Axios Austin

January 30, 2026
Yes, Friday has arrived.
🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny, with highs in the low 50s and a low around 26.
🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Austin member Karen Peoples and happy early birthday to member John Burnett!
Today's newsletter is 812 words — a 3 minute read.
1 big thing: UT women are dominating the hardcourt
The Longhorns women's basketball team is crushing it on the court, ranked fourth nationally as February approaches.
Why it matters: The 20-2 Longhorns are now a little over a month from the postseason tournament, and they're having what feels like a possible championship season.
The latest: Texas beat unranked Florida in Gainesville last night, 88-68.
State of play: Starting with Sunday's game against 10th-ranked Oklahoma, the Longhorns will play a string of five games against ranked opponents.
- The Longhorns beat No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 South Carolina on back-to-back days in November to win the Players Era Championship.
Yes, but: UT also lost narrowly to South Carolina and No. 6 LSU in mid-January.
What they're saying: "When the lights come on, whether it's practice or game, time to leave the little girls in their locker room and we need the monsters for two hours," Vic Schaefer told reporters in a video press conference earlier this week.
- "When you walk out of that locker room, flip the switch. We need to go out there and have an edge. When we've had that edge we've been really good."
Zoom in: The Longhorns are led by point guard Rori Harmon, an assists and steals leader who also spearheads the occasional full-court press.
- Madison Booker, the all-everything national player of the year candidate, is averaging 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.6 steals per game, and is shooting better than 50% from the field.
If you go: The Longhorns play the Sooners at the Moody Center at 2pm on Sunday.
- The game is sold out, but tickets are available on the secondary market.
What's next: The Longhorns have inked the No. 1 recruiting class for 2026, per CBS Sports.
2. Why Tesla earnings might not matter much
Tesla is coming back to a time when its sales and earnings didn't much matter, and investors focus on future potential.
Why it matters: EV sales of the Austin-based automaker last year hit their lowest level since 2022, but the company's stock is increasingly tied to its AI ambitions — including humanoid robots and robotaxis.
Driving the news: Tesla disclosed in its earnings report this week that its net income fell 61% to $840 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a year earlier.
Yes, but: The market is largely focused on Tesla's future.
- Tesla shares were up more than 3% in after-hours trading following the Wednesday announcement.
- CEO Elon Musk told the World Economic Forum in Davos last week that Tesla would begin selling humanoids by the end of 2027: "I think everyone on Earth is going to have one and want one."
- The company has already launched self-driving car services in Austin, with nationwide expansion plans.
By the numbers: If Tesla's financial performance were the subject of investors' focus, it would not be a pretty picture.
- Vehicle deliveries fell 8.6% in 2025 to 1.64 million.
The intrigue: One murky aspect of Tesla's future is whether a potential SpaceX IPO could divert the attention and capital of Musk's biggest backers.
- "Investors will now have a different publicly traded option in the market to invest in Elon Musk," writes Barclays analyst Dan Levy in a research note.
3. 🤠 The Roundup: Wrangling the news
🏬 Target plans to open its first store in Dripping Springs. (Austin American-Statesman 🔒)
💦 The Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, a groundwater regulatory body, may soon declare historic drought conditions. (Spectrum News)
🌮 Austin-based Torchy's Tacos will close seven of its locations nationally next month. (Restaurant Business)
4. Friday news quiz
You know the drill. Answer correctly these three questions — drawn from this week's newsletters — and you could win a vaunted shoutout in our Monday edition.
📬 Just reply to this email.
- Which Texas official ordered state agencies to stop filing new H-1B visa petitions?
- Name the local university whose 4-year-old jazz orchestra has won national recognition.
- Which Richard Linklater film, co-starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, has been added to the National Film Registry?
5. 💘 Sweethearts' economic conversations
Sweethearts conversation hearts — the chalky Valentine's Day staple — are debuting new phrases in 2026 to reflect how inflation and high living costs are reshaping romance.
- "SPLIT RENT," "SHARE LOGN," "CAR POOL," "BUY N BULK" and "COOK FOR 2" are among the new sayings.
- Classics like "CUTIE PIE" and "MARRY ME" will still fill the Sweethearts boxes, too.
"Being practical is having a moment," said Evan Brock, vice president of marketing for Spangler Candy Company, the maker of Sweethearts.
Thanks to Astrid Galván and Bob Gee for editing this newsletter.
🥞 Asher is looking forward to meeting his boss' boss' boss for breakfast this morning.
☕️ Nicole is still thinking about the very good honey latte she got from the new Daydreamer on Rainey Street.
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