so i stumbled upon a thing on reddit
the thing is that there’s an obscure early scifi book by none other than wernher von braun, that is about mars colonization, where they find already existing civilization, leader of which is called elon. apparently this is why megaracist elon’s father named him that:
Interest in this novel increased in 2021 when people connected the Martian leader, called the Elon, to SpaceX founder Elon Musk, suggesting that von Braun may have somehow foreseen Musk’s space exploration ventures.[15] However, Errol Musk, Elon’s father, asserted in 2022 that he was fully aware of the von Braun connection in naming his son.[16]
also in that book: tunnels used for high-speed travel; nation-states became obsolete because of some magic tech; highly technocratic planetary government as a result. that stimulant habit seems historically accurate then, even if it’s cut with ketamine sometimes. some more red string on corkboard https://www.mind-war.com/p/the-elon-how-a-nazi-rocket-scientist this tracks as one of his grandparents moved from canada to south africa because canada in 40s wasn’t racist enough for them, and with all the technocracy inc things.
so yeah, motherfucker might be believing - or even groomed into - that he’s destined to be a planetary overlord, all based on nazi scifi, and he’s playing it out irl with all the fuck you money he has
“Veppers… is based on Musk”
If this is true, then it’s a remarkable bit of SF foresight, because in 2010, Musk was nowhere near what he is now. He wasn’t even in the top 100 richest. He was rich, but not even a billionaire. It was such a different time that even Jeff Bezos was just #43 in the world (this is from Forbes 2010). We didn’t yet have our current technofeudalism centered on Internet tycoons; the tech tycoons in the top 10 were Bill Gates and Larry Ellison.
Regarding the main topic of this thread, I too had wondered if the name is a clue that Elon was the golden child of some secret cult of upper-class Space Nazis, their anointed one destined to realize the Iron Dream. But if one is to entertain such thoughts, you should be aware that it was also the middle name of a maternal great-grandfather, John Elon Haldeman, who was apparently a Minnesota school teacher who emigrated to Canada with his chiropractor wife.
@Mitchell_Porter Musk was already a famous multi-millionaire with a dot-com history, a rocket program, and IIRC an electric car company. Musk was playing at James Bond villainy back in the 00s. (And I used to go to the pub with Iain.)
As for the name I thought it was well known that the Musk family were involved in the Technocracy movement?
@cstross @Mitchell_Porter
The Howard Families ?
as the other poster pointed out: Iron Man 2 came out in 2010, and Musk’s personality cult was already in full swing since his PR team at the time did everything they could to associate him with the first film. I believe Charlie when he says his friend and fellow sci-fi author knew an asshole when he saw one.
I remember a YouTube personality around that time called BoyInABand who was a legitimately talented musician, but among his most popular videos were one where he praised Elon Musk and another called “don’t stay in school” whoch advocated for exactly that.
I don’t remember if it was the anti-school song, the Musk fanboyism or inappropriate relationship with an underage fan that first got him cancelled but I think he deservedly got owned for each of them.
@Mitchell_Porter @cstross Iron Man 2 was 2010
