BBC2 and iPlayer (UK only)
In the new BBC2 series The Elon Musk Show, aerospace engineer Jim Cantrell recalls being approached by Elon Musk, then an entrepreneur interested in space, about his 鈥渦ltimate goal of making humanity a multiplanetary species鈥�.
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At the time, the ex-NASA employee was privately dismissive, as he effectively conveys on camera with an onanist hand gesture. Cantrell recalls, with a rueful chuckle, mishearing his name: 鈥溾�業an Musk鈥� is what I thought he said.鈥�
It is easy to feel wistful for a simpler time: ignorance of Elon Musk, if not actual bliss, would at least mean one less thing to think about. Instead, with half a billion Google results for his name, a personal wealth of billions of dollars and daily updates on his every move and whim, it can feel like we are already living in The Elon Musk Show.
As the three-part documentary begins by noting in the commentary, every day Musk accumulates more power and wealth: 鈥淣o one on Earth is doing more to change the world.鈥� The question is, should we be worried?
The series boasts impressive access to Musk鈥檚 friends and 鈥渆nemies鈥�, among them his mother (convinced of his genius from the age of 3) and his ex-wife, the British actor Talulah Riley, whose odd but endearing story is the first we hear. He asked her if she wanted to come back to his hotel room 鈥渢o look at rocket videos鈥�. It turned out not to be a euphemism.
It also makes effective use of extensive archival footage of Musk, dating back to his early Silicon Valley ambitions with software company Zip2 in 1995. The series paints a picture of Musk鈥檚 stratospheric rise from a self-assured, if socially awkward 23-year-old start-up founder from South Africa to a billionaire intent on making his mark.
As Musk says, having become a multimillionaire by 28, he could have retired to an island. Instead, he is seeking to shape our future society, through his companies such as Tesla, SpaceX and Neuralink, or whatever he might dream up next. The rest of us must live with the consequences, whatever they may be.
The Musk of the documentary is a forceful personality: determined but capricious, eccentric but persuasive, certainly unique. But despite a comprehensive effort, the series struggles to get a hold on exactly what impact he may have on our world, while making it seem certain that he will have one.
His early embrace of renewable energy shows how instrumental he could be in ushering in a civilisation that frees us from our current planetary constraints. But the kind of erratic behaviour evidenced in his on-off takeover of Twitter casts doubt as to whether he has the focus, or civic-mindedness, to achieve it.
Even among those who seem to know Musk well, it is striking how he is persistently framed as a hero or villain 鈥� or as a superhuman genius. His mother likens him to a state: 鈥淗e鈥檚 done things no other country can do 鈥� it鈥檚 quite magnificent.鈥� A former employee invokes a higher power, saying Musk 鈥渨orks in mysterious ways鈥�. And the documentary itself posits a binary question, asking if we should 鈥渃elebrate his achievements or be frightened by his power鈥�.
The most pertinent characterisation might be from Musk鈥檚 brother (and Zip2 co-founder), who says he is a man 鈥渋mmune to risk鈥�. It may not be Musk鈥檚 world now, but if he gets his way, we will one day be living in it. After all, Cantrell started out sceptical 鈥� and ended up in Russia, helping Musk to buy a rocket, toasting his future.
Elle Hunt is a writer based in Norwich, Norfolk
