had maintained he would not return to the US. At the start of the legal battle, nearly three months ago, both sides agreed that Abrego Garcia's deportation to El Salvador – and subsequent imprisonment in the country's notorious mega-prison – was a mistake. In 2019, an immigration judge granted Abrego Garcia withholding of removal, meaning he couldn't be removed to El Salvador over fear of persecution. A senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement official called his removal an 'administrative error' in a March court declaration, appearing to mark the first time the administration had conceded an error over the controversial flights to El Salvador that resulted in the detention of hundreds of migrants in the CECOT prison. But then, Trump administration officials publicly abandoned that position and called Abrego Garcia 'a terrorist,' because they allege he is a member of MS-13, which the US has designated as a terrorist organization. His attorneys and family maintain that he was not a member of MS-13 and have argued that he is still entitled to due process. Here's how Abrego Garcia's case played out over the last few months. Abrego Garcia, who came to the United States illegally in 2012, first had an encounter with immigration authorities in 2019 after an arrest. At the time, the government similarly argued that Abrego Garcia was a gang member while he made the case that he feared a possible return to El Salvador. The immigration judge presiding over the case sided with Abrego Garcia and ruled that he may not be deported back to El Salvador. Years later, on March 12, 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement pulled over Abrego Garcia and arrested him, which came as the Trump administration continued its aggressive crackdown on immigration. Abrego Garcia was then mistakenly put on a deportation flight three days later and sent to CECOT. It took the Trump administration weeks to concede that it mistakenly deported the Maryland father to El Salvador 'because of an administrative error.' But while doing acknowledging the mistake, the administration said in court filings on March 31 that it could not return him because he was in Salvadoran custody. Later that week, Judge Paula Xinis of the US District Court in Maryland ordered the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia to the US, kicking off a monthslong legal battle in which the Trump administration has argued that courts cannot intervene in the foreign policy decision-making of the United States. In her April 4 order, Xinis gave a deadline of April 7 to bring back Abrego Garcia but the Supreme Court paused the deadline. Days later, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration must 'facilitate' Abrego Garcia's return but stopped short of requiring the government to return him. In recent weeks, Xinis has accused the Trump administration of repeated stonewalling and intentional noncompliance with its obligation to produce information related to how it has been facilitating Abrego Garcia's return. President Donald Trump, in an interview with ABC News in April, acknowledged that he could secure Abrego Garcia's return, contradicting previous remarks made by him and his his top aides who said the US did not have the ability to return Abrego Garcia because he was in the custody of a foreign government. When asked by ABC's Terry Moran why he can't just pick up the phone and secure Abrego Garcia's return, Trump said: 'And if he were the gentleman that you say he is, I would do that. But he is not.' The president went on to accuse Abrego Garcia of being a MS-13 member, pointing to his tattoos, which experts say are not by themselves proof he's a gang member. And just days later, the White House and El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele made clear during an Oval Office meeting that Abrego Garcia would not be returned to the US. Democratic lawmakers have been critical of how the Trump administration handled the Abrego Garcia case and continued to call for him to be brought back. One Democratic senator, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, flew down to El Salvador to meet with his constituent. After initially not being allowed to meet him, Van Hollen had a sit down with Abrego Garcia on April 17 and in a press conference a day later, the senator said Abrego Garcia told him he was traumatized. 'He said he was not afraid of the other prisoners in his immediate cell but that he was traumatized by being at CECOT and fearful of many of the prisoners in other cell blocks who called out to him and taunted him in various ways,' Van Hollen said. Van Hollen added that Abrego Garcia was moved a week earlier from the maximum-security prison to another detention center where 'conditions are better.' The Trump administration slammed the senator's visit, claiming Democrats and the media painted an overly rosy picture of Abrego Garcia. Meanwhile, the administration continued to portray him as a violent and dangerous criminal, releasing previously unshared documents stemming from two interactions Abrego Garcia had with law enforcement and the courts system: a 2019 arrest that didn't lead to charges or a conviction, but did result in his detention by immigration officials, and a 2021 protective order his wife filed against him alleging domestic violence, which she later decided against pursuing further after she said the couple had resolved their issues. Sources told CNN in late April that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been in touch with Bukele about the detention of Abrego Garcia. A US official told CNN the Trump administration was working closely with El Salvador and asked for Abrego Garcia's return but insisted that Bukele had made clear that he was not returning him to the US. In early May, Tennessee state law enforcement released a video of a November 2022 traffic stop involving Abrego Garcia – an incident that US officials argue supports their claims that Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13 and involved in human trafficking. The video showed Abrego Garcia being stopped for speeding. When asked about other passengers in the car, Abrego Garcia tells the trooper he and the others are workers returning from a construction project in St. Louis, Missouri. When the trooper asked for his documents, Abrego Garcia explains in the video that his driver's license was expired and that he is waiting for immigration documents to renew it. He tells the officer the vehicle, which had a Texas license plate, belonged to his boss. The trooper then searches the car with a police canine. They do not appear to find anything suspicious, according to the video. Abrego Garcia was not detained during the stop and no charges were filed. Nearly three months after he was deported, Abrego Garcia on Friday returned to the US to face federal criminal charges. Abrego Garcia has been indicted on two criminal counts in the Middle District of Tennessee: conspiracy to unlawfully transport illegal aliens for financial gain and unlawful transportation of illegal aliens for financial gain. Trump administration officials pointed to the charges as justifying their effort to remove Abrego Garcia from the United States. Meanwhile, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, an attorney for Abrego Garcia, accused the Trump administration of 'playing games' with the legal system and said his client should appear in immigration court, not criminal court. 'The government disappeared Kilmar to a foreign prison in violation of a court order. Now, after months of delay and secrecy, they're bringing him back, not to correct their error but to prosecute him. This shows that they were playing games with the court all along,' Sandoval-Moshenberg said in a statement to CNN. 'Due process means the chance to defend yourself before you're punished, not after. This is an abuse of power, not justice.' Abrego Garcia will be in custody for at least a week, followed by an arraignment and detention hearing, the Associated Press reported.
Wall Street Journal
23 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
How the Cybertruck Came to Embody Tesla's Problems
The bromance between Elon Musk and President Trump is ending at a difficult time for Tesla TSLA 3.67%increase; green up pointing triangle. The electric-vehicle maker lost roughly $150 billion of market value Thursday—its biggest ever drop—after the Tesla CEO and Trump traded insults. Sales of Teslas have slumped this year. Tariffs could disrupt the supply of key components. The sprawling Republican tax-and-spending bill would end tax credits for EV buyers. And Tesla's Cybertruck has been a disappointment. Musk set high expectations for the Cybertruck, telling investors it would be Tesla's 'best product ever.' The angular, stainless steel pickup was supposed to generate buzz for Tesla by showcasing new technology and unlocking the lucrative truck market. Instead, it has become synonymous with Musk's polarizing stint in politics, exposing some owners to graffiti or middle fingers from other drivers. And its reputation has been tarnished among Tesla fans because of a spate of recalls and manufacturing issues that have resulted in cycles of repairs. In the U.S., the company sold fewer than 40,000 Cybertrucks in 2024—well below Musk's ultimate goal of 250,000 a year. In the first quarter of 2025, Tesla sold around 7,100 Cybertrucks in the U.S., according to registration data from S&P Global Mobility. Ford's F-150 Lightning pickup outsold it. In an effort to boost sales, Tesla has rolled out lower-price versions of the truck and started offering buyers incentives such as 0% financing and free upgrades. Almost as soon as the $100,000 Cybertruck hit the road, quality problems began to multiply. Reports on social media cited cracked windshields and spotting from so-called rail dust, orange discoloration similar to rust. In its first year, Tesla recalled the truck seven times to fix dangerous defects. In March, with large metal panels falling off the trucks, the tally rose to eight. Some of the quality problems were known and documented internally before the truck went on sale, including issues with the accelerator pad and windshield wiper that later triggered recalls, said former employees who worked on the Cybertruck. But there was pressure inside Tesla to get the truck to market quickly, according to these employees. Tesla didn't respond to requests for comment. 'Elon Musk will tell you the biggest professional mistake was the falcon doors on the Model X,' said David Fick, a longtime Tesla owner who got his Cybertruck in March. He referred to the complex door design that opens upward and hinges at the roof. 'I believe that the Cybertruck is going to go down as an even bigger corporate stumble.' The retired banker in Boynton Beach, Fla., chose to wait more than a year to buy his Cybertruck, hopeful that many of the biggest issues would be identified before he drove his off the lot. 'They do a lot of bleeding-edge stuff where they rush to the market and then you're a beta tester as an owner,' Fick said. He paid about $72,000 for the car, plus $7,300 for window tinting and a custom wrap for exterior trim panels known as cant rails, covering his new car in a metallic maroon color. Soon after, Tesla recalled cant rails because they could become unglued. 'I've had tons of recalls on my Teslas over the years,' said Fick, who added that the cars are worth the hassle. 'Eighty percent were fixed by [software] updates, but these are physical things we are dealing with now.' Musk unveiled the prototype for the Cybertruck in 2019. At the time, he said it would cost $39,900, with a battery range of up to 500 miles—an ambitious combination that would be a stretch for any EV maker. Work on the vehicle was delayed a couple of years, leaving engineering and manufacturing teams with only a few months to do final testing before the trucks went to customers, former employees said. Musk tried to temper expectations around how quickly Tesla could increase production, given its unique design. 'There is always some chance that Cybertruck will flop, because it is so unlike anything else,' he wrote on social media in July 2021. Still, he promoted some of its most unusual features, including his dream of making the car amphibious. Former employees said they took Musk's social posts as orders, but the engineering proved difficult. By 2022, it was clear internally that Cybertruck wouldn't be able to meet all Musk's criteria, so engineers scrapped an early design and started over—developing a smaller, landlocked version of the truck, the people said. After about a year and a half of testing, Tesla delivered the first Cybertrucks to a dozen or so customers in late November 2023. An early version of the truck started at $100,000 and had an estimated range of 318 miles. Two months later, Tesla issued its first recall on the vehicle: a software update that required the company to increase the size of the font on a warning system used across its fleet. It was the first of three recalls that Tesla addressed on the Cybertruck through over-the-air updates to its software. Cybertruck's problems couldn't be fixed by software updates alone. In April 2024, Tesla issued a recall for the accelerator pedal. The company had received a notice from a customer complaining that the accelerator had gotten stuck. Tesla found that the pad attached to the long pedal could dislodge and get stuck in the trim above the pedal, causing the car to accelerate. An internal investigation found the issue was the result of an 'unapproved change,' in which Tesla employees used soap as a lubricant to attach the pad, according to the recall notice. Inside Tesla, the accelerator pad had been a known issue starting with the prototype, according to an employee who worked on the part. The manufacturing team also identified the part as problematic, this person said. Tesla also had problems with the Cybertruck's expansive windshield, which measured nearly 6 square feet. Sometimes the heavy glass would break, two employees said. The glass either arrived cracked from the supplier in Mexico or from handling at the Austin, Texas, facility, they said. Some owners took to social media to describe the glass cracking as soon as they drove off the lot, or while they wiped the inside of their windshield. The windshield required a large windshield wiper measuring 50 inches long. In June 2024, Tesla issued a recall on the wipers, whose motors Tesla found had been overstressed by testing. The wiper had been flagged nearly a year before, two people who worked on the Cybertruck said. It was one of the first issues identified on the vehicles, at which point it was classified as a 'gating issue,' which meant that it needed to be resolved before production could move forward. Reid Tomasko, a 25-year-old YouTube creator, took his Cybertruck on a cross-country trip, during which it performed perfectly, he said. Then came winter in New Hampshire. He was driving near his home in Lebanon, N.H., in February when a metal panel flew off the side of his truck. In March, Tesla issued a recall affecting most of the Cybertrucks it had produced—more than 46,000. The problem involved adhesive that could become brittle in extreme weather, causing exterior trim panels called cant rails to dislodge. Inspecting his truck, Tomasko said he found loose connections on almost every panel that used the adhesive, including the large pieces of stainless steel over the rear wheels, the front fender and the front doors. 'I was wondering, why are they not recalling the other panels?' Tomasko said. After replacing several panels, Tesla offered to buy back Tomasko's truck for nearly all of the $102,000 that he paid, he said. He accepted. 'I am planning on getting a newer one for cheaper soon,' he said. Write to Becky Peterson at
