And the billionaire is actively taking advantage of this – he often uses tweets on his X network (formerly Twitter) as a direct PR channel for his products.
But analysts have noticed a strange pattern – as soon as Musk’s business is not going well, he skillfully shifts users’ attention from his products to more abstract topics.
This is clearly confirmed by the billionaire’s tweets in the last two or three days. Reading them one by one, one can’t help but get the feeling that Ilon Musk is consciously moving away from operational reality in favor of a large-scale narrative.
The subtext of what’s going on is extremely interesting. Musk’s users are waiting for him to give a concrete timeline for the launch of the Starship V3 rocket (a new version with improved Raptor 3 engines and other improvements). It was supposed to launch back in March, then the timeline was pushed back to April, and now to May 2026, Musk announced recently. But the rocket has yet to be delivered to the launch pad.
And so, against this backdrop, on April 7-8, Musk publishes several posts on X. “We must expand consciousness beyond Earth”, “Becoming multiplanetary is inevitable”, etc.
Not a word about timelines. No technical details. No explanation on Starship. Users are puzzled. And wondered – what does it mean?
From deadlines to the epic of humanity.
In the comments, users themselves are trying to answer this question. And although there is, understandably, no unanimous opinion, a certain trend of perception is clearly emerging.
This shift is not a mistake; it is the psychology of attention management, many believe.
When a product is on track, the CEOs of Tesla and SpaceX discuss timelines and progress. But when there are delays and execution risks, there are two ways to proceed: either honestly acknowledge problems, or rise to the level of “ideology,” where such issues lose their urgency.
Obviously, Musk chooses the latter.
Why it works, and why it’s a risk
Many analysts have noted that investors continue to “buy Musk’s story” – his ability to shape infomercials more strongly than real data. This is the basis for the “future premium” that Musk’s companies are receiving, from Tesla and its autonomous technology to the potential IPO of SpaceX at a valuation that is being talked about as potentially the biggest stock market flop in history, as Reuters wrote about.
But while markets focus on sweeping announcements, the gap between strategy and execution is widening. Despite advancing the multi-planet speech, the actual Starship – a technologically sophisticated project – faces engineering challenges that require time and investment.
In this context, an insider on Starship’s launch from a portfolio manager at a US hedge fund (on condition of anonymity) is notable: “When a product is delayed, you either talk about the reason for the delay – and the markets assess the risk – or you start talking about the mission – and the markets temporarily forget about the timing.”
That’s why Musk is now betting not on what and when, but on why – a narrative that becomes a business asset in its own right.
This suggests a transformation in Musk’s role in shaping the investment agenda. Whereas his posts used to be factors of short speculation – announcements, timelines, roadmaps – today it is already an element of strategic positioning. This means less specifics, but more meanings, emotions and large-scale ideologemes. And this is at a time when specifics are especially important for key projects.
This approach helps keep interest temporarily, but it also reinforces the dependence of business value on narrative rather than metrics. And the longer it goes on, the higher the stakes: the market no longer evaluates achievements, but faith.
And as long as markets buy into the vision – Musk’s strategy is working. But if reality comes into conflict with the narrative, the effect could be the opposite.
