What’s Driving Elon Musk? | The Ezra Klein Show

Ahead of the midterm elections, Elon Musk has become the single largest campaign donor in any election cycle, giving about $450 million to Republicans. It is just a fraction of a percent of his near-trillion-dollar net worth. Musk’s control over SpaceX, Starlink, X, Tesla and Neuralink, on top of his riches, has given him power over wealth, attention and critical infrastructure that few human beings have ever amassed before. What does he want to do with all this power? What is he trying to buy with his campaign spending? What is the world he wants to build? Quinn Slobodian is a professor of international history at Boston University. He’s the author of “Globalists,” “Hayek’s Bastards” and, most recently, “Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed,” which he co-wrote with Ben Tarnoff. 00:00 Intro 01:42 Why Musk Is Spending $450 Million on the Election 09:19 How Musk Sees A.I. 12:02 Musk’s Rightward Political Turn 18:07 Musk Industries 20:10 The Future ‘Quasi-Infinite’ Economy 24:25 Woke Mind Virus Theory 30:50 Empathy Exploit And Immigration 34:29 The Influence of South Africa and Apartheid 39:12 Neoliberalism After Cold War 44:34 A.I. Shrinks the Elite 47:11 Technocracy and Transition Plan 50:51 What Musk and Trump Share 55:34 Regulate, Replace, Reimagine 57:49 Nationalizing Starlink Debate 01:00:44 Stock Market Leverage 01:03:01 Simulation Theory and Nihilism 01:07:21 Book Recommendations Read the full transcript here: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/30/op... Watch more on ‪@EzraKleinShow‬ Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com. You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-...