Olivia Wilde revisits an early Elon Musk meeting and sharpens her critique

Olivia Wilde says she once toured SpaceX because she wanted a close look at rocket ships, long before she came to view Elon Musk as part of a political and cultural turn she now strongly rejects.

Speaking on The Louis Theroux Podcast, the actor and filmmaker recalled meeting Musk “many, many years ago,” around the time SpaceX had recently set up its Los Angeles headquarters. Wilde said Musk was considering giving money to a Haiti-based organization she was involved with, which was building hospitals and schools.

According to Wilde, Musk was interested in contributing and she believes he made a small donation. She said that support was appreciated.

Her view of Musk now is far harsher. Wilde said she met him “before he turned into this creature,” and added that she resents him. No response from Musk to Wilde’s remarks was included in Rolling Stone’s report on the interview.

Wilde connects Musk to themes in Don’t Worry Darling

The conversation with Louis Theroux ranged across Musk, misogyny and the way Wilde’s films deal with intimacy and power. While discussing her 2022 film Don’t Worry Darling, Wilde said conservative commentator Jordan Peterson helped inspire Chris Pine’s character.

Wilde said it may have been unfair for her to describe Peterson as a “pseudo-intellectual.” Still, she said she was troubled by what she saw as a misogynistic philosophy being used politically, including in a way she connected to Donald Trump’s election wins.

Wilde also tied the ideas in Don’t Worry Darling to broader attitudes she sees today. She described the film as dealing with men who think they are more powerful than nature, and she linked that belief to misogyny.

In that context, Wilde pointed to Musk and cited his public fixation on what he has called an underpopulation crisis. She said that when she first encountered him, she was confused by him, but would not have expected his later direction because he seemed very smart to her at the time.

The Invite also entered the chat

Wilde and Theroux also discussed her new sex comedy The Invite, which Rolling Stone described as acclaimed. Wilde explained that the film looks at desire, marriage and the expectations that can build between partners.

She highlighted a scene involving her character and Seth Rogen’s character, who plays her husband. In Wilde’s telling, the husband says, “You’re supposed to want me,” a line she said captures a painful feeling some people recognize inside relationships.

Wilde said the idea that marriage can make someone feel entitled to another person’s attraction quickly moves into conversations about the manosphere and incel culture.

Across the interview, Wilde framed both films as stories about intimacy under pressure: one through a stylized thriller about control, the other through a comedy about sexual expectation inside a marriage.

This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.