CHARITY FOR ONE

Philanthropy? What About Tesla and Space X, Says Elon Musk

The richest man in the world rejects the idea of billionaire philanthropy because he believes all of his companies do such good work for humanity.

The world’s richest man apparently believes he is also the world’s biggest philanthropist—because his companies do such good work. Philanthropy is usually taken to mean using your wealth for good causes, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk says he thinks making sleek electric cars for rich people, sending rockets into space, and digging tunnels under Las Vegas should also count. Asked about billionaire philanthropy at a TED conference in an interview published on Monday, Musk—who is estimated to have a fortune of about $250 billion—said he cared about the “reality of goodness” rather than the perception. “SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, The Boring Company are philanthropy. If you say philanthropy is love of humanity, they are philanthropy,” he said.

Musk was speaking as it emerged that Tesla was reopening its factory in COVID-stricken Shanghai, using a “closed-loop” system that means its production workers would be sleeping at the plant.