Elon Musk has actually said multiple times that his gravestone will read "Never Went to Therapy". He's been pretty vocal about his skepticism towards psychologists, saying that they are more profit-driven and politically motivated than helpful. That said, he has openly talked about his mental health and his use of ketamine.... to treat his depression.
One of my favourite quote from Carl Jung is - "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."
There's a root cause to his depression and without therapy, he wouldn't have even scratched the surface of it. You might be interested in this piece about childhood trauma - Why Are We Wounded? https://chusana.substack.com/p/why-are-we-wounded
I actually do think he is a villain, albeit made, not born. He surely would score high on a dark tetrad personality test: Machiavellian, narcissistic, psychopathic and sadistic.
I think a lot of people would agree that Musk exhibits all the necessary dark traits - his ruthless decision-making (ruthless meaning 'non-human' centric), his thirst for 'dominance', and his complete disregard for others when pursuing his goals. What fascinates me is how much of this was shaped by his upbringing.
Also, Stephen Colbert literally called this out nine years ago when he said Musk was either a superhero or a supervillain - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV6hP9wpMW8 - at this point, recent evidence is heavily leaning toward the latter!
The other thing I’ve been thinking is that it’s not just nature/inheritance/genetics, and upbringing, but also the fact that our culture selects for narcissistic, Machiavellian and sociopathic traits starting in first grade. Competition is valued over cooperation. Students who figure out how to jump through the hoops most efficiently are rewarded. Those who slow things down or prefer a different way are punished harshly and the other kids learn to look away and be thankful that they are not in that position.
Essentially saying that companies are intentionally hiring leaders with narcissistic trait, quoting “[Companies] are finding that there is no substitute for narcissistic leaders in an age of innovation. Companies need leaders who do not try to anticipate the future so much as create it."
And this was written over two decades ago. All the darker traits you mentioned (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) are very much desirable when it comes to 'pleasing' the shareholders. The consumers aren't the real customers here.
Yes. Such a complex question, the old nature/nurture dichotomy. But clearly an unpredictable, non-linear path. Who’s to say how a single event or experience might have changed his trajectory?
“Musk isn’t a rogue genius fighting the system; **he is the system** […]”
Megalomaniac-in-chief Elon Musk is one of my pet peeves, and I closely follow all news regarding his latest escapades, misadventures and rants. I’ve seen the post by Philip Low, and what he said about Musk didn’t surprise me at all. For years, I’ve found myself arguing with people over Musk’s alleged genius, and back in 2016 I’ve pointed out how moronic his plans to colonize Mars are. Lo and behold, his claim to “colonize Mars by 2022” (!!!) was a bit overambitions in hindsight.
My friend Dan says that the current age is “the time of the saddest I-told-you-so’s.”
Musk is often so pathetically comical (like when he tells himself via his alt-Twitter account what a great and loving father he is), it’s almost painful to watch. A videogame and drug addict, a man-child that never really grew up, a loser and nerd who somehow managed to catapult himself into a position of immense power, but at the same time has entirely failed to develop emotionally in tandem with his rise to fame.
Yet your piece once again confirms that evil people (and idiots) are rarely born – they are *made,* shaped by their environments and experiences. It paints him as such a dysfunctional human animal, one almost feels bad for him.
A friend just shared the following post about Elon Musk (credit goes to Melissa D Jackson), which I though you might find as insightful as I did:
For years now, I’ve illustrated the impact of literature by explaining to my students that Elon Musk read “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” at 14. It was after reading this novel that he determined to help humanity become “an interplanetary species.” He also learned that Douglas Adams, the author, was largely influenced by Kurt Vonnegut. So Musk read Vonnegut — prob all of Vonnegut— including “Player Piano,” a novel in which national efficiency is maximized by removing humans from the work force and from decision making positions by instituting a computer system called Epicac.
He must have also read Robert Heinlein’s novels, because his new AI release is named after a word Heinlein famously coined in his novel “Stranger in a Strange Land.” That word is “grok,” and it means to empathize or intuitively understand. That novel, by the way, features a character raised on Mars who returns to earth where he challenges social norms.
I woke up at 3am wondering if Musk had also internalized all of PK Dick’s work. I think I found my answer in a 2022 tweet in which Musk cryptically reported, “It could all turn out to be a big P.K. Dick joke.” Go read PKD’s novels and short stories and read between the lines there. I usually have students read “Small Town.”
In past years, I’ve shared this info along with videos of Musk musing on simulation theory, the idea that we are not living an original experience but a computer simulation. Musk has repeatedly expressed his belief that it’s more probable we are in a simulation. You can easily find the videos. This is an idea PK Dick also explored.
While most readers take the work of Vonnegut, Adams, Dick, and Heinlein as cautionary tales exploring possibilities at the extremes, Musk seems to have approached them as manuals to the simulation, guides to achieving his end goal.
How do you get to Mars to colonize it? You level up, level up, level up. You do the absurd things, leap on the stage, align yourself with unlikely allies in positions of extreme power. You get ALL the financial information; you invade Fort Knox; you dismantle any institution or agency standing in your way. You control the budget and the agenda.
And it’s all a game — a simulation you have hacked— the NPCs (non player characters) aren’t real. They are only programmed to advance the plot, to make the simulation more real. They are the parasites draining the data. Only you matter, and you are Elon Musk leveling up, leveling up, leveling up. Winning the game.
I hate that it makes sense. I've always thought Musk had a weird detachment from reality so the idea that he's internalised these books as instruction manuals rather than cautionary tales is simply eerie. It seems he really does see himself as the protagonist in some epic, game-like hero's journey. Now that you've mentioned simulation theory - you must give "Patheon" a watch. And no, it's definitely not a feel-good anime but it's one of my most favourite sci-fi animation to date. Adapted from Ken Liu's short stories (he's known for translating "The Three Body Problem" to English).
I think for Musk, rules and laws are just poorly written game mechanics. And he doesn't respect institutions because, in his mind, he's the one writing the next level. And this is why I think narcissism is the most evil trait - the ability to be in deep denial, as well as the ability to rally the people to believe in the same lie as you do... And worse, look at the millions of people he's convinced so far. I'm so ashamed to admit but my mum is one of them. Just a couple of days ago, she looked at me straight and said that she thinks Musk is the only one who "understands culture" and is doing something about it. Metacrisis is literally staring right at me.
I wonder if Musk ever went to a therapist or had any kind of treatment for all his childhood traumas?
Elon Musk has actually said multiple times that his gravestone will read "Never Went to Therapy". He's been pretty vocal about his skepticism towards psychologists, saying that they are more profit-driven and politically motivated than helpful. That said, he has openly talked about his mental health and his use of ketamine.... to treat his depression.
One of my favourite quote from Carl Jung is - "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."
There's a root cause to his depression and without therapy, he wouldn't have even scratched the surface of it. You might be interested in this piece about childhood trauma - Why Are We Wounded? https://chusana.substack.com/p/why-are-we-wounded
Wow...what a disgrace that he has so much power...I will read your post with interest. Thanks for the link!
I actually do think he is a villain, albeit made, not born. He surely would score high on a dark tetrad personality test: Machiavellian, narcissistic, psychopathic and sadistic.
I think a lot of people would agree that Musk exhibits all the necessary dark traits - his ruthless decision-making (ruthless meaning 'non-human' centric), his thirst for 'dominance', and his complete disregard for others when pursuing his goals. What fascinates me is how much of this was shaped by his upbringing.
Also, Stephen Colbert literally called this out nine years ago when he said Musk was either a superhero or a supervillain - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV6hP9wpMW8 - at this point, recent evidence is heavily leaning toward the latter!
The other thing I’ve been thinking is that it’s not just nature/inheritance/genetics, and upbringing, but also the fact that our culture selects for narcissistic, Machiavellian and sociopathic traits starting in first grade. Competition is valued over cooperation. Students who figure out how to jump through the hoops most efficiently are rewarded. Those who slow things down or prefer a different way are punished harshly and the other kids learn to look away and be thankful that they are not in that position.
Absolutely. And I think you'll be interested to read this article - https://hbr.org/2004/01/narcissistic-leaders-the-incredible-pros-the-inevitable-cons
Essentially saying that companies are intentionally hiring leaders with narcissistic trait, quoting “[Companies] are finding that there is no substitute for narcissistic leaders in an age of innovation. Companies need leaders who do not try to anticipate the future so much as create it."
And this was written over two decades ago. All the darker traits you mentioned (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) are very much desirable when it comes to 'pleasing' the shareholders. The consumers aren't the real customers here.
Thanks for the rec - I will definitely read it!
Yes. Such a complex question, the old nature/nurture dichotomy. But clearly an unpredictable, non-linear path. Who’s to say how a single event or experience might have changed his trajectory?
Great summary, even greater analysis.
“Musk isn’t a rogue genius fighting the system; **he is the system** […]”
Megalomaniac-in-chief Elon Musk is one of my pet peeves, and I closely follow all news regarding his latest escapades, misadventures and rants. I’ve seen the post by Philip Low, and what he said about Musk didn’t surprise me at all. For years, I’ve found myself arguing with people over Musk’s alleged genius, and back in 2016 I’ve pointed out how moronic his plans to colonize Mars are. Lo and behold, his claim to “colonize Mars by 2022” (!!!) was a bit overambitions in hindsight.
My friend Dan says that the current age is “the time of the saddest I-told-you-so’s.”
Musk is often so pathetically comical (like when he tells himself via his alt-Twitter account what a great and loving father he is), it’s almost painful to watch. A videogame and drug addict, a man-child that never really grew up, a loser and nerd who somehow managed to catapult himself into a position of immense power, but at the same time has entirely failed to develop emotionally in tandem with his rise to fame.
Yet your piece once again confirms that evil people (and idiots) are rarely born – they are *made,* shaped by their environments and experiences. It paints him as such a dysfunctional human animal, one almost feels bad for him.
A friend just shared the following post about Elon Musk (credit goes to Melissa D Jackson), which I though you might find as insightful as I did:
For years now, I’ve illustrated the impact of literature by explaining to my students that Elon Musk read “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” at 14. It was after reading this novel that he determined to help humanity become “an interplanetary species.” He also learned that Douglas Adams, the author, was largely influenced by Kurt Vonnegut. So Musk read Vonnegut — prob all of Vonnegut— including “Player Piano,” a novel in which national efficiency is maximized by removing humans from the work force and from decision making positions by instituting a computer system called Epicac.
He must have also read Robert Heinlein’s novels, because his new AI release is named after a word Heinlein famously coined in his novel “Stranger in a Strange Land.” That word is “grok,” and it means to empathize or intuitively understand. That novel, by the way, features a character raised on Mars who returns to earth where he challenges social norms.
I woke up at 3am wondering if Musk had also internalized all of PK Dick’s work. I think I found my answer in a 2022 tweet in which Musk cryptically reported, “It could all turn out to be a big P.K. Dick joke.” Go read PKD’s novels and short stories and read between the lines there. I usually have students read “Small Town.”
In past years, I’ve shared this info along with videos of Musk musing on simulation theory, the idea that we are not living an original experience but a computer simulation. Musk has repeatedly expressed his belief that it’s more probable we are in a simulation. You can easily find the videos. This is an idea PK Dick also explored.
While most readers take the work of Vonnegut, Adams, Dick, and Heinlein as cautionary tales exploring possibilities at the extremes, Musk seems to have approached them as manuals to the simulation, guides to achieving his end goal.
How do you get to Mars to colonize it? You level up, level up, level up. You do the absurd things, leap on the stage, align yourself with unlikely allies in positions of extreme power. You get ALL the financial information; you invade Fort Knox; you dismantle any institution or agency standing in your way. You control the budget and the agenda.
And it’s all a game — a simulation you have hacked— the NPCs (non player characters) aren’t real. They are only programmed to advance the plot, to make the simulation more real. They are the parasites draining the data. Only you matter, and you are Elon Musk leveling up, leveling up, leveling up. Winning the game.
We should all be very concerned.
Holy crap, Dave.
I hate that it makes sense. I've always thought Musk had a weird detachment from reality so the idea that he's internalised these books as instruction manuals rather than cautionary tales is simply eerie. It seems he really does see himself as the protagonist in some epic, game-like hero's journey. Now that you've mentioned simulation theory - you must give "Patheon" a watch. And no, it's definitely not a feel-good anime but it's one of my most favourite sci-fi animation to date. Adapted from Ken Liu's short stories (he's known for translating "The Three Body Problem" to English).
I think for Musk, rules and laws are just poorly written game mechanics. And he doesn't respect institutions because, in his mind, he's the one writing the next level. And this is why I think narcissism is the most evil trait - the ability to be in deep denial, as well as the ability to rally the people to believe in the same lie as you do... And worse, look at the millions of people he's convinced so far. I'm so ashamed to admit but my mum is one of them. Just a couple of days ago, she looked at me straight and said that she thinks Musk is the only one who "understands culture" and is doing something about it. Metacrisis is literally staring right at me.
Amazing complex path and logical complex personal evolution.
Life has a way of shaping us through challenges and contradictions - thank you for appreciating the complexity.