🚗 Tesla's sales fell off a cliff in Europe

What’s going on here?

European drivers grabbed the keys for lots of shiny new EVs last month, but – perhaps branding a certain CEO a fool – they left Tesla out of the plot.

What does this mean?

Europeans bought 37% more EVs in January than a year ago, even as waning interest in gas-guzzling models dragged the auto industry’s overall sales down. But buyers didn’t share their cash evenly: Tesla delivered fewer than 10,000 cars last month – that’s around half as many as a year earlier. The Cybertruck maker logged multiyear lows in Germany and France, its two key markets, and lost its long-held lead to China’s BYD in the UK. The party line might be to blame production or hotter competition. And in fairness, carmakers from Europe to China are rolling out progressively snazzy models at extremely competitive prices. But the real issue could well be Elon Musk’s increasingly controversial public persona pushing European buyers to look elsewhere.

Why should I care?

For markets: Zucc or bust.

Musk might’ve lost some popularity with European drivers, but he could still win investors over. Research suggests that eccentric leadership – specifically, ditching the corporate script in earnings calls – can lift analysts’ estimates, regardless of results. But with folk growing skeptical of stretched valuations and tech firms’ ability to match AI spending with profit, they may soon be less tolerant of those who overpromise and underdeliver.

The bigger picture: It ain’t easy being green.

Carmakers have been pressured to sell more EVs or risk fines, forcing them to both cut prices of greener models and shell out for big-budget adverts. Adding to their stress, higher tariffs from the US could easily increase costs and decrease sales. That’s pushed carmakers to lobby for restrictions to be loosened. And if they get their way, we’ll soon see exactly how much Europeans care about eco-friendly credentials – as opposed to buying whichever model’s hogging the billboards.

What’s going on here?

Anthropic’s on the verge of bringing in $3.5 billion in brand-new funding, which would up its valuation to a perky $62 billion.

What does this mean?

Anthropic – founded by ex-OpenAI employees just four years ago – could be valued at more than three times the $18 billion it hit just last year. That figure is higher than the creator of the Claude chatbot was aiming for too: the startup was looking to raise just $2 billion. But with venture capital firms still flooding into AI and betting on the industry’s long-term potential, that target flew by. For Anthropic, the timing couldn’t be better: the firm recently launched its most advanced AI model yet – a hybrid that combines real-time responses with deeper reasoning, meaning it can actually “stop and think” before answering complex questions.

Why should I care?

Zooming in: The race is on.

This is just the latest showing of how heated the AI race is. Billions of dollars have been pouring into major names like OpenAI and Perplexity, even as Chinese startup DeepSeek threw cold water on the notion of US dominance in AI. That’s got political types feeling anxious, sparking speculation that America could pressure European and Japanese tech firms to limit their dealings with China’s AI-related firms.

For markets: Enter Nvidia.

You can be sure that all eyes will be on AI darling Nvidia when it releases its quarterly results on Wednesday. The update could set the tone for the entire industry – and maybe even the broader stock market. Investors are already jittery about a potential slowdown in data center spending, which has dragged shares down across the AI supply chain. If Nvidia’s numbers disappoint, you can expect some market tremors – where the Magnificent Seven might look a bit less so.