When Donald Trump re-entered the White House, Elon Musk came with him as his ‘tech bro-in-chief’, tasked with rebooting the government machine. But five months on, Musk’s ambitious plan to cut $2tn from the annual government budget has failed, and his relationship with the president has ended in a bitter break-up. Could the world’s richest man come to regret his time in politics?Murad Ahmed speaks to Joe Miller, the FT’s Washington correspondent, about how and why Musk’s time in DC came to an abrupt end, and to Stephen Morris, the FT’s San Francisco bureau chief, about what this means for Musk’s business empire.Free to read:What has Elon Musk’s Doge actually achieved?Elon Musk counts the cost of his ‘government efficiency’ blitzAre Donald Trump and Elon Musk now enemies?Musk vs Trump is a cautionary tale for Silicon ValleyThis season of Tech Tonic is presented by Murad Ahmed and produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. The senior producer is Edwin Lane and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music, Manuela Saragosa and Topher Forhecz are the FT’s acting co-heads of audio.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Trump’s Tech Bros: Can Tim Cook save Apple from the trade war?
During the US president’s first term in office, Tim Cook appeared to be the ultimate Trump whisperer, winning tariff exemptions despite Apple’s heavy reliance on Chinese manufacturing. Now, the iPhone-maker-in-chief has found himself under the toughest pressure yet from Trump, who has threatened smartphone tariffs as high as 25%. Does Tim Cook still have a way out, or is Apple out of options? And what does Cook's relationship with Trump tell us about the future of the trade war?FT tech editor Murad Ahmed speaks to Patrick McGee, author of Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company; Doug Guthrie, a former negotiator for Apple in Beijing; and FT tech correspondent Michael Acton about the complicated relationship between Cook and Trump.Free to read:Donald Trump threatens Apple and Samsung with 25% tariff on devices Apple set to expand India supply chain through $1.5bn Foxconn plant Apple delays iPhone AI features as it stumbles in race with rivals This season of Tech Tonic is presented by Murad Ahmed and produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. The senior producer is Edwin Lane and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music, Manuela Saragosa and Topher Forhecz are the FT’s acting heads of audio.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Coming soon: The rise and fall of Trump’s tech bros
Can Tim Cook save Apple from the trade war? Has Mark Zuckerberg really been a fan of Donald Trump all along? And is the bromance between Elon Musk and the president really over? In a new season of Tech Tonic, Murad Ahmed explores the relationships between Trump and some of the titans of the tech world. What is really driving those relationships, and what might they mean for the future of technology in the US and beyond?Free to read:‘He is power’: billionaires line up for Donald Trump’s inaugurationDonald Trump lashes out at Apple over plan to ship US iPhones from IndiaHow Jeff Bezos made peace with Donald TrumpWhat has Elon Musk’s Doge actually achieved?How Joel Kaplan became Mark Zuckerberg’s most trusted political fixerHow Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley funded the sudden rise of JD VanceThis season of Tech Tonic is presented by Murad Ahmed and produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. The senior producer is Edwin Lane and the executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music, Manuela Saragosa and Topher Forhecz are the FT’s acting co-heads of audio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Future weapons: Tomorrow’s technology
How is defence tech reshaping geopolitics? And what does the battlefield of the future look like? In the final episode of our series on the technological weapons of war, the FT’s innovation editor John Thornhill sits down with the FT’s industry correspondent Sylvia Pfeifer, deputy Beijing bureau chief Ryan McMorrow and US-China correspondent Demetri Sevastopulo. Clips: MCA/Universal Pictures, CCTV, NBC Free to read:China gains dexterous upper hand in humanoid robot tussle with US Buyout groups and VCs ready to play role in Europe’s rearmament US ability to defeat China in Taiwan threatened, top Indo-Pacific commander warns Tech Tonic is produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon and Persis Love. Edwin Lane is senior producer. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. Original music is by Metaphor Music. Samantha Giovinco and Breen Turner were the sound engineers for this season. This episode is dedicated to our engineer Joseph Salcedo, who tragically passed away last month.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Future weapons: Rearming Europe
For European leaders, the war in Ukraine has strained relations with the US and prompted major questions about how the continent will defend itself in the future. Governments are boosting defence spending and defence tech companies' valuations have risen, particularly after the emergence of drone warfare in Ukraine. So what should a European strategy for security look like? John Thornhill sits down with Gundbert Scherf, co-founder of Helsing - Europe’s most valuable defence tech start-up - to discuss the future of European defence and what role technology needs to play.Free to read:‘We have to be prepared’: Torsten Reil of defence tech company HelsingVC funding in European defence and security tech surges to record $5.2bnCan Europe’s defence groups step up if Donald Trump pulls back?Tech Tonic is produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon and Persis Love. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. The executive producers are Manuela Saragosa, Flo Phillips and Topher Forhecz. Sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s global head of audio.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We are in the midst of a digital revolution, where the line between our physical world and cyberspace is blurring. Tech Tonic is the show that investigates the promises and perils of this new technological age. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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