<p>In a conversation that has since become something of a cult anecdote, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk confirmed that a scene from the 2012 film <i>The Dictator </i>played a role in shaping the design of the Starship spacecraft’s nose. The revelation, which dates back to a 2021 podcast appearance, resurfaced in late 2023 when Musk responded to a social-media claim with a simple '100' emoji, a gesture widely interpreted as emphatic agreement. The Dictator, a satire starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Admiral General Aladeen of the fictional Republic of Wadiya, features a moment in which the leader insists that a missile be made 'more pointy', saying, 'Round is not scary. Pointy is scary.' Musk admitted that he had told his engineers to make Starship’s head more pointy for much the same reason. The clip of the podcast has again resurfaced reigniting widespread reaction from social media users, across the platforms.</p><h2><strong>SpaceX’s Starship and its pointy top</strong></h2><p><br>Starship is a 171 foot tall, fully reusable &nbsp;transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the moon, Mars and beyond. It has a payload capacity of 100-150 metric tons. The craft’s sharp nose, though not aerodynamically superior, Musk himself has joked that the change was 'arguably slightly worse' for performance. The pointed design has since become one of the rocket’s defining visual features. It is the most powerful launch system ever developed and has the ability to vary up to 100 people on long-duration, interplanetary flights, according to the SpaceX website.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h2><strong>Old insight, enduring interest</strong></h2><p><br>The anecdote first emerged publicly when Musk appeared on comedian Joe Rogan’s long-form podcast in February 2021, where he elaborated on the influence of the satirical movie on his thinking.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>"You literally told them to make the Starship more pointy because of the movie 'The Dictator?'" Mr Rogan asked in the podcast. "Yep. And they know it, too. It's not like they're unaware of it. I thought it would be funny to make it more pointy, so we did," the billionaire replied. He stated that it does not give Starship &nbsp;an aerodynamic edge and it is "arguably slightly worse," but “it looks cooler.” In The Dictator, Aladeen’s critique of his engineers’ blunt-headed missile led him to demand a pointier shape, a line Musk openly referenced when explaining why Starship’s head was altered from an earlier, blunter concept.&nbsp;</p>

The Dictator, a satire starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Admiral General Aladeen of the fictional Republic of Wadiya, features a moment in which the leader insists that a missile be made 'more pointy', saying, 'Round is not scary. Pointy is scary.' 

In a conversation that has since become something of a cult anecdote, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk confirmed that a scene from the 2012 film The Dictator played a role in shaping the design of the Starship spacecraft’s nose. The revelation, which dates back to a 2021 podcast appearance, resurfaced in late 2023 when Musk responded to a social-media claim with a simple '100' emoji, a gesture widely interpreted as emphatic agreement. The Dictator, a satire starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Admiral General Aladeen of the fictional Republic of Wadiya, features a moment in which the leader insists that a missile be made 'more pointy', saying, 'Round is not scary. Pointy is scary.' Musk admitted that he had told his engineers to make Starship’s head more pointy for much the same reason. The clip of the podcast has again resurfaced reigniting widespread reaction from social media users, across the platforms. SpaceX’s Starship and its pointy top Starship is a 171 foot tall, fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the moon, Mars and beyond. It has a payload capacity of 100-150 metric tons. The craft’s sharp nose, though not aerodynamically superior, Musk himself has joked that the change was 'arguably slightly worse' for performance. The pointed design has since become one of the rocket’s defining visual features. It is the most powerful launch system ever developed and has the ability to vary up to 100 people on long-duration, interplanetary flights, according to the SpaceX website. Old insight, enduring interest The anecdote first emerged publicly when Musk appeared on comedian Joe Rogan’s long-form podcast in February 2021, where he elaborated on the influence of the satirical movie on his thinking. "You literally told them to make the Starship more pointy because of the movie 'The Dictator?'" Mr Rogan asked in the podcast. "Yep. And they know it, too. It's not like they're unaware of it. I thought it would be funny to make it more pointy, so we did," the billionaire replied. He stated that it does not give Starship an aerodynamic edge and it is "arguably slightly worse," but “it looks cooler.” In The Dictator, Aladeen’s critique of his engineers’ blunt-headed missile led him to demand a pointier shape, a line Musk openly referenced when explaining why Starship’s head was altered from an earlier, blunter concept.

<p>The Dictator, a satire starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Admiral General Aladeen of the fictional Republic of Wadiya, features a moment in which the leader insists that a missile be made 'more pointy', saying, ‘Round is not scary. Pointy is scary.’</p>

'Make It Pointy': When Elon Musk admitted drawing starship design inspiration from 'The Dictator'

<p>Twitter owner Elon Musk in a rare wide-ranging interview opened up on takeover of the social media company and the wave of lay offs in the Silicon Valley shortly after he took over the company last year. Asked about his first impressions of Twitter, Musk chuckled and said that he thought of it as "a really nice office building".&nbsp;</p>

<p>Musk, in an interview with BBC said that Twitter before him was being run "like a non-profit." and that without a "drastic action", it had just "four months to live".</p>

<h2><strong>Musk voted for Biden</strong></h2>

<p>Putting aside the previous speculations of Musk being a closeted Republican, Musk said that he voted for Joe Biden in the last US presidential election.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"Definitely close to half the country voted for Trump. I was not one of them," Musk told BBC.</p>

<h2><strong>Musk says he is 'no longer the CEO of Twitter'</strong></h2>

<p>In an interview that had its tense moments, Musk stops the BBC interviewer to say that he is "no longer the CEO of Twitter."</p>

<p>When asked who is the CEO of Twitter, he names his pet dog Floki, a Shiba Inu, the canine breed that symbolises Dogecoin.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Elon Musk justifies mass layoffs</h2>

<p>Saying that Twitter had 8,000 employees when he took over and it now operates with just 1,500 people, Musk told BBC that while it is "not fun at all" to fire people, he still had to do it.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;Elon Musk merges Twitter with X Corp</strong></p>

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<p>"It's not possible to talk with that many people face to face," Musk said.</p>

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<h2><strong>I should not tweet after 3 AM: Elon Musk</strong></h2>

<p>Musk agreed that he has shot himself in the foot multiple times by tweeting uncontrollably.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/twitter-no-more-musk-raises-hopes-of-everything-app-named-x-581449">Twitter no more? Musk raises hopes of 'everything app' named X</a></strong></p>

<p>"I think I should not tweet after 3 AM," he said.</p>

<h2><strong>Elon Musk calls for AI regulatory body</strong></h2>

<p>Elon Musk said that while developments in the field of Artificial Intelligence were ongoing for many years, a ChatGPT like chatbot had provided it an "easy interface".&nbsp;</p>

<p>"There should be a regulatory body to make sure it doesn't present a danger to the public," Musk said.</p>
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Twitter owner Elon Musk in a rare wide-ranging interview opened up on takeover of the social media company and the wave of lay offs in the Silicon Valley shortly after he took over the company last year.

Twitter owner Elon Musk in a rare wide-ranging interview opened up on takeover of the social media company and the wave of lay offs in the Silicon Valley shortly after he took over the company last year. Asked about his first impressions of Twitter, Musk chuckled and said that he thought of it as "a really nice office building". Musk, in an interview with BBC said that Twitter before him was being run "like a non-profit." and that without a "drastic action", it had just "four months to live". Musk voted for Biden Putting aside the previous speculations of Musk being a closeted Republican, Musk said that he voted for Joe Biden in the last US presidential election. "Definitely close to half the country voted for Trump. I was not one of them," Musk told BBC. Musk says he is 'no longer the CEO of Twitter' In an interview that had its tense moments, Musk stops the BBC interviewer to say that he is "no longer the CEO of Twitter." When asked who is the CEO of Twitter, he names his pet dog Floki, a Shiba Inu, the canine breed that symbolises Dogecoin. Elon Musk justifies mass layoffs Saying that Twitter had 8,000 employees when he took over and it now operates with just 1,500 people, Musk told BBC that while it is "not fun at all" to fire people, he still had to do it. ALSO WATCH | Elon Musk merges Twitter with X Corp × "It's not possible to talk with that many people face to face," Musk said. I should not tweet after 3 AM: Elon Musk Musk agreed that he has shot himself in the foot multiple times by tweeting uncontrollably. ALSO READ | Twitter no more? Musk raises hopes of 'everything app' named X "I think I should not tweet after 3 AM," he said. Elon Musk calls for AI regulatory body Elon Musk said that while developments in the field of Artificial Intelligence were ongoing for many years, a ChatGPT like chatbot had provided it an "easy interface". "There should be a regulatory body to make sure it doesn't present a danger to the public," Musk said. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Elon Musk jokes his dog is new Twitter CEO; calls for AI regulatory body

According to the reports, Microsoft Corp is in discussions to invest $10 billion in the company that owns ChatGPT, OpenAI, valuing the San Francisco-based firm at $29 billion.

Microsoft set to invest $10 billion in Musk's OpenAI

After earlier claiming that Apple is threatening to remove Twitter from the App Store, Elon Musk on Wednesday tweeted that the misunderstanding was resolved following his meeting with the iPhone maker's Chief Executive Tim Cook.

Elon Musk meets Tim Cook, says ‘misunderstanding’ with Apple is resolved

Twitter's new owner Elon Musk has asked the employees to either work like a dog or ship out of the company. Watch this video to know more.

World Business Watch | 'Work like a dog or ship out': Elon Musk to Twitter staff

Tesla boss Elon Musk is heading to trial back in Delaware next week to defend his record $56 billion pay at Tesla. The trial begins Nov. 14 and will be decided by Kathaleen McCormick.

Elon Musk faces trial over $56 billion pay package

Tesla founder Elon Musk doesn't take a single penny as salary, but still gets richer. know in this video, How?

Tesla founder Elon Musk doesn't take a single penny as salary, but still gets richer