Ashlee Vance, author of a 2015 Elon Musk biography, discusses the contradictions in Musk's character and the industry of Musk-bashing. They also delve into Musk's relentless drive, his approach to communication and PR, his motivation for SpaceX, his involvement with Twitter, and his past failures that have shaped his decision-making.
Elon Musk is a paradox, being both smart and making seemingly stupid business decisions.
Musk's success can be attributed to his laser focus, intense work ethic, and ability to achieve results faster than expected.
Musk's hands-on approach to design and engineering allows him to push the boundaries of what is possible and demand excellence from his team.
Deep dives
Musk's Paradox
Elon Musk is a paradox, being both smart and making seemingly stupid business decisions. Despite spearheading advanced rocket and successful business ventures, he often engages in unnecessary fights, files junk lawsuits, and makes unconventional decisions.
Musk's Focus
Musk's success can be attributed to his laser focus. He sets ambitious timelines and puts in tremendous effort to meet them. He gets obsessed with the project, works long hours, and takes unconventional shortcuts. This intense focus allows him to achieve results faster than expected.
Musk's Background and Intelligence
Musk's background shows a mix of privilege and self-made success. His father was successful, but Musk had to carve his own path and faced financial challenges. Musk is considered highly intelligent, with in-depth knowledge of physics, rockets, and engineering. He absorbs information rapidly and has a remarkable ability to recall details.
Musk's Design and Engineering Skills
Musk is hands-on when it comes to design and engineering. He generates ideas and insists on their implementation, even when others disagree. He pushes the boundaries of what is possible and demands excellence from his team. Musk's involvement in the design process has led to innovative features in Tesla cars and SpaceX rockets.
Working for Musk
Working for Musk can be intense and demanding. Employees are given near-impossible tasks and face the risk of being fired if they fail. Despite the challenging work environment, many employees are drawn to Musk's vision and the opportunity to contribute to groundbreaking projects. Musk's unwavering dedication and ability to inspire loyalty has made him a revered figure among his employees.
This isn’t the new Musk biography everyone’s talking about. This is the 2015 Musk biography by Ashlee Vance. I started reading it in July, before I knew there was a new one. It’s fine: Musk never changes. He’s always been exactly the same person he is now
I read the book to try to figure out who that was. Musk is a paradox. He spearheaded the creation of the world’s most advanced rockets, which suggests that he is smart. He’s the richest man on Earth, which suggests that he makes good business decisions. But we constantly see this smart, good-business-decision-making person make seemingly stupid business decisions. He picks unnecessary fights with regulators. Files junk lawsuits he can’t possibly win. Abuses indispensable employees. Renames one of the most recognizable brands ever.
Musk creates cognitive dissonance: how can someone be so smart and so dumb at the same time? To reduce the dissonance, people have spawned a whole industry of Musk-bashing, trying to explain away each of his accomplishments: Peter Thiel gets all the credit for PayPal, Martin Eberhard gets all the credit for Tesla, NASA cash keeps SpaceX afloat, something something blood emeralds. Others try to come up with reasons he’s wholly smart - a 4D chessmaster whose apparent drunken stumbles lead inexorably to victory.
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, And The Quest For A Fantastic Future delights in its refusal to resolve the dissonance. Musk has always been exactly the same person he is now, and exactly what he looks like. He is without deception, without subtlety, without unexpected depths.