<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">On Thursday, </span>a group of individuals constructed a 50-foot bronze statue of Prometheus outside Elon Musk's company town of Starbase, Texas. The statue was created by Atelier Missor, a French sculpting company, at a reported cost of $1 million.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The statue of Prometheus is finally finished.<br /><br />It was cast in Paris, crossed the Atlantic, and was assembled at Starbase. It took us 100 days to go from nothing to this.<br /><br />People of the West, we have lived through an era devoid of dreams, devoid of destiny.<br /><br />But the time has come… <a href="https://t.co/JkQbTGV1My">pic.twitter.com/JkQbTGV1My</a></p>— Atelier Missor (@AtelierMissor_) <a href="https://x.com/AtelierMissor_/status/2105817441792049314?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2026</a></blockquote> </div></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Atelier Missor, founded in 2021, describes itself as a classical foundry in Paris. The founder, Missor Movahed Ghaleh Nouri, has expressed a desire to pursue classical sculpture inspired by historical figures. His team has previously created busts of notable individuals, including Napoleon and Friedrich Nietzsche.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In a now-deleted mission statement, Movahed referenced the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests as a motivating factor for starting his foundry, expressing dismay over the destruction of statues. He stated, "I was shocked to see ignorant people tearing down statues... These ungrateful people who had never done anything in their lives."</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The foundry has been vocal on social media about its artistic vision, emphasizing themes of Western civilization and traditional values. They have pledged to create more statues in response to those that have been removed.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">For one statue destroyed, we will craft ten more. <a href="https://t.co/SZN6ELrwfe">https://t.co/SZN6ELrwfe</a></p>— Atelier Missor (@AtelierMissor_) <a href="https://x.com/AtelierMissor_/status/2034371322386563494?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2026</a></blockquote> </div></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">After arriving in the United States last year with assistance from the Peter Thiel-linked 1517 venture capital fund, Atelier Missor has sought to align itself with right-wing sentiments. They previously created an 11-foot bronze statue of George Washington for a Trump event.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Movahed has stated, "You cannot just imagine a view of the world and impose it. You have to submit to the dream that unites us—the dream of Western civilization."</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Prometheus statue, which is not located on Starbase property and is not made of titanium as initially planned, is situated about ten miles away from the SpaceX site. The statue was erected overnight on Wednesday. Neither SpaceX nor Atelier Missor provided comments regarding the installation.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">On October 1st, Elon Musk acknowledged the statue with a brief comment on social media, stating, "Nice work."</p>