Podcast

Contemplating 'Muskism' and the Age of Trillionaires

Justin Hendrix / Jun 7, 2026

Audio of this conversation is available via your favorite podcast service.

On June 12, SpaceX will reportedly offer 555,555,555 shares at $135 apiece in an initial public offering. The IPO is expected to give SpaceX a market value of $1.77 trillion, instantly making it one of the most valuable companies in the world. When combined with his holdings in Tesla, the IPO may also make SpaceX founder Elon Musk—already the world’s richest man—the world’s first trillionaire.

Today’s guests are Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, authors of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed. The book considers its subject as a specimen of the current geopolitical moment, promising an “examination of Elon Musk as a symptom and avatar of our postliberal age.”

*Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed* by Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, 2026. HarperCollins

A transcript is forthcoming.

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Authors

Justin Hendrix

Justin Hendrix is CEO and Editor of Tech Policy Press, a nonprofit media venture concerned with the intersection of technology and democracy. Previously, he was Executive Director of NYC Media Lab. He spent over a decade at The Economist in roles including Vice President of Business Development & In...

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