Robert Downey Jr. gets honest about Elon Musk 'cosplaying' as Iron Man

Robert Downey Jr. has shared his thoughts about the comparisons between his Marvel superhero Iron Man and Elon Musk.

Downey Jr. revealed mixed feelings about Musk “cosplaying” as Tony Stark, who was also a billionaire as well as the founding member of the Avengers, during a recent appearance on the On With Kara Swisher podcast.

When Swisher brought up Musk’s attempts at emulating Stark, he replied, “I’ve only met him a few times, I just wish that he would control his behavior a little more.”

Marvel’s screenwriter Mark Fergus noted in 2022 that Stark’s persona was based on a blend of Musk, Donald Trump and Steve Jobs.

“This idea of ‘It’s all OK because we’ve gotta get to Mars’ doesn’t really hold water with me,” Downey remarked.

However, he also highlighted the tech giant’s contributions, saying, “You have to look at all that [Musk has] done that demonstrates why he’s valuable.”

He reflected, “Nowadays separating the individual from their behavior is a tough thing to do because hell is other people — and that has been hijacked in this information age, to divide us rather than allow for discourse, debate, and dialogue.”

Robert Downey Jr.’s role as Iron Man ended with Avengers: Endgame in 2019. He’s now set to return to Marvel as the supervillain Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, and Avengers: Secret Wars.