De, I think Musk is correct that the old need to die off before any fundamental change can really flourish/ be given a fair hearing.
The examples of Albert Einstein actually bolsters the case. Einstein WAS the young rebel, fresh out of college and unable to find a job in academia, when he had his "miracle year" of 2005 (I think) writing 5 groundbreaking papers in one year. His General Relativity was completed less than ten years later (Published in 2015).
It took the old physicists dying off before a generation rose who could actually comprehend the math. In 1915 Einstein would have been about
Einstein, in turn, couldn't accept quantum mechanics when it really was born between 1924-1926 (per http://scienceystuff.com/a-brief-history-of-quantum-mechanics/). He fought embracing quantum mechanics and its "probability waves" through his whole life. Yes, some of his 1905 published work was important for what was to follow, but - again - he didn't really advance the field (although his concerns about "spooky action at a distance" ultimately led Bell, in the early 1960s to try to prove Einstein correct...and, ultimately, proved Einstein WRONG!)
Anyway, Einstein couldn't (or, at least, DIDN'T) lead the charge into quantum mechanics. There really is a problem with older people being too entrenched in their thinking, their values, and even in their capability to adapt.
For myself, for example, I have a hard time adapting to their being an infinite number of sexual identities and genital mutilation of children; that just doesn't fit well with the songs I learned to sing and clothes I prefer to wear. And, yes, I really do regard it as a mental illness. Some may disagree, but they - being generally sterile - will generally be left behind by evolution.
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