Publishers Weekly
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In this searing analysis of Elon Musk, historian Slobodian (Hayek’s Bastards) and tech journalist Tarnoff (Internet for the People) argue that, just as Fordism “was the operating system” of the 20th century, “Muskism” is that of the 21st. While Henry Ford sold the promise of “rising living standards for all,” Musk sells “sovereignty through technology,” according to the authors, a vision of “a purified community defined by cultural and genetic membership in a white, European West, garrisoned by superior technology” and maintained through “purged social networks, ideologically cleansed AI models, and mass deportation of ethnic outsiders.” Slobodian and Tarnoff track the “feedback loop of man and moment” that shaped Musk, following him from apartheid-era South Africa, where he learned “the lesson of fortress futurism” and militarized isolationism; to 1990s Silicon Valley, where techno-utopianism mingled with reactionary politics, particularly in the thinking of Musk’s PayPal cofounder, Peter Thiel, who espoused that “extreme concentrations of power benefit humanity”; to SpaceX and Tesla, where “war-on-terror” era military-industrial contracts fueled plans for “tactical satellites” and energy storage systems that promised autonomy and sovereignty for both the nation but also for individuals; and finally to the second Trump administration and DOGE, a kind of end-stage of Muskism, wherein “the hunt for ‘waste, fraud, and abuse’ blurred seamlessly into the hunt for illegitimate people.” Muskism, the authors unsettlingly conclude, is ultimately about “purging those deemed out of place.” Impressive and unrelenting, this grapples with a destructive ideology that seems poised to consume everything. (Apr.)

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A searching look into Elon Musk’s quest to rule the universe. Henry Ford didn’t coin the term Fordism, but he and his workers lived it. In the same way, write historian Slobodian and technologist Tarnoff, Musk “is not just a man but the avatar of a worldview: Muskism.” Whereas Fordism was an all-boats-rising form of modernizing, though, Muskism is a doctrine of wealth for the few and political and economic domination: SpaceX in space, X and Grok online, Starlink on every phone. As Slobodian and Tarnoff note, Musk may present himself as a libertarian, but his power comes from his interlinkages with the state: Without government contracts, there wouldn’t be his space launches or satellites, and Musk wouldn’t be on the path of becoming the world’s first trillionaire. Musk’s odd assortment of doctrines, by the authors’ account, have deep roots: He grew up privileged in apartheid South Africa, views the Darwinian world as an arena “of autonomy for some and exclusion for others,” and takes a fabulist, self-appointed-hero approach to commerce and culture. The authors, writing from the left, hold that Musk is representative of Silicon Valley at large in being itself an apartheid state of sorts, a font of inequality and a champion of “the principle of reactionary technocracy.” While their dive isn’t as deep as Michael Steinberger’s inThe Philosopher in the Valley, the two books are of a piece in warning that such a technocracy can turn fascist on a dime, and backed by a robot army at that. Meanwhile, in a chilling coda, Slobodian and Tarnoff consider a future scenario of racial segregation, of women consigned to produce no fewer than 2.1 children apiece, and of the environment sacrificed to the demands of critical infrastructure “at the expense of a livable planet.” Dystopian isn’t a strong enough word for the technocratic future the authors prophesy in this bleak but urgent book. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

The richest man in the world is posting messages on the social media platform he acquired in the autumn of 2022, drawing comments from both followers and detractors. Is he sincere, or is he rage-baiting? Either way, Elon Musk's handle on the zeitgeist is as unquestionable as his influence on the business world. The South African business disruptor became obsessed with computers as an adolescent, before his entrepreneurial spirit took him to Silicon Valley. He got in on the internet boom and found success with Zip2 and in a brief partnership in PayPal. Musk's meteoric rise began with his founding of SpaceX in 2002, a wealth of lucrative government contracts, and his initial investment in Tesla in 2004. Two decades on, Musk continues to make waves, yet his motives have come into question. Slobodian and Tarnoff's "guide for the perplexed" capably and cleverly attempts to recognize the world that produced Elon Musk as well as how he became an icon and later, a political firebrand. Pithy and informative from beginning to end.