More about Elon Musk as the new Hugo Drax

Elon Musk photo on Twitter in the 2010s

In Ian Fleming’s Moonraker novel (1955), James Bond is drawn into the affairs of Hugo Drax, a mysterious millionaire who is building a rocket, seemingly on behalf of the U.K.

In the 21st century, Elon Musk, chief of electric-vehicle maker Tesla and aerospace company SpaceX, has emerged as a real-life Hugo Drax. Musk is even a James Bond fan. He bought one of the submarine cars from The Spy Who Loved Me and had something he dubbed Operation Goldfinger.

Musk’s activities have expanded into buying Twitter (a bit of a soap opera but it appears about to happen) and commenting about global affairs, such as Russia’s war against Ukraine.

On Oct. 22, The Washington Post weighed in with an overview about Musk’s activities.

Between launching four astronauts and 54 satellites into orbit, unveiling an electric freight truck and closing in on taking over Twitter this month, Elon Musk made time to offer unsolicited peace plans for Taiwan and Ukraine,antagonizing those countries’ leaders and irking Washington, too.

Musk, the richest man in the world, then irritated some Pentagon officials by announcing he didn’t want to keep paying for his private satellite service in Ukraine, before later walking back the threat.

As Musk, 51, inserts himself into volatile geopolitical issues, many Washington policymakers worry from the sidelines as he bypasses them.

It appears we’ll be hearing more from the modern-day Hugo Drax going forward.