Of course Elon Musk is not a new name to many, with an estimated net worth running into billions of US dollars, the 50-year old is considered the current richest man in the world. Musk who doubles as CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, Inc., is also the founder of The Boring Company; and co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI. He is seen as one of the most powerful men in the world, a mover and shaker but the Tesla CEO got tongues wagging recently when he announced that he is considering leaving his numerous jobs to become an influencer.
In a recent interview, Tesla and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk reveals his opinion about 2 tech trends -metaverse and Web3, that many consider would revolutionize the world. Musk has revealed that he couldn’t see a compelling use-case for the VR-driven metaverse, and derided Web3 — a nebulous concept in which internet services are rebuilt around blockchain and cryptocurrency — as “more marketing than reality,” adding “I don’t get it.”
Firstly, Musk has admitted that he just might be a little “too old” to comprehend these new technologies the world is drooling about. “Am I like one of those people who was dismissing the internet [in] ‘95 as some fad or something that’s never going to amount to anything?” he suggested, before noting that as far back in 1995 he was one of the individuals you find around who understood the so many potentials of the internet.
Musk’s criticism of the the use of the new technology metaverse actually focuses on the absence of compelling use-cases and an experience which may be disappointing for consumers. Musk says “Sure you can put a TV on your nose. I’m not sure that makes you ‘in the metaverse.” He further explains that “I don’t see someone strapping a frigging screen to their face all day and not wanting to ever leave. That seems — no way.” In the interview, he also added that “I currently am unable to see a compelling metaverse situation.”
Currently, everyone is talking about the “metaverse”, it has suddenly become an over-hyped branding exercise for a series of virtual worlds, which is very dependent on VR headsets to access, which many consider as not so comfortable. Critics’ points out that all this technology have basically been tried at one point or the other before now. Records have it that there was a failed VR boom of the ‘90s and the rise of spaces like Second Life in the early 2000s. What the concept of the metaverse offers today is majorly an improvement in hardware with flashy an catchy new title, that has the backing of billions of dollars from recognized and renowned world tech giants like Facebook-owned Meta, which is so keen on it and been paraded in the faces of internet user as the next big digital platform.
Web3 is another alternative vision that has been marked to invade the future of the internet. It is driven with by the idea that ordinary internet users will have the opportunity to profit from their content and activity online, rather than having only behemoth internet companies capture the value. Although, Musk didn’t spend much time sharing his opinion about Web3, but he has openly expressed his skepticism about the project on Twitter, joining fellow tech CEO Jack Dorsey. According to Dorsey’s criticism, Web3 won’t democratize anything, the worst that can happen will just be a simple shift in power from existing incumbents like Facebook to upstart venture capital funds like Andreessen Horowitz.
In the interview Musk also airs his opinion about climate change, “I’m not in the camp of super-alarmist global warming,” says Musk, but added that negative effects like rising sea levels are “not a wise risk to take.” The existence of other life in the universe “If anyone would know about evidence of aliens it would be me, and I’ve seen nothing,” he added that there should be a regulatory agency whose responsibility is to oversee “advanced AI” that he thinks poses a threat to humanity.
Olagoke Ajibola is a creative writer and content producer with an eye for details and excellence. He has a demonstrated history of telling stories for TV, Film and Online. Aside from being fascinated by the power of imagination, his other interest are travel, sport, reading and meeting people.
