Elon Musk

By: Walter Isaacson

Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb, Walter Isaacson

Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 New York Times bestseller

From the author of Steve Jobs and other bestselling biographies, this is the astonishingly intimate story of the most fascinating and controversial innovator of our era—a rule-breaking visionary who helped to lead the world into the era of electric vehicles, private space exploration, and artificial intelligence. Oh, and took over Twitter.

When Elon Musk was a kid in South Africa, he was regularly beaten by bullies. One day a group pushed him down some concrete steps and kicked him until his face was a swollen ball of flesh. He was in the hospital for a week. But the physical scars were minor compared to the emotional ones inflicted by his father, an engineer, rogue, and charismatic fantasist.

His father’s impact on his psyche would linger. He developed into a tough yet vulnerable man-child, prone to abrupt Jekyll-and-Hyde mood swings, with an exceedingly high tolerance for risk, a craving for drama, an epic sense of mission, and a maniacal intensity that was callous and at times destructive.

At the beginning of 2022—after a year marked by SpaceX launching thirty-one rockets into orbit, Tesla selling a million cars, and him becoming the richest man on earth—Musk spoke ruefully about his compulsion to stir up dramas. “I need to shift my mindset away from being in crisis mode, which it has been for about fourteen years now, or arguably most of my life,” he said.

It was a wistful comment, not a New Year’s resolution. Even as he said it, he was secretly buying up shares of Twitter, the world’s ultimate playground. Over the years, whenever he was in a dark place, his mind went back to being bullied on the playground. Now he had the chance to own the playground.

For two years, Isaacson shadowed Musk, attended his meetings, walked his factories with him, and spent hours interviewing him, his family, friends, coworkers, and adversaries. The result is the revealing inside story, filled with amazing tales of triumphs and turmoil, that addresses the question: are the demons that drive Musk also what it takes to drive innovation and progress?

©2023 Walter Isaacson (P)2023 Simon & Schuster Audio

entertaining, riveting and troubling

Elon is a giant asshole, a petulant man child, someone I will never want to be a friend with

But I will make it my life's mission to have my children work for him for at least 3 years after college.

A Complex Man

Very thorough and well written. I understand him better and my admiration has grown but I still don’t actually like him. Being CEO of so many cutting-edge companies is maybe too much for one person. I will watch with interest to see what he does next.

Reads like an adventure movie

Great reader of a great story. My only criticism is that the author, like his subject, spends too much time on Twitter. Still a great listen

A man on a mission for humanity, not humans

An incredible window into an extraordinarily flawed human being. It is clear that Elon keeps his eyes to the sky and will stop at nothing to get there.

One on hand, I admire his transparency in this biography as yet another open source philosophy to inspire other entrepreneurs and dreamers to tackle Earth’s hardest problems.

On the other hand, Elon is undeniably tortured by his dad and fear of being alone. He executes not by thoughtful strategy, but by ice in his veins taking risks and sheer willpower with no regard for emotions.

Everyone Should Listen or Read this Book

I admire Musk so I got this audiobook right upon release. It was worth every second - informative, entertaining, eye opening, loved it!

Awesome book

Awesome and inspiring. Another great bio by Issacson! This seems like a real and honest depiction of a very accomplished and complicated man.

All good

I read the Kindle version and well as listened to the Audible version. Both are excellent.

Fabulous book! I’ve already given three copies as gifts and will get more

Well written, well narrated, full of lots of interesting facts. It’s the perfect gift for men and women. Really enjoyed it.

Fascinating, painful, and inspiring

I was shocked by how much I identified with Elon and how I felt his pain as his story unfolded.

The story is well written and the narrator is top notch.

Highly recommended.

Must read

This author made an easy web out of Elon‘s live, views, and accomplishments. A very smart man of our time. Amazing story great to read!