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In November 2022, just after Elon Musk purchased the social media platform then known as Twitter, I argued in these pages that the world's richest man was shifting away from being a profit-motivated and, sometimes visionary, entrepreneur into a geopolitical propagandist allied in common cause with Vladimir Putin's Russia, China under Xi Jinping, and other authoritarian nations, against the West and the dollar.
At the time, it seemed an extreme argument to some, while others recognised the same signs I did.
That hypothesis now appears to have been borne out.
Since then, Musk has become more extreme in his stances - most recently attempting political interventions in the domestic affairs of the UK and Brazil in the name of 'free speech'. This included his claim, in response to the UK's race riots this summer, that civil war was "inevitable" and attempts to institute direct exchanges on X (formerly Twitter) with the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.
Some believe that he has simply lost his marbles or been "radicalised by his own platform". But the roots of this are much deeper.
Musk's wealth and power now exert a gravitational warping along multiple geopolitical axes.
These include: Russia's projection of power into the West, and its capture of the US Republican Party; his ideas about money, inflation, and the US Federal Reserve; his capacity to shape the information environment through X; his strategic control over space capability and internet communications through his firm SpaceX; his control over a major US automaker, Tesla, with a strategic position in electric mobility; and significant investments in AI development through X, xAI, and Tesla.
A Political and Cultural Alignment
A primary purpose of Putin's war in Ukraine is to project power into the West - forcing a choice between continued US hegemony and a new 'multipolar' global order. As this conflict has become increasingly acute, Musk's worldview has converged with Putin's in important ways.
In the West, political identity has become fully aligned with cultural identity.
As the political scientist Lilliana Mason has observed, we can now learn much about people's political beliefs from what neighbourhood they choose to live in, and learn most of the rest by noting what kind of car they drive, and where they choose to shop for groceries.
As political stakes have risen so high as to determine the very survival of Western democracy, the same high stakes and stark choices have also been mirrored in the realm of culture.
Musk has repeatedly taken Putin's side, both politically and culturally.
Related reading: 'Musk's Twitter Buy Makes No Sense - Unless It's Part of Something Bigger'
He followed his purchase of X by endorsing Donald Trump for re-election in November, as well as amplifying a multitude of pro-Russian voices. He has repeatedly asserted that the US is on the brink of bankruptcy, and that the question isn't whether America will default on its debt but when. He has endorsed cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Dogecoin as alternatives to the dollar and the US Federal Reserve, and repeated libertarian talking points about "government having a monopoly on violence".
It would be difficult to concoct positions better aligned with the Russian President's.
Shared Vision of the 'Noosphere'
Crucially, it is in their visions of the future where Musk and Putin may most converge - and it is here that we also depart from Western frames of reference.
'Russian Cosmism' has been described by scholar Marlene Laruelle as a key but under-explored heart of Russian nationalism, rooted in the idea of man's destiny to 'evolv
Help us build the better - independent - media Britain deserves.
In November 2022, just after Elon Musk purchased the social media platform then known as Twitter, I argued in these pages that the world's richest man was shifting away from being a profit-motivated and, sometimes visionary, entrepreneur into a geopolitical propagandist allied in common cause with Vladimir Putin's Russia, China under Xi Jinping, and other authoritarian nations, against the West and the dollar.
At the time, it seemed an extreme argument to some, while others recognised the same signs I did.
That hypothesis now appears to have been borne out.
Since then, Musk has become more extreme in his stances - most recently attempting political interventions in the domestic affairs of the UK and Brazil in the name of 'free speech'. This included his claim, in response to the UK's race riots this summer, that civil war was "inevitable" and attempts to institute direct exchanges on X (formerly Twitter) with the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.
Some believe that he has simply lost his marbles or been "radicalised by his own platform". But the roots of this are much deeper.
Musk's wealth and power now exert a gravitational warping along multiple geopolitical axes.
These include: Russia's projection of power into the West, and its capture of the US Republican Party; his ideas about money, inflation, and the US Federal Reserve; his capacity to shape the information environment through X; his strategic control over space capability and internet communications through his firm SpaceX; his control over a major US automaker, Tesla, with a strategic position in electric mobility; and significant investments in AI development through X, xAI, and Tesla.
A Political and Cultural Alignment
A primary purpose of Putin's war in Ukraine is to project power into the West - forcing a choice between continued US hegemony and a new 'multipolar' global order. As this conflict has become increasingly acute, Musk's worldview has converged with Putin's in important ways.
In the West, political identity has become fully aligned with cultural identity.
As the political scientist Lilliana Mason has observed, we can now learn much about people's political beliefs from what neighbourhood they choose to live in, and learn most of the rest by noting what kind of car they drive, and where they choose to shop for groceries.
As political stakes have risen so high as to determine the very survival of Western democracy, the same high stakes and stark choices have also been mirrored in the realm of culture.
Musk has repeatedly taken Putin's side, both politically and culturally.
Related reading: 'Musk's Twitter Buy Makes No Sense - Unless It's Part of Something Bigger'
He followed his purchase of X by endorsing Donald Trump for re-election in November, as well as amplifying a multitude of pro-Russian voices. He has repeatedly asserted that the US is on the brink of bankruptcy, and that the question isn't whether America will default on its debt but when. He has endorsed cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Dogecoin as alternatives to the dollar and the US Federal Reserve, and repeated libertarian talking points about "government having a monopoly on violence".
It would be difficult to concoct positions better aligned with the Russian President's.
Shared Vision of the 'Noosphere'
Crucially, it is in their visions of the future where Musk and Putin may most converge - and it is here that we also depart from Western frames of reference.
'Russian Cosmism' has been described by scholar Marlene Laruelle as a key but under-explored heart of Russian nationalism, rooted in the idea of man's destiny to 'evolv
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