Why Elon Musk relating to Dr Manhattan may not be good news for earth

Elon Musk tweeted an image of Dr Manhattan, the popular character from DC’s ‘Watchmen‘ comics, specifically using an image from the issue where the superhero goes to Mars. 

This is not the first time the Tesla and SpaceX CEO has shared the image, tweeting a similar picture in November 2021, from a different perspective. 

However, in that time, Musk has not only become the richest person in the world but has also made a bid to buy Twitter for $44 billion. The entrepreneur has altered his political stance to Republican while assuring he’s not conservative.

Although many of Musk’s posts are meant as jokes, the recent image of Dr Manhattan raises some questions, simply because of the character’s philosophical stance in the comics. Born of a nuclear accident Dr Manhattan experiences the past, present, and future at the same time. Jeffrey Wu of Boston University, explains in ‘The Greater Good: Analyzing Morality in Watchmen’ that “Manhattan does not make moral decisions based simply on an uncompromising set of guidelines”, instead, “Manhattan sees a more complicated world, without a fixed right and wrong, where a single decision can ripple far beyond current circumstances.” 

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Manhattan’s worldview and morality rest on the fact that the future is unchangeable and circular. It also rests on preserving human life. Wu writes, “Manhattan displays deontological ethics, basing his judgment on what is better, worse, or insignificant for humanity.” 

Musk, much like Manhattan, has decided that humanity can be saved through space exploration and even colonization of other planets. It is telling that the South African born innovator has shared a picture of Manhattan on Mars, the very planet Musk intends to colonize. In this drive, Musk has criticized the earth’s declining birthrate and warned of a “population collapse” though population and resource depletion is a major concern for the planet. 

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Of course, for someone who intends life to thrive elsewhere, the creation of life becomes more important than the preservation of the current planet. Musk, like Manhattan, is of the opinion that human life shall continue – here or elsewhere doesn’t matter.