In the past year, Elon Musk has declared himself Technoking of Tesla and Imperator of Mars. Under his guidance, Tesla has bought and sold Bitcoin. It also began accepting Bitcoin as payment, and then stopped doing so. Tesla's CEO has run into more trouble with the SEC over his tweeting habits, too.Tesla stock, however, is up more than 200% in the past 12 months, making the company the world's most valuable auto maker. What's more, Musk's space-exploration and technology company, SpaceX, is now the fifth most valuable aerospace and defense franchise in the world. SpaceX's value has increased as the company delivers more astronauts to the International Space Station and more of its Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. SpaceX plans to offer space-based high-speed internet across the glob

Over three days in late July, America's tech giants put on an impressive show. Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon.com, and Facebook had thrived, and their latest earnings reports hammered home the point. The five companies generated a combined $332 billion in revenue from April to June, up 36% from a year earlier. All of their profits were better than expected. The twist is that all of their stocks, save for Alphabet's, sold off on the news. The negative reaction reflects the paradox surrounding America's Big Tech complex. Their products are being used more than ever, just as the companies have become increasingly disliked. Regulators and lawmakers -- cheered on by a bipartisan mix of constituents -- are scrutinizing each business and threatening significant actions to curtail their power.