The Daily Signal - Victor Davis Hanson: Elon Musk Is Powering the American Renaissance

Episode Date: September 17, 2026

Elon Musk’s influence stretches far beyond Tesla. From SpaceX and Starlink to X, artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and America’s return to dominance in space, Musk’s companies have become major players in some of the most consequential technologies of the modern era. Despite years of controversy and predictions of his decline, Musk’s technological footprint continues to expand—helping reshape American industry, communications, transportation, and space exploration. GhostBed - Go to http://www.GhostBed.com/VDH and use promo code VDH to receive 10% off! With a monthly donation $28, you’ll become BOTH a Signal Elite Supporter AND receive a copy of “The Counterrevolution: The Fall and Rise of Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement” Click here to order:  https://secured.dailysignal.com/support-daily-signal-today/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=signalelite&utm_content=260820-vdh-book-youtube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the Daily Signal podcast, where we provide intelligence for the intelligent. Now, without further ado, here's today's take. New from Nespresso. Blend wellness into your coffee routine with a coffee plus range, infused with functional benefits. Choose the coffee you love with added B vitamins, like coffee plus B12 to help support immune function, and coffee plus B6 to keep your day moving. Or go with the flow and choose ginseng delight. Our new double espresso with ginseng extract.

Whatever lies ahead, don't change your morning. Let your morning change you. Discover Coffee Plus on Nespresso.com. Much of the success of the United States current Renaissance in digital media, in satellites, in electrical vehicles, in AI, in software is due to one person. Hello, this is Victor Davis-Hansson for the Daily Signal. There's a lot of controversy about Elon Musk. His reputation took a big hit. We remember right after the election because half the country voted roughly 48% voted against Donald Trump. Elon Musk had flipped from a former Hillary Clinton supporter and Joe Biden supporter to a firm MAGA adherent and voted for Donald Trump in 2024.

As a result of that, in his comments opposing illegal migration, there were people who not only were demonstrating against ICE, but attacking Tesla dealerships. everybody said that Elon Musk brand had suffered accordingly that Tesla was on the way down, that European and American EV makers, along with Chinese EV, would dominate the market given the tarnishing of the Musk brand, and in conjunction with the end of the federal subsidy for electric vehicles. So people were suggesting that the era of Elon Musk was over. He was very controversial, and he was outspoken on his own platform X on conservative issues such as illegal immigration, green energy, AI in ways that infuriated the left. And the left, remember, was considered the natural consumer of electric vehicles. So are we watching the decline of Elon Musk?

No, no, no. It's the exact opposite is happening. In the second quarter of 2006, Tesla had a rebound, and it captured 52% of all the EVs sold in the United States. It has a market capitalization of $1.2 trillion. The other big three automakers are beginning to exit the EVs. market. China cannot send their EVs into the United States. Why did Tesla rebound? Was it because all of a sudden Elon Musk had a fight with Donald Trump for a while? No. Was it because he apologized to the left? No. It's because when you buy a Tesla and you drive it and you compare with other brands of the big three in terms of distancing, acceleration, safety, appurtences. It's not just better,

but it keeps getting better geometrically at a geometric rate, not just an arithmetic. It has the best program for self-driving. It's the safest. It has the longest range. It's the most fun to drive. And people like it,

regardless of their politics. If you move to SpaceX, 67% of all the satellites in low orbit around the world today are associated with Elon Musk, SpaceX company. 67%, over 12,000 satellites. The market capitalization of SpaceX is well over $2 trillion. $2 trillion. SpaceX, with its various rockets, has saved a morbid, calcified, ossified NASA. It alone, with its rocketry and space vehicles, has put the United States not just back

into the so-called space race and return to the moon and eventually to Mars. It's made it preeminent over the Europeans, the Japanese, and the Japanese, and the Chinese. More importantly, it's given the United States enormous technological advances in rocketry ballistic missiles, which have a definite military component to it. When Elon Musk paid an exorbitant fee for X, people felt that he had made an enormous mistake, that it was overpriced. And yet, and people were saying that people, that users would abandon him and go elsewhere. In fact, that has not happened. That has not happened. There are 560 million users of X today. Blue Sky, the alternative that was supposed to break X, 3 million users. Three million

3 million versus 560 users. And remember that his Starlink platform, satellite platform, has captured 97% of all satellite internet usage. There's 12 million people who have a SpaceX, a Starlink receiver and our

subscribers, and 160. countries. Most of the U.S. military and are allied military, including the Ukrainians, the Israelis, count on Starlink to guide their missiles, their drones, to protect them from incoming attack. Let's just put all of this in some kind of perspective. In terms of market capitalization, Elon Musk has well over $3.5 trillion in his various companies. SpaceX is the largest, and it's the most dominant, and it will either ensure that the United States is first in space exploration and satellite launching. And by the way, more satellites were launched on Elon Musk rockets last year

than all of the satellites elsewhere put together. In addition to that, he created the electric vehicle market. It did not exist. He created the idea. Everyone said it would not work. That he was going to go broke and he was finished. He not only created the Tesla electric vehicle, he made it preeminent and dominant today.

And he did it because for the price and a cost-benefit analysis, it was unmatched. in terms of GROC, it is about 13% of all AI platforms and chat boxes use GROC. So let's just keep that in perspective. The United States is preeminent today in social media, in artificial intelligence, in satellite launches, and the number of rocket launches in general in electric vehicles. And all of that put together is due to one person, Elon Musk, who has been reviled and attacked by the left as either treasonous or insane or cruel or whatever.

One man has combined the talents of Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford, all in one person, and he's an American. In other words, much of the success of the United States current renaissance in digital media, in satellites, in electrical vehicles, in AI, in software, is due to one person. One person can make a difference in the case of Elon Musk. He made a big difference. Thank you very much. This is Victor Davis-Hanson for The Daily Signal.

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