Body language expert breaks down how White House power changed Elon Musk: 'Pure Benjamin Button'
WASHINGTON, DC: Elon Musk's glow-up from awkward tech geek to one of the loudest voices in the MAGA universe is one for the books.
People are baffled, but according to a reputed body language expert who has been paying attention to Musk’s body language over the years, the thirst for power has always been there beneath the surface.
While most billionaires prefer to keep it low-key — blending into the shadows behind their portfolios and yachts — Musk has taken a hard right turn into the spotlight.
Elon Musk’s reverse aging and 'big kid' energy
Body language guru Judi James took a deep dive into Musk’s public appearances over the last 15 years. According to her, Musk has gone from stiff tech bro to a political heavyweight.
“Look at the man we see during his appearances with Trump and Musk’s body language is pure Benjamin Button,” she told the Irish Star. “I.e., his image or brand seems to be about ageing backward.”
Musk isn’t just aging backward, he’s practically morphing into a rebellious teenager in a billionaire’s body whenever Trump’s around.
Judi explained, “With Trump in sight, Musk is often in full Free Child mode, throwing his hands about, leaping, wielding chain saws or ripping his jacket open to display schoolboy slogans across the front of his T-shirt.”
"Compared to the more sober-looking guy from his earliest interviews, this version of Musk suggests that White House power has allowed him to drop many of his inhibitions and activate the big kid inside," she added.
Elon Musk is playing alpha with the big dogs
But don’t let the T-shirt slogans and chaos energy fool you. Beneath the antics, Musk’s body language has evolved into something far more calculated.
“Like-for-like, his interview techniques reveal a very different type of evolution,” Judi noted. “His power and status signals have increased, and he recently seems to be imposing himself as the same heavyweight alpha presence as Trump.”
While some might think Elon’s political aspirations are a sudden development, Judi’s not buying it. She claims his craving for power was visible way before he started palling around with the president.
Flashback to 2010. Musk sat down for an interview with Vator. Even then, his hands were already giving away the game.
“The one interesting and powerful constant that showed back then was his love of the power steeple hand gesture,” Judi revealed. “As he relaxed into his subject, his fingers meshed at first but then pulled into the fingertip-to-fingertip steepling gesture that is a signature of his recent performances and which is a gesture he shares with Trump himself.”
“This gesture shows an early desire for power even in the days before he colluded with Trump. The steepling shrieks power and status while the fingertip placement is a sign of precise thought," she explained.
2020: Elon Musk reinvention is complete
Musk’s final form hit around 2020, when the awkwardness finally gave way to full swagger.
His interview with the Wall Street Journal marked the arrival of the Musk we now know - bold, brash, and ready to throw down opinions like grenades.
Musk's 2020 interview with the outlet "saw the appearance of the character that the world is familiar with now. Suddenly he was sporting a t-shirt with logo on the front and a cocky bandanna around his neck," James continued.
"But combined with these symbols of casual adolescence, he produced body language rituals that focused on authority and firmness. One brow was raised, and he performed a stubborn-looking mouth clamp. His heavyweight views like ‘The best thing a government can do is get out of the way’ were delivered in a succinct, opinionated, authoritative way," she concluded.
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