As 2023 speeds toward its end, John Oliver mulled over the idea of a time machine during Sunday’s Winter finale of “Last Week Tonight” — specifically, how Elon Musk would use it. The HBO host’s guess? The billionaire would go back in time and “high-five baby Hitler.”
Musk was the subject of Oliver’s main story during the episode, during which the host broke down Musk’s rise to fame and influence. Oliver gave the billionaire a thorough roasting — even praising Musk’s “range” when it comes to looking like a movie villain — but zeroed in on Musk’s antisemitic post, which lost X, still popularly known as Twitter, a slew of advertisers.
But Oliver conceded that Musk is comparable to the likes of Henry Ford, and in more ways than one.
“Yeah, like Henry Ford, Elon Musk managed to build on the technology that others had invented,” Oliver said. “That’s not actually the only way he’s like Henry Ford, which you know, if you ever Googled either of their names and the word antisemitism, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.”
Oliver also worried about the long-term ramifications of Musk’s power, considering how many major companies he controls across various sectors. But, Oliver did have one idea for a solution.
“It’s actually simple. We just create a robust infrastructure economy, that can resist easy monopolization by private firms headed by overconfident billionaires, and we do it about 15 years ago,” Oliver joked.
Of course, the “Last Week Tonight” host found flaws in his own plan.
“Two problems with that. One: time machines don’t exist. And two: the only person with the resources and ambition to build one is the last guy that you’d want to do that,” he said. ‘Cause he’d probably use it to go back in time and high-five baby Hitler!”
You can watch John Oliver’s full segment on Elon Musk in the video above.
“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” will return on HBO in February 2024.