--- title: "Grimes Apparently Says Elon Musk Can Enter “Demon Mode”" description: "According to a biographer, Elon Musk can enter into \"demon mode,\" causing him to be \"dark\" and act \"with a real lack of empathy.\"" date: "2023-07-02" modified: "2023-07-02" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-demon-mode" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Grimes Apparently Says Elon Musk Can Enter “Demon Mode” ![According to a biographer, Elon Musk can enter into "demon mode," causing him to be "dark" and act "with a real lack of empathy."]() *SpaceX, Twitter and electric car maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk looks on as he speaks during his visit at the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, on June 16, 2023. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP) (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images) \Image: ALAIN JOCARD/Getty Images\* ## Dark Side Business magnate and multi-billionaire CEO Elon Musk apparently has some more [dark secrets behind his success](). According to his biographer Walter Isaacson, Musk can enter into "demon mode," causing him to be "dark" and act "with a real lack of empathy" in order to be highly productive. Isaacson, a best-selling author who previously penned biographies on Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein, spent two years shadowing Musk's day-to-day life at home and in the workplace — so he may know a thing or two about Musk's behavior. He recently shared his thoughts on Musk during an interview on Twitter Spaces, revealing that it was actually the musician [Grimes](), Musk's ex-girlfriend, who coined the term "demon mode." Musk would be "unpleasant" to be around in "demon mode," she told Isaacson, but that he "gets shit done," [as quoted by *Insider*](). ## Odds Fellow Elaborating, Isaacson described the Tesla and SpaceX CEO as having a "maniacal sense of urgency" that could intimidate his employees — a "dark streak" that many other successful figures have, he added. "He'd go dark and I'd know that he was just going to rip that person apart," the biographer recalled. By Isaacson's estimates, Musk's criticism towards employees was constructive around 80 percent of the time, but "problematic" about 20 percent of the time. On occasion, Isaacson would discover that a worker that Musk berated had screwed up because of seriously extenuating circumstances, like the recent death of a child. Brutal stuff. ## Old News A particularly revealing anecdote was Musk's opinions on empathy. Isaacson claims that Musk told him he thinks it's "egotism" to show empathy to a single person over prioritizing the larger goal at hand. Given all the unflattering stories about him out there, that kind of worldview makes sense for Musk. There's the widespread reports of [poor working conditions]() at Tesla factories, his [firing of workers on a whim](), and his [gutting of Twitter's offices](), to name a few. All in all, it's not exactly news to hear Musk has a dark side, but hearing it from his biographer reveals another dimension of how far his "dark streaks" can go. **More on Elon Musk:** *[Elon Musk Goes on Transphobic Rant, Says "Cisgender" Now a "Slur" on Twitter]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()