The Time Star Trek Accidentally Insulted Elon Musk and Saved the Plot

[KlingonCereal]

Hello friends, this is an article I wrote for my Star Trek blog, which you can find here: https://boldlygo.blog! I am pasting the full contents of the article below to facilitate discussion. I would love to hear y'alls thoughts on the topic, and feel free to check out my other articles if you are interested
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Star Trek has never shied away from discussing present day politics within its episodes. The writers occasionally predict the future quite well, whereas other times they simply fall flat. Rarely, however, do they poorly reference our present day, only for it to leave a more positive impact on the plot.

Before diving in I wish to express that my commentary may be divisive. This is unavoidable given how volatile public opinion is towards Elon Musk. For this reason, I am not going to dive deep into Elon’s life nor the controversies surrounding him. The only relevant concept here being that Musk is viewed less favorably today than he was a few years ago. The validity of these sentiments are not being debated here.

Lucius Malfoy and the Chamber of Secrets
Jason Isaac‘s casting as the captain within Star Trek: Discovery left fans excited for the then forthcoming series. Not only was it the first new television entry in the franchise following Enterprise’s lackluster finale, but it also gave insight into what kind of captain Discovery would have. When the show finally aired in 2017, fans were left feeling odd about Captain Lorca.

He was drastically different in every way. Speculation ran rampant. He was unique because it was a time of war, he’s more aggressive because of his traumatic upbringing, he sleeps with a gun because he’s Republican. The list goes on and on, but the underlying feeling never went away. Everything he did was met with a “Huh?” by viewers.

This eventually culminated in an instance that vividly stuck out like a Ferengi making charity donations. While attempting to “inspire” Stamets and Culber, he begins to casually list famous, revolutionary figures in history. Of those mentioned, there was the Wright brothers, Zefram Cochrane, and Elon Musk.

Hot Off the Press
Following the airing of that scene, many news outlets picked up the statement. Fans and not fans alike immediately expressed bewilderment with the inclusion of Musk into the franchise’s canon. At the time, the Me Too Movement was still very much in public discourse. After countless celebrities had been knocked down a peg or three, how could Star Trek’s writers make such a reckless mistake?

Some fans argued it was an immediate stain upon the franchise, one that was doomed to age poorly. The clip, which was uploaded to Youtube, features comments mocking the scene. One user sarcastically proclaims, “This aged well” – that was two years ago. Dozens of other comments continue scolding this scene. Few, if any, defended it.

Personally, I immediately loathed the conversation. It had no relevance, felt out of place, and I knew it would age poorly. What I had not anticipated, however, was that it made a lot more sense than I could have ever predicted.

Mirrored Perspectives
If it was not clear by the time the referenced episode aired, it was abundantly obvious shortly thereafter. Lorca, at least the one we are familiar with, is not from the Prime Universe. It was a plot “twist” predicted around the world, but one that came a few episodes (and a seasonal break) later. Just enough time for people to forget about Musk’s induction into Trek canon.

By the end of Season 1, it is revealed that Lorca was from the Mirror Universe. He believed in the superiority of the Terrans, fought to overthrow the Imperial Fleet, and awkwardly proclaimed that he wanted to “Make the Empire Glorious Again”. The quality of the character’s development aside, this coincidentally saved Star Trek canon from itself.

Armed with the knowledge that Lorca is Terran and corrupt, we can easily shift our perspectives surrounding the statement. The captain was evil, from which his view of the world was tainted. Thanks to this, Discovery was placed in a win-win situation. If Musk grows more and more hated in the eyes of history, it no longer impacts the legacy of Starfleet. Conversely, if Musk does earn his rank amongst Zefram Cochrane, then that works out too.

As of today, the idea that an evil, authoritative man praised Musk is more of an insult in hindsight. I do not believe the writers intended for this to be the case. Rather, I believe they were trying to capture the classic Star Trek commentary that the show is so famous for. In this case, it was a rather lazy attempt which in and of itself is worthy of criticism. Whether it was pure dumb luck, or a calculated move, it is still a fascinating thing to look back on with the benefit of hindsight.

 

[CorporalClegg]

I'm all for throwing shade at Musk, as he's much more P.T. Barnum than he is Tesla or Edison. But this really isn't the kind of thing the franchise needs to stoop to.

And the name drop wasn't exactly the most ill-advised choice this group has made.

 

[KlingonCereal]

I'm all for throwing shade at Musk, as he's much more P.T. Barnum than he is Tesla or Edison. But this really isn't the kind of thing the franchise needs to stoop to.

And the name drop wasn't exactly the most ill-advised choice this group has made.

Which part do you feel the franchise shouldn't stoop to? In terms of them insulting Musk, or do you mean in regards to how I phrased the scenario? Sorry for being confused! But thank you for taking the time to read my post!

 

[Go-Captain]

It was definitely dumb luck, the writers room chaos of the first season precludes any such brilliant turns of plot and exposition from being purposefully connected. The entire mirror universe plotline also undermines anything subtle and interesting about Lorca's characterization, so even if it saves the one throw away line somehow, it ruins him as a character by taking him from Hard Man to self destructive loon.

Mentioning Elon Musk isn't shocking just because he is awful as a boss and public figure, but because he isn't an inventor. Cochrane and the Wright brothers built their respective first flight vehicles themselves, while Musk just hires people and sets goals, or buys up existing stuff and claims he came up with it, as with Tesla. The show has always praised scientists and inventors, and Musk is neither.

 

[David cgc]

Unfortunately, the writers weren't satisfied with two wrongs making a right, and doubled down by having Tilly be an alum of "Musk Junior High School."

 

[KlingonCereal]

Unfortunately, the writers weren't satisfied with two wrongs making a right, and doubled down by having Tilly be an alum of "Musk Junior High School."

Yikes I wasn't aware of that. Absolutely awful canonical addition.

 

[XCV330]

Star Trek's universe, unless some major changes are done in Picard season 2, is not our own. If it were, we'd have already suffered through the Eugenics wars, sent Khan and Co. out into the stars on a DY100, and are three years from the Bell Riots. So, not exactly our reality. There reality clearly has a Musk who is also important to spaceflight. (Also.. for the P.T Barnum thing.. what exactly did Tesla of note besides AC work like the alternator? Was his threatening to "split the earth like an apple" or bilking investors out of a fortune for his Wardencliffe ego stroking project, Barnum like? How Barnum-esque was Edison being when he tortured an elephant to death with electricity just to fuck over Westinghouse? I digress.)

Whichever way public opinion's pendulum has swung this month about Musk, he was the first person to start up a company to successfully launch and return vertically, then reuse, a launch vehicle. First to build a non-governmental space supply system, first to build a non-governmental crewed orbital craft, first to build a non-governmental heavy lift rocket, first to build super-heavy lift rocket, first attempt to build an off-world settlement where actual metal is being built for it instead of PowerPoint presentations. Like him or not, he will be as historically important as Yuri Gagarin or Henry Ford. It makes sense they'd use his name.

 

[KlingonCereal]

Star Trek's universe, unless some major changes are done in Picard season 2, is not our own. If it were, we'd have already suffered through the Eugenics wars, sent Khan and Co. out into the stars on a DY100, and are three years from the Bell Riots. So, not exactly our reality. There reality clearly has a Musk who is also important to spaceflight. (Also.. for the P.T Barnum thing.. what exactly did Tesla of note besides AC work like the alternator? Was his threatening to "split the earth like an apple" or bilking investors out of a fortune for his Wardencliffe ego stroking project, Barnum like? How Barnum-esque was Edison being when he tortured an elephant to death with electricity just to fuck over Westinghouse? I digress.)

Whichever way public opinion's pendulum has swung this month about Musk, he was the first person to start up a company to successfully launch and return vertically, then reuse, a launch vehicle. First to build a non-governmental space supply system, first to build a non-governmental crewed orbital craft, first to build a non-governmental heavy lift rocket, first to build super-heavy lift rocket, first attempt to build an off-world settlement where actual metal is being built for it instead of PowerPoint presentations. Like him or not, he will be as historically important as Yuri Gagarin or Henry Ford. It makes sense they'd use his name.

Another user pointed this out above, but he didnt invent those things. Whereas the other people listed were inventors (either in real life or canonically). Sure, he has accomplishments but they are on the business side. In that regard, it is still out of place within the context. Your comparisons to Ford and Gargarin are much more accurate and I do agree in that regard. Overall though, I am strongly opposed to private space exploration. To me, it is in direct opposition to the Federation's vision and purpose. Thats not to say he should be vilified for privatizing space (i think there are genuine criticisms of Musk that are worth negative attribution toward him), just that I am morally conflicted on it.

But, again, I tried to avoid placing my personal opinions from the article. My focus was on how Lorca's story protects Star Trek canon coincidentally, regardless of what may or may not transpire.

 

[fireproof78]

Whichever way public opinion's pendulum has swung this month about Musk, he was the first person to start up a company to successfully launch and return vertically, then reuse, a launch vehicle. First to build a non-governmental space supply system, first to build a non-governmental crewed orbital craft, first to build a non-governmental heavy lift rocket, first to build super-heavy lift rocket, first attempt to build an off-world settlement where actual metal is being built for it instead of PowerPoint presentations. Like him or not, he will be as historically important as Yuri Gagarin or Henry Ford. It makes sense they'd use his name.

Exactly.

 

[XCV330]

Another user pointed this out above, but he didnt invent those things. Whereas the other people listed were inventors (either in real life or canonically). Sure, he has accomplishments but they are on the business side. In that regard, it is still out of place within the context. Your comparisons to Ford and Gargarin are much more accurate and I do agree in that regard. Overall though, I am strongly opposed to private space exploration. To me, it is in direct opposition to the Federation's vision and purpose. Thats not to say he should be vilified for privatizing space (i think there are genuine criticisms of Musk that are worth negative attribution toward him), just that I am morally conflicted on it.

But, again, I tried to avoid placing my personal opinions from the article. My focus was on how Lorca's story protects Star Trek canon coincidentally, regardless of what may or may not transpire.

Invention is kind of a wobbly bridge to march across. Often the technology is just in the right place at the right time, and you have multiple people concurrently inventing (see light bulb, telephony, radio, airplanes, digital computer, etc), but the patent system for better or worse names a winner). For instance Marconi did not invent radio, and his greatest stunt, the first transatlantic message probably was either entirely in his head, or he knowingy faked the results, but his radio system, for all that was sound, and he was the one who went on to make the first fortune in wireless telegraphy. On the other hand, the Wright Brothers were demonstrably the inventors of the airplane as we know it, though here had been antecedents like Lillienthal, and others like Santos-Dumont who were close on their heels. In the end, the Wrights were lawsuit-happy control freaks who were more worried about protecting patents than advancing their state of the art and thus lost a fortune, and left the nascent US aeronautical industry a decade behind Europe.

As far as pubic vs private ownership of spaceflight in star trek, Zephram was a private inventor. Yoyodyne is still involved in making starships as late as the 22nd century (also potentially tying Star Trek to more than one Thome Pynchon novel, but that's another subject entirely).

 

[publiusr]

If anything, Musk is a better fit for the Terran Trade Authority.

Just waiting for that deVass generator to turn Starship into Sentinel Major.

If anything, it feels like 1950’s sci-fi. Shuttle was a busier design than Apollo. The craft from INTERSTELLAR fit that progression optically.

Now?

Bradbury meets Johnny Mnemonic

 

[Go-Captain]

Overall though, I am strongly opposed to private space exploration. To me, it is in direct opposition to the Federation's vision and purpose. Thats not to say he should be vilified for privatizing space (i think there are genuine criticisms of Musk that are worth negative attribution toward him), just that I am morally conflicted on it.

Star Trek has civilian cargo ship operators and miners, there's an exploitative aspect to the economy of the Federation which isn't directly controlled by Starfleet. There is no doubt they have people surveying asteroids for no other purpose than the elements they possess.

Once Cochrane flies the warp drive, the diaspora which occurs afterward only really makes sense if there is private capital and commercial spaceflight available to launch the warp colony ships, as well as the preceding sleeper ships. Otherwise, we have to believe the US government, and perhaps others, had the resources to send people away at no benefit to the country of origin after World War III.

 

[KlingonCereal]

Star Trek has civilian cargo ship operators and miners, there's an exploitative aspect to the economy of the Federation which isn't directly controlled by Starfleet. There is no doubt they have people surveying asteroids for no other purpose than the elements they possess.

Once Cochrane flies the warp drive, the diaspora which occurs afterward only really makes sense if there is private capital and commercial spaceflight available to launch the warp colony ships, as well as the preceding sleeper ships. Otherwise, we have to believe the US government, and perhaps others, had the resources to send people away at no benefit to the country of origin after World War III.

I understand that. The federation itself, however, is not an embodiment of that. Even if there was a transitional period in between. Considering that the planet isn't healthy, billionaires controlling the keys to the galaxy seems like a very bad road to go down. At the very least, I believe there should be heavy federal regulation of private space companies (much more so than we currently have). Space belongs to all of us, not just a few.

With that said, I will add that I'm just a random person on the internet. I dont believe I hold some special knowledge that makes me objectively correct. It could be just as likely that I am 100% wrong, but as of today, with how I view the world, this is what I have concluded.

 

[Sci]

The problem with idolizing billionaires going into space is that the wealth that paid for their efforts came from the suffering of the people they exploited. Musk's money comes from his father's apartheid diamond mines, from the legalized thievery of early PayPal, and from all the employees who have been injured at his anti-union shops with bad safety records. Bezos's money comes from all those warehouse employees he makes pee in a bottle.

Now, I'll certainly concede that a non-governmental organization able to go into space is historically important and necessary for the future of the human race. And SpaceX's people deserve enormous credit for designing a reusable booster rocket in the Falcon 9 and for the groundbreaking work they're doing on SpaceX Starship. But that doesn't mean their boss or his billionaire frenemies are good or worth venerating. I have much more respect for the army of workers and engineers they employ than the guys signing the checks.

Henry Ford is a good comparison. He may have been historically necessary given the kind of culture and economy the U.S. had at the time. But let's not kid ourselves: He was a bigoted, antisemitic, fascist piece of shit who should be remembered alongside other historical bastards rather than venerated. The world of Star Trek should not remember him with any sense of veneration, and Star Trek productions shouldn't reference him positively -- not if they want to be consistent with the idea of a positive, progressive future anyway.

As far as pubic vs private ownership of spaceflight in star trek, Zephram was a private inventor.

Yes, but A) that doesn't preclude him from the possibility of having designed the first warp engine under contract to a government, and B) he abandoned his feelings of greed after making First Contact.

Yoyodyne is still involved in making starships as late as the 22nd century (also potentially tying Star Trek to more than one Thome Pynchon novel, but that's another subject entirely).

I really don't think art department in-jokes that were supposed to be unintelligible on low-resolution standard def 1990s CRT television sets ought to be seen as canonical (even if they're visible on modern high-def TVs). By that logic, there's a giant hamster in a wheel aboard the Enterprise-D, half the control panels on the consoles are held in by Phillips-head screwdrivers, and the crew of the various starships regularly place black cardboard in front of their control panels to avoid reflections.

 

[XCV330]

Discussing the merits of a capitalist between you and I would be like a Jain monk and a Kiowa hunter discussing the merits of bison meat.