Elon Musk praises Gad Saad

Elon Musk used his X account to endorse Gad Saad’s new book, calling it “very much worth reading” in a post that drew heavy attention on the platform. (x.com) The post linked Saad’s forthcoming book *Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind*, which Google Books and booksellers list with a May 12, 2026 release date from HarperCollins. Publisher descriptions say the book argues that empathy in politics can become destructive when it is “misdirected” or “maladaptively irrational.” (books.google.com) (barnesandnoble.com) Saad is a marketing professor at Concordia University in Montreal, where the school says he held a research chair in evolutionary behavioral sciences and Darwinian consumption from 2008 to 2018. He also runs “The Saad Truth,” a podcast and online brand built around commentary on culture, politics, and academic life. (concordia.ca) (gadsaad.com) Musk’s post fits a longer pattern. He praised Saad’s 2020 book *The Parasitic Mind* in earlier X posts in December 2023, April 2024, and July 2024, according to a compilation that links those posts back to Musk’s account. (recommentions.com) The phrase “suicidal empathy” has circulated in Musk’s own feed before this latest book plug. Search results and reposted coverage show Musk using the term in 2025 while amplifying Saad’s argument that Western societies can become self-destructive by extending empathy without limits. (msn.com) (wikipedia.org) That language has also moved beyond a single book launch. Saad’s website lists *Suicidal Empathy* as his next major release, and recent podcast listings show that he and Musk have already shared an X Spaces conversation and continued to appear in each other’s media orbit. (gadsaad.com) (podbay.fm) Critics of Saad and Musk have argued that framing politics through terms like “parasitic mind” and “suicidal empathy” turns ideological opponents into pathologies rather than people. Supporters, including Musk, have treated the books as a diagnosis of what they see as failures in elite institutions, universities, and progressive politics. (psychologytoday.com) (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) For now, the immediate effect is straightforward: Musk used one of the largest accounts on X to push Saad’s next book to millions of users before its release date. That keeps Saad’s language — and Musk’s endorsement of it — in front of the same audience that has already helped turn earlier recommendations into recurring political signals on the platform. (x.com) (recommentions.com)