An interesting characteristic of a telescope is the way it compresses the depth, making things look closer together as well as closer to the observer. Musk's tweet toward the top of your thoughtful and nuanced article was made before visiting Auschwitz, Yad Vashem, kibbutzim attacked on October 7th, before seeing the results with his own eyes, and before he began to wear the dog tags. I believe these things changed him.
I am disheartened by how so many rush to judgement regarding a gesture that was not unequivocal (unless, of course, you were looking for signs or symbols, and were determined to find proof of national socialist sympathies). I admit that I am unable to look at a photo or video and know what is in that person's heart, what they may have been thinking and feeling at that moment. Not certain why I lack this superpower that so many claim to possess.
For me the dog tags and the things he said after visiting Israel (and Poland) are more telling about his heart than an unfortunate gesture that resembled a salute used by Nazis. If I feel he has turned against Jews, I will gladly toss him under the bus. Until then I will give him the benefit of the doubt.
I agree, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I'll take Elon after his visit to Poland than Jessie Eisenberg any day of the week, but topic for a different time.
Good, thoughtful essay. An antisemite wouldn't visit Israel to show support after October 7th, nor would he wear hostage dog tags, nor would he comfortably and openly support Trump given Trump's allegiance to Israel and having openly observant Jewish family members. Musk is a goofball. Who knows why he did the Nazi salute, maybe he thought it was the Roman legion salute and he was showing strength. It is a powerful gesture, that is why it was co-opted by the Nazi party in Germany.
Thank you. I agree with most of what you said, but I wouldn't use the word allegiance to describes Trump's support of Israel. I think Trump is a utilitarian pragmatist and we need to be careful to embrace specific policies rather than be blindly loyal to his cult of personality. I have been overall really happy with his picks and policies, things are going better than I had anticipated honestly, but I want to be careful not to drink any Kool-Aid.
I hear you on these gestures and symbols used to mean different things, but they obviously mean something very different today. Only he knows why he did it, we may never really know. If I had to guess, I suspect he either consciously or sub-consciously was trolling his haters.
When my Trump hating friends accuse me of drinking the Kool Aid, I suggest they also drink the Kool Aid. It is an eye opening and surprisingly refreshing beverage, healthy in three ways: emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually.
Thank you for this very thoughtful article. I completely agree with your analysis of Elon Musk’s virtues and flaws as after all he is only human. Also important to note is that by sharing your conflicting concerns with your readers you yourself have displayed a great capacity of grace.
How dare you write a nuanced opinion in 2025 Jason! But seriously, this was a great article.
I am also conflicted about Musk and pretty much everyone on the Trump team these days. The news is so incredibly polarizing its hard to know what's true. Words have stopped having meaning. Nazi and Fascist get thrown around like candy regardless of the reality. Statements and video clips taken out of context.
Thank you for reading my friend. I am not sure most days if it's getting harder to find the truth and that it takes more time or if before we thought we knew the truth, but they were just narratives we didn't question. Probably a bit of both. That's why I enjoying writing about these types of topics with this community so we can freely and respectfully challenge each others opinions in pursuit of the truth.
No, Musk is not “simply human” but the richest and most powerful man in the nation. He has the capacity for great good or massive harm for the nation. Combining Musk’s Autistic disconnect from deciphering human emotions with Trump’s narcissistic contempt for others and you have a perfect recipe for disaster and harm. Expect compassion and humanity from either of these men at your own peril. “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Whether they’re “fascist” or not is irrelevant.
Both are autocrats with narcissistic tendencies. Frankly Jason, they both don’t give a damn about you or you desire to “defend” or “apologize” for their actions. What puzzles me is why you feel the need to “protect” them from the consequences of their actions. Musk in his own words told us he “doesn’t give a shit”. Believe him. It is little wonder you are “running out of steam” because you are defending an imaginary image you have constructed in your mind rather than seeing the seriously flawed individuals they are.
They’re certainly deeply flawed. So am I and nearly everyone I know. We’re all just people acting in our own interest and the people we tend to support have interests that coincide with ours.
I don’t agree with your premise however that all powerful people are inherently bad or will become bad. I also don’t believe compassion and humanity always lead to the best outcomes in terms of minimising harm.
As long as we’re slinging platitudes, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” comes to mind.
Maybe two rich pragmatic narcissists who don’t care what anyone else thinks is exactly what the world needs right now? It just might be.
No, not all powerful people are bad, but these two have certainly demonstrated talents in that department. Yeah, two narcissists who don’t care about anyone else are just what the world needs now, like Europe needed Mussolini and Hitler in the 1930s.
Not all your political opponents are Hitler Nazis… you think it’s a short cut to achieve your political goals, but it just erodes your credibility. Attack their policies not their personalities if you disagree with them.
Rampant authoritarianism, gutting the civil service and appointing sycophants, pardoning convicted insurrectionists, vowing revenge on agencies and personnel who investigated his crimes, appointing cronies with unlimited power to destroy government agencies, defying judicial orders, appointing unqualified sycophants as cabinet members, and threatening to invade allies…
I could go on, but you get the drift. Fascists are as fascists do. The psychologist in me is curious as to how you can deny the obvious in spite of blatant evidence.
It’s interesting how people who lament Trump’s policies seem to have been silent when Biden ignored the Supreme Court striking down his executive orders on student loans and when he pardoned his son and other family members, after he said he wouldn’t, that trotted around the globe collecting money for influence on his behalf. I don’t love or defend everything the big orange does, but I can’t get past the blatant hypocrisy of the vast majority of his critics.
No, Presiddent Biden did not “ignore” the SC ruling, but redesigned the deal and attempted another angle. As to the pardons, Biden was briefed and well aware of Trump’s plans to weaponize the Justice Dept. and took proactive action to protect his son and others from the retribution to come.
If you’re not able to descern the difference between taking action to defend and protect others rather than revenge, graft, and cruelty then this discussion ends.
The whole world was watching him, he knew the whole world was watching him. Even if he was a Nazi, someone with one of the highest IQ levels in history would not think “now’s a good time to pop a Nazi salute” no matter how far he is on the autism spectrum. He’s an awkward nerd. That’s all there is to it.
He’s the only one who truly knows what he was thinking. That said, I’m a nerd and I don’t Nazi salute and plenty of people on the spectrum don’t. I don’t think the two are related.
My guess is that Musk, just like many exceptional software professionals, was at some point diagnosed with Aperger syndrome. It makes no sense to judge his behavior based on the concept of "normality." He is a genius and should be judged as such.
His so called salute, absolutely does not bother me. I have no doubt that he is not antisemitic at all; at least compared to an average democratic congressman.
I am more concerned about some inhumane, if true, experiments that Neuralink was performing on animals.
I hear you on the Neuralink stuff w/ animals, but there are also so many practical applications for people who can't walk, are blind, etc that it can help solve, and sometimes unfortunately animal testing is necessary before we test on humans. They have already started doing human tests and I think it's another example of how he's helping make the world a better place, despite the complicated ethics.
An interesting characteristic of a telescope is the way it compresses the depth, making things look closer together as well as closer to the observer. Musk's tweet toward the top of your thoughtful and nuanced article was made before visiting Auschwitz, Yad Vashem, kibbutzim attacked on October 7th, before seeing the results with his own eyes, and before he began to wear the dog tags. I believe these things changed him.
I am disheartened by how so many rush to judgement regarding a gesture that was not unequivocal (unless, of course, you were looking for signs or symbols, and were determined to find proof of national socialist sympathies). I admit that I am unable to look at a photo or video and know what is in that person's heart, what they may have been thinking and feeling at that moment. Not certain why I lack this superpower that so many claim to possess.
For me the dog tags and the things he said after visiting Israel (and Poland) are more telling about his heart than an unfortunate gesture that resembled a salute used by Nazis. If I feel he has turned against Jews, I will gladly toss him under the bus. Until then I will give him the benefit of the doubt.
I agree, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I'll take Elon after his visit to Poland than Jessie Eisenberg any day of the week, but topic for a different time.
Good, thoughtful essay. An antisemite wouldn't visit Israel to show support after October 7th, nor would he wear hostage dog tags, nor would he comfortably and openly support Trump given Trump's allegiance to Israel and having openly observant Jewish family members. Musk is a goofball. Who knows why he did the Nazi salute, maybe he thought it was the Roman legion salute and he was showing strength. It is a powerful gesture, that is why it was co-opted by the Nazi party in Germany.
Thank you. I agree with most of what you said, but I wouldn't use the word allegiance to describes Trump's support of Israel. I think Trump is a utilitarian pragmatist and we need to be careful to embrace specific policies rather than be blindly loyal to his cult of personality. I have been overall really happy with his picks and policies, things are going better than I had anticipated honestly, but I want to be careful not to drink any Kool-Aid.
I hear you on these gestures and symbols used to mean different things, but they obviously mean something very different today. Only he knows why he did it, we may never really know. If I had to guess, I suspect he either consciously or sub-consciously was trolling his haters.
When my Trump hating friends accuse me of drinking the Kool Aid, I suggest they also drink the Kool Aid. It is an eye opening and surprisingly refreshing beverage, healthy in three ways: emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually.
Thank you for this very thoughtful article. I completely agree with your analysis of Elon Musk’s virtues and flaws as after all he is only human. Also important to note is that by sharing your conflicting concerns with your readers you yourself have displayed a great capacity of grace.
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
How dare you write a nuanced opinion in 2025 Jason! But seriously, this was a great article.
I am also conflicted about Musk and pretty much everyone on the Trump team these days. The news is so incredibly polarizing its hard to know what's true. Words have stopped having meaning. Nazi and Fascist get thrown around like candy regardless of the reality. Statements and video clips taken out of context.
Thank you for reading my friend. I am not sure most days if it's getting harder to find the truth and that it takes more time or if before we thought we knew the truth, but they were just narratives we didn't question. Probably a bit of both. That's why I enjoying writing about these types of topics with this community so we can freely and respectfully challenge each others opinions in pursuit of the truth.
“With great power comes great responsibility.”
No, Musk is not “simply human” but the richest and most powerful man in the nation. He has the capacity for great good or massive harm for the nation. Combining Musk’s Autistic disconnect from deciphering human emotions with Trump’s narcissistic contempt for others and you have a perfect recipe for disaster and harm. Expect compassion and humanity from either of these men at your own peril. “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Whether they’re “fascist” or not is irrelevant.
Both are autocrats with narcissistic tendencies. Frankly Jason, they both don’t give a damn about you or you desire to “defend” or “apologize” for their actions. What puzzles me is why you feel the need to “protect” them from the consequences of their actions. Musk in his own words told us he “doesn’t give a shit”. Believe him. It is little wonder you are “running out of steam” because you are defending an imaginary image you have constructed in your mind rather than seeing the seriously flawed individuals they are.
They’re certainly deeply flawed. So am I and nearly everyone I know. We’re all just people acting in our own interest and the people we tend to support have interests that coincide with ours.
I don’t agree with your premise however that all powerful people are inherently bad or will become bad. I also don’t believe compassion and humanity always lead to the best outcomes in terms of minimising harm.
As long as we’re slinging platitudes, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” comes to mind.
Maybe two rich pragmatic narcissists who don’t care what anyone else thinks is exactly what the world needs right now? It just might be.
No, not all powerful people are bad, but these two have certainly demonstrated talents in that department. Yeah, two narcissists who don’t care about anyone else are just what the world needs now, like Europe needed Mussolini and Hitler in the 1930s.
Not all your political opponents are Hitler Nazis… you think it’s a short cut to achieve your political goals, but it just erodes your credibility. Attack their policies not their personalities if you disagree with them.
Rampant authoritarianism, gutting the civil service and appointing sycophants, pardoning convicted insurrectionists, vowing revenge on agencies and personnel who investigated his crimes, appointing cronies with unlimited power to destroy government agencies, defying judicial orders, appointing unqualified sycophants as cabinet members, and threatening to invade allies…
I could go on, but you get the drift. Fascists are as fascists do. The psychologist in me is curious as to how you can deny the obvious in spite of blatant evidence.
It’s interesting how people who lament Trump’s policies seem to have been silent when Biden ignored the Supreme Court striking down his executive orders on student loans and when he pardoned his son and other family members, after he said he wouldn’t, that trotted around the globe collecting money for influence on his behalf. I don’t love or defend everything the big orange does, but I can’t get past the blatant hypocrisy of the vast majority of his critics.
No, Presiddent Biden did not “ignore” the SC ruling, but redesigned the deal and attempted another angle. As to the pardons, Biden was briefed and well aware of Trump’s plans to weaponize the Justice Dept. and took proactive action to protect his son and others from the retribution to come.
If you’re not able to descern the difference between taking action to defend and protect others rather than revenge, graft, and cruelty then this discussion ends.
Well said.
The whole world was watching him, he knew the whole world was watching him. Even if he was a Nazi, someone with one of the highest IQ levels in history would not think “now’s a good time to pop a Nazi salute” no matter how far he is on the autism spectrum. He’s an awkward nerd. That’s all there is to it.
He’s the only one who truly knows what he was thinking. That said, I’m a nerd and I don’t Nazi salute and plenty of people on the spectrum don’t. I don’t think the two are related.
My guess is that Musk, just like many exceptional software professionals, was at some point diagnosed with Aperger syndrome. It makes no sense to judge his behavior based on the concept of "normality." He is a genius and should be judged as such.
His so called salute, absolutely does not bother me. I have no doubt that he is not antisemitic at all; at least compared to an average democratic congressman.
I am more concerned about some inhumane, if true, experiments that Neuralink was performing on animals.
I hear you on the Neuralink stuff w/ animals, but there are also so many practical applications for people who can't walk, are blind, etc that it can help solve, and sometimes unfortunately animal testing is necessary before we test on humans. They have already started doing human tests and I think it's another example of how he's helping make the world a better place, despite the complicated ethics.
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