Morning Briefing: Asia
  | 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 gr | | | | 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. | | | Markets Snapshot | | | | Market data as of 04:35 pm EST. | View or Create your Watchlist | | | Market data may be delayed depending on provider agreements. | | | | 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.” | | | | | Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra apologized for causing public anger over a leaked phone call, saying her actions were with the country’s best interest at heart and that she accepts a court decision temporarily suspending her from office. The baht weakened slightly against the dollar, and a StoneX trader described the crisis as “political theater.” Show or no show, it’s a big blow for the Shinawatra political dynasty, Bloomberg Opinion’s Karishma Vaswani writes.
It was a real squeaker, but Trump’s $3.3 trillion tax and spending cut bill passed the Senate 51-50 after three Republicans defected and Vice President JD Vance stepped in with the tie-breaking vote. The Senate action sets the stage for a House vote on Wednesday, but success isn’t guaranteed. A traditional Chinese medicine company blamed desperate short sellers for last month’s spectacular stock gain that briefly boosted founder Yat-Gai Au’s paper wealth to $33.3 billion. Shares of Hong Kong-based Regencell Bioscience Holdings, which develops herbal treatments for ADHD and autism, had soared more than 82,000% from a February low. Regencell is down about 80% from the peak. | | | | Deep Dive: Going for the Green | |  Lukas Walton, 38 Illustration: Michelle Rohn for Bloomberg It’s a perilous time for green investing, with a streak of losing bets and the US government threatening to eliminate federal climate initiatives. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some champions for the cause, such as Lukas Walton, the grandson of Walmart’s founder and the world’s richest person under age 40. - Walton has committed $15 billion of his $41.7 billion net worth to climate-centric investments. His impact-investing and philanthropic organization, Builders Vision, focuses on oceans, green energy and sustainable food, as well as social-justice causes. And he’s calling on other wealthy families to join him in his effort.
- But that can be a lonely calling, as even some longstanding advocates among the world’s richest people pull back a bit. Bill Gates recently laid off some staff at his climate group, Breakthrough Energy, and Jeff Bezos’ climate fund ended its support for an organization focused on cutting greenhouse gases.
- Despite making big climate pledges, many companies aren’t following through on their commitments, and some are even canceling their climate goals. In Washington, renewable energy companies have been fighting a worst-case scenario, opposing an excise tax on wind and solar projects with certain Chinese components.
- It’s put-up or shut-up time for some investments. Over 250 bonds globally will face deadlines this year to meet their sustainability performance targets or be forced to pay higher interest rates.
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