Max Read interviews Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian about their book Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed, arguing Elon Musk’s business style and political interventions form a distinct ideology akin to Fordism. They outline how Musk’s methods and public projects coalesce into a coherent framework worth analyzing.

The author argues that many common anti-AI points—protecting jobs, defending intellectual property, preserving “human” art—echo traditional conservative arguments even though most vocal critics today come from the progressive wing. They trace this mismatch to tech CEOs’ right-wing turn, a crypto hangover, and partisan backlash over figures like Trump, and wonder how anti-AI sentiment will shift when rhetoric realigns with ideology.