SpaceX Evolution (Appendix G: What is Elon Musk)
A serialized version of this book for SubStack
Link to First Installment: https://chrisprophet.substack.com/p/spacex-evolution
Elon Musk is different, shockingly so for many, who have never seen his like in their lifetime. Some might joke he’s a Martian, who’s trying to return to his home planet… Truth is he’s human with the same fear of failing, balanced by drive to succeed. Where he differs from most is his capabilities, yes he reads avidly but more importantly he largely retains this information. More important still, he seems to deeply comprehend what he’s read, which is a truly powerful combination. Hardly surprisingly, the first to notice this exceptionality was his mother: -
“When Elon was young, for instance, I noticed that he read everything. I was a reader, too, but I would forget a story the moment it was done. Elon, on the other hand, remembered everything he read. He was always absorbing information. We called Elon the Encyclopedia, because he had read the Encyclopedia Britannica and Collier's Encyclopedia, and remembered everything. That’s also why we call him Genius Boy. We could ask him anything. Remember, this was before the internet. I guess now we would call him The Internet.”1 ~ Maye Musk
In other words he was a child prodigy, yet it’s quite common for such early promise to fade, which is clearly not the case for Elon. No doubt his South African heritage has contributed to his incredible endurance and single-minded dedication to what he believes is important. While being well versed certainly helps, the ability to work 22 hour days and tough minded commitment to see any project through to completion, despite overwhelming adversity, really sets him apart. When Elon founded SpaceX in 2002, he was fairly naive about the challenges that lay ahead – but committed heart and soul to make it succeed. Here’s Robert Zubrin’s first-hand testimony: -
“They were getting close towards the first launch of Falcon 1 and I said to him (Elon) you should expect the first two launches to fail… And he said to me why, how do you know, what is wrong with our design? I (Zubrin) don’t know what’s wrong with your design, I don’t know if there’s anything wrong with your design but I can tell you these things usually fail the first couple of time and you should expect it to fail. Then it’s 2007, I’m visiting them (SpaceX) again and by then the first two had failed and he says I’m good for one more try, if that fails I’m out (of money). And it did fail, but then (Elon) tried it again, and that’s the difference… It’s not just the money, but just the mental toughness to stick to it in the face of adversity, resolution and this really is the distinction between him and all these basically dilettante zillionaires who thought they would do this.”2
In other words Elon Musk is someone truly exceptional, even when compared to his so-called peers. It might be tempting to believe he represents the next evolutionary step for humanity, i.e. the progenitor for a people who are more technologically aware and physically durable, so generally better suited to the exigence of space colonization. However, we’ve seen many super-exceptional people throughout history: Alexander the Great, Lord Buddha and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who each left indelible impressions on the world and yet none of their great qualities were transferred to the next and ensuing generations entire, because of simple genetics. Probably important to note too, that any small chance some exceptional paternal traits might have been passed on by these historical greats was further reduced by the fact most had limited to no surviving progeny.
However, in all likelihood this might not be the case with Musk, who seems determined to break the mold. Currently he has 6 children from his first marriage to Justine Wilson, 3 by Claire Boucher (aka Grimes) and 3 more with Shivon Zilis. Normally Elon endeavors to take his children to work, providing them with some valuable experience of the engineering world. In some regards this has strong parallels to Elon’s own upbringing with his father Errol (also an outstanding engineer) who often took him on business trips and site visits across southern Africa. In addition Elon has provided his children with some unique educational opportunities, at a school he helped establish called Ad Astra, which specializes in self-development – a prominent feature of his own childhood.3
So Elon appears to have the bases covered regards background and education but that still leaves the thorny problem of genetics. Unfortunately, from a purely genetic perspective, the chance even one of his offspring could equal or exceed their father’s profound capabilities seems unlikely, because they are not clones, hence only carry half his genes. Elon is an outlier, a one-off genetic anomaly that erupted through recombinative chance and, from a purely statistical perspective, unlikely to represent the progenitor for a persistent trait in humanity. Yet it seems entirely possible he might defy the odds and provide a worthy successor, through strange coincidence and sheer weight of numbers. In a truly weird coincidence all three mothers of Elon’s children are Canadian by birth – hence contribute similar genetic material to Elon’s own mother Maye, who also hails from Canada...
Perhaps too early to say, but there’s a chance Elon might actually succeed in this final generational endeavor. He seems to see something in his youngest son X Æ A-12 (pronounced: X Ash A Twelve)4 and he’s probably in the best position to judge young X’s true potential. Elon has been known to carry little X around the production site at Boca Chica, to experience Starships in the making; the toddler even (briefly) accompanied him during a “SpaceX Starship Discussion,” hosted by The National Academies.5 Hardly surprising, X’s first recorded word was “car” – a case of like father like son. If any further proof was needed here’s something overheard by Grimes: -
“‘fuckin rocket is too fuckin heavy’- my 2 ur old son after his toy rocket failed to reach orbit.”6
Whatever happens, there will be many attempts by ensuing generations to emulate Elon Musk. Likely too, there will be a concerted effort to preserve his many advantages through harvesting his genetic material. Who knows, perhaps this has already occurred, the US, China and Canada certainly have had all necessary access. So it seems quite possible, one way or another, we’ll see more of his kind delivered to assist humanity with its many unresolved problems in the future.
1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesdigitalcovers/2020/01/19/how-to-raise-a-billionaire-maye-musk-on-where-elon-gets-his-drive/
3 https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-creates-a-grade-school-2015-5?r=US&IR=T
4 https://www.cnet.com/news/how-elon-musk-pronounces-x-ae-a-12-his-new-sons-name/