You wouldn’t think Elon Musk was a warm and fuzzy guy, based on this year’s biography of the hard-driving CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, but on this week’s episode of “The Big Bang Theory,” we learn that he loves to help the homeless.
The big reveal comes when engineer and one-time spaceflier Howard Wolowitz (played by Simon Helberg) reluctantly joins his wife as well as his pal Raj and his girlfriend to help with Thanksgiving dinner at a homeless shelter. Howard gets stuck washing the dishes, but loses control of his sink sprayer when he sees Musk walk in with a load of dirty plates.
“What are you doing here?!” Howard asks.
“I’m washing dishes … I was on the turkey line, but I got demoted for being too generous with the gravy,” Musk replies.
The conversation quickly turns from food to the final frontier. “It feels great to come down here and help the less fortunate, huh?” Musk says.
“Oh, yeah … nothing better than helping people,” Howard says. “Which is something I realized when I was viewing Earth from the deck of the International Space Station, where I spent two months as a payload specialist, a job I was qualified for because I’m an MIT-trained engineer.”
“And I thought I ladled the gravy on thick,” Musk cracks.
When Musk asks if Howard ever thinks about going back into space, Howard lights up: “Is that a job offer? ‘Cuz I really want to go to Mars…”
Musk tells him “we’re not quite there yet, but we’re always looking for engineers, so let me give you my email, and we can stay in touch.”
Beyond letting us see the softer side of Elon Musk, that may be the payoff for the billionaire’s cameo. Like other high-tech companies, SpaceX and Tesla are always in the market for talented recruits: SpaceX alone lists more than 300 open positions for employees and interns, including more than 40 in Seattle. If more folks apply thanks to Musk’s two-minute appearance, that’s as good as a free ad.
Thursday’s episode, titled “The Platonic Permutation,” adds Musk to a cameo list that also includes Stephen Hawking, Leonard Nimoy and Neil deGrasse Tyson. And Musk can add “The Big Bang Theory” to his own list of screen appearances, alongside “Iron Man 2,” “The Simpsons,” “Transcendence” and much more. (Did you know he had a speaking role in “Machete Kills”?)
Musk is working on the architecture for missions to Mars, as well as the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s return to flight after June’s failure of a space station resupply mission – so he’s sure to get more media exposure in the months ahead. But he’ll probably never get another opportunity to do the pumpkin pie joke he pulls off on “The Big Bang Theory.” Give the full episode a look. (Pro tip: The Musk meet-up comes around the 13:30 mark.)
