Elon Musk says Unabomber's infamous manifesto 'might not be wrong'

‘He might not be wrong’: Elon Musk says Unabomber’s infamous manifesto warning of the dangers of technology may be RIGHT – after killer was found dead in supermax Colorado prison cell

  • The Twitter tycoon made the controversial comment on the day domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski reportedly died by suicide after 30 years behind bars
  • Musk replied to a tweet which shared news of the Unabomber death alongside a quote from his manifesto about technology being ‘a disaster for the human race’

Elon Musk has said the Unabomber’s infamous manifesto warning of the perils of technology ‘might not be wrong’ – after the murderer died in prison at the weekend.

The Twitter boss made the comment on the day Ted Kaczynski died by suicide in his supermax prison cell at the age of 81 after nearly three decades behind bars.

A former mathematical prodigy, Harvard-educated the domestic terrorist abandoned his academic career in 1969 to pursue a primitive lifestyle.

In 1978, he launched a 17-year anti-tech attack, mailing 16 homemade bombs to people he believed were destroying the environment by creating a more technically advanced society. 

The Twitter tycoon made the controversial comment on the day domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski reportedly died by suicide in his supermax security prison cell

In 1978, the Unabomber launched a 17-year anti-tech attack, mailing 16 homemade bombs to people he believed were destroying the environment by creating a more technically advanced society

By 1995, he had murdered three people and injured 23 more, becoming the most prolific bomber in American history.

While living as a recluse in a cabin without running water or electricity in Lincoln, Montana, in the 1970s, the Unabomber penned a 35,000-word manifesto named ‘Industrial Society and Its Future’.

In the sprawling essay, Kaczynski claimed technology has made life unfulfilling while causing widespread discontent, thus ‘the Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race’.

On Saturday, author Ashley St Clair tweeted this quote alongside an article about his death, to which billionaire Musk replied: ‘He might not be wrong’.

The social media magnate’s comment comes despite him being a pioneering force in the technological world today.

Just last month, Musk’s company Neuralink gained FDA approval to begin human trials for brain implants.

The mind-chip is being designed to help disabled and healthy people cure a range of conditions, including obesity, autism, depression and schizophrenia, while also allowing for web browsing and telepathy.

Musk, who purchased Twitter for $43 billion in October, has even vowed to land people on Mars within the next five to 10 years using the $3 billion (£2.4 billion) Starship.

However, the SpaceX boss has also joined calls for caution in development of artificial intelligence. 

Along with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and 1,000 other tech leaders, Musk signed an open letter via The Future of Life Institute calling for a six-month pause on the ‘dangerous race’ to develop AI to allow for more risk assessments to be made. 

Ted Kaczynski flanked by federal agents as he was led to a car from the federal courthouse in Helena, Mont., on April 4, 1996

Musk’s comment comes despite him being a pioneering force in the technological world today

Kaczynski is widely known now as America’s most prolific bomber.

During his 17-year campaign of terror, he executed a sinister plan to detonate explosives in universities and airports, which he would often mail to his victims using the postal service.

Years before the September 11 attacks and the anthrax mailing, the Unabomber’s deadly homemade bombs changed the way Americans mailed packages and boarded airplanes, even virtually shutting down air travel on the West Coast in 1995.

While the fear he spurred led The Washington Post and The New York Times to take the agonizing decision in September 1995 to publish his manifesto, it ultimately led to his undoing.

Kaczynski’s brother David and David’s wife, Linda Patrik, recognized the bizarre belief system within the tome and tipped off the FBI.

The tip led to the end of the nation’s longest manhunt, and in April 1996 authorities found him in his 10-by-14 foot Montana wood cabin. 

Kaczynski was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole when he was finally caught in 1996. 

He served two decades in a federal Supermax prison in Colorado, before being transferred to a federal prison medical facility in North Carolina. 

The Unabomber was found dead in his cell at around 8am on Saturday in the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina. 

While the formal cause of death has not been disclosed, sources say that he died by suicide, according to the New York Times.

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