Things about Elon (and how easy for anyone to fall from people's grace)
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March 12, 2025
Four years ago, things looked very different for Elon Musk.
In fact, I had a very good opinion of him. He was, to me, an
example of how an autistic person could attain success through an
unconventional career promoting out-of-the-box thinking. In a world
in which 8 out of 10 autistic folks are either unemployed or
severely underemployed, the public visibility of Elon Musk gave me
hope.
In 2021, he was on a Saturday Night Live episode. He also went to
space, being one of the three billionaires who went on space
tourism that year, along with Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson.
Tesla was still a favorite among those who cared about climate
change and carbon emissions. Many households were installing
Tesla's solar panels and power banks.
When he posted silly Shiba Inu memes on Twitter (which he had not
yet bought), the price of Dogecoin skyrocketed from a third of a
penny to somewhere around 70 cents. There was something in Elon
Musk that was likable: playful and borderline inappropriate at
times, defying the ossified social norms and conventions, and often
coming across as childlike and curious.
So much has changed between 2021 and 2025. Elon is now arguably one
of the most powerful men on Earth who wields largely unchecked
power over the United States government and policy. He also owns
one of the still-major social networks, now rebranded "X." Yet, his
popularity has fallen. He is vilified by half of the country and
even more so abroad. The Tesla stock price is in freefall. Tesla
owners, once part of a revered lifestyle brand with a devoted
following, are now derided as drivers of a "Swasticar."
Part of me sees myself in Elon Musk. When Elon showed up at a
presidential inauguration event, performing a "Roman salute" on
stage, I remember how, as an elementary school kid, I used to do
patently offensive things in public, maybe to watch other people's
reactions (or perhaps I didn't even care for that; I did it just
because it was seen as "wrong" by society).
And maybe, as a neurodivergent person, Elon simply wasn't used to
working within the established bureaucracy of a government. He
probably thinks that he has a "better idea" than following rules
that he sees as nonsensical, and perhaps working with lots of
people who have different ideas, opinions, and experiences is
something he sees as a barrier and obstacle.
But the older I get, the more I understand that the world does not
revolve around me, and pissing people off on purpose does not make
me look "tough," let alone like a "revolutionary" or an
"innovator."
One of the common stereotypes about autistic people is that they
are utterly incapable of empathy. Elon recently tweeted that
empathy is evil, seemingly confirming that stereotype. Only a
couple of years ago, I thought I was incapable of empathy as well
(and I've given up on myself on that). But science now knows that
empathy still exists, only in different areas of the brain. So,
empathy is felt very differently by autistic people as compared to
how empathy works among neurotypical people.
In fact, as you read this, you see that I display empathy toward
Elon Musk of all people.
How easy it is for anyone to fall from people's grace and goodwill!
And even being the richest man on Earth with direct access to the
White House does not make him immune from that.
The worst outcome would be that Elon Musk and his antics would
contribute to an even worse prejudice toward neurodivergent people
- and excuses among politicians to cut needed funding to help them
(after all, why spend taxpayer money on autistic folks when the
most famous among them is the richest man on Earth?). This is
something I worry about a lot.
