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Inside Elon Musk’s Obsession With Building a ‘Legion’ of Super Babies | Pivot

Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway dig into Trump’s attacks on The Fed and Harvard, Nvidia’s plans to manufacture supercomputers in the United States, and what we learned from Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony at the Meta antitrust trial. Plus, a bombshell report from The Wall Street Journal details how Elon Musk is obsessed with building a “legion” of babies, and how he’s recruiting women to help achieve that objective. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 10:03 Trump Calls Out Fed Chair 17:44 Trump vs. Harvard 27:52 Elon’s “Legion” of Babies 39:01 NVIDIA’s ‘Made in the USA’ Plans 40:35 Zuck on the Stand 49:08 Google Loses Monopoly Case 51:37 Predictions #pivot #podcast #karaswisher #scottgalloway #donaldtrump #jeromepowell #harvard #elonmusk #pronatalism #nvidia #meta #markzuckerberg #google #antitrust #monopoly Producers: Lara Naaman Zoë Marcus Taylor Griffin Video Editor: Jim Mackil Vox Media's Executive Producer of Podcasts: Nishat Kurwa Subscribe to Pivot on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pivot/id1073226719 Subscribe to Pivot on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4MU3RFGELZxPT9XHVwTNPR Follow us on Instagram and Threads at: https://www.instagram.com/pivotpodcastofficial Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@PIVOTPODCAST Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at https://podcasts.voxmedia.com/show/pivot

Kara SwisherhostScott GallowayhostJerome PowellguestGuest commentatorguest
Apr 17, 20251h 4mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Elon’s ‘super babies,’ Trump’s power grabs, and revolt of elites

  1. Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway tear through a packed week: the cultural backlash to the Katy Perry/Blue Origin ‘space ride,’ Trump’s escalating assaults on institutional independence from the Fed to Harvard, and Elon Musk’s ideologically driven quest to father a “legion” of genetically superior children. They tie the online mockery of billionaire vanity projects to deeper rage over inequality and the sense that the ultra-rich are rebranding narcissism as heroism or feminism. The hosts also unpack antitrust developments involving Meta and Google, immigration crackdowns, and international trade tensions as evidence of a broader authoritarian, anti-expert turn. Throughout, they argue that business leaders, universities, and public officials are reaching (or must reach) a breaking point and begin openly resisting Trump-era politicization and billionaire excess.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Billionaire spectacle is colliding with public anger over inequality.

The Katy Perry/Blue Origin trip was mocked not just because it was frivolous, but because it symbolized a tiny elite buying fake heroism and hijacking social causes while most people face economic strain.

Rebranding vanity as feminism or heroism is provoking a backlash.

Positioning luxury space rides or glossy magazine covers as feminist milestones, while offering little to ordinary women or workers, is seen as “vanity rebranded as feminism” and deepens distrust of elites.

Trump’s erosion of institutional independence is economically dangerous.

Threats to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, punish Harvard via the IRS, and weaponize the DOJ undermine central bank independence and rule-of-law signals, risking market turmoil and long-term economic damage.

Universities’ research role makes them a poor target for political retribution.

Federal funding of university research has historically produced massive economic returns (20–60%+ annually) in medicine, tech, and energy; attacking institutions like Harvard harms innovation and national competitiveness more than it hurts elites.

Elon Musk’s pronatalist ‘legion of babies’ project is ethically fraught.

Musk’s quest to father many “smart” children—using money and power to engineer single-mother households and control payments—looks less like a private family choice and more like a eugenics-tinged experiment with real risks for the kids and for society.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Vanity rebranded as feminism or adventure.

— Scott Galloway

The rich need to stay quiet. Be rich and anonymous. Go to space on your own time.

— Kara Swisher

He’s not a father of 14 kids, he’s creating 14 single-parent households.

— Scott Galloway

Elon, you are a sick puppy. I feel bad for these women, I feel bad for these kids.

— Kara Swisher

First they came for the socialists and I did not speak out… Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.

— Scott Galloway (quoting Martin Niemöller)

Public backlash to Katy Perry’s Blue Origin space flight and billionaire vanity projectsIncome inequality, “eat the rich” sentiment, and weaponized pseudo-feminismTrump’s attacks on institutional independence: Federal Reserve, DOJ, Harvard, immigration enforcementElon Musk’s pronatalist ‘super baby’ project and ethical concerns over his children and their mothersAntitrust actions against Meta (Instagram/WhatsApp) and Google’s ad-tech monopolyMedia hollowing-out by Big Tech and the economics of research universitiesGlobal trade tensions, tariffs, and allies like Canada recalibrating in response to U.S. policy

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