SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn Falcon 9 rocket blasts off from Launch Complex 39A of NASA’s Kennedy Space … [+] Center on September 10, 2024 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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The SpaceX Starship rocket exploded during a test flight on Thursday. This led to an intriguing conversation online, with a subsection of social media excited to highlight the irony between this SpaceX explosion, the company’s use of taxpayer money and Elon Musk’s work with DOGE.
This unexpected response shines light on the impact celebrity CEOs can have on the public view of a company—and we’re going to explore why this happens.
The SpaceX Starship is a megarocket that Elon Musk wants to use to bring people to Mars. It’s the most powerful rocket ever built, but this is also the second consecutive test flight in which the vehicle has malfunctioned. In this latest instance, Starship’s upper stage broke apart and sprayed debris across areas of the United States.
Following this, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded flights in parts of Florida.
While there’s been a raft of different reactions online, a prominent type is pointing out the irony between the SpaceX Starship “wasting government money” and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, a body that’s trying to cut public expenditure.
Indeed, some seem to revel in this idea of a figure like Musk who’s made himself responsible for the sensible use of public funds being linked to millions, if not billions of dollars, literally and figuratively going up in flames.
This begs some simple questions: Why? What’s going on? And what does this reaction tell us about society?
Analyzing The Response To The SpaceX Starship Exploding
The first thing to point out is the attention on the test launch feels remarkable in itself. There are few other companies that would receive so much public and press attention for a trial like SpaceX.
On one hand, this is a blessing, with the company getting a lot of attention, but on the other, it opens it up to comments that, while not quite praising the Starship exploding, seem at least slightly happy about the ensuing discussion.
Here’s the kicker, though: One would expect tests of the world’s largest rocket to be something that invokes excitement, not mockery—and a lot of this reaction has to do with Elon Musk himself.
Research shows that the majority of U.S. adults dislike Musk. A key reason for this has been the growth of technology and social media, meaning that executives in these fields are more famous than ever.
Musk in particular seems to desire fame, buying and managing Twitter (on some level) to boost his profile and involving himself in current events in a way, say, Tim Cook doesn’t.
This can pay dividends, as a figure like Elon Musk can use his visibility in various ways to push his own agenda, but it also opens him up to public derision in a way that a more background figure doesn’t experience. And the response to the SpaceX Starship rocket exploding is directly tied to this situation.
One key element of how social media has altered our relationship with celebrity is it amplifies a desire for famous figures to be humbled or humiliated. Some researchers believe this is because the public experience uncontrollable economic unfairness (such as rising grocery prices) and want this perceived shame to be leveled at those who are financially better off and less susceptible to these changes.
Rephrasing that, seeing someone famous fail makes people feel good. It’s as though the fairness of the world is readdressed.
In this context, it could seem that Elon Musk is currently peaking, playing a key role in the presidency and running DOGE.
Some of the public enjoyment in the irony of taxpayer money being “wasted” on SpaceX can be seen through this lens of fairness. Musk suffering publicly with Starship can feel as though an imbalance in society is being righted.
Ultimately, if Elon Musk wasn’t a modern celebrity CEO, it’s possible that SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploding wouldn’t receive as much mocking or attention as it does. Yet, if he wasn’t as influential, maybe the company wouldn’t be in the position to progress with projects of this scale.
Really, this is the catch-22 at the heart of the modern celebrity CEO and social media. The dynamic can damage a brand like SpaceX, but also be a big part of why it’s so renowned. Whether that’s a good or bad thing? Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait until the next Starship rocket test to find out.
