Elon is a cult leader…and he’s not alone
Cult leader characteristics are well-defined in the academic literature. These men—and most are men—are charismatic, narcissistic, lazy, and manipulative. They are con men of the worst kind. See, they don’t hit and run. Rather, they slowly and methodically lure people in through deception, ensuring that their followers don’t realize they’ve been had until they’ve lost everything—their friends, their family, their money, their self-esteem.
We’ll take a look at the defining attributes of cult leaders. See if they sound like anyone you know.
Mass wedding ceremony held by the Unification Church aka the Moonies
Cult Leader Attributes
Charismatic — According to cult expert, Janja Lalich, “[Each leader] has been given this special status by the people who are in awe of him…Charismatic leaders tend to be intuitive. They’re able to read people. They thrive on chaos. They’ll create crisis situations.”
Charisma, then, is not innate. It is about how followers are made to feel. Initially, they will be made to feel special, but that will fade over time as they become more immersed in the cult.
Lalich goes on to explain that “when they walk in the room, you never know if they’re going to be good and kind-hearted or be mean and call someone out or create some kind of dangerous situation.” This mercurial personality is what allows them to maintain control over their followers. (And, if this sounds like an abusive relationship or even social media, the parallels are intentional.)
Marshall Applewhite, leader of the Heaven’s Gate cult
Narcissistic — Rick Ross, a cult expert who is likely familiar to many people because of his many media appearances, has a comprehensive website called Cult Education Institute. There, he explains that “cult leaders seem to be narcissistic personalities often fantasizing about messianic visions that will change the course of human history, while appearing to have little if any conscience. Some make claims that they are the exclusive voice of God, ‘psychic’ connections to historical figures, or aliens from outer space…others simply may be opportunistic con men or women, exploiting their followers for personal profit and self-interest.”
Keith Raniere, leader of the NXIVM cult
Lazy and manipulative — In my new book, Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults, I explain how cults and multilevel marketing companies (MLMs) use the same techniques to recruit and retain followers.
MLMs are legal pyramid schemes. Those at the bottom of the pyramid work like dogs and make nothing, while those at the top sit back and reap the benefits in the form of free labor and lots of money.
This structure facilitates the cult leader in two ways: 1) once they bring in credible salespeople (usually celebrities) to be in the downline immediately below them, they no longer have to do any of the work, and 2) once you have the pyramid in place, you have created the framework for “success” for followers. Promises are made that followers can reach the top, but they never do because the system is set up for them to fail. We see this over and over and over again, from NXIVM to LuLaRoe to the Republican Party.
If this sounds like an awful lot of tech bros, it should. They are what I call brofluencers:
“A brofluencer is any person with a Silicon Valley mindset promoting a product or service (usually online) who spouts quick fixes with no basis in research, no proof of success, and/or no evidence of expertise. This is done with the intention of misleading consumers for profit.”
Included in this rogues gallery of brofluencers are folks like Sam Bankman-Fried, Elizabeth Holmes, Adam Neumann, Elon Musk, and far too many more to mention these days, especially given how many people are being conned by crypto. (See Michelle Singletary’s writing on this topic, including “Six signs crypto investment is a classic Ponzi scheme.”)
What is so disheartening in all of this is how many people are being taken in because trusted sources gave these people legitimacy, thus bolstering their “charisma.” (I’m looking at you Forbes, Fortune, Michael Lewis, and Walter Isaacson.) That these people were taken in by these hucksters proves the point that so many of us don’t want to believe: anyone can get pulled into a cult and tricked by a trickster.
Today, the sad truth is the deception has happened at scale, and we may have lost our democracy because of it.
My profound hope is that as people become aware of the con and the phony charisma, we still have time to save it.
My New Book is Out Now!
👉 Hoodwinked unpacks the hidden
forces shaping your financial, political, and personal decisions.
Grab your copy at IndieBound or listen on Audible—or find it at all good bookstores.