That is the thing though, everyone knew someone should be doing what Musk did but no one with real money actually was. Even if he is just the money and the direction and doesn't help figure a single thing out, he is still the driving force.

Should he be necessary in a perfect society? Of course not. In the society we have though, he was instrumental in pointing Space Travel, EV, and to a lesser degree self-driving in the direction many people were hoping it would go.

The reality is that after he became wealthy enough for most people to want to retire he risked it all to do a couple of good things at an important time. Even if he only did it for the chance to make more money, I am still glad he did it.