Texas goes blue and cybertruck production is scheduled to ‘wind down’! For the millions of Americans who have watched in disgust as Elon Musk has attempted to manipulate our democracy with his wealth and launch his Mad Max, neo-nazi fever dream truck, these two pieces of news could not be more welcome.
The golden boy has now tasted failure in a big way, and sympathy is in short supply. The former climate hero innovator took a big right turn sometime around 2020, and the legions that used to swoon over his genius and vision now find his arrogance detestable and his megalomania frightening.
Once upon a time, Elon seemed like a smart guy with an admirable passion for fighting climate change with electric vehicles. A little quirky perhaps, but embodying a new spirit of innovation in technology that could make a positive impact.
Ten years later, after massive meddling in the 2024 election on Trump’s behalf, a cruel, chaotic and disastrous DOGE-gutting of federal agencies, a shocking, on-stage Heil Hitler moment of frenzied egotism and the repurposing of Twitter/X into a right wing echo chamber, Musk has lost his allure and his adoring followers. Only the MAGA faithful and a subset of lost boy tech wannabes are still in his thrall.
The cybertruck is an apt symbol of Musk’s persona - brutish, styleless and sinister. It appeals to the bully, the macho man, the angry and frustrated alpha male. Its demise is a welcome sign that we are not yet degenerating into some sort of dystopian, Zombie future.
The millions he used to shove negative ads and conspiracy theories down the throats of Texans not only failed to turn the Democratic tide, but they probably had just the opposite effect. Musk may be more pariah than savior at this point, and what rational person does not weep tears of joy at this turn of events?
The German word Schadenfreude rolls deliciously off my tongue as I contemplate the twin portents of Musk’s decline. I know it is not nice to revel in another’s failure, but it sure feels good!
