Elon Musk wept over his love life in front of a Rolling Stone reporter
Elon Musk isn't someone afraid to show his emotions. Just check his peculiar tweets, farfetched Instagram posts, or his open love for the nihilistic pop culture phenomenon Rick and Morty for evidence.
Or, you could read this month's dramatic Rolling Stone cover story.
It's got everything you could want from a celebrity profile: drama, heartbreak, a disdain for turtlenecks, and all the electronic car jargon you could need. He wasn't even afraid to shed a few tears in front of journalist Neil Strauss, who spent nine long months with the Tesla CEO for the piece.
Here are a few highlights:
1. Amber Heard broke his heart ...
Then he heaves a sigh and ends his effort at composure. "I just broke up with my girlfriend," he says hesitantly. "I was really in love, and it hurt bad."
He pauses and corrects himself: "Well, she broke up with me more than I broke up with her, I think."
"I've been in severe emotional pain for the last few weeks," Musk elaborates. "Severe. It took every ounce of will to be able to do the Model 3 event and not look like the most depressed guy around. For most of that day, I was morbid. And then I had to psych myself up: drink a couple of Red Bulls, hang out with positive people and then, like, tell myself: 'I have all these people depending on me. All right, do it!'"
2. ... but he's single and ready to mingle ...
"Is there anybody you think I should date? It's so hard for me to even meet people." He swallows and clarifies, stammering softly, "I'm looking for a long-term relationship. I'm not looking for a one-night stand. I'm looking for a serious companion or soulmate, that kind of thing."
3. ... and is very dependent on love
"If I'm not in love, if I'm not with a long-term companion, I cannot be happy."
"I will never be happy without having someone. Going to sleep alone kills me."
4. Musk is decidedly anti-turtleneck, thanks to Steve Jobs
"If I was dying and I had a turtleneck on," he tells me, "with my last dying breath, I would take the turtleneck off and try to throw it as far away from my body as possible."
5. No surprise here, but his kids are geniuses too
At least, most of the world. "I'm looking at the short losses," Musk says, transfixed by CNBC on his iPhone. He speaks to his kids without looking up. "Guys, check this out: Tesla has the highest short position in the entire stock market. A $9 billion short position."
His children lean over the phone, looking at a table full of numbers that I don't understand. So his 13-year-old, Griffin, explains it to me: "They're betting that the stock goes down, and they're getting money off that. But it went up high, so they lost an insane amount of money."
6. Truth for Musk can be found in unexpected places
"In order to understand the essential truth of things," he theorizes, "I think you can find it in The Onion and occasionally on Reddit."
7. Musk is a fan of the exact shows you would think he's a fan of
Afterward, he asks excitedly, "Have you ever seen Rick and Morty?" And the conversation bounces from that animated show to South Park to The Simpsons to the book Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
8. He doesn't have all the fucking answers
"I don't have all the answers. I'm not saying that I have all the fucking answers. Let me be really clear about that. I'm trying to figure out the set of actions I can take that are more likely to result in a good future. If you have suggestions in that regard, please tell me what they are."
Topics Elon Musk Celebrities
