--- title: "Elon Musk Conveniently Forgets to Mention He Didn’t Write a Famous TS Eliot Poem" description: "Tesla CEO Elon Musk should probably add “plagiarist” to his long list of accolades. For at least a year, the world’s richest man has been repeatedly paraphrasing the great (albeit very doomer-esque) author T.S. Eliot’s whose famous poem “The Hollow Men” ends with the equally-iconic line, “This is the way the world ends/Not with a […]" date: "2022-01-11" modified: "2022-01-11" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-ts-eliot" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "memes" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Conveniently Forgets to Mention He Didn’t Write a Famous TS Eliot Poem ![Elon Musk has been repeatedly paraphrasing the great author TS Eliot's famous poem "The Hollow Men" -- and not giving credit.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Hollow Man Tesla CEO Elon Musk might want to add "valor stealer" to his long list of accolades. For at least a year, the world's richest man has been repeatedly paraphrasing the great — albeit doomer-esque — author TS Eliot, whose famous poem "The Hollow Men" ends with the iconic line: "This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper." The billionaire CEO has yet to own up to the fact that the quote originally came from a poem written about the apocalyptic aftermath of World War I — and was not, in fact, about declining birth rates leading to the collapse of civilization. Worse yet, Musk doesn't appear to get the line quite right — or fully understand it, for that matter. Last year, he [warned podcaster Joe Rogan]() that "civilization here on Earth could end with a bang or with a whimper." Then last summer, he invoked it again to warn of [declining birthrates](). In short, Musk simply can't get enough of his own misreading of Eliot. ## Adult Diapers Now, Musk is back at it again. First came an appearance on podcaster-cum-AI-enthusiast [Lex Fridman's show]() at the tail end of 2021 during which he uttered the paraphrased line. And then, when some random blue check investor on Twitter quoted Musk's awkward paraphrasing, Musk sounded off on the birth rate issue instead of correcting the attribution. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1480564443629207557 Naturally, [some]() [Twitter]() [users]() — who remembered what they learned in English Literature 101 — recognized and pointed out the quote's actual author. "Elon Musk is the perfect capitalist," one user [wrote in a scathing tweet](). "Steals ideas and regurgitates them out completely devoid of depth and meaning, just full of more regurgitated nonsense he stole from others." But does it even matter, especially considering the rabid echo chamber surrounding Musk's fanbase and the CEO's [very tenuous relationship with sourcing]()? Stranger still, there's [plenty of reason to believe]() Musk has actually read at least some of the works of Eliot. It's likely that the misattribution wasn't accidental, either. Just a day after allowing an overeager fan to attribute the famed quote to him, Musk posted — without comment — a pithy [copypasta]() often used to make fun of *InfoWars* conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Except this one was "satirically" attributed to "Lord of the Rings" author JRR Tolkien. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1480093419334782981 From a brazen misunderstanding of Eliot to an [Alanis Morrisette-level concept]() of satire, there's little hope that 2022 will bring less edgelord behavior from the world's richest man. **READ MORE:** [*Elon Musk Fans Are Furious at Him for Being Mean to Bernie Sanders*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()