Steve Jobs would ask Wozniak if he could have been kinder and gentler to people. Elon Musk does not have intuitively the empathy gene to care that much, whether the person in front of him likes him or thinks he's just a rough character when it comes to empathy. Of course, the person who wants to save humanity hates people then is what you're saying. That's true of Albert Einstein. Well, Thomas Edison was a well-known asshole, but go ahead. Henry Ford. I mean, there are people who care about saving humanity and there are peoplewho care very much about the people around them or people they meet.
Does Kara ever get sick of talking about Elon Musk? That’s a question Nayeema asks today, and they both agree: as exhausting as he can be, Elon is a defining force in business, media and innovation. So today we turn to the titan’s biographer: Walter Isaacson. He’s written the book on everyone from Leonardo da Vinci to Steve Jobs, and is now deep in the Elon Files.
Taped in front of a live audience at the New Orleans Book Festival, Kara and Isaacson discuss whether Elon is driven primarily by narcissism or mission (aka the “prick to productivity ratio”), how Elon does and doesn’t compare to Steve Jobs, and how Isaacson approaches his job as a biographer of some of the world's biggest personalities, both alive and dead.
Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices