As Elon Musk becomes wealthier and more powerful, we need to know more about the man whose projects are transforming the world. But as a new documentary shows, it is hard grappling with the reality of someone with such disparate labels as hero, villain, or superhuman genius
The Elon Musk Show
BBC/72 Films/Todd Anderson
The Elon Musk Show
BBC2 and iPlayer (UK only)
In the new BBC2 series The Elon Musk Show, aerospace engineer Jim Cantrell recalls being approached by Elon Musk, then an entrepreneur interested in space, about his “ultimate goal of making humanity a multiplanetary species”.
At the time, the ex-NASA employee was privately dismissive, as he effectively conveys on camera with an onanist hand gesture. Cantrell recalls, with a rueful chuckle, mishearing his name: “‘Ian Musk’ is what I thought he said.”
It is easy to feel …