Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson: SpaceX, Tesla, Starlink, Neuralink and the Man Behind Them
Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk follows him, almost like a diary, up to 2023, through the technological advances of SpaceX, Tesla, Twitter (now X), the Optimus robot, Neuralink and more.
Author: Walter Isaacson (born 1952)
Title: Elon Musk (2023)
Format: English Kindle edition, 688 pages
Scope: Biography
Amazon: www.amazon.es/dp/B0BW9V7KTY (ASIN B0BW9V7KTY)
Ideas Most People Do Not Understand
The book describes how Musk puts into practice innovative ideas that ordinary people often do not understand: the dream of colonising Mars, launching satellite constellations such as Starlink, or rockets that land vertically on ocean platforms, a huge cost saving. Advancing human civilisation and raising the birth rate are two goals he states in the book.
The Man in the Interviews
His greatest worries and fears come through in the many interviews, along with his peculiar sense of humour and his lack of empathy. Restoring sight to the blind or helping paralysed people walk are goals he believes science can tackle through Neuralink. Other episodes include his vision of free speech on X, and Starlink providing internet to Ukraine at decisive moments.
Clean Energy and the Future
The electric-car company has been one of his greatest successes, a possible step towards clean energy. Protecting the planet and advancing as a species are two ideas central to the way he sees things.
Walter Isaacson
Walter Isaacson is an American journalist and biographer, a former editor of Time magazine and chairman of CNN. He is best known for his biographies of inventive minds: Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, the biochemist Jennifer Doudna and, most famously, Steve Jobs, whose authorised biography appeared shortly after Jobs’s death in 2011. His approach is consistent: deep access to his subject and the people around them, and a focus on how creativity and personality interact.
A Difficult Childhood
The book begins in South Africa, where Musk grew up in Pretoria. Isaacson describes a lonely, bookish boy who was badly bullied at school and had a troubled relationship with his father, Errol, and he suggests that these early experiences shaped the intensity, the appetite for risk and the sometimes harsh behaviour that run through Musk’s adult life. Musk’s own comments about his mind, including his statement that he has Asperger’s syndrome, are woven into the account.
From PayPal to Twitter
The narrative follows Musk from his first companies, Zip2 and X.com, which became part of PayPal, to the founding of SpaceX and his leadership of Tesla, and ends with his turbulent purchase of Twitter in 2022. Isaacson describes what Musk’s colleagues call his "demon mode", the periods of fury and relentless pressure that accompany his surges of work, and he lets employees, family members and former partners give their own views.
A Divided Reception
Reviewers praised the access and the vivid scenes, but some felt Isaacson was too ready to accept Musk’s account of events or to excuse his behaviour as the price of genius. One passage about Starlink and Ukraine was clarified after publication. Readers can weigh these criticisms for themselves; the book remains the most detailed portrait available of one of the most influential and controversial figures of our time.
How to Read It
The chapters are short, often just a few pages, so the long book reads quickly, and it can easily be dipped into by company or period.
It is gripping throughout.
Why Read It
An interesting read about a figure who has given the world a great deal to talk about. As the reviewer notes, those who actually put their ideas into practice are often, unfortunately, misunderstood and eccentric people. Isaacson had extraordinary access, shadowing Musk for two years.
As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases.
Part of the reading recommendations featured on books.sapiensverbum.com.
