Musk had never been very political, Walter Isaacson explains (in his biography of Elon):
Like many techies, he was liberal on social issues but with a dollop of libertarian resistance to regulations and political correctness. He contributed to the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and then Hillary Clinton, and he was a vocal critic of Donald Trump in the 2016 election. “He doesn’t seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States,” he told CNBC.
But after Trump won, Musk became cautiously optimistic that he might govern as a renegade independent rather than a resentful right-winger. “I thought that maybe some of the crazier stuff he said during the campaign was just a performance and he would land in a more sensible place,” he says.
[…]
“Trump might be one of the world’s best bullshitters ever,” he says. “Like my dad. Bullshitting can sometimes baffle the brain. If you just think of Trump as sort of a con-man performance, then his behavior sort of makes sense.”
I think it’s fairly obvious that Trump is first and foremost a salesman, one of the world’s greatest salesmen, and that the line between a good conman and a good salesman is rather thin and blurry where the two concepts meet. In fact, if you squint your eyes it might completely change where a man falls on the line. All of his behaviors, even towards those trying to destroy him and his family, are those of a salesman/merchant; appealing to courts of law, waging legal battles, rallying popular support, raising money, flaunting the economy, etc.
Musk doesn’t strike me as particularly deep with regard to his understanding of human nature and human history. Not dumb, but certainly ad hoc. Simply a man who doesn’t think about it too much.
Trump is without question the most purely charismatic man ever to live.
Musk is likely the most charismatic autist.
Phineas hits the nail on the head. Good salespeople, like good bullshitters, are highly articulate. They just open their mouths and the magic words come. I’ve been watching some Douglas Murray recently and he also has that gift.