Musk and Trump: Eerie Parallels - Kessler, WSJ
Were Elon Musk and Donald Trump separated at birth? Strip away Mr. Musk’s self-cut hair and Mr. Trump’s comb-over and you’re left with similar Gerber Baby faces. Both were outsiders, often rejected by the status quo: Mr. Musk coming from South Africa to Silicon Valley and Mr. Trump “movin’ on up” from Jamaica Estates in Queens to Midtown Manhattan. Both had something to prove. Neither really outgrew his adolescence. Candidate Trump got in trouble for “locker room” talk on old “Access Hollywood” tapes. And it isn’t hard to notice Tesla’s naming convention:
Models S, 3, X, Y. Giggle, giggle.
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They both got stuff done that government couldn’t. Mr. Trump rebuilt Wollman Rink in Manhattan’s Central Park in 3½ months for $2.25 million, after the city wasted six years and $12 million. “See this railing? Same railing Onassis had on his boat,” Mr. Trump bragged at the time. Mr. Musk’s SpaceX successfully landed reusable Falcon 9 rockets, well beyond NASA’s capabilities. Then they both built empires with government pork. Tesla sold carbon credits and received low-cost environmental loans, while buyers of its cars receive up to $7,500 tax credits. Mr. Trump built the Grand Hyatt Hotel on 42nd Street with roughly $360 million in tax breaks. Oink.
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Both like to stretch the truth. Tesla delivery schedules are written on rubber bands to stretch when needed. Add Mr. Musk’s trail of broken promises: autonomous robo-taxis by 2020, humans on Mars by 2024. Candidate Trump promised, “We will build a great wall along the southern border—and Mexico will pay for the wall.” The Mexican border is 1,954 miles. Mr. Trump built 5 miles of new wall and refurbished 371. “President Trump’s Lies, the Definitive List” became an obsession of the New York Times.
Neither can keep his mouth shut. Mr. Musk called the diver who rescued a group of Thai schoolboys from a flooded cave “pedo guy.” At a presidential debate in 2016, candidate Trump said of Hillary Clinton, “Such a nasty woman.” Again, adolescent. More similarities: One famously slept under his desk at the Tesla factory until production problems were fixed. The other fell asleep at his hush-money trial. Both have massive boss complexes. “The Apprentice” reality show’s catch phrase—“You’re fired!”—is as memorable as the Terminator’s “I’ll be back.” I know Tesla executives who were unceremoniously sacked for not living up to impossible standards. Last week Mr. Musk laid off Tesla’s entire Supercharger team.
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Let’s face it, life would be dull without these dizygotic twins. They sure love the spotlight. For a while, one was the most important person in the world. The other was president.
Write to kessler@wsj.com.
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