It isn't surprising that Mr. Musk bought his own security company for the sole purpose of providing himself with head-of-state level security. His own Praetorian Guard. Historically, of course, these types of outfits have been problematic for similar figures. After all, who watches the watchmen? In Musk's case, a blemished banker, sycophant, and empty suit of a stooge named Jared Birchall does. Like Howard Hughes, Musk has chosen a Mormon for the job.

His bio is revealingly unrevealing.

Musk's personal fixer and right-hand man, Birchall is tasked with managing itinerary, hiring bodyguards, and selling homes for Musk. Slate reported in 2018 that he was CEO of Foundation Security—Musk's private detective and armored car services company. During that year, in the lead up to a defamation case against Musk by a British caver following the Tham Luang cave rescue, Birchall paid over $50,000 of Musk's funds to hire a private investigator, who turned out to be a convicted fraud, to dig up dirt on the caver.

A quality cat, obviously. As Musk becomes more and more a clear and present danger to the planet, the pressures on the less-visible but nonetheless pivotal personnel around him will grow as well. He must trust some people, and those people are the people he cannot afford to trust, the age-old dilemma of tyrants and crime kingpins. He will find himself like Howard Hughes or Stalin; isolated, surrounded by terrified lackeys and stewing in increasingly toxic paranoia. And just because you're paranoid doesn't mean people aren't trying to get you.