Muskian Futurism

Abstract

Muskian futurism refers to a crosspollination of political perceptions, ideas and beliefs centred around the public persona of Elon Musk. In this paper, we explore these strands of thought – contemporary futurism, cyber-libertarianism, neo-reaction, white supremacism and personal self-interest – to situate Muskian futurism as a grouping of overlapping ideologies with a shared diagnosis of the world that runs parallel with other groups of similar influence over the second Trump administration. It is argued that thi s agglomeration of (pseudo)intellectual strands is distinct from nationalism due to its technological solutionism and indifference to Musk’s shameless pursuit of self-interest. Nonetheless, Muskian futurism represents a dangerous technocratic accelerationism committed to the absolute undermining of democratic institutions capable of enduring without Musk’s prominence.