There is probably no contemporary figure more baffling—and polarizing—than Elon Musk. Alongside his outsize entrepreneurial ventures—Tesla and SpaceX, among them—there is his public persona: charming, puckish, combative, mercurial. He has aroused admiration and scorn in about equal measure. What are we to make of him?
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A weapon is mounted on the Lehit ground robotic system, developed by specialists of the International Legion under the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, during a demonstration in Ukraine on December 9, 2025. (Getty Images)