Elon Musk
19 Dec 2023
In a more conflicted way, he also wrestles with the core question about Musk: whether his bad behavior can be separated from the all-in drive that made him successful. "I've come to put him in the same category as Steve Jobs, which is that some people are just assholes, but they accomplish so much that I just have to sit back and say, 'That seems to be a package." Does that, I ask, excuse Musk's behavior? "Maybe if the price the world pays for this kind of accomplishment is a real asshole doing it, well, it's probably a price worth paying. That's how I've come to think about it, anyway." Then, after a pause, he adds, "But I wouldn't want to be that way."
This book is a detailed account of Musk's private and work life. I enjoyed reading his early days, building paypal, then Tesla, SpaceX launches, how he gets impossible projects done and finally the Twitter takeover. Each one was interesting in it's own way. Once you understand what he went through in his childhood you will understand why he love so much drama. Huge respect for someone who has impacted peer to peer payments (Paypal), electric cars, commercial space flight, reusable rockets, AI etc. I don't know anyone who has juggled so many cutting edge industries (not even SJ or BG).
Elon always figures out a way to make the impossible happen. There is always a solution to a problem.