• The U.S. economy has lost manufacturing jobs for four straight months, with 12,000 disappearing since last month.
  
• President Donald Trump's tariffs were supposed to bring back manufacturing jobs by encouraging companies to build factories in the U.S.
  
• Manufacturers have slowed down hiring because tariffs have pushed up prices for materials, while demand for their products has weakened.
  

Tariffs were supposed to bring back manufacturing jobs: instead, the U.S. has lost 12,000 over the past month.

August was the fourth straight month of declines for manufacturing jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday, as part of a report that showed an overall slump in the job market. Manufacturing employment is down 78,000 since last August, and there are now fewer people working in the sector than at any time since March 2022.

Economists have cited President Donald Trump's campaign of raising import taxes as a major reason for the slowdown. That's the exact opposite of Trump's stated goal for tariffs, which are supposed to encourage consumers to buy American and companies to build factories on U.S. soil by making imports more expensive.

"Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country," Trump said in April when he announced a broad swath of tariffs against most U.S. trading partners.

Instead, manufacturers and consumers alike have been financially squeezed by the tariffs, as they face higher prices for parts and materials brought in from overseas. Surveys show manufacturing businesses are slowing down hiring amid higher costs for materials and lower demand for their products.

"It’s a jobs recession," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, posted on social media. "The goods side of the economy, including manufacturing, mining, and construction, is losing a significant number of jobs, as is the federal government."

The slump is a major setback for Trump's efforts to bring back factory jobs.

"Trump's blue-collar renaissance is clearly not happening," Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, wrote in a commentary.

• Tesla floated a new compensation package for Elon Musk potentially worth $1 trillion.
• In order for Musk to collect the full amount, Tesla's market cap would have to rise to $8.5 trillion and certain operational milestones would need to be achieved.
• The package is aimed at retaining Musk, who has threatened to leave the company in previous negotiations unless certain assurances were made.

Trillions are the new billions.

Electric-vehicle company Tesla (TSLA) on Friday unveiled a proposed compensation package for Elon Musk that could grow to roughly $1 trillion if the CEO hits performance targets and collects all of the shares awarded. Between the new plan and shares he owns now, the estimated value of Musk's implied total stake in Tesla would exceed $2 trillion, cementing his status as the world's wealthiest human.

Musk has to hit what the company called "Mars-shot milestones"—longer than a moonshot, to be sure—to be compensated in full, according to a company filing. In addition to market-cap milestones attached to the plan's share-award tranches, the company would have to meet operational milestones that start with product delivery targets and end with adjusted Ebitda hurdles.

The first pair of milestones requires Tesla's market capitalization to reach and sustain $2 trillion and the company to deliver a cumulative total of 20 million vehicles.

Market-cap targets jump by $500 billion with every tranche, with the last target being $8.5 trillion—more than double the current market cap of Nvidia (NVDA), the most valuable company in the world. Operational milestones include 1 million robotaxis in commercial operation as well as logging $400 billion in adjusted Ebitda over four consecutive quarters.

The last two of the 12 tranche awards would only be granted after Musk sets a succession plan approved by Tesla. And he would have to stay at the company for at least 7 1/2 years.

The plan, on which shareholders are scheduled to vote Nov. 6, could stir up drama if shareholder reactions are anything like receptions to past pay packages. In 2018, a group of Tesla investors balked when shareholders approved a 10-year performance-based pay plan that would award Musk a then-estimated $56 billion. A Delaware judge struck down the deal twice, and Tesla's board recently approved an interim stock award of 96 million shares of restricted stock. If Musk is awarded the original 2018 package, the interim award would be forfeited.

In order for Musk to own his earned awards outlined in the 2025 pay package, he has to pay the equivalent of Tesla's closing price on Sept. 3, or roughly $334 per share in cash or stock, after he hits the 7 1/2-year mark, at the earliest, or after 10 years.

During negotiations that stretched across 10 meetings, Musk threatened to "pursue his other interests" and leave Tesla if he wasn't assured he'd be compensated for his past services as outlined under the 2018 pay package and at least a 25% voting interest, according to the proxy filing, up from about 20% now.

"The Committee believes the cost to Tesla and its shareholders is well worth it in light of the tremendous value that would be created, and strides in product development that would be realized, if the 2025 CEO Performance Award is fully achieved," Tesla's filing said.

For now, investors appear pleased. Tesla shares rose almost 3% as of Friday afternoon to a recent $348.

• Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the richest person in the world, and a new proposed package could push his net worth over $1 trillion.
• A proposed new pay plan could grant him millions of additional Tesla shares if he meets certain performance milestones.
• Musk was the first person to reach $400 billion in net worth in December 2024.
• The bulk of Musk's net worth comes from his stakes in Tesla, SpaceX, and artificial intelligence company xAI.
• Musk is Tesla's largest shareholder, with 19.7% of the company's equity as of August, 2025.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is the richest person in the world and he's all set to get richer. Musk, whose current net worth is close to $378 billion, was the first person to have a net worth of over $400 billion in December 2024, according to Bloomberg.

Now, a proposed new pay package could make him a trillionaire. Tesla (TSLA) is asking its investors to approve a massive pay package for Musk which would be valued at nearly $1 trillion if he can lead the company to achieve certain valuation and operations milestones over the next 10 years, according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.

Musk's net worth is largely driven by his stakes in Tesla and privately held rocket and satellite manufacturing company, SpaceX. The additional shares under the new pay deal could push the value of Musk-owned Tesla shares to over $2 trillion.

Tesla's share price increased more than 60% in 2024, with some of those gains coming after President Trump won the election in November. The company's shares were trading 8% lower year-to-date as of Sept. 5, 2025. An insider share sale of SpaceX in December 2024 also boosted Musk's net worth by about $50 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Musk was vocal in his support for Trump, Forbes reported, joining him on the campaign trail and becoming Trump's second largest donor by putting $118 million into America PAC, which Musk created. He also served on Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency till May this year.

Musk's wealth surpasses other notable billionnaires including Amazon.com (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos, Meta's (META) Mark Zuckerberg, and Oracle's (ORCL) Larry Ellison according to Forbes and Bloomberg.

Here's how the Tesla CEO made his billions.

Tesla is one of the largest carmakers in the world. The company builds and designs fully electric vehicles and also makes energy generation and storage products like solar panels, solar roof tiles, and battery systems. Its vehicles include sedans, mid-size SUVs and the CyberTruck.

Tesla was founded in 2003 as Tesla Motors by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Musk invested in the company and was a member of the board starting in 2004. He became CEO in 2008.

Musk was allowed to claim the title of cofounder after an out-of-court settlement. Tesla went public in an initial public offering (IPO) on June 29, 2010. In 2021, Tesla moved its headquarters from its native Palo Alto, Calif., to Austin, Texas. In July 2023, Tesla unveiled its first Cybertruck built in its Texas factory, almost two years behind the original schedule.

Musk is Tesla's largest shareholder, and owns 19.7% of the company's stock as of August 29, 2025.

Musk is also the cofounder and CEO of SpaceX, a rocket manufacturing company that counts NASA as a client and helps resupply the International Space Station.

SpaceX became the most valuable startup in the world when it considered raising funds at a $400 billion valuation in July 2025, according to Bloomberg.

Musk owns 42% of SpaceX, which has launched over 400 rockets since it was founded in 2002, and has more than 4 million subscribers for its Starlink internet service.

In April 2022, Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion after threatening a hostile takeover. The deal was finalized in October 2022 after Twitter sued Musk for trying to back out of the deal.

His takeover has been controversial, as he laid off much of the company’s workforce and added a paid subscription service ($8 per month) for anyone who wants their account verified. In July 2023, Musk rebranded Twitter as X, replacing the blue bird logo with the letter.

Fidelity estimates that X is worth about $9.4 billion, according to Forbes, per disclosures released by the investment firm in September 2024. Fidelity's stake in X is now worth about $4.19 million, down about 79% before Musk bought X.

Musk founded artificial intelligence firm xAI in 2023. In July 2025, the company was looking to raise fund from investors that would peg its valuation up to $200 billion, according to the Financial Times. The company also raised $10 billion vis loans and cash investments in June, following a $300 million share sale in July, the Financial Times reported.

Musk owns about 54% of xAI, per Forbes. The team at xAI is led by Musk and others who have previously worked with OpenAI, DeepMind, Google Research, Microsoft Research, and Tesla.

Musk is also the founder of The Boring Company, a construction company that aims to “solve traffic” by building tunnels. The company raised $675 million in April 2022 at a valuation of $5.7 billion, according to a release.

Musk co-founded a company called Neuralink which designed a "brain-computer interface," a chip that can be implanted into the brain and would allow users to control their computers and mobile devices with their thoughts.

According to the company's website, Neuralink is working to help those with quadriplegia, a symptom of paralysis that affects a person's limbs and body from the neck down, with the ability to control their devices with their thoughts.

The company, which launched its first human trial in January 2024, was valued at an estimated $9 billion, after a raising $600 million earlier this year according to Semafor.

Online merchants aren't the only ones reeling from the end of the de minimis tax exemption.

Retailers with physical footprints, such as Lululemon, Coach and Kate Spade, will pay millions now that import taxes apply to packages of minimal value, executives have said in recent weeks.

Athleticware giant Lululemon (LULU) downgraded its outlook for the year on Thursday based largely on the loss of de minimis, a nearly 90-year-old provision that—until last week—waived tariffs on parcels worth less than $800.

“We are facing yet another shift today within the industry related to tariffs and the cost of doing business,” CEO Calvin McDonald said on a conference call Thursday, according to a transcript.

The athletic apparel company uses facilities in Canada to fulfill about two-thirds of online orders from U.S. customers. Most of these will now be subject to import taxes, Lululemon said, contributing to an estimated $240 million tariff bill this year and a $320 million hit next year. 

The end of de minimis is a “meaningful factor” in the roughly $160 million tariff impact Coach and Kate Spade parent company Tapestry (TPR) expects this year, CFO Scott Roe said on a conference call last month. 

“The tariffs are real,” Roe said, according to a transcript made available by AlphaSense “We’re going to fight our way through it.”

Both companies are looking to mitigate the impact by altering their supply chain, reducing company expenses and increasing prices.

Social media lit up with commentary from Etsy and Ebay shop owners when de minimis ended last week. Chinese discounters Shein and Temu are also expected to be impacted. Package carriers from some nations temporarily stopped using the US Postal Service to give themselves time to adjust to the change.

Several domestic companies are cheering the death of de minimis. If Americans have to pay more for or undergo some speedbumps in order to get goods from overseas, they may consider domestic alternatives.

The move “can only help” Urban Outfitters (URBN), CEO Richard Hayne said last month. Five Below (FIVE) shared a similar assessment of the new policy.

David Simon, CEO of shopping mall operator Simon Property Group (SPG), said he wished a loophole that some Chinese companies took “real advantage of” was closed before Forever 21 was on the path to bankruptcy.

The new policy is “really, really, really important” to American companies, Simon said this spring.

• The U.S. economy lost jobs in June, for the first time since December 2020.
  
• The drop in jobs makes former President Joe Biden the only person who never presided over net job losses while in office.
  
• Several of President Donald Trump's economic policies could be contributing to the hiring slowdown, according to economists.
  

Six months into President Donald Trump's second term, Joe Biden set a jobs record: He's the only commander in chief who never presided over a month of job losses.

The U.S. reported adding a scant 22,000 jobs in the month of August, signaling a sharp slowdown in the labor market. What's worse, the Bureau of Labor Statistics downwardly revised previous estimates to show that the U.S. lost 13,000 jobs in June instead of adding 14,000 jobs as first reported.

It's the first time the economy posted a net loss of jobs since December 2020, which was during Trump's first term.

Economists have cited several reasons for the recent slowdown in the job market, many related to Trump's economic policies. Trump's unpredictable campaign of raising import taxes has pushed up prices and created uncertainty among business leaders.

The tariffs have squeezed household budgets and made employers reluctant to hire. In addition, Trump has cracked down on immigration and cut thousands of jobs from the federal government, both of which are also affecting the labor market.

Biden's record comes with a major asterisk, since he only served one term as president. Biden's predecessor, Barack Obama, did have job losses in his first term during the Great Recession. However, the economy under Obama did add jobs throughout his second term as the economy recovered.

The economy only lost jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Trump's first term.

U.S. Treasurys rallied on Friday as investors bet a weak August jobs report guarantees the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this month. 

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which influences rates on a wide range of consumer loans like mortgages, dropped 8 basis points to 4.08%. The 2-year yield, which tends to reflect the market’s expectations for monetary policy, fell to 3.47% from 3.6% at Thursday’s close. 

Both yields were at their lowest levels since early April, when President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement rattled stocks and instigated an abrupt pivot to the safety of the bond market. 

The U.S. added 22,000 jobs in August, far fewer than economists had expected, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday morning. The report, the first since President Trump fired the head of the BLS over July’s disappointing jobs report, also showed the U.S. lost jobs in June, the first monthly decline since December 2020. 

The data dispelled all doubt on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve will resume cutting interest rates in the coming weeks. Federal funds futures trading data put the odds of no rate cut on Sept. 17, when the Fed’s next policy meeting concludes, at 0%, down from about 4% yesterday. The odds of a 50 basis point cut jumped Friday morning to about 12% from 0%. 

The Fed has been in a holding pattern this year, waiting to see how the Trump administration’s tariffs and immigration crackdown impact economic growth, inflation, and the labor market. Policymakers last lowered rates in December. They’ve since resisted pressure from the White House to resume cuts, citing the low unemployment rate, steady jobs growth, and the risk that tariffs will reignite inflation that’s already running above their 2% target. 

“These employment data give the Fed all the reasons it needs to shift its balance of risks and lower rates in two weeks,” wrote Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group, in emailed comments Friday morning. 

• U.S. equities turned lower at midday as the latest jobs report showed hiring slowed more than expected in August.
• Broadcom beat profit and sales estimates and said it had a new $10 billion customer, reportedly artificial intelligence giant OpenAI.
• Lululemon Athletica slashed its guidance on the costs of tariffs and the removal of the de minimus exemption for lower-priced imported goods.

U.S. equities turned lower at midday following the government's weaker-than-expected August employment report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq were down.

Lululemon Athletica (LULU) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 after the fashion athletic apparel retailer reported lower-than-anticipated comparable store sales on soft demand in the U.S., and cut its guidance on higher costs relating to new tariffs and the removal of the de minimus exemption for lower-priced imports.

Shares of Copart (CPRT) dipped when the online auto auctioneer missed revenue estimates as vehicle sales declined.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares fell on a downgrade from Seaport Research, which pointed to concerns about the chipmaker's AI accelerator business. 

Broadcom (AVGO) was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 after the software maker posted better-than-anticipated results and said it had a new $10 billion customer. Speculation is that the customer is AI giant OpenAI.

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) rose when the electric vehicle maker offered CEO Elon Musk a 10-year pay package that could be worth $1 trillion.

Docusign (DOCU) shares jumped when the electronic signature software firm beat profit and sales estimates and raised its outlook as larger customers were using its AI products.

Oil futures sank. Gold prices advanced. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped. The U.S. dollar lost ground to the euro, pound, and yen. Most major cryptocurrencies traded higher. 

• The Federal Reserve is now nearly certain to cut its benchmark interest rate in September by at least 25 basis points and possibly 50.
  
• A report on the jobs market released Friday showed hiring is slower than expected, giving the Fed reason to boost the job market with lower interest rates.
  
• Fed officials have been torn between keeping rates high to fight inflation and lowering them to prevent unemployment from rising.
  
• For now, the Fed may focus more on the threat to the job market rather than the possibility that tariffs will stoke inflation.
  

In the wake of Friday's dismal job creation data, financial market participants no longer wonder whether the Federal Reserve will cut its benchmark interest rate at its next meeting in September.

Investors now widely expect the Fed will have to cut interest rates later this month to boost the faltering job market, which added far fewer jobs in August than expected. Market participants are now certain the Federal Reserve will cut its influential interest rate at its next meeting on Sept. 16-17, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, which forecasts movements of the federal funds rate based on fed funds futures trading data.

That certainty has sparked markets to price in a 14% chance the Fed will make a super-sized cut and chop the benchmark rate by 50 basis points to a range of 3.75% to 4%. As recently as last week, markets were pricing in a likelihood of a 25 basis-point cut, with an outside chance the Fed held rates steady.

"A Fed rate cut in next week’s September meeting is virtually guaranteed now (it was already very likely prior to today’s data)," Preston Caldwell, chief U.S. economist at Morningstar, wrote in a commentary.

So far this year, Fed officials have been pulled in two directions by their "dual mandate" to keep inflation low and employment high.

Inflation has been running above the central bank's goal of a 2% annual rate, and President Donald Trump's tariffs are expected to push it higher. At the same time, the job market has been losing steam, threatening the other side of the mandate.

The Fed can either keep rates high, which raises borrowing costs on all kinds of short-term loans, to fight inflation, or reduce the rate to push borrowing costs down and encourage hiring.

Until now, Fed officials have viewed inflation as the greater threat to the economy, and have kept the rate at a higher-than-usual level this year. The surprisingly bad jobs report, however, changes the equation.

"These employment data give the Fed all the reasons it needs to shift its balance of risks and lower rates in two weeks," Jamie Cox, managing partner of Harris Financial Group, wrote in a commentary.

• Docusign shares jumped Friday after the maker of electronic signature software posted strong quarterly results and boosted its outlook.
• CEO Allan Thygesen called the performance “one of Docusign's highest growth and profitability quarters in recent years," thanks in part to its AI offerings.
• Total customers rose 9% from a year ago, and the number of customers who spent more than $300,000 rose 7%.

Docusign (DOCU) shares jumped Friday, after the maker of electronic signature software posted strong quarterly results and boosted its outlook as it added more customers and expanded its artificial intelligence offerings.

The company reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $0.92, above analysts' estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Its revenue rose 9% year-over-year to $800.6 million, and billings were up 13% to $818 million. Both figures also exceeded expectations.

Docusign said its total number of customers grew 9% to more than 1.7 million at the end of the quarter. Large customers who spent more than $300,000 per year rose 7% to 1,137.

CEO Allan Thygesen called it “one of Docusign's highest growth and profitability quarters in recent years," thanks in part to “AI innovation launches and recent go-to-market changes.”

The company said it now sees full-year revenue of $3.189 billion to $3.201 billion, up from $3.151 billion to $3.163 billion previously.

Shares of Docusign gained over 5% recent trading. Still, they've lost about 11% of their value since the start of the year.

• Samsara beat profit and sales forecasts as the "internet of things" platform firm benefited from big customers.
• The company's customers with annual recurring revenue of more than $100,000 jumped 31% year-over-year.
• Samsara raised its full-year earnings and revenue guidance.

Shares of Samsara (IOT) surged more than 15% Friday, a day after the "internet of things" platform company reported better-than-expected results and boosted its guidance as its base of big customers grew.

Samsara, which provides technology for businesses to track and manage vehicles, equipment, and operations in real time, posted fiscal 2026 second-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.12, with revenue jumping 30% year-over-year to $391.5 million. Both exceeded Visible Alpha forecasts.

Annual recurring revenue (ARR) at the end of the quarter increased 30% to $1.64 billion. The number of customers with ARR of more than $100,000 grew 31% to 2,771, and those accounted for about $1 billion of Samsara's ARR.

"We're seeing firsthand how the rise of the AI-driven economy is amplifying demand for our platform," CEO and co-founder Sanjit Biswas said.

The company now sees full-year adjusted EPS of $0.45 to $0.47, up from its previous outlook of $0.39 to $0.41. It anticipates revenue in the range of $1.574 billion to $1.578 billion, compared to the earlier estimate of $1.547 billion to $1.555 billion.

Even with today's advance, Samsara shares are down about 5% year-to-date.