Elon Musk “A vision of the future may be exaggerated”

La Croix: How does Elon Musk finance his business in the capitalist sector?

Renault Laws: He is the epitome of a deep American history, he was a talented and innovative entrepreneur who was not born in the United States and, after initial entrepreneurial successes, reinvested his money in new projects. One of the American entrepreneurs, like Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg, has chosen the hyper-customization of their company to the extent that they end up attending with him and her.

OR PORTRAIT. Elon Musk became the richest man in the troubled world

Finally, behind every business of Elon Musk, there is a great dream and hope beyond investors. It simultaneously proposes to bring humans into space, solve climate problems, and understand the human brain… It exposes a vision of the future and presents a great power of imagination in the American tradition.

However, some reviews regarding rating levels are highly regarded by innovative companies. Robert Schiller, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, has long spoken of the “irrational excitement” of the financial markets. Tesla is not the only company to have expressed much of this criticism, but it is no exception. In two years, it has risen from $ 50 billion in capitalization to $ 700 billion today. These developments illustrate the deeper tendencies of American capitalism in the context of abundant cash flow.

Don’t these entrepreneurs get public support? ?

RL: In fact, Elon Musk’s businesses are not limited to private capital. Behind SpaceX, there is a strong commitment from the federal government. The hyperloop would not happen without public subsidies. Silicon Valley is often offered as a place where entrepreneurs grow their own. But all of the great American inventions were made with or with the federal government. The big American entrepreneurs are vague: they welcome the investor state, but the level of regulation is very low.

In more detail, the country seems to have come to the end of the cycle of individualization, but the “starization” of some entrepreneurs who can justify themselves for “changing the world”. There is now a reflection in the United States that, in the face of a very strong increase in inequalities, it is paramount and important for public institutions to develop public interest and long-term strategic programming. , Especially in the face of Chinese competition.

Is the model involving Elon Musk coming to an end?

RL: Elon Musk’s entrepreneurial spirit, innovation and risk-taking inspire the reputation of many Americans. But the country suffers from a lack of big collective dreams that have always been a part of its history.

In this sense, space capture in the 1960s is very different from current private projects. Space tourism is of concern only to some of the most affluent. How to make society less unequal and rearrange the great adventures common to all Americans? Elon Musk’s initiatives and achievements are a financial model, but culturally, there is a debate over whether they are sustainable for American society.