It is possible that both possess exceptional intellect, but could Young Sheldon be inspired by the genius of Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla?
Occasionally, there emerges a remarkable individual whose impact is so profound that they become a household name worldwide. In reality, this person is none other than Elon Musk, the founder of X, Tesla, and SpaceX. On the small screen, we have Sheldon Cooper, whose formative years are documented in the show Young Sheldon.
Sheldon’s education is about to take a significant turn at the end of Season 7, as he prepares to head off to Caltech in real-time. This change in trajectory will ultimately lead to his adult career at the same university, bringing the prequel and The Big Bang Theory together.
Despite their intelligence, is there any actual connection between the two – or is it possible that Young Sheldon is meant to represent Elon Musk?
Is Young Sheldon supposed to be Elon Musk?
Although Young Sheldon is not based on Elon Musk, the SpaceX founder did make a guest appearance in the Season 1 episode ‘A Patch, a Modem, and a Zantac’ as well as in The Big Bang Theory’s ‘The Platonic Permutation’.
Although the reason for Musk’s involvement with either show has never been made public, it is evident that Sheldon is not a younger version of him due to several factual reasons. While Musk’s IQ is estimated to be between 155-160, Sheldon’s was 187 at the young age of nine. In contrast to Sheldon, who is known for his achievements in physics and winning a Nobel prize for discovering super asymmetry, Musk is considered more of an engineer with interests in space, physics, and computer science.
In the episode ‘A Patch, a Modem, and a Zantac’, Sheldon persuades the Coopers to accompany him to a NASA base in an attempt to disprove a theory presented by a representative in their class. Although impressed by Sheldon’s scientific thinking, the NASA representative informs him that his ideas are far ahead of their time and cannot be put into practice with the current technology. Years later, while working at SpaceX, Musk is shown reading Sheldon’s childhood diary which contains his NASA-related ideas. It is later proven that Sheldon’s theory was indeed successful in practice.
In The Big Bang Theory, Musk can be seen in the Season 9 episode ‘The Platonic Permutation,’ which predates his cameo on Young Sheldon. In this episode, Musk is Howard’s hero and they meet while both serving a homeless Thanksgiving dinner.
In the Season 10 episode ‘The Military Miniaturization’, Sheldon also brings up Musk, alluding to the concept that our existence could potentially be a simulation controlled by extraterrestrial beings.
Is Young Sheldon Based on a True Story?
No, Young Sheldon is not based on a true story. Instead, it is a fictional continuation of the popular comedy series The Big Bang Theory, which aired from 2007 to 2019.
The series depicts the early life of Sheldon Cooper and his family in Texas, leading up to his eventual move to Caltech at 14 years old. Executive producer Chuck Lorre revealed that the decision to focus on Sheldon’s younger years was influenced by the real-life family of actor Jim Parsons.
In 2022, he disclosed to The Hollywood Reporter that the idea for the show came about when Jim Parsons, who plays adult Sheldon Cooper, reached out to him with a video of his 10-year-old nephew, a prodigy from Texas. Parsons asked if there was potential to develop a comedy series centered around a young, brilliant character, to which he replied that their existing show already had the perfect backstory with Sheldon Cooper.
Is Young Sheldon on the Autism Spectrum?
While Sheldon displays similar behavior, he does not have an official diagnosis on the autism spectrum.
Despite Sheldon never receiving an official diagnosis, the original series faced criticism from fans for its handling of neurodivergent storylines in the past.
In her response to this, Mayim Bialik, who portrayed Amy Cooper in TBBT, clarified in an interview with Radio Times that all of the characters on the show can be seen as being on the neuropsychiatric spectrum. She specifically mentioned Sheldon, who is often thought to have Asperger’s or OCD due to his behaviors such as germ and number obsessions, as well as his precise nature.
“All of our characters possess unique and intriguing traits that set them apart from social norms.”
How to Watch Young Sheldon
You can catch new episodes of Young Sheldon Season 7 on CBS every Thursday at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. Additionally, the episodes will be available on Paramount Plus the day after their original air date.
Currently, Young Sheldon fans can stream the first six seasons of the show on both Max and Netflix. For those in the UK, Season 6 will be added to Netflix on June 1, 2024.
The release date for Season 7 of Netflix has not been disclosed yet.
While anticipating the next episode, you can also catch up on our other content featuring Sheldon, such as our theories on Season 7, filming locations, ways to watch Season 7 internationally, and tips for streaming Young Sheldon.
This month, you can also browse through all the top new TV shows that will be released.
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