There is a scene in Iron Man 2 where Elon Musk makes a brief appearance alongside Robert Downey Jr’s superhero character, Tony Stark. “I’ve got an idea for an electric jet,” Musk 16 casually informs Stark, who replies, “You do? Then we’ll make it work.” And they probably would.
The cameo is a nod to the inspiration Musk was to the creation of Tony Stark in the popular Marvel films. Writing for TIME magazine’s ‘100’ issue in 2010, director Jon Favreau stated, “Elon Musk makes no sense — and that’s the reason I know him. When I was trying to bring the character of genius billionaire Tony Stark to the big screen in Iron Man, I had no idea how to make him seem real. Robert Downey Jr said, ‘We need to sit down with Elon Musk.’ He was right.” Favreau continues, “Elon is a paragon of enthusiasm, good humour and curiosity – a Renaissance man in an era that needs them.”
This article appeared in Premier Christianity Magazine in March 2017. To read the full piece please click here.