Elon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is Shaping our Future
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- Create Date：2021-04-29 09:54:20
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Ashlee Vance
- ISBN：0753555646
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Summary
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。
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。
Reviews
John
，
The book came out in 2015， so reading it in 2021 leaves you feeling it's a bit out of date， but otherwise it was really good and gave a good look at Musk and how he stacks up against all his naysayers （or how he stacked up in 2015。。。 at this point， it looks like he's doing even better） The book came out in 2015， so reading it in 2021 leaves you feeling it's a bit out of date， but otherwise it was really good and gave a good look at Musk and how he stacks up against all his naysayers （or how he stacked up in 2015。。。 at this point， it looks like he's doing even better） 。。。more
Gabriel
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Very inspirational book。 Whether you like Elon Musk or not， it's undeniable that he's one of the biggest entrepreneurs of our time， his strive to achieve his goals and excel at what it seems neatly impossible is impressive。 Very inspirational book。 Whether you like Elon Musk or not， it's undeniable that he's one of the biggest entrepreneurs of our time， his strive to achieve his goals and excel at what it seems neatly impossible is impressive。 。。。more
Deepu George
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Who is Elon Musk？ 。。 Heard about him and about Space X and Tesla， and a few news here and there which gave me an idea of him as an eccentric person。。。 Is he a business man， a scientist，。。。。 The questions in my mind were many with no clear answers。 This book gives us an idea of who he is and what is his thought process。This is not a biography of Musk in the pure sense。。。 It is partly a biography and much more。 It is an in-depth study of the personality of Musk， and goes on to give us a history if Who is Elon Musk？ 。。 Heard about him and about Space X and Tesla， and a few news here and there which gave me an idea of him as an eccentric person。。。 Is he a business man， a scientist，。。。。 The questions in my mind were many with no clear answers。 This book gives us an idea of who he is and what is his thought process。This is not a biography of Musk in the pure sense。。。 It is partly a biography and much more。 It is an in-depth study of the personality of Musk， and goes on to give us a history if ZIP2， and Paypal。。 His initial two offerings along with Tesla and Space X and the story of a lot of people who are associated with these companies。Definitely recommend 。。。more
Andrei Severin
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Great Biography！ I have watched all Elon Musk interviews ， but apparently the way he looks and speaks so different from the way he acts in person （during his life）
Danijel Bosnjak
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Excellent account of what it took to take SpaceX from its early beginnings to what it is today。 I would like to read the sequel。
Nitin
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If there is anyone who can stretch your imagination and disturb conventional norms of risk taking， this is the guy。 While one may be tempted to say that musk had many things going for him like decent family background （grandfather was successful businessman and dad was accomplished engineer）; exposure to various countries right from school; initial support from friends in Canada and family （specially his brother Kimbal）; being present at right time （internet era） and right place （US， silicon val If there is anyone who can stretch your imagination and disturb conventional norms of risk taking， this is the guy。 While one may be tempted to say that musk had many things going for him like decent family background （grandfather was successful businessman and dad was accomplished engineer）; exposure to various countries right from school; initial support from friends in Canada and family （specially his brother Kimbal）; being present at right time （internet era） and right place （US， silicon valley） and finally access to world class ecosystem of entrepreneurship having encouraging VCs/fellow successful entrepreneurs （e。g。 Larry page） and abundance of passionate and talented engineers etc; but one can not and should not discount the fact that he actually delivered something extraordinary which most of entrepreneurs wouldn't given dream of because of huge risks involved。 One must appreciate his decisions to invest his own fortune to risky ventures like Space X and Tesla and resist the lure of comfortable life after making millions of money post sale of his first initial startups （Zip2 and Paypal）。The book is testimony to the idea that no matter how stupid/out-of-place/ unfeasible your idea may seem to others， if you have passion for something， risk appetite and willing to loose all for that cause; it would work our more often that not。 And when it does; you would have earned your place in history！ 。。。more
Julie
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Glorious。 Absolutely glorious。
Chloe
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Great and unbiased！ Would recommend。
Jennifer
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This book was awesome。 Super engaging and well researched。 I feel like I did not know a lot about Musk before， and this book really opened my eyes to his backstory and personality。 I definitely recommend this book。
Phillip Shapiro
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Loved this book， listened to it traveling from Holland to Poland， it's off the charts inspiring， brilliant narrator ✔🎧📖 #audibleapp Loved this book， listened to it traveling from Holland to Poland， it's off the charts inspiring， brilliant narrator ✔🎧📖 #audibleapp 。。。more
Jennifer
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Super interesting。 I knew very little about Musk and his companies so was fascinated。
Hubert
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10/5
Naval Kishor
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A self-taught man， a truly inspiring journey。 I really liked how he values time， men and wisdom for a bright future
Ron Hollis
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Good ReadWell written book with an appropriate level of detail and investigation。 Footnotes and validation was very helpful to provide objectivity。I recommend the book。
Andrea
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Awesome book about an incredible human beign， recommended to everyone that has been inspired by Elon or is just curios on how much a single person can create， innovate， surprise and amaze the world and its future。
Stéphanie Blouin
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Interesting。 A life of never giving up，setting high goals and achieving them。 Surrounding himself with the best professionals。 I think he will achieve his goal of getting humans to Mars。
Andrew
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Great biography。 Amazing to see how many things Musk has had his fingers in， and helped me appreciate his vision and personality a bit。
Justin Lee
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Deep dive into Elon Musk’s amazing life and career。 The last two chapters however feel like they glorify him way too much。
Simon
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Elon's story is truly fascinating but unfortunately it's poorly represented。 Elon's story is truly fascinating but unfortunately it's poorly represented。 。。。more
Антоанета
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Знаех Мъск като име， сега вече знам малко повече за човека зад това име。 Не е задължително той да бъде добър човек， за да промени света към по-добро。 Дори напротив - дръпнат， не проявяващ емпатия към хората， работохолик до степен на лудост， но знае за какво работи и иска от околните същото。 Той не се интересува от самия бизнес， не се интересува от печалбите като богатство， интересува се от печалбите， за да продължи да инвестира в идеите си， за да продължи да сътворява футористично бъдеще。 В този Знаех Мъск като име， сега вече знам малко повече за човека зад това име。 Не е задължително той да бъде добър човек， за да промени света към по-добро。 Дори напротив - дръпнат， не проявяващ емпатия към хората， работохолик до степен на лудост， но знае за какво работи и иска от околните същото。 Той не се интересува от самия бизнес， не се интересува от печалбите като богатство， интересува се от печалбите， за да продължи да инвестира в идеите си， за да продължи да сътворява футористично бъдеще。 В този смисъл не е бизнесмен， а откривател， но с непоклатимия нюх на лидер и вдъхновител。 Той иска да промени света и вече го прави。 Вярва， че човечеството ще има бъдеще само ако има резервен вариант за оцеляване - вариант като например да колонизира Космоса， да изгради система годна за живот на Марс！ Не може да повярва， че за хората като цяло е по-важно да качват снимки в социалните мрежи и да пишат статуси， вместо технологиите и изобретенията да са на пиедестал。 Книгата показва един мечтател， но и високо ерудиран изобретател и може би човечеството има нужда от повече хора като него。 。。。more
Brent
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Very good story。 Think outside the box， be allowed to make mistakes， be lean and efficient， 1 great engineer is worth 15 mediocre ones， innovation is slow in bureaucracy， passion about something and vision are important， think big， man should be a space faring people， major contribution to humanity is more important than personal wealth。
Olaava
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I do not like Elon Musk as a human， but this is well-researched and written。
Paresh Patil
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A must read for students This book will change your perspective if you are doing engineering。。
Lesedi Mookapele
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I started reading this book ignorant of Elon's achievements。 Above all the mind-blowing successes， what impressed me most was his desire to attempt the seemingly impossible and his relentless self-belief。 Musk in some ways is easier to understand in the context of his family and upbringing。 Vance delves into the Musk family history and provides an account of his challenging upbringing in Pretoria， and his seemingly brutal relationship with his Father。 We get an insight into the conflict between I started reading this book ignorant of Elon's achievements。 Above all the mind-blowing successes， what impressed me most was his desire to attempt the seemingly impossible and his relentless self-belief。 Musk in some ways is easier to understand in the context of his family and upbringing。 Vance delves into the Musk family history and provides an account of his challenging upbringing in Pretoria， and his seemingly brutal relationship with his Father。 We get an insight into the conflict between his need to solve the most pressing issues on the planet and the very real impact this has on his personal health， family and colleagues。 Perhaps， the great achievement of this book is in capturing Musk's personal development through each setback and milestone。 Well worth the read。 。。。more
Caitlyn Kasper
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This book took me an absurdly long time to read just because there was so much information， but I learned so much。 I liked how the book discussed Musk's good and bad business practices， press， lawsuits， partnerships， etc。 involved with running his businesses。 Musk is a very unique person。 On the one hand， he can't really connect with people and therefore treats a lot of people poorly， and also often acts without thinking。 But on the other hand， he never takes no for an answer and that's what mak This book took me an absurdly long time to read just because there was so much information， but I learned so much。 I liked how the book discussed Musk's good and bad business practices， press， lawsuits， partnerships， etc。 involved with running his businesses。 Musk is a very unique person。 On the one hand， he can't really connect with people and therefore treats a lot of people poorly， and also often acts without thinking。 But on the other hand， he never takes no for an answer and that's what makes him extraordinary。 He's not afraid to envision inventions that people think are insane/impossible， and he always persists until he proves the world wrong， even when all the cards are stacked against him。 "Good" isn't in his vocabulary。 He finds the best of its kind and does better。I envy that he has such a defined purpose in life and that he won't let anyone discourage him。 His story is truly inspiring。 Elon Musk is changing the world。 。。。more
CR
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Decent hagiography。 Describes welding techniques and metals as well as now deprecated Supercharger economics。 Pre Grimes and X Æ A-12。 What a world。
Matko Štokov
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One of few sane people left on Earth。
Parv Jain
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The life Elon Musk isn't all glam and glitz like today 。 This book takes you deep into his early life stages showing all his struggles his hardships ， his intelligence and his risk taking abilities resulting in Elon the man today he is 。 Ashlee Vance covers his story in the most accurate way possible not only the reader to visualise the character but also to have a completely different perspective towards Musk the man today he is The life Elon Musk isn't all glam and glitz like today 。 This book takes you deep into his early life stages showing all his struggles his hardships ， his intelligence and his risk taking abilities resulting in Elon the man today he is 。 Ashlee Vance covers his story in the most accurate way possible not only the reader to visualise the character but also to have a completely different perspective towards Musk the man today he is 。。。more
Robin Joseph
，