I've seen a LOT of stupid takes on Elon Musk's remarkable rise to trillionaire status, and lots of envious people explaining why his wealth must be taken away to solve all the world's ills.
Both John and I have written about the topic over the past few days, and simply bashing idiots for being idiots, even if they are candidates for president, US Senators, or Pravda propagandists, can get tiresome for both my readers and me.
But then, a take so remarkably stupid comes along from a person who not only should know better, but whose stupid take reveals an underlying reality that bears examination, that it is worth it to take a moment and examine it.
This is such a take. Luckily, it is (I think) a parody of how the European economy works, and how the technocrats ruin everything they touch. Think of it as a Babylon Bee version of a consultant.
SpaceX stock is up $100 billion today
— Henrick Johansson (@compliantvc) June 15, 2026
In one day.
And you're telling me Elon Musk can't pay a $100 billion annual wealth tax to the European Union?
It's literally just one day of wages for him.
Tax Elon Musk NOW.
Henrick Johansson has quite the resume. He works as a venture capital guy, although his association with the EU government and sovereign wealth funds tells you more—he is one of the guys who pours money into the non-existent European startup market, the lack of which partially explains why Europe is falling ever further behind in the world economy.
Europe is a world leader, but only in regulations that strangle economic growth. Look at his bio. "Capital for the Governance-First Economy." In other words, socialism by another name.
Now go back to his X post. It is, in every respect, absolutely stupid. Its first assumption is that a $100 billion increase in SpaceX's value accrues to Elon Musk. He even calls it "wages," as if a check were written to Elon personally.
Of course, that's not how it works. In the real world, equity is not money.
Now go a step further: if Elon paid a $100 billion a year tax to the EU, his wealth would be gone in just a few years. It would be pure confiscation, because that is not "money" it is a share of the company, and he would lose control over his companies in a few years, and well before that, the stock value would go down as he dumps it into the market.
As I wrote on Saturday, Elon's wealth is not liquid cash; it is equity. As Henrick rightly points out, European taxes and regulations often treat it as if it were, and as if complying with absurd regulations is equivalent to success.
A new era of regulation is here
— Henrick Johansson (@compliantvc) November 1, 2025
Introducing Compliant Capital, a venture capital firm for the Governance-First Economy
Compliant Capital builds durable enterprises by investing in compliance excellence, measured in filings per quarter.
Every cheque is paired with a regulatory… pic.twitter.com/JaLpXz9KDe
A new era of regulation is here
Introducing Compliant Capital, a venture capital firm for the Governance-First Economy
Compliant Capital builds durable enterprises by investing in compliance excellence, measured in filings per quarter.
Every cheque is paired with a regulatory concierge team embedded on site from day one.
Compliance is the new AI. And we're proud to be leading the way (with the government leading us)
I could go on, but you get the point. Almost all the discourse about Elon's wealth is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of what wealth is.
It's AOC-level thinking.
This is the most hysterical thing ever. AOC has about a 80 IQ saying @elonmusk is the Dumbest Billionaire. Now He is a Trillionaire and she is still the Dumbest Millionaire Bartender ever. 🤣😂 pic.twitter.com/a0AWjixGD5
— Johnny Midnight ⚡️ (@its_The_Dr) June 13, 2026
Or Hasan Piker.
Hasan Piker: “Elon Musk is a fucking failure and yet in spite of his failures, because he happened to be at the right place at the right time, he has failed upwards with his endless wealth. He’s a horrible person, an unbelievably insecure person, and yet he’s the richest person… pic.twitter.com/1d5EaylsyD
— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) June 12, 2026
Hasan Piker: “Elon Musk is a fu**ing failure and yet in spite of his failures, because he happened to be at the right place at the right time, he has failed upwards with his endless wealth. He’s a horrible person, an unbelievably insecure person, and yet he’s the richest person on the planet. We know he doesn’t fu**ing work hard because he Tweets all the goddamn time”
Johansson may not be real, but like a Babylon Bee headline, it captures the essence of something that is. Economies run by technocrats always sputter and die.
Of course, I could be wrong. Perhaps "Compliant Capital" really IS a consultancy, just as Babylon Bee headlines so often turn out to be prescient.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz just called the EU a "complete failure" in front of global elites by stating, "Germany & Europe have wasted incredible potential. We have become the world champion of over-regulation & zero growth." pic.twitter.com/OE6VzuTZ2p
— matrixbot (@thematrixb0t) May 11, 2026
When the Chancellor of Germany goes to Davos to call the European Union a "complete failure," and the "world champion of overregulation and zero growth," warning bells should go off.
Unfortunately for Europe, nobody is listening.
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