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Elon Musk
Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
Elon Musk (2015) gives us an insight into the brilliant and difficult character of today’s most innovative entrepreneur. Interwoven with details of his turbulent private life, these blinks reveal why Elon Musk is so determined to save the human race, how he’s worked towards this goal so far, as well as what’s on the horizon for potentially the richest and most powerful man of our future.
- Thinkers with crazy ideas (who need some support in getting them off the ground)
- Proponents of the aerospace, automotive and solar industries
- People curious about Elon Musk
Ashlee Vance is one of the most prominent technology writers today. An American business columnist, he has written for the New York Times and Bloomberg Businessweek.
© Cover image "Elon Musk" by David Shankbone
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Get the key ideas from
Elon Musk
Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
- Read in 18 minutes
- Audio & text available
- Contains 11 key ideas
Synopsis
Elon Musk (2015) gives us an insight into the brilliant and difficult character of today’s most innovative entrepreneur. Interwoven with details of his turbulent private life, these blinks reveal why Elon Musk is so determined to save the human race, how he’s worked towards this goal so far, as well as what’s on the horizon for potentially the richest and most powerful man of our future.
Key idea 1 of 11
Saving the human race is what drives Elon Musk.
Achieving success in the sustainable-technology industry isn’t easy. Many try and most fail. And yet Elon Musk, founder of Tesla Motors and SolarCity, has managed to succeed not once, but twice. How did he manage it?
It comes down to the way he sees the world. Musk is not your average money-obsessed, Silicon-Valley entrepreneur. Uniquely, he possesses a kind of universal empathy. Harboring a deep care for the whole of humanity, Musk is driven by a single goal: to save us, the human race, by relocating humanity to Mars. In Musk’s view, the Earth, vulnerable to asteroids and with dwindling resources, is no longer a tenable home.
This concern never leaves his mind, and has instilled in him an unshakeable determination to get things done. Of course, this doesn’t always manifest itself well. Musk is notorious for setting unrealistic goals, assigning incredible workloads and verbally abusing his employees.
Musk even berated an employee who, instead of attending a company event, chose to be present for the birth of his child. Musk demanded that he consider where his true priorities lay. The way Musk sees it, you can either commit 100 percent to changing the history of the world, or not at all.
Love him or hate him, Musk is nevertheless respected by employees for his sense of mission. They know it brings success. And he’s no hypocrite, either. Musk’s sense of purpose is plainly evident in his grueling weekly schedule. Monday begins at SpaceX, in Los Angeles, where he works until Tuesday night. He then jets to Silicon Valley, where he spends Wednesdays and Thursdays at Tesla. Then it’s a flight back to L.A. There’s no way someone could commit to such a lifestyle without believing in what they were doing.
Key ideas in this title
- Saving the human race is what drives Elon Musk.
- Musk’s unhappy childhood shaped his innovative and ambitious character.
- Musk’s confidence and determination flourished even more during his college years.
- Musk’s first start-up turned him into a dotcom, Silicon-Valley millionaire.
- Losing the war over Paypal left Musk with millions.
- Musk’s determination led him to another frontier: the space industry.
- Under Musk, Tesla Motors gave the electric car a future.
- From SolarCity to Tesla, Musk’s companies are unified.
- Musk aims to further transform the aerospace, automotive and solar industries with the Hyperloop and other projects.
- Musk’s success comes with a turbulent personal life.
- Final summary
