BERNARD CONDON Business Writer, Author at The Rapid City Post

FILE - Larry Ellison, chairman and chief technology officer of Oracle Corporation, sits in the Oval Office of the White House as President Donald Trump signs an executive order, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Musk loses crown as the world’s richest person to Larry Ellison and then snatches it back

September 11, 2025

The battle among billionaires for bragging rights as the world’s richest person got heated Wednesday with the surprising surge of an old contender: Larry Ellison. In a stunning few minutes of trading early in the day, stock in Oracle, the software giant that the college dropout co-founded, rocketed more than a third, enough to temporarily wrest the title from its longtime holder Elon Musk. But the stock market is fickle, and by the end of the day Musk was back on top, at least according to wealth tracker Bloomberg, as Oracle gave a bit of its gains. Musk is now worth $384.2 billion versus $383.2 billion for Ellison.

Tesla vehicles line a parking area at the company's Fremont, Calif., factory on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Tesla sales plunge again in Europe as anger at Musk keeps buyers away for 7th month in a row

August 28, 2025

Europeans upset with Elon Musk still aren’t buying his electric cars, adding to a long losing streak for his company. That is according to data released Thursday by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. The report said Tesla sales plunged 40% in July in 27 European Union countries compared with the year earlier even as sales from all EV makers soared. Chinese rival BYD’s 1.1% market shares topped Tesla’s 0.7%. Tesla’s billionaire CEO angered many Europeans by embracing far-right politicians earlier this year. The company hopes sales will climb after it introduces cheaper vehicles to the market soon.

Tesla is slow in reporting crashes and the feds have launched an investigation to find out why

August 21, 2025

Federal auto safety regulators have opened an investigation into why Tesla has repeatedly broken rules requiring it to tell them quickly about crashes involving its self-driving technology that may soon be deployed in millions of its cars on U.S. roads. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that “numerous” incidents involving Tesla’s driver assistance and self-driving features were submitted far too late — several months after the crashes instead of within five days as required. The probe comes two months after the electric vehicle maker run by Elon Musk started a self-driving taxi service in Austin, Texas, with hopes of soon offering it nationwide.

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump attend the meeting between President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland Sunday, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Company advised by Trump sons said it hoped to benefit from fed money, then took it back

August 4, 2025

A public document filed by a company that just hired President Donald Trump’s two oldest sons as advisers included a sentence early Monday that said it hoped to benefit from grants and other incentives from the federal government, which their father happens to lead. But the company later deleted the line from the document. That came after The Associated Press asked the Trump family business about the apparent conflict of interest. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are getting “founder shares” worth millions of dollars in New America Acquisition 1 Corp., according to the filing. Lawyers who prepared the filing said the earlier inclusion of the line was a “mistake” by a copyist.

FILE - A Tesla level three Electric vehicle charger is visible, Feb. 2, 2024, in Kennesaw, Ga., near Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

Tesla’s profit plunges again as the fallout from Musk’s politics continues to repel buyers

July 23, 2025

The fallout from Elon Musk’s plunge into politics a year ago is still hammering his Tesla business as both sales and profits fell sharply again in the latest quarter. The car company that has faced boycotts for months said Wednesday that sales dropped 12% and profits slumped 16% in the three months through June. Quarterly profits at the electric vehicle, battery and robotics company fell to $1.17 billion from $1.4 billion a year ago. That was the third quarter in a row of lower profit. Musk is pinning the future of the company less on car sales and more on robotaxis, automated driving software and robotics.

Eric Trump, Don Hendrickson, Eric Thomas, Patrick O'Brien and Donald Trump Jr., left to right, participate in the announcement of Trump Mobile, in New York's Trump Tower, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trumps drop ‘Made in the USA’ label for new phone and a debate ensues: How to define ‘made’?

June 26, 2025

The Trump family may be having second thoughts about that “Made in the USA” claim attached to its new Trump-branded phone, which raises an interesting question: How to define “made”? The four words that just a few days ago appeared on a website where customers can pre-order the $499 phones with an American flag etched on the back have disappeared. In their place are much vaguer words, such as “proudly American” and “brought to life right here in the U.S.A.” It’s not clear why the Trump family is changing the language, but the Federal Trade Commission requires that items labeled “Made in USA,” be “all or virtually all” produced in the U.S. and several firms have been sued over misusing the term.

FILE - Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition, March 9, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Europeans angry with Musk still aren’t buying his cars as Tesla sales drop for fifth month in a row

June 25, 2025

Tesla sales in Europe plunged for a fifth month in a row in May, a blow to investors who had hoped anger toward Elon Musk would have faded by now. The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said the drop of 28% last month in 30 European countries came even as the overall market for electric vehicles expanded sharply. The poor showing comes after Tesla’s billionaire CEO promised a “major rebound” was coming soon. Musk had angered Europeans by embracing far right-wing politicians in elections there. Investors dumped Tesla shares Wednesday, pushing the prices down 4% in early afternoon trading.

FILE - In this Jan. 19, 2012 file photo, fishing boats are seen in front of oil tankers south of the Strait of Hormuz, offshore the town of Ras Al Khaimah in United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

Oil sells off as traders calmly look beyond the bombs in the Middle East

June 23, 2025

If oil prices are any measure, Iran just flinched. The price of oil tumbled Monday on a bet that Iran’s decision to bomb U.S. and Qatari bases signals it is not planning to do the one thing that could really hurt America: Shut down the flow of oil. The 7% drop came after a few anxious moments a day earlier when traders drove oil up on fears that Iran might try to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which much of world’s crude passes. Analysts note there is plenty Iran could still do to cause chaos in the markets. But fear has been replaced by an uneasy calm — for now at least.

As Musk’s ‘robotaxi’ rollout approaches, Democratic lawmakers in Texas try to throw up a roadblock

June 20, 2025

A group of Democratic Texas lawmakers is asking Elon Musk to delay his rollout of driverless ‘robotaxis’ in the state this weekend to assure the vehicles are safe enough. The letter from seven legislators wants the Tesla CEO to wait until September when a new law takes effect that will require several checks before so-called autonomous cars and taxis can be deployed. Tesla plans a test run of a dozen robotaxis on Sunday in a limited area of Austin, Texas. It’s not clear if the letter will have much impact. Democrats are in the minority party in the state. Tesla did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

BERNARD CONDON Business Writer.