Attorney, professor, poet, author (Proof of Collusion and Proof of Corruption) and Elon Musk biographer, Seth Abramson made big waves last week by wondering aloud if Musk is going mad. Short answer: yep. Abramson wrote that Musk's recent tangents and online feuds with people on Twitter should be concerning. “’I legitimately believe Elon Musk may be going mad,’ Abramson started one Tweet to his 836,000 followers. ‘I’m a Musk biographer who has been tracking his online behavior for the last two years— and given that he's admitted to all of mental illness, heavy drug use, and crippling stress, it is now reasonable to fear he is deeply unwell,’ he continued.”
Abramson pointed out Musk's private struggles could have "dramatic public consequences," and it's up to the administration to take urgent action to "protect America from Elon Musk." The biographer noted Musk had bought holdings across "civilization-essential industries," such as Twitter, where media consumers get their news and engage in opinionated discourse online. Furthermore, he fears Musk's control over Twitter and the government, as Trump appointed him to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, could jeopardize US society.
The Harvard grad noted potential actionable steps the administration could take to prevent the un-elected President from taking over. "That could include ending all U.S. contracts with him, filing lawsuits to block his unconstitutional DOGE initiative, and launching new federal and NatSec investigations. If no action is taken— and I suspect no action will be taken— what this man in his burgeoning madness does to America as POTUS in the coming years will be on the heads of not just him and those who support or enable him but those who ignored urgent, informed warnings like this one," Abramson wrote.
Other Twitter users backed Abramson's sentiment, heeding their questions and criticisms of the tech billionaire. "The world's richest man could be someone great— but instead, turns out to be a thin-skinned drug-addled Bond villain," one user wrote in response to Abramson's post.
Another account agreed, writing: "Thought I was the only one who had noticed on this app. That’s a relief. I enjoy his tech posts, Tesla, SpaceX, Neurolink, etc., but recently, I have just been wondering what I am witnessing. Descent into madness might be a real possibility."
Abramson’s warnings highlight a broader concern: the unchecked power of billionaires who straddle the line between innovation and influence without the guardrails of public accountability. Musk’s ventures— whether launching satellites, controlling social media platforms, interfering with governments around the globe or dabbling in cryptocurrency— may seem disconnected, but together they form a web of influence that touches nearly every facet of modern life. When combined with erratic behavior and a growing penchant for public feuds, the risks Abramson outlines become difficult to ignore.
The question isn’t just whether Musk is losing his grip on reality— it’s whether society is willing to confront the dangers of concentrated, unaccountable power. History has shown us what happens when individuals with unchecked influence veer toward instability. Will we heed the warning signs, or will we wait until it’s too late? Abramson's plea for urgent action isn’t just about Musk— it’s a reminder of the perils of placing so much of our collective future in the hands of one man.
There was this guy named "Roosevelt" who once said:
The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is Fascism—ownership of Government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/message-congress-curbing-monopolies
We can only imagine what he would say about the likes of Musk today.
I'll further note this snippet from a 2005 Citigroup report that I recently stumbled upon:
“Economic growth is powered by and largely consumed by the wealthy few”… there is no such animal as “the U.S. consumer”
https://delong.typepad.com/plutonomy-1.pdf
There is a "bipartisan"…