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What Now? With Trevor NoahIs Elon Musk the Ultimate Scam Artist? with Max Chafkin | What Now? with Trevor Noah Podcast
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EPISODE INFO
- Released
- April 10, 2025
- Duration
- 1h 10m
- Channel
- What Now? With Trevor Noah
- Watch on YouTube
- ▶ Open ↗
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
This week author and journalist Max Chafkin, co-host of the podcast Elon, Inc. joins myself and Christiana to discuss one of today’s most fascinating and controversial figures: Elon Musk. We talk about how Elon came to be the world’s richest person, whether he’s a brilliant entrepreneur, scam artist, or both, and whether he and the rest of the “Paypal Mafia” have helped the world or helped ruin it. 00:00 Intro 01:05 Introduction to Max Chafkin and podcast background 04:00 Defining the tech elite and their connections 14:20 Peter Thiel's background and influence 25:00 Discussion of Musk's erratic behavior and wealth 30:10 Trump's relationship with tech leaders 41:30 Understanding billionaire motivations 56:00 South African influence on Musk's worldview 01:02:30 Elon Musk's global business strategy 01:07:00 Future predictions for tech oligarchs If you haven't already.... Subscribe to What Now? here on YouTube! https://bit.ly/SubscribeToWhatNowPodcast Or follow along on your other favourite podcast platforms... Spotify - https://bit.ly/WhatNowOnSpotify / Apple Podcasts - https://bit.ly/WhatNowOnApplePodcasts More episodes... The Problem With Men, with Scott Galloway https://youtu.be/_i11gj-iq1I American Amnesia with Tressie McMillan Cottom https://youtu.be/bOT53IY6tJg The Reality of Fiction with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie https://youtu.be/yfNbrC3HJpU Christiana Gave Birth (Again)! https://youtu.be/ER-EZnyjSJM Human-Kind or Human Evil with Rutger Bregman https://youtu.be/vhg2RLXUovs Meet Khaya Dlanga – One of My Favorite People https://youtu.be/qEJV3t1m_Y4 The Second Coming of Halle Berry https://youtu.be/hW7Mld_WksU RIP… D.E.I. with Ruha Benjamin https://youtu.be/1VRCfuKEGdo No One Told Trevor He Was Hosting the Grammys https://youtu.be/bNEJVTNU8N8 Wringing in the New Year https://youtu.be/Ge_0YMwfTes Is Marques Brownlee the Most Powerful Man in Tech? https://youtu.be/pNDidttHP9M?si=5GDvs3sbehGH5ZZm Why Are All Bosses Idiots? with Simon Sinek https://youtu.be/BooPVxoRmEY?si=IV5bDRKpJj2Z1WHV How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan https://youtu.be/InNbGfVVtJk?si=rKM8EcfC-bGcWEsk If You Ruled the World: Listener Grab Bag https://youtu.be/lRBA74Yd6eo Love on a Timeline with Esther Perel https://youtu.be/wXoi2mcS79c Tight Values, Loose Ideas with Malcolm Gladwell https://youtu.be/0nzREiczBaA?si=FpCq7CQIg8wavN89 What’s In An Accent with Lupita Nyong’o https://youtu.be/OncAEu9sfD8?si=CEM-ZAFKABE9agLx For Kids or Anyone Who’s Ever Been a Kid https://youtu.be/iv3CMDfKM5w?si=_e0aLFDiHBxPutCB Have We Missed The Message? with Ta-Nehisi Coates https://youtu.be/IPbD9PZ5FP4?si=6Jo16ww9qDqjPFIF Kevin Hart Gets the Bubble Guts! https://youtu.be/LxWiLYHEdYI?si=DQfQxsE_qbQU18gc Doctor Roger Federer Will See You Now https://youtu.be/0foth8r3Zbg?si=jLLMfq9DE90rLAZn Welcome To The Julia Louis-Dreyfus Brain Museum https://youtu.be/gIM1aQ9KS1o?si=z6pYIWwtEOfjqspB Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Kicks Off The Podcast! https://youtu.be/gPmBuZbnn0g?si=R2jJLxG5cb-BwF03 Jessica Alba Is Standing in Her Power! https://youtu.be/zY9KZyJ1EiI?si=qGolN-Ga4PI3C-5a Making Bureaucracies Sexier with Yuval Noah Harari https://youtu.be/jO8ZLWYg71M?si=Ihm6QzZEnueJJWr1 Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias and the Art of Mentoring https://youtu.be/_ZeEiE42kNk?si=UNc9HE9NnyQbSVs6 Tripping Past Your Ego with Michael Pollan https://youtu.be/RMXu7Fn_bZc?si=fujRFMjoW0gwtMLu Why AI Won’t Destroy Us with Microsoft’s Brad Smith https://youtu.be/N5qEv-0fyQ4?si=YqEp8HUM5TCvVoZi Sam Altman Speaks Out About What Happened at OpenAI https://youtu.be/dVTxt5K8YZo?si=tNjKcPxtZuj6crVd There’s No I In Trevor Noah https://youtu.be/NZYnFYmn1Q0?si=5mYwzWfs83XoXhLO The Ozempic Obsession with Jia Tolentino https://youtu.be/ZR9QASRetRc?si=FmhMdLFmYKAOtxP8 #MaxChafkin #TrevorNoah #WhatNowPodcast
SPEAKERS
Trevor Noah
hostComedian and television host; host of the podcast "What Now? With Trevor Noah".
Max Chafkin
guestJournalist and author covering tech and Silicon Valley, including Elon Musk and Peter Thiel.
Christiana Mbakwe
hostCo-host on the podcast "What Now? With Trevor Noah".
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of What Now? With Trevor Noah, featuring Trevor Noah and Max Chafkin, Is Elon Musk the Ultimate Scam Artist? with Max Chafkin | What Now? with Trevor Noah Podcast explores Max Chafkin Unpacks Musk, Thiel, and Tech's Political Power Play Chafkin traces the tech elite's shift toward Trump through the PayPal Mafia network, describing Thiel as an early Trump backer whose playbook Musk has since supercharged.
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