“The fundamental weakness is empathy,” Musk recently told radio podcast host Joe Rogan. “There is a bug, which is the empathy response.”
As Musk has established himself as at least the second most powerful person in an administration seeking a wholesale remaking of institutions, rules and norms, what he said matters, because it encapsulates a political plan. What the Project 2025 report set out in over 900 turgid pages, Musk’s remark captures in a simple pithy mantra for the social media age.
I wonder if he was ever good at it, or if before he got a pass on being a weird guy because his goals seemed positive (save the planet, push tech forward). Now that he’s fixated on manosphere/nazi shit, more people are less willing to overlook his idiosyncrasies.
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Dude. Thank you. That was honestly the moment I paid more attention. Before the sub, I was in the general group of people that thought he was just a really out there tech enthusiast who was investing in cool stuff. Trying to mainstream electric vehicles? Cool cool. Free/cheap internet access for all around the world? Sounds great. Getting people interested in space again? Cool cool cool. That marketing team did a great job of keeping him associated with being an innovative, relatable, quirky “genius.” Until he couldn’t get them to use his sub idea to save those boys. His eruption into that multi-week temper tantrum made me actually pay attention to him a bit and I was disgusted. It feels like he must have fired whatever PR team he had during his tantrum and has just been riding off the rails since trying to regain that image of a savior he once had.
I always thought he had a really good PR firm and fired them after they said no to his great idea for a rescue submarine. Just look at the press: everyone loves him, everyone hangs on his very word, he must know better
Some such people are really good at pretending to have empathy. I used to be with a narcissist who was a nurse. She could put on a good face, but in actuality she just got off on the sense of power over people who needed her help. In areas where being an awful person didn’t threaten her job security, she had zero qualms about hurting or taking advantage of others, and she did so without hesitation when she felt it would benefit her.