Within the eyes of many Individuals, Elon Musk remains to be an amazing man.
The parable typically goes unchallenged by highly effective males with entry to him: be it his biographer Walter Isaacson or interviewer Andrew Ross Sorkin on the latest New York Occasions DealBook Summit convention.
“I’ve accomplished extra for the atmosphere than anybody — than any single particular person on Earth,” Musk stated on the convention, telling advertisers fleeing his social media platform X, previously Twitter, to “Go f — your self.”
Sorkin didn’t problem Musk’s declare, regardless that electrical vehicles made by his firm Tesla have a a lot bigger carbon footprint than as soon as thought, in response to firm disclosures this 12 months. And consultants fear that rocket launches, together with these from Musk’s SpaceX, may alter the planet’s ambiance and hurt delicate habitats.
Whether or not Musk has helped or harmed the Earth, dozens of main manufacturers stopped promoting on X after he went public along with his cope with white supremacist and anti-Semitic commentary on the platform. Along with his firm hemorrhaging promoting income, Musk did harm management, traveled to Israel and apologized for his place. However then he appeared to double down.
“What I care about is the fact of goodness, not the notion of it,” Musk stated. “And what I see in all places are individuals who care about trying good whereas doing evil. F— them.”
It was a riveting, self-pitying efficiency. If Musk desires to be judged by his deeds, then turning a significant social media platform right into a racist cesspool ought to matter. It ought to matter that he went to the US-Mexico border to scare immigrants and that his corporations are going through quite a few lawsuits alleging horrific acts of racial discrimination.
It ought to matter that Musk, who claims to be a free-speech absolutist, has suspended the tales of journalists crucial of him, complied with censorship requests from international governments and filed lawsuits in opposition to two watchdog teams, Media Issues for America and the Heart for Countering Digital Hate, which reported on the unfold of hate on X.
He claims he is all about transparency, however he is suing California over a state legislation requiring social media corporations to be extra clear. He claims to worth the reality, however he repeatedly promotes debunked conspiracy theories.
Why does the notion of Musk as a hero persist, even amongst liberals and independents who forgive his right-wing antics?
The place critics see an erratic megalomaniac, followers see a visionary working towards our long-term survival.
Yahaira Cueva, a 27-year-old electrical engineer in Austin, Texas, informed me she does not agree with every little thing Musk says, however she sees him as a powerful position mannequin for persevering by way of adversity and opposition, together with a tough childhood . “Once I wish to do issues that appear very out of attain, he is a extremely good instance for me,” she stated.
Salina Marie Gomez, a 44-year-old author in Denver who identifies as an unbiased, discovered hope in Musk’s story after her suicide try in 2017. She informed the Verge that whereas studying his tweets and watching his movies throughout her restoration, she realized , that she had been too centered on “what humanity has accomplished improper and never what we’ve accomplished proper.”
She was later turned off by Musk’s threats to sue the Anti-Defamation League. However after his go to to Israel, she selected to see the nice once more. “I believe he is only a actually vibrant particular person with a disposition to be militant, which makes him actually, actually profitable,” she informed me.
In a world full of negativity, Musk’s admirers attempt to see him in a optimistic gentle: If he wasn’t such a bully, he may not be capable of ship humanity to different planets or save Earth from local weather change.
Elio Morillo, creator of “The Boy Who Reached for the Stars,” a memoir about his journey from Ecuador to NASA, understands the awe that individuals like Musk can encourage. However he pushes again in opposition to Musk’s glorification. After interning at SpaceX, Morillo, a 30-year-old LA-based author, got here to imagine that Musk’s staff was answerable for the corporate’s nice achievements — not Musk. “If Elon have been to vanish, SpaceX can be tremendous,” Morillo informed me.
After all, Musk’s achievements can be inconceivable with out different folks. However amongst his followers, together with Isaacson, Musk’s singular greatness is assumed.
Certainly, that assumption is “the rationale for the guide itself,” wrote Los Angeles Occasions know-how columnist Brian Service provider in a assessment of Isaacson’s guide. The creator, Service provider notes, didn’t discover “probably the most tough and urgent questions,” such because the societal prices of Musk’s enterprise and conduct.
As I searched Isaacson’s guide for perception into Musk’s character, I used to be struck by accounts of the harrowing abuse Musk endured as a baby, together with bodily abuse in school.
“Over time, every time he was in a darkish place or felt threatened, it took him again to the horrors of being bullied on the playground. Now he had the possibility to personal the playground,” Isaacson wrote, referring to Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, ” the world’s final playground.”
However the worst abuse got here from Musk’s father. In keeping with Musk’s brother, their father generally pressured them to “simply stand there” as he subjected them to hours of “scarring and imply feedback.” Isaacson traces some parallels between Musk and his father, noting that the billionaire typically entered a “demon state.” However he does not query Musk’s toughen-up-and-take-it angle, which he shows most frequently at X. As an alternative, Isaacson frames his darkish facet as integral to his success.
The narrative body is virtually a cliché, so typically it’s used to excuse “large males’s unhealthy conduct”. It is certainly one of standard tradition’s most insidious concepts. So long as we imagine that, we’ll proceed to exalt thugs like Musk.