Ashlee Vance

Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

Elon Musk

Elon Musk is the most daring entrepreneur of our time There are few industrialists in history who could match Elon Musk's relentless drive and ingenious vision. A modern alloy of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs, Musk is the man behind PayPal, Tesla Motors, SpaceX, and SolarCity, each of which has sent shock waves throughout American business and industry. More than any other executive today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as a science fiction fantasy. In this lively, investigative account, veteran technology journalist Ashlee Vance offers an unprecedented look into the remarkable life and times of Silicon Valley's most audacious businessman. Written with exclusive access to Musk, his family, and his friends, the book traces his journey from his difficult upbringing in South Africa to his ascent to the pinnacle of the global business world. Vance spent more than fifty hours in conversation with Musk and interviewed close to three hundred people to tell the tumultuous stories of Musk's world-changing companies and to paint a portrait of a complex man who has renewed American industry and sparked new levels of innovation—all while making plenty of enemies along the way. In 1992, Elon Musk arrived in the United States as a ferociously driven immigrant bent on realizing his wildest dreams. Since then, Musk's roller-coaster life has brought him grave disappointments alongside massive successes. After being forced out of PayPal, fending off a life-threatening case of malaria, and dealing with the death of his infant son, Musk abandoned Silicon Valley for Los Angeles. He spent the next few years baffling his friends by blowing his entire fortune on rocket ships and electric cars. Cut to 2012, however, and Musk had mounted one of the greatest resurrections in business history: Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity had enjoyed unparalleled success, and Musk's net worth soared to more than $5 billion. At a time when many American companies are more interested in chasing easy money than in taking bold risks on radical new technology, Musk stands out as the only businessman with enough dynamism and vision to tackle—and even revolutionize—three industries at once. Vance makes the case that Musk's success heralds a return to the original ambition and invention that made America an economic and intellectual powerhouse. Elon Musk is a brilliant, penetrating examination of what Musk's career means for a technology industry undergoing dramatic change and offers a taste of what could be an incredible century ahead.

Luka

„Glauben Sie, dass ich verrückt bin?“

Coleman McCormick

Really enjoyed this as a biography, but also as a corporate history of Tesla and SpaceX.

Mitch Stewart

Excellent look into the industrialist that is equal parts enigmatic and inspiring. I really loved this book and seeing the history behind all of Musk's ventures, and how close SpaceX and Tesla came to failure. The author does offer alternate views of the subject from some of his detractors and people who have worked for him and don't have a favorable view.

If you know anything about Musk and are intrigued by him, then I highly recommend you check out this book because the world is going to be talking about him for decades to come.

If you don't know who Musk is, he is the CEO that Robert Downy Jr met with for inspiration for his portrayal of Tony Stark. CEO of Tesla, who revived the electric car, and SpaceX, which has made aerospace exciting again.

Dhruv Chopra

Prayash Mohapatra

Jowanza Joseph

An unbiased look into a fascinating individual. Would recommend for anyone.

poprika

Great book and such a crazy personality !

For me, there is doubt that Elon is a special and very unique person. I liked that the book painted him not only as a visionary solving real humanity's problems but as a human being that's always learning, improving, failing constantly, and very passionate about interesting problems and the space.

Neil Murray

A very enjoyable profile of someone who has a strong claim to be considered the greatest living entrepreneur. It was interesting and inspiring, and made me want to aim higher in life and business.

alali moe

Danny Engström

Elon Musk is probably a character invented by Robert Heinlein.

Too good to be real.

In the spirit of Steve Jobs and Moneyball, Elon Musk is both an illuminating and authorized look at the extraordinary life of one of Silicon Valley’s most exciting, unpredictable, and ambitious entrepreneurs—a real-life Tony Stark—and a fascinating exploration of the renewal of American invention and its new “makers.” Elon Musk spotlights the technology and vision of Elon Musk, the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, who sold one of his Internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius’s life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits. Vance uses Musk’s story to explore one of the pressing questions of our age: can the nation of inventors and creators who led the modern world for a century still compete in an age of fierce global competition? He argues that Musk—one of the most unusual and striking figures in American business history—is a contemporary, visionary amalgam of legendary inventors and industrialists including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs. More than any other entrepreneur today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as the visionaries of the golden age of science-fiction fantasy. Thorough and insightful, Elon Musk brings to life a technology industry that is rapidly and dramatically changing by examining the life of one of its most powerful and influential titans.

Liza 

Parts of this book were fascinating, but I was struggling to finish it toward the end. Throughout most of the book you could tell that the author wasn't exactly subjective toward Musk and liked him a great deal. Fair enough - I mean, there's a lot to like and be fascinated by about Elon Musk. But by the end the author just seemed to gush about Musk and how amazing and misunderstood he was non-stop, idolizing him in a way that became boring and made me question how *whole* an account of Musk's life and career this actually was in the end and what it may have missed.

Chris Raastad

Great book to understand the story and inner workings of Elon Musk. Don't criticize or praise this man until you read this book. He's a very peculiar human being that we are happy to have in our world. Good read worth the time of any Elon fan.

Volkan Yorulmaz

No need to read, bad biography but here are some highlights from the book:

https://myhighlightz.blogspot.com/202...

Antonia Sobotta

I love it!!! Elon is really well described as a person, a boss and scientist. The style of writing is nice and easy to follow (I learned a lot of vocabulary!) and enables to read this biography fluently. Not the easiest book to disgest but I highly recommend it for everyone starting from the age of maybe 18, 19? I had the feeling I really got to know Elon from all different kinds of perspectives, and I loved it! Thumbs up!!!

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

Olivera Mitić

2.5/5 

Sadly, this ended up being really boring at times. I was much more interested in Musk's personal life than in how exactly an electric car should be designed in order to work. Oh well. 

That being said, this really is a great piece of biographical writing - I went into it with an idea of Musk that completely changed throughout my process of reading. The change, I should add, was towards the formation of a realistic picture of him, rather than an idealistic one (I may or may not have had a slight crush on).

Tomasz

Biografia lepsza niż Jobsa, świetnie, że ukazuje też wady Muska. Niesamowite stadium człowieka, choć mam wrażenie, że autor zrobił krótszą i bardziej treściwą książkę niż mógł (wiele wątków nieporuszonych).

Jeni Enjaian

I enjoyed learning more about Elon Musk, someone that prior to reading this book I knew only the basics that you read, the headline snippets that do not paint an objective picture.

At various points in this narrative, I thought Vance's writing style painted a detailed, even-handed portrait. However, even though Vance did not hide what could be considered negative aspects of Musk's character, his final chapter felt so sickeningly sweet that I would end up developing cavities.

I think this is a decent book but not an objective biography which, admittedly is difficult to accomplish while the person lives.

Ivaylo Durmonski

As a child, each and every one of us dreams about spacecraft, flying cars, teleportation, becoming invisible. We dreamed, Elon Musk, did. Well, at least some of the things. The book reveals the busy, yet productive, life of one of the most interesting personalities of the 21st Century - Elon Musk. His ambition is inspirational. Thumbs up for the writer, Ashlee Vance, for writing the book. Read my full review here: https://corehustle.com/elon-musk-biog...

Adam

It's weird to read so much science fiction, then read a biography that sounds like it would work there as well. Somehow Elon Musk has stayed off my radar -- I don't how. His past and present have intersected with many interests of mine, from Paypal, SpaceX, Solar City and Tesla, yet I've never looked into the man himself.

Reading this was like reading the backstory of Tony Stark (Iron Man) -- even to the point where Robert Downey Jr met with Musk to help flush out the character. His rise with Paypal, his management style and lack of personal empathy over action show how he's put productivity and his goals ahead of any kind of personal relationships. With the recent successes of Tesla and SpaceX, I'm looking forward to see what he does next.

Joseph Kuuire

Fascinating book. Elon Musk and I share the same type of personality. Logical, unemotional, big thinker and a big dreamer. This guy is the rare kind and I wish there were more people like him. The book is kind of inspiring because it shows you what hard work and determination can bring. Highly recommend.

Victoria Simansjah

Elon Musk as you might know is like the Tony Stark of our era. One quote that struck me was when I read the book was when the author (Ashlee Vance) quotes venture capitalist Peter Theil, “We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters.”

Musk is a true breed of innovator who pushed in what he believed in when the world thinks he is a loon. The book, well-written, inspiring, definitely delved into the struggles and suffering of a Musk. For those sci-fi geeks, or people looking for inspiration and motivation, this book is highly recommended.

Michael Hessling

Dude is a superstar.

Never mind. What an ass-wipe.

David Bielenberg

South African born Elon Musk is the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. Musk wants to save our planet; he wants to send citizens into space, to form a colony on Mars; he wants to make money while doing these things; and he wants us all to know about it. He is the real-life inspiration for the Iron Man series of films starring Robert Downey Junior. The personal tale of Musk's life comes with all the trappings one associates with a great, drama-filled story. He was a freakishly bright kid who was bullied brutally at school, and abused by his father. In the midst of these rough conditions, and the violence of apartheid South Africa, Musk still thrived academically and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he paid his own way through school by turning his house into a club and throwing massive parties. He started a pair of huge dot-com successes, including PayPal, which eBay acquired for $1.5 billion in 2002. Musk was forced out as CEO and so began his lost years in which he decided to go it alone and baffled friends by investing his fortune in rockets and electric cars. Meanwhile Musk's marriage disintegrated as his technological obsessions took over his life ... Elon Musk is the Steve Jobs of the present and the future, and for the past twelve months, he has been shadowed by tech reporter, Ashlee Vance. Elon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of Spacex and Tesla is Shaping our Future is an important, exciting and intelligent account of the real-life Iron Man.

Elon Musk Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

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