Why Elon Became a Troll
“There’s a real weakness to want to be liked. I do not have that.”
Elon Musk recently said this during an interview, though not really in response to a question. He went out of his way to declare it after an also unprompted assertion that he has “no problem being hated,” repeatedly interrupting the interviewer who was trying to ask about how his anti-Semitic tweets might scare advertisers away. This is one of the more blatant examples of protesting too much, or “reaction formation” in psychology, I have ever seen. Some say his motives are far more sinister than this but I think it’s fairly obvious that the reason he tweets so many provocative things is exactly because he wants so badly to be liked. (I can’t be the only one to notice the irony if the L were capitalized.) But liked by whom, and why?
Online trolls know deep down that they have nothing to offer the world in the way of interesting conversation, are not entertaining or talented or special in any fashion, but nonetheless have a desperate need for attention and to emotionally affect others somehow. Lacking in any of the attributes that interesting and talented people are able to intrigue and entertain us with, trolls have to settle for roving the internet in search of people they can taunt for showing the vulnerability of being sincere. It’s the only way they’re able to draw attention to themselves, which is the only way they feel like they exist. Say what you will about Elon but he made a significant mark on the world long before he bought Twitter and still has no shortage of genuinely compelling non-political ideas to talk about. So why is he playing the part of a lowly troll?
As you might imagine from his combination of social awkwardness and science nerdery – the latter of which was not exactly celebrated by kids in the 70’s – Elon was incessantly bullied as a child. It was so merciless, in fact, that he once spent more than a week in the hospital after a savage beating he received from a gang of his classmates. When he returned home, his father berated him for it, calling him a worthless idiot and blaming the attack on him. Not that the old man ever needed an excuse, as he forced his son to stand silently by and endure an extended barrage of searing verbal abuse whenever the mood struck him. The two are now estranged, and although his treatment as a child is not the only reason for that, Elon makes little effort to hide the fact that his father haunts him to this day.1
In light of all this, it’s perfectly logical to wonder why he wouldn’t take on the mission to rid his platform of the types who use it to torment others. Decency should obviously be reason enough, but even aside from that there would be bona fide vindication in expelling the bullies from the modern playground, right? The problem is that whatever righteous retribution he’d get out of that would be fleeting compared to the route he’s taken instead, which is to become one of them (or at least pretend to be) and quickly rise to the top of their ranks where he can continually bask in their praise. The massive number of Likes he gets and all the other trolls chiming in to cheer him on for his provocative tweets must feel something akin to worship, and counterintuitive though it may be to most of us that anyone, least of all a victim of horrific bullying, would ever want that from these losers, I believe that for him they represent the cool kids and the daddy who harshly rejected him.
This is why the richest man in world history so often acts like a 9-year-old. Between his miserable time at school and the even worse bullying he suffered at home, his youth was the antithesis of carefree. And granted, he’s long been a fabulously wealthy adult with the ability to step away and spend his days however he pleases, but my suspicion is that his entry into the world of trolldom has amounted to the first time in his life when he’s felt at liberty to act with the reckless abandon that most of us enjoyed as kids but eventually grew out of before we could do any real damage. In short, the whole world is now watching him experience the rambunctious childhood he never had.
I suppose I should acknowledge that some of the people who share my opinion of Elon as a toxic force and a monumental asshole are bound to part ways with me on my analysis and scoff at the idea of “humanizing” him. I have to admit that this concept has become increasingly frustrating to me, as it implies that any exploration of how life events and circumstances can mold people must come to a screeching halt the moment it inspires so much as a touch of inconvenient sympathy within us. It seems that what people actually (and unwittingly) mean when they admonish against “humanizing” the bad guy is “Hey! Don’t you make me concede that reality is more complicated than I need it to be in order to feel zero ambivalence about my moral convictions.”
For what it’s worth, my guess is that Elon is not an anti-Semite or any other particular type of bigot at heart. I could be wrong about that, but either way, I think the driving force behind his bizarre and pernicious behavior is the shame he carries for having spent his formative years as the “weakling”. Bigotry just happens to be the most efficient vehicle for outraging decent people on the internet, so it’s the weapon of choice for trolls and thus his means of signaling to them that he’s worthy of their exaltation. I’m certain he would never admit this even to himself, but just like so many other grown up little boys, he has always equated bullying with strength. And for all their lol’s in response to his shitposting, the last laugh belongs to him, as his ultimate triumph is not over their targets but the bullies themselves. He didn’t have to banish them to beat them, and in fact the more dominant move was to become their king.
These details are found in Walter Isaacson’s biography, Elon Musk.