Muskism

A Guide for the Perplexed

By: Quinn Slobodian, Ben Tarnoff

Narrated by: Adam Grupper

“An illuminating book that examines where Mr. Musk came from and the episodes that shaped his worldview. In many ways it is the inverse of Walter Isaacson’s authorised biography. . . . the authors provide a portrait of his psyche that is arguably more revealing. . . . the resulting book is, you might say, a Musk-read.” –The Economist

"Muskism cuts straight to the core of the man and the moment, explaining how a mercurial, conspiracy-prone, vicious bastard can inspire loyalty and billions in other peoples' money, and the nightmare world he wants to build with those billions." –Cory Doctorow, author of Enshittification

A New Yorker Most Anticipated Book of the Year • A Financial Times Most Anticipated Nonfiction Book of the Year • A Kirkus Most Anticipated Nonfiction Book of Spring 2026• A Literary Hub Most Anticipated Book of the Year

A pyrotechnic examination of Elon Musk as a symptom and avatar of our postliberal age

Everyone’s got an Elon take. He’s a messiah. A menace; a genius; a clown. The verdicts differ, but they share one theme: they treat him as an individual.

Muskism argues otherwise. Elon Musk isn’t a glitch in the system—he is the system. His worldview promises sovereignty through technology: plug in, power up, and become self-reliant. But the more you connect, the more he owns you.

If Fordism defined the capitalism of the twentieth century, Muskism may define the twenty-first. Fordism helped build the welfare state. Musk undoes it. He thrives on dependence while preaching freedom. His cars run on subsidies; his satellites run the battlefield; his social networks train the AI that trains us.

Muskism sells itself as the future but entrenches age-old hierarchies. It offers autonomy for some and exclusion for others. It’s pro-natalist but anti-immigrant, futurist but reactionary. It speaks of humanity but warns against empathy.

Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff cut through the hype and the hate to reveal what Musk really represents: a new political economy, where to be “free” means to serve a Technoking. Muskism isn’t about the man. It’s about the machine that made him—and the world he’s making next. To read Muskism is to understand the machinery that made the man, and the world he’s making next, based on his philosophy of power in the spheres of:

• Silicon Valley: A sharp analysis of Elon Musk as more than a tech CEO, introducing “Muskism” as a new Silicon Valley paradigm shaping artificial intelligence, startups, and 21st-century capitalism.
• Big Tech, AI & the Future of Capitalism: Examines Tesla, SpaceX, and digital platforms through concepts like techno-sovereignty, automation, and “state symbiosis,” revealing how Big Tech is restructuring markets, innovation, and economic power.
• Geopolitics, Power & the Tech Billionaire Era: Explores how Musk’s companies influence global politics, infrastructure, and governance—from satellite networks to energy systems—showing how private tech power is reshaping international relations.

Sharp, Useful, but Far from Neutral

The opening sentence of the book is, “Everyone has an opinion about Elon Musk.” The authors certainly do. Within a few pages, it becomes clear that they are not merely skeptical of Musk, but deeply hostile to him and to the political-technological worldview they call Muskism. That does not make the book wrong, but it does make me question whether they ever give Musk’s achievements, his appeal, or his companies a fully fair hearing.

The authors coin the term Muskism to describe a worldview built around the belief that bold technology, private companies, automation, and visionary entrepreneurs can solve major problems better than governments. In their view, Muskism promises freedom through technology, but often ends up concentrating power in the hands of billionaires.

The book is strongest when it explains Muskism as something larger than Musk himself. Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink, X, Neuralink, and artificial intelligence are presented as parts of a larger system, one that shifts power away from public institutions and toward private platforms. The authors are especially concerned with the way Musk’s companies often depend on government contracts, subsidies, and public infrastructure while presenting themselves as independent alternatives to government.

The earlier parts of the book acknowledge Musk’s many accomplishments, but as the book progresses it becomes increasingly negative. By the end, the authors describe a horribly dystopian future, and argue that this is where Muskism is leading us.

I found the book useful and worth reading, but also one-sided. It helped me think more clearly about the political implications of Musk’s companies and the concentration of technological power. At the same time, I thought the authors’ hostility to Musk weakened the book. Musk has real flaws, but he has also accomplished extraordinary things. A more balanced book would have been more convincing.