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Quinn Slobodian on SpaceX IPO, How Musk's Wealth Warps the Economy & Fuels "Neo-Fascist" Politics

Ahead of the initial public offering for SpaceX, historian Quinn Slobodian discusses how Elon Musk is creating interdependence with the U.S. government through state contracts and warns that Musk's wealth is fueling anti-immigrant, racist political ideology.

June 9, 2026

Ahead of the initial public offering for SpaceX, we speak with historian Quinn Slobodian, author of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed. He says Elon Musk is "creating a situation where he becomes deeply reliant on state contracts" as the U.S. government then becomes reliant on Musk. "It's not about demolishing the government," Slobodian says of his work with DOGE, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency that Musk led for the Trump administration. "It's about making the government more compatible, ready for the kind of products that Musk offers, and to make him then an indispensable part of the infrastructure." Slobodian goes on to warn that Musk's wealth is helping to fuel his anti-immigrant, racist political ideology. "We really should be worried about the possibility of those things to live together: tech-driven prosperity and radical right-wing racist politics."

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