Michael Calore: Lauren, what is your favorite Elon Musk company? Which one of his many companies are you most fascinated by?
Lauren Goode: Define favorite.
Michael Calore: The one you’re most fascinated by?
Lauren Goode: Is that really what favorite means? I think favorite has inherently a favorable connotation, and I’m not sure that I would think of any of Elon Musk’s companies as being in that realm.
Michael Calore: Not even Twitter?
Lauren Goode: Well, I mean I used to have a lot of affection for Twitter, but that was pre–Elon Musk. I can tell you what my least favorite is.
Michael Calore: Which one?
Lauren Goode: Which is Neuralink.
Michael Calore: Brain computer interface.
Lauren Goode: Because what did those poor pigs and sheeps and monkeys ever do to Elon Musk to deserve that? OK. If I had to say, I’d guess I would say Tesla. What is your favorite Elon Musk company? What is your, quote-unquote, favorite Elon Musk company?
Michael Calore: I would say it’s Twitter, mostly because I think it’s the one that still has the clearest potential for good.
Lauren Goode: Interesting. Really?
Michael Calore: Yes.
Lauren Goode: Not even Tesla, not even revolutionizing the electric vehicle and maybe making our transportation more sustainable.
Michael Calore: That is noble and we absolutely should do that. But I think if we’re really going to solve the climate crisis, we need to stop relying on cars entirely.
Lauren Goode: Right, and batteries have come with their own set of problems too.
Michael Calore: They do, yes.
Lauren Goode: Right. OK, so is that it? Is that our show?
Michael Calore: Yes. Oh, no, wait. You know what?
Lauren Goode: What?
Michael Calore: There’s another company now that we can add to the list.
Lauren Goode: What?
Michael Calore: Yes.
Lauren Goode: Another Elon Musk company?
Michael Calore: Let’s talk about it.
Lauren Goode: Just what we needed.
[Gadget Lab intro theme music plays]
Michael Calore: Hi everyone. Welcome to Gadget Lab. I am Michael Calore, I’m a senior editor at WIRED.
Lauren Goode: And I’m Lauren Goode, I’m a senior writer at WIRED.
Michael Calore: We are joined this week once again by WIRED editor at large, Steven Levy. Hello, Steven.
Steven Levy: Hi, folks. Great to be back on the podcast.
Michael Calore: It’s great to have you.
Lauren Goode: It’s really great to have you, Steven. I always think of editor at large as editor in jammies, but as far as I can see on the Zoom, you are not in jammies.
Steven Levy: I’m at large, I’m pursued by authorities somewhere.
Michael Calore: All right. As we mentioned, Elon Musk is back in the news again. Really? Does he ever leave the news?
Lauren Goode: Nope.
