no better feeling in a conflict than thinking oneself so moralistically favored that deus ex machina is inevitable.

Elon feels like a political underdog, in no small part b/c his ulterior goals fly in the face of physical reality, and after so much commercial success, the arbitrary imposition in near-impossible endeavors is profane by comparison. the remaining politics, e.g. freedom of speech/assembly, is wrapping this defensiveness.

Thank you, this kinda makes sense - especially the bit about physical reality

maybe I'm overanalyzing it, but it seems that Elon heard the bad news about the Mars atmosphere (https://futurism.com/the-byte/terraform-mars-elon-musk-nasa), around the same time as the Thai caves (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/15/elon-musk-british-diver-thai-cave-rescue-pedo-twitter)

following the rejection, why not find commiseration, especially during the pandemic & its lockdowns? now, it's a paradox around which authorities to oppose and support.