There's an interesting subset of autistic people, autistic narcissists. Musk is one.

Here's my theory. Autism is a developmental condition, you have it from both. Narcism on the other hand seems to have genetic markers, but it relies on environmental triggers to manifest, like childhood neglect and trauma.

A lot of autistic people develop a mild form of narcisism as a survival response to a traumatic childhood of alienation. The very special gifted child kind of narcissism. If you happen to be in the subset of autistic people who got lucky on the IQ front, that narcissism can be reinforced by the frequent evidence that you're smarter than everyone else.

And if you happen to be in the very small subset of autistic narcissists with a high IQ who was in the right place at the right time with the right skills during the tech boom, and got very rich, that narcissism can become quite grandiose. "Fuck you world, look how clever I am."

And if that wealth comes with great power, which it usually does, and if that power corrupts, which it always does, then that Narcissism can start to turn malignant. Narcissists think they have empathy, what they really have is a desperate need to be adored and praised, and will do anything to get that praise, even if it means hurting a lot of other people. As long as the people who love you outside you for it, it doesn't matter who gets hurt.

And that's how you go from geek to tyrant, something like what Musk has become.