Has Elon Musk become an existential threat to humanity?

[RSD1]

The following is from a recent post by Sam Harris about the reckless and irresponsible behavior of Elon Musk during the pandemic. With his newly gained political influence and power, has Elon become an existential threat to humanity?
 

https://samharris.substack.com/p/the-trouble-with-elon
 

The Trouble with Elon

Sam Harris

JAN 16, 2025
 

I didn’t set out to become an enemy of the world’s richest man, but I seem to have managed it all the same. Until this moment, I’ve resisted describing my falling out with Elon Musk in much detail, but as the man’s cultural influence has metastasized—and he continues to spread lies about me on the social media platform that he owns (Twitter/X)—it seems only appropriate to set the record straight. I know that it annoys many in my audience to see me defend myself against attacks that they recognize to be spurious, but they might, nevertheless, find the details of what happened with Elon interesting.

 

Of all the remarkable people I’ve met, Elon is probably the most likely to remain a world-historical figure—despite his best efforts to become a clown. He is also the most likely to squander his ample opportunities to live a happy life, ruin his reputation and most important relationships, and produce lasting harm across the globe. None of this was obvious to me when we first met, and I have been quite amazed at Elon’s evolution, both as a man and as an avatar of chaos. The friend I remember did not seem to hunger for public attention. But his engagement with Twitter/X transformed him—to a degree seldom seen outside of Marvel movies or Greek mythology. If Elon is still the man I knew, I can only conclude that I never really knew him.

 

When we first met, Elon wasn’t especially rich or famous. In fact, I recall him teetering on the brink of bankruptcy around 2008, while risking the last of his previous fortune to make payroll at Tesla. At the time, he was living off loans from his friends Larry and Sergey. Once Elon became truly famous, and his personal wealth achieved escape velocity, I was among the first friends he called to discuss his growing security concerns. I put him in touch with Gavin de Becker, who provided his first bodyguards, and recommended other changes to his life. We also went shooting on at least two occasions with Scott Reitz, the finest firearms instructor I’ve ever met. It is an ugly irony that Elon’s repeated targeting of me on Twitter/X has increased my own security concerns. He understands this, of course, but does not seem to care.

 

So how did we fall out? Let this be a cautionary tale for any of Elon’s friends who might be tempted to tell the great man something he doesn’t want to hear:

 

1. When the SARS-CoV-2 virus first invaded our lives in March of 2020, Elon began tweeting in ways that I feared would harm his reputation. I also worried that his tweets might exacerbate the coming public-health emergency. Italy had already fallen off a cliff, and Elon shared the following opinion with his tens of millions of fans :

 

the coronavirus panic is dumb

 

As a concerned friend, I sent him a private text:

 

Hey, brother— I really think you need to walk back your coronavirus tweet. I know there’s a way to parse it that makes sense (“panic” is always dumb), but I fear that’s not the way most people are reading it. You have an enormous platform, and much of the world looks to you as an authority on all things technical. Coronavirus is a very big deal, and if we don’t get our act together, we’re going to look just like Italy very soon. If you want to turn some engineers loose on the problem, now would be a good time for a breakthrough in the production of ventilators...

 

2. Elon’s response was, I believe, the first discordant note ever struck in our friendship:

 

Sam, you of all people should not be concerned about this.

 

He included a link to a page on the CDC website, indicating that Covid was not even among the top 100 causes of death in the United States. This was a patently silly point to make in the first days of a pandemic.

 

We continued exchanging texts for at least two hours. If I hadn’t known that I was communicating with Elon Musk, I would have thought I was debating someone who lacked any understanding of basic scientific and mathematical concepts, like exponential curves.

 

3. Elon and I didn’t converge on a common view of epidemiology over the course of those two hours, but we hit upon a fun compromise: A wager. Elon bet me $1 million dollars (to be given to charity) against a bottle of fancy tequila ($1000) that we wouldn’t see as many as 35,000 cases of Covid in the United States (cases, not deaths). The terms of the bet reflected what was, in his estimation, the near certainty (1000 to 1) that he was right. Having already heard credible estimates that there could be 1 million deaths from Covid in the U.S. over the next 12-18 months (these estimates proved fairly accurate), I thought the terms of the bet ridiculous—and quite unfair to Elon. I offered to spot him two orders of magnitude: I was confident that we’d soon have 3.5 million cases of Covid in the U.S. Elon accused me of having lost my mind and insisted that we stick with a ceiling of 35,000.

 

4. We communicated sporadically by text over the next couple of weeks, while the number of reported cases grew. Ominously, Elon dismissed the next batch of data reported by the CDC as merely presumptive—while confirmed cases of Covid, on his account, remained elusive.

 

5. A few weeks later, when the CDC website finally reported 35,000 deaths from Covid in the U.S. and 600,000 cases, I sent Elon the following text:

 

Is (35,000 deaths + 600,000 cases) > 35,000 cases?

 

6. This text appears to have ended our friendship. Elon never responded, and it was not long before he began maligning me on Twitter for a variety of imaginary offenses. For my part, I eventually started complaining about the startling erosion of his integrity on my podcast, without providing any detail about what had transpired between us.

 

7. At the end of 2022, I abandoned Twitter/X altogether, having recognized the poisonous effect that it had on my life—but also, in large part, because of what I saw it doing to Elon. I’ve been away from the platform for over two years, and yet Elon still attacks me. Occasionally a friend will tell me that I’m trending there, and the reasons for this are never good. As recently as this week, Elon repeated a defamatory charge about my being a “hypocrite” for writing a book in defense of honesty and then encouraging people to lie to keep Donald Trump out of the White House. Not only have I never advocated lying to defeat Trump (despite what that misleading clip from the Triggernometry podcast might suggest to naive viewers), I’ve taken great pains to defend Trump from the most damaging lie ever told about him. Elon knows this, because we communicated about the offending clip when it first appeared on Twitter/X. However, he simply does not care that he is defaming a former friend to hundreds of millions of people—many of whom are mentally unstable. On this occasion, he even tagged the incoming president of the United States.

 

All of this remains socially and professionally awkward, because Elon and I still have many friends in common. Which suggests the terms of another wager that I would happily make, if such a thing were possible—and I would accept 1000 to 1 odds in Elon’s favor:

 

I bet that anyone who knows us both knows that I am telling the truth.

 

Everyone close to Elon must recognize how unethical he has become, and yet they remain silent. Their complicity is understandable, but it is depressing all the same. These otherwise serious and compassionate people know that when Elon attacks private citizens on Twitter/X—falsely accusing them of crimes or corruption, celebrating their misfortunes—he is often causing tangible harm in their lives. It’s probably still true to say that social media “isn’t real life,” until thousands of lunatics learn your home address.

 

A final absurdity in my case, is that several of the controversial issues that Elon has hurled himself at of late—and even attacked me over—are ones we agree about. We seem to be in near total alignment on immigration and the problems at the southern border of the U.S. We also share the same concerns about what he calls “the woke mind virus.” And we fully agree about the manifest evil of the so-called “grooming-gangs scandal” in the U.K. The problem with Elon, is that he makes no effort to get his facts straight when discussing any of these topics, and he regularly promotes lies and conspiracy theories manufactured by known bad actors, at scale. (And if grooming were really one of his concerns, it’s strange that he couldn’t find anything wrong with Matt Gaetz.)

 

Elon and I even agree about the foundational importance of free speech. It’s just that his approach to safeguarding it—amplifying the influence of psychopaths and psychotics, while deplatforming real journalists and his own critics; or savaging the reputations of democratic leaders, while never saying a harsh word about the Chinese Communist Party—is not something I can support. The man claims to have principles, but he appears to have only moods and impulses.

 

Any dispassionate observer of Elon’s behavior on Twitter/X can see that there is something seriously wrong with his moral compass, if not his perception of reality. There is simply no excuse for a person with his talents, resources, and opportunities to create so much pointless noise. The callousness and narcissism conveyed by his antics should be impossible for his real friends to ignore—but they appear to keep silent, perhaps for fear of losing access to his orbit of influence.

 

Of course, none of this is to deny that the tens of thousands of brilliant engineers Elon employs are accomplishing extraordinary things. He really is the greatest entrepreneur of our generation. And because of the businesses he’s built, he will likely become the world’s first trillionaire—perhaps very soon. Since the election of Donald Trump in November, Elon’s wealth has grown by around $200 billion. That’s nearly $3 billion a day (and over $100 million an hour). Such astonishing access to resources gives Elon the chance—and many would argue the responsibility—to solve enormous problems in our world.

 

So why spend time spreading lies on X?

[OneMoreFarang]

6 minutes ago, RSD1 said:

has Elon become an existential threat to humanity?

Yes

 

[RSD1]

I also wonder how Elon Musk will be remembered 50 years from now. Innovator or destructor? And will all of his developments with technology, knowing that he never actually invented anything himself, be viewed as substantial or pedestrian?

[OneMoreFarang]

3 minutes ago, RSD1 said:

I also wonder how Elon Musk will be remembered 50 years from now. Innovator or destructor? And will all of his developments with technology, knowing that he never actually invented anything, be viewed as substantial or pedestrian?

We can't predict the future.

One big problem is that as far as I know no private person was ever as rich as Musk. 

How can we or anybody else guess what is on that guy's mind. I read somewhere that if 1 meter would be 1 dollar then he would have enough money for the distance to Mars and back. That is soooooooo much money that nobody can really understand it.

So, what will Musk do? What is on his mind? There is nobody who we can ask who might know.

[RSD1]

16 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

We can't predict the future.

One big problem is that as far as I know no private person was ever as rich as Musk. 

How can we or anybody else guess what is on that guy's mind. I read somewhere that if 1 meter would be 1 dollar then he would have enough money for the distance to Mars and back. That is soooooooo much money that nobody can really understand it.

So, what will Musk do? What is on his mind? There is nobody who we can ask who might know.

It's not only about his money that will shape the future but, as Sam Harris pointed out, it's all the platforming he does of misinformation, disinformation, conspiracies, hoaxes, and what seems to be his wholesale distorted view of reality.
 

Personally, I think there is a good chance that he could be remembered as a destructor and not a creator. Many people start out on the right course doing some seemingly great things, but then eventually turn to the dark side, which is what they are remembered for in the end. 
 

Names like Julius Caesar, Joseph Stalin and Benito Mussolini come to mind. And let's of course not forget Anakin Skywalker. 

[simon43]

This comment from him:

 

" At the end of 2022, I abandoned Twitter/X altogether, having recognized the poisonous effect that it had on my life"

 

demonstrates to me what a mentally-weak individual this person is!  If you can't take it, go and join a monastery instead, 'cos the real world is a hard and unforgiving place.

 

Twitter/C poisoning your life?  Jeez.......

 

BTW, Elon is a top bloke!!  I love his space work and I love his comments and how he can trigger so many people (same goes for Trump).  Go Elon, go Trump go!! 🙂

[OneMoreFarang]

6 minutes ago, RSD1 said:

It's not only about his money that will shape the future but, as Sam Harris pointed out, it's all the platforming he does of misinformation, disinformation, conspiracies, hoaxes, and what seems to be his wholesale distorted view of reality.
 

Personally, I think there is a good chance that he could be remembered as a destructor and not a creator. Many people start out on the right course doing some seemingly great things, but then eventually turn to the dark side, which is what they are remembered for in the end. 
 

Names like Julius Caesar, Joseph Stalin and Benito Mussolini come to mind. And let's of course not forget Anakin Skywalker. 

He has the money to change the world, and change it significantly, in many ways.

That is very scary.

Maybe he will develop Skynet and convince Trump to switch it on to save us all. We can't rule out anything like that.

 

 

[RSD1]

19 minutes ago, simon43 said:

Twitter/C poisoning your life?  Jeez.......

I think that's a stark oversimplification. He said this:

 

These otherwise serious and compassionate people know that when Elon attacks private citizens on Twitter/X—falsely accusing them of crimes or corruption, celebrating their misfortunes—he is often causing tangible harm in their lives. It’s probably still true to say that social media “isn’t real life,” until thousands of lunatics learn your home address.

[OneMoreFarang]

5 minutes ago, simon43 said:

" At the end of 2022, I abandoned Twitter/X altogether, having recognized the poisonous effect that it had on my life"

 

demonstrates to me what a mentally-weak individual this person is! 

Really?

 

I have a Twitter account, I didn't use it for years. Does this make me mentally weak?

Public people, like Sam Harris, Elon Musk and many more, seem to use X to shout at each other and about each other - often without facts. Is that good? Is that healthy? Or is it maybe a good idea to stay away from something like that?

 

 

 

[RSD1]

43 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Maybe he will develop Skynet and convince Trump to switch it on to save us all. We can't rule out anything like that.

 

Yes, fully agree, that’s one potential narrative I had also considered, although I believe he’s less likely to turn his version of Skynet into an outright killing machine and more likely to conspire with China to exploit and undermine Western infrastructure through computer and internet technology.
 

Overall, Elon strikes me as another one of those madmen who has already lost the plot, and I suspect psychedelic drug use plays a role, but his true colors won’t be as clear to everyone else until it’s too late. Another textbook case of "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

 

Elon also seems like the ultimate troll of humanity, far worse than a maniac like Putin, who at least appears to follow some kind of (more predictable) Soviet era, power-hungry, bloodthirsty agenda.
 

But Elon now seems to do it purely for the “Lolz,” as he already has all the money and success he could ever want and has now transformed into more of a technological and disinformation prankster. That makes him far more unpredictable and possibly even more dangerous and destructive than your typical dictator.

[Captain Flack]

A inappropriate personal comment has been removed. Discuss the topic, not other posters.

[RSD1]

32 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Really?

 

I have a Twitter account, I didn't use it for years. Does this make me mentally weak?

Public people, like Sam Harris, Elon Musk and many more, seem to use X to shout at each other and about each other - often without facts. Is that good? Is that healthy? Or is it maybe a good idea to stay away from something like that?

 

 

 

 

I didn’t intend for this topic to digress into a debate about Twitter, but personally, I’ve never liked it. I don’t see how it serves any real purpose, and most of what gets posted are just anecdotal sound bites. There’s a lot of misinformation and disinformation from people with personal agendas. So, I’ve never had any time for it, but whatever it started out as has only gotten worse since Musk took over and began using it as a tool to shift his political agenda and attack his enemies. It’s pretty disgusting, if you ask me. In the beginning, he claimed he was buying it to clean up misinformation and promote free speech, but all he’s actually done is the opposite and exacerbated the problem, which seems to have been his true agenda all along. And if that’s any indication of what Musk is really all about, promising one thing and then doing another, then watch out.

[simon43]

As RSD1 commented, this is not a thread about Twitter/X, so I'll simply say that I have never had a Twitter/X account 🙂

[Walker88]

I think like his SpaceX rocket breaking up and falling on the Turks and Caicos Islands is a fitting metaphor for what is likely to happen to President Musk. I don't know what ails him mentally, though obviously something does, as he is becoming more bizarre by the day. Immense wealth might do that, or it could be he knows he is getting credit for ideas that were merely ideas: the heavy lifting has been done by brilliant engineers he has hired.

 

The guy is taking advantage of false perceptions (Elon did not invent the 'chopsticks' that catch rocket boosters nor even write the code that lets cars drives themselves with the beta version sometimes taking the car and its passengers through red lights). He has decided that since many people think Elon knows everything about everything, he has to offer his opinions on everything from Covid to slashing government waste, and everyone should believe what he says. I don't remember anybody ever asking Albert Einstein for his view on post-modern art or transgender people. Elon should stay in his lane, but he wanders more than a Tesla on the beta version of self-drive.

 

What will contribute to Elon's tumble won't just be his apparent emotional decline, but the fact he is taking too much of the stage from someone more emotionally weak than even Elon....the incoming US President. So threatened is POTUS 47 that he has had to note on several occasions that Elon is NOT the President. Maybe the first target of 47's barking little chihuahua at FBI (Kash Patel) will not be Liz Cheney nor Adam Schiff nor Jimmy Kimmel, but instead Elon Musk.

[Yagoda]

He was a hero until he bucked the Socialists, now he is their new anti-Christ

[RSD1]

8 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

He was a hero until he bucked the Socialists, now he is their new anti-Christ

He was a hero when was a technological innovator like Steve Jobs and by his providing of internet, power, and drinking water to disaster zones. Now he's morphed into a deluded and oversized megalomaniac with madman aspirations, both politically and socially, and an agenda to eventually disrupt the greater well being of humanity. 

[OneMoreFarang]

41 minutes ago, RSD1 said:

I didn’t intend for this topic to digress into a debate about Twitter, but personally, I’ve never liked it. I don’t see how it serves any real purpose, and most of what gets posted are just anecdotal sound bites. There’s a lot of misinformation and disinformation from people with personal agendas. So, I’ve never had any time for it, but whatever it started out as has only gotten worse since Musk took over and began using it as a tool to shift his political agenda and attack his enemies. It’s pretty disgusting, if you ask me. In the beginning, he claimed he was buying it to clean up misinformation and promote free speech, but all he’s actually done is the opposite and exacerbated the problem, which seems to have been his true agenda all along. And if that’s any indication of what Musk is really all about, promising one thing and then doing another, then watch out.

 

I saw an interview with him (I don't remember from how long ago) that his intention is free speech, to allow all speech which is legal and only delete what is illegal. In a way I understand this. Twitter was as some stage very much left. And as Musk said, from that perspective any change is a change to the right.

 

The bigger problem with him, with X and with people like Trump is that too many people listen to them and think they are the smart guys, and they must all know the truth and tell us the truth. Musk owning X and writing constantly whatever enters his mind would be no problem if not millions of people would read it like the gospel.

Elon Musk said it, so it must be true. Really?

If I would want to know something about electric cars, then I would listen what he has to say, and I would also listen to other specialists.

If I want to know about UK grooming gangs, then certainly I would not rely on Musk or whatever Nigel Farange or Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon told him. And with many other subjects it the same. It's like Hollywood stars talking about politics. Just shut up about things which you don't know anything about.

[BangkokReady]

He's a benefit, not a threat.

[save the frogs]

balls are sweaty.

well, I did say people were going to die. 

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

7 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

He's a benefit, not a threat.

Sure?

And if you are sure, what makes you sure?

[save the frogs]

7 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Sure?

And if you are sure, what makes you sure?

he says there will be billions of humanoid robots at some point.

maybe more robots than humans eventually. 

no one knows for sure how this will affect the human race or what these things will be doing exactly. 

for now, they're just serving drinks. 

 

 

[RSD1]

It seems like the perfect start to a 2025 Season 7 Black Mirror episode imagined by Musk, where everything eventually spirals out of control. Then, five minutes later, the gun inadvertently starts shooting at the pink balloons, and, well, you can guess how it ends…

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DE6F1-GNjDi