Analysis: The Billion Dollar Tackiness of ‘Muskverse’

The other day, a friend who lives in Chapada dos Veadeiros told me of a fright: “The night was beautiful, without a cloud in the sky. And suddenly, I saw a row of lights that moved neatly above. flying saucers. I ran into the house. I opened the internet. And when I understood what it was, I was devastated.” Contrary to what dear Isabelle imagined, we were not about to make immediate contact with extraterrestrial beings. Chapada’s geographic location only allowed the naked eye visibility of Starlink satellites, a company owned by Elon Musk, the most tacky man… I mean, richest in the world.

Without going into the merits of what exactly would have generated such wealth — let’s leave that part to those who monitor the lives of the wealthy — it is not difficult to identify the cheesiness of the excesses of the Muskverse. Evidently, a powerful man is a powerful man, and it is quite natural for him to come into contact with other powerful men to leverage business. The problem is when all this takes on messianic contours.

It’s the climate of rampant personality cult that seems frightening. If before it was possible to observe Musk’s eccentricities from afar, from today we will witness the madness right here, in our country. Starting with this lightning visit that could have been an email. And adding the ready availability of Brazilian bigwigs to serve as an audience for the fireworks show that seems to surround the event.

And as if the intense noise surrounding the meeting itself wasn’t enough, Musk woke up to one more problem this Friday: an accusation of sexual harassment published by the website “Business Insider”. The victim would have been a SpaceX employee and the case would have happened in 2016. A story that is nothing like the comfort of the leather seats of the jet on which he arrived. And much less with the elegance of the Egyptian cotton sheets at the Fasano Boa Vista, where he stayed.

Regrettably, in the Muskverse, everything feels forced, sad, and a little dumbed down. Doubters can take a look at those who fervently defend it on social media. For the most part, it’s about an army of fans of a likely narcissist who won’t rest until the world treats him like a bigger pop star than Michael Jackson.