Elon Musk has positioned himself as an innovative thinker, with bold ideas on what everything from efficient government to life on Mars should look like. His aesthetic principles, however, are nothing new.

In 2021, he posted “I love Art Deco” on then-Twitter. In July 2023, nine months after he acquired the social-media platform, he gave it a distinctly late-1920s rebrand. “If X is closest in style to anything”, he wrote, “it should, of course, be Art Deco.” And when he unveiled the new Tesla Robovan in October, he was clear about the inspiration for its sleek look. The “Futuristic Art Deco Bus” was based on – you guessed it– “Art Deco trains”.

The Economist