Heroes Are Those Who Help Us Look Up

We need to talk about Elon. The guy has radically changed the world, and now he’s making waves in the second Trump administration exposing, and hopefully ending, the severe mismanagement of federal funds. It’s a wild time to be alive, my friends. Let’s take a minute to both celebrate and critically examine what Musk has been up to—and how we should think about him in our celebrity culture of high drama and even higher risk. Musk stands as a living reminder that a lot of bad press does not equate to failure. Often, it means the opposite.

“That’s the curse of modern society, the impotence, the ennui that people feel, the alienation from the world order around them. Maybe we need some hero who will give voice to our deeper longing.” - Bill Moyers

Elon Musk arrives at the Capitol Rotunda for the inauguration. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

It was just a few months ago that Elon’s company, SpaceX, first plucked the world’s largest and most powerful rocket out of the air with a pair of mechanized “chopsticks” on a launchpad in Boca Chica, Texas. It was incredible. Breathtaking. Then they did it again in January to little fanfare. In another era, this feat would have been front-page news for weeks, with interviews and global intrigue. Today, though, we barely pause to appreciate the significance of it all.

We live in a time of wonders, and yet we treat them as commonplace.

A Cost Revolution

For decades, the cost of launching satellites was massive and completely stagnant. A toxic mix for innovation. The entire military-industrial complex—Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, etc.—made rockets, but weren’t lowering the cost.

Then along came SpaceX.

A private, for-profit space venture sounded crazy two decades ago, but Musk and his team have fully transformed the cost of moving things into orbit. Namely, they made it cheaper.

Of course, saving money isn’t Musk’s goal—moving humanity around the cosmos is. President Trump seemed to give this mission his seal of approval in his Inauguration Day address, pledging to help put an American flag on Mars.

Progress So Fast You Lose Track

Elon has said that this is the first time in Earth’s four-billion-year history that it’s possible—though extremely difficult—for life to become multi-planetary. He’s optimistic about Earth’s future but sees this as a unique opportunity that may not last forever. What he’s achieved with SpaceX is real. It’s not a scam. The results are undeniable. But that wasn’t the only groundbreaking news from the past year.

Musk also made huge strides with Tesla’s humanoid robots—your personal R2D2, coming soon. They can teach, babysit, walk your dog, mow your lawn, get groceries, pour drinks… and even “be your friend.”

This incredible stuff is happening at such a rapid pace that we barely even notice it anymore.

In addition to rockets and robots, Musk made headlines for building a massive supercomputer in under a month. Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, called it “superhuman,” noting that this process usually takes four years.

The logistics alone are mind-boggling: permitting, wiring, networking, cooling, and software integration, all completed in just 19 days. As someone who’s directed complex productions with over 100 people, I can’t fathom the coordination required to pull off such a thing.

Yet, despite these accomplishments, this civilizational heroism… Musk is “polarizing.”

A Culture Against Heroes

Obviously, the main driver of the Musk controversy stems from his foray into politics, first buying Twitter and then endorsing Donald Trump. These actions have made him a lightning rod for criticism around the world, and Elon only further feeds into it with his tweets.

But beyond politics, Musk’s relentless pursuit of excellence challenges the current cultural ethos, which emphasizes equity over exceptionalism. Excellence isn’t equity—it’s the opposite. And Musk embodies a kind of heroism that many find unsettling.

“The public hero is sensitive to the needs of his time” - Joseph Campbell

We live in an era of anti-heroes, where being a critic is celebrated more than being a creator. True heroes are seen as “cringe,” often dismissed as products of toxic masculinity or greed.

This cultural shift has magnified resentment toward people like Musk, who disrupt the status quo. Yet, his achievements are undeniable. He’s proven that private enterprise can tackle problems once deemed the exclusive domain of governments. Visionary leaders like Musk, Steve Jobs, or Theodore Roosevelt have often been difficult people. Jobs, for instance, was famously hard on his team, but he pushed them to achieve greatness.

Musk operates similarly, laying out bold visions that inspire others to accomplish the impossible. He’s not perfect—no hero is—but Elon’s impact is transformative.

As parents, we need to teach our kids to appreciate excellence and strive for greatness. This doesn’t mean idolizing one person, but rather encouraging them to find a collection of heroes—figures who inspire them in different ways. Elon Musk may be polarizing, but his contributions remind us that the “crazy ones” truly can change the world.