Musking it up?

"To anyone I've offended, I just want to say, I reinvented electric cars, and I'm sending people to Mars on a rocket ship. Did you think I was also going to be a chill, normal dude?"

Laughter ripples across the room. Elon Musk, speaking on America's favourite late-night comedy show Saturday Night Live with superstar singer Miley Cyrus at his side, could be mistaken for your average celebrity.

But whatever you might think of Musk, average he is not. The founder of SpaceX, CEO of Tesla and richest man in the world according to ForbesAn American business magazine. is divisive. Many see him not as a genius, but a fool.

Now he stands to lead one of the biggest social media platforms. Musk has recommitted to purchasing Twitter after backing out earlier this year. He claims that "buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app", an all-in-one service resembling China's WeChat.¹

One of Shakespeare's most famous quotes is that the "fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool." Those of his characters with a claim to genius are rarely like Musk. Instead they are humble and unassuming.

Musk has an impressive history of comic mistakes that even Shakespeare could not have thought up, including a messy family life, a history of well-publicised court cases, and a tendency to tweet unwisely.

The case of Musk sparks broader questions about how we regard 'genius' and 'idiot' minds. Fyodor DostoevskyA 19th Century Russian novelist who explored human psychology in his works. aimed to show what a "positively good and beautiful man" looked like in his novel The Idiot. He decided to write about a fool, not a genius.

One might question how undisputedNobody disagrees. genius minds such as Dostoevsky and Shakespeare would have characterised Musk: well-meaning idiot, or forward-thinking, cynicalNot trusting in the goodness of others. genius?

Yes: His blunders go beyond mere moments of human foolishness. There are clear patterns of idiocy which make it terrifying that he is as powerful as he is. We need to stop thinking of Musk as a genius.

No: Musk is clearly a genius. He has co-founded six major companies and has contributed to developing some of the most futuristic technology we have. Few of those who call him an idiot are so accomplished.

Or... The debate surrounding his genius is a waste of time. We should look into his moral qualities, especially regarding allegations of poor working conditions at his companies, and the fact that he spread misinformation about the pandemic.