Like just about everything in 2025, the student loan environment is, well, complicated.

After years of uncertainty about the fate of student loan repayments, things quickly became more certain when President Trump returned to office: Borrowers are firmly on the hook, and with fewer repayment options than before.

Some of the immediate impacts of the repayments could include a drop in short-term consumer spending, including “a reduction in housing demand, in everything from vehicles to discretionary spending in restaurants,” Michael Jones, a professor at the University of Cincinnati who focuses on the economics of education and labor, told CFO Brew.

“In somewhat of an ironic way,” though, these immediate pains could provide some longer-term certainty for a generation of students increasingly looking at undergraduate studies as a ROI proposition, he continued.

At the most basic level, simply knowing that this administration is going to keep pressure on borrowers to get back in repayment (or knowing that repayment options are increasingly limited), may motivate students to pursue majors and early career options that more immediately have a financial “trade-off”—and that could be a welcome reprieve for the strained accounting pipeline.

Will student loan changes improve the accounting pipeline?—NP

You probably won’t see Elon posting about this news much.

Tesla’s total revenue fell for the second straight quarter, coming in at $22.5 billion, slightly less than the $22.6 billion–$22.7 billion analysts forecast. This represents a 12% YoY revenue drop, down from $25.5 billion a year ago.

Tesla—and Musk—have had a rocky 2025. At the beginning of the year, the company seemed poised to reap the benefits of President Trump’s favor as Musk palled around with the president as head of the “Department of Government Efficiency.”

But the happy days didn’t last long—Trump and Musk fell out earlier this summer, and Tesla’s customer base soured on Musk’s involvement with Trump. Now the blowback is showing up in Tesla’s balance sheet; deliveries fell 13% YoY. And there are more sales challenges on the horizon: Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” cuts the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles at the end of September, making the company’s vehicles more expensive to buy.

On the earnings call, Musk pointed to the expiring EV credit as a factor that could hurt future Tesla sales, warning that the company “probably could have a few rough quarters.”

How bad can it get for Tesla?—JK

Move over, “Tell me your biggest weakness”—a new weird interview question has surfaced: “Can you wave?”

Not kidding.

AI-generated deepfakes and candidate fraud are growing in recruiting, and—in response—talent acquisition (TA) pros are learning new ways to suss out the fit of a candidate, and that assessment now must include, “Are you real?”

“Fraud hiring isn’t new…it’s really just evolved,” according to Julia Frament, Head of Global HR at IRONSCALES, a cybersecurity company specializing in email.

The toolbox for candidate fraud is expansive. ChatGPT can write up a perfect résumé and cover letter to match an opening; generative AI tools can create realistic images and content like responses to interview questions; it’s also relatively easy to design a “real” LinkedIn page for a fake professional.

In fact, up to one-fourth of all job applications could be deepfakes or fraudulent by 2028, according to an April report from Gartner.

Click here to keep reading HR Brew’s story on candidate fraud.—AD