--- title: "Elon Musk Says the Metaverse Sucks and Neuralink Will Be Better" description: "In an interview with conservative Christian satire website The Babylon Bee, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took a stab at the concept of the Metaverse, the fun and quirky virtual world destined to replace our boring chats via two-dimensional screens — if Facebook-owned company Meta is to be believed. “Am I like one of those people […]" date: "2021-12-22" modified: "2021-12-22" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/elon-musk-metaverse-sucks-neuralink-better" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Metaverse" - "The Industrialists" - "Virtual Reality" tags: - "elon musk" - "Meta" - "metaverse" - "neuralink" - "virtual reality" --- # Elon Musk Says the Metaverse Sucks and Neuralink Will Be Better ![In an interview with conservative Christian satire website The Babylon Bee, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took a stab at the concept of the Metaverse.]() *\Image: The Babylon Bee via YouTube\* In a [new interview]() with conservative satire website *The Babylon Bee*, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took a stab at the concept of the Metaverse, the quirky virtual world Facebook-now-known-as-Meta says will supplant our boring two-dimensional screens. "Am I like one of those people who was dismissing the internet \[in\] '95 as some fad or something that’s never going to amount to anything?" Musk asked the site. "Sure you can put a TV on your nose," he added derisively. "I’m not sure that makes you 'in the metaverse.'" Musk, for one, is certainly not compelled by the idea of "strapping a frigging screen to their face all day and not wanting to ever leave." "That seems... no way," he said in the interview. "It gets uncomfortable to have this thing strapped to your head the whole time," he added. "I think we're far from disappearing into the metaverse." Musk also offered what he sees as a far better alternative: a chip surgically implanted in your brain, courtesy of the brain-computer interface company Neuralink he co-founded. "Long term, a sophisticated Neuralink could put you fully, fully in a virtual reality thing," he said. Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has made a huge VR push as of late, selling its Metaverse as a more meaningful way of connecting with others via a VR headset. But even the company's own vice president for global affairs and communications Nick Clegg recently [admitted the experience is still lacking](). "If I’m lifting my head, it’s because I’m drinking my coffee and this wretched headset is too bulky for me to drink my coffee without moving my headset," Clegg told the *Financial Times* in a [recent interview](). Musk also took aim at Web3, the concept of democratizing the internet by rebuilding it around the blockchain. He described Web3 in his *Babylon Bee* interview as "more marketing than reality." "I don't get it," he added dismissively. "But I don't get it *yet*, let's put it that way." But Musk stopped short from condemning the idea of the metaverse or Web3 outright. He argued there is "a danger" of not being able to "see a compelling metaverse situation," comparing his perspective to David Letterman tearing apart the idea of the internet in a 1995 interview with Bill Gates, [a video of which he shared]() earlier this week. Whether the idea of the Metaverse will eventually take off or die as a fad is anything but certain. Besides, Musk [has been wrong before](). While VR technologies have come a long way, they're still far from mainstream — nevermind reaching even close to the number of people Facebook's social media platform can. But will a surgically implanted brain chip convince enough customers if VR headsets fail? That's arguably an even bigger stretch. **READ MORE:** [Elon Musk: metaverse isn’t ‘compelling’ and Web3 ‘more marketing than reality’]() \[*The Verge*\] **More on metaverse:** *[Sexual Assault Is Already Happening in the Metaverse]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()