Elon Musk’s doomsday plan revealed: “When in doubt, the tech billionaires will abandon us”

With an increasingly tense international climate and an increasingly uncertain future, major tech moguls are beginning to make plans to escape a potential global meltdown. From Jeff Bezos to Elon Musk, the new billionaires now have a plan B to avoid the consequences of the “end of the world.”

This is according to professor of virtual culture and columnist Douglas Rushkoff. Douglas, who is credited with coining overused terms like “virality” and “digital natives,” reflects in his new book, Survival of the Richest, on the future of humanity and how the biggest tech moguls have adapted to confront the “end of the world.”

And in his work, the professor asserts that a large number of CEOs of the most important digital companies in the United States have expressed concern about the possibility of a global collapse, which has led them to come up with new ideas to escape from it rather than avoid it.

“Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is building a bunker in Hawaii, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wants a digital backup of his brain, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk aspires to have colonies on Mars,” he said in an interview with German outlet Tagesspiegel.

Plans that, however, may not be as effective as technology leaders believe. This is the opinion of Douglas, who considers this “mentality” to be “illusory,” since it is not possible to “isolate your own existence from the outside world or isolate yourself from a pandemic.”

“Even less can individuals protect themselves against climate catastrophe. We saw this in the California wildfires: the beautiful, isolated properties of the wealthy in the mountains were the first to fall victim to the flames,” he argues.

A problem that, according to the theorist, stems from these celebrities’ need for “dominance and control.” Douglas claims that these tech leaders believe that “human relationships are simply market phenomena,” so they are not concerned with building “egalitarian relationships,” but rather with achieving as much power as possible.

“They’re using Trump the same way they’re using the planet. He’s simply a tool for their agenda. When the Democrats were in power and pushing neoliberalism, Silicon Valley leaders supported the Democrats,” he explains.

That is why, in the event of a global catastrophe, the columnist believes that “they will leave us behind.” Douglas believes that magnates long to be “our demigods,” but he argues that very few people perceive them that way, so, in the event of a collapse, they will leave the vast majority of people behind.

Plans against the apocalypse

While it is a very common practice in wealthier circles, preparing for the apocalypse is a concern that affects many Americans, and has led some people, with average purchasing power, to invest large amounts of money.

According to a study by the consulting firm Blueweave Consulting, Americans spent $137 million in 2023 to build private shelters against disasters and nuclear threats.

Blueweave also estimates that by 2030, growing concerns about nuclear threats, terrorist attacks, and civil unrest could cause this market to grow to $175 million.

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