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Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon compendium of
Puck’s best new reporting.

First up today, Bill Cohan contemplates how the Trump-Elon relationship is being appraised on Wall Street—“Uncle Elon’s” personal wealth has exploded to some $425 billion since Election Day—and whether investor fascination with Tesla (and SpaceX and Starlink) will fade after the romantasy inevitably fizzles.  

Plus, below the fold: Marion Maneker reflects on how L.A.’s raging wildfires have likely vanished artworks of historical import. Sarah Shapiro surveys the beauty collaboration landscape and the surging trend of the outdoor slipper. And Marion also digs through proprietary auction data from 2024 to reveal a few silver linings for the art market’s year ahead.

Meanwhile, on the pods: John Heilemann is
joined by The Bulwark’s Tim Miller to chew over Trump’s non-sentence sentencing. On The Varsity, John Ourand hosts TMRW Sports C.E.O. Mike McCarley to discuss the launch of TGL, the made-for-TV golf series co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. And on The Powers That Be, Jon Kelly and Peter Hamby reunite to discuss the derivative impacts of the tragedy in
L.A., the demise of Venu, and the murky future of the Murdoch empire. 

Musk was already the world’s richest man before the election, with a net worth hovering around
$250 billion, driven mostly by the market’s absurd and head-scratching enthusiasm for Tesla. Yet, since Election Day, with Elon seemingly taking up residence at Mar-a-Lago, his wealth has ballooned to a whopping $425 billion—driven in part by optimism about Starlink and SpaceX’s likely expanding role under Trump II—as well as an increase in Tesla’s stock, which is up some 61 percent since November 6 alone. But how long will the gravy train last? After all, Trump insiders have been
questioning for weeks whether the romance between Trump and Elon is already on the skids. When Trump and Musk have their inevitable falling-out, will the investor infatuation with Tesla (or SpaceX or Starlink…) go with it?

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Among the countless tragedies that have been wrought by the unimaginable destruction of
livelihoods and property in Los Angeles as a result of the still-burning fires, one emerging theme is the impact on the city’s privately held artworks. Even before the blaze began, art insurance executives were in the midst of an insurance crisis, and are now just beginning to grasp the work ahead of them. And while the extent of the losses will take a long time to evaluate—the information about destroyed cultural property isn’t granular yet—one thing has been made vividly clear by the stories
coming out of Los Angeles: When we think about works of art, monetary value should not be the first thing we consider. 

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Alas, it’s hard out there for fashion brands at the start of the new year—that frosty economic
zone when people are making resolutions, watching their spending, and holiday sales have dried up. But a reliable mitigation tactic is the brand collaboration. See, e.g.: Araks Yeramyan, the designer of a namesake intimate apparel line that quietly dropped a new collab last week at J.Crew. Meanwhile, in the beauty space, Rōz haircare, founded by celebrity hairstylist Mara Roszak, recently debuted its newest product at the Golden Globes. How are these collaborations setting up these
brands for success in the new year, and what is their real economic value? 

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While the narrative surrounding the art market was bleak in 2024, Marion’s year-end review of
ARTDAI’s sales data offered a few reasons to feel optimistic about 2025. Namely, that growth was particularly noticeable in three areas, including the lower end of the market, collectibles, and the highest tier. Sure, on the top line, the auction numbers reinforced what we all know—that sales have continued to decline. At least in part, this is because it’s easier for buyers and sellers to come to a fair price on the private market, which means we’re now in a phase that heavily favors private
sales. But there was also an increase in the number of lots, which suggests a strong appetite for art, albeit at a lower price point. Indeed, as Marion notes, just because the higher end of the auction market is quiet doesn’t mean the art market itself is dying—a prime example of numbers not telling the entire story.

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John is joined by his pal Tim Miller—O.G. Never Trumper and host of The Bulwark
Podcast—for an extended therapy session a week out from the start of Donald Trump’s second term. Tim explains why he finds it impossible to care about Trump’s non-sentence sentencing or the impending release of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on Trump’s role in January 6; his take on the collective tongue bath being administered to 45/47 by the tech billionaire class; and the long-run political implications of the face-off between Steve Bannon and Elon Musk. 

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C.E.O. of TMRW Sports Mike McCarley sits down with John to dish about the launch of TGL, the
semi-virtual, made-for-TV indoor golf series co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. After nearly a million viewers tuned in for its ESPN debut, McCarley opens up about the league’s innovative format, his strategic partnership with Disney, how TGL is shaking up the traditional golf world, and whether the out-of-the-box concept could be replicated for other sports.

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Jon Kelly checks in on Peter Hamby and the two old friends discuss the fates of Karen Bass, the
film industry, and other derivative impacts of the tragedy in L.A. Then they dip into the demise of Venu and the future of the Murdoch empire.

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