There’s a serious error making the rounds in media, both legacy and social, concerning Elon’s big score last week. It’s to be found largely among lefties, but also among some on the right as well. That’s the contention that the two trillion resulting from Space X’s IPO is somehow destined for Elon’s own pockets. That he can simply pack that two trillion into briefcases (lots of ‘em) and then take off for Tijuana at his leisure.
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Au contraire, mon playmates. I doubt anything like that could happen in a corporate setting in any case, and historically, it never has, not involving Carnegie, Ford, Rockefeller, or even the infinitely corrupt Big Jim Fisk. No –that money is capital. It is a corporate asset to be used, as similar funds were used by the aforementioned magnates, to invest in a company’s future activities and reach. Which is what Elon Musk is going to do with it.
In fact, he’s going to do more than that, because we’re not talking about the future of one corporation or even one industry, but the future of humanity itself. Musk, as he has made clear, is a visionary, and his vision is unmistakable: to open up the solar system to the human race. That’s what that two trillion is for, and that’s what it’s going to be spent on.
That money means that Musk can source as much funding as any single country, and more than most. True exploitation of space, apart from model space stations useful for promoting the careers of Democrat politicians, has been hanging fire since 1969, solely because the nation-states refused to pony up for serious space ventures. That is now history. The cash is today in the hands of a man who sees himself as the historical figure who will open the gates to the greater universe. (More on this later.)
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With that amount of capital, things will start to move. Bases on the moon, a manned mission to Mars, and, echoing the motto of Hapsburgs who opened up the New World: “Etiam Ultra” – even beyond. (From which, ironically, we derive the symbol for the dollar.) That’s what’s in store for us. That’s what we’re going to see now that a man of foresight and drive is in control rather than a government filled with bureaucrats, committees, and liberals.
That’s what capitalism is, that’s what capitalism does, and that’s what capitalism is for. So God be with Elon Musk and all who sail with him.
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