Elon Musk questions the futility of human existence and we just hope he’s doing OK

Elon Musk just gave us another reason to check in to see if he’s OK. Hate to say it, but one of the world’s most renowned minds might be in the throes of an existential crisis. 

The Tesla and SpaceX boss took to Twitter last week to crowdsource some inspiration to name his Boring Company‘s first tunneling machines, and yes, there were puns. Such glorious puns. 

Never one to keep an idea to himself, he later shared his progress with his followers to workshop even more ideas. He has a new theme for the task some might call boring: literature. 

OK, poems and plays. So are we gonna see some Dylan Thomas references here or what? Musk’s  whole mission to save humanity fits perfectly into that whole “Do not go gentle into that good night” vibe — but after it was beat to death by Interstellar, the reference fits better with a SpaceX rocket. How about some of the heroes from Shakespeare or even ancient Greek epics to really inspire the project and lend it extra some canonical heft?

Musk decided instead to christen his first machine with a reference to one of the most important plays of the 20th century, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. 

Musk is having a laugh at his own expense here — or it could be a cry for help. The titular Godot never shows up in the play, and the two characters waiting for him, Vladimir and Estragon, do nothing but wait for his arrival, unwilling to move even after they’re told Godot won’t come. It’s a deeply philosophical work, as Godot is considered in some interpretations to represent the absence of God, while the waiting exemplifies the futility of human existence.  

So what’s Godot (the massive tunneling machine) waiting on? Is it for some city (most likely Los Angeles) to finally let Musk dig up some dirt to build his tunnels outside of just his SpaceX property? Or is it more existential, as the ever forward-thinking Musk waits on the rest of the world to catch up with his vision for human society and, in doing so, enter a new age of enlightenment? 

Until Godot arrives — or perhaps, based on the play’s context, if Godot ever arrives — we might never know. 

At least the other names sound like they won’t be so rife with heavy symbolism, as Musk confirmed the perennially-quoted American poet Robert Frost is likely up next on the catalogue of names. 

There’s no word yet if the first Boring Company machine will go to work wearing a bowler hat, or if it will ever find the big answers and come to terms with the futility of existence. 

Hang in there, Elon. Just think about the good things in life, like Guardians of the Galaxy and excessive PDA with Amber Heard. Everything will be OK.