The Fake Futurism of Elon Musk

A video about Elon Musk and the future.

Timestamps:

0:00 SpaceX Mars
01:49 Introduction
05:35 Tesla, Ford and A Tale of Two Cars
08:53 Futurism
13:00 The Slow Cancellation of the Future
17:53 Back to the Future
21:31 Muskian Futurism for Whom?

There's perhaps already a distinct "Elon Musk Video Essay" genre here on YouTube. Hopefully, though, this takes a different approach to those which are already out there.

Rather than focussing on I take a look at why Elon Musk has become such a revered figure in recent years and why so many people have embraced Elon Musk's Loop, Tesla, Hyperloop, Spacex, Mars Mission, Neuralink and other projects.

Drawing partly on the work of Mark Fisher and Franco "Bifo" Birardi, I consider how human perceptions of the future (at least in the advanced capitalist nations) have changed over time. In particular, I'm interested in how Elon Musk's rise might be read as a response to what Birardi and Fisher refer to as the "Slow Cancellation of the Future" during the ascendency of neoliberalism (or neoliberal capitalism) in the 1970s, 80s, 90s and 2000s.

I also argue that Elon Musk might have more than a little in common with figures in the political sphere such as Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC) and "The Squad", Jeremy Corbyn etc. who have also recently sought to break from the status quo and invited us to imagine bold new futures.

If you've enjoyed this video and would like to see more including my What The Theory? series in which I provide some snappy introductions to key theories in the humanities as well as video essays and more then do consider subscribing.

Thanks for watching!

#ElonMusk #SpaceX #Neuralink

[dr.zoidberg]

When I was in college, I was so excited by SpaceX & Tesla. It took me several years & a lot of education to finally understand that Musk wasn't taking us towards Star Trek, he's taking us towards Blade Runner.

Nowadays it seems insane to me that I was ever taken in.

[manualdidact]

If we're comparing Musk and Ford, it's worth pointing out that Ford started his company. Musk started at Tesla as an activist investor, and forced out the founder.

[mathewomolo]

people talk about going to Mars to escape climate calamity as if there's clean air and beautiful gardens waiting on Mars.

[ExBlaz]

*"By the rich. For the rich."*

My take on most of Elon's visions.

[losharclan]

Elon is a genius, he added rgb lights to the hyperloop.

[JahNuhThunDeeTheOneAndOnly]

It’s ironic how Elon Musk is the face of Tesla because he has a lot more in common with Thomas Edison than anyone else.

[DamnZodiak]

The irony about that star trek episode is that, the person who name dropped Musk as visionary ended up being from the mirror universe, where historical figures often end up morally opposite to our "prime" universe. Pretty sure that was just an oversight (like so many others in Discovery) but still hilarious IMO.

[arsenicsauce]

Elon Musk is a testament to what one man can achieve when his parents own an emerald mine

[soma]

"I'm a bigger fan of Edison than Telsa, because Edison brought his inventions to the market." - Elon Musk
This sums up everything- his thinking, his approach to life; it's only about making money.

[UbeFlavoured]

Elon Musk is the "I'm not like other girls" of capitalists.

[spiritualanarchist]

How the mighty have fallen. While highspeed trains go more then 250 km an hour throughout Europe & Asia, and one can go from France to England in a tunnel under the sea, Musk fans are celebrating a man who build a taxi tunnel under Las Vegas.

[georges]

If Elon announced that he would build an interplanetary hyperloop to make space travel easier; I'm sure there would be plenty of eager fools ready to invest.

[demongannondorf]

I'm tight with an ex Tesla employee and the workplace was a nightmare. They were overworked to the point where their physical health was declining, and any time musk came through everyone walked on eggshells around him because he'd fire people at the drop of a hat

[jefferyjones]

I believe in a future where people don’t idolize billionaires who haven’t invented anything like Musk.

[djsmithe]

The genius of Elon Musk is he gets people to believe this BS.

[aidanconnor]

Elon Musk’s “futuristic ideas” are literally just normal things run through a filter to make them less efficient and more “futuristic”

[mrnigl]

I was a Musk fan. Years ago. After looking at him more closely i realized hes nothing more than a snake oil salesman. He sells hopes and dreams that will never come true.

[jotriDerSalzige]

Elon Musk is treated like he's a visionary just because he watched Blade Runner and thought 'I can make this real!' without wasting a second thinking about it realistically.

[twistedbunny]

lol it's comforting finding people who don't buy into all the BS, i started to think i was losing it

[Eric-yeyz]

I first lost respect for Elon Musk when he said he was going to build a small submarine to rescue the football team trapped in a cave in Thailand. He expected them to wait while he grandstanded to get hero status.