The Musk Cult of Personality: Why do some of us worship billionaires?

[Doc Sportello]

Including some on this site.

Here's a few reasons:

snip

Psychologists say that many of us fantasize about being billionaires, meaning that when they root for Musk, they're really rooting for what they perceive as a version of themselves — namely, as masters of the universe, "winners" in every sense that mainstream society deems worthy. In the process, they also reveal their own deep feelings of inadequacy.

snip

And, unsurprisingly, they also checked the right demographic boxes to benefit from various forms of societal privilege. For one thing, they are almost always white. For another, they are almost always male.
...

"Basically the difference between what we would call a psychopath and people that we admire is like a surgeon or a killer, a judge, or a gangster, they may have some of the same characteristics, but are either at a different intelligence level or they're doing things that are actually unacceptable to society," Bieber explained. As Landay explained, psychopathic tendencies consist of three personality traits: boldness, "such as interpersonal dominance"; lack of empathy and a tendency toward being mean; and disinhibition, "such as impulsivity."

"Essentially, individuals with psychopathic tendencies have the potential to be much a much worse than average jerk, yet because of those very qualities, it's plausible that they might find great success in business organizations," Landay told Salon.


https://www.salon.com/2022/04/29/the-of-elon-musk-why-do-some-of-us-worship-billionaires/

[at140]

1. I love Tesla cars

But not Musk.

[SunSeeker]

6. Elon Musk did not invent Tesla.

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1131215_tesla-existed-before-elon-musk-founders-on-how-they-pitched-the-idea

[at140]

57. Granted, but Musk is responsible for growing the company nt

[Mr.Bill]

70. With lots of help from the federal government, n/t

[CrackityJones75]

48. The irony

The irony of what happened to Tesla and how Musk and the Tesla company are together is enough for me to never EVER own one of their cars.

[at140]

59. Tesla cars are too expensive for me to buy

for parking on public places.

[Igirl]

53. Tesla has done more

To push America towards a green path than any other entrepreneur in America. Musk has spearheaded that company.

[at140]

56. What % of electricity is still made by burning fossil fuels?

Electric cars running on electricity generated by burning coal, oil, natural gas etc do not contribute towards green path. We still burn way too many fossil fuels.

[Igirl]

75. Huhhh?

He is developing the vehicles. Tesla has developed the cars. Their battery technology is best in class and will make solar in home and commercial buildings and cities viable. Tesla has transformed that market.

He doesn’t develop electricity. In Texas, the Ercot grid is over 25% renewable already.

[at140]

95. 90% of US electricity is perhaps still fossil fuels

and that is my beef. We need to drive oil & coal out of business with taxes.

[Igirl]

96. This was about Tesla ...musk..in Texas

He is doing more for your goal than anyone.
We will always need some oil and coal as well. Petrochemicals are dependent on both.
We are raising the taxes before the cars and infrastructure are in place. It’s not a tomorrow fix….it’s years away.
Raising the taxes to break a system punishes the people.

[at140]

97. you right about Musk

I got nothing against Musk for making EV's popular.
My beef is EV's can do nothing to improve CO2 if electricity is generated with fossil fuels more than any other means.

[Igirl]

98. That's still not an entirely true statement

There is more efficiency in the delivery of electricity over the use gasoline in that power plants are inherently more efficient due to their size of output.

A gasoline car is one small power plant operating off of gasoline sending energy to the wheels.

An NG power plant has economy of scale to efficiently produce electricity in mass. The carbon output is also tracked and made as efficient as possible.

Because the execution of something isn’t perfect today does not make the process or act bad or wasted.

Please look up a Nirvana Fallacy.

[TheFarseer]

83. Of course you are right but

This kind of thinking isn’t helpful. Just because something is not 100% of the answer doesn’t mean it’s no good at all. People could potentially use renewables to power their car. People could even have their own personal wind turbine to power their entire house. I’ve seen them being sold. A fully gas engine has no chance to NOT burn fossil fuels. Musk is not responsible for the US power grid!

[at140]

94. My point is electricity by fossil fuels is too large

And I do not consider nuclear as renewable either since supplies of nuclear material are not unlimited. Only unlimited green energy is solar & wind & hydro.
OK, geothermal energy can also last for many millennia.

[Igirl]

99. Nirvana Fallacy Logical fallacy.

Because if even 1% of non green energy is used the premise that he has done something better is false.

The attempt or lead up to a green earth is bad so the journey should not be attempted.

……..🙄

I fully disagree with your logic.

[EX500rider]

2. I don't care about him one way or the other...however I am impressed with what he has done

with his $


SpaceX
First privately funded fully liquid-fueled rocket to reach orbit
First privately developed liquid-fueled rocket to put a commercial satellite in orbit
First private company to successfully launch, orbit, and recover a spacecraft
First private company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station
First landing of an orbital-class rocket's first stage on land
First landing of an orbital-class rocket's first stage on an ocean platform
First reuse, reflight and (second) landing of an orbital first stage
First controlled flyback and recovery of a payload fairing
First re-flight of a commercial cargo spacecraft
First private spacecraft launched into heliocentric orbit
First private company to send a human-rated spacecraft to orbit
First private company to autonomously dock a crew-capable spacecraft to the International Space Station
First private company to send humans into orbit

etc

[SunSeeker]

4. I'd be more impressed if he used his $ to help the poor.

His SpaceX endeavor is one big ego massage.

[Lunabell]

9. I agree.

[smirkymonkey]

18. +1000

[EX500rider]

42. Well I guess he could give every person on the earth $34.00

Not sure how useful that would be.

Promoting & building electric cars however will help everyone including the poor by slowing global warming.

Improving our access to space is also in the long term greater good. Eventually we will have to colonize and mine the rest of the solar system.

[CrackityJones75]

50. injecting $34.00 per person into the economies of the world

injecting $34.00 per person into the economies of the world would probably have a pretty damn good effect.

[EX500rider]

62. That's only if he actually had all his money in the bank...he does not

He owns a lot of stock in his own companies, he can't convert that to cash, trying to sell off his stock would drive the price into the ground. And $34 once wouldn't make any difference in anybody's life a year later.

[Hoyt]

55. Yep. And if he liquidated his paper wealth, it would be a lot less.

[EX500rider]

61. Exactly, people seem to think he has $200+ billion in the bank

What he has is a lot of stock in his own companies whose price would crater if he tried to sell it off.

[Hoyt]

64. And the other stockholders would sue him for tanking the stock.

[Bettie]

82. Space Tourism

for rich dilettantes.

And all for his ego.

[Hoyt]

5. Not enough unjustified hate.

[Lunabell]

11. Sure it is.

He said he'd help end world hunger if provided a plan. The plan was provided and he bought twitter instead. Another vanity project. He's despicable.

https://www.abc10.com/amp/article/news/verify/business-verify/elon-musk-indicated-2021-to-donate-6-billion-to-fighting-solving-world-hunger-if-un-met-conditions/536-cad0e59e-775d-4c3d-a309-b3ef93379a71

[Hoyt]

14. Did you look at the #9-called plan, and the original comment by WFP?

He did contribute $5.7 B to a self-directed charity two weeks later. I’m sure the haters will yell, “but it’s a self-directed charity and we don’t know where it’s going, how horrible of him.”

[Lunabell]

15. Try again.

As of this writing, there hasn’t been any official word about Musk donating $6 billion to WFP. When Musk donated $5.75 billion to an anonymous benefactor, many speculated that this money went to WFP. Beasley, however, said in February 2022 that the WFP had not received any checks from Musk.


https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/04/26/elon-musk-hunger/

[dalton99a]

17. +1

[Hoyt]

19. He donated to a self-directed charity as I said, never said he donated to WFP.

Maybe it’ll go to medical research or something simple. I’m OK with that.

[Lunabell]

20. Did you look at my post?

I didn't say anything about that "plan". I referred only to his promise to WFP. He lied. They provided a plan. He hasn't followed through with his "promise" to them.

[Hoyt]

21. He sent a tweet to WFP, hardly a contract. WFP's plan was not

very detailed. Maybe if they had spent a little effort on that and working with Musk, they’d have gotten some money (and they still might).

[Lunabell]

23. Lol

Whatever. Defend him at all costs. Whatever.

Ah, I feel sooo good not being in a cult.

[LudwigPastorius]

36. _

[smirkymonkey]

49. +1000

This is funny and so spot on.

[area51]

85. +1 n/t

[CrackityJones75]

51. I could have sworn

I could have sworn the goal posts were over there just a second ago.

[Hoyt]

66. It was not a plan that anyone would commit $6 B to, they lost out.

[SunSeeker]

73. What basis do you have for that claim?

Musk himself never made that claim.

[Hoyt]

74. Agree. He just put $5.7 B in a self-directed charity. Maybe WFP ought to

make a play for some, or all, of that money. Unfortunately, the critics will screw that up too.

[SunSeeker]

76. Musk kept the identity of this "self-directed charity" a secret.

Nobody seems to have a clue what that $5.7 was spent on.

[Hoyt]

77. So he's not bragging. Maybe WFP ought to wake up. He put up the money,

now they need to earn it. If not, maybe he’ll direct it to medical miracles.

[SunSeeker]

80. How do we know that he "put up the money" to a good cause, let alone to end hunger?

He has never been shy about bragging about good deeds. It's a bit suspicious that he chooses this to be secretive about.

Claiming it was a "charity" doesn't narrow it much. Even formal 501(c)(3) corporations are so loosely regulated in the US that it has covered everything from political organizations to businesses...to the Trump Foundation.

[Hoyt]

86. Not secretive at all, especially when millions hate you for not reason. $5.7 B indicates to me

he had the money and if WFP hadn't screwed around with him, they might have gotten some of it, still might.

In any event, I'm sure it will go to good causes, notwithstanding the hatred and bashing.

[SunSeeker]

87. I used to admire Musk, until he tweeted a rescue diver was a "pedo guy."

And why did he try to make the world think this private individual was a pedophile? Because this diver, who ended up rescuing the boys trapped in a Thai cave, had the nerve to voice his opinion that Musk's offer of a "mini-sub" to save the boys was just a "PR stunt" and unworkable.

So much for Musk being "a free speech absolutist."

And then he started raging against unionization efforts and covid safety requirements at his California plant. Then he started playing footsies with Trump.

Then he started bashing Democrats, the only sane major party we have left in this country, claiming they have moved so far to the left, that the right is now the center. That is a ridiculous lie.

So, based on Musk's petulant descent into that lying and bullying after being told to treat his workers better, I now dislike the man.

I used to really like your posts, particularly your posts about gun safety. I find it really shocking that you have become such a strident apologist for this egomaniacal billionaire.

[SunSeeker]

93. Wow. nt

[cagefreesoylentgreen]

54. Space exploration

I’m not convinced Musk has humanity’s best interest at heart when it comes to space exploration. The more I hear billionaires talk, the more it comes off they regard Mars as their own personal luxury bunker where they can be absolutely safe from all accountability.

Earth laws won’t apply to Mars, they’ll be able to do whatever they want.

[EX500rider]

63. Yes whoever colonizes another planet can run it the way they want...no surprise there.

[SunSeeker]

3. Yes, there will always be idiots admiring white male psychopaths. nt

[walkingman]

22. I think you nailed it. Always has and always will.

[moondust]

7. "rooting for...a version of themselves"

"masters of the universe, 'winners'"

Isn't that what much of MAGA world is about? Racist, hateful, arrogant, narcissistic, incompetent, stupid fools who want to be masters of the universe--just like their role model, TFG?

[Thomas Hurt]

8. My take on this money worship has been that these people think they are one big....

break from joining the millionaire club. You have to support an establishment that protects the rich and money for when you are rich and famous.

[wryter2000]

29. The really stupid ones

Think they’d be rich if they didn’t have to pay taxes that only go to support “illegals” and “welfare queens.”

[brooklynite]

10. Who here "worships" them?

Personally, I'm not a fan of anyone: billionaires, elected officials, political candidates, TV personalities....I can respect people's accomplishments without becoming emotional about it.

[Lunabell]

13. I've seen some posts that are drooling in their support for him.

He is a narcissist with the capability to help humanity but prefers vanity projects instead.

[Hoyt]

16. Compared to the hatred, you'd rate "he's not as bad as some people" as drooling.

[dpibel]

30. And for you

"There may be better people in the world" qualifies as raging hatred.

Go figure.

[Lunabell]

31. Yep

Besides, I reserve my raging hatred for tfg.

[smirkymonkey]

32. I was reading the comments on a NYT article about him the other day and some of them

were just dripping with fawning, obsequious hero worship for this oddball punk. You would have thought it was another cult in the making. I am not so sure it isn't.

Musk was a bullied, unpopular nerd growing up and it's like he got his revenge by becoming the world's richest man and dating beautiful women (who were no doubt with him because of his money).

I think that there are millions of men out there who feel like the bullied, unappreciated Elon before all the money, fame and women and see him as their avenger somehow and hope to be him one day.

[tenderfoot]

89. "Musk was a bullied, unpopular nerd growing up"

I wonder if he was an obnoxious troll when he was a kid which led to him getting bullied and being unpopular. 🤔

[smirkymonkey]

91. I'm not sure. I think he was the smallest kid in his class and he was probably a little strange,

like he is today. I remember reading something to that effect as told by his older brother. i am sure it must have been tough on him and it actually made me have some pity for him, but there are so many people who go through that and worse and grow up to be decent, kind people, so it's no excuse.

If he was made of tougher stuff, he would have dedicated some of his wealth to an anti-bullying campaign instead of turning out to be just like the people that abused him. He is weak and lacking in character, just like a lot of other people in the Billionaire/Millionarire Bullies Club. These aren't people to be admired. They are people who should be mocked and laughed at.

[dixiechiken1]

33. Yup... true story.

[EX500rider]

43. I'd say promoting electric cars & increasing space travel technology are hardly "vanity projects"

Tesla reports show that the company has sold 1,917,450 electric vehicles.
Or is global warming not a issue?
YMMV

[Kaleva]

79. Like which ones?

It's okay to post quotes if you don't provide a link back to the post or identify the author of the post.

[H2O Man]

12. Recommended.

George Harrison's 1967 song "Within You, Without You" speaks of those who can the world, but lose their soul. Heck of a good song from a great LP some older forum members may recall.

[spanone]

26. A significant part of the magic of Sgt. Peppers....

[H2O Man]

38. That album

still holds up beautifully today.

[spanone]

58. It certainly does. One of my favorites of all time.

I still listen to it. 55 years later.

[LeftInTX]

24. Does anyone worship him?

I know right wingers who support him and he is perceived to be on their side because he
Moved Tesla to Texas
Bought Twitter

SpaceX in Texas (But don't know too much about the RW support over Texas)

I don't think they worship him, the way they worship Trump

[Lunabell]

25. I'm just not sure you're right about thst.

[LeftInTX]

27. Who knows...he just doesn't have much of a personality....

[H2O Man]

39. I agree.

They may worship their ideas of what power being a billionaire brings. And perhaps are delighted he bought twitter. But there is no indication that they worship him in the manner of a Trump or other cult leader. There's a significant distinction.

[rockfordfile]

28. People that are worshipping that un-American pos are no different than trumpers

[smirkymonkey]

34. "...they also reveal their own deep feelings of inadequacy."

It's similar to those who worship Trump as well.

These are not people who are secure in who they are, or who are "winners" in life. They tend to be bitter, insecure, entitled people who feel like they have been shortchanged because the world has not yet recognized their greatness (which is usually non-existent).

[H2O Man]

40. Interesting.

Your post reminded me of something Rubin said back in 1973, back when the prison allowed us to communicate on cassette tapes. He was describing the environment of the prison. There was a weekly "movie night" (that he avoided), and for the next week, he said, a percentage of inmates would pretend to be "Shaft today, and Superfly tomorrow." He noted that when people cannot deal with the reality of their situations in life, they revert to fantasy.

I think that is in line with what you are saying.

[smirkymonkey]

47. Yes, I think that is it, in a nutshell. Good analogy!

Musk embodies the fantasies of many immature people who can't accept the fact that they are not masters of the universe and are instead just average human beings.

Which should be perfectly fine for someone who is mentally healthy and self-actualized. Most of us have to accept that we are not in the top one percent in most departments, whether that is wealth, intelligence, looks, power, etc. It's a matter of values for most people. A lot of us don't base our self-worth on such shallow things.

By the time you reach a certain age you should have made peace with where you are in life or be on a path to better yourself. Too many people just expect it to "happen" to them without putting the work in and then are bitter because they don't have the lives they think they deserve. (I'm thinking of most Trumpers here, and probably a lot of Musk fans too.)

[Maraya1969]

35. Jim Carrey's quote on getting everything you wish for.

"To quote Jim Carrey: “I wish everyone could get rich and famous and everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that's not the answer.” You can chase followers & money all you want (don't let me stop you) but I hope you'll realize beyond your basics needs they won't do much."

[LisaM]

37. I find him to be very, very creepy.

It surprises me that others don't pick up that vibe.

I really don't buy that most of these billionaires are philanthropists (I will carve out an exception for Mackenzie Bezos). If they, or their companies, would pay their fair share in taxes, the "philanthropy" wouldn't be needed.

And I'm not going to call anyone green who routinely burns up the amount of rocket fuel he does, and who has seven children. Seven! Reducing the human population by half would be the greenest thing we as a species can do, but he has seven kids and I wouldn't be surprised if he goes on to have more.

[dixiechiken1]

41. I find him creepy af.

He has no ethics or morals as far as I can tell. Nothing but 100% pure, unadulterated ego. Didn't know he has seven kids. Ugh. Even more reason to loathe him.

[LudwigPastorius]

44. He believes that the planet needs more, many more, people.

With 7 kids, and counting, I think he's making it his personal mission to fulfill that goal.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2021/12/07/elon-musk-declining-birthrate-threatens-human-civilization/6414749001/

[LisaM]

52. Just when. I thought he couldn't be more awful.

He's like Trump in that every time you think he's bottomed out, he goes lower.

[LeftInTX]

60. I personally find him only slightly creepy

That's just a gut reaction. Like if I saw him on the street and he started talking to me and I didn't know who he was.

However, his actions with twitter and trying to "take over" stuff increases the creep factor.

He just is not an appealing person...

[hunter]

84. Same here, he's creepy.

And I don't think he's doing anything to make the world a better place.

[Rob H.]

45. I'm surprised by the number of Musk stans here

I’m not surprised at who they are, though.

[tenderfoot]

90. I like the "I don't care about him one way or the other but I sure do worship him!" responses

I'm not at all surprised either.

[Diablo del sol]

46. there aren't that many

Like Repukes, they don't shut the fuck up and think posting numerous times makes them smarter and the winner.

[chowder66]

65. People can do good work but still be utter assholes. Jon Voight is a very good actor but there

isn't anything I like about the man other than his ability to act.

Musks wealth and power that comes with it have gone to his head.

It's the guys and gals behind the scenes that don't run around seeking cameras and are busy making real change that are the rockstars.

[Lunabell]

67. This.

[Carlitos Brigante]

68. You got one right here crying every time someone says anything

"mean" about his creepy ass. Otherwise salivating because he once was pictured walking with Obama.

[gulliver]

69. His heart and mind are both in the right place

His admirers aren't into his personality so much as his very evident ability to accomplish great things. I have yet to hear a good argument against him. Most of the arguments against him I've heard come across as arguments for him. They're so seemingly ill-considered and superficial that they backfire.

Musk is not the only area where we sometimes hear loud arguments from voices whose logical backup, reasoning, and effective morality (not "intended morality," effective morality) argue for their being more on the listening side than the talking side.

Musk's goal is a sustainable world of abundance for all. And he's someone who accomplishes what he sets out to accomplish.

[EX500rider]

71. Exactly

I don't care about him one way or the other.

However selling almost 2 million electric cars and revolutionizing space travel do impress me as laudable achievements.
Will make a bigger difference for humanity & the future of, then what other billionaire are doing with their cash.

[Hoyt]

78. Agree completely. Apparently that's the wrong side to take, though.

[rockfordfile]

72. Again People that are worshipping that un-American pos are no different than trumpers

I see that un-American far-right pos Musk is whining about the Disinformation Governance Board. What other un-American right-wing pos is dong the same? Musk have been pushing anti-democracy propaganda against our country and its allies.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

81. I suspect that the same people who worship billionaires

worship *royalty* as well. The reason that so many people worship the MAGAt King is that he is a billionaire. The stinking narcissistic pig has absolutely no redeeming qualities at all, nothing in common whatsoever with regular working folks, yet so many worship him like he is their god.

".....the most affluent of countries, operates on a depletion economy which leaves destruction in its wake. Your people are driven by a terrible sense of deficiency. When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize, too late, that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can’t eat money."
-Alanis Obomsawin

[EX500rider]

92. Have to post it: