Chapter 125

In May 2021, Musk hosts Saturday Night Live to soften his public image, joking about his Asperger's diagnosis and emotional awkwardness. The chapter then chronicles his personal milestones and social life over the following months: a quiet fiftieth birthday in Boca Chica, attendance at an unauthorized Burning Man festival where he breaks up with Grimes, and a Met Gala appearance in September where his relationship with Grimes remains turbulent.

Musk appears as host of Saturday Night Live in May 2021, using self-deprecating humor about his Asperger's syndrome and emotional shortcomings to craft a relatable image. His mother Maye and Grimes participate in sketches; Maye ad-libs her lines to improve the comedy. The afterparty at the Public Hotel includes celebrities and friends before Musk leaves at 6 a.m. to continue socializing at writer Tim Urban's house. For his fiftieth birthday on June 28, 2021, recovering from neck surgery and exhausted from work, Musk hosts a quiet gathering in Boca Chica with close friends including Kimbal. Despite physical pain and fatigue, he spends the weekend mostly sleeping, then gathers everyone for dinner at the SpaceX employee restaurant and late-night conversation in Grimes's backyard studio cottage. At Burning Man in late summer 2021, after contributing $5 million to fund the festival's return, Musk attends briefly on Saturday night. His relationship with Grimes deteriorates; during a private moment in their trailer, they acknowledge their romantic incompatibility and agree to separate while co-parenting their expected surrogate child, though Grimes later channels her feelings into a song. Weeks later at the Met Gala in September, Musk and Grimes reunite, flying to New York where complications arise when Musk's newly acquired Shiba Inu dog Floki and his other dog Marvin disrupt Maye's apartment. Grimes wears a Dune-inspired costume while Musk finds a work excuse to delay arrival, ultimately skipping most of the afterparty at Zero Bond to watch a magician perform. The chapter ends with the couple flying to Cape Canaveral for SpaceX's civilian space launch attempt.