Het verhaal van Elon Musk, zoals het meestal wordt verteld, doet hem klinken als een fictief personage – een stripheld of juist een superschurk. Hij is de rijkste man ter wereld en inmiddels een adviseur van de Amerikaanse president. Op X, zijn eigen sociale mediaplatform, haalt hij uit naar politici met wie hij het oneens is. Hij wil chips in mensenhersenen implanteren en de wereld redden door Mars te koloniseren.
Musk’s toekomstvisie lijkt rechtstreeks te komen uit de sciencefiction die hem sinds zijn jeugd heeft geïnspireerd. Maar wat is het echte verhaal, de ware geschiedenis achter dit stripboekpersonage? In 2021 raakte Harvard-historicus en New Yorker-schrijver Jill Lepore gefascineerd door deze vraag. Ze maakte een podcast voor BBC Radio 4 waarin ze Musk probeerde te begrijpen via de sciencefictionverhalen waarmee hij opgroeide – verhalen over superhelden met oorsprongsmythes die zijn zelfbeeld lijken te hebben beïnvloed.
Sindsdien is er zoveel gebeurd dat we besloten hebben die serie te updaten en drie nieuwe afleveringen toe te voegen. Want Musk blijft veranderen, net als wat Lepore ‘Muskisme’ noemt – zijn vorm van extreem kapitalisme en techno-futurisme. En opvallend genoeg verandert zijn oorsprongsverhaal telkens mee. Hoe kunnen deze fantasieverhalen – sommige al een eeuw oud – ons helpen de toekomst te begrijpen die Musk voor ogen heeft?
The story of Elon Musk, the way it’s usually told, makes him sound like a fictional character, a comic-book superhero – or supervillain. He’s the world’s richest man, and now an adviser to the US President. He uses X – his social media platform – to berate politicians he doesn’t agree with around the world.
He plans to put chips in people’s brains, and to save the world by colonising Mars. Musk’s visions of the future seem to stem from the science fiction that has fired his imagination since he was a boy. But what’s the real story, the true history, behind the comic book? Back in 2021 Harvard History Professor and New Yorker Writer Jill Lepore became fascinated by this question.
So she made a Radio 4 podcast which tried to explain Musk through the science fiction he grew up with – tales of superheroes with origin stories that seemed to influence how he understands his own life. So much has happened since then that we decided to update that series – and add three new episodes, too. Because Musk keeps changing, and so does what Lepore calls ‘Muskism’ – his brand of extreme capitalism and techno-futurism. And strangely, his origin story keeps changing, too.
How can understanding these fantasy stories – some of them a century old – help us understand the future Musk wants to take us to?
The story of Elon Musk, the way it’s usually told, makes him sound like a fictional character, a comic-book superhero – or supervillain. He’s the world’s richest man, and now an adviser to the US President. He uses X – his social media platform – to berate politicians he doesn’t agree with around the world.
He plans to put chips in people’s brains, and to save the world by colonising Mars. Musk’s visions of the future seem to stem from the science fiction that has fired his imagination since he was a boy. But what’s the real story, the true history, behind the comic book? Back in 2021 Harvard History Professor and New Yorker Writer Jill Lepore became fascinated by this question.
So she made a Radio 4 podcast which tried to explain Musk through the science fiction he grew up with – tales of superheroes with origin stories that seemed to influence how he understands his own life. So much has happened since then that we decided to update that series – and add three new episodes, too. Because Musk keeps changing, and so does what Lepore calls ‘Muskism’ – his brand of extreme capitalism and techno-futurism. And strangely, his origin story keeps changing, too.
How can understanding these fantasy stories – some of them a century old – help us understand the future Musk wants to take us to?
