Rock
Mick Jagger says 'mad mogul' Elon Musk lyric was actually a compliment
Mick Jagger has clarified that his “mad mogul Mr Musk” line on Foreign Tongues wasn’t a dig at Elon Musk, but a nod to SpaceX stepping in when NASA couldn’t return astronauts to Earth.
Sir Mick Jagger insists he was actually paying Elon Musk a “compliment” when he dubbed him a “mad mogul” on the Rolling Stones track Mr Charm.
The 82‑year‑old music legend has stepped in to clear up fan chatter suggesting he was taking a swipe at the Tesla and SpaceX boss on the band’s latest album Foreign Tongues.
Jagger sings: “When I was oh‑so‑young, I used to want to go to Mars / And burn the rubber on the road, And drive around in fancy cars.
And who would take you into space? Who would you really trust? Is it Boeing, is it NASA, is it mad mogul Mr Musk?”
Speaking to The New York Times, he said people were jumping to conclusions: “They hear one word, and they don’t really listen to the line, ‘Mick Jagger has a go at Elon Musk’, you’re not listening to the line. You’re just listening to Musk. That’s all you’re hearing.”
Jagger then explained the real inspiration behind the lyric - a moment when Musk’s SpaceX stepped in to help NASA return astronauts to Earth during a high‑profile transport issue.
He went on:“The funny thing is, when I wrote it, I was thinking because of him they were able to get those astronauts back that were stuck because he provided the transportation because NASA couldn’t provide the transportation.”
He added: “It’s really a sidewinding compliment, because he was the one that I remembered was able to do that when the others couldn’t.”
