Elon Musk Finds His Inspiration: “Art Deco” Is Back in Style at Both Tesla and X
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Inspired by trains and buses from the 1920s, Musk decided: if you’re going to build the future, do it in vintage style
Elon Musk, known for his talent to create hype out of thin air and rockets out of metal, has once again surprised the public. It turns out the billionaire’s secret passion has long been the art deco aesthetic—the very one that adorned liners, trains, and skyscrapers during the jazz age and the Great Depression. “If X has a style, it’s definitely art deco,” Musk said about his social network, which he has renamed, repainted, and now apparently plans to send on a tour of 1927 Manhattan.
In October 2023, Musk unveiled the Tesla Robovan—not just an electric bus, but a true homage to futurism from the past. “A futuristic art deco bus,” the Tesla chief reported enthusiastically, clearly seeing no contradiction in combining “futurism” and “antique aesthetics.” According to insiders, the inspiration for the new model was borrowed from art deco trains—so by Elon’s logic, the next stop is obviously a retro subway on Mars.
Who would have thought that to feel like we’re in the future, we’d have to go back to the 1920s? Perhaps in Musk’s next thread we’ll hear about the revival of art nouveau for Neuralink, or the launch of a space rocket in Russian constructivist style. In any case, the era of great stylistic metamorphoses is just beginning: Mars awaits its own Gatsby, and we await more new ideas from Musk.
Max Sharp
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