Axios

The Trump administration is simultaneously loosening federal rules to accelerate autonomous vehicle deployment while also slapping robotaxis for getting in the way of first responders during emergencies.

Why it matters: Government regulations aren't keeping pace with the emerging technology. Self-driving cars are here, but uniform safety standards are not.

Driving the news: The head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is calling attention to what he refers to as "a disturbing trend" in recent months: AVs interfering with police, ambulances and fire trucks.

• Jonathan Morrison issued a warning to the industry in a letter to AV developers last week. But there's no mistaking that his target was Waymo, which has driverless operations in 11 U.S. cities — including Dallas — and four more coming soon.

SpaceX closed below its IPO price Thursday after the stock declined for the eighth time in nine sessions.

Why it matters: The selloff suggests that investors' knees have gone somewhat wobbly, as the first restrictions on selling — known as lockups — are set to be lifted in less than a month.

The latest: The stock closed at $131.11 Thursday.

• That's down 42% from its intraday high of $225.64 reached on June 16.
• It's also below the stock's symbolically important $135 offering price.

Zoom in: According to SEC filings, up to 1.37 billion shares could hit the market starting in the days after SpaceX reports second-quarter results, which is projected to be on Aug. 6, according to FactSet.

• That includes 911.5 million of class A common shares.
• And it could include an additional 455.8 million shares if the stock price meets certain conditions. (The shares would have to close at or above $175.50 on a certain number of trading days surrounding the Q2 earnings release.)

Reality check: The actual SpaceX IPO — the largest ever, raising $86 billion — involved the sale of only 639 million shares.

• That means the first lockup expiration could roughly quadruple the supply of tradable SpaceX shares.

The intrigue: Will the buying public be eager to buy them? Especially after the recent drop?

Between the lines: The SpaceX IPO last month was a masterpiece of financial engineering.

• SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was able to generate a surge of retail interest.
• The company was also fast-tracked into some key indexes, like the Nasdaq 100, ensuring some steady purchases from index-based investors.
• Those factors, along with a surge of online hype and a relatively constrained amount of stock to sell — about 5% of all SpaceX shares — generated more than a satisfying pop in the price.
• At its closing high, the company was valued at $2.64 trillion, on paper.

Yes, but: That valuation always deserved to be viewed pretty skeptically.

• All things being equal, the constrained supply of stock in the face of strong demand results in an elevated price and a potential overvaluation of the company.

The bottom line: As more SpaceX shares are released into the wild, we'll get a more accurate picture of what the market thinks SpaceX's "true value" is.

The purest form of Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" can only be seen in 25 U.S. theaters — all equipped with 70mm IMAX screens.

The big picture: Movie theaters are enjoying their strongest run since COVID — driven in party by major film studios turning major releases into can't-miss events like Nolan's latest.

Americans are putting fewer groceries in their carts than they were a year ago, extending a troubling trend for the food industry.

Why it matters: The era of boosting sales simply by charging more appears to be ending, leaving food companies under growing pressure to grow volumes.

Nicole Leverich, chief communications officer at LinkedIn, has had a career that spans agency life to some of Silicon Valley's biggest companies and fastest-growing startups.

Why it matters: Navigating that range has shaped how Leverich thinks about leadership, communications and career growth.

Generative engine optimization, or GEO, is opening the door for communicators to influence how AI assistants portray brands.

Why it matters: Consumers are increasingly using answer or generative engines, while traditional search adds more AI features.

Sustainability has become one of the clearest tests of modern corporate communications, forcing leaders to satisfy investors, customers, employees, policymakers and activists who increasingly want different things.

Why it matters: Environmental messaging faces pressure from every direction.

Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) has agreed to buy AtaiBeckley (Nasdaq: ATAI), a psychedelic treatment developer, for up to $3.8 billion.

Why it matters: Pharmaceutical giants, previously hesitant to dabble with psychedelics, have started to sample.

Rogo, an AI startup creating software for Wall Street, has hired former Grammarly chief technology officer Joe Xavier as its CTO, the company tells Axios.

Why it matters: Rogo is tapping a Silicon Valley tech expert for its next growth phase on Wall Street.

Trump Media & Technology Group is launching a backend interface that will allow financial services companies to access real-time Truth Social data for a fee, interim CEO Kevin McGurn tells Axios.

Why it matters: It's the company's first step toward expanding its media business into licensing, McGurn says.