The Muskverse enters a new era
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 4 February 2026
⏱️ 12 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
US tech stocks fell on Tuesday over AI concerns, Elon Musk is charting a new path for his “Muskverse” of companies, and the US military shot down an Iranian drone as Middle East tensions escalate. Plus, domestic energy companies in Argentina have benefitted from the country’s volatile economy, and Peter Mandelson is no longer a member of the House of Lords after Epstein scandal revelations.
Mentioned in this podcast:
US stocks drop on fears AI will hit software and analytics groups
Tesla lurches into the Musk robotics era
SpaceX buys xAI in $1.25tn deal to unite crucial parts of Elon Musk’s empire
US shoots down Iranian drone as Middle East tensions escalate
Police launch criminal investigation into Mandelson over Epstein scandal
Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts
Today’s FT News Briefing was hosted and edited by Marc Filippino, and produced by Fiona Symon, Victoria Craig and Sonja Hutson. Our show was mixed by Kent Militzer. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello and David da Silva. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s Global Head of Audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good morning from the Financial Times. |
| 0:04.2 | Today is Wednesday, February 4th. |
| 0:06.2 | This is your FT News Briefing. |
| 0:08.9 | U.S. tech stocks took a tumble, |
| 0:11.1 | and Elon Musk's cadre of companies is gearing up for an AI future. |
| 0:15.4 | Plus, domestic energy companies in Argentina still have the upper hand, for now. |
| 0:20.9 | I'm Mark Filipino, and here's the news you need to start your day. |
| 0:32.6 | The tech-heavy NASDAQ composite ended the day down a little shy of 1.5% on Tuesday, and the broader |
| 0:39.0 | SMP 500 was nearly 1% lower. And at one point yesterday, Bitcoin hit its lowest point since |
| 0:44.8 | U.S. President Donald Trump's election in 2024. Investors are worried about the impact of |
| 0:50.5 | AI on software businesses. A bunch of analytics groups saw their shares tank after the |
| 0:55.6 | AI group Anthropic launched productivity tools that can help automate legal work. The sell-off hit a |
| 1:01.9 | bunch of companies on both sides of the Atlantic. Analytics groups like S&P Global and Relics. The latter |
| 1:07.8 | is known for owning the legal information platform LexisNexis. Private equity groups |
| 1:12.2 | that have piled into the software space also got hit, and even European advertising companies. |
| 1:17.6 | Now, here's a quote that really sums up the fears driving the wider sell-off. It's from Michael |
| 1:21.5 | Rourke at Jones Trading. He told the F.T., if legal can be disrupted by Anthropics' new tool, |
| 1:27.3 | then so can consulting and financial services. |
| 1:36.5 | Elon Musk is, once again, getting ready to burn through a mountain of cash to pursue a big dream. |
| 1:42.8 | Tech's best-known visionary is gathering his resources, |
| 1:45.8 | and he's going after what he sees as the next big prize, |
| 1:49.4 | robotics, AI, and space. |
... |
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