Bad news: Elon Musk’s Cybercab gives us a clear idea of the lonely, selfish future. A future where Musk is the center of your universe, my universe, forever. I want to be cautious about providing a ‘hot take’ because I know you know how I feel about those. But, take a step back. This Cybercab is a unique opportunity to understand the ‘artist’ by seeing his ‘art.’ What does Elon Musk ship, and what does that tell us about the man himself?
On the surface, the answer is ‘tackling ambitious, futuristic goals’ but let’s dig deeper. Musk purports the focus on refining and enhaning products, but he doesn’t walk the talk. In each case, the future keeps coming back to this lonely, selfish vision in which Musk is the guy who made it happen. It’s not YOUR future – it’s the future ELON MUSK gave to you.
Exhibits A – E
He keeps making quasi-altruistic statements, but where’s the agency and selflessness? In each case – the product sounds cool at the start, but then deeper problems emerge.
- Cybertruck – He called it ‘virtually indestructable’ and then an engineer put a bowling ball through the window. Promises? More like premises! First accept the premise before we show you was any data to back them up. Design and production issues have resulted in recalls, delays, and angry customers who realized this $150,000 vehicle was out-performed by a Ford F-150 that cost half the price. Dunking on the Cybertruck has become a full-time job for some journalists – Musk’s inability to accept feedback and disregard for production issues have harmed Tesla’s reputation and bottom line.
- Neuralink – On the surface, a cybernetic neurological linkage from our brains to computers is positive. Heck, I’ve written about it – I think it’s cool as long as it’s cool. But the Neuralink is NOT cool. Allegations of animal cruelty, ethical concerns, a lack of transparency – would you trust this guy with your skull? I’m being rhetorical – we both know the answer. As this article points out: ‘He doesn’t seem to mind the fatal accidents caused by Tesla’s autopilot, because of his belief that they outweigh the benefits of one day having fully safe cars. He has a dangerous regard for human life, leaving ethical concerns in wake, and leaving us to question how far he’s willing to go.’
- X / Twitter – You already know what’s happened, and so do I. My premise is simple – X / Twitter’s current state is a direct result from Musk’s selfish, lonely world view. He doesn’t care if they’re hurting YOU, just as long as they make HIM rich. From the same article above: ‘Upon acquisition, hate speech on Twitter skyrocketed, with the use of the N-word surging by 500%. In part, Musxk’s dismantling of X’s formerly robust moderation team is to blame, in addition to Musk’s insistence that all types of speech should be allowed on X. X’s policy against the targeted misgendering and deadnaming of transgender individuals was also silently erased.’
- Starlink – Again – on paper, Starlink sounds awesome – who wouldn’t want universal Internet access for all? But then you start digging into the details and THE DETAILS ARE SCARY. Regulatory issues, privacy concerns, Starlink acting as a direct facilitator of warfare. Who knew that provising ISPs was like running guns? I didn’t – until now. Whether Musk knew this was going to happen and welcomed it, or saw it happening and shrugged – he seems to be naively indifferent to the suffering of others.
- The Boring Company – TBC’s first project? A flamethrower – not a tunnel builder. ‘Nuff said. Everything about this company seems to support Musk’s narcissism. They can’t be a tawdry, tacky refusal to admit that A) Geo-engineering is tough and maybe you should leave it to the pros B) The Boring Company was started as a solution in search of a problem C) the entire company exists as a way for Musk to test tunnel-building technology for free on Earth before shipping it to Mars. They’re TBC and Musk owns them so of course they’re awesome!
It’s Not the JobsPhone – It’s the iPhone
Every product, every release, is ‘Elon’s’ product, Elon’s release. Even Steve Jobs knew to call it the ‘iPhone’ – not the ‘JobsPhone.’ Slapping one’s name / face / identity on everything you make or release is SO tacky. What happened to ‘men plant trees, knowing they will never sit in their shade?’ Elon doesn’t want to plant trees unless he can put his name on the fruit. That’s sad.
As I’ve said before, AI companies are famous for psychopathic thinking and Musk’s companies – which rely heavily on AI – are no exception. Two people are the maximum Cybercab occupancy. You’ll never need more than two seats. Unless you need more – in which case, take the Cybervan, a toaster on wheels.
The main takeaway: Elon Musk is inventing HIS future, not OUR future. When he says ‘We, Robot,’ he’s using the royal ‘we’ – the King speaking for the peasantry. His future is one where everyone thinks about, talks about, relies upon Elon Musk every day forever. Not surprising, considering his lonely and sad childhood. Only now he’s the lonely, sad kid with all the toys and all the cake and he still can’t figure out why nobody wants to come to his party.
The Man Needs Help
On some level, you can empathize with Elon Musk’s humanity – but not to the extent of making the entire world about him. It’s called ‘therapy,’ Elon – try it sometime.
You don’t have to listen to me, by the way. Elon will only save the world if he’s the one who’s allowed to do it. You can see it in every new product he releases – Elon keeps trying to shoehorn the future into his royal ‘we’ where he’s the King, we’re the peasants. If TSLA’s stock price is any indication – the peasantry ain’t having it.
This helps tell my ‘Elon Musk is Obidiah Stane’ story a little bit better. Sorry for him, he still has a chance to pivot into something less monstrous. We must understand: Elon Musk views the future as a place only he can control and the Cybercab proves it.
Someone needs to sit Elon down. “Dude,” they’ll say “get your poop together. We believed in you, we showed up FOR YOU. Now we’re here – make the juice worth the squeeze or the next thing we squeeze is YOU.”
I hope Elon Musk takes this opportunity. Re-write the future, not just for the Cybercab but for himself and all of us. Peasants have a way of balancing the books when you make all other peaceful options impossible.
