There has never been anyone quite like Elon Musk in my lifetime. Other tech billionaires have built extraordinary companies, disrupted industries and launched their own space rockets. Fewer have been compared with Thomas Edison or amassed Mr Musk’s rock star-sized fan base.
None has sent a red electric sports car into orbit with a space-suited dummy in the driver’s seat called Starman, as Mr Musk did in February. Or raised millions of dollars by selling $500 flame-throwers. Or designed a gigantic rocket to go to Mars codenamed the BFR, short for “Big F . . . ing Rocket”.
Like so many others, I have long found it hard to resist Mr Musk’s exuberant approach to life. I was never convinced that he was motivated purely by a desire to tackle humanity’s biggest problems. And yet, his Tesla electric cars and gigafactory battery plant have helped do that, spurring more traditional carmakers to hasten their plug-in plans.