The Economist Hello and welcome to The Intelligence from The Economist.
I'm your host Rosie Bloor.
Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.
With all the news flying around about Elon Musk's political and planetary ventures,
you might have forgotten that he also makes electric cars.
But sales of Teslas are now falling.
Our correspondent kicks the tires to ask, is the business the problem or the politics?
And now for something completely different.
I've been asked to warn you that today's third item contains some very rude words,
some banging euphemisms and some actual banging.
Keep listening, we'll take that as informed consent.
But first… Yesterday,
Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone for over two hours.
Putin refused the unconditional ceasefire proposed by the US and Ukraine.
He did agree to stop attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure for 30 days,
provided that Kyiv did the same.
But as winter is drawing to a close, that's little solace for Ukrainians.
Shortly after the call ended, Russia launched aerial guide bombs and drones into Ukraine,
an attack that lasted for hours.
Even if Russia stops firing at energy sites, everything else remains a target.