Elon Musk has been crowned the world’s first trillionaire after SpaceX stock literally skyrocketed following its release for sale to the public. While many news outlets, politicians, and influencers have taken to social media to decry the occasion as an example of gross wealth inequality and the decay of our society, the truth is anything but. The massive surge of investment by the public into Elon Musk’s companies is a sign of the West’s revival, not its decline.
The United States and the West at large are in a new great power competition, and if it is going to win that competition, it will need to secure its place as the leader in innovation and the production of advanced technologies. Technologies such as those that are being developed by the companies owned by Elon Musk.
Space, AI, robotics, advanced battery technologies, and other breakthroughs are central to this new era of renewed competition and global tensions. And without a doubt, the companies owned and operated by Mr. Musk have been the leaders of innovation in all these areas. The goods produced by Elon Musk are more than just consumer products; they ultimately represent the common good and the technological progress of the human species as a whole. The mass investment isn’t a symptom of economic injustice. Rather, it is the American people and the market assigning enormous value to technologies that many investors believe will strengthen humanity’s future and America’s strategic position.
The enormous wealth Elon Musk has accrued is not the result of corruption or inequality. Elon Musk’s wealth reflects the market’s belief that he is building technologies critical to American power in the 21st century. So far, he has used that wealth and technology to provide critical communications capabilities to the Ukrainians (for free) during the initial stages of Russia’s invasion and to create the first mass-produced, commercially viable electric vehicles to help alleviate our dependence on fossil fuels.
‘U.S. military and American civilian firms can greatly advance their information gathering…in space at a fraction of the cost it takes competing nations’
Whether or not you despise the fact that Elon Musk has been able to become a trillionaire doing this, it’s hard to ignore the fact that his companies are quickly becoming an integral facet of America’s national security and power. SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rockets have made the costs for American military and private firms for placing satellites into orbit at an all-time low. This means the U.S. military and American civilian firms can greatly advance their information gathering and communication infrastructure in space at a fraction of the cost it takes competing nations.
The fact of the matter is that dominance in space is going to be one of the decisive factors that determines who wins and who loses the new great power competition of the 21st century. The nation that is able to gain access to and begin utilizing the resources found in deep space will quickly become the dominant power on Earth this century. SpaceX’s ability to develop viable, affordable, and reusable space vehicles and infrastructure puts America several orders of magnitude ahead of the competition in that race.
The truth is that companies like SpaceX are instrumental to the United States’s survival in the long term. The fact that so many rushed to the stock market for a chance to invest in it shows that the American people, overall, value the mission and outputs of SpaceX and not just a single man.
If the United States and the collective West are to secure their leadership role in the world, they will need more businesses like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and others to continue leading and innovating in the realm of space. If the result of creating technologies that expand human capability, strengthen America’s strategic position, and inspire millions to invest in the future is that their creator becomes a trillionaire on paper, that is not a failure of the system. It is evidence that society still rewards those who build.
Related articles:
At a time when public debate is increasingly polarized and superficial, Hungarian Conservative remains committed to depth, intellectual honesty, and independent conservative thought.
Producing high-quality journalism requires resources. Your contribution helps us expand our coverage, reach new audiences, and keep our content accessible.
Please consider supporting our mission.
