In a convergence of ambition, power, and spectacle, Elon Musk and Donald Trump are crafting a narrative that merges sci-fi dystopias with political theatrics, blurring the boundaries between innovation and ideology, and leaving society to grapple with the consequences of their shared vision of the future.
Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead
Eylül Bombaci
Wherever we look these days, we see Elon Musk, and of course we see Donald Trump… Trump returned to the presidency after the US elections that concluded last week, and as you know, Elon Musk is the richest person in the world after all. Tesla, which started its journey as an automotive brand, then the space transportation company SpaceX and finally, you say X, we say Twitter… Musk has come a long way, undeniably. Now, Musk, who was declared the richest person in the world just a few months ago, will be sitting right next to Trump in the US, taking the seat of the Department of Government Efficiency. Trump’s slogan, as if repeating the previous elections, was the same: “Make America Great Again” (MAGA). Although it is still not fully understood how and why, it is more of a dream, an ideal than a wished-for fact. If we drew their birth charts and arranged them, we would probably see them coming together under compatible stars, Trump and Musk are also pursuing the same dreams.
As you can see, the parallels between Musk and Trump are gradually approaching each other. Just before the elections, at the beginning of October, Elon Musk introduced the new products of his company Tesla, known primarily for its fully electric cars. The humanoid robot that resembles R2-D2 from Star Wars and is responsible for housework, and the autonomous taxis that can drive themselves, scared everyone with a new dystopian reality with their dazzling futuristic designs, but they also put on a great show. However, this extremely progressive technology raised some questions. For example, in this introduction event that resembled a magician’s show, the robots that were said to be automatic were being controlled from behind the scenes. The release date of the products being introduced is very far away; the promises seem to be nothing more than a fantasy for now. What is this impatience when we are surrounded by fast technologies that shoot up like rockets? While the possibilities that will change our lives are being put up for sale like a dream, could the world have entered the era of “fake technology”?
I, We, Robot
At the event called “We, Robot” held in California on October 10th and referring to the movie “I, Robot”, Elon Musk introduced the new projects Tesla is working on. The humanoid robots named Optimus were the most striking of these. The only reason why Optimus robots were different from their other robot friends was that they could move on their own will. These robots, which would lend a helping hand to people, could walk thanks to artificial intelligence. However, other features such as filling water and chatting were controlled live by people. As you can see, it seems like it didn’t come close to what was promised. Even the robot admitted that it was controlled by people during the show: “Today I am supported by a human; I don’t have full free will yet,” the robot added. Well, what can we say, the robot is already to its word. From robot to human, human to robot… I think we will develop together.
From dystopian sci-fi to your tables
Musk’s presentation at the launch event was only intended to shed light on the future. In other words, what you saw was not for now, but they were futuristic devices that Musk dreams of. But on the other hand, he also conveyed to the audience what technology promises for the future from a dystopian perspective. In fact, what was shown was so similar to the dystopias that were taken as examples that Alcon Entertainment, the company that produced the movie Blade Runner 2049, filed a lawsuit against Musk due to the visuals he used at the event.
Blade Runner 2049 is the sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 science fiction epic Blade Runner. This film, where humans and robots are not exactly distinguishable, tells the story of a dystopian future. Of course, Elon Musk, who used these images, does not want his future to be like this.
“You know, I love Blade Runner… I think we want this long coat that the character wears, but not the… The gloomy apocalypse.”
The director of the 2004 film I, Robot is also suing Tesla for allegedly copying humanoid machines and autonomous vehicles from the film. Even the name of the event is a reference to the film… Alcon Entertainment, on the other hand, said that they did not get permission for the images used and that all these images were probably created by an artificial intelligence to ‘skip’ the mark. Recreating copyrighted images with artificial intelligence is a completely different matter, we will deal with that another day.
We can also read this embellished show as “Make Sci-Fi Great Again”. The promise that dreams that have not yet come true will actually be on our tables in the future is on the menu of all Americans. While we have to wait (if we want, of course), Musk enjoys being the richest person in the world.
May America be great again, and robots too
While Trump’s supporters from different sectors attended his increasingly wild rallies in the weeks leading up to the election, some signed horrific anti-immigrant hate speeches in front of cameras, and some, like Elon Musk, took the stage as exemplary leaders of the ideal America idea Trump established with their own financial successes. Trump won the US 2024 elections by a very unexpected margin and took the presidency.
Elon Musk had previously surpassed Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos in 2021 to become the world’s richest person. Later, when Tesla’s stocks fell by $200 billion, it was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest personal wealth loss in history. In May 2024, Musk regained the title of the world’s richest person from Bernard Arnault, CEO of the world’s largest luxury brand LVMH. On this occasion, he was announced as the “greatest capitalist in history” at Trump’s big rally marathon. Musk, who wore the black version of the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) hat that was also used in previous elections, first said (after roaring a little, of course), “I’m not just MAGA, I’m black, gothic MAGA.” While Trump’s election strategy embellishes some people’s dreams of “being great again,” there’s not much of an idea where this “again” comes from. The America in mind may be just a dream, for now. So what does Musk’s support mean here? Again, the “legendary” success story of a person who starts from dreams, sells ideas based on dreams, a risk taker.
Now, Musk will be in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency. The short name of this department, is “DOGE”. Coincidentally, this is also the name of Elon Musk’s cryptocurrency inspired by the meme-like Shiba Inu dog; “dogecoin”. At Trump’s rally, Musk was talking about how much tax was wasted during the term of former US President Joe Biden and how much money could be saved under his leadership. We are not sure how he made these calculations.
Poor Blue Bird
In the meantime, let’s open a ‘small’ parenthesis to X in line with the new developments:
The Guardian announced that it has decided to withdraw from the social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk. Behind this decision lies the increasing hate speech and racist content on the platform, as well as Musk’s efforts to shape political discourse using the platform. The Guardian stated that X has now become a “toxic media platform” and that it could use its resources more effectively in other media. This step is also important because it emphasizes the responsibility of media organizations to maintain the balance between freedom of expression and hate speech.
Musk’s dream of turning X into an “everything app” has in practice caused the platform to become a polarizing medium that influences political discourse. So much so that a well-established media organization like The Guardian decided to withdraw, unable to stand the “toxic” nature of the platform. This step sends an important message in terms of media ethics and public responsibility; freedom of expression should exist without poisoning society and being shaped by hate speech. This picture perhaps most strikingly reveals the futuristic dystopia drawn by populist leaders like Musk and Trump: When power and freedom override ethics and public benefit, what is left is nothing more than a dream.
This article has been translated from Dadanizm Magazine. To see the original article in Turkish, click on this link.