Musk Starts a Party, AMC Starts More Ads, Apple Starts…Nothing?
The Weekly from The Liquid Lunch Project, Issue No 172 | July 11, 2025
On this day in 1804…
Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton. Two politicians entered, only one walked out. Just a reminder that back then, political disagreements ended in duels, not passive-aggressive Truth Social and X posts. 👀
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ON TAP THIS WEEK
🧀 Fund of Funds: The Investment Charcuterie Board You Didn’t Know You Needed
🛑 Tesla Investors to Musk: Please Step Away from the Podium
👟 Breaking: TSA Realizes Untying Sneakers Isn’t National Security
📱 New App, Who Dis? TikTok’s U.S. users may be forced to re-download
🤔 Apple’s Succession Plan? Still Loading…
🎞️ AMC: Come for the Movie, Stay for the 30-Minute Commercial Reel
🚫 Hiring Fast, Firing Faster: The $15k mistake lurking in your inbox
🌐 And from Around the Web: Desk naps, food crimes, and robo-shrinks.
THE CLASSROOM
Fund of Funds, WTF? Why Smart Investors Stack Deals Like Russian Dolls
by Luigi Rosabianca
Ever wanted to invest without ending up a midnight plumber or a syndication spreadsheet zombie? Enter Fund of Funds: the charcuterie board of investing. Instead of betting your cash on one sad cheddar cube, you get a whole damn tray of brie, prosciutto, and mystery meats.
Translation: you invest in a fund…that invests in other funds. Maximum diversification, minimum brain damage, zero 2 AM toilet calls.
Intrigued? Click here to read more.
HEARD ON THE STREET
✔️ Third Rail
America First can be interpreted as Tesla Last. Tesla investors were elated when CEO Elon Musk gave up his cost-slashing role in the Trump administration to return to his companies full-time. Imagine what they thought when Musk announced his return to politics with the formation of his own party. Musk unveiled the ‘America Party’ after polling his 222M X followers.
Musk has criticized the recently passed tax and spending bill, just signed into law by President Trump, for raising the national debt by nearly $4 trillion and claims his party could target two or three Senate races and eight to 10 House districts. Musk diving deeper into politics is exactly the opposite direction that Tesla investors and shareholders want him to take. The CEO is busy launching Tesla’s self-driving taxis, which could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Although Musk’s core supporters will back him at every turn, no matter what, there is a broader sense of exhaustion from many Tesla investors about Musk’s political activities. Trump has lobbed threats at Musk, including alluding to the potential loss of government subsidies that benefit companies related to Musk.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently stated that although Musk’s government cost-cutting principles were popular with voters, Musk wasn’t. He expects the boards of Musk’s companies will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities. Musk’s America Party idea appears likely to make life even more unpredictable. In the looming ‘26 midterm elections, Republicans and Democrats will do all possible to win razor-thin majorities in the Senate and House. Third-party politics have rarely been successful in American politics, but they have raised valid points, thereby playing the spoiler role to incumbents (Bull Moose, Ross Perot, Ralph Nader). Remains to be seen whether Musk will be remembered as an astute ideologue or a silly, vindictive, naiveté political animal.
✈️ Shoeless or Clueless
If you’re a vibrant entrepreneur, odds are you'll need to travel. (Not sure if y’all have noticed, but travelling in the U S of A is a royal pain in the A-S-S.) After nearly 20 years of passengers having to take off their shoes while going through airport security, they might soon get a break. The Transportation Security Administration is rolling out new procedures to allow passengers to keep their shoes on while passing through standard airport screening checkpoints, according to people familiar with the matter.
Anxiety over footwear at airport security ramped up during late 2001 after Richard Reid, who became known as the “shoe bomber,” attempted to detonate an explosive hidden in his shoe on a flight from Paris to Miami. The abortive attempt occurred during the tense months that followed the terrorist attacks of 09/11, and put airlines and airports on high alert for potential copycats. One reason many people join TSA’s Precheck trusted-traveler program is to keep their shoes on while moving through security. Passengers aged 75 and above, or those aged 12 and below, have also been allowed to keep their shoes on.
The change, which Gate Access, a travel newsletter, earlier reported, hasn’t been formally announced with execution specifics, but we are lacing our shoes tight with double knots!
🔎 Irregular Regulation
TikTok is reportedly developing a US-only version of its app in advance of a planned sale required by a U.S. law that forces it to be sold or face a ban (though President Trump has extended its deadline). The company reportedly plans to launch the new app on September 5th, while the existing app will cease to function in March 2026. The timeline may shift, but they’ve crossed the proverbial Rubicon.
TikTok users in the U.S. would need to download the new app to continue using the social network. The report comes two days after President Donald Trump said he would begin talking to China this week about a possible deal, stating that the government ‘pretty much’ has a deal on the sale of the short-video app. Last month, Trump extended the TikTok ban deadline to September 17th, marking the third time the deadline has been pushed back.
If your business operates within a regulated industry, take this as a valuable lesson (er… omen!): Political winds shift, so build an agile infrastructure that allows your firm to pivot quickly in response to ultimate regulatory mandates.
🤝 Put Success in Succession
A once-leading candidate to replace Tim Cook as Apple’s CEO has instead announced his retirement, raising fresh questions about the CEO succession plan. Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams will be succeeded as planned by Sabih Khan, Senior Vice President of Operations, who has been with the company for 30 years.
Williams has been at Apple for 27 years. Speculation has bubbled up over the years, as in 2016 when he started leading Apple Watch presentations, and in 2019, when the design team began reporting to him. Cook, 64, doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. Williams turned 61 in January. The news comes amid signs of slowing iPhone 16 sales in June after a surge of buying by people wanting to get ahead of possible tariff-induced price increases. Sales fell 6% in June compared with the same month a year ago. However, iPhone sell-through rose 15% from the previous year to its highest level ever in April and May, as tariff dodgers helped boost sales. Nevertheless, the trend didn’t continue in June.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has poached Ruoming Pang, who previously led Apple’s AI and machine learning foundation model team, for Meta’s newly formed Superintelligence Labs unit. Zuckerberg offered Pang a pay package worth many zeroes. Apple could encourage iPhone upgrades with new AI software, but has delayed the rollout of features like an AI-powered Siri.
As an entrepreneur, a great deal of your net worth is tied to your business. Plan now for your succession, or your business will depart when you do.
🎥 Streaming Platforms - 1 (own goal) – Cinemas - 0
Movie studios are upset at AMC Theatres, as America’s largest theater chain is aggressively extending its pre-show collection of trailers and advertisements. AMC ticket buyers now receive a more prominent notice, allowing up to 30 minutes after the listed showtime for a lengthier, more ad-filled pre-film segment, putting the chain more in line with the commercial barrage from rivals Regal and Cinemark. Studios fear that moviegoers will start skipping their trailers altogether, but AMC has a more pressing problem: its $ 4 billion-plus debt load.
Studio executives who decry more ads contribute to a less-than-premium experience at the movies. Audiences are already paying a premium to leave their house; why then subject them to commercials, which they can avoid on most streaming services? Those thirty minutes could be spent doing a load of laundry and then watching a movie on a streaming platform. Just saying.
THE MONEY MINUTE WITH MRM
The Unseen Costs of a Bad Hire: What Leaders Wish They Knew Sooner
with Matthew R. Meehan
Think hiring that “meh, close enough” candidate won’t cost you much? Spoiler: a bad hire can drain $15,000 to $100,000 from your business faster than you can say “should’ve checked their references.” Between wasted onboarding costs, lost productivity, and your top employees quitting because they’re tired of covering for the new village idiot, it’s one of the most expensive mistakes a small biz can make.
✅ Takeaway: Before you fill that open seat, SLOW DOWN. Better interviews, test tasks, and solid reference checks can save your sanity…and your bank account.
Want to see how quickly a bad hire turns into a financial dumpster fire? Read it here.
AROUND THE WEB
The Man, the Myth, the Desk Nap Legend: In a nod to everyone’s real workplace hero, the Yankees are handing out 18,000 bobbleheads of George Costanza napping under his desk at an upcoming game in August. Finally, a team honoring the art of doing the bare minimum.
Someone Call The Food Police: Strawberries and cream are Wimbledon tradition, but Iga Swiatek is here to ruin it with her favorite combo: strawberries, pasta, and yogurt? (Whatever floats your boat…or swings your racket, in this case.) Italians are filing restraining orders as we speak.
AI Listens. Still No Hugs: Tired of paying $200 for a therapist to nod silently, one mom turned to ChatGPT to help rephrase tough talks with her husband – and it actually worked. Sure, it’s not licensed, but neither is your friend who gives terrible advice for free. What can’t AI do these days?
