New Delhi, June 23 -- Elon Musk just cemented his place as the most consequential entrepreneur of our times. Following the blockbuster public listing of SpaceX Inc., he is the world's first trillionaire. Since the valuation is based on a mere 5% float, the numbers aren't that important. Musk's real achievement is the raw, untamed audacity of a vision so gigantic that it boggles the mind. Musk sees a post-scarcity future where the sheer technological muscle of Tesla and SpaceX in robotics, AI, and rocketry will automate all labour, rendering human work obsolete.

In this willingness to take aim for civilisational leaps, Musk is the true inheritor of the tech-prophet throne that has lain vacant since the death of Steve Jobs-another difficul...