Palantir’s Alex Karp Is Stealing From Musk’s Playbook

There can be only one Highlander, but Palantir’s Alex Karp shows there can be multiple highly paid, outspoken chief executive officers of richly valued tech companies with cult followings and unsettling stores of political power. That still doesn’t guarantee it’s a durable model for success.

The ur-example of this archetype is Tesla’s Elon Musk, whose journey near the political sun this year led to melted wings, public feuds with the president of the US and cratering sales of his electric-car company’s main product. Karp may be here to replace Musk in the firmament. Even the beating his company is taking this week from investors and famous bear Michael Burry only add to his growing legend, for better or worse.