- Elon Musk sparked a debate online after declaring Johann Sebastian Bach the greatest musician who ever lived
- The Tesla and SpaceX CEO drew a bold comparison between the Baroque composer and literary giant William Shakespeare
- Music lovers and fans on X weighed in with their own opinions, with some backing Mozart and Beethoven instead
Elon Musk has put his opinion firmly on the table: Johann Sebastian Bach is, in his words, the greatest musician who has ever lived.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO took to X on October 20, 2026, to share the bold declaration.
Source: Instagram
Elon Musk wrote:
"Johann Sebastian Bach is the Shakespeare of music. Best there ever was."
Johann Sebastian Bach's towering legacy
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) was a German composer and organist whose catalogue spans more than 1,000 works, among them the Brandenburg Concertos, the Well-Tempered Clavier, and hundreds of sacred cantatas.
Scholars and musicians have long credited him as a cornerstone of Western classical music, particularly for his command of counterpoint, harmony, and musical structure.
A significant portion of his output was composed during his tenure as cantor at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, where he wrote new music almost every week for church services.
The comparison to Shakespeare is not a new impulse for Elon Musk.
As far back as 2023, he had described Bach as "the best ever," named him alongside David Bowie as a personal favourite, and singled out pieces such as Bach's Air for praise.
His latest post simply reinforces a preference he has held publicly for years.
Check out Elon Musk's X post praising Johann Sebastian Bach below:
Fans debate Elon Musk's ranking
The post drew a wave of responses on X, with users sharing everything from personal anecdotes to philosophical pushback.
@MakisMedicine wrote:
"I would have to agree. (10 years of Royal Conservatory of Music training in classical guitar and Canadian Music Competition Champion who played Bach)"
@PaulinKokomo offered a spiritual angle:
"And he did it all for the glory of God."
@trentmoriarty reached for a literary quote in response:
"'(Bach) is so pure, so relentless and incorruptible, like a principle of geometry.' — Edna St. Vincent Millay"
@My1100101 pushed back on the idea of a single greatest musician:
"Bach was undoubtedly one of the greatest musical geniuses in history. Yet Mozart and Beethoven each reached extraordinary artistic heights in their own right. Art can have countless flower-covered peaks, not just one. Otherwise, we risk reducing the rich, vibrant world of artistic diversity to a tiny garden where only one kind of flower is allowed to bloom."
@macleodpix shared a personal connection:
"Absolutely! Johann is the reason I started learning violin. Pure genius."
@angelataptos acknowledged Bach's influence while sticking to a different allegiance:
"Bach is amazing, however Mozart for me is the king of music as we know it. But then again without Bach, Mozart wouldn't be the Mozart we know today."
More than 275 years after Bach's death, Musk's endorsement has once again pulled the composer into the centre of a very modern conversation.
Source: Instagram
Elon Musk’s wealth explodes by $202bn in one month
Legit.ng earlier reported that Elon Musk’s fortune has staged a stunning comeback, surging by $202 billion in August as rising Tesla and SpaceX valuations propelled him closer to becoming the world’s first trillionaire again.
According to Forbes ranking, Musk’s net worth climbed to an estimated $892 billion as of September 1, 2026, following a 33% jump in SpaceX shares and an 18% increase in Tesla’s stock over the month.
Source: Legit.ng