Elon was not the first, Alfred Hugenberg was Hitler’s Musk by Thanos Kalamidas

History, as they say, has a wicked sense of irony. And if we fail to recognize the repeating patterns of history, then we are doomed to live them over and over again albeit with shinier gadgets and billionaires in space suits. The world watches in awe as Elon Musk positions himself not only as the tech overlord of our time but as a figure of raw, unchecked power, entangled with authoritarianism in ways that should send a chill down every spine. But, of course, none of this is new. We have been here before. His name was Alfred Hugenberg.

Hugenberg, a media mogul, a nationalist, and a tycoon, played a crucial role in the rise of Adolf Hitler. He was a man who believed in the absolute power of industry, a man who understood the intoxicating lure of mass communication, and a man who, like Musk, convinced himself that he could ride the tiger of authoritarianism without getting devoured. Spoiler alert: he got devoured.

Now, let’s talk about Musk, the modern-day messiah of free speech absolutism (or so he claims), the man who bought Twitter not to protect democracy but to cement his own throne over digital discourse. Musk, with his usual mix of erraticism and hubris, has positioned himself as both the town crier and the town executioner, deciding who gets to speak, who gets silenced, and what counts as truth. Sound familiar? Hugenberg did the same with Germany’s largest newspaper empire, turning public discourse into a weapon, softening the ground for an authoritarian takeover.

Hugenberg thought he could control Hitler. He thought that by supporting his rise, he could steer the Nazi movement in a way that benefited his own interests because, after all, isn’t that what oligarchs do? They play kingmaker, imagining that their wealth grants them immunity from the tides of history. But authoritarianism is a ravenous beast that does not share power. It consumes those who enable it. Hugenberg, like all men who believe their riches will shield them from the consequences of their actions, was cast aside when he was no longer useful.

Musk follows a similar playbook: cozying up to authoritarian figures, be it Xi Jinping in China, Vladimir Putin’s enablers, or even the rising tide of far-right movements across the West. His dalliance with authoritarianism isn’t a bug; it’s a feature. He thrives on chaos, on the destabilization of institutions, because, in the smoldering ruins of democratic order, oligarchs like him believe they will reign supreme.

His role in geopolitics is already alarming. His control of Starlink, a crucial communication network for Ukraine, allowed him to unilaterally decide whether the country’s forces could use his technology in a time of war. And let’s not forget his unpredictable policy shifts on Twitter/X, where a simple tweet from Musk can upend financial markets, fuel conspiracy theories, or amplify far-right propaganda.

Like Hugenberg, Musk imagines himself a titan of industry too big to fall, too rich to be cast aside. But here’s the inconvenient truth: the forces he enables will not hesitate to discard him when he outlives his usefulness. History tells us this, but history also tells us that men like Musk never listen.

The question isn’t whether Musk will fall. The question is how much damage he will do before he does. Hugenberg greased the wheels of one of history’s greatest atrocities. Musk, in his infinite arrogance, is priming the world for another dystopian descent. The warning signs are all there ...again! But will we listen? ...again?