This chapter provides a glimpse into the early years of Elon Musk's career, focusing on his time at x.com and the subsequent merger with PayPal. The speaker recalls meeting Elon during this time and shares their impressions of him compared to other individuals involved in the PayPal mafia, such as Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman. The chapter also highlights how Elon didn't particularly stand out in the crowded startup scene of San Francisco at the time.
This Labor Day, we are re airing a fan-favorite episode about, who else, Elon Musk and Kara Swisher. Nayeema interviews Kara — who’s covered Musk since the late 90s. We’ll unpack how Elon became Elon, why Kara came to believe he was one of the greatest visionaries in Silicon Valley, when exactly she soured on him — and why she still holds out some hope. If you’re not sick of Elon by the end of this episode, you may also want to listen to our conversations with Elon biographer Walter Isaacson, former Twitter employee Yoel Roth and journalists Bill Cohan and Ronan Farrow.
You can find Kara and Nayeema on Instagram/Threads @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza.
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