Krugman Blasts Musk as 'Ponzi Scheme', Warns SpaceX Nasdaq Listing Will Force Retail Investors to Pay

According to a Substack article, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman recently criticized billionaire Elon Musk, describing him as a "human Ponzi scheme" and warning that SpaceX's Nasdaq listing will force millions of American retail investors to subsidize Musk's wealth through index fund mechanics.

Krugman pointed out that SpaceX is currently trading on Nasdaq with a market valuation of $1.77 trillion, despite generating only $18.7 billion in revenue last year and still operating at a loss. He argued this valuation cannot be justified by normal business logic, but rather reflects retail investors' emotional investment in "Musk's genius halo" rather than rational assessment of fundamentals. Krugman warned that with over 52% of U.S. mutual fund assets in index or index-linked funds, passive fund holders will be forced to buy SpaceX shares without their knowledge once it is added to major indexes like Nasdaq 100, making millions of ordinary American households involuntary participants in what he describes as an inevitable financial collapse.