Elon Musk attacks “abomination” GOP bill. As he leaves government, he returns to an uncertain future for Tesla, as the Wall Street Journal’s Becky Peterson explains. Israel announces its controversial aid center will be closed for the day, as death and chaos continues to surround the distribution sites. Amidst the confusion, the BBC explores what we know and don’t know. The White House grapples with deporting migrants when the home country won’t accept them. NPR’s Ximena Bustillo joins to discuss the administration's new strategy. Plus, Saudi Arabia balances safety with tourism as the mass pilgrimage to Mecca begins, ICE officials detain the family of the man charged with the Colorado attacks, and. Canada hopes to end a 32 year Stanley Cup drought. Correction: An earlier version of this episode misstated the valuation of SpaceX. The episode has been updated to remove that detail. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.
Chapter 1: What did Elon Musk say about the GOP tax bill?
But first, to Elon Musk, who's been using his newfound freedom from government to openly criticize Congress and the president's agenda. On Monday, he attacked Republicans' signature tax and spending bill as a, quote, outrageous, pork-filled abomination. Musk was, until recently, largely loyal and enthusiastic about the president's agenda.
But in a recent interview with CBS, he alluded to some discontent.
We have differences of opinion. There's things that I don't entirely agree with. But it's difficult for me to bring that up in an interview because then it creates a bone of contention. So then I'm a little stuck in a bind.
With this latest post, Musk appears to be stuck no more. The shift coincides with his return to his business empire, demanding more attention and less controversy. Musk's brief entry into politics appears to have had swift impact on his most famous brand, Tesla.
Tesla has really been through it over the last few months while Musk has been away in D.C.
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Chapter 2: How is Tesla performing under Musk's leadership?
That's The Wall Street Journal's Becky Peterson, who shared a Pulitzer Prize for her recent reporting on Musk.
One of the biggest things that we're seeing right now is a decline in sales, which is hurting its revenue. It's hurting its net profit.
She says the car company's decline in sales has been a pattern across the U.S., Europe and China, and that its stock remains volatile and prone to, as she puts it, vibe shifts. Peterson says Musk's political activity is at least partly responsible, especially in states where the once ubiquitous car is now the target of vandalism.
Chapter 3: What challenges is Tesla facing in sales?
In the first few months of the year, it seemed that Tesla's reputation was declining among liberals and in liberal states like California, but it was improving in more Republican areas and with Republican buyers. That said, Republicans aren't necessarily more likely to buy EVs, so it's not translating into success for sales.
Now, ordinarily, investors might see having a CEO with the ear of the president as a positive sign for the company, but Peterson notes that the political winds haven't been blowing in Tesla's favor. Congress just blocked a California EV mandate, and the GOP's proposed bill will cut the EV tax credit.
And in a sign of Musk's waning influence at the White House, Trump recently withdrew his nomination for close Musk ally Jared Isaacman to run NASA. If Musk has any regrets about how his political work has affected his business, he has so far kept them private.
He's dismissed Europe as a weak market, criticized the decline in shares as a form of political pressure, and blamed faltering sales on a change in inventory releases. But he has conceded he needs to devote more time to his vision for Tesla's future.
Chapter 4: How has Musk's political activity affected Tesla?
Elon's been trying to transition Tesla into being an AI and robotics company. He sees this optimist humanoid robot as being a product that people buy for their homes, that companies buy for their factories. He sees a future where we're living among robots.
Peterson also notes that when you take a step back and away from Tesla, Musk's other ventures are holding up well, even accounting for the occasional rocket malfunction.
For all of the potential damage to Tesla's bottom line and the concerns that people aren't going to want to buy his products anymore, Musk has actually seen his companies grow in value during his time in the administration. XAI is surging in value. And SpaceX, for all the pain that it suffered over the last few months, has returned to over a trillion dollar valuation. So Musk's wealth is secure.
Now to Gaza, where over the course of several days this week, dozens of desperate Palestinians have been killed near aid distribution sites, according to the Red Cross and Gaza Health Ministry. These aid sites are, as we've mentioned, run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, GHF, a group backed by Israel and the U.S., And they're under full Israeli control.
This was one of Israel's conditions for lifting the total blockade on aid, which has effectively forced humanitarian organizations like the UN out of Gaza. Only one site is operational, which means over two million Palestinians must travel to this one location in the hopes of receiving basic food and other supplies. And today, despite the need, centers are reportedly closed.
The Israeli military warned roads leading to the sites are to be considered combat zones and that they are working on updates and improvements. Barbara Plett Usher, reporting from Jerusalem, told the BBC how the aid has been getting distributed.
The Palestinians gather about a kilometer away, quite early in the morning, until they're allowed to move forward to the hubs. And they have to pass through territory that is controlled by the Israeli military, because the Israeli military is securing these aid hubs. So with the UN, the aid is brought to their homes or brought to their communities. This is a different system.
And it means that civilians are put in quite close proximity to Israeli soldiers for this period while they're getting to the aid hub.
It has been difficult for journalists to verify what exactly happened in each of the deadly incidents this week, in large part because Israel has not allowed outside journalists into Gaza for months. The BBC has been working to review video footage.
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Chapter 5: What are the current issues in Gaza regarding aid distribution?
Hada Oda, a Palestinian journalist based in Gaza interviewed by the BBC, told them gangs and looters have routinely targeted people to steal aid.
It happens all the time. You know there is no government here, no policeman, no security. If you don't give them, they can shoot you or kill you. So they are trying to steal as much as they can, and they are selling it in local markets with high prices.
One reason Israel insisted on this new aid system is because it claims Hamas is stealing aid. But this journalist told the BBC it's often impossible to distinguish between gang members and members of Hamas. But one thing is clear. This aid program has gotten off to a chaotic start. Two top executives within GHF have resigned already, and a leading U.S.
management firm hired to help design the program and run its business operations recently withdrew its team from Tel Aviv. A spokesperson for the firm, the Boston Consulting Group, told the Washington Post the company terminated its contract with GHF. Let's turn now to a tactic the Trump administration is increasingly turning to for deportations, so-called third country removals.
That's when the U.S. deports a person to a country that isn't their country of origin. It's not an entirely new idea, but the Trump administration has prioritized getting more countries to agree to take in deportees regardless of where they're from. NPR immigration reporter Ximena Bustillo told us about it.
What we're seeing with this Trump administration is a supercharged use of third country removals. And not just in terms of like quantity and how many people are being sent, but in terms of the kinds of countries that the United States is looking to make deals with to send migrants out to.
Many migrants have been sent to countries in Central America. El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras made up more than half of all deportations back in March. The administration has also struck deals with other countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. In these cases, the administration has argued that people with criminal records shouldn't be allowed to stay in the U.S.
just because their home countries refuse to take them back. In several cases, however, people have been sent to countries where they face persecution. A gay man from Guatemala was sent to Mexico, where, according to court documents, he says he was raped and extorted while trying to seek asylum in the U.S. The administration says it's working to bring him back.
And in another case, the administration sought to deport seven men to South Sudan, a country facing food shortages, ethnic conflict, and violent crime. Bustillo spoke with Ngoc Phan, a U.S. citizen from Vietnam, about her husband, who was one of the men on this flight to South Sudan. He had recently finished serving a 25-year prison sentence for assault and murder.
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Chapter 6: What incidents have occurred near Gaza aid sites?
They were preparing documentation, travel paperwork. She was getting a cell phone, connecting with family abroad to pick him up at the airport. And then she gets a call from her husband.
He told her he was being sent to South Sudan instead. He and the other migrants on the flight were only given about 12 hours notice, and Politico reports that they weren't allowed to consult their lawyers. Their lawyers later sued, arguing that they weren't given sufficient time to challenge the deportations. A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled in their favor.
This all happened about two weeks ago. And back in April, the same judge had already placed restrictions on the Trump administration's efforts to deport people to third countries. But the administration went ahead with the flights anyway.
And so now we're seeing that Nock's husband never made it to South Sudan, but has instead for more than a week been stuck at the military base in Djibouti.
Nock told Bustillo she hasn't heard from her husband since he got on that plane. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court. They say it impedes their ability to carry out their immigration policy. The Supreme Court gave the lawyers representing the migrants until today to respond to the appeal. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following.
The family of the suspect in the Colorado attack has been detained by ICE officials as the FBI expands its investigation to question what, if anything, family members may have known about his plans. According to local media reports, Mohamed Sabri Soliman's family included two teenagers and three younger children. Federal officials say he was living in the U.S.
illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa. And Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said his family was in custody for expedited removal. Soleiman is being charged with attempted murder and also faces federal hate crime charges after he allegedly set fire to people demonstrating for the release of Israeli hostages. He is said to have told authorities he acted alone.
Next to Saudi Arabia, where the annual Hajj has begun, where Muslims journey to Mecca, the pilgrimage brings millions of people to one place. And the chaotic numbers combined with extreme heat led to over a thousand deaths last year. This time, Saudi Arabia is stepping up efforts to curb unauthorized visits with threats of fines and deportations.
But the Saudi government faces a tricky balancing act. The Hajj is crucial to its strategy to boost tourism, and it can be big business. Packages vary, but according to one comparison tool, it can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 per person for travel from the U.S.
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