Picture the richest man on Earth smoking a joint live on air, candidly admitting to treating himself with ketamine, or engaging in social media debates with such controversial stances that he is been accused of antisemitism. Nothing you would expect from the solemn Bill Gates, who has recently been talked about for various conspiracy theories, or even less so from Warren Buffett, the billionaire who famously has breakfast at McDonald’s, or from luxury mogul Bernard Arnault. You would not expect it from Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and another former richest man, just as you would not have expected it from any top figure in Silicon Valley—especially not from the ultra-minimalist Steve Jobs, who was always extremely careful about protecting his privacy.
Everything changed in 2021 when Elon Musk took the throne of wealth. We know him for his involvement in the success of companies like PayPal (founded by Max Levchin), Tesla (founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning), and SpaceX. The latter was indeed founded by Musk himself and owes much of its success to the work of brilliant engineer Tom Mueller.
However, Elon Musk is also famous for the name he gave his son (X Æ A-12, with pop star Grimes), for selling 20,000 flamethrowers online, and for eating McDonald’s with Trump on a private jet—one of the most viral photos of 2024.
Money may not buy happiness, but it certainly buys fun, and that is undoubtedly the lesson Elon Musk has taught us while climbing the ranks of celebrity. It has been impossible not to notice him, especially this year, whether in the form of a meme or as the ‘Doge,’ something that makes people smile but also hints at his role in Donald Trump’s administration.
Being Musk today seems like living in a child’s play session where everything is possible, everything is imaginable, but, in his case, everything is achievable—regardless of whether it makes sense. His projects, balanced between business, visionary intuition, and total absurdity, astonish with their scale, their geographic (if not interstellar) reach, and the fact that they involve, whether we like it or not, all of us to varying degrees.
Thus, in American politics, in foreign affairs, on Earth, in space, in the physical world and the digital one, Musk seems to have decided he will not leave the planet without trying a bit of everything first—and making sure we talk about it.
Being Musk today is more or less like living in a children’s game where everything is possible, everything is imaginable, except that in his case, everything is achievable.
Thus, between the idea of a trip to Mars and his obsession with the letter ‘X,’ Elon Musk will wait for 2025—like all of us, but with a more expensive glass of champagne—reflecting on what the year now ending had in store for him. At Domus, we have gathered the most precious highlights in a Musk-Wrapped.
Opening image: Elon Musk smokes marijuana live on air