Elon Musk, the visionary tech entrepreneur, has tried all sorts of crazy things that have — somehow — worked out. Musk reinvented wallets by developing PayPal, which makes about $5.5 billion a year. Musk reinvented how we drive by developing Tesla Motors' hybrid sports cars, which have helped make the company worth $20 billion. Musk reinvented space travel — seriously, space travel — by founding SpaceX, which is worth more than $2 billion and is now, essentially, the new NASA.

A lot of that success can be attributed to a cowboy-like courage to dream big and a near-crazy willingness to put his reputation on the line for innovation.

For better or for worse, the pop world has an Elon Musk in Lady Gaga: an artist so insanely committed to trying new things that we have sometimes wondered if she's actually okay. From a dress made out of meat to her fake facial "horns" to a cult following of "little monsters," Gaga has tried all sorts of crazy things that have — somehow — worked out. And now, she's getting even Musk-ier. One early evening in November, Lady Gaga posed in front of a six-bladed helicopter/"flying dress," looking like an astronaut about to blast off.

The launch of "Volantis," a private flying vehicle that began as a concept for a performance costume, took place in a massive warehouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard just before the release party for Artpop, Gaga's third album. The night included artwork and exhibitions from Jeff Koons (who designed the album's cover), video installations created with Marina Abramovic, and collaborations with experimental director Robert Wilson.

While Musk has earned his public perception by accident, Gaga has done it on purpose. It's not enough for pop stars to just make music. More and more, they are selling their personality and the sort of collateral glow their fans receive by associating with them. This meant that everything at the Artpop release was Art-branded. This last phase has been branded with #Art everything. There's the album, Artpop, the Artpop party, ArtRave, the Artpop app, ArtCulture, ArtHaus, and future ArtProjects. The album release venue was plastered with enormous signs labeled "GAGA" and "KOONS" as equally large screens played loops of Gaga's video art.

Volantis, a product of Gaga's new "TechHaus" initiative, wasn't that great. It was loud and slow and sputtered over the finish line. But it was ambitious. There's still work to be done, according to both Gaga and reps from Studio XO, the London-based tech and fashion company that makes up the other half of TechHaus. But it was the ideal mix of branding and gumption that marks Gaga as an Elon Musk for the rest of us.

What marks both Musk and Gaga isn't just the gumption to take on industry, but the belief in themselves to tell us these are things we didn't know we needed to have. No one needs a Volantis. But Gaga says she created it as a symbol for a new generation of talent unbounded by limitations. TechHaus adapted Volantis to not only be green (it is battery-operated), but to some day be commercially viable. Why? It's not entirely clear, but it seems to resonate with Gaga even more than the playful insanity of her career. Gaga genuinely hopes Volantis can change the world, not just in terms of advancing tech but also by inspiring her fans with what they can do with creativity, collaboration, and belief. "Think about all we could do if we just thought about Volantis," she said. "Imagine the possibilities."

That may sound facetious, but it is a sweet sentiment delivered honestly. There are other similarities, too: Musk doesn't have a flying dress, but he is rumored to be researching air-travel technology and Gaga may not be building spaceships, but she is training to become the first musician to perform in space.

Gaga is able to make flying dresses and honest, albeit broad, statements about creative potential because she sells records. It's a tough line to walk, and one that can easily slip from Musk-like visionary to fame monster. Before the ArtRave, Gaga fielded questions from the press in front of the Koons sculpture. Invigorated by her test flight, she seemed eager to talk about the technology, about her partnership with Koons, about the future youth who will take up her mantle. But she was met with a wall of clicks, snaps, and flashes. "Oh, you don't want to ask questions," she said, a little sadly. "You just want to take pictures."

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