Ep. 2444 - Why Jimmy Kimmel Is Completely Wrong About Elon Musk

June 12, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The Real Target of Elon Musk's Critics Isn't His Wealth—It's Envy Masquerading as Virtue

The SpaceX IPO hit the market with a pre-market valuation around $1.77 trillion, making it the largest initial public offering in human history. And almost immediately, the familiar chorus began: late-night hosts, social media grifters, and political figures lined up to denounce Elon Musk's staggering wealth as somehow immoral. Ben Shapiro devotes this episode to dissecting what he sees as the real engine driving that criticism—not policy disagreement, not concern for the poor, but plain envy dressed up in high-minded language.

The Kimmel Test and the Two Faces of Envy

Shapiro opens with Jimmy Kimmel's recent monologue attacking Musk for being ungrateful and for allegedly stealing from America. Kimmel, worth somewhere between $50 and $100 million, works for billionaires to complain about a trillionaire. Shapiro plays a clip from 2013 showing Kimmel warmly interviewing Musk about SpaceX's achievements—the same achievements Kimmel now mocks. What changed? Not SpaceX. What changed is that Musk became richer than Kimmel's audience can stomach.

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What you'll learn

1 (02:33) **SpaceX IPO and the Envy Problem** - Ben introduces the SpaceX IPO (pre-market valuation ~$1.77 trillion) and frames the central thesis: envy is the real threat to prosperity.
2 (04:58) **Jimmy Kimmel’s Envy on Display** - Ben plays and dissects Kimmel’s monologue, arguing it’s driven by pure jealousy, not principle.
3 (11:42) **The Two Faces of Envy** - Ben explains the psychological and biblical case against malicious envy, citing a 2021 *Frontiers in Psychology* study.
4 (14:21) **Why We Envy Risk-Takers, Not Athletes** - Ben explains the psychology of why people envy innovators like Musk but not seven-foot NBA stars.
5 (15:50) **Risk is the Engine of Innovation** - Ben argues that outsized rewards are the necessary incentive for the massive risks that create progress.
6 (18:23) **Elon’s Personal Risk: The 2008 Near-Bankruptcy** - Ben details the moment SpaceX and Tesla almost failed, and Musk bet his entire fortune to save them.
7 (19:43) **Musk as a Learner** - Ben cites Walter Isaacson’s biography to show Musk started knowing nothing about rockets, then taught himself by reading textbooks.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Elon Musk becomes the world’s first trillionaire with the IPO of SpaceX, and we discuss those who are enraged at him; Karmelo Anthony’s parents disgrace themselves; and the married, pregnant Call Her Daddy lady says she’s happy she slept around in her 20s.

Ep. 2444

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