CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, twitter page
https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
None
Tue Jun 02 20:12:29 +0000 2009
elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
<div>Blades of Glory| name: Elon Musk | created_at: Tue Jun 02 20:12:29 +0000 2009 | favourites_count: 30237 | followers_count: 152180495 | friends_count: 404 | media_count: 1652 | possibly_sensitive: False | verified: False | statuses_count: 29194 | location: 𝕏Ð </div><div>Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in| created_at: Thu Apr 28 00:56:58 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 4605355 | quote_count: 171965 | reply_count: 187580 | retweet_count: 650721 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means| created_at: Mon Apr 25 16:12:30 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 3111991 | quote_count: 70707 | reply_count: 174802 | retweet_count: 352472 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>Let’s make Twitter maximum fun!| created_at: Thu Apr 28 01:53:50 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 2548006 | quote_count: 34654 | reply_count: 110725 | retweet_count: 184964 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>🚀💫♥️ Yesss!!! ♥️💫🚀 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1518677066325053441/photo/1| created_at: Mon Apr 25 19:43:22 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 2511074 | quote_count: 61362 | reply_count: 145403 | retweet_count: 331863 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: und </div><div>Listen, I can’t do miracles ok https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519495982723084290/photo/1| created_at: Thu Apr 28 01:57:27 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 2478938 | quote_count: 25524 | reply_count: 75001 | retweet_count: 202808 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>the bird is freed| created_at: Fri Oct 28 03:49:11 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 2376881 | quote_count: 52474 | reply_count: 138091 | retweet_count: 331720 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>Comedy is now legal on Twitter| created_at: Fri Oct 28 21:16:42 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 2280552 | quote_count: 39548 | reply_count: 88064 | retweet_count: 237811 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1593459801966538755/photo/1| created_at: Fri Nov 18 04:23:16 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 2035952 | quote_count: 165209 | reply_count: 67886 | retweet_count: 219474 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: zxx </div><div>If I die under mysterious circumstances, it’s been nice knowin ya| created_at: Mon May 09 00:51:26 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 1818638 | quote_count: 40120 | reply_count: 143045 | retweet_count: 165232 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1587894226695884800/photo/1| created_at: Wed Nov 02 19:47:39 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 1800991 | quote_
Blades of Glory| name: Elon Musk | created_at: Tue Jun 02 20:12:29 +0000 2009 | favourites_count: 30237 | followers_count: 152180495 | friends_count: 404 | media_count: 1652 | possibly_sensitive: False | verified: False | statuses_count: 29194 | location: 𝕏Ð  Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in| created_at: Thu Apr 28 00:56:58 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 4605355 | quote_count: 171965 | reply_count: 187580 | retweet_count: 650721 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means| created_at: Mon Apr 25 16:12:30 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 3111991 | quote_count: 70707 | reply_count: 174802 | retweet_count: 352472 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  Let’s make Twitter maximum fun!| created_at: Thu Apr 28 01:53:50 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 2548006 | quote_count: 34654 | reply_count: 110725 | retweet_count: 184964 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  🚀💫♥️ Yesss!!! ♥️💫🚀 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1518677066325053441/photo/1| created_at: Mon Apr 25 19:43:22 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 2511074 | quote_count: 61362 | reply_count: 145403 | retweet_count: 331863 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: und  Listen, I can’t do miracles ok https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519495982723084290/photo/1| created_at: Thu Apr 28 01:57:27 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 2478938 | quote_count: 25524 | reply_count: 75001 | retweet_count: 202808 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  the bird is freed| created_at: Fri Oct 28 03:49:11 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 2376881 | quote_count: 52474 | reply_count: 138091 | retweet_count: 331720 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  Comedy is now legal on Twitter| created_at: Fri Oct 28 21:16:42 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 2280552 | quote_count: 39548 | reply_count: 88064 | retweet_count: 237811 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1593459801966538755/photo/1| created_at: Fri Nov 18 04:23:16 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 2035952 | quote_count: 165209 | reply_count: 67886 | retweet_count: 219474 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: zxx  If I die under mysterious circumstances, it’s been nice knowin ya| created_at: Mon May 09 00:51:26 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 1818638 | quote_count: 40120 | reply_count: 143045 | retweet_count: 165232 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1587894226695884800/photo/1| created_at: Wed Nov 02 19:47:39 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 1800991 | quote_
https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1561362640261226499?s=21&amp;t=INk6LoAv9K-4iYu2hD81ng
None
Sun Aug 21 14:40:36 +0000 2022
elonmusk
<div>After wide release of FSD Beta 10.69.2, price of FSD will rise to $15k in North America on September 5th. 

Current price will be honored for orders made before Sept 5th, but delivered later.| created_at: Sun Aug 21 14:40:36 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 38434 | quote_count: 766 | reply_count: 4809 | retweet_count: 3013 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>Note, you can upgrade your existing car to FSD in 2 mins via the Tesla app| created_at: Sun Aug 21 14:41:54 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 24807 | quote_count: 125 | reply_count: 2160 | retweet_count: 1590 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>@elonmusk All electric vehicles will be free with socialism/communism.| created_at: Sun Aug 21 14:41:07 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 207 | quote_count: 36 | reply_count: 259 | retweet_count: 5 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>@OfficialSPGB @elonmusk And who will build the cars if everything is free?| created_at: Sun Aug 21 15:15:55 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 101 | quote_count: 0 | reply_count: 22 | retweet_count: 1 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>@elonmusk Reminder to vote Red ! Lets save our country !| created_at: Sun Aug 21 19:12:11 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 69 | quote_count: 0 | reply_count: 5 | retweet_count: 8 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>@elonmusk Way too expensive. You’re going to drive people to other car brands that include it.| created_at: Mon Aug 22 00:31:06 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 8 | quote_count: 1 | reply_count: 1 | retweet_count: 0 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>@elonmusk can you at least allow owners to transfer FSD to their new Teslas?| created_at: Wed Aug 24 15:20:00 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 2 | quote_count: 0 | reply_count: 1 | retweet_count: 0 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>@elonmusk To my fellow Obidients: I am looking forward to the Space "Peter Obi for President" at 7 PM Nigeria/2 PM ET US. Please follow our host Benjamin Mayor [@BME152521] to keep updated on upcoming Spaces. SET REMINDER. #PeterObiForPresident
https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1ypKdEZwZMLGW?s=20| created_at: Sun Aug 21 14:40:57 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 54 | quote_count: 2 | reply_count: 7 | retweet_count: 14 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>@elonmusk Any plans to lower the FSD cost when the inflation matter solves?| created_at: Sun Aug 21 14:42:10 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 66 | quote_count: 1 | reply_count: 23 | retweet_count: 0 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>@hohocho @elonmusk it would be surprising especially since he has to pay the lawsuit against Twitter| created_at: Sun Aug 21 14:55:12 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 0 | quote_count: 0 | reply_count: 0 | retweet_count: 0 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div><div>@elonmusk Is this for real? 🥸🤔| created_at: Sun Aug 21 14:42:46 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 0 | quote_count: 0 | reply_count: 0 | retweet_count: 0 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div>
After wide release of FSD Beta 10.69.2, price of FSD will rise to $15k in North America on September 5th. 
Current price will be honored for orders made before Sept 5th, but delivered later.| created_at: Sun Aug 21 14:40:36 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 38434 | quote_count: 766 | reply_count: 4809 | retweet_count: 3013 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  Note, you can upgrade your existing car to FSD in 2 mins via the Tesla app| created_at: Sun Aug 21 14:41:54 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 24807 | quote_count: 125 | reply_count: 2160 | retweet_count: 1590 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  @elonmusk All electric vehicles will be free with socialism/communism.| created_at: Sun Aug 21 14:41:07 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 207 | quote_count: 36 | reply_count: 259 | retweet_count: 5 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  @OfficialSPGB @elonmusk And who will build the cars if everything is free?| created_at: Sun Aug 21 15:15:55 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 101 | quote_count: 0 | reply_count: 22 | retweet_count: 1 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  @elonmusk Reminder to vote Red ! Lets save our country !| created_at: Sun Aug 21 19:12:11 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 69 | quote_count: 0 | reply_count: 5 | retweet_count: 8 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  @elonmusk Way too expensive. You’re going to drive people to other car brands that include it.| created_at: Mon Aug 22 00:31:06 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 8 | quote_count: 1 | reply_count: 1 | retweet_count: 0 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  @elonmusk can you at least allow owners to transfer FSD to their new Teslas?| created_at: Wed Aug 24 15:20:00 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 2 | quote_count: 0 | reply_count: 1 | retweet_count: 0 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  @elonmusk To my fellow Obidients: I am looking forward to the Space "Peter Obi for President" at 7 PM Nigeria/2 PM ET US. Please follow our host Benjamin Mayor [@BME152521] to keep updated on upcoming Spaces. SET REMINDER. #PeterObiForPresident
https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1ypKdEZwZMLGW?s=20| created_at: Sun Aug 21 14:40:57 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 54 | quote_count: 2 | reply_count: 7 | retweet_count: 14 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  @elonmusk Any plans to lower the FSD cost when the inflation matter solves?| created_at: Sun Aug 21 14:42:10 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 66 | quote_count: 1 | reply_count: 23 | retweet_count: 0 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  @hohocho @elonmusk it would be surprising especially since he has to pay the lawsuit against Twitter| created_at: Sun Aug 21 14:55:12 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 0 | quote_count: 0 | reply_count: 0 | retweet_count: 0 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en  @elonmusk Is this for real? 🥸🤔| created_at: Sun Aug 21 14:42:46 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 0 | quote_count: 0 | reply_count: 0 | retweet_count: 0 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1561362640261226499?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1557764571565240320
None
Thu Aug 11 16:23:10 +0000 2022
elonmusk
<div>Starship B7 static fire https://t.co/taBpsd9LSV| created_at: Thu Aug 11 16:23:10 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 124821 | quote_count: 493 | reply_count: 4748 | retweet_count: 7838 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en </div>
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1557764571565240320
None
Thu Aug 11 16:23:10 +0000 2022
elonmusk
Starship B7 static fire https://t.co/taBpsd9LSV| created_at: Thu Aug 11 16:23:10 +0000 2022 | favorite_count: 124821 | quote_count: 493 | reply_count: 4748 | retweet_count: 7838 | is_quote_status: False | retweeted: False | lang: en
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1557764571565240320
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25541028-elon-musk
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic…
2015-03-03
Author
<div><div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1526851-will-byrnes"></a></section><section><p>1,284 reviews119k followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1189170495">August 22, 2019</a></section><div><p>Elon Musk is not exactly a name that rolls easily off the tongue, like say Tony Stark, the fictional person to whom he is most often compared, or even Steve Jobs, a real-world visionary, whose mantle Musk now wears. There is no question that Musk is a special individual, someone with BIG dreams and the drive, talent, and money to make them happen. But, like Jobs, and Stark for that matter, he might be an acquired taste on a personal level. In <i>Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future</i> biographer Ashlee Vance gives us a picture of both the dreams and the man, peering back to where Musk began, describing his journey from then to now, looking at how he is impacting the world today, and gazing ahead to where he wants to go. It is a pretty impressive vista. Here is what it says on the SpaceX website<blockquote>
 <b>SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.</b>
</blockquote>It might have seemed like visiting another planet when Musk split his home country of South Africa as a teen and headed to North America, anything to get away from an abusive upbringing. He seemed to have been blessed not only with exceptional analytical capabilities, and probably an eidetic memory, but an impressively immense set of cojones. He was able to talk his way into whatever he needed and deftly talk his way out of trouble as well. Sometimes that entailed a bit of truth-bending, but whatever. <p><br /><b>Ashlee Vance</b> - from HarperCollins </p><p>Vance take us from his adolescence as a computer geek, bullied at school, through his arrival in Canada, cold-calling to get work, putting together his first dot.com startup, and using the money from that to invest in a banking-oriented company that would become PayPal. It was the mega-bucks from the sale of PayPal that would allow him to begin realizing his big dreams. In 2003, Musk bought into Tesla, then a struggling startup. The company took the early knowledge that lithium ion batteries had gotten pretty good, added some top level engineering, design and programming talent, and, after plenty of mis-steps and struggles, brought the remarkable all-electric Tesla Roadster to the market in 2008. Tesla followed this with the Model S in 2012. Not only did Consumer reports call this a great car, it named both the 2014 and 2015 versions the best overall cars of their years, and the best car they had ever tested. The last time an auto startup succeeded in the USA was Chrysler, in the 1920s. But this is not about simply making a buck on a new car. The long term goal is to shift our petrochemical auto industry to renewable power, and the Tesla is a nifty start. Not only is the car amazing, the company has constructed a nationwide series of charging stations where Tesla owners can recharge their vehicles…for free. Tesla currently (August 2019) reports 1,604 such stations nationwide, with many more planned. Tesla is involved in building battery production factories, hoping to help support a growing electric-car auto-economy. </p><p><br /><b>Inside the Tesla Model S</b> - from Tesla Motors </p><p>But this was not the only big notion that drove Musk. A parallel effort was to develop a solar power business. And with the help of a couple of enterprising cousins, he did just that. SolarCity provides the solar arrays that provide power to the Tesla charging stations, but it has also become one of the largest solar utilities in the nation, installing, maintaining a third of the nation’s solar panel systems. There is obvious benefit to both Tesla and Solar City in sharing gains in battery and other technology. But I expect the third jewel in Musk’s crown is his favorite, SpaceX. </p><p><br /><b>Falcon 9 first stage attempting a controlled landing</b> - from Wikimedia</p><p>Musk doesn’t have much going on here, nothing major, only an ardent desire to colonize Mars. But it takes the establishment of an infrastructure in order to be get from point E to point M. Musk saw an opening in the market for satellite launch vehicles. Existing rockets blast things up into orbit and then burn up on their way back down. His idea was to design a rocket that could make its way back to earth in one piece, to be reused. And he has. SpaceX is nearing its goal of launching at least one rocket a month. The manifest available on SpaceX.com lists missions to date. The company also designed a capsule called the Dragon that can be used for cargo, but also for astronauts. The cost of launching a satellite using a Falcon is a fraction of what other options charge. The next step is a larger launch vehicle. Space X has begun launching the Falcon Heavy rocket, offering the biggest load capacity since the Saturn V was last used in 1973. And, while this is definitely good for business in the relatively short term, one must always keep in mind that this is a stage in a bigger plan for Musk. Once the launch infrastructure is established, plans can begin to move forward to put together Mars missions. Not go, look, and explore sorts of adventures, but establishing a colony, a permanent human presence on the red planet. </p><p><br /><b>The Dragon Capsule, attached to the ISS</b> - from Musk’s Twitter page</p><p>Of course when one has one’s eyes fixed on the stars (yes, Mars is a planet, I know, Geez), there is a large inclination to lose touch with earth-bound reality. In the movie, then play, then movie <i>The Producers</i> Max Bialystock, in order to cope with the absurd success of a play that was designed to fail, suggests to his partner, Leo Bloom, that one solution would be to do away with the cast. "You can't kill the actors, Max! They're human beings," Leo says. "Human beings? Have you ever seen them eat?" Max replies. I suspect that there are more than a few folks who feel about Elon Musk the way Max felt about the actors. He is rather notorious for his insensitivity to anyone not living inside his head. For example, here is what potential recruits are told to expect when they meet with Musk.</p><blockquote>The interview, he or she is told, could last anywhere from thirty seconds to fifteen minutes. <i>Elon will likely keep on writing e-mails and working during the initial part of the interview and not speak much. Don’t panic. That’s normal. Eventually, he will turn around in his chair to face you. Even then, though, he might not make actual eye contact with you or fully acknowledge your presence. Don’t panic. That’s normal. In due course, he will speak to you.</i>
</blockquote>Musk has an amazing capacity for work, putting in monstrous hours as a matter of course. But then he expects the same from those who work for him.<blockquote>
 <b> The rank and file employees…revere his drive and respect how demanding he can be. They also think he can be hard to the point of mean and come off as capricious. The employees want to be close to Musk, but they also fear that he’ll suddenly change his mind about something and that every interaction with him is an opportunity to be fired. “Elon’s worst trait by far, in my opinion, is a complete lack of loyalty or human connection,” said one former employee. “Many of us worked tirelessly for him for years and were tossed to the curb like a piece of litter without a second thought. Maybe it was calculated to keep the rest of the workforce on their toes and scared: maybe he was just able to detach from human connection to a remarkable degree. What was clear is that people who worked for him were like ammunition: used for a specific purpose until exhausted and discarded.”</b>
</blockquote>Musk even fired his loyal assistant, Mary Beth Brown, who had been with him for twelve years, after she asked for a raise. What a guy.<p>Ego is certainly a big piece of the picture here. But I guess if you can do it, it ain’t bragging. Elon Musk is a larger than life figure, a computer geek, an engineer, an entrepreneur, and a dreamer, in addition to being a walking IED as someone to work for. He is one of the inspirations for Robert Downey‘s portrayal of Tony Stark in sundry Marvel Universe films. In fact, Downey came to visit Musk, specifically to get a taste of what a real billionaire techno-industrialist was like. Downey insisted on having a Tesla Roaster on the set of <i>Iron Man</i>, saying, ”Elon was someone Tony probably hung out with and partied with or more likely they went on some weird jungle trek together to drink concoctions with the shamans.” Musk even had a cameo in <i>Iron Man II</i>. The resulting publicity from this connection did little to diminish Musk’s view of himself. Living the high-life in Tinseltown, hanging with, social, economic and media A-listers added more gas to the bag. Part of his ego issue is that he tends to take internal company timetables and announce them to the world as promises (I can see his entire staff jointly rolling their eyes, clutching palms to temples and issuing choruses of “Oh my god” and “WTF” as they spin in place), then holds his employees to those unreasonable schedules. Of course this results in many missed deadlines, much ingestion of antacid and probably the odd nervous breakdown or two.</p><p><br /><b>Musk, in an Iron Man II cameo</b> - fromWired</p><p>Musk is the sort of guy who shows up with some regularity in science fiction novels, a genre trope, like the researcher who has exactly the sort of experience and insight the President/PM/Chairman/Secretary General needs in order to stave off global catastrophe. He’s the guy who has been secretly building the arc that the world needs to stave off extinction. In this case he is doing it publicly. Of course this raises some issues. Do we as a country, as a planet, really want to be reliant on private companies for our space exploration? Do we want a possible colony on Mars to be a privately held branch of Musk Industries? There are only a gazillion questions that are raised by the privatization of space. What’s good for the bottom line at SpaceX may or may not be good for humanity. We have certainly seen how a reliance on the inherent civic-mindedness and good will of corporations has worked on this planet. Musk is a dreamer, for sure, and I expect his dream of making a better world through the use of renewable energy and his hopes of establishing a human outpost on Mars are pure ideals. But the devil is always in the details, and what would happen should Musk be infected by another virulent strain of malaria and not escape with a near miss, as he did in 2001? Would the replacement CEO share his ideals? Would a replacement CEO be willing to take big risks to support those ideals? Would a replacement CEO look to sell Tesla off to GM to make a few quick billion? One person can move the world, but it takes more than a start to keep things rolling. We could certainly use plenty more people with the sort of drive and ambition that Elon Musk embodies. Innovation is a rare resource and must be cherished. But like any powerful force, it must be, if not tethered, at least monitored, to make certain that it does not run amok. </p><p>Ashlee Vance has done an amazing job of telling not only Musk’s story, but of making the life history of the several companies with which Musk has been involved fascinating reading. I did get the sense that Vance was, from all the time he spent with Musk, smitten with his subject. While his portrait of Musk is hardly a zit-free one, I got the feeling that there might be a few more skeletons safely tucked away in closets, a few more bodies buried in basements. Nevertheless, <i>Elon Musk</i> is a powerful, entertaining and informative look at one of the most important people of our time. Your personal vision of the future should certainly include checking out this book.</p><p>=================<b>EXTRA STUFF</b> has been moved to comment #1</p></p></div><section><ul><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1526851?shelf=biography">biography</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1526851?shelf=books-of-the-year-2015">books-of-the-year-2015</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1526851?shelf=brain-candy">brain-candy</a> </ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2450538-louise"></a></section><section><p>925 reviews286 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1283915620">June 10, 2015</a></section><div><p>3.5 Stars<p>I like the can-do attitude Vance took with hounding Musk and wearing him down till he agreed to cooperate with this biography. I also appreciated all the "Holy crap, Musk is CRAZY. CRAZY like a fox," moments I had while reading this. The only thing that keeps this from being a 4-star book is that the reporting and writing leans too heavily on idolatry. There were passages where I literally cringed at how much of a fanboy Vance sounded like.</p></p></div><section><ul></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/16958299-dr-appu-sasidharan"></a></section><section><p>944 reviews1,889 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2940540079">December 2, 2022</a></section><div><p><a href="https://imgur.com/UhL1aTK">
 
</a><br />Elon Musk is considered as a cross-pollination of Thomas Edison and Tony Stark. <b>SpaceX, Tesla, Paypal, SolarCity</b> are some of the few companies started by him. The above names are more than enough to understand Musk's potential.<br /><a href="https://imgur.com/pmwzUC0">
 
</a><br /> Ashlee Vance shows us the not-so-famous childhood of Musk in South Africa. He compares and contrasts Musk's entrepreneurial brilliance to Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and his Scientific prowess to Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. His role in preventing global warming is ubiquitous. The EV's produced by his company Tesla is helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a large extend. Musk is even donating $100 million for a competition to find better methods to remove carbon from the air or water. The race for this price will start on 22nd April 2021 (earth day) and goes on till 2025.<p><b>His courage to invest in ventures with no empirical evidence and make them successful by his confidence and hard work is truly astounding. His enigmatic enthusiasm to get up from failures, again and again, to become successful is very well conveyed in this book and will be truly inspirational for the future generation. Elon Musk is not an ephemeral phenomenon guilty of hyperbole which will be evanescent soon. This name is that of an erudite maverick going to be discussed for a long, long time one way or the other.</b></p><p><b>
 <u>What I learned from this book </u>
</b><br /><b>
 <u>1) Never ever give up </u>
</b><br />When Falcon 1 failed continuously three times, Musk was nearly bankrupt, and the whole world was making fun of his ideas. But he didn't give up and tried for the fourth time, and the rest is history.<br /><i></i></p><blockquote><i>
<b> “Good ideas are always crazy until they’re not.”</b> </i></blockquote><i> </i><p><b>
 <u>2) What makes Musk different from other Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and CEOs? </u>
</b><br />Working more than 16 hours a day, making quick decisions, and achieving impossible targets are common to silicon valley entrepreneurs. But Musk is still entirely different compared to them<br /><i></i></p><blockquote><i> "What Musk has developed that so many of the entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley lack is a meaningful worldview. He's the possessed genius on the grandest quest anyone has ever concocted. He's less a CEO chasing riches than a general marshaling troops to secure victory. Where Mark Zuckerberg wants to help you share baby photos, Musk wants to . . . well . . . save the human race from self-imposed or accidental annihilation." <p>"Elon is the shining example of how Silicon Valley might be able to reinvent itself and be more relevant than chasing these quick IPOs and focusing on getting incremental products out," </p></i></blockquote><i> </i><p><b>
 <u>3) Understanding human nature </u>
</b><br />It is Musks's ability to cognize human nature which made him successful. He exactly knows what humans want and has the motivation to work hard to deliver it quickly even before his competitors started thinking about its possibility<br /><i></i></p><blockquote><i> "He would bring standard financial instruments online and then modernize the industry with a host of new concepts. He exhibited a deep insight into human nature that helped his companies pull out exceptional marketing technology and financial feeds. Musk was already playing the entrepreneur game at the highest level and working at the press and the investors like few others could." </i></blockquote><i> </i><p><b>
 <u>My favourite three lines from this book </u>
</b><br /><i></i></p><blockquote><i> “Everything he does is fast,” Brogan said. “He pees fast. It’s like a fire hose—three seconds and out. <b>He’s authentically in a hurry.</b>”</i></blockquote><i> </i><blockquote><i> “There needs to be a reason for a grade. I'd rather play video games, write software, and read books than try and get an A if there's no point in getting an A." </i></blockquote><i> </i><blockquote><i> “The company would pick a plan of attack, and when it failed at something, it failed fast and then tried a new approach.” </i></blockquote><i> </i><p> <b>
 <u>What could have been better?</u>
</b><br />If you are a person working under Musk and have a different wavelength compared to him, then there is a high probability that his extreme obsession with his work will feel like a toxic one to you. The extra working hours and unrealistic deadlines will be difficult to handle for ordinary people. He might be a maverick, but we still wish he should have been a little bit more kind to his workers when they fall short of deadlines. But Musk tackled this problem by only appointing extraordinary people who always think like him and apt for their designations as his workers. <b>This ability of Musk to convert his foibles to positives is one of the secrets of his success.</b> Musk was involved in many controversies like the rift with few other tech firms, Hollywood actors, Thai cave rescue, and overvaluing Tesla stocks which were unfortunately totally ignored in this book. </p><p><b>
 <u>Rating </u>
</b><br /><b> 4/5</b> I have seen very few biographies like this, which will evoke interest in people from extremely different society sections. It is due to Musk's eclectic knowledge and ability to use it in the best way possible in different spheres of life. <b>If you are a car enthusiast or an EV owner or plans to buy an EV in the future or an aeronautical engineer or astrophysicist or banking professional or software engineer or an entrepreneur or a student who wants to build a successful career, this is a must-read book.</b></p></p></div><section><ul></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/991644-mark-bao"></a></section><section><p>29 reviews222 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1287452093">May 25, 2015</a></section><div><p>Excellent and inspiring. This book brought up one key question: do you have to be a bit reckless to be good? Musk was reckless in two areas: in the risks he took, and the way that he manages his companies.<p>As for the first, the number of near-death experiences that Tesla, SpaceX and earlier companies went through is almost a running joke throughout this story. The Falcon 1 failed three times, exhausting the company's funds, before achieving a successful fourth flight. Tesla avoided bankruptcy by taking on a NASA-approved loan from SpaceX plus a last-minute acquisition of a company Musk invested in pulled through, and avoided being derailed by a predatory investor by a bluff on the order of $40 million. Combine these with the many situations where it didn't look like Tesla was going to build anything substantial, plus the negative media attention—the fact that Musk continued to persevere and pull through at times where most normal people would have given up is crazy.</p><p>This risk undoubtedly took a toll on his life and relationships, through three divorces and the insane sleep deprivation he and the others on the team go through. It brings up the question—when you're doing things as big as this, how reckless do you have to be? Should you have a breaking point? Does the sustainable, get-eight-hours-of-sleep-and-exercise approach really work? Or is the right thing to do actually to push through, get four hours of sleep, and get shit done? Are those that prefer the 'sustainable' option the ones that don't succeed as much, and the reckless ones the ones that actually make progress?</p><p>As for the second, the way that he manages his companies, he was reckless in what he demanded from people. The most notable story is of SpaceX, where employees worked on a crappy atoll in the Marshall Islands for months to deliver the Falcon 1 rocket launches. In a Jobs-like fashion, his outward personality is cold, demanding, and fearful: employees are on edge all the time and have to have answers. If someone is the bottleneck on a project, there's immense pressure on them to deliver. And you never want to be the deliverer of bad news—and if you are, you better have a solution to back it up:</p><blockquote> The savvy engineers knew better than to go into a meeting and deliver bad news without some sort of alternative plan at the ready. “One of the scariest meetings was when we needed to ask Elon for an extra two weeks and more money to build out another version of the Model S,” Javidan said. “We put together a plan, stating how long things would take and what they would cost. We told him that if he wanted the car in thirty days it would require hiring some new people, and we presented him with a stack of resumes. You don’t tell Elon you can’t do something. That will get you kicked out of the room. You need everything lined up. (Loc 4277)</blockquote><p>And while that is actually a good way to work—to have everything lined up—is Musk's approach the right way to manage a company? Is it the only way to be successful on incredibly difficult things? Or are Tesla and SpaceX successful in spite of this way of working—that it actually holds people back?</p><p>Other than those questions, this is a very good overview of Musk's life and personality, and the trials and tribulations he went through to be successful—a path beset by an immense number of setbacks and late deliveries.</p><p>What comes through clearly is how much of a genius this guy was. To get a sense of what this guy is like, consider that in his childhood, he ran out of books to read at the local library and the school library, and sometimes would read for ten hours a day. Dude also has a memory that's not only photographic, but he can wrangle images and numbers and relationships between them in his head. Insane. His ability to ingest and retain information, and his approach to knowledge, is nuts:</p><blockquote> People who have spent significant time with Musk will attest to his abilities to absorb incredible quantities of information with near-flawless recall. It’s one of his most impressive and intimidating skills and seems to work just as well in the present day as it did when he was a child vacuuming books into his brain. After a couple of years running SpaceX, Musk had turned into an aerospace expert on a level that few technology CEOs ever approach in their respective fields. (Loc 3421)</blockquote><p>What also comes across was how much Musk believes in the technological future and how much he as done to restore that promise to humanity. It's clear that he is one of the top people pushing technology and humanity forward, and that's incredibly inspiring.</p><p>What I found a bit lacking in this book, which would have made this an excellent book, was more about Musk's inner life. Vance hypothesizes that Musk seems cold and non-emotional because he has a different sort of empathy than others: he emphasizes with the entire human species, and wants to do the most he can for them, but that makes him forget the individuals in front of him. But what does Musk think about this? How does Musk characterize his own values and experiences? Of course, this is something that few biographies do anyway, but for someone as dynamic as Musk, it would have been a welcome addition to the surface-level 'what he did' information.</p><p>The guy's a genius, and this book, I think, represents that well. The inside look into Musk's life and work from the mid-2000s is thorough and really gives you a fantastic backstory into Musk's experience with Tesla and SpaceX. showing he did to make them successful, making this into an endlessly inspiring biography.</p><p>FIVE STARS — Changed how I see things</p></p></div><section><ul></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/45329045-ali-abdaal"></a></section><section><p>17 reviews32.5k followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4055893558">June 13, 2021</a></section><div><p>Pretty good and interesting. Not life-changing but certainly gives a nice insight into the various Musk-related businesses + early life, which is interesting and most of it was new to me.</p></div><section><ul></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/614778-ahmad-sharabiani"></a></section><section><p>9,568 reviews55.6k followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3019794384">May 6, 2022</a></section><div><p><b>Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance</b><p>Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future is Ashlee Vance's biography of Elon Musk, published in 2015. </p><p>The book traces Elon Musk's life from his childhood up to the time he spent at Zip2 and PayPal, and then onto SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. In the book, Vance managed to get regular interviews with Musk, those close to him, and those who were with him at the most important points of his life.</p><p>تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و یکم ماه اکتبر سال2017میلادی</p><p>عنوان: الون (ایلان) ماسک: تسلا، اسپیس اکس و جستجوی آینده‌ی رویایی؛ نویسنده: اشلی ونس؛ مترجم: چکامه مرتضی‌نیا؛ تهران: نشر پرچین؛ سال1395؛ در362ص؛ شابک9789648340433؛ موضوع اهل کسب و کار (ماسک، ایلان، سال‏‫1971م) - ایالات متحده - سرگذشتنامه - از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده21م</p><p>‬عنوان: بازگشت به آینده: داستان زندگی ایلان ماسک...؛ نویسنده: اشلی ونس؛ مترجم: فرید رجبعلی؛ تهران اندیشه عصر‏‫، سال1396؛ در208ص، عکس؛ شابک9786004211314؛‬</p><p>ایلان ریو ماسک؛ زاده ی سال1971میلادی در «آفریقای جنوبی»، مهندس، طراح صنعتی، مخترع، و شخص نامی تجارت، در صنایع پیشرفته آمریکایی، و جزو ده شخصیت تأثیرگذار جهان هستند؛ ایشان بنیان‌گذار شرکت‌هایی همچون «تسلا موتورز»، «پی‌پال (که اکنون به ای‌بی تعلق دارد)» و «اسپیس‌اکس» هستند؛ ایشان هم‌اکنون، مدیرعامل و مدیرفنی «اسپیس اکس» هست؛ «ماسک» همچنین در حال توسعه ی یک سیستم «حمل و نقل» با سرعت بالاست، که با نام «هایپرلوپ» شناخته شده ‌است</p><p>کتاب «ایلان ماسک: تسلا، اسپیس‌اکس، و مأموریت برای آینده‌ ای شگفت»؛ زندگی‌نامه ی «ایلان ماسک»، اثر «اشلی ونس» ‏است، که نخستین بار در سال2015میلادی منتشر شد؛ این کتاب، زندگی «ماسک» را، از کودکی، تا تأسیس «زیپ2»، و «پی‌پال»، و بعدها در «تسلا موتورز»، «اسپیس‌اکس»، و «سولارسیتی»، به‌ تصویر می‌کشد؛ «ونس» در این کتاب، با «ماسک»، و با دوستان و اطرافیان او، و اشخاصی که شاهد لحظات مهم زندگی «ماسک» بوده‌ اند، گفتگوهایی انجام داده‌ است؛ «ماسک» خود بر روی محتوای این زندگی‌نامه کنترلی نداشته‌ اند؛ «ماسک» نزدیک به چهارده‌ ساله بودند، که همچون دیگر نوجوانان نابغه، تلاش کردند، با خوانش کتاب‌های مذهبی و فلسفی، کار را ادامه دهند؛ ایشان از هر ایدئولوژی، نکته‌ ای را برداشت کردند، و سپس کمابیش، از همان‌جایی سر درآوردند، که آغاز کرده بودند؛ یعنی پذیرفتن آموزشهای کتاب علمی‌ - تخیلی «راهنمای مسافران کهکشان»، نوشته‌‌ ی «داگلاس آدامز»، که یکی از تاثیرگذارترین کتاب‌های زندگی ایشان بود؛ </p><p>ماسک در این‌باره میگونید: (یکی از سخت‌ترین کارها این است، که بفهمیم چه پرسشهایی را باید بپرسیم؛ وقتی پرسشها را بدانید، رسیدن به پاسخ آسان‌تر خواهد شد؛ به این نتیجه رسیدم، که ما باید تلاش کنیم، تا میزان، و حوزه ی آگاهی بشر را، برای فهم بیشتر پرسشهایی که باید بپرسد، بیشتر کنیم)؛</p><p>در اینجا بود که «ماسکِ» نوجوان، به آن بیانیه ی بسیار منطقی‌ خویش رسید: (تنها کاری که انجامش منطقی به‌ نظر می‌رسد، تلاش برای بالابردن سطح آگاهی جمعی است.)؛ </p><p>ریشه‌ یابی برخی تلاش‌های «ماسک»، برای رسیدن به هدف، آسان است؛ ایشان زاده ی سال1971میلادی، و بزرگ‌ شده ی شهر بزرگ «پرتوریا»، در شمال شرقی «آفریقای جنوبی» هستند، که تنها به اندازه‌ ی چند ساعت رانندگی، با «ژوهانسبورگ» فاصله دارد؛ حضور آپارتاید، روی دوران کودکی‌ اش، سایه انداخته بود، و «آفریقای جنوبی» هم، به‌ برهان تنش‌ها، و خشونت‌ها، گاه‌ و بی‌گاه متشنج بود؛ از سویی سیاه‌ ها و سفیدها، با هم درگیر بودند، و از سوی دیگر، سیاه‌های قبایل گوناگون، به جان هم افتاده بودند؛ «ماسک» درست چند روز پس از قیام «سووتو»، چهار ساله شد؛ در قیام «سووتو»، صدها دانش‌آموز سیاه‌پوست، چون به مصوبات دولت‌مردان سفیدپوست، معترض بودند، کشته شدند؛ «آفریقای جنوبی»، سال‌ها به‌ سبب قوانین نژاد پرستانه‌ اش، از جانب کشورهای دیگر، تحریم بود؛</p><p>ماسک، در دوران کودکی، برای سفر به خارج از کشور، رفاه کافی داشت، و نظر خارجی‌ها را، درباره‌ ی «آفریقای جنوبی» می‌دانست؛ اما آنچه بیشترین تاثیر را، بر شخصیت «ماسک» گذاشته بود، فرهنگ رایج «آفریقایی» در «پرتوریا»، و مناطق دور و برش بود؛ رفتارهای مرد سالارانه رواج داشت، و سوارکارهای ماهر، و خشن، پرطرفدار بودند؛ «ماسک» با اینکه جزو افراد مرفه آن دوران به شمار می‌آمد، یک خارجی بود، که شخصیت یگانه، و ذات نابغه‌ اش، با رفتارها، و گرایشات آن زمان، در تضاد بود؛ نظریه‌ اش درباره اشتباه‌ بودن دنیا، مدام تقویت می‌شد، و تقریبا «ماسک»، از نخستین روزها، نقشه ی فرار از محیط دور و برش را می‌کشید، و رویای جایی را در سر داشت، که در آنجا آرزوها، و شخصیتش، می‌توانستند شکوفا بشوند</p><p>تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 14/06/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 15/02/1401هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی</p></p></div><section><ul><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/614778?shelf=21th-century">21th-century</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/614778?shelf=biography">biography</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/614778?shelf=business">business</a> </ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5-elizabeth"></a></section><section><p>694 reviews29.1k followers</p></section></div><section><section><p><b>Read</b></p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2899430770">July 17, 2019</a></section><div><p>I found the tale of Elon Musk's childhood all the way through Zip, Paypal, Solar City, SpaceX and Tesla fascinating and inspiring. One thing in particular stood out. He's not motivated by greed. I've met my share of entrepreneurs and there are countless motivations that power these people. Some are narcissists, some like the idea of being in charge (ego), some are battling the demons of their parents (Musk most likely has a piece of this in his psyche), but the best ones are compulsive problem solvers. I liked the quote that Justine Musk mentioned when she said something to the effect: "He's not trying to make money, it just happens for him." <p>Also, I'm no Elon Musk but I share his loathing of acronyms. They are blockers of communication. As an editor and a writer, clarity is key. Why lose someone in a meeting when they could be participating and applying to their brainpower to a problem? </p></p></div><section><ul><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5?shelf=california">california</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5?shelf=nonfiction">nonfiction</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5?shelf=silicon-valley">silicon-valley</a></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2172096-barbara"></a></section><section><p>1,298 reviews4,828 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2277239919">April 29, 2021</a></section><div><p><p><b> 4.5 stars</b></p><p></p><p>Billionaire Elon Musk is a businessman, engineer, and inventor with a radical vision for the future of mankind. In fact Musk wants nothing less than to establish a human colony on Mars.....with a view toward exploring Jupiter's moon Europa someday. </p><p><br /><b>Jupiter and Europa</b></p><p>Musk fears there will be another mass extinction event - like the asteroid that destroyed 75% of Earth's species at the Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary 65 million years ago - and he wants people to have somewhere to go. </p><p></p><p>I agree with Musk that Earth is likely to become inhospitable to humans someday, but I fear we'll ruin the planet ourselves - with over-exploitation, pollution, war, and disease. (And then we'd probably do the same thing to Mars. I'm a skeptic.)</p><p>In any case, Musk puts his money where his mouth is. In 2002 the audacious entrepeneur founded the rocket company SpaceX. SpaceX is already launching satellites for several countries, and carrying supplies to the International Space Station. </p><p><br /><b>SpaceX</b></p><p>In the future, Musk wants rockets to bring people, equipment, and provisions to the red planet.....ideally in the next 50 to 100 years. </p><p>SpaceX is just one of Musk's far-sighted enterprises. In this book Ashlee Vance explores Musk's various business ventures, and provides insight into the developer's character and personal life. </p><p>Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1971. </p><p></p><p>He had a difficult childhood, being viciously bullied at school and tormented by his father, Errol. The book has few details about Errol's behavior (no one will talk about it), but it's revealing that grandpa Musk isn't allowed to meet Elon's five sons. </p><p><br /><b>Elon Musk's father Errol</b></p><p>As a youngster Elon devoured books, and - with his photographic memory - recalled everything he read. Elon was also an inventive child who built rockets and created video games. </p><p><br /><b>Little Elon Musk</b></p><p>When he was 17-years-old Elon moved to his mother's home country, Canada.....and the penniless teen bunked with relatives, did odd jobs, and went to school. </p><p><br /><b>Young Elon Musk</b></p><p>Eventually, Elon ended up at the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in economics and physics. Musk then moved to California and entered the business world.</p><p></p><p>Vance did extensive research and describes Musk's business projects in elaborate detail, including: how they started; financing; development; failures; successes; leadership; personnel; buy-outs; etc. Musk's trajectory didn't go straight from start-up to billionaire. Far from it. In fact the developer nearly went bankrupt several times....to the glee of naysayers and jealous rivals. Musk carried on, though, and was successul in the end. (So yay Elon!....and pooh on the guys who tried to take him down!)</p><p>In this brief review I'll just provide a quick summary of Musk's business activities. For a full picture, you'll have to read the book.</p><p>Musk's first venture after college was Zip2 - a kind of online Yellow Pages/Mapquest that allowed users to find businesses and get directions. When Zip2 was sold, Musk founded an internet banking venture that became PayPal. These were profitable pursuits that provided money for additional investments. </p><p></p><p>Musk founded SpaceX - the aforementioned rocket company in 2002, and co-founded Tesla Motors - which manufactures environmentally friendly electric cars in 2003. Then, in 2006, Musk helped his cousins launch SolarCity - a company that fabricates, markets, and installs solar panels. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Among other things, Tesla and SolarCity are meant to reduce the use of fossil fuels and lower carbon pollution....which would help preserve the Earth and its inhabitants. In this vein, Musk also hopes to build 'hyperloops' - high speed trains that travel on a loop between major cities like New York and Washington DC; and Los Angeles and San Francisco. President Obama is said to be a fan of this project. </p><p></p><p><br /><b>Hyperloop</b></p><p>Musk's various ventures require smart, capable personnel and the developer was (and is) always on the lookout for the brightest students, the best engineers, the most foreward-thinking inventors, and so on. </p><p><br /><b>Elon Musk giving commencement address</b></p><p><br /><b>Caltech students</b></p><p>Musk is notoriously difficult to work for and - when he wants something done - refuses to hear "I can't do it." If you really can't do it, Musk is likely to let you go and do it himself. Musk expects employees to work long hours without complaint.....and has a reputation for upbraiding and firing personnel. Thus, he's quite ruthless on a business level.</p><p><br /><b>Elon Musk is notoriously hard to work with</b></p><p>In private life, though, Musk is said to be a fun guy who likes to make jokes; laugh; attend costume parties; play video games with his kids; and generally have a good time. Musk has five sons - twins and triplets - from his first marriage to Justine Musk and is now wed to the actress Tallulah Riley. The entrepeneur has a brutal work schedule - he often works 100 or more hours per week - but takes his sons all over the world with him. Musk is also close to his brother and cousins, and often collaborates with them on business projects. </p><p><br /><b>Elon Musk's first wife Justine Musk</b></p><p><br /><b>Elon Musk with his second wife Tallulah Riley</b></p><p><br /><b>Elon Musk with his sons</b></p><p>In addition to influencing national and international corporations, Musk has impacted popular culture. After the actor, Robert Downey Jr., visited the SpaceX factory, he modeled aspects of his character 'Tony Stark' (Iron Man) on the billionaire entrepreneur. And Musk guest starred on an episode of 'The Simpsons' called 'The Musk Who Fell to Earth.' The Simpsons segment is hilarious and gives a cartoonish - but probably accurate....picture of the entrepreneur as an imaginative inventor and concerned citizen of the Earth. (The episode is available on YouTube.) </p><p><br /><b>Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark (Iron Man)</b></p><p><br /><b>Elon Musk on The Simpsons</b></p><p>Vance's discussions of the ups and downs of Musk's businesses are especially well-researched and interesting. The author explains how Tesla ultimately built an electric roadster that's beautiful, comfortable, kid-seat friendly, and (more or less) reasonably-priced (if you're rich); and how a rocket was finally launched after heartbreaking failures due to mechanical errors, sloshing fuel, and other hard-to-foresee factors. </p><p>Vance also discusses the problems involved when private companies - like Musk's enterprises - compete with established (though inferior) businesses that have government support. Some corporations are beloved by politicians because of monetary contributions, lobbyists, factories in their districts; etc. It's hard to compete with such companies, and they caused massive headaches for Musk. But, of course, he prevailed in the end. </p><p>I admire Musk for his brilliance and accomplishments, and I like this book. I'd recommend the book to readers interested in Elon Musk; his far-reaching business ventures; and the future of the planet.</p><p></p><p> You can follow my reviews at <a href="https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com/">https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....</a></p></p></div><section><ul></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4252261-tom-la"></a></section><section><p>585 reviews217 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1316108500">April 27, 2020</a></section><div><p>Let me offer this thought: SpaceX is the coolest and most exciting company in the world at this moment in time.<p>Yes, Tesla is also extremely cool. And inspiring. But nothing can beat that feeling of power, wonder and deep inspiration that SpaceX will give you as soon as you start to understand what that company is actually doing. </p><p>As Vance says, "SpaceX IS Elon Musk". </p><p>So who is this man? How is it humanly possible to achieve what he has achieved? What else can he achieve in the future? Will he become the richest man on Earth? Or on Mars? </p><p>Not only this book is written in a very passionate and engaging way. I also find that it is a very important book for anyone who is at least a little curious about our present and our future.</p><p>In fact, I believe Ashlee Vance’s portrait of Elon Musk is a necessary read for anyone, because of the effect that his companies are having on the automotive, the clean energy, and the space industries. If these companies are not changing the future, at the very least they are accelerating our pace towards it.</p><p>Vance starts out in a ballsy way, stating that he won't budge: he will write whatever he wants, however he wants it. As I got to the end of the book, I had a strong feeling that this is not exactly the case, and that a lot has been left out. However, the information that is in the book is absolutely fascinating. It is the first biography I've ever read that I would categorize as a real "page-turner". </p><p>The "missing facts" that stand out the most in my opinion are:</p><p>1) Childhood troubles. Musk keeps referring to a very painful and troubled childhood, but in the book all we get is some bullying and social awkwardness. Plus, a father who was "psychologically" abusive. There are many unanswered questions there, and I think Vance chose to be respectful and not dig too deeply. Or he just didn’t get anything about that out of Musk. </p><p>2) The miraculous last-minute save of both Tesla and SpaceX in 2008: not enough details. Something crucial seems to be missing. Whether it is a few private donors who poured in extra millions, or some other turn of fate. I don't know if Vance knows what is missing there, but something is missing. </p><p>Overall, Elon Musk comes across as a normal human being with exceptional ambition, exceptional luck, exceptional physical energy, exceptional intelligence and exceptional confidence in his vision. </p><p>He is an inspiration for many, and beyond Elon Musk, his companies and his vision are a huge inspiration. </p><p>Did you notice how the most popular fictional depictions of the future (YA, etc.) in this day and age are pessimistic, dystopian, self-hating like teenagers? Well, Elon Musk is offering us a window into a future that is the exact opposite of that. Very similar to Arthur Clarke, my favorite author, another optimistic visionary. Musk's vision of the future is so bright that reminds me of the golden age of science fiction, when Clarke and Asimov were writing, when people had the courage to dream beautiful, positive dreams about the future. </p><p>It sounds like an advertisement for a soap, but yes ----- with Musk, the future is bright again. </p><p>Finally, I have a comment about "being a nerd": in the first part of the book, the kid Elon Musk is called a "nerd" about a million times. Why is it that in America (and in South Africa, as it seems) a very smart kid who is into reading a lot instead of playing sports, invariably, is called a "nerd"? The fact that this word DOES NOT EXIST and cannot be translated into many European languages tells us something about America. I think Isaac Asimov was onto somehting when he said: "The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” </p><p>-----------------------<br />Btw, great to find out that Robert Zubrin was a big influence on Musk. He is the head of the Mars Society, a man who has been thinking about going to Mars for much longer than Elon Musk has. I read Zubrin's "The case for Mars" many years ago, and I was utterly fascinated by it.</p></p></div><section><ul></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/30279227-ts-chan"></a></section><section><p>692 reviews850 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1351113356">January 4, 2018</a></section><div><p><b>Space. Renewable Energy. Internet.</b> <p>This is a man after my own heart. Out of all the super entrepreneurs and technological legends of the modern era, Musk ticks all the boxes on my dreams and passions, particularly space. Space has always been the frontier that intrigues me the most; for a single man to dream of colonising Mars and actually doing all he can to make that a reality is just simply astounding. </p><p>And then of course, there is Tesla. Aside from the clean energy technology which I am a huge proponent of, how an electric car can become one of the most desirable and good-looking cars in the world is another example of the visionary genius that Musk is. </p><p>As with all ideas that are so progressive in nature, the trials and tribulations faced by Musk were so daunting that most would've called it quits. His indomitable will and spirit, however, sets him apart from the ordinary. He is very demanding on himself, being extremely hands-on, and also of his employees. Then again, how else are you going to change the world by compromising on the high standards that one sets for oneself.</p><p>Notwithstanding his crazy but awesome ideas (first, the Hyperloop and now, Neuralink) the one thing that differentiates him from most current entrepreneurs is that he really seeks to change the world. He is not in it just for short term gain, which is what a lot of businesses are doing right now. A simple case in point is Tesla's open source patent. </p><p>I'll stop gushing about Musk now and talk a bit about the biography itself. The conversational tone employed by the author translated well into audio, and the narrator did a good enough job that it didn't sound monotonous. The biography was written from extensive interviews conducted with a plethora of his ex-employees, and the people closest to Musk. This enabled a more independent and less biased insight from one which was self-penned (not that I believe Musk will ever have the time to do so). The biography was also quite educational; while I still do not know how to build a rocket or an electric car now I've gained a better understanding of certain technical aspects of these items and how they work.</p><p>Whether you're a fan of Musk, or just intrigued by his ideas and achievements, or even if you only just desired the Tesla badly, this is a recommended read.</p><p><i>This review can also be found at <a href="http://booknest.eu/review/ts-reviews">Booknest</a></i></p></p></div><section><ul><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/30279227?shelf=audiobook">audiobook</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/30279227?shelf=biography">biography</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/30279227?shelf=non-fiction">non-fiction</a> </ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4213258-bradley"></a></section><section><p>Author <i></i>5 books3,845 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2310485698">March 24, 2018</a></section><div><p>There are few people outside of the fiction world that I truly admire, but barring some unseen or future tragedy, I think Musk might well be on the way to becoming my hero.<p>If I didn't know any better, I might be looking at all his stated claims and seeing all the echoes of Asimov and Heinlein being dragged out of the page and brought to life.</p><p>Skip the whole Iron Man image for a second.</p><p>Let's talk about Ayn Rand.</p><p>Musk is John Galt. As in Atlas Shrugged. </p><p>Sure, he's also Dagney, too, or perhaps more like Dagney in that he's unwilling to let humanity roll around in the mud despite all the backstabbing and idiocracy, in that he hasn't said, "enough is enough". But the day is young. Wait until we get to Mars. Wait until we really take the man of genius and effort for granted. And THEN we'll see what we'll miss once it is taken away.</p><p>Ahhh, I don't want to see this man out of classic SF heroes become anything other than his stated goals. </p><p>I'll be honest here. He's giving me real hope for humanity. Maybe optimism *isn't* unfounded after all.</p><p>This biography tells me one hell of a great narrative. Is it life imitating art? The best ideals from the grandmasters? Who knows. But right now, I have real hope. I'm holding on to it for my very soul. :)</p><p>Let's MAKE the future we wanted. Let's NOT let anything stand in our way!</p><p>HELL YAH!</p></p></div><section><ul><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4213258?shelf=2018-shelf">2018-shelf</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4213258?shelf=non-fiction">non-fiction</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4213258?shelf=science">science</a></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9539140-nataliya-yaneva"></a></section><section><p>165 reviews323 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1942732029">December 14, 2017</a></section><div><p>Илон Мъск е хомункулус. Извънземните му (буквално) идеи те карат да си мислиш, че си попаднал в някоя футуристична алтернативна вселена и просто бъдещето е СЕГА. Като гигантски скок във времето. Сякаш летиш на нещо със space warp двигател.<p>Винаги съм се питала какво отличава успешните идеи от по-малко успешните. Във всяка област – изкуство, кино, литература… ракети, електрически коли. Добре, признавам, че за последните не съм се замисляла ��собено, но чуденето ми е било принципно. Как става така, че има идеи, които доста бързо се сриват и потъват в забвение (и скептиците ехидничат), а има други, които се настаняват във въображението и карат мозъка да щрака до възпаление. Знаете, онова усещане, когато мислиш толкова много, че имаш чувството, че главата ти гори отвътре. Понякога съм смятала, че става така просто защото е заложено на хората инстинктивно да разпознават истински добрите идеи и да им отдават заслуженото. Да познават, че по някакъв начин придвижват човечеството напред. Историята на Мъск и неговите едно, две, три… Х начинания са пример за обратното. За това как като вярваш в нещо и имаш цел, трябва да я следваш, дори да знаеш, че шансовете за успех са минимални (звучи безумно клиширано, но може би защото е истина. Какво по-голямо клише от истината). А, и да си малко смахнат.</p><p>Илон Мъск вярва в разни неща. Вярва, че ресурсите на Земята са на привършване и един ден човечеството трябва да си търси друго място за живеене. Първо си мисли, че едни мишки на Марс не са лоши за начало, после достига до идеята, че ще се наложи хората да се превърнат в междупланетарен вид, за да ги (ни) има изобщо. Тъй че Илон се залавя да строи ракети. Никой не му вярва и всички смятат, че е луд. Илон изстрелва първите си три ракети и те гръмват. Всички се подхилкват, че някакъв си милионер от Силициевата долина не може да се заема с начинания, дето правителствата ги умеят на твърде високи цени и твърде неефективно от години. Четвъртата ракета на Илон не избухва. Вече никой не му се смее. SpaceX понатрила носове и излетяла.</p><p>На някакъв купон като млад Илон се запознал с момиче и първото, което ѝ казал, било „Аз често мисля за електрически коли. Ти мислиш ли за електрически коли?“ И понеже Илон тъй и не спрял да мисли за електрически коли, решил да започне сам да си ги произвежда. Пак защото вярвал – че са по-ефективни, че с тях не се харчи гориво, което и без това един ден ще го няма и мамка му, тогава вече ще е малко късно да се чудим какво да правим. Tesla Motors вдигнала почти 100 км/ч (за 2,5 секунди впрочем) и оставила да ѝ дишат праха. </p><p>Илон смята и че е хубаво да се ползва енергията на слънцето, която е огромна и залива Земята, очевидно нахалост. Поради тази причина работи и със SolarCity (която между другото е създадена от братовчедите му – the Force is strong with this family). Илон също така вярва и в други неща – като например пътуване на големи разстояния с огромна скорост във вакуумна тръба, „космически интернет“ и приятелски настроен изкуствен интелект, който не е способен да навреди на хората. </p><p>Зад всички тези неща – някои изключително успешни, някои в зародиш, има малко повече от медиен шум и чист късмет. Може би просто генетичният код на Илон Мъск е написан така, че да притежава не само нужните умения и интелект, но и желязна ръка, висок праг на емоционална болка, мулешко упорство и способност да се дистанцира от отделните индивиди, когато на карта е съдбата на цялото човечество. След прочита на книгата изгледах няколко интервюта с него. В едно го питат какво толкова има в него, че е успял на така много фронтове. Той леко притеснено и почти извинително смотолеви ‘Well, I work a lot’. В друго интервю обяснява как се е налагало да работи по 80-100 часа на седмица, всеки ден. Знаете ли колко е това? По 11-14 часа работа на ден. В едно от интервютата хлапето, което задаваше въпросите, го гледаше леко зяпнало и все забравяше да си затвори устата. Май и аз бях така.</p><p>Честно казано, преди да започна да чета книгата на Ашли Ванс, не бях чувала за никакъв Илон Мъск. По време на целия прочит обаче обяснявах на който имаше желание да ме слуша къде е тестовата площадка за изстрелване на SpaceX, че се работи върху ракети, които ще се връщат обратно на Земята и ще кацат, вместо да се изгубват из космоса или къде е разположен литиево-йонният акумулатор на Tesla роудстъра. Разбирам защо за много хора Мъск е нещо като бог. Не знам дали скоро ще колонизираме Марс и дали въобще трябва или е хубаво да се опитаме да си спасим Земята, но определено Илон Мъск ме вдъхнови да мисля по-мащабно. Един малък Falcon за Мъск, един голям пример за човечеството.</p></p></div><section><ul><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9539140?shelf=in-english">in-english</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9539140?shelf=non-fiction">non-fiction</a></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2506768-tiffany"></a></section><section><p>472 reviews</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1330997085">August 26, 2015</a></section><div><p>I'm not sure why the reviews are so universally high across the board for this book. I thought it was poorly written and focused on all the wrong things. Each chapter, particularly those towards the end, was repetitive and paced as though it was a stand-alone article, which made the pacing of the book very choppy. The author focused on the failures of each company but completely glossed over what made each product and each company climb the peak to success. I'm assuming the author didn't understand the engineering and science behind why the Tesla Model S and the SpaceX rocket are so amazing and so couldn't explain them. He goes over the failures in detail, but does not talk about the breakthroughs and advancements in nearly enough depth. I got the sense from the book that Musk is a tyrant (which he likely is), but no sense of why he has inspired so many people to work for him or invest in him. This was a really disappointing book. </p></div><section><ul><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2506768?shelf=audiobook">audiobook</a></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/24816039-umut"></a></section><section><p>355 reviews166 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2365209816">January 9, 2019</a></section><div><p>Whether you follow him or his companies/works, Elon Musk is an important innovator of our times, and I would suggest everyone to read this book to get inspired or experience another world. <br />I really admire how Vance captured his biography, which is not an easy thing to do. If you read a little bit, you'll understand Musk is not the most easy going person in the world. The author opens the book in a very intriguing way starting from why Musk allowed him to write his biography, which starts to shed some light into his character. <br />It was really interesting to read about how SpaceX, Tesla and all his other success stories started, how he jumped from one ambition to another, and how he runs his companies. Obviously, Musk is no normal person. He runs after his heart, and his dreams. He's not only after making a lot of money, but he wishes a self-sufficient world before he leaves it himself. I do admire how he uses his intellect, his efforts and resources to do innovations that would be good for the earth. Clean technology, colonisation in Mars, solar power, etc. <p>He's probably one of the most persistent person I've ever read about. All the difficulties he's thrown at would make any one of us to give up, but he still goes after his dreams. He's tough, both on himself and his employees. It's not easy to work for him. But, yet again, it's also not easy to aim to change how the world operates. So, we can't expect ordinary from him. </p><p>All in all, I would really suggest this book to anybody. It's interesting, fascinating, very well captured inner world of this genius I truly admired even more than before I read this book. </p><p>Thanks a lot to NetGalley and the publisher for granting a free copy in exchange for an honest review.</p></p></div><section><ul></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3461034-trish"></a></section><section><p>1,848 reviews3,363 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2311427400">November 17, 2022</a></section><div><p><blockquote>
 <i>“It’s nuts that people would want to vilify Elon. He might say some things that rub people the wrong way, but at some point, the being nice to everyone thing doesn’t work.“</i>
</blockquote><br />Elon Musk is fascinating. I could simply tick off some biographical points such as him having been married twice and having five children with his first wife (a set of twins and a set of triplets), but that is not why I read biographies and, in fact, why I dislike most of them. Either the people the biographies are about aren’t really interesting (actors barely in their 30s for example) or it really is just a list of facts that I could read on Wikipedia as well.<br />This biography about Elon Musk is different. He is different. He’s only 47 but has lived through and accomplished more than other people could in 3 lifetimes.<p>He grew up during a very violent period in South Africa. Granted, he’s white and the family was never truly poor, but it was still dangerous. He was also bullied in school (like, beaten bloody) and suffered the intense mind games of his father. Later, he went to Stanford university for only one day before leaving again. <br />He, his way of life, his ideas and his ambition are very unconventional. </p><p>From what I understand, he is still the little boy reading comics and dreaming of humanity conquering and colonizing the stars. And that is his mission in life that he has dedicated everything to. Some might call this silly but great minds like Stephen Hawking agree(d) with Musk that it’s the only way humanity will have a future and we do need a champion that is driving us, giving us a chance at survival. Once upon a time, we all had this dream of reaching the stars, but it has since dwindled thanks mostly to politics and peoples' tendency to give up when something is hard. </p><p>Musk knows that getting humanity to Mars and beyond also means creating technology that will automatically enhance and better life here on Earth. There are many who can influence consumers and create new trends, but Musk isn’t here for exploiting a moment and getting rich - he’s poured ALL of his money, time and time again, into his businesses when they were in trouble and went much farther than any „expert“ thought sane, just to reach his ultimate goal (a colony on Mars). <br />Simply put: he has proven that he’s not afraid to give up or at least risk everything, unlike most entrepreneurs. It’s no surprise, then, that his three main businesses are Tesla (electric cars), SolarCity (renewable energy), and SpaceX (aerospace industry).</p><p>Before getting to create the above mentioned companies, he founded zip2, which became part of AltaVista eventually, as well as X.com of PayPal fame, but was forced out. I won’t go into detail but it seems kind of a trend that people get enthused by Musk, get rich by his skills - and then force him out because they simply wish to cash in and don’t share his vision. Backstabbing galore throughout his career. It’s sickening.<br />I admit that it sounds as if he was a very difficult man to work with but that is no excuse for such behaviour and his success shows that his way of doing things works! Every time he has an idea, people say he’s nuts and that it cannot work - and then he proves them wrong.</p><blockquote>
<i>„Good ideas are always crazy - until they’re not.“</i> Larry Page, Google co-founder.</blockquote><br />Short-term, inconsequential goals are trending nowadays from normal people to the highest politicians. In this environment, a radical visionary like Musk steps on many toes and quite often, too.<br />It can’t be easy to be ridiculed and stabbed in the back all the time. However, he thinks that that plus his childhood suffering actually helped him to become who he is today. And I see what makes him think so. Without adversity, there is no challenge to overcome the danger/problem so you stagnate. It sounds a bit like Darwin’s theory of evolution. <br /><blockquote>
<i>„Elon is one of the few people that I feel is more accomplished than I am.“</i> Craig Venture, the man who de-coded the human genome and went on to create synthetic lifeforms.</blockquote><br />Radical. Visionary. Musk has haters and fans alike. He was even called the real-life Iron Man (albeit an Iron Man who sacked his Pepper Potts).<br />His life goals certainly are very compelling if you care about the future at all and refuse to be tied down by the comfortable excuse of it being hard or costly. If you look at historical visionaries that have catapulted humanity forward, I’d say they were all more or less „difficult“ people and especially after seeing the Heavy Falcon rocket being operated successfully only recently (a fact that sadly didn’t make it into this biography as it was published earlier), I believe he can pull it off and certainly hope he can.<p>I, personally, like how well-read Musk is, that he seems to be a technological allrounder, that he is right there in the factories working at least as many hours as he expects from everybody else and getting his hands dirty like any other worker (often ruining expensive Italian leather shoes to the horror of the people around him), that he has such an unbendable will (though I'm sorry it has cost him so much already), that he is playing video games in his spare time when he's not taking care of his kids (because he seems to be quite a good father as well), and that he is a big nerd and geek.<br />As can be seen by him not only shooting one of his sports cars into space, that gets "steered" by a "space man" (Bowie reference) recently or by him storing a very nice collection of scifi literature onto the car's bord computer, but also by him programming said bord computer to display Douglas Adams' immortal words.<br /></p><p>This biography was written in a very compelling way by a man with an apparent vast knowledge of the history and inner workings of various industries (the author has worked for several well-known business papers for many years). The book also shows a great deal of research. Some authors manage to bore me even when talking about interesting people but Ashlee Vance has a unique style and I like the red thread throughout the book and that he doesn’t shy away from also showing the more problematic sides of Musk’s character.</p><u>Edit:</u><br />I won't downrate the book because it is still very well written and the points made remain coherent and true. However, looking at recent events, I'm sorry to say that I am sorely disappointed in Musk. He must be suffering a 100% breakdown complete with megalomaniac re-build-up afterwards. <br /><blockquote>
 <i>If you want to see the true measure of a man, watch how he treats his inferiors, not his equals. --- Harry Potter</i>
 <p>
 
 <i>Evil begins when you begin to treat people as things. --- I Shall Wear Midnight</i></p></blockquote><br />To think that I believed in him (his vision and him being able to achieve it) once ...</p></div><section><ul></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5885760-andrew-smith"></a></section><section><p>1,016 reviews555 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3382405195">January 7, 2023</a></section><div><p>Not long ago I was glued to my television set as SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket, carrying two astronauts on their journey to the International Space Station. The launch was followed shortly thereafter by the amazing spectacle of seeing the main body of the rocket separate before flipping and completing a descent, culminating in a vertical landing on an autonomous drone ship. This still feels to me like something out of a sci-fi movie – I’m hardly able to believe what I’m seeing! A few days later Audible offered up a cheapie listen to this bio of the company’s founder and driving force, Elon Musk. And, of course, not only is Musk the man behind America’s return to manned space travel he also runs Tesla, a company producing high-end electric cars. Oh, and let’s not forget SolarCity, a subsidiary of Tesla that specialises in providing solar energy services. That’s quite a collection.<p>Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1971 and from an early age he demonstrated an ability to absorb and retain a huge volume of information. A prodigious reader, he regularly immersed himself in books for up to ten hours a day. As a young boy he wasn’t considered hugely sociable and his habit of routinely correcting other children was hardly going to help him develop an extensive group of school friends. He developed into a geeky adolescent who enjoyed science fiction and fantasy stories. Shortly before his 18th birthday he set off for Canada on his own and from there made his way to America. After obtaining degrees in physics and economics and completing two internships in Silicon Valley he toyed with the idea of beginning doctorate studies before giving that up to launch a web software company called Zip2, in 1995. </p><p>After pocketing $10 million from the sale of Zip2 he co-founded an online financial services and email payment company (X.com) which through a merger acquired a money-transfer service called PayPal. A couple of years later Musk was ousted as CEO but in the shakeout he received circa $165 million. This was to be his set-up money for SpaceX and Tesla. Musk had developed into a visionary who believed that to safeguard the human race it would be necessary to build a multi-planetary society – his planet of choice being Mars. Furthermore, he was enthused by the idea building an electric car after test driving a handmade electric sports car. The makers had no interest in mass producing the car but Musk believed in the concept of a future in which cars were no longer powered by petrol or diesel.</p><p>This book walks us through Elon’s involvement in both companies, and to a lesser extent the development of SolarCity too. Not surprisingly, he comes across as daring and hugely driven. He rates high on his ability to maximise output from his teams – he recruits highly skilled people, expects them to work long days and accepts no resistance to his lofty targets and goals. But he can be harsh in dealing with his employees and it seems that though almost all respect (and often revere) their boss, it doesn’t necessarily mean they like him. As a leader he is adept at developing a big picture strategy but, unusual for high flying CEO’s, he’s also totally comfortable delving into the fine detail. And there are quite a few examples here describing how Musk uses his photographic memory to the consternation of those around him: in one example he provided feedback on a prototype car, listing around 80 elements requiring attention – all without having taken any notes. </p><p>The book was published in 2015, so it doesn’t cover elements that have made the news in the past few years. But what is clear here is just how daring the man is. He is not afraid to go ‘all in’ when investing in his companies, though this nearly cost him dear in 2008 when both SpaceX and Tesla were on the verge of financial collapse. He has also managed to augment his skills as a physicist and an engineer with an eye for design. He’s a man with a big ego and this can sometimes get in the way but his drive and focus ensure that his eyes (and those of his team) are always firmly set on the prize. It’s a fascinating story and sits beside those featuring the likes of Steve Jobs and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin as another testament to the bright, insightful entrepreneurs Silicon Valley has produced.</p></p></div><section><ul><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5885760?shelf=business-finance">business-finance</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5885760?shelf=memoirs-biographies">memoirs-biographies</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5885760?shelf=non-fiction">non-fiction</a></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6229140-s-tom-cebic"></a></section><section><p>18 reviews5 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1286852590">July 27, 2015</a></section><div><p>I wish I could rate this book 2.5 stars. It's a great long read Atlantic or Wired piece about a visionary person with an interesting childhood that is at the forefront of a technology shift and an unsuccessful emotional biography. There are a ton of details about Elon's upbringing, especially about his father and brother, who always felt like a mystery to me. I got a good understanding of how Elon's early mentor, a Canadian banking executive, gave him some insights towards starting X.com, a service I had dearly loved but didn't seem to jive with his later projects. There were interesting details on the mind boggling progress SpaceX made when building their initial Falcon rockets. In short I learned a lot about the progress of Elon's companies, but very little about what motivated him to start them or continue after making his first billion. <p>It's hard not to compare this book to Walter Isaacson's 'Jobs, not only because the structure of the book is similar but Vance seems to reach for the same informal and intimate tone. Isaacson was able to give us a real glimpse into Jobs's growth as a person and a real insight into Steve's thinking. Vance gives us a chronology of Elon's life, a superficial overview of the technology that anyone with more than a layman's interest already knows, and adds his own often peremptory commentary on Musk's motivations and accomplishments. It straddles a funny line between objective reporting and jokey insider tell-all. I think it falls on both fronts as Vance does a very skin deep overview of the technology that SpaceX and Tesla have pioneered and a lot of the jokey comments come off as non-sequitor. In a way I learn more about him than Elon. </p><p>Elon's companies are important enough to our future than any new information about him and his motivations is well worth a read. I hope someone else takes on the topic with a little more depth and a little less personality. </p></p></div><section><ul></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/17778059-lyubov"></a></section><section><p>352 reviews194 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1506741532">June 15, 2016</a></section><div><p>Предупреждавам, че това ревю ще бъде лично и доста дълго, за което не се извинявам. Просто информирам. За да разберете всепоглъщащата ми възхита към личността на Илън Мъск се налага да вкарам поне малко контекст преди да пристъпя към анализ на бе��спорните достойнства на книгата. Когато бях малка не мечтаех да бъда принцеса, балерина, певица или някаква друга подобна Дисни лигавщина. Исках да правя компютърни игри. И хич не ме интересуваше колко сложно реално е това. На по-късен етап пътищата ми с тази мечта се разделиха, след като хвърлих поглед на учебниците по висша математика и основи на програмирането, но това не ми пречи и до днес да бъда запленена от света на информационните технологии и иновациите, които променят света буквално всеки ден.<p></p><p>Ужасно обичам да чета биографии на луди учени, абсолютни иноватори и изобщо хора, които имат откачени идеи и не се страхуват да ги преследват до край, независимо от препятствията по пътя и присмеха на обикновените хора. Първата ми среща с подобна книга беше автобиографията на Ричард Брансън "<a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/9903602.__________________________">Как изгубих наивността си</a>". Ще си призная, че до онзи момент не бях чувала абсолютно нищо за него, но след като затворих последната страница вече му бях безпаметен фен и мога да говоря по темата с часове. Точно като Мъск Брансън навлиза без колебание в мощни и закостенели индустрии като гражданска авиация, железопътен транспорт и космически полети, изправяйки се срещу монополистите в бранша и революционализирайки целия отрасъл без да му мигне окото.</p><p></p><p>Истинската ми страст обаче си оставаха предприемачите от Силициевата долина (компютърните игри, нали помните?), но исках да науча повече за имена различни от изтърканите от употреба икони Стив Джобс и Бил Гейтс. Ето защо бях изключително развълнувана, че открих и преведох (съвсем буквално) по целия път до издаването му сборника статии на "Форбс" за третата вълна интернет милиардери "<a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/28147156.______________________________">Една успешна идея е достатъчна</a>". Синтезираните истории на успеха на създателите на Napster, Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram, PayPal, Tesla Motors и много други само изостриха апетита ми към подобен род вдъхновяващи четива. Мъск беше сред тези супергерои на новото време, но 20-тина страници няма как да обхванат дори една микроскопична част от неговия ненормално як живот, дело и личност. Апетайзърът беше превъзходен и крачката до основното блюдо се оказа неизбежна.</p><p></p><p>Изключително съм щастлива, че биографията на Илън Мъск е на българския пазар, защото хора като него се раждат много рядко и е абсолютно задължително да бъдат познати на възможно най-широк кръг читатели. Няма да преразказвам книгата, тя просто трябва д�� се прочете, но ще ви дам малко мотивация да посегнете към нея, в случай че не сте абсолютен Мъск ултрас, какъвто съм аз. Той е човекът, който още на 10-тина годишна възраст е прочел пълното издание на енциклопедия "Британика" и може да цитира всякакви факти от него наизуст. Той е един от основателите на "интернет банката" PayPal, благодарение на която в момента милиони хора извършват онлайн плащания за секунди при максимално ниво на сигурност. Той е визионерът, който си е поставил за цел да освободи хората от тежката петролна зависимост и ще вкара електромобила в масово производство като го направи същевременно сигурна и невероятно секси кола. Не вярвате? Ето ви снимка на Tesla Roadster, който вече е в продажба и се е превърнал в символ на стил, висок обществен статус и грижа за опазване на природата. </p><p></p><p>Мъск не спира до тук. Неговата мисия в живота е да осигури на човечеството възможност да колонизира други планети, защото е убеден, че ресурсите на Земята се изчерпват с бясно темпо и един ден оцеляването на нашата раса ще зависи от способността ни да живеем на Марс. Звучи ви като научна фантастика? Ще ви споделя само, че неговата компания SpaceX е първата частна корпорация, която е официален доставчик на НАСА и е осъществила скачване с международната космическа станция. SpaceX работи усилено над създаването на ракети за многократна употреба. Представете си каква революция за космическия бизнес би било подобно постижение! То ще доведе до драстично намаляване на цените на космическите полети, пестене на ресурси и време, както и частично решение на немалкия проблем с космическия боклук. </p><p></p><p>И това не е всичко. Мъск е един от основните инвеститори в компанията за соларни панели SolarCity, както и в още няколко начинания, за които дори няма да започна да ви разказвам. Самата му личност е екстремна, брутално твърда и безкомпромисна, но такъв трябва да бъдеш, за да заведеш една цяла раса на друга планета. Един от най-близките сътрудници на Мъск споделя в книгата, че той имал навика да ти отправя един интенизвен, леко налудничав поглед, след който абсолютно вярваш, че ей сега ще стъпим на Марс. Аз вярвам, а вие?</p></p></div><section><ul><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/17778059?shelf=favorites">favorites</a></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/66799591-amit-mishra"></a></section><section><p>231 reviews667 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4282537576">October 11, 2021</a></section><div><p>Elon Musk is a revolutionary entrepreneur of the 21st century. His life was full of struggles whether it's a family affair or a professional one. He has witnessed a long list of hardships in his life but he never scummed to those. The book by Ashlee Vance has wonderfully written those pieces of information that will be very delightful for the readers to read. <br />He was thrown out of Paypal, multiple failures of SpaceX and many more came in his life. He took lessons from his failures and never stopped there. Now, we all know who is Mr Elon Musk.</p></div><section><ul></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/86362-amar-pai"></a></section><section><p>960 reviews102 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1755564826">September 14, 2016</a></section><div><p>Really enjoying this book, but I'm struck by how Musk, like Jobs and Bezos, is a total asshole. A Space-X employee missed a work event to witness his child's birth, and Musk calls him on the carpet for it. He expects his employees to have no life and discards people as soon as they're no longer useful. Just a nightmare boss. Not somebody I'd ever want to work with. Apparently I'm not the only one who had this thought. From NY Times: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/27/business/dealbook/the-bad-behavior-of-visionary-leaders.html">The Bad Behavior of Visionary Leaders</a><blockquote>As I was reading Ashlee Vance’s “Elon Musk: Tesla, Space X and the Quest for a Fantastic Future,” I was alternately awed and disheartened, almost exactly the same ambivalence I felt after reading Walter Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs” and Brad Stone’s “The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon.”<p>The three leaders are arguably the most extraordinary business visionaries of our times. Each of them has introduced unique products that changed – or in Mr. Musk’s case, have huge potential to change – the way we live.</p><p>I was awed by the innovative, courageous, persistent and creative ways all three built their businesses. I also love their products. I own a Mac Pro and an iPhone, and I have been a loyal customer of Apple for 20 years. I buy many books and other products on Amazon, lured by a blend of low prices, ease of purchase and reliably quick delivery. The Tesla Model S is hands down the best car I have ever driven, and it’s all electric, rechargeable in your garage.</p><p>Plainly, I have bought in to what these guys are selling.</p><p>What disheartens me is how little care and appreciation any of them give (or in Mr. Jobs’s case, gave) to hard-working and loyal employees, and how unnecessarily cruel and demeaning they could be to the people who helped make their dreams come true.</p></blockquote><p>All three of these dudes are clearly geniuses who have advanced the state of the art and changed the world. iPhone, amazon, ehhhh tesla (jury's out). But I have to believe you could get there without treating your employees like shit.</p><p>Is it a patriarchy/male thing? Who knows. Maybe female billionaire tycoons are all assholes too.</p><p>Kudos to the first self-made billionaire who manages to change the game multiple times (at the level of iphone/pixar, tesla/space x, amazon/kindle) WITHOUT abusing employees and trampling people's lives. It has to be possible</p></p></div><section><ul></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/24868971-cassie"></a></section><section><p>335 reviews26 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1315729576">July 22, 2015</a></section><div><p>I’m super interested in Elon Musk and this book provided me insight into the way he thinks, what drives him, how he gets things done, etc. <p>Some small criticisms--</p><p>There were times I noticed information that was being repeated, which made it feel like Vance may have written each chapter separately or without certainty of what order the chapters would be included in the book. Also, while I liked the conversational tone of the writing, it was not what I’m used to from biographies.</p><p>A larger criticism—</p><p>I don’t know if Vance intended to write this book as a disinterested third party, but it was evident to me that by the end, he was too close to his subject to do so. Musk’s “failures”—his cold dealings with people, his tendency to lose the trees in the forest (which is 100% not how that saying goes), his ruthlessness with people who have sacrificed a great deal for his business and his dreams—are treated as necessary (and therefore forgivable) for the incredibly amazing things Musk has decided to do with his life and money. And while I think I agree, I’m not sure that I wanted the biographer to make that decision for me. </p><p>After reading this book, it’s easy for me to forgive all of Musk’s interpersonal failures because I’m inspired by the things he dreams up, the way he pursues the “impossible” things, and the fact that he has found a purpose in life and doesn’t let things like money and celebrity distract him from that purpose. However, I’m not a casualty of these failures and can’t imagine that I’d like to be written off so easily if I was.</p><p>Okay, this hasn’t sounded like a 4-star review so far, but let me assure you that this book is interesting, well researched, has insight that I presume only Silicon Valley insiders had before, and is incredibly inspiring.</p></p></div><section><ul></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/60897821-nguyen-linh-chi"></a></section><section><p>82 reviews14 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1816612380">May 7, 2017</a></section><div><p>At first, the idea of reading 380-page autobiography about a technology-savvy made me downhearted. However, eventually I extremely relish this book that I cannot put it down.<p>Takeaways:<br />1. There is nothing wrong about being an introvert and enjoying reading books. You will find a lot of inspirations for your career. Don't give up your childhood dream.</p><p>2. Working hard is the only way that lead to success. I vividly remember that he has to take about 170 flights a year. Thanks for his hard work, he contributes tremendously to our modern world. Musk is the founder of SpaceX, co-founder of Zip 2, Paypal, Tesla and SolarCity.</p><p>3. Always seek to minimize monopoly in every industry. SpaceX helps US government save a lot of money to lauch satellites, instead of relying on Russian providers.</p></p></div><section><ul></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3035194-lubinka-dimitrova"></a></section><section><p>251 reviews146 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1662466340">June 30, 2016</a></section><div><p>This is an incredibly inspiring book, a important look into a game-changing worldview, and a valuable lesson to the world. As Musk says, "If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it."<p>Strangely enough, I've followed Space X' and Tesla's progress for a very long time, but I never actually read many things about the person behind them. I still cannot believe what a visionary Elon Musk is, and how persistent he's about anything he does. He is a mad scientist, inventor, business mogul and visionary all at the same time, and all these play equally important role in his life. For obvious reasons, his - let's say - philanthropy strikes the most sensitive chord in anyone who's even remotely troubled by what's going on on this planet. His philanthropic vision though does not consist in giving his billions away, but in trying to make his businesses succeed in order to save humanity from itself, before the planet we live on collapses. </p><p>“He’s the possessed genius on the grandest quest anyone has ever concocted. He’s less a C.E.O. chasing riches than a general marshaling troops to secure victory. Where Mark Zuckerberg wants to help you share baby photos, Musk wants to ... well ... save the human race from self-imposed or accidental annihilation."</p><p> Mr. Vance curbs his enthusiasm and delivers a well-calibrated portrait of Mr. Musk. The best thing about the book is that it tells Elon Musk’s story simply and well. It’s the story of an intelligent man, for sure. But more so it is the story of a determined one. The insights into the respective industries are truly compelling - Mr. Vance brings us up to date on the states of green energy and space launches. He also veers away from his subject just often enough, offering profiles of the frequently brilliant people who work alongside Mr. Musk.</p><p>I'm so very pleased that many of the things discussed in the book as future plans are already happening (safely reusing rockets is one step nearer after the successful landing of Falcon 9 in April, while the first affordable electric car that's more attractive than the best sport cars was unveiled in March, and it has a price tag of 35 000 USD). </p><p>I'm too old to hang a poster of Musk in my bedroom, but I've found a new crush, and I'll continue to follow his progress in awe and admiration. Humanity may still have a chance. </p></p></div><section><ul><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3035194?shelf=adventure">adventure</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3035194?shelf=audio">audio</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3035194?shelf=based-on-real-events">based-on-real-events</a> </ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2747498-arun-divakar"></a></section><section><p>796 reviews368 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1431278905">November 11, 2015</a></section><div><p>Google’s Larry Page says that <i>’Good ideas are always crazy until they are not’</i> and this is a statement of truth. If before 2007, someone were audacious enough to tell you that a mobile phone made in the US will turn the industry on its head then you would have called that a crazy notion. If prior to 1998, someone would have said that a website will come along and would grow beyond its role as a search engine into a part of life itself that would have been called crazy too. Every other thing from a light bulb to a movie to a car to sliced bread were all crazy ideas at one time. It only took an individual or a group to persist through this period of ridicule and name calling to finally make these crazy notions come to life .Then there is this man : Elon Musk .His dreams of cheaper space travel, sustainable and clean energy and electric cars were laughed off as the dreams of just another batshit crazy Silicon Valley entrepreneur. Elon founded one company, took over another and invested in a third all three of which were called epic fails by the industry pundits. Time however proved Elon right and all three companies (SpaceX, Tesla and Solar City)are now stuff of lore. How did these companies manage to break through against all these odds and how did Elon manage to drive them to achieve more and more- this is the crux of this book.<p>To me this book was more about SpaceX and Tesla than Elon’s biography. I did come across a lot of articles that detailed his management style, the apparent lack of empathy and of pushing people to the last shreds of their performance but the ultimate vision that these companies embody might not be compatible to a softer management style. Take SpaceX, whose stated vision is to make human beings as a multiplanetary race in the days to come. This is one of the grandest, loftiest visions a company can have as its raison d'être . Now this is a binary vision as in you either make it to space and colonize or you fail as a company. The objective is monstrously big and for a company striving to reach it there can be no excuses or compromises. Everybody breaks their back working to get human beings to space. Elon, who heads the company and who formulated the vision then works double hard and puts in twice more than any other employee to move closer to realizing that vision. Slips in performance from individuals or teams will not be tolerated and Musk &amp; Co burn through employees like firewood. You can look at it from the perspective of a conventional organization and say that such a methodology is bad for you but then there are loads of talented people waiting in line to be hired into SpaceX or Tesla to get their hands on these projects. This by no means is a justification for abrasive management practices from Musk or for the gruelling work hours of these firms. But truth be told complacency was what unseated the competitors for both these organizations. Ashlee Vance makes an analogy by comparing the industry placidity that surrounded iPhones. When the iPhone came out, everyone called it an overpriced rich man’s toy and were quick to downcast it. But then it blazed ahead and disrupted the entire mobile phone industry. Even with an iPhone in hand, companies like HTC and Samsung took years to come close to a comparable design or user interface. Now use this perspective in SpaceX and you see Musk &amp; Co. shaking up years of bureaucratic dust when they cut the cost of commercial space flight to a fraction of what it was before and Tesla blows competition out of the water with their automobile design and efficiency.</p><p>Elon Musk’s ideas for a better future of mankind is cleaner, effective and makes abundant use of technology. Therein also lies its biggest impediment for almost all of it hinges on this one man alone. Musk is not immortal and we really cannot predict what the companies policies might evolve into post his time. They already employ an army of workers and hence bring in tremendous clout in the US but it remains to be seen what these organizations will stand for in the years to come. Humanity is too large and too volatile to be bracketed into users and non-users of these commodities alone.</p><p>The book is highly readable especially since Elon is enjoying the status of a rock star celebrity at the moment. Vance writes in a way which tries to capture the essence of this man while not sounding like a sycophant. It is only towards the end that I felt Vance tries his hands at speculating as to why Elon is not empathetic and his explanation did not appear all too convincing to me. I suppose a few prejudices of the man himself rubbed off on the author with a most notable case being references to Jeff Bezos. There is no love lost between Musk and Bezos with the end result being that the book does not have a great deal of good to talk about Bezos. It is also very inspiring to know about a man who overcame such huge odds to survive and single-mindedly pursue an objective relentlessly.</p><p>Recommended.</p></p></div><section><ul></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/671638-sharon"></a></section><section><p>248 reviews101 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1997634191">January 6, 2018</a></section><div><p>Ironically, one of the quotes that made the biggest impression on me in <i>Elon Musk: Inventing the Future</i> didn't come from Musk, but from data scientist Jeffrey Hammerbacher: "The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads."<p>I mean, <i>da-amn</i>. This is so true. (And it stung even more because I'm a marketer.) Where have we gone wrong as a generation? Where is the passion and quest for knowledge? What is the real purpose of innovation? To improve mankind or to become wealthy? Can we have both?</p><p>I've long been a fan of Musk; his name comes up quite a bit in my geeky circle and is always spoken with reverence: from Tesla, SpaceX, PayPal, Solar City, The Boring Company... this is a techno-utopian fellow who wants to affect real change in the world. Despite any character flaws (and the book points out many), it's real hard not to respect the guy.</p><p>I listened to the audiobook, and even at 392 pages unabridged, this super-accessible biography felt too short. I couldn't wait to go on my lunchtime walks and weekend drives so I could hear what Crazy Elon was up to next. My biggest issue was how out-of-date the book--published in 2015--already is (gotta be hard keeping up with Musk!). Among my beef: 1) Author Ashlee Vance talks only briefly about Musk's desire to build pod-like vehicles to propel through reduced-pressure tubes (Hyperloop); 2) He doesn't mention The Boring Company (his tunnel-digging company) at all, and 3) Perhaps the most egregious, there is a blue-sky conversation about Musk's desire to reuse rockets (this was done to great fanfare in March of this year), as well as to land these rockets with accuracy on floating launch pads (droneships)... SpaceX has now performed this feat multiple times. </p><p>This minor annoyance can't really be helped, though. I'd much rather read about Musk now as opposed to waiting until he's done inventing.</p><p>I'm not even going to attempt to summarize Musk's life or the book - it's a captivating read, and one I'd recommend to anyone interested in Musk, electric cars, space travel and/or colonizing Mars. I've noted some interesting tidbits below (please let me know if there are any inaccuracies; I didn't catch all of the details from the audio):</p><p>Musk was and still is an avid reader. Among his childhood favorites: <i>The Lord of the Rings Trilogy</i>, <i>The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy</i>, <i>Foundation</i>, and <i>The Moon is a Harsh Mistress</i>.</p><p>Musk doesn't characterize himself as an investor; he's interested in making technologies he thinks are important and will change the world in some way. For instance, he seriously considered going into game design and programming, but didn't think the cause was noble enough or that it would help change the world. He's also long been interested in the internet, solar energy and space: he didn't just stumble upon the fields as the "next hot thing."</p><p>His big takeaway from his stint as a banker, pre PayPal: Bankers "are rich and dumb." </p><p>He's demanding and difficult to work with: there's a long line of people who will go on record to say they hate him, and those who will follow him anywhere. </p><p>He requires little sleep and has an undisputed work ethic. After a particularly grueling period at Tesla, engineers were told by Musk to rework a design yet again, sacrificing their weekends and sleeping under their desks if necessary. An employee pushed back and asked when they would be allowed to see their families. Musk's answer: "They’ll get to see their families a lot... when we go bankrupt."</p><p>Tesla's Model S stereo volume goes to 11: a nod to <i>This is Spinal Tap</i>.</p><p>He's not a fan of Amazon's Jeff Bezos and scoffed at his secretive Blue Origin space program, particularly irked by Bezos's desire to patent everything under the sun. In summation. "He's just not a fun guy."</p><p>He'd like to spend his final days on Mars and not come back: "If my wife and I had a bunch of kids, she would probably stay with them on Earth." (!!!)</p><p>The retirement of our space shuttle has made us reliant on Russia, who (as of 2015), charge us $70 million per person for the trip to the International Space Station.</p><p>Musk went to Russia multiple times, looking to buy rockets for SpaceX. When he was repeatedly quoted astronomical (heh) figures, he decided to build his own.</p><p>He refuses to take SpaceX public until a viable plan to go to Mars (his ultimate goal) is secure.</p><p>The early engineers of SpaceX were rock stars. They flew to Kwaj (Kwajalein Island, in the Marshall Islands), and were tasked with building a launch site. The early days were likened to Gilligan's Island... with rockets. Musk would agree or refuse essential material requests from the U.S.: one denied request was a paved area that would allow engineers to transport the rocket to the launch site more easily. Engineers were instead forced to go the way of the ancient Egyptians, laying boards down, and wheeling the rocket on top of it, with the last board moved to the front, and then the last board moved to the front again, and so on and so on.</p><p>United Launch Alliance (ULA), a 50-50 joint venture by Lockheed Martin and Boeing (who joined forces because they thought there wasn't enough government work to go around), is pretty much an embarrassment to the U.S. During a 2015 Congressional hearing, Musk claimed ULA charged $380 million per rocket launch. ...with SpaceX charging a mere $90 million ($30 million more than they would typically charge due to strict government protocol).</p></p></div><section><ul><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/671638?shelf=biographies">biographies</a></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/18944510-mario-tomic"></a></section><section><p>159 reviews301 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1288394621">July 8, 2015</a></section><div><p>Amazing book, if you liked the biography of Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos this book is a must-read! I found it very inspiring and motivational, Elon Musk has the potential to change the world we live in forever. His vision and commitment to make the world a better place through is mind-blowing. Reading this book really helped me push myself past limits and work even harder. It's not hard when your know there's someone like Elon putting everything he's got into his big vision, working 16 hours a day for weeks with no breaks and no holidays. I was especially impressed how he kept his composure to rescue his companies facing multiple bankruptcies and never lost faith in the projects. Highly recommended book if you want to glance into the harsh reality of a man who will stop at nothing to change the world for better and the sacrifices he made along the way to his success.</p></div><section><ul></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1651956-riku-sayuj"></a></section><section><p>653 reviews6,927 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4232014251">April 9, 2022</a></section><div><p>It's a fun book, and Elon has cracked the hologram code. But this book is too early - written before Alexander set off from Macedonia. The game has only started.</p></div><section><ul><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1651956?shelf=biographies">biographies</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1651956?shelf=business">business</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1651956?shelf=founders">founders</a></ul></section><hr /></section></article></div><div><article><div><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/666003-silvana"></a></section><section><p>1,111 reviews1,104 followers</p></section></div><section><section><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2126571819">January 27, 2018</a></section><div><p>A very insightful account on a man who wants to reach the stars (well, Mars) and save humanity from extinction and global warming, yet often falls short from showing a modicum of kindness toward his employees and prone to going ballistic over typos in emails and abbreviations. Oh, did I mention he is downright mysoginistic as well? He basically said all smart women must breed and he's the alpha in his marriage. <p>The book provides succinct insights on the situation surrounding the industries the mercurial Musk works in: automotive, finance, power generation, and aerospace. Admittedly, most of them had become bureaucratic, imploding, sunset industries, and had not shown any significant achievements for decades. Musk changed it, with his then-crazy ideas and gung-ho attitudes which include over optimistic deadlines and clashes with friends and employees who did not suit him. He made those happened nonetheless. Not just a big talker, but also a doer. I wish he could be more humane about all of it but his vision seems to be more abstract - future humanity - than taking a good care of people surrounding him (including his loyal ex-secretary, his own Pepper Potts) and himself, all the people in the now that could bring that grand vision to life. If you want to bring changes to the world, you need to start from yourself and people surrounding you then work from that gradually. Anyway, I am an idealistic nobody, so what do I know. </p><p>Semi-philosophical rambling aside, this is a recommended read for those who love innovation (or disrupt) and how to get there. The SpaceX and Solar City chapters were quite entertaining. The Tesla ones were too abstruse for me. The Paypal one was alright, I managed to get through it bexause it reminded me of the excellent Halt and Catch Fire series at AMC - those ICT innovators could be really dramatic especially in the founding stories and creative claims. </p><p>All in all, I appreciate the way he managed to reach self-sufficiency in Tesla and SpaceX (if I were an American I'd be thankful for the employment opportunity) where his other competitors have to rely on other countries.. I now wonder when his space internet and submarine cars will be finished. Speaking of submarines, I hope he also does something with the oceans. Like a machine that collects plastic waste that is cheap, could be mass produced everywhere, solar charged, etc etc. Just use the SpaceX rockets to deploy them to the far reaches of the ocean surface. Can you do that, Musk, since you said you want to save the world? I challenge you.</p></p></div><section><ul><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/666003?shelf=biogramoir">biogramoir</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/666003?shelf=kindle-google">kindle-google</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/666003?shelf=mine-mine-mine">mine-mine-mine</a> </ul></section></section></article></div></div>||||I|||| * Home
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 Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

 Ashlee Vance

 4.20
 352,275 ratings 11,653 reviews
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 Goodreads Choice Award
 Nominee for Best Science & Technology (2015)
 Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, sold one of his internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius's life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits. Vance uses Musk's story to explore one of the pressing questions of our age: can the nation of inventors and creators who led the modern world for a century still compete in an age of fierce global competition? He argues that Musk is an amalgam of legendary inventors and industrialists including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs. More than any other entrepreneur today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as the visionaries of the golden age of science-fiction fantasy
 Genres Biography Nonfiction Business Science Technology Audiobook Biography Memoir
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 392 pages, Hardcover

 First published March 3, 2015

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 Ashlee Vance

 10 books 1,480 followers
 Ashlee Vance is an award winning feature writer for Bloomberg Businessweek magazine. Vance is also the host of the "Hello World" TV show. Previously, he worked for The New York Times and The Register.

 Vance was born in South Africa, grew up in Texas and attended Pomona College. He has spent more than a decade covering the technology industry from San Francisco and is a noted Silicon Valley historian.

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 Will Byrnes
 1,284 reviews 119k followers
 August 22, 2019
 Elon Musk is not exactly a name that rolls easily off the tongue, like say Tony Stark, the fictional person to whom he is most often compared, or even Steve Jobs, a real-world visionary, whose mantle Musk now wears. There is no question that Musk is a special individual, someone with BIG dreams and the drive, talent, and money to make them happen. But, like Jobs, and Stark for that matter, he might be an acquired taste on a personal level. In Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future biographer Ashlee Vance gives us a picture of both the dreams and the man, peering back to where Musk began, describing his journey from then to now, looking at how he is impacting the world today, and gazing ahead to where he wants to go. It is a pretty impressive vista. Here is what it says on the SpaceX website
 SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.
 It might have seemed like visiting another planet when Musk split his home country of South Africa as a teen and headed to North America, anything to get away from an abusive upbringing. He seemed to have been blessed not only with exceptional analytical capabilities, and probably an eidetic memory, but an impressively immense set of cojones. He was able to talk his way into whatever he needed and deftly talk his way out of trouble as well. Sometimes that entailed a bit of truth-bending, but whatever.


 Ashlee Vance - from HarperCollins

 Vance take us from his adolescence as a computer geek, bullied at school, through his arrival in Canada, cold-calling to get work, putting together his first dot.com startup, and using the money from that to invest in a banking-oriented company that would become PayPal. It was the mega-bucks from the sale of PayPal that would allow him to begin realizing his big dreams. In 2003, Musk bought into Tesla, then a struggling startup. The company took the early knowledge that lithium ion batteries had gotten pretty good, added some top level engineering, design and programming talent, and, after plenty of mis-steps and struggles, brought the remarkable all-electric Tesla Roadster to the market in 2008. Tesla followed this with the Model S in 2012. Not only did Consumer reports call this a great car, it named both the 2014 and 2015 versions the best overall cars of their years, and the best car they had ever tested. The last time an auto startup succeeded in the USA was Chrysler, in the 1920s. But this is not about simply making a buck on a new car. The long term goal is to shift our petrochemical auto industry to renewable power, and the Tesla is a nifty start. Not only is the car amazing, the company has constructed a nationwide series of charging stations where Tesla owners can recharge their vehicles…for free. Tesla currently (August 2019) reports 1,604 such stations nationwide, with many more planned. Tesla is involved in building battery production factories, hoping to help support a growing electric-car auto-economy.


 Inside the Tesla Model S - from Tesla Motors

 But this was not the only big notion that drove Musk. A parallel effort was to develop a solar power business. And with the help of a couple of enterprising cousins, he did just that. SolarCity provides the solar arrays that provide power to the Tesla charging stations, but it has also become one of the largest solar utilities in the nation, installing, maintaining a third of the nation’s solar panel systems. There is obvious benefit to both Tesla and Solar City in sharing gains in battery and other technology. But I expect the third jewel in Musk’s crown is his favorite, SpaceX.


 Falcon 9 first stage attempting a controlled landing - from Wikimedia

 Musk doesn’t have much going on here, nothing major, only an ardent desire to colonize Mars. But it takes the establishment of an infrastructure in order to be get from point E to point M. Musk saw an opening in the market for satellite launch vehicles. Existing rockets blast things up into orbit and then burn up on their way back down. His idea was to design a rocket that could make its way back to earth in one piece, to be reused. And he has. SpaceX is nearing its goal of launching at least one rocket a month. The manifest available on SpaceX.com lists missions to date. The company also designed a capsule called the Dragon that can be used for cargo, but also for astronauts. The cost of launching a satellite using a Falcon is a fraction of what other options charge. The next step is a larger launch vehicle. Space X has begun launching the Falcon Heavy rocket, offering the biggest load capacity since the Saturn V was last used in 1973. And, while this is definitely good for business in the relatively short term, one must always keep in mind that this is a stage in a bigger plan for Musk. Once the launch infrastructure is established, plans can begin to move forward to put together Mars missions. Not go, look, and explore sorts of adventures, but establishing a colony, a permanent human presence on the red planet.



 The Dragon Capsule, attached to the ISS - from Musk’s Twitter page

 Of course when one has one’s eyes fixed on the stars (yes, Mars is a planet, I know, Geez), there is a large inclination to lose touch with earth-bound reality. In the movie, then play, then movie The Producers Max Bialystock, in order to cope with the absurd success of a play that was designed to fail, suggests to his partner, Leo Bloom, that one solution would be to do away with the cast. "You can't kill the actors, Max! They're human beings," Leo says. "Human beings? Have you ever seen them eat?" Max replies. I suspect that there are more than a few folks who feel about Elon Musk the way Max felt about the actors. He is rather notorious for his insensitivity to anyone not living inside his head. For example, here is what potential recruits are told to expect when they meet with Musk.
 The interview, he or she is told, could last anywhere from thirty seconds to fifteen minutes. Elon will likely keep on writing e-mails and working during the initial part of the interview and not speak much. Don’t panic. That’s normal. Eventually, he will turn around in his chair to face you. Even then, though, he might not make actual eye contact with you or fully acknowledge your presence. Don’t panic. That’s normal. In due course, he will speak to you.
 Musk has an amazing capacity for work, putting in monstrous hours as a matter of course. But then he expects the same from those who work for him.
 The rank and file employees…revere his drive and respect how demanding he can be. They also think he can be hard to the point of mean and come off as capricious. The employees want to be close to Musk, but they also fear that he’ll suddenly change his mind about something and that every interaction with him is an opportunity to be fired. “Elon’s worst trait by far, in my opinion, is a complete lack of loyalty or human connection,” said one former employee. “Many of us worked tirelessly for him for years and were tossed to the curb like a piece of litter without a second thought. Maybe it was calculated to keep the rest of the workforce on their toes and scared: maybe he was just able to detach from human connection to a remarkable degree. What was clear is that people who worked for him were like ammunition: used for a specific purpose until exhausted and discarded.”
 Musk even fired his loyal assistant, Mary Beth Brown, who had been with him for twelve years, after she asked for a raise. What a guy.

 Ego is certainly a big piece of the picture here. But I guess if you can do it, it ain’t bragging. Elon Musk is a larger than life figure, a computer geek, an engineer, an entrepreneur, and a dreamer, in addition to being a walking IED as someone to work for. He is one of the inspirations for Robert Downey‘s portrayal of Tony Stark in sundry Marvel Universe films. In fact, Downey came to visit Musk, specifically to get a taste of what a real billionaire techno-industrialist was like. Downey insisted on having a Tesla Roaster on the set of Iron Man , saying, ”Elon was someone Tony probably hung out with and partied with or more likely they went on some weird jungle trek together to drink concoctions with the shamans.” Musk even had a cameo in Iron Man II . The resulting publicity from this connection did little to diminish Musk’s view of himself. Living the high-life in Tinseltown, hanging with, social, economic and media A-listers added more gas to the bag. Part of his ego issue is that he tends to take internal company timetables and announce them to the world as promises (I can see his entire staff jointly rolling their eyes, clutching palms to temples and issuing choruses of “Oh my god” and “WTF” as they spin in place), then holds his employees to those unreasonable schedules. Of course this results in many missed deadlines, much ingestion of antacid and probably the odd nervous breakdown or two.



 Musk, in an Iron Man II cameo - fromWired

 Musk is the sort of guy who shows up with some regularity in science fiction novels, a genre trope, like the researcher who has exactly the sort of experience and insight the President/PM/Chairman/Secretary General needs in order to stave off global catastrophe. He’s the guy who has been secretly building the arc that the world needs to stave off extinction. In this case he is doing it publicly. Of course this raises some issues. Do we as a country, as a planet, really want to be reliant on private companies for our space exploration? Do we want a possible colony on Mars to be a privately held branch of Musk Industries? There are only a gazillion questions that are raised by the privatization of space. What’s good for the bottom line at SpaceX may or may not be good for humanity. We have certainly seen how a reliance on the inherent civic-mindedness and good will of corporations has worked on this planet. Musk is a dreamer, for sure, and I expect his dream of making a better world through the use of renewable energy and his hopes of establishing a human outpost on Mars are pure ideals. But the devil is always in the details, and what would happen should Musk be infected by another virulent strain of malaria and not escape with a near miss, as he did in 2001? Would the replacement CEO share his ideals? Would a replacement CEO be willing to take big risks to support those ideals? Would a replacement CEO look to sell Tesla off to GM to make a few quick billion? One person can move the world, but it takes more than a start to keep things rolling. We could certainly use plenty more people with the sort of drive and ambition that Elon Musk embodies. Innovation is a rare resource and must be cherished. But like any powerful force, it must be, if not tethered, at least monitored, to make certain that it does not run amok.

 Ashlee Vance has done an amazing job of telling not only Musk’s story, but of making the life history of the several companies with which Musk has been involved fascinating reading. I did get the sense that Vance was, from all the time he spent with Musk, smitten with his subject. While his portrait of Musk is hardly a zit-free one, I got the feeling that there might be a few more skeletons safely tucked away in closets, a few more bodies buried in basements. Nevertheless, Elon Musk is a powerful, entertaining and informative look at one of the most important people of our time. Your personal vision of the future should certainly include checking out this book.



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 Louise
 925 reviews 286 followers
 June 10, 2015
 3.5 Stars

 I like the can-do attitude Vance took with hounding Musk and wearing him down till he agreed to cooperate with this biography. I also appreciated all the "Holy crap, Musk is CRAZY. CRAZY like a fox," moments I had while reading this. The only thing that keeps this from being a 4-star book is that the reporting and writing leans too heavily on idolatry. There were passages where I literally cringed at how much of a fanboy Vance sounded like.
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 Dr. Appu Sasidharan
 944 reviews 1,889 followers
 December 2, 2022

 Elon Musk is considered as a cross-pollination of Thomas Edison and Tony Stark. SpaceX, Tesla, Paypal, SolarCity are some of the few companies started by him. The above names are more than enough to understand Musk's potential.

 Ashlee Vance shows us the not-so-famous childhood of Musk in South Africa. He compares and contrasts Musk's entrepreneurial brilliance to Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and his Scientific prowess to Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. His role in preventing global warming is ubiquitous. The EV's produced by his company Tesla is helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a large extend. Musk is even donating $100 million for a competition to find better methods to remove carbon from the air or water. The race for this price will start on 22nd April 2021 (earth day) and goes on till 2025.

 His courage to invest in ventures with no empirical evidence and make them successful by his confidence and hard work is truly astounding. His enigmatic enthusiasm to get up from failures, again and again, to become successful is very well conveyed in this book and will be truly inspirational for the future generation. Elon Musk is not an ephemeral phenomenon guilty of hyperbole which will be evanescent soon. This name is that of an erudite maverick going to be discussed for a long, long time one way or the other.

 What I learned from this book
 1) Never ever give up
 When Falcon 1 failed continuously three times, Musk was nearly bankrupt, and the whole world was making fun of his ideas. But he didn't give up and tried for the fourth time, and the rest is history.
 “Good ideas are always crazy until they’re not.”


 2) What makes Musk different from other Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and CEOs?
 Working more than 16 hours a day, making quick decisions, and achieving impossible targets are common to silicon valley entrepreneurs. But Musk is still entirely different compared to them
 "What Musk has developed that so many of the entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley lack is a meaningful worldview. He's the possessed genius on the grandest quest anyone has ever concocted. He's less a CEO chasing riches than a general marshaling troops to secure victory. Where Mark Zuckerberg wants to help you share baby photos, Musk wants to . . . well . . . save the human race from self-imposed or accidental annihilation."

 "Elon is the shining example of how Silicon Valley might be able to reinvent itself and be more relevant than chasing these quick IPOs and focusing on getting incremental products out,"


 3) Understanding human nature
 It is Musks's ability to cognize human nature which made him successful. He exactly knows what humans want and has the motivation to work hard to deliver it quickly even before his competitors started thinking about its possibility
 "He would bring standard financial instruments online and then modernize the industry with a host of new concepts. He exhibited a deep insight into human nature that helped his companies pull out exceptional marketing technology and financial feeds. Musk was already playing the entrepreneur game at the highest level and working at the press and the investors like few others could."


 My favourite three lines from this book
 “Everything he does is fast,” Brogan said. “He pees fast. It’s like a fire hose—three seconds and out. He’s authentically in a hurry.”


 “There needs to be a reason for a grade. I'd rather play video games, write software, and read books than try and get an A if there's no point in getting an A."


 “The company would pick a plan of attack, and when it failed at something, it failed fast and then tried a new approach.”


 What could have been better?
 If you are a person working under Musk and have a different wavelength compared to him, then there is a high probability that his extreme obsession with his work will feel like a toxic one to you. The extra working hours and unrealistic deadlines will be difficult to handle for ordinary people. He might be a maverick, but we still wish he should have been a little bit more kind to his workers when they fall short of deadlines. But Musk tackled this problem by only appointing extraordinary people who always think like him and apt for their designations as his workers. This ability of Musk to convert his foibles to positives is one of the secrets of his success. Musk was involved in many controversies like the rift with few other tech firms, Hollywood actors, Thai cave rescue, and overvaluing Tesla stocks which were unfortunately totally ignored in this book.

 Rating
 4/5 I have seen very few biographies like this, which will evoke interest in people from extremely different society sections. It is due to Musk's eclectic knowledge and ability to use it in the best way possible in different spheres of life. If you are a car enthusiast or an EV owner or plans to buy an EV in the future or an aeronautical engineer or astrophysicist or banking professional or software engineer or an entrepreneur or a student who wants to build a successful career, this is a must-read book.
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 Mark Bao
 29 reviews 222 followers
 May 25, 2015
 Excellent and inspiring. This book brought up one key question: do you have to be a bit reckless to be good? Musk was reckless in two areas: in the risks he took, and the way that he manages his companies.

 As for the first, the number of near-death experiences that Tesla, SpaceX and earlier companies went through is almost a running joke throughout this story. The Falcon 1 failed three times, exhausting the company's funds, before achieving a successful fourth flight. Tesla avoided bankruptcy by taking on a NASA-approved loan from SpaceX plus a last-minute acquisition of a company Musk invested in pulled through, and avoided being derailed by a predatory investor by a bluff on the order of $40 million. Combine these with the many situations where it didn't look like Tesla was going to build anything substantial, plus the negative media attention—the fact that Musk continued to persevere and pull through at times where most normal people would have given up is crazy.

 This risk undoubtedly took a toll on his life and relationships, through three divorces and the insane sleep deprivation he and the others on the team go through. It brings up the question—when you're doing things as big as this, how reckless do you have to be? Should you have a breaking point? Does the sustainable, get-eight-hours-of-sleep-and-exercise approach really work? Or is the right thing to do actually to push through, get four hours of sleep, and get shit done? Are those that prefer the 'sustainable' option the ones that don't succeed as much, and the reckless ones the ones that actually make progress?

 As for the second, the way that he manages his companies, he was reckless in what he demanded from people. The most notable story is of SpaceX, where employees worked on a crappy atoll in the Marshall Islands for months to deliver the Falcon 1 rocket launches. In a Jobs-like fashion, his outward personality is cold, demanding, and fearful: employees are on edge all the time and have to have answers. If someone is the bottleneck on a project, there's immense pressure on them to deliver. And you never want to be the deliverer of bad news—and if you are, you better have a solution to back it up:

 The savvy engineers knew better than to go into a meeting and deliver bad news without some sort of alternative plan at the ready. “One of the scariest meetings was when we needed to ask Elon for an extra two weeks and more money to build out another version of the Model S,” Javidan said. “We put together a plan, stating how long things would take and what they would cost. We told him that if he wanted the car in thirty days it would require hiring some new people, and we presented him with a stack of resumes. You don’t tell Elon you can’t do something. That will get you kicked out of the room. You need everything lined up. (Loc 4277)


 And while that is actually a good way to work—to have everything lined up—is Musk's approach the right way to manage a company? Is it the only way to be successful on incredibly difficult things? Or are Tesla and SpaceX successful in spite of this way of working—that it actually holds people back?

 Other than those questions, this is a very good overview of Musk's life and personality, and the trials and tribulations he went through to be successful—a path beset by an immense number of setbacks and late deliveries.

 What comes through clearly is how much of a genius this guy was. To get a sense of what this guy is like, consider that in his childhood, he ran out of books to read at the local library and the school library, and sometimes would read for ten hours a day. Dude also has a memory that's not only photographic, but he can wrangle images and numbers and relationships between them in his head. Insane. His ability to ingest and retain information, and his approach to knowledge, is nuts:

 People who have spent significant time with Musk will attest to his abilities to absorb incredible quantities of information with near-flawless recall. It’s one of his most impressive and intimidating skills and seems to work just as well in the present day as it did when he was a child vacuuming books into his brain. After a couple of years running SpaceX, Musk had turned into an aerospace expert on a level that few technology CEOs ever approach in their respective fields. (Loc 3421)


 What also comes across was how much Musk believes in the technological future and how much he as done to restore that promise to humanity. It's clear that he is one of the top people pushing technology and humanity forward, and that's incredibly inspiring.

 What I found a bit lacking in this book, which would have made this an excellent book, was more about Musk's inner life. Vance hypothesizes that Musk seems cold and non-emotional because he has a different sort of empathy than others: he emphasizes with the entire human species, and wants to do the most he can for them, but that makes him forget the individuals in front of him. But what does Musk think about this? How does Musk characterize his own values and experiences? Of course, this is something that few biographies do anyway, but for someone as dynamic as Musk, it would have been a welcome addition to the surface-level 'what he did' information.

 The guy's a genius, and this book, I think, represents that well. The inside look into Musk's life and work from the mid-2000s is thorough and really gives you a fantastic backstory into Musk's experience with Tesla and SpaceX. showing he did to make them successful, making this into an endlessly inspiring biography.

 FIVE STARS — Changed how I see things
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 Ali Abdaal
 17 reviews 32.5k followers
 June 13, 2021
 Pretty good and interesting. Not life-changing but certainly gives a nice insight into the various Musk-related businesses + early life, which is interesting and most of it was new to me.
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 Ahmad Sharabiani
 9,568 reviews 55.6k followers
 May 6, 2022
 Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance

 Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future is Ashlee Vance's biography of Elon Musk, published in 2015.

 The book traces Elon Musk's life from his childhood up to the time he spent at Zip2 and PayPal, and then onto SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. In the book, Vance managed to get regular interviews with Musk, those close to him, and those who were with him at the most important points of his life.

 تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و یکم ماه اکتبر سال2017میلادی

 عنوان: الون (ایلان) ماسک: تسلا، اسپیس اکس و جستجوی آینده‌ی رویایی؛ نویسنده: اشلی ونس؛ مترجم: چکامه مرتضی‌نیا؛ تهران: نشر پرچین؛ سال1395؛ در362ص؛ شابک9789648340433؛ موضوع اهل کسب و کار (ماسک، ایلان، سال‏‫1971م) - ایالات متحده - سرگذشتنامه - از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده21م

 ‬عنوان: بازگشت به آینده: داستان زندگی ایلان ماسک...؛ نویسنده: اشلی ونس؛ مترجم: فرید رجبعلی؛ تهران اندیشه عصر‏‫، سال1396؛ در208ص، عکس؛ شابک9786004211314؛‬

 ایلان ریو ماسک؛ زاده ی سال1971میلادی در «آفریقای جنوبی»، مهندس، طراح صنعتی، مخترع، و شخص نامی تجارت، در صنایع پیشرفته آمریکایی، و جزو ده شخصیت تأثیرگذار جهان هستند؛ ایشان بنیان‌گذار شرکت‌هایی همچون «تسلا موتورز»، «پی‌پال (که اکنون به ای‌بی تعلق دارد)» و «اسپیس‌اکس» هستند؛ ایشان هم‌اکنون، مدیرعامل و مدیرفنی «اسپیس اکس» هست؛ «ماسک» همچنین در حال توسعه ی یک سیستم «حمل و نقل» با سرعت بالاست، که با نام «هایپرلوپ» شناخته شده ‌است

 کتاب «ایلان ماسک: تسلا، اسپیس‌اکس، و مأموریت برای آینده‌ ای شگفت»؛ زندگی‌نامه ی «ایلان ماسک»، اثر «اشلی ونس» ‏است، که نخستین بار در سال2015میلادی منتشر شد؛ این کتاب، زندگی «ماسک» را، از کودکی، تا تأسیس «زیپ2»، و «پی‌پال»، و بعدها در «تسلا موتورز»، «اسپیس‌اکس»، و «سولارسیتی»، به‌ تصویر می‌کشد؛ «ونس» در این کتاب، با «ماسک»، و با دوستان و اطرافیان او، و اشخاصی که شاهد لحظات مهم زندگی «ماسک» بوده‌ اند، گفتگوهایی انجام داده‌ است؛ «ماسک» خود بر روی محتوای این زندگی‌نامه کنترلی نداشته‌ اند؛ «ماسک» نزدیک به چهارده‌ ساله بودند، که همچون دیگر نوجوانان نابغه، تلاش کردند، با خوانش کتاب‌های مذهبی و فلسفی، کار را ادامه دهند؛ ایشان از هر ایدئولوژی، نکته‌ ای را برداشت کردند، و سپس کمابیش، از همان‌جایی سر درآوردند، که آغاز کرده بودند؛ یعنی پذیرفتن آموزشهای کتاب علمی‌ - تخیلی «راهنمای مسافران کهکشان»، نوشته‌‌ ی «داگلاس آدامز»، که یکی از تاثیرگذارترین کتاب‌های زندگی ایشان بود؛

 ماسک در این‌باره میگونید: (یکی از سخت‌ترین کارها این است، که بفهمیم چه پرسشهایی را باید بپرسیم؛ وقتی پرسشها را بدانید، رسیدن به پاسخ آسان‌تر خواهد شد؛ به این نتیجه رسیدم، که ما باید تلاش کنیم، تا میزان، و حوزه ی آگاهی بشر را، برای فهم بیشتر پرسشهایی که باید بپرسد، بیشتر کنیم)؛

 در اینجا بود که «ماسکِ» نوجوان، به آن بیانیه ی بسیار منطقی‌ خویش رسید: (تنها کاری که انجامش منطقی به‌ نظر می‌رسد، تلاش برای بالابردن سطح آگاهی جمعی است.)؛

 ریشه‌ یابی برخی تلاش‌های «ماسک»، برای رسیدن به هدف، آسان است؛ ایشان زاده ی سال1971میلادی، و بزرگ‌ شده ی شهر بزرگ «پرتوریا»، در شمال شرقی «آفریقای جنوبی» هستند، که تنها به اندازه‌ ی چند ساعت رانندگی، با «ژوهانسبورگ» فاصله دارد؛ حضور آپارتاید، روی دوران کودکی‌ اش، سایه انداخته بود، و «آفریقای جنوبی» هم، به‌ برهان تنش‌ها، و خشونت‌ها، گاه‌ و بی‌گاه متشنج بود؛ از سویی سیاه‌ ها و سفیدها، با هم درگیر بودند، و از سوی دیگر، سیاه‌های قبایل گوناگون، به جان هم افتاده بودند؛ «ماسک» درست چند روز پس از قیام «سووتو»، چهار ساله شد؛ در قیام «سووتو»، صدها دانش‌آموز سیاه‌پوست، چون به مصوبات دولت‌مردان سفیدپوست، معترض بودند، کشته شدند؛ «آفریقای جنوبی»، سال‌ها به‌ سبب قوانین نژاد پرستانه‌ اش، از جانب کشورهای دیگر، تحریم بود؛

 ماسک، در دوران کودکی، برای سفر به خارج از کشور، رفاه کافی داشت، و نظر خارجی‌ها را، درباره‌ ی «آفریقای جنوبی» می‌دانست؛ اما آنچه بیشترین تاثیر را، بر شخصیت «ماسک» گذاشته بود، فرهنگ رایج «آفریقایی» در «پرتوریا»، و مناطق دور و برش بود؛ رفتارهای مرد سالارانه رواج داشت، و سوارکارهای ماهر، و خشن، پرطرفدار بودند؛ «ماسک» با اینکه جزو افراد مرفه آن دوران به شمار می‌آمد، یک خارجی بود، که شخصیت یگانه، و ذات نابغه‌ اش، با رفتارها، و گرایشات آن زمان، در تضاد بود؛ نظریه‌ اش درباره اشتباه‌ بودن دنیا، مدام تقویت می‌شد، و تقریبا «ماسک»، از نخستین روزها، نقشه ی فرار از محیط دور و برش را می‌کشید، و رویای جایی را در سر داشت، که در آنجا آرزوها، و شخصیتش، می‌توانستند شکوفا بشوند

 تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 14/06/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 15/02/1401هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
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 Elizabeth
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 July 17, 2019
 I found the tale of Elon Musk's childhood all the way through Zip, Paypal, Solar City, SpaceX and Tesla fascinating and inspiring. One thing in particular stood out. He's not motivated by greed. I've met my share of entrepreneurs and there are countless motivations that power these people. Some are narcissists, some like the idea of being in charge (ego), some are battling the demons of their parents (Musk most likely has a piece of this in his psyche), but the best ones are compulsive problem solvers. I liked the quote that Justine Musk mentioned when she said something to the effect: "He's not trying to make money, it just happens for him."

 Also, I'm no Elon Musk but I share his loathing of acronyms. They are blockers of communication. As an editor and a writer, clarity is key. Why lose someone in a meeting when they could be participating and applying to their brainpower to a problem?
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 Barbara
 1,298 reviews 4,828 followers
 April 29, 2021


 4.5 stars




 Billionaire Elon Musk is a businessman, engineer, and inventor with a radical vision for the future of mankind. In fact Musk wants nothing less than to establish a human colony on Mars.....with a view toward exploring Jupiter's moon Europa someday.


 Jupiter and Europa

 Musk fears there will be another mass extinction event - like the asteroid that destroyed 75% of Earth's species at the Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary 65 million years ago - and he wants people to have somewhere to go.



 I agree with Musk that Earth is likely to become inhospitable to humans someday, but I fear we'll ruin the planet ourselves - with over-exploitation, pollution, war, and disease. (And then we'd probably do the same thing to Mars. I'm a skeptic.)

 In any case, Musk puts his money where his mouth is. In 2002 the audacious entrepeneur founded the rocket company SpaceX. SpaceX is already launching satellites for several countries, and carrying supplies to the International Space Station.


 SpaceX

 In the future, Musk wants rockets to bring people, equipment, and provisions to the red planet.....ideally in the next 50 to 100 years.

 SpaceX is just one of Musk's far-sighted enterprises. In this book Ashlee Vance explores Musk's various business ventures, and provides insight into the developer's character and personal life.

 Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1971.



 He had a difficult childhood, being viciously bullied at school and tormented by his father, Errol. The book has few details about Errol's behavior (no one will talk about it), but it's revealing that grandpa Musk isn't allowed to meet Elon's five sons.


 Elon Musk's father Errol

 As a youngster Elon devoured books, and - with his photographic memory - recalled everything he read. Elon was also an inventive child who built rockets and created video games.


 Little Elon Musk

 When he was 17-years-old Elon moved to his mother's home country, Canada.....and the penniless teen bunked with relatives, did odd jobs, and went to school.


 Young Elon Musk

 Eventually, Elon ended up at the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in economics and physics. Musk then moved to California and entered the business world.



 Vance did extensive research and describes Musk's business projects in elaborate detail, including: how they started; financing; development; failures; successes; leadership; personnel; buy-outs; etc. Musk's trajectory didn't go straight from start-up to billionaire. Far from it. In fact the developer nearly went bankrupt several times....to the glee of naysayers and jealous rivals. Musk carried on, though, and was successul in the end. (So yay Elon!....and pooh on the guys who tried to take him down!)

 In this brief review I'll just provide a quick summary of Musk's business activities. For a full picture, you'll have to read the book.

 Musk's first venture after college was Zip2 - a kind of online Yellow Pages/Mapquest that allowed users to find businesses and get directions. When Zip2 was sold, Musk founded an internet banking venture that became PayPal. These were profitable pursuits that provided money for additional investments.



 Musk founded SpaceX - the aforementioned rocket company in 2002, and co-founded Tesla Motors - which manufactures environmentally friendly electric cars in 2003. Then, in 2006, Musk helped his cousins launch SolarCity - a company that fabricates, markets, and installs solar panels.





 Among other things, Tesla and SolarCity are meant to reduce the use of fossil fuels and lower carbon pollution....which would help preserve the Earth and its inhabitants. In this vein, Musk also hopes to build 'hyperloops' - high speed trains that travel on a loop between major cities like New York and Washington DC; and Los Angeles and San Francisco. President Obama is said to be a fan of this project.




 Hyperloop

 Musk's various ventures require smart, capable personnel and the developer was (and is) always on the lookout for the brightest students, the best engineers, the most foreward-thinking inventors, and so on.


 Elon Musk giving commencement address


 Caltech students

 Musk is notoriously difficult to work for and - when he wants something done - refuses to hear "I can't do it." If you really can't do it, Musk is likely to let you go and do it himself. Musk expects employees to work long hours without complaint.....and has a reputation for upbraiding and firing personnel. Thus, he's quite ruthless on a business level.


 Elon Musk is notoriously hard to work with

 In private life, though, Musk is said to be a fun guy who likes to make jokes; laugh; attend costume parties; play video games with his kids; and generally have a good time. Musk has five sons - twins and triplets - from his first marriage to Justine Musk and is now wed to the actress Tallulah Riley. The entrepeneur has a brutal work schedule - he often works 100 or more hours per week - but takes his sons all over the world with him. Musk is also close to his brother and cousins, and often collaborates with them on business projects.


 Elon Musk's first wife Justine Musk


 Elon Musk with his second wife Tallulah Riley


 Elon Musk with his sons

 In addition to influencing national and international corporations, Musk has impacted popular culture. After the actor, Robert Downey Jr., visited the SpaceX factory, he modeled aspects of his character 'Tony Stark' (Iron Man) on the billionaire entrepreneur. And Musk guest starred on an episode of 'The Simpsons' called 'The Musk Who Fell to Earth.' The Simpsons segment is hilarious and gives a cartoonish - but probably accurate....picture of the entrepreneur as an imaginative inventor and concerned citizen of the Earth. (The episode is available on YouTube.)


 Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark (Iron Man)


 Elon Musk on The Simpsons

 Vance's discussions of the ups and downs of Musk's businesses are especially well-researched and interesting. The author explains how Tesla ultimately built an electric roadster that's beautiful, comfortable, kid-seat friendly, and (more or less) reasonably-priced (if you're rich); and how a rocket was finally launched after heartbreaking failures due to mechanical errors, sloshing fuel, and other hard-to-foresee factors.

 Vance also discusses the problems involved when private companies - like Musk's enterprises - compete with established (though inferior) businesses that have government support. Some corporations are beloved by politicians because of monetary contributions, lobbyists, factories in their districts; etc. It's hard to compete with such companies, and they caused massive headaches for Musk. But, of course, he prevailed in the end.

 I admire Musk for his brilliance and accomplishments, and I like this book. I'd recommend the book to readers interested in Elon Musk; his far-reaching business ventures; and the future of the planet.



 You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
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 Tom LA
 585 reviews 217 followers
 April 27, 2020
 Let me offer this thought: SpaceX is the coolest and most exciting company in the world at this moment in time.

 Yes, Tesla is also extremely cool. And inspiring. But nothing can beat that feeling of power, wonder and deep inspiration that SpaceX will give you as soon as you start to understand what that company is actually doing.

 As Vance says, "SpaceX IS Elon Musk".

 So who is this man? How is it humanly possible to achieve what he has achieved? What else can he achieve in the future? Will he become the richest man on Earth? Or on Mars?

 Not only this book is written in a very passionate and engaging way. I also find that it is a very important book for anyone who is at least a little curious about our present and our future.

 In fact, I believe Ashlee Vance’s portrait of Elon Musk is a necessary read for anyone, because of the effect that his companies are having on the automotive, the clean energy, and the space industries. If these companies are not changing the future, at the very least they are accelerating our pace towards it.

 Vance starts out in a ballsy way, stating that he won't budge: he will write whatever he wants, however he wants it. As I got to the end of the book, I had a strong feeling that this is not exactly the case, and that a lot has been left out. However, the information that is in the book is absolutely fascinating. It is the first biography I've ever read that I would categorize as a real "page-turner".

 The "missing facts" that stand out the most in my opinion are:

 1) Childhood troubles. Musk keeps referring to a very painful and troubled childhood, but in the book all we get is some bullying and social awkwardness. Plus, a father who was "psychologically" abusive. There are many unanswered questions there, and I think Vance chose to be respectful and not dig too deeply. Or he just didn’t get anything about that out of Musk.

 2) The miraculous last-minute save of both Tesla and SpaceX in 2008: not enough details. Something crucial seems to be missing. Whether it is a few private donors who poured in extra millions, or some other turn of fate. I don't know if Vance knows what is missing there, but something is missing.

 Overall, Elon Musk comes across as a normal human being with exceptional ambition, exceptional luck, exceptional physical energy, exceptional intelligence and exceptional confidence in his vision.

 He is an inspiration for many, and beyond Elon Musk, his companies and his vision are a huge inspiration.

 Did you notice how the most popular fictional depictions of the future (YA, etc.) in this day and age are pessimistic, dystopian, self-hating like teenagers? Well, Elon Musk is offering us a window into a future that is the exact opposite of that. Very similar to Arthur Clarke, my favorite author, another optimistic visionary. Musk's vision of the future is so bright that reminds me of the golden age of science fiction, when Clarke and Asimov were writing, when people had the courage to dream beautiful, positive dreams about the future.

 It sounds like an advertisement for a soap, but yes ----- with Musk, the future is bright again.

 Finally, I have a comment about "being a nerd": in the first part of the book, the kid Elon Musk is called a "nerd" about a million times. Why is it that in America (and in South Africa, as it seems) a very smart kid who is into reading a lot instead of playing sports, invariably, is called a "nerd"? The fact that this word DOES NOT EXIST and cannot be translated into many European languages tells us something about America. I think Isaac Asimov was onto somehting when he said: "The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

 -----------------------
 Btw, great to find out that Robert Zubrin was a big influence on Musk. He is the head of the Mars Society, a man who has been thinking about going to Mars for much longer than Elon Musk has. I read Zubrin's "The case for Mars" many years ago, and I was utterly fascinated by it.
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 TS Chan
 692 reviews 850 followers
 January 4, 2018
 Space. Renewable Energy. Internet.

 This is a man after my own heart. Out of all the super entrepreneurs and technological legends of the modern era, Musk ticks all the boxes on my dreams and passions, particularly space. Space has always been the frontier that intrigues me the most; for a single man to dream of colonising Mars and actually doing all he can to make that a reality is just simply astounding.

 And then of course, there is Tesla. Aside from the clean energy technology which I am a huge proponent of, how an electric car can become one of the most desirable and good-looking cars in the world is another example of the visionary genius that Musk is.

 As with all ideas that are so progressive in nature, the trials and tribulations faced by Musk were so daunting that most would've called it quits. His indomitable will and spirit, however, sets him apart from the ordinary. He is very demanding on himself, being extremely hands-on, and also of his employees. Then again, how else are you going to change the world by compromising on the high standards that one sets for oneself.

 Notwithstanding his crazy but awesome ideas (first, the Hyperloop and now, Neuralink) the one thing that differentiates him from most current entrepreneurs is that he really seeks to change the world. He is not in it just for short term gain, which is what a lot of businesses are doing right now. A simple case in point is Tesla's open source patent.

 I'll stop gushing about Musk now and talk a bit about the biography itself. The conversational tone employed by the author translated well into audio, and the narrator did a good enough job that it didn't sound monotonous. The biography was written from extensive interviews conducted with a plethora of his ex-employees, and the people closest to Musk. This enabled a more independent and less biased insight from one which was self-penned (not that I believe Musk will ever have the time to do so). The biography was also quite educational; while I still do not know how to build a rocket or an electric car now I've gained a better understanding of certain technical aspects of these items and how they work.

 Whether you're a fan of Musk, or just intrigued by his ideas and achievements, or even if you only just desired the Tesla badly, this is a recommended read.

 This review can also be found at Booknest
 audiobook biography non-fiction
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 Bradley
 Author 5 books 3,845 followers
 March 24, 2018
 There are few people outside of the fiction world that I truly admire, but barring some unseen or future tragedy, I think Musk might well be on the way to becoming my hero.

 If I didn't know any better, I might be looking at all his stated claims and seeing all the echoes of Asimov and Heinlein being dragged out of the page and brought to life.

 Skip the whole Iron Man image for a second.

 Let's talk about Ayn Rand.

 Musk is John Galt. As in Atlas Shrugged.

 Sure, he's also Dagney, too, or perhaps more like Dagney in that he's unwilling to let humanity roll around in the mud despite all the backstabbing and idiocracy, in that he hasn't said, "enough is enough". But the day is young. Wait until we get to Mars. Wait until we really take the man of genius and effort for granted. And THEN we'll see what we'll miss once it is taken away.

 Ahhh, I don't want to see this man out of classic SF heroes become anything other than his stated goals.

 I'll be honest here. He's giving me real hope for humanity. Maybe optimism *isn't* unfounded after all.

 This biography tells me one hell of a great narrative. Is it life imitating art? The best ideals from the grandmasters? Who knows. But right now, I have real hope. I'm holding on to it for my very soul. :)

 Let's MAKE the future we wanted. Let's NOT let anything stand in our way!

 HELL YAH!
 2018-shelf non-fiction science
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 Nataliya Yaneva
 165 reviews 323 followers
 December 14, 2017
 Илон Мъск е хомункулус. Извънземните му (буквално) идеи те карат да си мислиш, че си попаднал в някоя футуристична алтернативна вселена и просто бъдещето е СЕГА. Като гигантски скок във времето. Сякаш летиш на нещо със space warp двигател.

 Винаги съм се питала какво отличава успешните идеи от по-малко успешните. Във всяка област – изкуство, кино, литература… ракети, електрически коли. Добре, признавам, че за последните не съм се замисляла ��собено, но чуденето ми е било принципно. Как става така, че има идеи, които доста бързо се сриват и потъват в забвение (и скептиците ехидничат), а има други, които се настаняват във въображението и карат мозъка да щрака до възпаление. Знаете, онова усещане, когато мислиш толкова много, че имаш чувството, че главата ти гори отвътре. Понякога съм смятала, че става така просто защото е заложено на хората инстинктивно да разпознават истински добрите идеи и да им отдават заслуженото. Да познават, че по някакъв начин придвижват човечеството напред. Историята на Мъск и неговите едно, две, три… Х начинания са пример за обратното. За това как като вярваш в нещо и имаш цел, трябва да я следваш, дори да знаеш, че шансовете за успех са минимални (звучи безумно клиширано, но може би защото е истина. Какво по-голямо клише от истината). А, и да си малко смахнат.

 Илон Мъск вярва в разни неща. Вярва, че ресурсите на Земята са на привършване и един ден човечеството трябва да си търси друго място за живеене. Първо си мисли, че едни мишки на Марс не са лоши за начало, после достига до идеята, че ще се наложи хората да се превърнат в междупланетарен вид, за да ги (ни) има изобщо. Тъй че Илон се залавя да строи ракети. Никой не му вярва и всички смятат, че е луд. Илон изстрелва първите си три ракети и те гръмват. Всички се подхилкват, че някакъв си милионер от Силициевата долина не може да се заема с начинания, дето правителствата ги умеят на твърде високи цени и твърде неефективно от години. Четвъртата ракета на Илон не избухва. Вече никой не му се смее. SpaceX понатрила носове и излетяла.

 На някакъв купон като млад Илон се запознал с момиче и първото, което ѝ казал, било „Аз често мисля за електрически коли. Ти мислиш ли за електрически коли?“ И понеже Илон тъй и не спрял да мисли за електрически коли, решил да започне сам да си ги произвежда. Пак защото вярвал – че са по-ефективни, че с тях не се харчи гориво, което и без това един ден ще го няма и мамка му, тогава вече ще е малко късно да се чудим какво да правим. Tesla Motors вдигнала почти 100 км/ч (за 2,5 секунди впрочем) и оставила да ѝ дишат праха.

 Илон смята и че е хубаво да се ползва енергията на слънцето, която е огромна и залива Земята, очевидно нахалост. Поради тази причина работи и със SolarCity (която между другото е създадена от братовчедите му – the Force is strong with this family). Илон също така вярва и в други неща – като например пътуване на големи разстояния с огромна скорост във вакуумна тръба, „космически интернет“ и приятелски настроен изкуствен интелект, който не е способен да навреди на хората.

 Зад всички тези неща – някои изключително успешни, някои в зародиш, има малко повече от медиен шум и чист късмет. Може би просто генетичният код на Илон Мъск е написан така, че да притежава не само нужните умения и интелект, но и желязна ръка, висок праг на емоционална болка, мулешко упорство и способност да се дистанцира от отделните индивиди, когато на карта е съдбата на цялото човечество. След прочита на книгата изгледах няколко интервюта с него. В едно го питат какво толкова има в него, че е успял на така много фронтове. Той леко притеснено и почти извинително смотолеви ‘Well, I work a lot’. В друго интервю обяснява как се е налагало да работи по 80-100 часа на седмица, всеки ден. Знаете ли колко е това? По 11-14 часа работа на ден. В едно от интервютата хлапето, което задаваше въпросите, го гледаше леко зяпнало и все забравяше да си затвори устата. Май и аз бях така.

 Честно казано, преди да започна да чета книгата на Ашли Ванс, не бях чувала за никакъв Илон Мъск. По време на целия прочит обаче обяснявах на който имаше желание да ме слуша къде е тестовата площадка за изстрелване на SpaceX, че се работи върху ракети, които ще се връщат обратно на Земята и ще кацат, вместо да се изгубват из космоса или къде е разположен литиево-йонният акумулатор на Tesla роудстъра. Разбирам защо за много хора Мъск е нещо като бог. Не знам дали скоро ще колонизираме Марс и дали въобще трябва или е хубаво да се опитаме да си спасим Земята, но определено Илон Мъск ме вдъхнови да мисля по-мащабно. Един малък Falcon за Мъск, един голям пример за човечеството.
 in-english non-fiction
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 Tiffany
 472 reviews
 August 26, 2015
 I'm not sure why the reviews are so universally high across the board for this book. I thought it was poorly written and focused on all the wrong things. Each chapter, particularly those towards the end, was repetitive and paced as though it was a stand-alone article, which made the pacing of the book very choppy. The author focused on the failures of each company but completely glossed over what made each product and each company climb the peak to success. I'm assuming the author didn't understand the engineering and science behind why the Tesla Model S and the SpaceX rocket are so amazing and so couldn't explain them. He goes over the failures in detail, but does not talk about the breakthroughs and advancements in nearly enough depth. I got the sense from the book that Musk is a tyrant (which he likely is), but no sense of why he has inspired so many people to work for him or invest in him. This was a really disappointing book.
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 Umut
 355 reviews 166 followers
 January 9, 2019
 Whether you follow him or his companies/works, Elon Musk is an important innovator of our times, and I would suggest everyone to read this book to get inspired or experience another world.
 I really admire how Vance captured his biography, which is not an easy thing to do. If you read a little bit, you'll understand Musk is not the most easy going person in the world. The author opens the book in a very intriguing way starting from why Musk allowed him to write his biography, which starts to shed some light into his character.
 It was really interesting to read about how SpaceX, Tesla and all his other success stories started, how he jumped from one ambition to another, and how he runs his companies. Obviously, Musk is no normal person. He runs after his heart, and his dreams. He's not only after making a lot of money, but he wishes a self-sufficient world before he leaves it himself. I do admire how he uses his intellect, his efforts and resources to do innovations that would be good for the earth. Clean technology, colonisation in Mars, solar power, etc.

 He's probably one of the most persistent person I've ever read about. All the difficulties he's thrown at would make any one of us to give up, but he still goes after his dreams. He's tough, both on himself and his employees. It's not easy to work for him. But, yet again, it's also not easy to aim to change how the world operates. So, we can't expect ordinary from him.

 All in all, I would really suggest this book to anybody. It's interesting, fascinating, very well captured inner world of this genius I truly admired even more than before I read this book.

 Thanks a lot to NetGalley and the publisher for granting a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
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 Trish
 1,848 reviews 3,363 followers
 November 17, 2022
 “It’s nuts that people would want to vilify Elon. He might say some things that rub people the wrong way, but at some point, the being nice to everyone thing doesn’t work.“

 Elon Musk is fascinating. I could simply tick off some biographical points such as him having been married twice and having five children with his first wife (a set of twins and a set of triplets), but that is not why I read biographies and, in fact, why I dislike most of them. Either the people the biographies are about aren’t really interesting (actors barely in their 30s for example) or it really is just a list of facts that I could read on Wikipedia as well.
 This biography about Elon Musk is different. He is different. He’s only 47 but has lived through and accomplished more than other people could in 3 lifetimes.

 He grew up during a very violent period in South Africa. Granted, he’s white and the family was never truly poor, but it was still dangerous. He was also bullied in school (like, beaten bloody) and suffered the intense mind games of his father. Later, he went to Stanford university for only one day before leaving again.
 He, his way of life, his ideas and his ambition are very unconventional.

 From what I understand, he is still the little boy reading comics and dreaming of humanity conquering and colonizing the stars. And that is his mission in life that he has dedicated everything to. Some might call this silly but great minds like Stephen Hawking agree(d) with Musk that it’s the only way humanity will have a future and we do need a champion that is driving us, giving us a chance at survival. Once upon a time, we all had this dream of reaching the stars, but it has since dwindled thanks mostly to politics and peoples' tendency to give up when something is hard.

 Musk knows that getting humanity to Mars and beyond also means creating technology that will automatically enhance and better life here on Earth. There are many who can influence consumers and create new trends, but Musk isn’t here for exploiting a moment and getting rich - he’s poured ALL of his money, time and time again, into his businesses when they were in trouble and went much farther than any „expert“ thought sane, just to reach his ultimate goal (a colony on Mars).
 Simply put: he has proven that he’s not afraid to give up or at least risk everything, unlike most entrepreneurs. It’s no surprise, then, that his three main businesses are Tesla (electric cars), SolarCity (renewable energy), and SpaceX (aerospace industry).

 Before getting to create the above mentioned companies, he founded zip2, which became part of AltaVista eventually, as well as X.com of PayPal fame, but was forced out. I won’t go into detail but it seems kind of a trend that people get enthused by Musk, get rich by his skills - and then force him out because they simply wish to cash in and don’t share his vision. Backstabbing galore throughout his career. It’s sickening.
 I admit that it sounds as if he was a very difficult man to work with but that is no excuse for such behaviour and his success shows that his way of doing things works! Every time he has an idea, people say he’s nuts and that it cannot work - and then he proves them wrong.
 „Good ideas are always crazy - until they’re not.“ Larry Page, Google co-founder.

 Short-term, inconsequential goals are trending nowadays from normal people to the highest politicians. In this environment, a radical visionary like Musk steps on many toes and quite often, too.
 It can’t be easy to be ridiculed and stabbed in the back all the time. However, he thinks that that plus his childhood suffering actually helped him to become who he is today. And I see what makes him think so. Without adversity, there is no challenge to overcome the danger/problem so you stagnate. It sounds a bit like Darwin’s theory of evolution.
 „Elon is one of the few people that I feel is more accomplished than I am.“ Craig Venture, the man who de-coded the human genome and went on to create synthetic lifeforms.

 Radical. Visionary. Musk has haters and fans alike. He was even called the real-life Iron Man (albeit an Iron Man who sacked his Pepper Potts).
 His life goals certainly are very compelling if you care about the future at all and refuse to be tied down by the comfortable excuse of it being hard or costly. If you look at historical visionaries that have catapulted humanity forward, I’d say they were all more or less „difficult“ people and especially after seeing the Heavy Falcon rocket being operated successfully only recently (a fact that sadly didn’t make it into this biography as it was published earlier), I believe he can pull it off and certainly hope he can.

 I, personally, like how well-read Musk is, that he seems to be a technological allrounder, that he is right there in the factories working at least as many hours as he expects from everybody else and getting his hands dirty like any other worker (often ruining expensive Italian leather shoes to the horror of the people around him), that he has such an unbendable will (though I'm sorry it has cost him so much already), that he is playing video games in his spare time when he's not taking care of his kids (because he seems to be quite a good father as well), and that he is a big nerd and geek.
 As can be seen by him not only shooting one of his sports cars into space, that gets "steered" by a "space man" (Bowie reference) recently or by him storing a very nice collection of scifi literature onto the car's bord computer, but also by him programming said bord computer to display Douglas Adams' immortal words.


 This biography was written in a very compelling way by a man with an apparent vast knowledge of the history and inner workings of various industries (the author has worked for several well-known business papers for many years). The book also shows a great deal of research. Some authors manage to bore me even when talking about interesting people but Ashlee Vance has a unique style and I like the red thread throughout the book and that he doesn’t shy away from also showing the more problematic sides of Musk’s character.



 Edit:
 I won't downrate the book because it is still very well written and the points made remain coherent and true. However, looking at recent events, I'm sorry to say that I am sorely disappointed in Musk. He must be suffering a 100% breakdown complete with megalomaniac re-build-up afterwards.
 If you want to see the true measure of a man, watch how he treats his inferiors, not his equals. --- Harry Potter

 Evil begins when you begin to treat people as things. --- I Shall Wear Midnight

 To think that I believed in him (his vision and him being able to achieve it) once ...

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 Andrew Smith
 1,016 reviews 555 followers
 January 7, 2023
 Not long ago I was glued to my television set as SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket, carrying two astronauts on their journey to the International Space Station. The launch was followed shortly thereafter by the amazing spectacle of seeing the main body of the rocket separate before flipping and completing a descent, culminating in a vertical landing on an autonomous drone ship. This still feels to me like something out of a sci-fi movie – I’m hardly able to believe what I’m seeing! A few days later Audible offered up a cheapie listen to this bio of the company’s founder and driving force, Elon Musk. And, of course, not only is Musk the man behind America’s return to manned space travel he also runs Tesla, a company producing high-end electric cars. Oh, and let’s not forget SolarCity, a subsidiary of Tesla that specialises in providing solar energy services. That’s quite a collection.

 Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1971 and from an early age he demonstrated an ability to absorb and retain a huge volume of information. A prodigious reader, he regularly immersed himself in books for up to ten hours a day. As a young boy he wasn’t considered hugely sociable and his habit of routinely correcting other children was hardly going to help him develop an extensive group of school friends. He developed into a geeky adolescent who enjoyed science fiction and fantasy stories. Shortly before his 18th birthday he set off for Canada on his own and from there made his way to America. After obtaining degrees in physics and economics and completing two internships in Silicon Valley he toyed with the idea of beginning doctorate studies before giving that up to launch a web software company called Zip2, in 1995.

 After pocketing $10 million from the sale of Zip2 he co-founded an online financial services and email payment company (X.com) which through a merger acquired a money-transfer service called PayPal. A couple of years later Musk was ousted as CEO but in the shakeout he received circa $165 million. This was to be his set-up money for SpaceX and Tesla. Musk had developed into a visionary who believed that to safeguard the human race it would be necessary to build a multi-planetary society – his planet of choice being Mars. Furthermore, he was enthused by the idea building an electric car after test driving a handmade electric sports car. The makers had no interest in mass producing the car but Musk believed in the concept of a future in which cars were no longer powered by petrol or diesel.

 This book walks us through Elon’s involvement in both companies, and to a lesser extent the development of SolarCity too. Not surprisingly, he comes across as daring and hugely driven. He rates high on his ability to maximise output from his teams – he recruits highly skilled people, expects them to work long days and accepts no resistance to his lofty targets and goals. But he can be harsh in dealing with his employees and it seems that though almost all respect (and often revere) their boss, it doesn’t necessarily mean they like him. As a leader he is adept at developing a big picture strategy but, unusual for high flying CEO’s, he’s also totally comfortable delving into the fine detail. And there are quite a few examples here describing how Musk uses his photographic memory to the consternation of those around him: in one example he provided feedback on a prototype car, listing around 80 elements requiring attention – all without having taken any notes.

 The book was published in 2015, so it doesn’t cover elements that have made the news in the past few years. But what is clear here is just how daring the man is. He is not afraid to go ‘all in’ when investing in his companies, though this nearly cost him dear in 2008 when both SpaceX and Tesla were on the verge of financial collapse. He has also managed to augment his skills as a physicist and an engineer with an eye for design. He’s a man with a big ego and this can sometimes get in the way but his drive and focus ensure that his eyes (and those of his team) are always firmly set on the prize. It’s a fascinating story and sits beside those featuring the likes of Steve Jobs and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin as another testament to the bright, insightful entrepreneurs Silicon Valley has produced.
 business-finance memoirs-biographies non-fiction
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 S. Tom Cebic
 18 reviews 5 followers
 July 27, 2015
 I wish I could rate this book 2.5 stars. It's a great long read Atlantic or Wired piece about a visionary person with an interesting childhood that is at the forefront of a technology shift and an unsuccessful emotional biography. There are a ton of details about Elon's upbringing, especially about his father and brother, who always felt like a mystery to me. I got a good understanding of how Elon's early mentor, a Canadian banking executive, gave him some insights towards starting X.com, a service I had dearly loved but didn't seem to jive with his later projects. There were interesting details on the mind boggling progress SpaceX made when building their initial Falcon rockets. In short I learned a lot about the progress of Elon's companies, but very little about what motivated him to start them or continue after making his first billion.

 It's hard not to compare this book to Walter Isaacson's 'Jobs, not only because the structure of the book is similar but Vance seems to reach for the same informal and intimate tone. Isaacson was able to give us a real glimpse into Jobs's growth as a person and a real insight into Steve's thinking. Vance gives us a chronology of Elon's life, a superficial overview of the technology that anyone with more than a layman's interest already knows, and adds his own often peremptory commentary on Musk's motivations and accomplishments. It straddles a funny line between objective reporting and jokey insider tell-all. I think it falls on both fronts as Vance does a very skin deep overview of the technology that SpaceX and Tesla have pioneered and a lot of the jokey comments come off as non-sequitor. In a way I learn more about him than Elon.

 Elon's companies are important enough to our future than any new information about him and his motivations is well worth a read. I hope someone else takes on the topic with a little more depth and a little less personality.
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 Lyubov
 352 reviews 194 followers
 June 15, 2016
 Предупреждавам, че това ревю ще бъде лично и доста дълго, за което не се извинявам. Просто информирам. За да разберете всепоглъщащата ми възхита към личността на Илън Мъск се налага да вкарам поне малко контекст преди да пристъпя към анализ на бе��спорните достойнства на книгата. Когато бях малка не мечтаех да бъда принцеса, балерина, певица или някаква друга подобна Дисни лигавщина. Исках да правя компютърни игри. И хич не ме интересуваше колко сложно реално е това. На по-късен етап пътищата ми с тази мечта се разделиха, след като хвърлих поглед на учебниците по висша математика и основи на програмирането, но това не ми пречи и до днес да бъда запленена от света на информационните технологии и иновациите, които променят света буквално всеки ден.



 Ужасно обичам да чета биографии на луди учени, абсолютни иноватори и изобщо хора, които имат откачени идеи и не се страхуват да ги преследват до край, независимо от препятствията по пътя и присмеха на обикновените хора. Първата ми среща с подобна книга беше автобиографията на Ричард Брансън " Как изгубих наивността си ". Ще си призная, че до онзи момент не бях чувала абсолютно нищо за него, но след като затворих последната страница вече му бях безпаметен фен и мога да говоря по темата с часове. Точно като Мъск Брансън навлиза без колебание в мощни и закостенели индустрии като гражданска авиация, железопътен транспорт и космически полети, изправяйки се срещу монополистите в бранша и революционализирайки целия отрасъл без да му мигне окото.



 Истинската ми страст обаче си оставаха предприемачите от Силициевата долина (компютърните игри, нали помните?), но исках да науча повече за имена различни от изтърканите от употреба икони Стив Джобс и Бил Гейтс. Ето защо бях изключително развълнувана, че открих и преведох (съвсем буквално) по целия път до издаването му сборника статии на "Форбс" за третата вълна интернет милиардери " Една успешна идея е достатъчна ". Синтезираните истории на успеха на създателите на Napster, Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram, PayPal, Tesla Motors и много други само изостриха апетита ми към подобен род вдъхновяващи четива. Мъск беше сред тези супергерои на новото време, но 20-тина страници няма как да обхванат дори една микроскопична част от неговия ненормално як живот, дело и личност. Апетайзърът беше превъзходен и крачката до основното блюдо се оказа неизбежна.



 Изключително съм щастлива, че биографията на Илън Мъск е на българския пазар, защото хора като него се раждат много рядко и е абсолютно задължително да бъдат познати на възможно най-широк кръг читатели. Няма да преразказвам книгата, тя просто трябва д�� се прочете, но ще ви дам малко мотивация да посегнете към нея, в случай че не сте абсолютен Мъск ултрас, какъвто съм аз. Той е човекът, който още на 10-тина годишна възраст е прочел пълното издание на енциклопедия "Британика" и може да цитира всякакви факти от него наизуст. Той е един от основателите на "интернет банката" PayPal, благодарение на която в момента милиони хора извършват онлайн плащания за секунди при максимално ниво на сигурност. Той е визионерът, който си е поставил за цел да освободи хората от тежката петролна зависимост и ще вкара електромобила в масово производство като го направи същевременно сигурна и невероятно секси кола. Не вярвате? Ето ви снимка на Tesla Roadster, който вече е в продажба и се е превърнал в символ на стил, висок обществен статус и грижа за опазване на природата.



 Мъск не спира до тук. Неговата мисия в живота е да осигури на човечеството възможност да колонизира други планети, защото е убеден, че ресурсите на Земята се изчерпват с бясно темпо и един ден оцеляването на нашата раса ще зависи от способността ни да живеем на Марс. Звучи ви като научна фантастика? Ще ви споделя само, че неговата компания SpaceX е първата частна корпорация, която е официален доставчик на НАСА и е осъществила скачване с международната космическа станция. SpaceX работи усилено над създаването на ракети за многократна употреба. Представете си каква революция за космическия бизнес би било подобно постижение! То ще доведе до драстично намаляване на цените на космическите полети, пестене на ресурси и време, както и частично решение на немалкия проблем с космическия боклук.



 И това не е всичко. Мъск е един от основните инвеститори в компанията за соларни панели SolarCity, както и в още няколко начинания, за които дори няма да започна да ви разказвам. Самата му личност е екстремна, брутално твърда и безкомпромисна, но такъв трябва да бъдеш, за да заведеш една цяла раса на друга планета. Един от най-близките сътрудници на Мъск споделя в книгата, че той имал навика да ти отправя един интенизвен, леко налудничав поглед, след който абсолютно вярваш, че ей сега ще стъпим на Марс. Аз вярвам, а вие?
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 Amit Mishra
 231 reviews 667 followers
 October 11, 2021
 Elon Musk is a revolutionary entrepreneur of the 21st century. His life was full of struggles whether it's a family affair or a professional one. He has witnessed a long list of hardships in his life but he never scummed to those. The book by Ashlee Vance has wonderfully written those pieces of information that will be very delightful for the readers to read.
 He was thrown out of Paypal, multiple failures of SpaceX and many more came in his life. He took lessons from his failures and never stopped there. Now, we all know who is Mr Elon Musk.
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 Amar Pai
 960 reviews 102 followers
 September 14, 2016
 Really enjoying this book, but I'm struck by how Musk, like Jobs and Bezos, is a total asshole. A Space-X employee missed a work event to witness his child's birth, and Musk calls him on the carpet for it. He expects his employees to have no life and discards people as soon as they're no longer useful. Just a nightmare boss. Not somebody I'd ever want to work with. Apparently I'm not the only one who had this thought. From NY Times: The Bad Behavior of Visionary Leaders

 As I was reading Ashlee Vance’s “Elon Musk: Tesla, Space X and the Quest for a Fantastic Future,” I was alternately awed and disheartened, almost exactly the same ambivalence I felt after reading Walter Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs” and Brad Stone’s “The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon.”

 The three leaders are arguably the most extraordinary business visionaries of our times. Each of them has introduced unique products that changed – or in Mr. Musk’s case, have huge potential to change – the way we live.

 I was awed by the innovative, courageous, persistent and creative ways all three built their businesses. I also love their products. I own a Mac Pro and an iPhone, and I have been a loyal customer of Apple for 20 years. I buy many books and other products on Amazon, lured by a blend of low prices, ease of purchase and reliably quick delivery. The Tesla Model S is hands down the best car I have ever driven, and it’s all electric, rechargeable in your garage.

 Plainly, I have bought in to what these guys are selling.

 What disheartens me is how little care and appreciation any of them give (or in Mr. Jobs’s case, gave) to hard-working and loyal employees, and how unnecessarily cruel and demeaning they could be to the people who helped make their dreams come true.


 All three of these dudes are clearly geniuses who have advanced the state of the art and changed the world. iPhone, amazon, ehhhh tesla (jury's out). But I have to believe you could get there without treating your employees like shit.

 Is it a patriarchy/male thing? Who knows. Maybe female billionaire tycoons are all assholes too.

 Kudos to the first self-made billionaire who manages to change the game multiple times (at the level of iphone/pixar, tesla/space x, amazon/kindle) WITHOUT abusing employees and trampling people's lives. It has to be possible
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 Cassie
 335 reviews 26 followers
 July 22, 2015
 I’m super interested in Elon Musk and this book provided me insight into the way he thinks, what drives him, how he gets things done, etc.

 Some small criticisms--

 There were times I noticed information that was being repeated, which made it feel like Vance may have written each chapter separately or without certainty of what order the chapters would be included in the book. Also, while I liked the conversational tone of the writing, it was not what I’m used to from biographies.

 A larger criticism—

 I don’t know if Vance intended to write this book as a disinterested third party, but it was evident to me that by the end, he was too close to his subject to do so. Musk’s “failures”—his cold dealings with people, his tendency to lose the trees in the forest (which is 100% not how that saying goes), his ruthlessness with people who have sacrificed a great deal for his business and his dreams—are treated as necessary (and therefore forgivable) for the incredibly amazing things Musk has decided to do with his life and money. And while I think I agree, I’m not sure that I wanted the biographer to make that decision for me.

 After reading this book, it’s easy for me to forgive all of Musk’s interpersonal failures because I’m inspired by the things he dreams up, the way he pursues the “impossible” things, and the fact that he has found a purpose in life and doesn’t let things like money and celebrity distract him from that purpose. However, I’m not a casualty of these failures and can’t imagine that I’d like to be written off so easily if I was.

 Okay, this hasn’t sounded like a 4-star review so far, but let me assure you that this book is interesting, well researched, has insight that I presume only Silicon Valley insiders had before, and is incredibly inspiring.
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 Nguyen Linh Chi
 82 reviews 14 followers
 May 7, 2017
 At first, the idea of reading 380-page autobiography about a technology-savvy made me downhearted. However, eventually I extremely relish this book that I cannot put it down.

 Takeaways:
 1. There is nothing wrong about being an introvert and enjoying reading books. You will find a lot of inspirations for your career. Don't give up your childhood dream.

 2. Working hard is the only way that lead to success. I vividly remember that he has to take about 170 flights a year. Thanks for his hard work, he contributes tremendously to our modern world. Musk is the founder of SpaceX, co-founder of Zip 2, Paypal, Tesla and SolarCity.

 3. Always seek to minimize monopoly in every industry. SpaceX helps US government save a lot of money to lauch satellites, instead of relying on Russian providers.
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 Lubinka Dimitrova
 251 reviews 146 followers
 June 30, 2016
 This is an incredibly inspiring book, a important look into a game-changing worldview, and a valuable lesson to the world. As Musk says, "If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it."

 Strangely enough, I've followed Space X' and Tesla's progress for a very long time, but I never actually read many things about the person behind them. I still cannot believe what a visionary Elon Musk is, and how persistent he's about anything he does. He is a mad scientist, inventor, business mogul and visionary all at the same time, and all these play equally important role in his life. For obvious reasons, his - let's say - philanthropy strikes the most sensitive chord in anyone who's even remotely troubled by what's going on on this planet. His philanthropic vision though does not consist in giving his billions away, but in trying to make his businesses succeed in order to save humanity from itself, before the planet we live on collapses.

 “He’s the possessed genius on the grandest quest anyone has ever concocted. He’s less a C.E.O. chasing riches than a general marshaling troops to secure victory. Where Mark Zuckerberg wants to help you share baby photos, Musk wants to ... well ... save the human race from self-imposed or accidental annihilation."

 Mr. Vance curbs his enthusiasm and delivers a well-calibrated portrait of Mr. Musk. The best thing about the book is that it tells Elon Musk’s story simply and well. It’s the story of an intelligent man, for sure. But more so it is the story of a determined one. The insights into the respective industries are truly compelling - Mr. Vance brings us up to date on the states of green energy and space launches. He also veers away from his subject just often enough, offering profiles of the frequently brilliant people who work alongside Mr. Musk.


 I'm so very pleased that many of the things discussed in the book as future plans are already happening (safely reusing rockets is one step nearer after the successful landing of Falcon 9 in April, while the first affordable electric car that's more attractive than the best sport cars was unveiled in March, and it has a price tag of 35 000 USD).

 I'm too old to hang a poster of Musk in my bedroom, but I've found a new crush, and I'll continue to follow his progress in awe and admiration. Humanity may still have a chance.

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 Nada Elshabrawy
 Author 2 books 7,943 followers
 January 12, 2020
 Really Interesting.
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 Half
 1 review 2 followers
 Want to read
 August 14, 2020
 amzin
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 Arun Divakar
 796 reviews 368 followers
 November 11, 2015
 Google’s Larry Page says that ’Good ideas are always crazy until they are not’ and this is a statement of truth. If before 2007, someone were audacious enough to tell you that a mobile phone made in the US will turn the industry on its head then you would have called that a crazy notion. If prior to 1998, someone would have said that a website will come along and would grow beyond its role as a search engine into a part of life itself that would have been called crazy too. Every other thing from a light bulb to a movie to a car to sliced bread were all crazy ideas at one time. It only took an individual or a group to persist through this period of ridicule and name calling to finally make these crazy notions come to life .Then there is this man : Elon Musk .His dreams of cheaper space travel, sustainable and clean energy and electric cars were laughed off as the dreams of just another batshit crazy Silicon Valley entrepreneur. Elon founded one company, took over another and invested in a third all three of which were called epic fails by the industry pundits. Time however proved Elon right and all three companies (SpaceX, Tesla and Solar City)are now stuff of lore. How did these companies manage to break through against all these odds and how did Elon manage to drive them to achieve more and more- this is the crux of this book.

 To me this book was more about SpaceX and Tesla than Elon’s biography. I did come across a lot of articles that detailed his management style, the apparent lack of empathy and of pushing people to the last shreds of their performance but the ultimate vision that these companies embody might not be compatible to a softer management style. Take SpaceX, whose stated vision is to make human beings as a multiplanetary race in the days to come. This is one of the grandest, loftiest visions a company can have as its raison d'être . Now this is a binary vision as in you either make it to space and colonize or you fail as a company. The objective is monstrously big and for a company striving to reach it there can be no excuses or compromises. Everybody breaks their back working to get human beings to space. Elon, who heads the company and who formulated the vision then works double hard and puts in twice more than any other employee to move closer to realizing that vision. Slips in performance from individuals or teams will not be tolerated and Musk & Co burn through employees like firewood. You can look at it from the perspective of a conventional organization and say that such a methodology is bad for you but then there are loads of talented people waiting in line to be hired into SpaceX or Tesla to get their hands on these projects. This by no means is a justification for abrasive management practices from Musk or for the gruelling work hours of these firms. But truth be told complacency was what unseated the competitors for both these organizations. Ashlee Vance makes an analogy by comparing the industry placidity that surrounded iPhones. When the iPhone came out, everyone called it an overpriced rich man’s toy and were quick to downcast it. But then it blazed ahead and disrupted the entire mobile phone industry. Even with an iPhone in hand, companies like HTC and Samsung took years to come close to a comparable design or user interface. Now use this perspective in SpaceX and you see Musk & Co. shaking up years of bureaucratic dust when they cut the cost of commercial space flight to a fraction of what it was before and Tesla blows competition out of the water with their automobile design and efficiency.

 Elon Musk’s ideas for a better future of mankind is cleaner, effective and makes abundant use of technology. Therein also lies its biggest impediment for almost all of it hinges on this one man alone. Musk is not immortal and we really cannot predict what the companies policies might evolve into post his time. They already employ an army of workers and hence bring in tremendous clout in the US but it remains to be seen what these organizations will stand for in the years to come. Humanity is too large and too volatile to be bracketed into users and non-users of these commodities alone.

 The book is highly readable especially since Elon is enjoying the status of a rock star celebrity at the moment. Vance writes in a way which tries to capture the essence of this man while not sounding like a sycophant. It is only towards the end that I felt Vance tries his hands at speculating as to why Elon is not empathetic and his explanation did not appear all too convincing to me. I suppose a few prejudices of the man himself rubbed off on the author with a most notable case being references to Jeff Bezos. There is no love lost between Musk and Bezos with the end result being that the book does not have a great deal of good to talk about Bezos. It is also very inspiring to know about a man who overcame such huge odds to survive and single-mindedly pursue an objective relentlessly.

 Recommended.
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 Sharon
 248 reviews 101 followers
 January 6, 2018
 Ironically, one of the quotes that made the biggest impression on me in Elon Musk: Inventing the Future didn't come from Musk, but from data scientist Jeffrey Hammerbacher: "The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads."

 I mean, da-amn . This is so true. (And it stung even more because I'm a marketer.) Where have we gone wrong as a generation? Where is the passion and quest for knowledge? What is the real purpose of innovation? To improve mankind or to become wealthy? Can we have both?

 I've long been a fan of Musk; his name comes up quite a bit in my geeky circle and is always spoken with reverence: from Tesla, SpaceX, PayPal, Solar City, The Boring Company... this is a techno-utopian fellow who wants to affect real change in the world. Despite any character flaws (and the book points out many), it's real hard not to respect the guy.

 I listened to the audiobook, and even at 392 pages unabridged, this super-accessible biography felt too short. I couldn't wait to go on my lunchtime walks and weekend drives so I could hear what Crazy Elon was up to next. My biggest issue was how out-of-date the book--published in 2015--already is (gotta be hard keeping up with Musk!). Among my beef: 1) Author Ashlee Vance talks only briefly about Musk's desire to build pod-like vehicles to propel through reduced-pressure tubes (Hyperloop); 2) He doesn't mention The Boring Company (his tunnel-digging company) at all, and 3) Perhaps the most egregious, there is a blue-sky conversation about Musk's desire to reuse rockets (this was done to great fanfare in March of this year), as well as to land these rockets with accuracy on floating launch pads (droneships)... SpaceX has now performed this feat multiple times.

 This minor annoyance can't really be helped, though. I'd much rather read about Musk now as opposed to waiting until he's done inventing.

 I'm not even going to attempt to summarize Musk's life or the book - it's a captivating read, and one I'd recommend to anyone interested in Musk, electric cars, space travel and/or colonizing Mars. I've noted some interesting tidbits below (please let me know if there are any inaccuracies; I didn't catch all of the details from the audio):

 Musk was and still is an avid reader. Among his childhood favorites: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy , The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , Foundation , and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress .

 Musk doesn't characterize himself as an investor; he's interested in making technologies he thinks are important and will change the world in some way. For instance, he seriously considered going into game design and programming, but didn't think the cause was noble enough or that it would help change the world. He's also long been interested in the internet, solar energy and space: he didn't just stumble upon the fields as the "next hot thing."

 His big takeaway from his stint as a banker, pre PayPal: Bankers "are rich and dumb."

 He's demanding and difficult to work with: there's a long line of people who will go on record to say they hate him, and those who will follow him anywhere.

 He requires little sleep and has an undisputed work ethic. After a particularly grueling period at Tesla, engineers were told by Musk to rework a design yet again, sacrificing their weekends and sleeping under their desks if necessary. An employee pushed back and asked when they would be allowed to see their families. Musk's answer: "They’ll get to see their families a lot... when we go bankrupt."

 Tesla's Model S stereo volume goes to 11: a nod to This is Spinal Tap .

 He's not a fan of Amazon's Jeff Bezos and scoffed at his secretive Blue Origin space program, particularly irked by Bezos's desire to patent everything under the sun. In summation. "He's just not a fun guy."

 He'd like to spend his final days on Mars and not come back: "If my wife and I had a bunch of kids, she would probably stay with them on Earth." (!!!)

 The retirement of our space shuttle has made us reliant on Russia, who (as of 2015), charge us $70 million per person for the trip to the International Space Station.

 Musk went to Russia multiple times, looking to buy rockets for SpaceX. When he was repeatedly quoted astronomical (heh) figures, he decided to build his own.

 He refuses to take SpaceX public until a viable plan to go to Mars (his ultimate goal) is secure.

 The early engineers of SpaceX were rock stars. They flew to Kwaj (Kwajalein Island, in the Marshall Islands), and were tasked with building a launch site. The early days were likened to Gilligan's Island... with rockets. Musk would agree or refuse essential material requests from the U.S.: one denied request was a paved area that would allow engineers to transport the rocket to the launch site more easily. Engineers were instead forced to go the way of the ancient Egyptians, laying boards down, and wheeling the rocket on top of it, with the last board moved to the front, and then the last board moved to the front again, and so on and so on.

 United Launch Alliance (ULA), a 50-50 joint venture by Lockheed Martin and Boeing (who joined forces because they thought there wasn't enough government work to go around), is pretty much an embarrassment to the U.S. During a 2015 Congressional hearing, Musk claimed ULA charged $380 million per rocket launch. ...with SpaceX charging a mere $90 million ($30 million more than they would typically charge due to strict government protocol).
 biographies
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 Mario Tomic
 159 reviews 301 followers
 July 8, 2015
 Amazing book, if you liked the biography of Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos this book is a must-read! I found it very inspiring and motivational, Elon Musk has the potential to change the world we live in forever. His vision and commitment to make the world a better place through is mind-blowing. Reading this book really helped me push myself past limits and work even harder. It's not hard when your know there's someone like Elon putting everything he's got into his big vision, working 16 hours a day for weeks with no breaks and no holidays. I was especially impressed how he kept his composure to rescue his companies facing multiple bankruptcies and never lost faith in the projects. Highly recommended book if you want to glance into the harsh reality of a man who will stop at nothing to change the world for better and the sacrifices he made along the way to his success.
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 Riku Sayuj
 653 reviews 6,927 followers
 April 9, 2022
 It's a fun book, and Elon has cracked the hologram code. But this book is too early - written before Alexander set off from Macedonia. The game has only started.
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 Silvana
 1,111 reviews 1,104 followers
 January 27, 2018
 A very insightful account on a man who wants to reach the stars (well, Mars) and save humanity from extinction and global warming, yet often falls short from showing a modicum of kindness toward his employees and prone to going ballistic over typos in emails and abbreviations. Oh, did I mention he is downright mysoginistic as well? He basically said all smart women must breed and he's the alpha in his marriage.

 The book provides succinct insights on the situation surrounding the industries the mercurial Musk works in: automotive, finance, power generation, and aerospace. Admittedly, most of them had become bureaucratic, imploding, sunset industries, and had not shown any significant achievements for decades. Musk changed it, with his then-crazy ideas and gung-ho attitudes which include over optimistic deadlines and clashes with friends and employees who did not suit him. He made those happened nonetheless. Not just a big talker, but also a doer. I wish he could be more humane about all of it but his vision seems to be more abstract - future humanity - than taking a good care of people surrounding him (including his loyal ex-secretary, his own Pepper Potts) and himself, all the people in the now that could bring that grand vision to life. If you want to bring changes to the world, you need to start from yourself and people surrounding you then work from that gradually. Anyway, I am an idealistic nobody, so what do I know.

 Semi-philosophical rambling aside, this is a recommended read for those who love innovation (or disrupt) and how to get there. The SpaceX and Solar City chapters were quite entertaining. The Tesla ones were too abstruse for me. The Paypal one was alright, I managed to get through it bexause it reminded me of the excellent Halt and Catch Fire series at AMC - those ICT innovators could be really dramatic especially in the founding stories and creative claims.

 All in all, I appreciate the way he managed to reach self-sufficiency in Tesla and SpaceX (if I were an American I'd be thankful for the employment opportunity) where his other competitors have to rely on other countries.. I now wonder when his space internet and submarine cars will be finished. Speaking of submarines, I hope he also does something with the oceans. Like a machine that collects plastic waste that is cheap, could be mass produced everywhere, solar charged, etc etc. Just use the SpaceX rockets to deploy them to the far reaches of the ocean surface. Can you do that, Musk, since you said you want to save the world? I challenge you.
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1,284 reviews119k followers     August 22, 2019   Elon Musk is not exactly a name that rolls easily off the tongue, like say Tony Stark, the fictional person to whom he is most often compared, or even Steve Jobs, a real-world visionary, whose mantle Musk now wears. There is no question that Musk is a special individual, someone with BIG dreams and the drive, talent, and money to make them happen. But, like Jobs, and Stark for that matter, he might be an acquired taste on a personal level. In Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future biographer Ashlee Vance gives us a picture of both the dreams and the man, peering back to where Musk began, describing his journey from then to now, looking at how he is impacting the world today, and gazing ahead to where he wants to go. It is a pretty impressive vista. Here is what it says on the SpaceX website
 SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.
It might have seemed like visiting another planet when Musk split his home country of South Africa as a teen and headed to North America, anything to get away from an abusive upbringing. He seemed to have been blessed not only with exceptional analytical capabilities, and probably an eidetic memory, but an impressively immense set of cojones. He was able to talk his way into whatever he needed and deftly talk his way out of trouble as well. Sometimes that entailed a bit of truth-bending, but whatever.   Ashlee Vance - from HarperCollins  Vance take us from his adolescence as a computer geek, bullied at school, through his arrival in Canada, cold-calling to get work, putting together his first dot.com startup, and using the money from that to invest in a banking-oriented company that would become PayPal. It was the mega-bucks from the sale of PayPal that would allow him to begin realizing his big dreams. In 2003, Musk bought into Tesla, then a struggling startup. The company took the early knowledge that lithium ion batteries had gotten pretty good, added some top level engineering, design and programming talent, and, after plenty of mis-steps and struggles, brought the remarkable all-electric Tesla Roadster to the market in 2008. Tesla followed this with the Model S in 2012. Not only did Consumer reports call this a great car, it named both the 2014 and 2015 versions the best overall cars of their years, and the best car they had ever tested. The last time an auto startup succeeded in the USA was Chrysler, in the 1920s. But this is not about simply making a buck on a new car. The long term goal is to shift our petrochemical auto industry to renewable power, and the Tesla is a nifty start. Not only is the car amazing, the company has constructed a nationwide series of charging stations where Tesla owners can recharge their vehicles…for free. Tesla currently (August 2019) reports 1,604 such stations nationwide, with many more planned. Tesla is involved in building battery production factories, hoping to help support a growing electric-car auto-economy.    Inside the Tesla Model S - from Tesla Motors  But this was not the only big notion that drove Musk. A parallel effort was to develop a solar power business. And with the help of a couple of enterprising cousins, he did just that. SolarCity provides the solar arrays that provide power to the Tesla charging stations, but it has also become one of the largest solar utilities in the nation, installing, maintaining a third of the nation’s solar panel systems. There is obvious benefit to both Tesla and Solar City in sharing gains in battery and other technology. But I expect the third jewel in Musk’s crown is his favorite, SpaceX.    Falcon 9 first stage attempting a controlled landing - from Wikimedia Musk doesn’t have much going on here, nothing major, only an ardent desire to colonize Mars. But it takes the establishment of an infrastructure in order to be get from point E to point M. Musk saw an opening in the market for satellite launch vehicles. Existing rockets blast things up into orbit and then burn up on their way back down. His idea was to design a rocket that could make its way back to earth in one piece, to be reused. And he has. SpaceX is nearing its goal of launching at least one rocket a month. The manifest available on SpaceX.com lists missions to date. The company also designed a capsule called the Dragon that can be used for cargo, but also for astronauts. The cost of launching a satellite using a Falcon is a fraction of what other options charge. The next step is a larger launch vehicle. Space X has begun launching the Falcon Heavy rocket, offering the biggest load capacity since the Saturn V was last used in 1973. And, while this is definitely good for business in the relatively short term, one must always keep in mind that this is a stage in a bigger plan for Musk. Once the launch infrastructure is established, plans can begin to move forward to put together Mars missions. Not go, look, and explore sorts of adventures, but establishing a colony, a permanent human presence on the red planet.    The Dragon Capsule, attached to the ISS - from Musk’s Twitter page Of course when one has one’s eyes fixed on the stars (yes, Mars is a planet, I know, Geez), there is a large inclination to lose touch with earth-bound reality. In the movie, then play, then movie The Producers Max Bialystock, in order to cope with the absurd success of a play that was designed to fail, suggests to his partner, Leo Bloom, that one solution would be to do away with the cast. "You can't kill the actors, Max! They're human beings," Leo says. "Human beings? Have you ever seen them eat?" Max replies. I suspect that there are more than a few folks who feel about Elon Musk the way Max felt about the actors. He is rather notorious for his insensitivity to anyone not living inside his head. For example, here is what potential recruits are told to expect when they meet with Musk. The interview, he or she is told, could last anywhere from thirty seconds to fifteen minutes. Elon will likely keep on writing e-mails and working during the initial part of the interview and not speak much. Don’t panic. That’s normal. Eventually, he will turn around in his chair to face you. Even then, though, he might not make actual eye contact with you or fully acknowledge your presence. Don’t panic. That’s normal. In due course, he will speak to you.
Musk has an amazing capacity for work, putting in monstrous hours as a matter of course. But then he expects the same from those who work for him.
  The rank and file employees…revere his drive and respect how demanding he can be. They also think he can be hard to the point of mean and come off as capricious. The employees want to be close to Musk, but they also fear that he’ll suddenly change his mind about something and that every interaction with him is an opportunity to be fired. “Elon’s worst trait by far, in my opinion, is a complete lack of loyalty or human connection,” said one former employee. “Many of us worked tirelessly for him for years and were tossed to the curb like a piece of litter without a second thought. Maybe it was calculated to keep the rest of the workforce on their toes and scared: maybe he was just able to detach from human connection to a remarkable degree. What was clear is that people who worked for him were like ammunition: used for a specific purpose until exhausted and discarded.”
Musk even fired his loyal assistant, Mary Beth Brown, who had been with him for twelve years, after she asked for a raise. What a guy.Ego is certainly a big piece of the picture here. But I guess if you can do it, it ain’t bragging. Elon Musk is a larger than life figure, a computer geek, an engineer, an entrepreneur, and a dreamer, in addition to being a walking IED as someone to work for. He is one of the inspirations for Robert Downey‘s portrayal of Tony Stark in sundry Marvel Universe films. In fact, Downey came to visit Musk, specifically to get a taste of what a real billionaire techno-industrialist was like. Downey insisted on having a Tesla Roaster on the set of Iron Man, saying, ”Elon was someone Tony probably hung out with and partied with or more likely they went on some weird jungle trek together to drink concoctions with the shamans.” Musk even had a cameo in Iron Man II. The resulting publicity from this connection did little to diminish Musk’s view of himself. Living the high-life in Tinseltown, hanging with, social, economic and media A-listers added more gas to the bag. Part of his ego issue is that he tends to take internal company timetables and announce them to the world as promises (I can see his entire staff jointly rolling their eyes, clutching palms to temples and issuing choruses of “Oh my god” and “WTF” as they spin in place), then holds his employees to those unreasonable schedules. Of course this results in many missed deadlines, much ingestion of antacid and probably the odd nervous breakdown or two.   Musk, in an Iron Man II cameo - fromWired Musk is the sort of guy who shows up with some regularity in science fiction novels, a genre trope, like the researcher who has exactly the sort of experience and insight the President/PM/Chairman/Secretary General needs in order to stave off global catastrophe. He’s the guy who has been secretly building the arc that the world needs to stave off extinction. In this case he is doing it publicly. Of course this raises some issues. Do we as a country, as a planet, really want to be reliant on private companies for our space exploration? Do we want a possible colony on Mars to be a privately held branch of Musk Industries? There are only a gazillion questions that are raised by the privatization of space. What’s good for the bottom line at SpaceX may or may not be good for humanity. We have certainly seen how a reliance on the inherent civic-mindedness and good will of corporations has worked on this planet. Musk is a dreamer, for sure, and I expect his dream of making a better world through the use of renewable energy and his hopes of establishing a human outpost on Mars are pure ideals. But the devil is always in the details, and what would happen should Musk be infected by another virulent strain of malaria and not escape with a near miss, as he did in 2001? Would the replacement CEO share his ideals? Would a replacement CEO be willing to take big risks to support those ideals? Would a replacement CEO look to sell Tesla off to GM to make a few quick billion? One person can move the world, but it takes more than a start to keep things rolling. We could certainly use plenty more people with the sort of drive and ambition that Elon Musk embodies. Innovation is a rare resource and must be cherished. But like any powerful force, it must be, if not tethered, at least monitored, to make certain that it does not run amok.  Ashlee Vance has done an amazing job of telling not only Musk’s story, but of making the life history of the several companies with which Musk has been involved fascinating reading. I did get the sense that Vance was, from all the time he spent with Musk, smitten with his subject. While his portrait of Musk is hardly a zit-free one, I got the feeling that there might be a few more skeletons safely tucked away in closets, a few more bodies buried in basements. Nevertheless, Elon Musk is a powerful, entertaining and informative look at one of the most important people of our time. Your personal vision of the future should certainly include checking out this book. =================EXTRA STUFF has been moved to comment #1     biography books-of-the-year-2015 brain-candy               925 reviews286 followers     June 10, 2015   3.5 StarsI like the can-do attitude Vance took with hounding Musk and wearing him down till he agreed to cooperate with this biography. I also appreciated all the "Holy crap, Musk is CRAZY. CRAZY like a fox," moments I had while reading this. The only thing that keeps this from being a 4-star book is that the reporting and writing leans too heavily on idolatry. There were passages where I literally cringed at how much of a fanboy Vance sounded like.                   944 reviews1,889 followers     December 2, 2022    
 
 Elon Musk is considered as a cross-pollination of Thomas Edison and Tony Stark. SpaceX, Tesla, Paypal, SolarCity are some of the few companies started by him. The above names are more than enough to understand Musk's potential. 
 
  Ashlee Vance shows us the not-so-famous childhood of Musk in South Africa. He compares and contrasts Musk's entrepreneurial brilliance to Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and his Scientific prowess to Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. His role in preventing global warming is ubiquitous. The EV's produced by his company Tesla is helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a large extend. Musk is even donating $100 million for a competition to find better methods to remove carbon from the air or water. The race for this price will start on 22nd April 2021 (earth day) and goes on till 2025. His courage to invest in ventures with no empirical evidence and make them successful by his confidence and hard work is truly astounding. His enigmatic enthusiasm to get up from failures, again and again, to become successful is very well conveyed in this book and will be truly inspirational for the future generation. Elon Musk is not an ephemeral phenomenon guilty of hyperbole which will be evanescent soon. This name is that of an erudite maverick going to be discussed for a long, long time one way or the other.   
 What I learned from this book 
  
 1) Never ever give up 
 When Falcon 1 failed continuously three times, Musk was nearly bankrupt, and the whole world was making fun of his ideas. But he didn't give up and tried for the fourth time, and the rest is history.     
 “Good ideas are always crazy until they’re not.”      
 2) What makes Musk different from other Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and CEOs? 
 Working more than 16 hours a day, making quick decisions, and achieving impossible targets are common to silicon valley entrepreneurs. But Musk is still entirely different compared to them      "What Musk has developed that so many of the entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley lack is a meaningful worldview. He's the possessed genius on the grandest quest anyone has ever concocted. He's less a CEO chasing riches than a general marshaling troops to secure victory. Where Mark Zuckerberg wants to help you share baby photos, Musk wants to . . . well . . . save the human race from self-imposed or accidental annihilation." "Elon is the shining example of how Silicon Valley might be able to reinvent itself and be more relevant than chasing these quick IPOs and focusing on getting incremental products out,"       
 3) Understanding human nature 
 It is Musks's ability to cognize human nature which made him successful. He exactly knows what humans want and has the motivation to work hard to deliver it quickly even before his competitors started thinking about its possibility      "He would bring standard financial instruments online and then modernize the industry with a host of new concepts. He exhibited a deep insight into human nature that helped his companies pull out exceptional marketing technology and financial feeds. Musk was already playing the entrepreneur game at the highest level and working at the press and the investors like few others could."      
 My favourite three lines from this book 
       “Everything he does is fast,” Brogan said. “He pees fast. It’s like a fire hose—three seconds and out. He’s authentically in a hurry.”      “There needs to be a reason for a grade. I'd rather play video games, write software, and read books than try and get an A if there's no point in getting an A."       “The company would pick a plan of attack, and when it failed at something, it failed fast and then tried a new approach.”      
 What could have been better?
 If you are a person working under Musk and have a different wavelength compared to him, then there is a high probability that his extreme obsession with his work will feel like a toxic one to you. The extra working hours and unrealistic deadlines will be difficult to handle for ordinary people. He might be a maverick, but we still wish he should have been a little bit more kind to his workers when they fall short of deadlines. But Musk tackled this problem by only appointing extraordinary people who always think like him and apt for their designations as his workers. This ability of Musk to convert his foibles to positives is one of the secrets of his success. Musk was involved in many controversies like the rift with few other tech firms, Hollywood actors, Thai cave rescue, and overvaluing Tesla stocks which were unfortunately totally ignored in this book.   
 Rating 
   4/5 I have seen very few biographies like this, which will evoke interest in people from extremely different society sections. It is due to Musk's eclectic knowledge and ability to use it in the best way possible in different spheres of life. If you are a car enthusiast or an EV owner or plans to buy an EV in the future or an aeronautical engineer or astrophysicist or banking professional or software engineer or an entrepreneur or a student who wants to build a successful career, this is a must-read book.                    29 reviews222 followers     May 25, 2015   Excellent and inspiring. This book brought up one key question: do you have to be a bit reckless to be good? Musk was reckless in two areas: in the risks he took, and the way that he manages his companies.As for the first, the number of near-death experiences that Tesla, SpaceX and earlier companies went through is almost a running joke throughout this story. The Falcon 1 failed three times, exhausting the company's funds, before achieving a successful fourth flight. Tesla avoided bankruptcy by taking on a NASA-approved loan from SpaceX plus a last-minute acquisition of a company Musk invested in pulled through, and avoided being derailed by a predatory investor by a bluff on the order of $40 million. Combine these with the many situations where it didn't look like Tesla was going to build anything substantial, plus the negative media attention—the fact that Musk continued to persevere and pull through at times where most normal people would have given up is crazy. This risk undoubtedly took a toll on his life and relationships, through three divorces and the insane sleep deprivation he and the others on the team go through. It brings up the question—when you're doing things as big as this, how reckless do you have to be? Should you have a breaking point? Does the sustainable, get-eight-hours-of-sleep-and-exercise approach really work? Or is the right thing to do actually to push through, get four hours of sleep, and get shit done? Are those that prefer the 'sustainable' option the ones that don't succeed as much, and the reckless ones the ones that actually make progress? As for the second, the way that he manages his companies, he was reckless in what he demanded from people. The most notable story is of SpaceX, where employees worked on a crappy atoll in the Marshall Islands for months to deliver the Falcon 1 rocket launches. In a Jobs-like fashion, his outward personality is cold, demanding, and fearful: employees are on edge all the time and have to have answers. If someone is the bottleneck on a project, there's immense pressure on them to deliver. And you never want to be the deliverer of bad news—and if you are, you better have a solution to back it up:  The savvy engineers knew better than to go into a meeting and deliver bad news without some sort of alternative plan at the ready. “One of the scariest meetings was when we needed to ask Elon for an extra two weeks and more money to build out another version of the Model S,” Javidan said. “We put together a plan, stating how long things would take and what they would cost. We told him that if he wanted the car in thirty days it would require hiring some new people, and we presented him with a stack of resumes. You don’t tell Elon you can’t do something. That will get you kicked out of the room. You need everything lined up. (Loc 4277) And while that is actually a good way to work—to have everything lined up—is Musk's approach the right way to manage a company? Is it the only way to be successful on incredibly difficult things? Or are Tesla and SpaceX successful in spite of this way of working—that it actually holds people back? Other than those questions, this is a very good overview of Musk's life and personality, and the trials and tribulations he went through to be successful—a path beset by an immense number of setbacks and late deliveries. What comes through clearly is how much of a genius this guy was. To get a sense of what this guy is like, consider that in his childhood, he ran out of books to read at the local library and the school library, and sometimes would read for ten hours a day. Dude also has a memory that's not only photographic, but he can wrangle images and numbers and relationships between them in his head. Insane. His ability to ingest and retain information, and his approach to knowledge, is nuts:  People who have spent significant time with Musk will attest to his abilities to absorb incredible quantities of information with near-flawless recall. It’s one of his most impressive and intimidating skills and seems to work just as well in the present day as it did when he was a child vacuuming books into his brain. After a couple of years running SpaceX, Musk had turned into an aerospace expert on a level that few technology CEOs ever approach in their respective fields. (Loc 3421) What also comes across was how much Musk believes in the technological future and how much he as done to restore that promise to humanity. It's clear that he is one of the top people pushing technology and humanity forward, and that's incredibly inspiring. What I found a bit lacking in this book, which would have made this an excellent book, was more about Musk's inner life. Vance hypothesizes that Musk seems cold and non-emotional because he has a different sort of empathy than others: he emphasizes with the entire human species, and wants to do the most he can for them, but that makes him forget the individuals in front of him. But what does Musk think about this? How does Musk characterize his own values and experiences? Of course, this is something that few biographies do anyway, but for someone as dynamic as Musk, it would have been a welcome addition to the surface-level 'what he did' information. The guy's a genius, and this book, I think, represents that well. The inside look into Musk's life and work from the mid-2000s is thorough and really gives you a fantastic backstory into Musk's experience with Tesla and SpaceX. showing he did to make them successful, making this into an endlessly inspiring biography. FIVE STARS — Changed how I see things                   17 reviews32.5k followers     June 13, 2021   Pretty good and interesting. Not life-changing but certainly gives a nice insight into the various Musk-related businesses + early life, which is interesting and most of it was new to me.                  9,568 reviews55.6k followers     May 6, 2022    Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future is Ashlee Vance's biography of Elon Musk, published in 2015.  The book traces Elon Musk's life from his childhood up to the time he spent at Zip2 and PayPal, and then onto SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. In the book, Vance managed to get regular interviews with Musk, those close to him, and those who were with him at the most important points of his life. تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و یکم ماه اکتبر سال2017میلادی عنوان: الون (ایلان) ماسک: تسلا، اسپیس اکس و جستجوی آینده‌ی رویایی؛ نویسنده: اشلی ونس؛ مترجم: چکامه مرتضی‌نیا؛ تهران: نشر پرچین؛ سال1395؛ در362ص؛ شابک9789648340433؛ موضوع اهل کسب و کار (ماسک، ایلان، سال‏‫1971م) - ایالات متحده - سرگذشتنامه - از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده21م ‬عنوان: بازگشت به آینده: داستان زندگی ایلان ماسک...؛ نویسنده: اشلی ونس؛ مترجم: فرید رجبعلی؛ تهران اندیشه عصر‏‫، سال1396؛ در208ص، عکس؛ شابک9786004211314؛‬ ایلان ریو ماسک؛ زاده ی سال1971میلادی در «آفریقای جنوبی»، مهندس، طراح صنعتی، مخترع، و شخص نامی تجارت، در صنایع پیشرفته آمریکایی، و جزو ده شخصیت تأثیرگذار جهان هستند؛ ایشان بنیان‌گذار شرکت‌هایی همچون «تسلا موتورز»، «پی‌پال (که اکنون به ای‌بی تعلق دارد)» و «اسپیس‌اکس» هستند؛ ایشان هم‌اکنون، مدیرعامل و مدیرفنی «اسپیس اکس» هست؛ «ماسک» همچنین در حال توسعه ی یک سیستم «حمل و نقل» با سرعت بالاست، که با نام «هایپرلوپ» شناخته شده ‌است کتاب «ایلان ماسک: تسلا، اسپیس‌اکس، و مأموریت برای آینده‌ ای شگفت»؛ زندگی‌نامه ی «ایلان ماسک»، اثر «اشلی ونس» ‏است، که نخستین بار در سال2015میلادی منتشر شد؛ این کتاب، زندگی «ماسک» را، از کودکی، تا تأسیس «زیپ2»، و «پی‌پال»، و بعدها در «تسلا موتورز»، «اسپیس‌اکس»، و «سولارسیتی»، به‌ تصویر می‌کشد؛ «ونس» در این کتاب، با «ماسک»، و با دوستان و اطرافیان او، و اشخاصی که شاهد لحظات مهم زندگی «ماسک» بوده‌ اند، گفتگوهایی انجام داده‌ است؛ «ماسک» خود بر روی محتوای این زندگی‌نامه کنترلی نداشته‌ اند؛ «ماسک» نزدیک به چهارده‌ ساله بودند، که همچون دیگر نوجوانان نابغه، تلاش کردند، با خوانش کتاب‌های مذهبی و فلسفی، کار را ادامه دهند؛ ایشان از هر ایدئولوژی، نکته‌ ای را برداشت کردند، و سپس کمابیش، از همان‌جایی سر درآوردند، که آغاز کرده بودند؛ یعنی پذیرفتن آموزشهای کتاب علمی‌ - تخیلی «راهنمای مسافران کهکشان»، نوشته‌‌ ی «داگلاس آدامز»، که یکی از تاثیرگذارترین کتاب‌های زندگی ایشان بود؛  ماسک در این‌باره میگونید: (یکی از سخت‌ترین کارها این است، که بفهمیم چه پرسشهایی را باید بپرسیم؛ وقتی پرسشها را بدانید، رسیدن به پاسخ آسان‌تر خواهد شد؛ به این نتیجه رسیدم، که ما باید تلاش کنیم، تا میزان، و حوزه ی آگاهی بشر را، برای فهم بیشتر پرسشهایی که باید بپرسد، بیشتر کنیم)؛ در اینجا بود که «ماسکِ» نوجوان، به آن بیانیه ی بسیار منطقی‌ خویش رسید: (تنها کاری که انجامش منطقی به‌ نظر می‌رسد، تلاش برای بالابردن سطح آگاهی جمعی است.)؛  ریشه‌ یابی برخی تلاش‌های «ماسک»، برای رسیدن به هدف، آسان است؛ ایشان زاده ی سال1971میلادی، و بزرگ‌ شده ی شهر بزرگ «پرتوریا»، در شمال شرقی «آفریقای جنوبی» هستند، که تنها به اندازه‌ ی چند ساعت رانندگی، با «ژوهانسبورگ» فاصله دارد؛ حضور آپارتاید، روی دوران کودکی‌ اش، سایه انداخته بود، و «آفریقای جنوبی» هم، به‌ برهان تنش‌ها، و خشونت‌ها، گاه‌ و بی‌گاه متشنج بود؛ از سویی سیاه‌ ها و سفیدها، با هم درگیر بودند، و از سوی دیگر، سیاه‌های قبایل گوناگون، به جان هم افتاده بودند؛ «ماسک» درست چند روز پس از قیام «سووتو»، چهار ساله شد؛ در قیام «سووتو»، صدها دانش‌آموز سیاه‌پوست، چون به مصوبات دولت‌مردان سفیدپوست، معترض بودند، کشته شدند؛ «آفریقای جنوبی»، سال‌ها به‌ سبب قوانین نژاد پرستانه‌ اش، از جانب کشورهای دیگر، تحریم بود؛ ماسک، در دوران کودکی، برای سفر به خارج از کشور، رفاه کافی داشت، و نظر خارجی‌ها را، درباره‌ ی «آفریقای جنوبی» می‌دانست؛ اما آنچه بیشترین تاثیر را، بر شخصیت «ماسک» گذاشته بود، فرهنگ رایج «آفریقایی» در «پرتوریا»، و مناطق دور و برش بود؛ رفتارهای مرد سالارانه رواج داشت، و سوارکارهای ماهر، و خشن، پرطرفدار بودند؛ «ماسک» با اینکه جزو افراد مرفه آن دوران به شمار می‌آمد، یک خارجی بود، که شخصیت یگانه، و ذات نابغه‌ اش، با رفتارها، و گرایشات آن زمان، در تضاد بود؛ نظریه‌ اش درباره اشتباه‌ بودن دنیا، مدام تقویت می‌شد، و تقریبا «ماسک»، از نخستین روزها، نقشه ی فرار از محیط دور و برش را می‌کشید، و رویای جایی را در سر داشت، که در آنجا آرزوها، و شخصیتش، می‌توانستند شکوفا بشوند تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 14/06/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 15/02/1401هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی     21th-century biography business               694 reviews29.1k followers      Read  July 17, 2019   I found the tale of Elon Musk's childhood all the way through Zip, Paypal, Solar City, SpaceX and Tesla fascinating and inspiring. One thing in particular stood out. He's not motivated by greed. I've met my share of entrepreneurs and there are countless motivations that power these people. Some are narcissists, some like the idea of being in charge (ego), some are battling the demons of their parents (Musk most likely has a piece of this in his psyche), but the best ones are compulsive problem solvers. I liked the quote that Justine Musk mentioned when she said something to the effect: "He's not trying to make money, it just happens for him." Also, I'm no Elon Musk but I share his loathing of acronyms. They are blockers of communication. As an editor and a writer, clarity is key. Why lose someone in a meeting when they could be participating and applying to their brainpower to a problem?      california nonfiction silicon-valley               1,298 reviews4,828 followers     April 29, 2021      4.5 stars    Billionaire Elon Musk is a businessman, engineer, and inventor with a radical vision for the future of mankind. In fact Musk wants nothing less than to establish a human colony on Mars.....with a view toward exploring Jupiter's moon Europa someday.    Jupiter and Europa  Musk fears there will be another mass extinction event - like the asteroid that destroyed 75% of Earth's species at the Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary 65 million years ago - and he wants people to have somewhere to go.    I agree with Musk that Earth is likely to become inhospitable to humans someday, but I fear we'll ruin the planet ourselves - with over-exploitation, pollution, war, and disease. (And then we'd probably do the same thing to Mars. I'm a skeptic.) In any case, Musk puts his money where his mouth is. In 2002 the audacious entrepeneur founded the rocket company SpaceX. SpaceX is already launching satellites for several countries, and carrying supplies to the International Space Station.    SpaceX  In the future, Musk wants rockets to bring people, equipment, and provisions to the red planet.....ideally in the next 50 to 100 years.  SpaceX is just one of Musk's far-sighted enterprises. In this book Ashlee Vance explores Musk's various business ventures, and provides insight into the developer's character and personal life.  Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1971.    He had a difficult childhood, being viciously bullied at school and tormented by his father, Errol. The book has few details about Errol's behavior (no one will talk about it), but it's revealing that grandpa Musk isn't allowed to meet Elon's five sons.    Elon Musk's father Errol  As a youngster Elon devoured books, and - with his photographic memory - recalled everything he read. Elon was also an inventive child who built rockets and created video games.    Little Elon Musk  When he was 17-years-old Elon moved to his mother's home country, Canada.....and the penniless teen bunked with relatives, did odd jobs, and went to school.    Young Elon Musk  Eventually, Elon ended up at the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in economics and physics. Musk then moved to California and entered the business world.   Vance did extensive research and describes Musk's business projects in elaborate detail, including: how they started; financing; development; failures; successes; leadership; personnel; buy-outs; etc. Musk's trajectory didn't go straight from start-up to billionaire. Far from it. In fact the developer nearly went bankrupt several times....to the glee of naysayers and jealous rivals. Musk carried on, though, and was successul in the end. (So yay Elon!....and pooh on the guys who tried to take him down!) In this brief review I'll just provide a quick summary of Musk's business activities. For a full picture, you'll have to read the book. Musk's first venture after college was Zip2 - a kind of online Yellow Pages/Mapquest that allowed users to find businesses and get directions. When Zip2 was sold, Musk founded an internet banking venture that became PayPal. These were profitable pursuits that provided money for additional investments.    Musk founded SpaceX - the aforementioned rocket company in 2002, and co-founded Tesla Motors - which manufactures environmentally friendly electric cars in 2003. Then, in 2006, Musk helped his cousins launch SolarCity - a company that fabricates, markets, and installs solar panels.      Among other things, Tesla and SolarCity are meant to reduce the use of fossil fuels and lower carbon pollution....which would help preserve the Earth and its inhabitants. In this vein, Musk also hopes to build 'hyperloops' - high speed trains that travel on a loop between major cities like New York and Washington DC; and Los Angeles and San Francisco. President Obama is said to be a fan of this project.      Hyperloop  Musk's various ventures require smart, capable personnel and the developer was (and is) always on the lookout for the brightest students, the best engineers, the most foreward-thinking inventors, and so on.    Elon Musk giving commencement address    Caltech students  Musk is notoriously difficult to work for and - when he wants something done - refuses to hear "I can't do it." If you really can't do it, Musk is likely to let you go and do it himself. Musk expects employees to work long hours without complaint.....and has a reputation for upbraiding and firing personnel. Thus, he's quite ruthless on a business level.   Elon Musk is notoriously hard to work with  In private life, though, Musk is said to be a fun guy who likes to make jokes; laugh; attend costume parties; play video games with his kids; and generally have a good time. Musk has five sons - twins and triplets - from his first marriage to Justine Musk and is now wed to the actress Tallulah Riley. The entrepeneur has a brutal work schedule - he often works 100 or more hours per week - but takes his sons all over the world with him. Musk is also close to his brother and cousins, and often collaborates with them on business projects.    Elon Musk's first wife Justine Musk    Elon Musk with his second wife Tallulah Riley    Elon Musk with his sons  In addition to influencing national and international corporations, Musk has impacted popular culture. After the actor, Robert Downey Jr., visited the SpaceX factory, he modeled aspects of his character 'Tony Stark' (Iron Man) on the billionaire entrepreneur. And Musk guest starred on an episode of 'The Simpsons' called 'The Musk Who Fell to Earth.' The Simpsons segment is hilarious and gives a cartoonish - but probably accurate....picture of the entrepreneur as an imaginative inventor and concerned citizen of the Earth. (The episode is available on YouTube.)    Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark (Iron Man)    Elon Musk on The Simpsons  Vance's discussions of the ups and downs of Musk's businesses are especially well-researched and interesting. The author explains how Tesla ultimately built an electric roadster that's beautiful, comfortable, kid-seat friendly, and (more or less) reasonably-priced (if you're rich); and how a rocket was finally launched after heartbreaking failures due to mechanical errors, sloshing fuel, and other hard-to-foresee factors.  Vance also discusses the problems involved when private companies - like Musk's enterprises - compete with established (though inferior) businesses that have government support. Some corporations are beloved by politicians because of monetary contributions, lobbyists, factories in their districts; etc. It's hard to compete with such companies, and they caused massive headaches for Musk. But, of course, he prevailed in the end.  I admire Musk for his brilliance and accomplishments, and I like this book. I'd recommend the book to readers interested in Elon Musk; his far-reaching business ventures; and the future of the planet.    You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....                    585 reviews217 followers     April 27, 2020   Let me offer this thought: SpaceX is the coolest and most exciting company in the world at this moment in time.Yes, Tesla is also extremely cool. And inspiring. But nothing can beat that feeling of power, wonder and deep inspiration that SpaceX will give you as soon as you start to understand what that company is actually doing.  As Vance says, "SpaceX IS Elon Musk".  So who is this man? How is it humanly possible to achieve what he has achieved? What else can he achieve in the future? Will he become the richest man on Earth? Or on Mars?  Not only this book is written in a very passionate and engaging way. I also find that it is a very important book for anyone who is at least a little curious about our present and our future. In fact, I believe Ashlee Vance’s portrait of Elon Musk is a necessary read for anyone, because of the effect that his companies are having on the automotive, the clean energy, and the space industries. If these companies are not changing the future, at the very least they are accelerating our pace towards it. Vance starts out in a ballsy way, stating that he won't budge: he will write whatever he wants, however he wants it. As I got to the end of the book, I had a strong feeling that this is not exactly the case, and that a lot has been left out. However, the information that is in the book is absolutely fascinating. It is the first biography I've ever read that I would categorize as a real "page-turner".  The "missing facts" that stand out the most in my opinion are: 1) Childhood troubles. Musk keeps referring to a very painful and troubled childhood, but in the book all we get is some bullying and social awkwardness. Plus, a father who was "psychologically" abusive. There are many unanswered questions there, and I think Vance chose to be respectful and not dig too deeply. Or he just didn’t get anything about that out of Musk.  2) The miraculous last-minute save of both Tesla and SpaceX in 2008: not enough details. Something crucial seems to be missing. Whether it is a few private donors who poured in extra millions, or some other turn of fate. I don't know if Vance knows what is missing there, but something is missing.  Overall, Elon Musk comes across as a normal human being with exceptional ambition, exceptional luck, exceptional physical energy, exceptional intelligence and exceptional confidence in his vision.  He is an inspiration for many, and beyond Elon Musk, his companies and his vision are a huge inspiration.  Did you notice how the most popular fictional depictions of the future (YA, etc.) in this day and age are pessimistic, dystopian, self-hating like teenagers? Well, Elon Musk is offering us a window into a future that is the exact opposite of that. Very similar to Arthur Clarke, my favorite author, another optimistic visionary. Musk's vision of the future is so bright that reminds me of the golden age of science fiction, when Clarke and Asimov were writing, when people had the courage to dream beautiful, positive dreams about the future.  It sounds like an advertisement for a soap, but yes ----- with Musk, the future is bright again.  Finally, I have a comment about "being a nerd": in the first part of the book, the kid Elon Musk is called a "nerd" about a million times. Why is it that in America (and in South Africa, as it seems) a very smart kid who is into reading a lot instead of playing sports, invariably, is called a "nerd"? The fact that this word DOES NOT EXIST and cannot be translated into many European languages tells us something about America. I think Isaac Asimov was onto somehting when he said: "The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”  -----------------------Btw, great to find out that Robert Zubrin was a big influence on Musk. He is the head of the Mars Society, a man who has been thinking about going to Mars for much longer than Elon Musk has. I read Zubrin's "The case for Mars" many years ago, and I was utterly fascinated by it.                   692 reviews850 followers     January 4, 2018    Space. Renewable Energy. Internet. This is a man after my own heart. Out of all the super entrepreneurs and technological legends of the modern era, Musk ticks all the boxes on my dreams and passions, particularly space. Space has always been the frontier that intrigues me the most; for a single man to dream of colonising Mars and actually doing all he can to make that a reality is just simply astounding.  And then of course, there is Tesla. Aside from the clean energy technology which I am a huge proponent of, how an electric car can become one of the most desirable and good-looking cars in the world is another example of the visionary genius that Musk is.  As with all ideas that are so progressive in nature, the trials and tribulations faced by Musk were so daunting that most would've called it quits. His indomitable will and spirit, however, sets him apart from the ordinary. He is very demanding on himself, being extremely hands-on, and also of his employees. Then again, how else are you going to change the world by compromising on the high standards that one sets for oneself. Notwithstanding his crazy but awesome ideas (first, the Hyperloop and now, Neuralink) the one thing that differentiates him from most current entrepreneurs is that he really seeks to change the world. He is not in it just for short term gain, which is what a lot of businesses are doing right now. A simple case in point is Tesla's open source patent.  I'll stop gushing about Musk now and talk a bit about the biography itself. The conversational tone employed by the author translated well into audio, and the narrator did a good enough job that it didn't sound monotonous. The biography was written from extensive interviews conducted with a plethora of his ex-employees, and the people closest to Musk. This enabled a more independent and less biased insight from one which was self-penned (not that I believe Musk will ever have the time to do so). The biography was also quite educational; while I still do not know how to build a rocket or an electric car now I've gained a better understanding of certain technical aspects of these items and how they work. Whether you're a fan of Musk, or just intrigued by his ideas and achievements, or even if you only just desired the Tesla badly, this is a recommended read.  This review can also be found at Booknest       audiobook biography non-fiction               Author  5 books3,845 followers     March 24, 2018   There are few people outside of the fiction world that I truly admire, but barring some unseen or future tragedy, I think Musk might well be on the way to becoming my hero.If I didn't know any better, I might be looking at all his stated claims and seeing all the echoes of Asimov and Heinlein being dragged out of the page and brought to life. Skip the whole Iron Man image for a second. Let's talk about Ayn Rand. Musk is John Galt. As in Atlas Shrugged.  Sure, he's also Dagney, too, or perhaps more like Dagney in that he's unwilling to let humanity roll around in the mud despite all the backstabbing and idiocracy, in that he hasn't said, "enough is enough". But the day is young. Wait until we get to Mars. Wait until we really take the man of genius and effort for granted. And THEN we'll see what we'll miss once it is taken away. Ahhh, I don't want to see this man out of classic SF heroes become anything other than his stated goals.  I'll be honest here. He's giving me real hope for humanity. Maybe optimism *isn't* unfounded after all. This biography tells me one hell of a great narrative. Is it life imitating art? The best ideals from the grandmasters? Who knows. But right now, I have real hope. I'm holding on to it for my very soul. :) Let's MAKE the future we wanted. Let's NOT let anything stand in our way! HELL YAH!     2018-shelf non-fiction science               165 reviews323 followers     December 14, 2017   Илон Мъск е хомункулус. Извънземните му (буквално) идеи те карат да си мислиш, че си попаднал в някоя футуристична алтернативна вселена и просто бъдещето е СЕГА. Като гигантски скок във времето. Сякаш летиш на нещо със space warp двигател.Винаги съм се питала какво отличава успешните идеи от по-малко успешните. Във всяка област – изкуство, кино, литература… ракети, електрически коли. Добре, признавам, че за последните не съм се замисляла ��собено, но чуденето ми е било принципно. Как става така, че има идеи, които доста бързо се сриват и потъват в забвение (и скептиците ехидничат), а има други, които се настаняват във въображението и карат мозъка да щрака до възпаление. Знаете, онова усещане, когато мислиш толкова много, че имаш чувството, че главата ти гори отвътре. Понякога съм смятала, че става така просто защото е заложено на хората инстинктивно да разпознават истински добрите идеи и да им отдават заслуженото. Да познават, че по някакъв начин придвижват човечеството напред. Историята на Мъск и неговите едно, две, три… Х начинания са пример за обратното. За това как като вярваш в нещо и имаш цел, трябва да я следваш, дори да знаеш, че шансовете за успех са минимални (звучи безумно клиширано, но може би защото е истина. Какво по-голямо клише от истината). А, и да си малко смахнат. Илон Мъск вярва в разни неща. Вярва, че ресурсите на Земята са на привършване и един ден човечеството трябва да си търси друго място за живеене. Първо си мисли, че едни мишки на Марс не са лоши за начало, после достига до идеята, че ще се наложи хората да се превърнат в междупланетарен вид, за да ги (ни) има изобщо. Тъй че Илон се залавя да строи ракети. Никой не му вярва и всички смятат, че е луд. Илон изстрелва първите си три ракети и те гръмват. Всички се подхилкват, че някакъв си милионер от Силициевата долина не може да се заема с начинания, дето правителствата ги умеят на твърде високи цени и твърде неефективно от години. Четвъртата ракета на Илон не избухва. Вече никой не му се смее. SpaceX понатрила носове и излетяла. На някакъв купон като млад Илон се запознал с момиче и първото, което ѝ казал, било „Аз често мисля за електрически коли. Ти мислиш ли за електрически коли?“ И понеже Илон тъй и не спрял да мисли за електрически коли, решил да започне сам да си ги произвежда. Пак защото вярвал – че са по-ефективни, че с тях не се харчи гориво, което и без това един ден ще го няма и мамка му, тогава вече ще е малко късно да се чудим какво да правим. Tesla Motors вдигнала почти 100 км/ч (за 2,5 секунди впрочем) и оставила да ѝ дишат праха.  Илон смята и че е хубаво да се ползва енергията на слънцето, която е огромна и залива Земята, очевидно нахалост. Поради тази причина работи и със SolarCity (която между другото е създадена от братовчедите му – the Force is strong with this family). Илон също така вярва и в други неща – като например пътуване на големи разстояния с огромна скорост във вакуумна тръба, „космически интернет“ и приятелски настроен изкуствен интелект, който не е способен да навреди на хората.  Зад всички тези неща – някои изключително успешни, някои в зародиш, има малко повече от медиен шум и чист късмет. Може би просто генетичният код на Илон Мъск е написан така, че да притежава не само нужните умения и интелект, но и желязна ръка, висок праг на емоционална болка, мулешко упорство и способност да се дистанцира от отделните индивиди, когато на карта е съдбата на цялото човечество. След прочита на книгата изгледах няколко интервюта с него. В едно го питат какво толкова има в него, че е успял на така много фронтове. Той леко притеснено и почти извинително смотолеви ‘Well, I work a lot’. В друго интервю обяснява как се е налагало да работи по 80-100 часа на седмица, всеки ден. Знаете ли колко е това? По 11-14 часа работа на ден. В едно от интервютата хлапето, което задаваше въпросите, го гледаше леко зяпнало и все забравяше да си затвори устата. Май и аз бях така. Честно казано, преди да започна да чета книгата на Ашли Ванс, не бях чувала за никакъв Илон Мъск. По време на целия прочит обаче обяснявах на който имаше желание да ме слуша къде е тестовата площадка за изстрелване на SpaceX, че се работи върху ракети, които ще се връщат обратно на Земята и ще кацат, вместо да се изгубват из космоса или къде е разположен литиево-йонният акумулатор на Tesla роудстъра. Разбирам защо за много хора Мъск е нещо като бог. Не знам дали скоро ще колонизираме Марс и дали въобще трябва или е хубаво да се опитаме да си спасим Земята, но определено Илон Мъск ме вдъхнови да мисля по-мащабно. Един малък Falcon за Мъск, един голям пример за човечеството.     in-english non-fiction               472 reviews     August 26, 2015   I'm not sure why the reviews are so universally high across the board for this book. I thought it was poorly written and focused on all the wrong things. Each chapter, particularly those towards the end, was repetitive and paced as though it was a stand-alone article, which made the pacing of the book very choppy. The author focused on the failures of each company but completely glossed over what made each product and each company climb the peak to success. I'm assuming the author didn't understand the engineering and science behind why the Tesla Model S and the SpaceX rocket are so amazing and so couldn't explain them. He goes over the failures in detail, but does not talk about the breakthroughs and advancements in nearly enough depth. I got the sense from the book that Musk is a tyrant (which he likely is), but no sense of why he has inspired so many people to work for him or invest in him. This was a really disappointing book.     audiobook               355 reviews166 followers     January 9, 2019   Whether you follow him or his companies/works, Elon Musk is an important innovator of our times, and I would suggest everyone to read this book to get inspired or experience another world. I really admire how Vance captured his biography, which is not an easy thing to do. If you read a little bit, you'll understand Musk is not the most easy going person in the world. The author opens the book in a very intriguing way starting from why Musk allowed him to write his biography, which starts to shed some light into his character. It was really interesting to read about how SpaceX, Tesla and all his other success stories started, how he jumped from one ambition to another, and how he runs his companies. Obviously, Musk is no normal person. He runs after his heart, and his dreams. He's not only after making a lot of money, but he wishes a self-sufficient world before he leaves it himself. I do admire how he uses his intellect, his efforts and resources to do innovations that would be good for the earth. Clean technology, colonisation in Mars, solar power, etc. He's probably one of the most persistent person I've ever read about. All the difficulties he's thrown at would make any one of us to give up, but he still goes after his dreams. He's tough, both on himself and his employees. It's not easy to work for him. But, yet again, it's also not easy to aim to change how the world operates. So, we can't expect ordinary from him.  All in all, I would really suggest this book to anybody. It's interesting, fascinating, very well captured inner world of this genius I truly admired even more than before I read this book.  Thanks a lot to NetGalley and the publisher for granting a free copy in exchange for an honest review.                   1,848 reviews3,363 followers     November 17, 2022    
 “It’s nuts that people would want to vilify Elon. He might say some things that rub people the wrong way, but at some point, the being nice to everyone thing doesn’t work.“
 Elon Musk is fascinating. I could simply tick off some biographical points such as him having been married twice and having five children with his first wife (a set of twins and a set of triplets), but that is not why I read biographies and, in fact, why I dislike most of them. Either the people the biographies are about aren’t really interesting (actors barely in their 30s for example) or it really is just a list of facts that I could read on Wikipedia as well.This biography about Elon Musk is different. He is different. He’s only 47 but has lived through and accomplished more than other people could in 3 lifetimes.He grew up during a very violent period in South Africa. Granted, he’s white and the family was never truly poor, but it was still dangerous. He was also bullied in school (like, beaten bloody) and suffered the intense mind games of his father. Later, he went to Stanford university for only one day before leaving again. He, his way of life, his ideas and his ambition are very unconventional.  From what I understand, he is still the little boy reading comics and dreaming of humanity conquering and colonizing the stars. And that is his mission in life that he has dedicated everything to. Some might call this silly but great minds like Stephen Hawking agree(d) with Musk that it’s the only way humanity will have a future and we do need a champion that is driving us, giving us a chance at survival. Once upon a time, we all had this dream of reaching the stars, but it has since dwindled thanks mostly to politics and peoples' tendency to give up when something is hard.  Musk knows that getting humanity to Mars and beyond also means creating technology that will automatically enhance and better life here on Earth. There are many who can influence consumers and create new trends, but Musk isn’t here for exploiting a moment and getting rich - he’s poured ALL of his money, time and time again, into his businesses when they were in trouble and went much farther than any „expert“ thought sane, just to reach his ultimate goal (a colony on Mars). Simply put: he has proven that he’s not afraid to give up or at least risk everything, unlike most entrepreneurs. It’s no surprise, then, that his three main businesses are Tesla (electric cars), SolarCity (renewable energy), and SpaceX (aerospace industry). Before getting to create the above mentioned companies, he founded zip2, which became part of AltaVista eventually, as well as X.com of PayPal fame, but was forced out. I won’t go into detail but it seems kind of a trend that people get enthused by Musk, get rich by his skills - and then force him out because they simply wish to cash in and don’t share his vision. Backstabbing galore throughout his career. It’s sickening.I admit that it sounds as if he was a very difficult man to work with but that is no excuse for such behaviour and his success shows that his way of doing things works! Every time he has an idea, people say he’s nuts and that it cannot work - and then he proves them wrong. 
„Good ideas are always crazy - until they’re not.“ Larry Page, Google co-founder. Short-term, inconsequential goals are trending nowadays from normal people to the highest politicians. In this environment, a radical visionary like Musk steps on many toes and quite often, too.It can’t be easy to be ridiculed and stabbed in the back all the time. However, he thinks that that plus his childhood suffering actually helped him to become who he is today. And I see what makes him think so. Without adversity, there is no challenge to overcome the danger/problem so you stagnate. It sounds a bit like Darwin’s theory of evolution.  
„Elon is one of the few people that I feel is more accomplished than I am.“ Craig Venture, the man who de-coded the human genome and went on to create synthetic lifeforms. Radical. Visionary. Musk has haters and fans alike. He was even called the real-life Iron Man (albeit an Iron Man who sacked his Pepper Potts).His life goals certainly are very compelling if you care about the future at all and refuse to be tied down by the comfortable excuse of it being hard or costly. If you look at historical visionaries that have catapulted humanity forward, I’d say they were all more or less „difficult“ people and especially after seeing the Heavy Falcon rocket being operated successfully only recently (a fact that sadly didn’t make it into this biography as it was published earlier), I believe he can pull it off and certainly hope he can.I, personally, like how well-read Musk is, that he seems to be a technological allrounder, that he is right there in the factories working at least as many hours as he expects from everybody else and getting his hands dirty like any other worker (often ruining expensive Italian leather shoes to the horror of the people around him), that he has such an unbendable will (though I'm sorry it has cost him so much already), that he is playing video games in his spare time when he's not taking care of his kids (because he seems to be quite a good father as well), and that he is a big nerd and geek.As can be seen by him not only shooting one of his sports cars into space, that gets "steered" by a "space man" (Bowie reference) recently or by him storing a very nice collection of scifi literature onto the car's bord computer, but also by him programming said bord computer to display Douglas Adams' immortal words.  This biography was written in a very compelling way by a man with an apparent vast knowledge of the history and inner workings of various industries (the author has worked for several well-known business papers for many years). The book also shows a great deal of research. Some authors manage to bore me even when talking about interesting people but Ashlee Vance has a unique style and I like the red thread throughout the book and that he doesn’t shy away from also showing the more problematic sides of Musk’s character. Edit: I won't downrate the book because it is still very well written and the points made remain coherent and true. However, looking at recent events, I'm sorry to say that I am sorely disappointed in Musk. He must be suffering a 100% breakdown complete with megalomaniac re-build-up afterwards.  
 If you want to see the true measure of a man, watch how he treats his inferiors, not his equals. --- Harry Potter
 
 
 Evil begins when you begin to treat people as things. --- I Shall Wear Midnight   To think that I believed in him (his vision and him being able to achieve it) once ...                  1,016 reviews555 followers     January 7, 2023   Not long ago I was glued to my television set as SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket, carrying two astronauts on their journey to the International Space Station. The launch was followed shortly thereafter by the amazing spectacle of seeing the main body of the rocket separate before flipping and completing a descent, culminating in a vertical landing on an autonomous drone ship. This still feels to me like something out of a sci-fi movie – I’m hardly able to believe what I’m seeing! A few days later Audible offered up a cheapie listen to this bio of the company’s founder and driving force, Elon Musk. And, of course, not only is Musk the man behind America’s return to manned space travel he also runs Tesla, a company producing high-end electric cars. Oh, and let’s not forget SolarCity, a subsidiary of Tesla that specialises in providing solar energy services. That’s quite a collection.Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1971 and from an early age he demonstrated an ability to absorb and retain a huge volume of information. A prodigious reader, he regularly immersed himself in books for up to ten hours a day. As a young boy he wasn’t considered hugely sociable and his habit of routinely correcting other children was hardly going to help him develop an extensive group of school friends. He developed into a geeky adolescent who enjoyed science fiction and fantasy stories. Shortly before his 18th birthday he set off for Canada on his own and from there made his way to America. After obtaining degrees in physics and economics and completing two internships in Silicon Valley he toyed with the idea of beginning doctorate studies before giving that up to launch a web software company called Zip2, in 1995.  After pocketing $10 million from the sale of Zip2 he co-founded an online financial services and email payment company (X.com) which through a merger acquired a money-transfer service called PayPal. A couple of years later Musk was ousted as CEO but in the shakeout he received circa $165 million. This was to be his set-up money for SpaceX and Tesla. Musk had developed into a visionary who believed that to safeguard the human race it would be necessary to build a multi-planetary society – his planet of choice being Mars. Furthermore, he was enthused by the idea building an electric car after test driving a handmade electric sports car. The makers had no interest in mass producing the car but Musk believed in the concept of a future in which cars were no longer powered by petrol or diesel. This book walks us through Elon’s involvement in both companies, and to a lesser extent the development of SolarCity too. Not surprisingly, he comes across as daring and hugely driven. He rates high on his ability to maximise output from his teams – he recruits highly skilled people, expects them to work long days and accepts no resistance to his lofty targets and goals. But he can be harsh in dealing with his employees and it seems that though almost all respect (and often revere) their boss, it doesn’t necessarily mean they like him. As a leader he is adept at developing a big picture strategy but, unusual for high flying CEO’s, he’s also totally comfortable delving into the fine detail. And there are quite a few examples here describing how Musk uses his photographic memory to the consternation of those around him: in one example he provided feedback on a prototype car, listing around 80 elements requiring attention – all without having taken any notes.  The book was published in 2015, so it doesn’t cover elements that have made the news in the past few years. But what is clear here is just how daring the man is. He is not afraid to go ‘all in’ when investing in his companies, though this nearly cost him dear in 2008 when both SpaceX and Tesla were on the verge of financial collapse. He has also managed to augment his skills as a physicist and an engineer with an eye for design. He’s a man with a big ego and this can sometimes get in the way but his drive and focus ensure that his eyes (and those of his team) are always firmly set on the prize. It’s a fascinating story and sits beside those featuring the likes of Steve Jobs and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin as another testament to the bright, insightful entrepreneurs Silicon Valley has produced.     business-finance memoirs-biographies non-fiction               18 reviews5 followers     July 27, 2015   I wish I could rate this book 2.5 stars. It's a great long read Atlantic or Wired piece about a visionary person with an interesting childhood that is at the forefront of a technology shift and an unsuccessful emotional biography. There are a ton of details about Elon's upbringing, especially about his father and brother, who always felt like a mystery to me. I got a good understanding of how Elon's early mentor, a Canadian banking executive, gave him some insights towards starting X.com, a service I had dearly loved but didn't seem to jive with his later projects. There were interesting details on the mind boggling progress SpaceX made when building their initial Falcon rockets. In short I learned a lot about the progress of Elon's companies, but very little about what motivated him to start them or continue after making his first billion. It's hard not to compare this book to Walter Isaacson's 'Jobs, not only because the structure of the book is similar but Vance seems to reach for the same informal and intimate tone. Isaacson was able to give us a real glimpse into Jobs's growth as a person and a real insight into Steve's thinking. Vance gives us a chronology of Elon's life, a superficial overview of the technology that anyone with more than a layman's interest already knows, and adds his own often peremptory commentary on Musk's motivations and accomplishments. It straddles a funny line between objective reporting and jokey insider tell-all. I think it falls on both fronts as Vance does a very skin deep overview of the technology that SpaceX and Tesla have pioneered and a lot of the jokey comments come off as non-sequitor. In a way I learn more about him than Elon.  Elon's companies are important enough to our future than any new information about him and his motivations is well worth a read. I hope someone else takes on the topic with a little more depth and a little less personality.                    352 reviews194 followers     June 15, 2016   Предупреждавам, че това ревю ще бъде лично и доста дълго, за което не се извинявам. Просто информирам. За да разберете всепоглъщащата ми възхита към личността на Илън Мъск се налага да вкарам поне малко контекст преди да пристъпя към анализ на бе��спорните достойнства на книгата. Когато бях малка не мечтаех да бъда принцеса, балерина, певица или някаква друга подобна Дисни лигавщина. Исках да правя компютърни игри. И хич не ме интересуваше колко сложно реално е това. На по-късен етап пътищата ми с тази мечта се разделиха, след като хвърлих поглед на учебниците по висша математика и основи на програмирането, но това не ми пречи и до днес да бъда запленена от света на информационните технологии и иновациите, които променят света буквално всеки ден.  Ужасно обичам да чета биографии на луди учени, абсолютни иноватори и изобщо хора, които имат откачени идеи и не се страхуват да ги преследват до край, независимо от препятствията по пътя и присмеха на обикновените хора. Първата ми среща с подобна книга беше автобиографията на Ричард Брансън "Как изгубих наивността си". Ще си призная, че до онзи момент не бях чувала абсолютно нищо за него, но след като затворих последната страница вече му бях безпаметен фен и мога да говоря по темата с часове. Точно като Мъск Брансън навлиза без колебание в мощни и закостенели индустрии като гражданска авиация, железопътен транспорт и космически полети, изправяйки се срещу монополистите в бранша и революционализирайки целия отрасъл без да му мигне окото.   Истинската ми страст обаче си оставаха предприемачите от Силициевата долина (компютърните игри, нали помните?), но исках да науча повече за имена различни от изтърканите от употреба икони Стив Джобс и Бил Гейтс. Ето защо бях изключително развълнувана, че открих и преведох (съвсем буквално) по целия път до издаването му сборника статии на "Форбс" за третата вълна интернет милиардери "Една успешна идея е достатъчна". Синтезираните истории на успеха на създателите на Napster, Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram, PayPal, Tesla Motors и много други само изостриха апетита ми към подобен род вдъхновяващи четива. Мъск беше сред тези супергерои на новото време, но 20-тина страници няма как да обхванат дори една микроскопична част от неговия ненормално як живот, дело и личност. Апетайзърът беше превъзходен и крачката до основното блюдо се оказа неизбежна.   Изключително съм щастлива, че биографията на Илън Мъск е на българския пазар, защото хора като него се раждат много рядко и е абсолютно задължително да бъдат познати на възможно най-широк кръг читатели. Няма да преразказвам книгата, тя просто трябва д�� се прочете, но ще ви дам малко мотивация да посегнете към нея, в случай че не сте абсолютен Мъск ултрас, какъвто съм аз. Той е човекът, който още на 10-тина годишна възраст е прочел пълното издание на енциклопедия "Британика" и може да цитира всякакви факти от него наизуст. Той е един от основателите на "интернет банката" PayPal, благодарение на която в момента милиони хора извършват онлайн плащания за секунди при максимално ниво на сигурност. Той е визионерът, който си е поставил за цел да освободи хората от тежката петролна зависимост и ще вкара електромобила в масово производство като го направи същевременно сигурна и невероятно секси кола. Не вярвате? Ето ви снимка на Tesla Roadster, който вече е в продажба и се е превърнал в символ на стил, висок обществен статус и грижа за опазване на природата.    Мъск не спира до тук. Неговата мисия в живота е да осигури на човечеството възможност да колонизира други планети, защото е убеден, че ресурсите на Земята се изчерпват с бясно темпо и един ден оцеляването на нашата раса ще зависи от способността ни да живеем на Марс. Звучи ви като научна фантастика? Ще ви споделя само, че неговата компания SpaceX е първата частна корпорация, която е официален доставчик на НАСА и е осъществила скачване с международната космическа станция. SpaceX работи усилено над създаването на ракети за многократна употреба. Представете си каква революция за космическия бизнес би било подобно постижение! То ще доведе до драстично намаляване на цените на космическите полети, пестене на ресурси и време, както и частично решение на немалкия проблем с космическия боклук.    И това не е всичко. Мъск е един от основните инвеститори в компанията за соларни панели SolarCity, както и в още няколко начинания, за които дори няма да започна да ви разказвам. Самата му личност е екстремна, брутално твърда и безкомпромисна, но такъв трябва да бъдеш, за да заведеш една цяла раса на друга планета. Един от най-близките сътрудници на Мъск споделя в книгата, че той имал навика да ти отправя един интенизвен, леко налудничав поглед, след който абсолютно вярваш, че ей сега ще стъпим на Марс. Аз вярвам, а вие?     favorites               231 reviews667 followers     October 11, 2021   Elon Musk is a revolutionary entrepreneur of the 21st century. His life was full of struggles whether it's a family affair or a professional one. He has witnessed a long list of hardships in his life but he never scummed to those. The book by Ashlee Vance has wonderfully written those pieces of information that will be very delightful for the readers to read. He was thrown out of Paypal, multiple failures of SpaceX and many more came in his life. He took lessons from his failures and never stopped there. Now, we all know who is Mr Elon Musk.                  960 reviews102 followers     September 14, 2016   Really enjoying this book, but I'm struck by how Musk, like Jobs and Bezos, is a total asshole. A Space-X employee missed a work event to witness his child's birth, and Musk calls him on the carpet for it. He expects his employees to have no life and discards people as soon as they're no longer useful. Just a nightmare boss. Not somebody I'd ever want to work with. Apparently I'm not the only one who had this thought. From NY Times: The Bad Behavior of Visionary Leaders As I was reading Ashlee Vance’s “Elon Musk: Tesla, Space X and the Quest for a Fantastic Future,” I was alternately awed and disheartened, almost exactly the same ambivalence I felt after reading Walter Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs” and Brad Stone’s “The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon.”The three leaders are arguably the most extraordinary business visionaries of our times. Each of them has introduced unique products that changed – or in Mr. Musk’s case, have huge potential to change – the way we live. I was awed by the innovative, courageous, persistent and creative ways all three built their businesses. I also love their products. I own a Mac Pro and an iPhone, and I have been a loyal customer of Apple for 20 years. I buy many books and other products on Amazon, lured by a blend of low prices, ease of purchase and reliably quick delivery. The Tesla Model S is hands down the best car I have ever driven, and it’s all electric, rechargeable in your garage. Plainly, I have bought in to what these guys are selling. What disheartens me is how little care and appreciation any of them give (or in Mr. Jobs’s case, gave) to hard-working and loyal employees, and how unnecessarily cruel and demeaning they could be to the people who helped make their dreams come true.  All three of these dudes are clearly geniuses who have advanced the state of the art and changed the world. iPhone, amazon, ehhhh tesla (jury's out). But I have to believe you could get there without treating your employees like shit. Is it a patriarchy/male thing? Who knows. Maybe female billionaire tycoons are all assholes too. Kudos to the first self-made billionaire who manages to change the game multiple times (at the level of iphone/pixar, tesla/space x, amazon/kindle) WITHOUT abusing employees and trampling people's lives. It has to be possible                   335 reviews26 followers     July 22, 2015   I’m super interested in Elon Musk and this book provided me insight into the way he thinks, what drives him, how he gets things done, etc. Some small criticisms-- There were times I noticed information that was being repeated, which made it feel like Vance may have written each chapter separately or without certainty of what order the chapters would be included in the book. Also, while I liked the conversational tone of the writing, it was not what I’m used to from biographies. A larger criticism— I don’t know if Vance intended to write this book as a disinterested third party, but it was evident to me that by the end, he was too close to his subject to do so. Musk’s “failures”—his cold dealings with people, his tendency to lose the trees in the forest (which is 100% not how that saying goes), his ruthlessness with people who have sacrificed a great deal for his business and his dreams—are treated as necessary (and therefore forgivable) for the incredibly amazing things Musk has decided to do with his life and money. And while I think I agree, I’m not sure that I wanted the biographer to make that decision for me.  After reading this book, it’s easy for me to forgive all of Musk’s interpersonal failures because I’m inspired by the things he dreams up, the way he pursues the “impossible” things, and the fact that he has found a purpose in life and doesn’t let things like money and celebrity distract him from that purpose. However, I’m not a casualty of these failures and can’t imagine that I’d like to be written off so easily if I was. Okay, this hasn’t sounded like a 4-star review so far, but let me assure you that this book is interesting, well researched, has insight that I presume only Silicon Valley insiders had before, and is incredibly inspiring.                   82 reviews14 followers     May 7, 2017   At first, the idea of reading 380-page autobiography about a technology-savvy made me downhearted. However, eventually I extremely relish this book that I cannot put it down.Takeaways:1. There is nothing wrong about being an introvert and enjoying reading books. You will find a lot of inspirations for your career. Don't give up your childhood dream. 2. Working hard is the only way that lead to success. I vividly remember that he has to take about 170 flights a year. Thanks for his hard work, he contributes tremendously to our modern world. Musk is the founder of SpaceX, co-founder of Zip 2, Paypal, Tesla and SolarCity. 3. Always seek to minimize monopoly in every industry. SpaceX helps US government save a lot of money to lauch satellites, instead of relying on Russian providers.                   251 reviews146 followers     June 30, 2016   This is an incredibly inspiring book, a important look into a game-changing worldview, and a valuable lesson to the world. As Musk says, "If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it."Strangely enough, I've followed Space X' and Tesla's progress for a very long time, but I never actually read many things about the person behind them. I still cannot believe what a visionary Elon Musk is, and how persistent he's about anything he does. He is a mad scientist, inventor, business mogul and visionary all at the same time, and all these play equally important role in his life. For obvious reasons, his - let's say - philanthropy strikes the most sensitive chord in anyone who's even remotely troubled by what's going on on this planet. His philanthropic vision though does not consist in giving his billions away, but in trying to make his businesses succeed in order to save humanity from itself, before the planet we live on collapses.  “He’s the possessed genius on the grandest quest anyone has ever concocted. He’s less a C.E.O. chasing riches than a general marshaling troops to secure victory. Where Mark Zuckerberg wants to help you share baby photos, Musk wants to ... well ... save the human race from self-imposed or accidental annihilation."  Mr. Vance curbs his enthusiasm and delivers a well-calibrated portrait of Mr. Musk. The best thing about the book is that it tells Elon Musk’s story simply and well. It’s the story of an intelligent man, for sure. But more so it is the story of a determined one. The insights into the respective industries are truly compelling - Mr. Vance brings us up to date on the states of green energy and space launches. He also veers away from his subject just often enough, offering profiles of the frequently brilliant people who work alongside Mr. Musk. I'm so very pleased that many of the things discussed in the book as future plans are already happening (safely reusing rockets is one step nearer after the successful landing of Falcon 9 in April, while the first affordable electric car that's more attractive than the best sport cars was unveiled in March, and it has a price tag of 35 000 USD).  I'm too old to hang a poster of Musk in my bedroom, but I've found a new crush, and I'll continue to follow his progress in awe and admiration. Humanity may still have a chance.      adventure audio based-on-real-events               796 reviews368 followers     November 11, 2015   Google’s Larry Page says that ’Good ideas are always crazy until they are not’ and this is a statement of truth. If before 2007, someone were audacious enough to tell you that a mobile phone made in the US will turn the industry on its head then you would have called that a crazy notion. If prior to 1998, someone would have said that a website will come along and would grow beyond its role as a search engine into a part of life itself that would have been called crazy too. Every other thing from a light bulb to a movie to a car to sliced bread were all crazy ideas at one time. It only took an individual or a group to persist through this period of ridicule and name calling to finally make these crazy notions come to life .Then there is this man : Elon Musk .His dreams of cheaper space travel, sustainable and clean energy and electric cars were laughed off as the dreams of just another batshit crazy Silicon Valley entrepreneur. Elon founded one company, took over another and invested in a third all three of which were called epic fails by the industry pundits. Time however proved Elon right and all three companies (SpaceX, Tesla and Solar City)are now stuff of lore. How did these companies manage to break through against all these odds and how did Elon manage to drive them to achieve more and more- this is the crux of this book.To me this book was more about SpaceX and Tesla than Elon’s biography. I did come across a lot of articles that detailed his management style, the apparent lack of empathy and of pushing people to the last shreds of their performance but the ultimate vision that these companies embody might not be compatible to a softer management style. Take SpaceX, whose stated vision is to make human beings as a multiplanetary race in the days to come. This is one of the grandest, loftiest visions a company can have as its raison d'être . Now this is a binary vision as in you either make it to space and colonize or you fail as a company. The objective is monstrously big and for a company striving to reach it there can be no excuses or compromises. Everybody breaks their back working to get human beings to space. Elon, who heads the company and who formulated the vision then works double hard and puts in twice more than any other employee to move closer to realizing that vision. Slips in performance from individuals or teams will not be tolerated and Musk &amp; Co burn through employees like firewood. You can look at it from the perspective of a conventional organization and say that such a methodology is bad for you but then there are loads of talented people waiting in line to be hired into SpaceX or Tesla to get their hands on these projects. This by no means is a justification for abrasive management practices from Musk or for the gruelling work hours of these firms. But truth be told complacency was what unseated the competitors for both these organizations. Ashlee Vance makes an analogy by comparing the industry placidity that surrounded iPhones. When the iPhone came out, everyone called it an overpriced rich man’s toy and were quick to downcast it. But then it blazed ahead and disrupted the entire mobile phone industry. Even with an iPhone in hand, companies like HTC and Samsung took years to come close to a comparable design or user interface. Now use this perspective in SpaceX and you see Musk &amp; Co. shaking up years of bureaucratic dust when they cut the cost of commercial space flight to a fraction of what it was before and Tesla blows competition out of the water with their automobile design and efficiency. Elon Musk’s ideas for a better future of mankind is cleaner, effective and makes abundant use of technology. Therein also lies its biggest impediment for almost all of it hinges on this one man alone. Musk is not immortal and we really cannot predict what the companies policies might evolve into post his time. They already employ an army of workers and hence bring in tremendous clout in the US but it remains to be seen what these organizations will stand for in the years to come. Humanity is too large and too volatile to be bracketed into users and non-users of these commodities alone. The book is highly readable especially since Elon is enjoying the status of a rock star celebrity at the moment. Vance writes in a way which tries to capture the essence of this man while not sounding like a sycophant. It is only towards the end that I felt Vance tries his hands at speculating as to why Elon is not empathetic and his explanation did not appear all too convincing to me. I suppose a few prejudices of the man himself rubbed off on the author with a most notable case being references to Jeff Bezos. There is no love lost between Musk and Bezos with the end result being that the book does not have a great deal of good to talk about Bezos. It is also very inspiring to know about a man who overcame such huge odds to survive and single-mindedly pursue an objective relentlessly. Recommended.                   248 reviews101 followers     January 6, 2018   Ironically, one of the quotes that made the biggest impression on me in Elon Musk: Inventing the Future didn't come from Musk, but from data scientist Jeffrey Hammerbacher: "The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads."I mean, da-amn. This is so true. (And it stung even more because I'm a marketer.) Where have we gone wrong as a generation? Where is the passion and quest for knowledge? What is the real purpose of innovation? To improve mankind or to become wealthy? Can we have both? I've long been a fan of Musk; his name comes up quite a bit in my geeky circle and is always spoken with reverence: from Tesla, SpaceX, PayPal, Solar City, The Boring Company... this is a techno-utopian fellow who wants to affect real change in the world. Despite any character flaws (and the book points out many), it's real hard not to respect the guy. I listened to the audiobook, and even at 392 pages unabridged, this super-accessible biography felt too short. I couldn't wait to go on my lunchtime walks and weekend drives so I could hear what Crazy Elon was up to next. My biggest issue was how out-of-date the book--published in 2015--already is (gotta be hard keeping up with Musk!). Among my beef: 1) Author Ashlee Vance talks only briefly about Musk's desire to build pod-like vehicles to propel through reduced-pressure tubes (Hyperloop); 2) He doesn't mention The Boring Company (his tunnel-digging company) at all, and 3) Perhaps the most egregious, there is a blue-sky conversation about Musk's desire to reuse rockets (this was done to great fanfare in March of this year), as well as to land these rockets with accuracy on floating launch pads (droneships)... SpaceX has now performed this feat multiple times.  This minor annoyance can't really be helped, though. I'd much rather read about Musk now as opposed to waiting until he's done inventing. I'm not even going to attempt to summarize Musk's life or the book - it's a captivating read, and one I'd recommend to anyone interested in Musk, electric cars, space travel and/or colonizing Mars. I've noted some interesting tidbits below (please let me know if there are any inaccuracies; I didn't catch all of the details from the audio): Musk was and still is an avid reader. Among his childhood favorites: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Foundation, and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Musk doesn't characterize himself as an investor; he's interested in making technologies he thinks are important and will change the world in some way. For instance, he seriously considered going into game design and programming, but didn't think the cause was noble enough or that it would help change the world. He's also long been interested in the internet, solar energy and space: he didn't just stumble upon the fields as the "next hot thing." His big takeaway from his stint as a banker, pre PayPal: Bankers "are rich and dumb."  He's demanding and difficult to work with: there's a long line of people who will go on record to say they hate him, and those who will follow him anywhere.  He requires little sleep and has an undisputed work ethic. After a particularly grueling period at Tesla, engineers were told by Musk to rework a design yet again, sacrificing their weekends and sleeping under their desks if necessary. An employee pushed back and asked when they would be allowed to see their families. Musk's answer: "They’ll get to see their families a lot... when we go bankrupt." Tesla's Model S stereo volume goes to 11: a nod to This is Spinal Tap. He's not a fan of Amazon's Jeff Bezos and scoffed at his secretive Blue Origin space program, particularly irked by Bezos's desire to patent everything under the sun. In summation. "He's just not a fun guy." He'd like to spend his final days on Mars and not come back: "If my wife and I had a bunch of kids, she would probably stay with them on Earth." (!!!) The retirement of our space shuttle has made us reliant on Russia, who (as of 2015), charge us $70 million per person for the trip to the International Space Station. Musk went to Russia multiple times, looking to buy rockets for SpaceX. When he was repeatedly quoted astronomical (heh) figures, he decided to build his own. He refuses to take SpaceX public until a viable plan to go to Mars (his ultimate goal) is secure. The early engineers of SpaceX were rock stars. They flew to Kwaj (Kwajalein Island, in the Marshall Islands), and were tasked with building a launch site. The early days were likened to Gilligan's Island... with rockets. Musk would agree or refuse essential material requests from the U.S.: one denied request was a paved area that would allow engineers to transport the rocket to the launch site more easily. Engineers were instead forced to go the way of the ancient Egyptians, laying boards down, and wheeling the rocket on top of it, with the last board moved to the front, and then the last board moved to the front again, and so on and so on. United Launch Alliance (ULA), a 50-50 joint venture by Lockheed Martin and Boeing (who joined forces because they thought there wasn't enough government work to go around), is pretty much an embarrassment to the U.S. During a 2015 Congressional hearing, Musk claimed ULA charged $380 million per rocket launch. ...with SpaceX charging a mere $90 million ($30 million more than they would typically charge due to strict government protocol).     biographies               159 reviews301 followers     July 8, 2015   Amazing book, if you liked the biography of Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos this book is a must-read! I found it very inspiring and motivational, Elon Musk has the potential to change the world we live in forever. His vision and commitment to make the world a better place through is mind-blowing. Reading this book really helped me push myself past limits and work even harder. It's not hard when your know there's someone like Elon putting everything he's got into his big vision, working 16 hours a day for weeks with no breaks and no holidays. I was especially impressed how he kept his composure to rescue his companies facing multiple bankruptcies and never lost faith in the projects. Highly recommended book if you want to glance into the harsh reality of a man who will stop at nothing to change the world for better and the sacrifices he made along the way to his success.                  653 reviews6,927 followers     April 9, 2022   It's a fun book, and Elon has cracked the hologram code. But this book is too early - written before Alexander set off from Macedonia. The game has only started.    biographies business founders               1,111 reviews1,104 followers     January 27, 2018   A very insightful account on a man who wants to reach the stars (well, Mars) and save humanity from extinction and global warming, yet often falls short from showing a modicum of kindness toward his employees and prone to going ballistic over typos in emails and abbreviations. Oh, did I mention he is downright mysoginistic as well? He basically said all smart women must breed and he's the alpha in his marriage. The book provides succinct insights on the situation surrounding the industries the mercurial Musk works in: automotive, finance, power generation, and aerospace. Admittedly, most of them had become bureaucratic, imploding, sunset industries, and had not shown any significant achievements for decades. Musk changed it, with his then-crazy ideas and gung-ho attitudes which include over optimistic deadlines and clashes with friends and employees who did not suit him. He made those happened nonetheless. Not just a big talker, but also a doer. I wish he could be more humane about all of it but his vision seems to be more abstract - future humanity - than taking a good care of people surrounding him (including his loyal ex-secretary, his own Pepper Potts) and himself, all the people in the now that could bring that grand vision to life. If you want to bring changes to the world, you need to start from yourself and people surrounding you then work from that gradually. Anyway, I am an idealistic nobody, so what do I know.  Semi-philosophical rambling aside, this is a recommended read for those who love innovation (or disrupt) and how to get there. The SpaceX and Solar City chapters were quite entertaining. The Tesla ones were too abstruse for me. The Paypal one was alright, I managed to get through it bexause it reminded me of the excellent Halt and Catch Fire series at AMC - those ICT innovators could be really dramatic especially in the founding stories and creative claims.  All in all, I appreciate the way he managed to reach self-sufficiency in Tesla and SpaceX (if I were an American I'd be thankful for the employment opportunity) where his other competitors have to rely on other countries.. I now wonder when his space internet and submarine cars will be finished. Speaking of submarines, I hope he also does something with the oceans. Like a machine that collects plastic waste that is cheap, could be mass produced everywhere, solar charged, etc etc. Just use the SpaceX rockets to deploy them to the far reaches of the ocean surface. Can you do that, Musk, since you said you want to save the world? I challenge you.     biogramoir kindle-google mine-mine-mine
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic…
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25541028-elon-musk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_executive_officer
Chief executive officer - Wikipedia
2002-05-17
Authority control National libraries Germany
<div><div>
	<p>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p>
	</div><div>
<p>A <b>chief executive officer</b> (<b>CEO</b>),<sup><a href="#cite_note-kamlesh_ydv-1">[1]</a></sup> also known as a <b>central executive officer</b>, <b>chief administrator officer</b> (<b>CAO</b>) or just <b>chief executive</b> (<b>CE</b>), is one of a number of <a href="/wiki/Corporate_Executive">corporate executives</a> charged with the management of an <a href="/wiki/Organization">organization</a> – especially an independent <a href="/wiki/Legal_person">legal entity</a> such as a <a href="/wiki/Company">company</a> or <a href="/wiki/Nonprofit_organization">nonprofit institution</a>. CEOs find roles in a range of organizations, including public and private <a href="/wiki/Corporation">corporations</a>, non-profit organizations and even some government organizations (notably <a href="/wiki/State-owned_enterprise">state-owned enterprises</a>). The CEO of a corporation or company typically reports to the <a href="/wiki/Board_of_directors">board of directors</a> and is charged with maximizing the value of the business,<sup><a href="#cite_note-auto-2">[2]</a></sup> which may include maximizing the <a href="/wiki/Share_price">share price</a>, <a href="/wiki/Market_share">market share</a>, revenues or another element. In the non-profit and government sector, CEOs typically aim at achieving outcomes related to the organization's mission, usually provided by legislation. CEOs are also frequently assigned the role of main manager of the organization and the highest-ranking officer in the <a href="/wiki/C-suite">C-suite</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup>
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<h2>Origins[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Chief_executive_officer&amp;action=edit&amp;section=1">edit</a>]</h2>
<p>The term "chief executive officer" is attested as early as 1782, when an ordinance of the <a href="/wiki/Congress_of_the_Confederation">Congress of the Confederation</a> used the term to refer to governors and other leaders of the executive branches of each of the Thirteen Colonies.<sup><a href="#cite_note-4">[4]</a></sup> In draft additions to the <i><a href="/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary">Oxford English Dictionary</a></i> published online in 2011, the <i>Dictionary</i> says that the use of "CEO" as an acronym for a chief executive officer originated in Australia, with the first attestation being in 1914. The first American usage cited is from 1972.<sup><a href="#cite_note-5">[5]</a></sup>
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<h2>Responsibilities[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Chief_executive_officer&amp;action=edit&amp;section=2">edit</a>]</h2>
<p>The responsibilities of an organization's CEO are set by the organization's <a href="/wiki/Board_of_directors">board of directors</a> or other authority, depending on the organization's structure. They can be far-reaching or quite limited, and are typically enshrined in a formal delegation of authority regarding <a href="/wiki/Business_administration">business administration</a>. Typically, responsibilities include being an active decision-maker on <a href="/wiki/Strategic_management">business strategy</a> and other key policy issues, <a href="/wiki/Leadership">leader</a>, manager, and executor. The communicator role can involve speaking to the press and the rest of the outside world, as well as to the organization's management and employees; the decision-making role involves high-level decisions about policy and strategy. The CEO is tasked with implementing the goals, targets and strategic objectives as determined by the board of directors.
</p><p>As an <a href="/wiki/Executive_officer">executive officer</a> of the company, the CEO reports the status of the business to the board of directors, motivates employees, and drives change within the organization. As a manager, the CEO presides over the organization's day-to-day operations.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Investopedia-6">[6]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-BusinessDictionary-7">[7]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-8">[8]</a></sup> The CEO is the person who is ultimately accountable for a company's business decisions, including those in operations, marketing, <a href="/wiki/Business_development">business development</a>, finance, <a href="/wiki/Human_resources">human resources</a>, etc.
</p><p>The use of the CEO title is not necessarily limited to describing the owner or the head of a company. For example, the CEO of a political party is often entrusted with fundraising, particularly for election campaigns.
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<h2>International use[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Chief_executive_officer&amp;action=edit&amp;section=3">edit</a>]</h2>
<p>In some countries, there is a <a href="/wiki/Dual_board">dual board</a> system with two separate boards, one executive board for the day-to-day business and one <a href="/wiki/Supervisory_board">supervisory board</a> for control purposes (selected by the shareholders). In these countries, the CEO presides over the executive board and the <a href="/wiki/Chairperson">chairperson</a> presides over the supervisory board, and these two roles will always be held by different people. This ensures a distinction between <a href="/wiki/Management">management</a> by the executive board and <a href="/wiki/Governance">governance</a> by the supervisory board. This allows for clear lines of authority. The aim is to prevent a conflict of interest and too much power being concentrated in the hands of one person.
</p><p>In the United States, the board of directors (elected by the <a href="/wiki/Shareholder">shareholders</a>) is often equivalent to the supervisory board, while the executive board may often be known as the <a href="/wiki/Executive_committee">executive committee</a> (the division/subsidiary heads and <a href="/wiki/Corporate_title">C-level</a> officers that report directly to the CEO).
</p><p>In the United States, and in business, the executive officers are usually the top officers of a corporation, the chief executive officer (CEO) being the best-known type. The definition varies; for instance, the <a href="/wiki/California_Corporate_Disclosure_Act">California Corporate Disclosure Act</a> defines "executive officers" as the five most highly compensated officers not also sitting on the board of directors. In the case of a <a href="/wiki/Sole_proprietorship">sole proprietorship</a>, an executive officer is the sole proprietor. In the case of a <a href="/wiki/Partner_(business_rank)">partnership</a>, an executive officer is a managing partner, senior partner, or administrative partner. In the case of a <a href="/wiki/Limited_liability_company">limited liability company</a>, an executive officer is any member, manager, or officer.
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<h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Chief_executive_officer&amp;action=edit&amp;section=4">edit</a>]</h2>
<p>Depending on the organization, a CEO may have several subordinate executives to help run the day-to-day administration of the company, each of whom has specific functional responsibilities referred to as senior executives,<sup><a href="#cite_note-9">[9]</a></sup> executive officers or corporate officers. Subordinate executives are given different titles in different organizations, but one common category of subordinate executive, if the CEO is also the president, is the <a href="/wiki/Vice_president">vice president</a> (VP). An organization may have more than one vice president, each tasked with a different area of responsibility (e.g., VP of finance, VP of human resources). Examples of subordinate executive officers who typically report to the CEO include the <a href="/wiki/Chief_operating_officer">chief operating officer</a> (COO), <a href="/wiki/Chief_financial_officer">chief financial officer</a> (CFO), <a href="/wiki/Chief_strategy_officer">chief strategy officer</a> (CSO), and <a href="/wiki/Chief_business_officer">chief business officer</a> (CBO). The <a href="/wiki/Public_relations">public relations</a>-focused position of <a href="/wiki/Chief_reputation_officer">chief reputation officer</a> is sometimes included as one such subordinate executive officer, but, as suggested by Anthony Johndrow, CEO of Reputation Economy Advisors, it can also be seen as "simply another way to add emphasis to the role of a modern-day CEO – where they are both the external face of, and the driving force behind, an organisation culture".<sup><a href="#cite_note-10">[10]</a></sup>
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<h3>United States[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Chief_executive_officer&amp;action=edit&amp;section=5">edit</a>]</h3>
<p>In the US, the term chief executive officer is used primarily in business, whereas the term executive director is used primarily in the not-for-profit sector. These terms are generally mutually exclusive and refer to distinct legal duties and responsibilities. Implicit in the use of these titles is that the public not be misled and the general standard regarding their use be consistently applied.<sup>[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed">citation needed</a></i>]</sup>
</p>
<h3>United Kingdom[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Chief_executive_officer&amp;action=edit&amp;section=6">edit</a>]</h3>
<p>In the UK, chief executive and chief executive officer are used in <a href="/wiki/Administrative_geography_of_the_United_Kingdom">local government</a>, business, and the <a href="/wiki/Philanthropy">charitable sector</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-11">[11]</a></sup> As of 2013, the use of the term <a href="/wiki/Director_(business)">director</a> for senior charity staff is deprecated to avoid confusion with the legal duties and responsibilities associated with being a charity director or trustee, which are normally non-executive (unpaid) roles. The term managing director is often used in lieu of chief executive officer.
</p>
<h2>Celebrity CEOs[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Chief_executive_officer&amp;action=edit&amp;section=7">edit</a>]</h2>
<p>Business publicists since the days of <a href="/wiki/Edward_Bernays">Edward Bernays</a> (1891-1995) and his client <a href="/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller">John D. Rockefeller</a> (1839-1937) and even more successfully the corporate publicists for <a href="/wiki/Henry_Ford">Henry Ford</a>, promoted the concept of the "<a href="/wiki/Celebrity">celebrity</a> CEO". <a href="/wiki/Business_journalism">Business journalists</a> have often adopted this approach, which assumes that the corporate achievements, especially in the arena of manufacturing, are produced by uniquely talented individuals, especially the "heroic CEO". In effect, journalists celebrate a CEO who takes distinctive strategic actions. The model is the celebrity in entertainment, sports, and politics - compare the "<a href="/wiki/Great_man_theory">great man theory</a>". Guthey <i>et al.</i> argues that "...these individuals are not self-made, but rather are created by a process of widespread media exposure to the point that their actions, personalities, and even private lives function symbolically to represent significant dynamics and tensions prevalent in the contemporary business atmosphere".<sup><a href="#cite_note-12">[12]</a></sup> Journalism thereby exaggerates the importance of the CEO and tends to neglect harder-to-describe broader corporate factors. There is little attention to the intricately organized technical bureaucracy that actually does the work. Hubris sets in when the CEO internalizes the celebrity and becomes excessively self-confident in making complex decisions. There may be an emphasis on the sort of decisions that attract the <a href="/wiki/Celebrity_journalism">celebrity journalists</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-13">[13]</a></sup>
</p><p>Research published in 2009 by <a href="/wiki/Ulrike_Malmendier">Ulrike Malmendier</a> and Geoffrey Tate indicates that "firms with award-winning CEOs subsequently underperform, in terms both of stock and of operating performance".<sup><a href="#cite_note-14">[14]</a></sup>
</p>
<h2>Criticism[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Chief_executive_officer&amp;action=edit&amp;section=8">edit</a>]</h2>
<h3>Executive compensation[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Chief_executive_officer&amp;action=edit&amp;section=9">edit</a>]</h3>
<p>Executive compensation has been a source of criticism following a dramatic rise in pay relative to the <a href="/wiki/Average_worker%27s_wage">average worker's wage</a>. For example, the relative pay was 20-to-1 in 1965 in the US, but had risen to 376-to-1 by 2000.<sup><a href="#cite_note-15">[15]</a></sup> The relative pay differs around the world, and, in some smaller countries, is still around 20-to-1.<sup><a href="#cite_note-16">[16]</a></sup> Observers differ as to whether the rise is due to competition for talent or due to lack of control by compensation committees.<sup><a href="#cite_note-17">[17]</a></sup> In recent years, investors have demanded more say over executive pay.<sup><a href="#cite_note-18">[18]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Diversity[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Chief_executive_officer&amp;action=edit&amp;section=10">edit</a>]</h3>
<p>Lack of diversity amongst chief executives has also been a source of criticism.<sup><a href="#cite_note-19">[19]</a></sup> In 2018, 5% of <a href="/wiki/Fortune_500"><i>Fortune</i> 500</a> CEOs were women.<sup><a href="#cite_note-20">[20]</a></sup> The reasons for this are explained or justified in various ways, and may include biological sex differences, male and female differences in <a href="/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits">Big Five personality traits</a> and temperament, <a href="/wiki/Sex_differences_in_psychology">sex differences in psychology</a> and interests, maternity and career breaks, <a href="/wiki/Hypergamy">hypergamy</a>, <a href="/wiki/Phallogocentrism">phallogocentrism</a>, the existence of <a href="/wiki/Old_boy_network">old boy networks</a>, tradition, and the lack of female role models in that regard.<sup><a href="#cite_note-21">[21]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-22">[22]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-23">[23]</a></sup> Some countries have passed laws mandating boardroom gender quotas.<sup><a href="#cite_note-24">[24]</a></sup>
</p>
<h2>See also[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Chief_executive_officer&amp;action=edit&amp;section=11">edit</a>]</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/wiki/CEO_succession">CEO succession</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/CEO_of_public_schools">CEO of public schools</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Executive_officer">Executive officer</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Glass_cliff">Glass cliff</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/List_of_books_written_by_CEOs">List of books written by CEOs</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/List_of_chief_executive_officers">List of chief executive officers</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Occupational_Information_Network">Occupational Information Network</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Labor">United States Department of Labor</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/Prime_minister">Prime minister</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/City_manager">City manager</a></li></ul>
<h2>References[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Chief_executive_officer&amp;action=edit&amp;section=12">edit</a>]</h2>
<div>
<ol>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-kamlesh_ydv_1-0">^</a></b> <cite>Lin, Tom C. W. (May 23, 2004). "CEOs and Presidents". <i>UC Davis Law Review</i>. <a href="/wiki/SSRN_(identifier)">SSRN</a> <a href="//papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2428371">2428371</a>.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-auto_2-0">^</a></b> <cite>Lin, Tom C. W. (April 23, 2014). "CEOs and Presidents". <a href="/wiki/SSRN_(identifier)">SSRN</a> <a href="//papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2428371">2428371</a>.</cite> 
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b> <cite>Westphal, James D.; Zajac, Edward J. (March 1995). "Who Shall Govern? CEO/Board Power, Demographic Similarity, and New Director Selection". <i>Administrative Science Quarterly</i>. <b>40</b> (1): 60–83. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2393700">10.2307/2393700</a>. <a href="/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier)">JSTOR</a> <a href="//www.jstor.org/stable/2393700">2393700</a>.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b> <a href="https://www.rfrajola.com/Resources/1782Act.pdf">Journals of Congress</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151021140356/https://www.rfrajola.com/Resources/1782Act.pdf">Archived</a> 21 October 2015 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine">Wayback Machine</a> Retrieved 30 December 2022
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b> "<a href="https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/25677">C, n.</a>", <i>Oxford English Dictionary Online</i> (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), under <i>CEO n.</i>. Accessed 12 November 2022.
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-Investopedia_6-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/ceo.asp">"Chief Executive Officer - CEO"</a>. <i>Investopedia</i>. Investopedia US, a Division of IAC. Retrieved 2014-10-23.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-BusinessDictionary_7-0">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20201016172658/http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/chief-executive-officer-CEO.html">"Chief Executive Officer (CEO)"</a>. <i>BusinessDictionary.com</i>. WebFinance Inc. Archived from <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/Chief-Executive-Officer-CEO.html">the original</a> on October 16, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2014.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b> <cite>Capstone Publishing (2003). <i>The Capstone Encyclopaedia of Business</i>. Oxford, U.K: Capstone Publishing. pp. 79–80. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-84112-053-7"><bdi>1-84112-053-7</bdi></a>.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b> <cite>Markus Menz (2011-10-04). <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160408181510/http://jom.sagepub.com/content/38/1/45.abstract">"Menz, M. 2012. Functional Top Management Team Members: A Review, Synthesis, and Research Agenda. Journal of Management, 38(1): 45-80"</a>. <i>Journal of Management</i>. Jom.sagepub.com. <b>38</b> (1): 45–80. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0149206311421830">10.1177/0149206311421830</a>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)">S2CID</a> <a href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:143159987">143159987</a>. Archived from <a href="http://jom.sagepub.com/content/38/1/45.abstract">the original</a> on 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2012-11-28.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://www.financierworldwide.com/rise-of-the-chief-reputation-officer/">"Rise of the Chief Reputation Officer"</a>. <i>Financier Worldwide</i>. Retrieved 2018-12-30.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b> 
<cite><a href="http://www.acevo.org.uk/">"Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations"</a>. Acevo.org.uk. 2012-11-16. Retrieved 2012-11-28.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b> Eric Guthey and Timothy Clark, <i>Demystifying Business Celebrity</i> (2009).
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b> 
Mathew L.A. Hayward, Violina P. Rindova, and Timothy G. Pollock. "Believing one's own press: The causes and consequences of CEO celebrity". <i>Strategic Management Journal</i> 25#7 (2004): 637-653.
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b> 
<cite><a href="/wiki/Ulrike_Malmendier">Malmendier, Ulrike</a>; Tate, Geoffrey (14 June 2020). <a href="https://eml.berkeley.edu/~ulrike/Papers/SuperstarCEOs_FINAL.pdf">"Superstar CEOs"</a> (PDF). p. 1. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150911203153/https://eml.berkeley.edu/~ulrike/Papers/SuperstarCEOs_FINAL.pdf">Archived</a> (PDF) from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2021. <q>We find that firms with award-winning CEOs subsequently underperform, in terms both of stock and of operating performance.</q></cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/shelliekarabell/2018/02/14/executive-compensation-is-out-of-control-what-now/#79da2410431f">"Executive Compensation Is Out Of Control. What Now?"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Forbes">Forbes</a></i>. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/ceos-in-u-s-india-earn-the-most-compared-with-average-workers#gs.37kAijc">"CEOs in U.S., India Earn the Most Compared With Average Workers"</a>. 28 December 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2018.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/great-men-great-pay-why-ceo-compensation-is-sky-high/2014/06/12/6e49d796-d227-11e3-9e25-188ebe1fa93b_story.html?noredirect=on">"Great Men, great pay? Why CEO compensation is sky high"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/The_Washington_Post">The Washington Post</a></i>. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2018.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a></b> <cite>Mooney, Attracta (11 November 2018). <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/f6dff44d-204f-30b7-a164-537f9214095c">"European investors beef up stance over high executive pay"</a>. <i>Financial Times</i>. <a href="https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/f6dff44d-204f-30b7-a164-537f9214095c">Archived</a> from the original on 2022-12-10.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://www.managers.org.uk/insights/news/2018/november/the-government-must-act-on-ftse-gender-stats-says-cmis-ceo">"'THE GOVERNMENT MUST ACT ON FTSE GENDER STATS' SAYS CMI'S CEO"</a>. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-20">^</a></b> <cite><a href="http://fortune.com/fortune500/list/filtered?ceowoman=true">"Fortune 500"</a>. Retrieved 16 November 2018.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-21">^</a></b> <cite>Cain, Áine. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/women-leaders-have-numbers-problem-2018-6">"A new list of the top CEOs 'for women' is mostly men — and it reflects a wider problem in business"</a>. <i>Business Insider</i>. Retrieved 2019-10-13.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-22">^</a></b> <cite>Conversation, Michael Holmes-The (2019-09-06). <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90400025/these-are-the-reasons-why-we-still-dont-have-many-women-ceos">"These are the reasons why we (still) don't have many women CEOs"</a>. <i>Fast Company</i>. Retrieved 2019-10-13.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-23">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/workforce-management/hr-management-skills/women-ceos.aspx">"It's 2017 – So Why Aren't there More Women CEOs?"</a>. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2018.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-24">^</a></b> <cite>Clark, Nicola (27 January 2010). <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/world/europe/28iht-quota.html?pagewanted=all">"Getting Women Into Boardrooms, by Law"</a>. <i>The New York Times</i>. Retrieved 16 November 2018.</cite>
</li>
</ol></div>
<h2>Further reading[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Chief_executive_officer&amp;action=edit&amp;section=13">edit</a>]</h2>
<ul><li><cite>Huang, Jiekun; Kisgen, Darren J. (2013). <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160721204528/http://www.usc.edu/schools/business/FBE/seminars/papers/F_10-3-08_KISGEN-Gender.pdf">"Gender and corporate finance: Are male executives overconfident relative to female executives?"</a> (PDF). <i>Journal of Financial Economics</i>. <b>108</b> (3): 822–839. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jfineco.2012.12.005">10.1016/j.jfineco.2012.12.005</a>. Archived from <a href="http://www.usc.edu/schools/business/FBE/seminars/papers/F_10-3-08_KISGEN-Gender.pdf">the original</a> (PDF) on 2016-07-21.</cite></li>
<li><cite>Kaplan, Steven N.; Klebanov, Mark M.; Sorensen, Morten (2012). <a href="http://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/6606747.pdf">"Which CEO Characteristics and Abilities Matter?"</a> (PDF). <i>The Journal of Finance</i>. <b>67</b> (3): 973–1007. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1540-6261.2012.01739.x">10.1111/j.1540-6261.2012.01739.x</a>.</cite></li>
<li><cite>Shleifer, Andrei; Vishny, Robert W. (1997). <a href="http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:30728046">"A Survey of Corporate Governance"</a>. <i>The Journal of Finance</i>. <b>52</b> (2): 737–783. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1540-6261.1997.tb04820.x">10.1111/j.1540-6261.1997.tb04820.x</a>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)">S2CID</a> <a href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:54538527">54538527</a>.</cite></li>
<li>Vancil, Richard F. <i>Passing the baton: Managing the process of CEO succession</i> (Harvard Business School Press, 1987).</li></ul>
<h2>External links[<a href="/w/index.php?title=Chief_executive_officer&amp;action=edit&amp;section=14">edit</a>]</h2>
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 * (Top)
 * 1 Origins
 * 2 Responsibilities
 * 3 International use
 * 4 Related positions
 + 4.1 United States
 + 4.2 United Kingdom
 * 5 Celebrity CEOs
 * 6 Criticism
 + 6.1 Executive compensation
 + 6.2 Diversity
 * 7 See also
 * 8 References
 * 9 Further reading
 * 10 External links
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 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 "Chief executive" and "CEO" redirect here. For other uses, see Chief executive (disambiguation) and CEO (disambiguation).

 A chief executive officer (CEO),[1] also known as a central executive officer, chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization – especially an independent legal entity such as a company or nonprofit institution. CEOs find roles in a range of organizations, including public and private corporations, non-profit organizations and even some government organizations (notably state-owned enterprises). The CEO of a corporation or company typically reports to the board of directors and is charged with maximizing the value of the business,[2] which may include maximizing the share price, market share, revenues or another element. In the non-profit and government sector, CEOs typically aim at achieving outcomes related to the organization's mission, usually provided by legislation. CEOs are also frequently assigned the role of main manager of the organization and the highest-ranking officer in the C-suite.[3]

 Origins [ edit ]

 The term "chief executive officer" is attested as early as 1782, when an ordinance of the Congress of the Confederation used the term to refer to governors and other leaders of the executive branches of each of the Thirteen Colonies.[4] In draft additions to the Oxford English Dictionary published online in 2011, the Dictionary says that the use of "CEO" as an acronym for a chief executive officer originated in Australia, with the first attestation being in 1914. The first American usage cited is from 1972.[5]

 Responsibilities [ edit ]

 The responsibilities of an organization's CEO are set by the organization's board of directors or other authority, depending on the organization's structure. They can be far-reaching or quite limited, and are typically enshrined in a formal delegation of authority regarding business administration. Typically, responsibilities include being an active decision-maker on business strategy and other key policy issues, leader, manager, and executor. The communicator role can involve speaking to the press and the rest of the outside world, as well as to the organization's management and employees; the decision-making role involves high-level decisions about policy and strategy. The CEO is tasked with implementing the goals, targets and strategic objectives as determined by the board of directors.

 As an executive officer of the company, the CEO reports the status of the business to the board of directors, motivates employees, and drives change within the organization. As a manager, the CEO presides over the organization's day-to-day operations.[6][7][8] The CEO is the person who is ultimately accountable for a company's business decisions, including those in operations, marketing, business development, finance, human resources, etc.

 The use of the CEO title is not necessarily limited to describing the owner or the head of a company. For example, the CEO of a political party is often entrusted with fundraising, particularly for election campaigns.

 International use [ edit ]

 In some countries, there is a dual board system with two separate boards, one executive board for the day-to-day business and one supervisory board for control purposes (selected by the shareholders). In these countries, the CEO presides over the executive board and the chairperson presides over the supervisory board, and these two roles will always be held by different people. This ensures a distinction between management by the executive board and governance by the supervisory board. This allows for clear lines of authority. The aim is to prevent a conflict of interest and too much power being concentrated in the hands of one person.

 In the United States, the board of directors (elected by the shareholders) is often equivalent to the supervisory board, while the executive board may often be known as the executive committee (the division/subsidiary heads and C-level officers that report directly to the CEO).

 In the United States, and in business, the executive officers are usually the top officers of a corporation, the chief executive officer (CEO) being the best-known type. The definition varies; for instance, the California Corporate Disclosure Act defines "executive officers" as the five most highly compensated officers not also sitting on the board of directors. In the case of a sole proprietorship, an executive officer is the sole proprietor. In the case of a partnership, an executive officer is a managing partner, senior partner, or administrative partner. In the case of a limited liability company, an executive officer is any member, manager, or officer.

 Related positions [ edit ]

 Main article: Corporate title

 Depending on the organization, a CEO may have several subordinate executives to help run the day-to-day administration of the company, each of whom has specific functional responsibilities referred to as senior executives,[9] executive officers or corporate officers. Subordinate executives are given different titles in different organizations, but one common category of subordinate executive, if the CEO is also the president, is the vice president (VP). An organization may have more than one vice president, each tasked with a different area of responsibility (e.g., VP of finance, VP of human resources). Examples of subordinate executive officers who typically report to the CEO include the chief operating officer (COO), chief financial officer (CFO), chief strategy officer (CSO), and chief business officer (CBO). The public relations-focused position of chief reputation officer is sometimes included as one such subordinate executive officer, but, as suggested by Anthony Johndrow, CEO of Reputation Economy Advisors, it can also be seen as "simply another way to add emphasis to the role of a modern-day CEO – where they are both the external face of, and the driving force behind, an organisation culture".[10]

 United States [ edit ]

 In the US, the term chief executive officer is used primarily in business, whereas the term executive director is used primarily in the not-for-profit sector. These terms are generally mutually exclusive and refer to distinct legal duties and responsibilities. Implicit in the use of these titles is that the public not be misled and the general standard regarding their use be consistently applied.[ citation needed ]

 United Kingdom [ edit ]

 In the UK, chief executive and chief executive officer are used in local government, business, and the charitable sector.[11] As of 2013, the use of the term director for senior charity staff is deprecated to avoid confusion with the legal duties and responsibilities associated with being a charity director or trustee, which are normally non-executive (unpaid) roles. The term managing director is often used in lieu of chief executive officer.

 Celebrity CEOs [ edit ]

 Business publicists since the days of Edward Bernays (1891-1995) and his client John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) and even more successfully the corporate publicists for Henry Ford, promoted the concept of the "celebrity CEO". Business journalists have often adopted this approach, which assumes that the corporate achievements, especially in the arena of manufacturing, are produced by uniquely talented individuals, especially the "heroic CEO". In effect, journalists celebrate a CEO who takes distinctive strategic actions. The model is the celebrity in entertainment, sports, and politics - compare the "great man theory". Guthey et al. argues that "...these individuals are not self-made, but rather are created by a process of widespread media exposure to the point that their actions, personalities, and even private lives function symbolically to represent significant dynamics and tensions prevalent in the contemporary business atmosphere".[12] Journalism thereby exaggerates the importance of the CEO and tends to neglect harder-to-describe broader corporate factors. There is little attention to the intricately organized technical bureaucracy that actually does the work. Hubris sets in when the CEO internalizes the celebrity and becomes excessively self-confident in making complex decisions. There may be an emphasis on the sort of decisions that attract the celebrity journalists.[13]

 Research published in 2009 by Ulrike Malmendier and Geoffrey Tate indicates that "firms with award-winning CEOs subsequently underperform, in terms both of stock and of operating performance".[14]

 Criticism [ edit ]

 Executive compensation [ edit ]

 Main article: Executive compensation § Controversy

 Executive compensation has been a source of criticism following a dramatic rise in pay relative to the average worker's wage. For example, the relative pay was 20-to-1 in 1965 in the US, but had risen to 376-to-1 by 2000.[15] The relative pay differs around the world, and, in some smaller countries, is still around 20-to-1.[16] Observers differ as to whether the rise is due to competition for talent or due to lack of control by compensation committees.[17] In recent years, investors have demanded more say over executive pay.[18]

 Diversity [ edit ]

 Main article: Gender diversity § In the boardroom

 Lack of diversity amongst chief executives has also been a source of criticism.[19] In 2018, 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs were women.[20] The reasons for this are explained or justified in various ways, and may include biological sex differences, male and female differences in Big Five personality traits and temperament, sex differences in psychology and interests, maternity and career breaks, hypergamy, phallogocentrism, the existence of old boy networks, tradition, and the lack of female role models in that regard.[21][22][23] Some countries have passed laws mandating boardroom gender quotas.[24]

 See also [ edit ]

 * CEO succession
 * CEO of public schools
 * Executive officer
 * Glass cliff
 * List of books written by CEOs
 * List of chief executive officers
 * Occupational Information Network
 * United States Department of Labor
 * Prime minister
 * City manager

 References [ edit ]

 1. ^ Lin, Tom C. W. (May 23, 2004). "CEOs and Presidents". UC Davis Law Review. SSRN 2428371.
 2. ^ Lin, Tom C. W. (April 23, 2014). "CEOs and Presidents". SSRN 2428371. {{cite journal}} : Cite journal requires |journal= ( help )
 3. ^ Westphal, James D.; Zajac, Edward J. (March 1995). "Who Shall Govern? CEO/Board Power, Demographic Similarity, and New Director Selection". Administrative Science Quarterly. 40 (1): 60–83. doi:10.2307/2393700. JSTOR 2393700.
 4. ^ Journals of Congress Archived 21 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 30 December 2022
 5. ^ " C, n. ", Oxford English Dictionary Online (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), under CEO n. . Accessed 12 November 2022.
 6. ^ "Chief Executive Officer - CEO". Investopedia. Investopedia US, a Division of IAC . Retrieved 2014-10-23 .
 7. ^ "Chief Executive Officer (CEO)". BusinessDictionary.com. WebFinance Inc. Archived from the original on October 16, 2020 . Retrieved October 23, 2014 .
 8. ^ Capstone Publishing (2003). The Capstone Encyclopaedia of Business. Oxford, U.K: Capstone Publishing. pp. 79–80. ISBN 1-84112-053-7.
 9. ^ Markus Menz (2011-10-04). "Menz, M. 2012. Functional Top Management Team Members: A Review, Synthesis, and Research Agenda. Journal of Management, 38(1): 45-80". Journal of Management. Jom.sagepub.com. 38 (1): 45–80. doi:10.1177/0149206311421830. S2CID 143159987. Archived from the original on 2016-04-08 . Retrieved 2012-11-28 .
 10. ^ "Rise of the Chief Reputation Officer". Financier Worldwide . Retrieved 2018-12-30 .
 11. ^ "Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations". Acevo.org.uk. 2012-11-16 . Retrieved 2012-11-28 .
 12. ^ Eric Guthey and Timothy Clark, Demystifying Business Celebrity (2009).
 13. ^ Mathew L.A. Hayward, Violina P. Rindova, and Timothy G. Pollock. "Believing one's own press: The causes and consequences of CEO celebrity". Strategic Management Journal 25#7 (2004): 637-653.
 14. ^ Malmendier, Ulrike; Tate, Geoffrey (14 June 2020). "Superstar CEOs" (PDF) . p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 September 2015 . Retrieved 11 September 2021 . "We find that firms with award-winning CEOs subsequently underperform, in terms both of stock and of operating performance."
 15. ^ "Executive Compensation Is Out Of Control. What Now?". Forbes. 14 February 2018 . Retrieved 16 November 2018 .
 16. ^ "CEOs in U.S., India Earn the Most Compared With Average Workers". 28 December 2017 . Retrieved 16 November 2018 .
 17. ^ "Great Men, great pay? Why CEO compensation is sky high". The Washington Post. 12 June 2014 . Retrieved 16 November 2018 .
 18. ^ Mooney, Attracta (11 November 2018). "European investors beef up stance over high executive pay". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2022-12-10.
 19. ^ "'THE GOVERNMENT MUST ACT ON FTSE GENDER STATS' SAYS CMI'S CEO". 14 November 2018 . Retrieved 16 November 2018 .
 20. ^ "Fortune 500" . Retrieved 16 November 2018 .
 21. ^ Cain, Áine. "A new list of the top CEOs 'for women' is mostly men — and it reflects a wider problem in business". Business Insider . Retrieved 2019-10-13 .
 22. ^ Conversation, Michael Holmes-The (2019-09-06). "These are the reasons why we (still) don't have many women CEOs". Fast Company . Retrieved 2019-10-13 .
 23. ^ "It's 2017 – So Why Aren't there More Women CEOs?". 28 March 2017 . Retrieved 16 November 2018 .
 24. ^ Clark, Nicola (27 January 2010). "Getting Women Into Boardrooms, by Law". The New York Times . Retrieved 16 November 2018 .

 Further reading [ edit ]

 * Huang, Jiekun; Kisgen, Darren J. (2013). "Gender and corporate finance: Are male executives overconfident relative to female executives?" (PDF) . Journal of Financial Economics. 108 (3): 822–839. doi:10.1016/j.jfineco.2012.12.005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-07-21.
 * Kaplan, Steven N.; Klebanov, Mark M.; Sorensen, Morten (2012). "Which CEO Characteristics and Abilities Matter?" (PDF) . The Journal of Finance. 67 (3): 973–1007. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6261.2012.01739.x.
 * Shleifer, Andrei; Vishny, Robert W. (1997). "A Survey of Corporate Governance". The Journal of Finance. 52 (2): 737–783. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6261.1997.tb04820.x. S2CID 54538527.
 * Vancil, Richard F. Passing the baton: Managing the process of CEO succession (Harvard Business School Press, 1987).

 External links [ edit ]

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 * Quotations related to Chief executive officer at Wikiquote
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
	 
A chief executive officer (CEO), [1]  also known as a central executive officer, chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization – especially an independent legal entity such as a company or nonprofit institution. CEOs find roles in a range of organizations, including public and private corporations, non-profit organizations and even some government organizations (notably state-owned enterprises). The CEO of a corporation or company typically reports to the board of directors and is charged with maximizing the value of the business, [2]  which may include maximizing the share price, market share, revenues or another element. In the non-profit and government sector, CEOs typically aim at achieving outcomes related to the organization's mission, usually provided by legislation. CEOs are also frequently assigned the role of main manager of the organization and the highest-ranking officer in the C-suite. [3] 
Origins[edit]
The term "chief executive officer" is attested as early as 1782, when an ordinance of the Congress of the Confederation used the term to refer to governors and other leaders of the executive branches of each of the Thirteen Colonies. [4]  In draft additions to the  Oxford English Dictionary  published online in 2011, the Dictionary says that the use of "CEO" as an acronym for a chief executive officer originated in Australia, with the first attestation being in 1914. The first American usage cited is from 1972. [5] 
Responsibilities[edit]
The responsibilities of an organization's CEO are set by the organization's board of directors or other authority, depending on the organization's structure. They can be far-reaching or quite limited, and are typically enshrined in a formal delegation of authority regarding business administration. Typically, responsibilities include being an active decision-maker on business strategy and other key policy issues, leader, manager, and executor. The communicator role can involve speaking to the press and the rest of the outside world, as well as to the organization's management and employees; the decision-making role involves high-level decisions about policy and strategy. The CEO is tasked with implementing the goals, targets and strategic objectives as determined by the board of directors.
 As an executive officer of the company, the CEO reports the status of the business to the board of directors, motivates employees, and drives change within the organization. As a manager, the CEO presides over the organization's day-to-day operations. [6]   [7]   [8]  The CEO is the person who is ultimately accountable for a company's business decisions, including those in operations, marketing, business development, finance, human resources, etc.
 The use of the CEO title is not necessarily limited to describing the owner or the head of a company. For example, the CEO of a political party is often entrusted with fundraising, particularly for election campaigns.
International use[edit]
In some countries, there is a dual board system with two separate boards, one executive board for the day-to-day business and one supervisory board for control purposes (selected by the shareholders). In these countries, the CEO presides over the executive board and the chairperson presides over the supervisory board, and these two roles will always be held by different people. This ensures a distinction between management by the executive board and governance by the supervisory board. This allows for clear lines of authority. The aim is to prevent a conflict of interest and too much power being concentrated in the hands of one person.
 In the United States, the board of directors (elected by the shareholders) is often equivalent to the supervisory board, while the executive board may often be known as the executive committee (the division/subsidiary heads and C-level officers that report directly to the CEO).
 In the United States, and in business, the executive officers are usually the top officers of a corporation, the chief executive officer (CEO) being the best-known type. The definition varies; for instance, the California Corporate Disclosure Act defines "executive officers" as the five most highly compensated officers not also sitting on the board of directors. In the case of a sole proprietorship, an executive officer is the sole proprietor. In the case of a partnership, an executive officer is a managing partner, senior partner, or administrative partner. In the case of a limited liability company, an executive officer is any member, manager, or officer.
[edit]
Depending on the organization, a CEO may have several subordinate executives to help run the day-to-day administration of the company, each of whom has specific functional responsibilities referred to as senior executives, [9]  executive officers or corporate officers. Subordinate executives are given different titles in different organizations, but one common category of subordinate executive, if the CEO is also the president, is the vice president (VP). An organization may have more than one vice president, each tasked with a different area of responsibility (e.g., VP of finance, VP of human resources). Examples of subordinate executive officers who typically report to the CEO include the chief operating officer (COO), chief financial officer (CFO), chief strategy officer (CSO), and chief business officer (CBO). The public relations-focused position of chief reputation officer is sometimes included as one such subordinate executive officer, but, as suggested by Anthony Johndrow, CEO of Reputation Economy Advisors, it can also be seen as "simply another way to add emphasis to the role of a modern-day CEO – where they are both the external face of, and the driving force behind, an organisation culture". [10] 
United States[edit]
In the US, the term chief executive officer is used primarily in business, whereas the term executive director is used primarily in the not-for-profit sector. These terms are generally mutually exclusive and refer to distinct legal duties and responsibilities. Implicit in the use of these titles is that the public not be misled and the general standard regarding their use be consistently applied.[ citation needed ]
United Kingdom[edit]
In the UK, chief executive and chief executive officer are used in local government, business, and the charitable sector. [11]  As of 2013, the use of the term director for senior charity staff is deprecated to avoid confusion with the legal duties and responsibilities associated with being a charity director or trustee, which are normally non-executive (unpaid) roles. The term managing director is often used in lieu of chief executive officer.
Celebrity CEOs[edit]
Business publicists since the days of Edward Bernays (1891-1995) and his client John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) and even more successfully the corporate publicists for Henry Ford, promoted the concept of the "celebrity CEO". Business journalists have often adopted this approach, which assumes that the corporate achievements, especially in the arena of manufacturing, are produced by uniquely talented individuals, especially the "heroic CEO". In effect, journalists celebrate a CEO who takes distinctive strategic actions. The model is the celebrity in entertainment, sports, and politics - compare the "great man theory". Guthey et al. argues that "...these individuals are not self-made, but rather are created by a process of widespread media exposure to the point that their actions, personalities, and even private lives function symbolically to represent significant dynamics and tensions prevalent in the contemporary business atmosphere". [12]  Journalism thereby exaggerates the importance of the CEO and tends to neglect harder-to-describe broader corporate factors. There is little attention to the intricately organized technical bureaucracy that actually does the work. Hubris sets in when the CEO internalizes the celebrity and becomes excessively self-confident in making complex decisions. There may be an emphasis on the sort of decisions that attract the celebrity journalists. [13] 
 Research published in 2009 by Ulrike Malmendier and Geoffrey Tate indicates that "firms with award-winning CEOs subsequently underperform, in terms both of stock and of operating performance". [14] 
Criticism[edit]
Executive compensation[edit]
Executive compensation has been a source of criticism following a dramatic rise in pay relative to the average worker's wage. For example, the relative pay was 20-to-1 in 1965 in the US, but had risen to 376-to-1 by 2000. [15]  The relative pay differs around the world, and, in some smaller countries, is still around 20-to-1. [16]  Observers differ as to whether the rise is due to competition for talent or due to lack of control by compensation committees. [17]  In recent years, investors have demanded more say over executive pay. [18] 
Diversity[edit]
Lack of diversity amongst chief executives has also been a source of criticism. [19]  In 2018, 5% of  Fortune 500 CEOs were women. [20]  The reasons for this are explained or justified in various ways, and may include biological sex differences, male and female differences in Big Five personality traits and temperament, sex differences in psychology and interests, maternity and career breaks, hypergamy, phallogocentrism, the existence of old boy networks, tradition, and the lack of female role models in that regard. [21]   [22]   [23]  Some countries have passed laws mandating boardroom gender quotas. [24] 
See also[edit]
  CEO succession 
 CEO of public schools 
 Executive officer 
 Glass cliff 
 List of books written by CEOs 
 List of chief executive officers 
 Occupational Information Network 
 United States Department of Labor 
 Prime minister 
 City manager  
References[edit]
  ^  Lin, Tom C. W. (May 23, 2004). "CEOs and Presidents". UC Davis Law Review. SSRN 2428371.
  ^  Lin, Tom C. W. (April 23, 2014). "CEOs and Presidents". SSRN 2428371. 
  ^  Westphal, James D.; Zajac, Edward J. (March 1995). "Who Shall Govern? CEO/Board Power, Demographic Similarity, and New Director Selection". Administrative Science Quarterly. 40 (1): 60–83. doi:10.2307/2393700. JSTOR 2393700.
  ^  Journals of Congress Archived 21 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 30 December 2022
  ^  "C, n.", Oxford English Dictionary Online (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), under CEO n.. Accessed 12 November 2022.
  ^   "Chief Executive Officer - CEO". Investopedia. Investopedia US, a Division of IAC. Retrieved 2014-10-23.
  ^   "Chief Executive Officer (CEO)". BusinessDictionary.com. WebFinance Inc. Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  ^  Capstone Publishing (2003). The Capstone Encyclopaedia of Business. Oxford, U.K: Capstone Publishing. pp. 79–80. ISBN  1-84112-053-7 .
  ^  Markus Menz (2011-10-04). "Menz, M. 2012. Functional Top Management Team Members: A Review, Synthesis, and Research Agenda. Journal of Management, 38(1): 45-80". Journal of Management. Jom.sagepub.com. 38 (1): 45–80. doi:10.1177/0149206311421830. S2CID 143159987. Archived from the original on 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  ^   "Rise of the Chief Reputation Officer". Financier Worldwide. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  ^  
 "Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations". Acevo.org.uk. 2012-11-16. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  ^  Eric Guthey and Timothy Clark, Demystifying Business Celebrity (2009).
  ^  
Mathew L.A. Hayward, Violina P. Rindova, and Timothy G. Pollock. "Believing one's own press: The causes and consequences of CEO celebrity". Strategic Management Journal 25#7 (2004): 637-653.
  ^  
 Malmendier, Ulrike; Tate, Geoffrey (14 June 2020). "Superstar CEOs" (PDF). p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2021. We find that firms with award-winning CEOs subsequently underperform, in terms both of stock and of operating performance. 
  ^   "Executive Compensation Is Out Of Control. What Now?".  Forbes . 14 February 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  ^   "CEOs in U.S., India Earn the Most Compared With Average Workers". 28 December 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  ^   "Great Men, great pay? Why CEO compensation is sky high".  The Washington Post . 12 June 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  ^  Mooney, Attracta (11 November 2018). "European investors beef up stance over high executive pay". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2022-12-10.
  ^   "'THE GOVERNMENT MUST ACT ON FTSE GENDER STATS' SAYS CMI'S CEO". 14 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  ^   "Fortune 500". Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  ^  Cain, Áine. "A new list of the top CEOs 'for women' is mostly men — and it reflects a wider problem in business". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
  ^  Conversation, Michael Holmes-The (2019-09-06). "These are the reasons why we (still) don't have many women CEOs". Fast Company. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
  ^   "It's 2017 – So Why Aren't there More Women CEOs?". 28 March 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  ^  Clark, Nicola (27 January 2010). "Getting Women Into Boardrooms, by Law". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
 
Further reading[edit]
  Huang, Jiekun; Kisgen, Darren J. (2013). "Gender and corporate finance: Are male executives overconfident relative to female executives?" (PDF). Journal of Financial Economics. 108 (3): 822–839. doi:10.1016/j.jfineco.2012.12.005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-07-21. 
 Kaplan, Steven N.; Klebanov, Mark M.; Sorensen, Morten (2012). "Which CEO Characteristics and Abilities Matter?" (PDF). The Journal of Finance. 67 (3): 973–1007. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6261.2012.01739.x. 
 Shleifer, Andrei; Vishny, Robert W. (1997). "A Survey of Corporate Governance". The Journal of Finance. 52 (2): 737–783. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6261.1997.tb04820.x. S2CID 54538527. 
Vancil, Richard F. Passing the baton: Managing the process of CEO succession (Harvard Business School Press, 1987). 
External links[edit]
Chief executive officer - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_executive_officer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk
Elon Musk - Wikipedia
2004-08-18
Authority control
<div><div>
<table><tbody><tr><th><p>Elon Musk</p><br /><div><p><a href="/wiki/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society">FRS</a></p></div></th></tr><tr><td><a href="/wiki/File:Elon_Musk_Royal_Society_(crop2).jpg"></a><p>Musk in 2018</p></td></tr><tr><th>Born</th><td><p>Elon Reeve Musk</p><br />June 28, 1971 (age 51)<p><a href="/wiki/Pretoria">Pretoria</a>, Transvaal, South Africa</p></td></tr><tr><th>Education</th><td><a href="/wiki/University_of_Pennsylvania">University of Pennsylvania</a> (<a href="/wiki/Bachelor_of_Arts">BA</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bachelor_of_Science">BS</a>)</td></tr><tr><th>Title</th><td><div>
<ul><li>Founder, CEO and chief engineer of <a href="/wiki/SpaceX">SpaceX</a></li>
<li>CEO and product architect of <a href="/wiki/Tesla,_Inc.">Tesla, Inc.</a></li>
<li>Owner and CEO of <a href="/wiki/Twitter">Twitter</a></li>
<li>President of the <a href="#Musk_Foundation">Musk Foundation</a></li>
<li>Founder of <a href="/wiki/The_Boring_Company">the Boring Company</a>, <a href="/wiki/X_Corp.">X Corp.</a> and <a href="/wiki/X.AI">X.AI</a></li>
<li>Co-founder of <a href="/wiki/Neuralink">Neuralink</a>, <a href="/wiki/OpenAI">OpenAI</a>, <a href="/wiki/Zip2">Zip2</a> and <a href="/wiki/X.com">X.com</a> (part of <a href="/wiki/PayPal">PayPal</a>)</li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th>Spouses</th><td><div><ul><li>
<div><div><p><a href="/wiki/Justine_Musk">Justine Wilson</a></p></div>
 <p>​</p> <p>​</p><p>(<abbr>m.</abbr> 2000; <abbr>div.</abbr> 2008)<wbr></wbr>​</p></div></li><li>
<div><div><p><a href="/wiki/Talulah_Riley">Talulah Riley</a></p></div>
 <p>​</p> <p>​</p><p>(<abbr>m.</abbr> 2010; <abbr>div.</abbr> 2012)<wbr></wbr>​</p></div> 
<p>​</p>
<div> <p>​</p><p>(<abbr>m.</abbr> 2013; <abbr>div.</abbr> 2016)<wbr></wbr>​</p></div></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th>Partner</th><td><a href="/wiki/Grimes">Grimes</a> (2018–2021)<sup><a href="#cite_note-GrimesVanityFair2022-1">[1]</a></sup></td></tr><tr><th>Children</th><td>10<sup><a href="#cite_note-3">[a]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-Times220707-4">[3]</a></sup></td></tr><tr><th>Parents</th><td><div><ul><li><a href="/wiki/Errol_Musk">Errol Musk</a> (father)</li><li><a href="/wiki/Maye_Musk">Maye Musk</a> (mother)</li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th>Family</th><td><a href="/wiki/Musk_family">Musk family</a></td></tr><tr><th>Awards</th><td><a href="/wiki/List_of_awards_and_honors_received_by_Elon_Musk">List of honors and awards</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Order_of_Defence_Merit"></a> <a href="/wiki/Order_of_Defence_Merit">Order of Defence Merit</a> (<i>Knight - Cavaleiro</i>)</td></tr><tr><th>Signature</th></tr><tr><td><a href="/wiki/File:Elon_Musk_Signature.svg"></a></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p><b>Elon Reeve Musk</b> <a href="/wiki/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society">FRS</a> ( <a href="/wiki/Help:Pronunciation_respelling_key"><i>EE-lon</i></a>; born June 28, 1971) is a <a href="/wiki/Business_magnate">business magnate</a> and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of <a href="/wiki/SpaceX">SpaceX</a>; <a href="/wiki/Angel_investor">angel investor</a>, CEO and product architect of <a href="/wiki/Tesla,_Inc.">Tesla, Inc.</a>; owner and CEO of <a href="/wiki/Twitter,_Inc.">Twitter, Inc.</a>; founder of <a href="/wiki/The_Boring_Company">the Boring Company</a>; co-founder of <a href="/wiki/Neuralink">Neuralink</a> and <a href="/wiki/OpenAI">OpenAI</a>; and president of the philanthropic <a href="#Other_activities">Musk Foundation</a>. Musk is the second-wealthiest person in the world, according to both the <i><a href="/wiki/Bloomberg_Billionaires_Index">Bloomberg Billionaires Index</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/Forbes">Forbes</a></i>'s Real Time Billionaires list as of May 2023 primarily from his ownership stakes in Tesla and SpaceX, with an estimated net worth of around $167 billion according to the Bloomberg and $176.2 billion according to the latter.<sup><a href="#cite_note-5">[4]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-6">[5]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-7">[6]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-8">[7]</a></sup>
</p><p>Musk was born in <a href="/wiki/Pretoria">Pretoria</a>, South Africa, and briefly attended the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Pretoria">University of Pretoria</a> before moving to Canada at age 18, acquiring citizenship through his Canadian-born mother. Two years later, he matriculated at <a href="/wiki/Queen%27s_University_at_Kingston">Queen's University</a> and transferred to the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Pennsylvania">University of Pennsylvania</a>, where he received bachelor's degrees in economics and physics. He moved to California in 1995 to attend <a href="/wiki/Stanford_University">Stanford University</a>. After two days, he dropped out and, with his brother <a href="/wiki/Kimbal_Musk">Kimbal</a>, co-founded the online <a href="/wiki/City_guide">city guide</a> software company <a href="/wiki/Zip2">Zip2</a>. In 1999, Zip2 was acquired by <a href="/wiki/Compaq">Compaq</a> for $307 million and Musk co-founded <a href="/wiki/X.com">X.com</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Direct_bank">direct bank</a>. X.com merged with <a href="/wiki/Confinity">Confinity</a> in 2000 to form <a href="/wiki/PayPal">PayPal</a>, which <a href="/wiki/EBay">eBay</a> acquired for $1.5 billion in 2002.
</p><p>With $175.8 million, Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, a <a href="/wiki/Spaceflight">spaceflight</a> services company. In 2004, he was an early investor in the <a href="/wiki/Electric_vehicle">electric vehicle</a> manufacturer Tesla Motors, Inc. (now Tesla, Inc.). He became its chairman and product architect, assuming the position of CEO in 2008. In 2006, he helped create <a href="/wiki/SolarCity">SolarCity</a>, a solar energy company that was later acquired by Tesla and became <a href="/wiki/Tesla_Energy">Tesla Energy</a>. In 2015, he co-founded OpenAI, a nonprofit <a href="/wiki/Artificial_intelligence">artificial intelligence</a> research company. The following year, he co-founded Neuralink—a <a href="/wiki/Neurotechnology">neurotechnology</a> company developing <a href="/wiki/Brain%E2%80%93computer_interfaces">brain–computer interfaces</a>—and the Boring Company, a tunnel construction company. Musk has also proposed a <a href="/wiki/Hyperloop">hyperloop</a> high-speed <a href="/wiki/Vactrain">vactrain</a> transportation system. In 2022, <a href="/wiki/Acquisition_of_Twitter_by_Elon_Musk">his acquisition of Twitter</a> for $44 billion was completed. 
</p><p>Musk has <a href="/wiki/Views_of_Elon_Musk">expressed views</a> that have made him a polarizing figure. He has been criticized for making unscientific and misleading statements, including spreading <a href="/wiki/COVID-19_misinformation">COVID-19 misinformation</a>, and has been accused of <a href="/wiki/Antisemitism">antisemitism</a>. In 2018, the <a href="/wiki/U.S._Securities_and_Exchange_Commission">U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission</a> (SEC) sued Musk for falsely tweeting that he had secured funding for a private takeover of Tesla. Musk stepped down as chairman of Tesla and paid a $20 million fine as part of a settlement agreement with the SEC.
</p>
<h2>Early life</h2>
<h3>Childhood and family</h3>
<p>Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in <a href="/wiki/Pretoria">Pretoria</a>, one of South Africa's capital cities.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Eligon-2022-9">[8]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-10">[9]</a></sup> Musk has British and <a href="/wiki/Pennsylvania_Dutch">Pennsylvania Dutch</a> ancestry.<sup><a href="#cite_note-sjmn20140411-11">[10]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-12">[11]</a></sup> His mother is <a href="/wiki/Maye_Musk">Maye Musk</a> (<a href="/wiki/Birth_name#Maiden_and_married_names">née</a> Haldeman), a model and dietitian born in <a href="/wiki/Saskatchewan">Saskatchewan</a>, Canada, and raised in South Africa.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Biog-13">[12]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-14">[13]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-Usborne-2018-15">[14]</a></sup> His father, <a href="/wiki/Errol_Musk">Errol Musk</a>, is a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, sailor, consultant, and property developer, who partly owned a Zambian <a href="/wiki/Emerald">emerald</a> mine near <a href="/wiki/Lake_Tanganyika">Lake Tanganyika</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-16">[15]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-17">[16]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-18">[17]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-Smith-19">[18]</a></sup> Musk has a younger brother, <a href="/wiki/Kimbal_Musk">Kimbal</a>, and a younger sister, <a href="/wiki/Tosca_Musk">Tosca</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Usborne-2018-15">[14]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-20">[19]</a></sup>
</p><p>Musk's family was wealthy during his youth.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Smith-19">[18]</a></sup> His father was elected to the Pretoria City Council as a representative of the anti-apartheid <a href="/wiki/Progressive_Party_(South_Africa)">Progressive Party</a> and has said that his children shared their father's dislike of <a href="/wiki/Apartheid">apartheid</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Eligon-2022-9">[8]</a></sup> His maternal grandfather, Joshua Haldeman, was an adventurous American-born Canadian who took his family on record-breaking journeys to Africa and Australia in a single-engine <a href="/wiki/Bellanca">Bellanca</a> airplane.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Hull-2014-21">[20]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-22">[21]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-23">[22]</a></sup> After his parents divorced in 1980, Musk chose to mostly live with his father.<sup><a href="#cite_note-sjmn20140411-11">[10]</a></sup> Musk regretted his decision and has become estranged from his father.<sup><a href="#cite_note-rollingstone20171115-24">[23]</a></sup> He has a paternal half-sister and a half-brother.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Hull-2014-21">[20]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-25">[24]</a></sup>
</p><p>Maye Musk has said of her son that he "was shy and awkward at school" and "didn't have many friends".<sup><a href="#cite_note-26">[25]</a></sup> At age ten, he developed an interest in computing and video games, teaching himself how to program from the <a href="/wiki/VIC-20">VIC-20</a> user manual.<sup><a href="#cite_note-27">[26]</a></sup> At age twelve, he sold his <a href="/wiki/BASIC">BASIC</a>-based game <i>Blastar</i> to <i>PC and Office Technology</i> magazine for approximately $500.<sup><a href="#cite_note-play-28">[27]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-29">[28]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Education</h3>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:PBHS-facade.jpg"></a></p></div>
<p>Musk attended <a href="/wiki/Waterkloof_House_Preparatory_School">Waterkloof House Preparatory School</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bryanston_High_School">Bryanston High School</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Pretoria_Boys_High_School">Pretoria Boys High School</a>, from which he graduated.<sup><a href="#cite_note-slate20191204-30">[29]</a></sup> Musk applied for a Canadian passport <a href="/wiki/Jus_sanguinis">through</a> his Canadian-born mother,<sup><a href="#cite_note-arrived-31">[30]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-32">[31]</a></sup> knowing that it would be easier to immigrate to the United States this way.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Esquire-33">[32]</a></sup> While waiting for his application to be processed, he attended the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Pretoria">University of Pretoria</a> for five months.<sup><a href="#cite_note-34">[33]</a></sup>
</p><p>Musk arrived in Canada in June 1989 and lived with a second cousin in Saskatchewan for a year,<sup><a href="#cite_note-35">[34]</a></sup> working odd jobs at a farm and lumber mill.<sup><a href="#cite_note-36">[35]</a></sup> In 1990, he entered <a href="/wiki/Queen%27s_University_at_Kingston">Queen's University</a> in <a href="/wiki/Kingston,_Ontario">Kingston, Ontario</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-37">[36]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-38">[37]</a></sup> Two years later, he transferred to the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Pennsylvania">University of Pennsylvania</a> (UPenn), where he completed studies for a <a href="/wiki/Bachelor_of_Arts">Bachelor of Arts</a> degree in physics and a <a href="/wiki/Bachelor_of_Science">Bachelor of Science</a> degree in economics from the <a href="/wiki/Wharton_School">Wharton School</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-39">[38]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-40">[39]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-41">[40]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-42">[41]</a></sup> Although Musk claims he earned the degrees in 1995, UPenn maintains it awarded them in 1997.<sup><a href="#cite_note-43">[42]</a></sup> He reportedly hosted large, ticketed house parties to help pay for tuition, and wrote a business plan for an electronic book-scanning service similar to <a href="/wiki/Google_Books">Google Books</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-ironman-44">[43]</a></sup>
</p><p>In 1994, Musk held two internships in <a href="/wiki/Silicon_Valley">Silicon Valley</a>: one at the energy storage startup Pinnacle Research Institute, which investigated electrolytic <a href="/wiki/Ultracapacitors">ultracapacitors</a> for energy storage, and another at the <a href="/wiki/Palo_Alto">Palo Alto</a>–based startup <a href="/wiki/Rocket_Science_Games">Rocket Science Games</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-45">[44]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-46">[45]</a></sup> In 1995, he was accepted to a PhD program in <a href="/wiki/Materials_science">materials science</a> at <a href="/wiki/Stanford_University">Stanford University</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-47">[46]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-48">[47]</a></sup> However, Musk decided to join the <a href="/wiki/Internet_boom">Internet boom</a>, instead dropping out two days after being accepted and applied for a job at <a href="/wiki/Netscape">Netscape</a>, to which he reportedly never received a response.<sup><a href="#cite_note-49">[48]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-arrived-31">[30]</a></sup>
</p>
<h2>Business career</h2>
<h3>Zip2</h3>
<p>Main article: <a href="/wiki/Zip2">Zip2</a></p>
<table><tbody><tr><th>External video</th></tr><tr><td> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7Qh-vwpYH8">Musk speaks of his early business experience during a 2014 commencement speech at USC</a> on YouTube</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p>In 1995, Musk, his brother Kimbal, and Greg Kouri founded <a href="/wiki/Zip2">Zip2</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-50">[49]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-51">[50]</a></sup> Errol Musk provided them with $28,000 in funding.<sup><a href="#cite_note-52">[51]</a></sup> The company developed an Internet <a href="/wiki/City_guide">city guide</a> with maps, directions, and <a href="/wiki/Yellow_pages">yellow pages</a>, and marketed it to newspapers.<sup><a href="#cite_note-53">[52]</a></sup> They worked at a small rented office in <a href="/wiki/Palo_Alto">Palo Alto</a>,<sup><a href="#cite_note-shower-54">[53]</a></sup> Musk coding the website every night.<sup><a href="#cite_note-shower-54">[53]</a></sup> Eventually, Zip2 obtained contracts with <i><a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times">The New York Times</a></i> and the <i><a href="/wiki/Chicago_Tribune">Chicago Tribune</a></i>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-ironman-44">[43]</a></sup> The brothers persuaded the board of directors to abandon a merger with <a href="/wiki/CitySearch">CitySearch</a>;<sup><a href="#cite_note-55">[54]</a></sup> however, Musk's attempts to become CEO were thwarted.<sup><a href="#cite_note-56">[55]</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Compaq">Compaq</a> acquired Zip2 for $307 million in cash in February 1999,<sup><a href="#cite_note-57">[56]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-58">[57]</a></sup> and Musk received $22 million for his 7-percent share.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Vance109-59">[58]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>X.com and PayPal</h3>
<p>Later in 1999, Musk co-founded <a href="/wiki/X.com">X.com</a>, an online financial services and e-mail payment company.<sup><a href="#cite_note-60">[59]</a></sup> X.com was one of the first <a href="/wiki/Federal_Deposit_Insurance_Corporation">federally insured</a> online banks, and over 200,000 customers joined in its initial months of operation.<sup><a href="#cite_note-61">[60]</a></sup> Even though Musk founded the company, investors regarded him as inexperienced and replaced him with <a href="/wiki/Intuit">Intuit</a> CEO Bill Harris by the end of the year.<sup><a href="#cite_note-vance86-62">[61]</a></sup>
</p><p>In 2000, X.com merged with online bank <a href="/wiki/Confinity">Confinity</a> to avoid competition,<sup><a href="#cite_note-shower-54">[53]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-vance86-62">[61]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-63">[62]</a></sup> as Confinity's money-transfer service <a href="/wiki/PayPal#History">PayPal</a> was more popular than X.com's service.<sup><a href="#cite_note-64">[63]</a></sup> Musk then returned as CEO of the merged company. His preference for <a href="/wiki/Microsoft">Microsoft</a> over <a href="/wiki/Unix">Unix</a>-based software caused a rift among the company's employees, and led <a href="/wiki/Peter_Thiel">Peter Thiel</a>, Confinity's founder, to resign.<sup><a href="#cite_note-65">[64]</a></sup> With the company suffering from compounding technological issues and the lack of a cohesive business model, the board ousted Musk and replaced him with Thiel in September 2000.<sup><a href="#cite_note-66">[65]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-69">[b]</a></sup> Under Thiel, the company focused on the money-transfer service and was renamed PayPal in 2001.<sup><a href="#cite_note-vance89-68">[67]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-70">[68]</a></sup>
</p><p>In 2002, PayPal was acquired by <a href="/wiki/EBay">eBay</a> for $1.5 billion in stock, of which Musk—the largest shareholder with 11.72% of shares—received $175.8 million.<sup><a href="#cite_note-71">[69]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-72">[70]</a></sup> In 2017, more than 15 years later, Musk purchased the X.com domain from PayPal for its sentimental value.<sup><a href="#cite_note-73">[71]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-74">[72]</a></sup> In 2022, Musk discussed a goal of creating "X, the everything app".<sup><a href="#cite_note-75">[73]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>SpaceX</h3>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Charles_Bolden_congratulates_SpaceX_CEO_and_Chief_Designer_Elon_Musk_in_front_of_the_historic_Dragon_capsule.jpg"></a></p></div>
<p>In early 2001, Musk became involved with the nonprofit <a href="/wiki/Mars_Society">Mars Society</a> and discussed funding plans to place a <a href="/wiki/Space_farming">growth-chamber for plants</a> on <a href="/wiki/Mars">Mars</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-76">[74]</a></sup> In October of the same year, he traveled to Moscow with <a href="/wiki/Jim_Cantrell">Jim Cantrell</a> and <a href="/wiki/Adeo_Ressi">Adeo Ressi</a> to buy refurbished <a href="/wiki/Intercontinental_ballistic_missiles">intercontinental ballistic missiles</a> (ICBMs) that could send the greenhouse payloads into space. He met with the companies <a href="/wiki/NPO_Lavochkin">NPO Lavochkin</a> and <a href="/wiki/Kosmotras">Kosmotras</a>; however, Musk was seen as a novice<sup><a href="#cite_note-Vance-2015-77">[75]</a></sup> and the group returned to the United States empty-handed. In February 2002, the group returned to Russia with <a href="/wiki/Michael_D._Griffin">Mike Griffin</a> (president of <a href="/wiki/In-Q-Tel">In-Q-Tel</a>) to look for three ICBMs. They had another meeting with Kosmotras and were offered one rocket for $8 million, which Musk rejected. He instead decided to start a company that could build affordable rockets.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Vance-2015-77">[75]</a></sup> With $100 million of his own money,<sup><a href="#cite_note-78">[76]</a></sup> Musk founded SpaceX in May 2002 and became the company's CEO and Chief Engineer.<sup><a href="#cite_note-79">[77]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-80">[78]</a></sup>
</p><p>SpaceX attempted its first launch of the <a href="/wiki/Falcon_1">Falcon 1</a> rocket in 2006.<sup><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBerger2021178–182-81">[79]</a></sup> Though the rocket failed to reach <a href="/wiki/Geocentric_orbit">Earth orbit</a>, it was awarded a <a href="/wiki/Commercial_Orbital_Transportation_Services">Commercial Orbital Transportation Services</a> program contract from <a href="/wiki/NASA">NASA</a> Administrator (and former SpaceX consultant<sup><a href="#cite_note-82">[80]</a></sup>) Mike Griffin later that year.<sup><a href="#cite_note-83">[81]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-84">[82]</a></sup> After two more failed attempts that nearly caused Musk and his companies to go bankrupt,<sup><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBerger2021178–182-81">[79]</a></sup> SpaceX succeeded in launching the Falcon 1 into orbit in 2008.<sup><a href="#cite_note-85">[83]</a></sup> Later that year, SpaceX received a $1.6 billion <a href="/wiki/Commercial_Resupply_Services">Commercial Resupply Services</a> contract from NASA for 12 flights of its <a href="/wiki/Falcon_9">Falcon 9</a> rocket and <a href="/wiki/SpaceX_Dragon">Dragon spacecraft</a> to the <a href="/wiki/International_Space_Station">International Space Station</a>, replacing the <a href="/wiki/Space_Shuttle">Space Shuttle</a> after its 2011 <a href="/wiki/Space_Shuttle_retirement">retirement</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-86">[84]</a></sup> In 2012, the Dragon vehicle docked <a href="/wiki/Dragon_C2%2B">with the ISS</a>, a first for a commercial spacecraft.<sup><a href="#cite_note-87">[85]</a></sup>
</p>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Elon_Musk_overlooking_the_remains_of_F9R_(36411051713).jpg"></a></p></div>
<p>Working towards its goal of <a href="/wiki/SpaceX_reusable_launch_system_development_program">reusable rockets</a>, in 2015 SpaceX successfully landed the first stage of a Falcon 9 on an inland platform.<sup><a href="#cite_note-88">[86]</a></sup> Later landings were achieved on <a href="/wiki/Autonomous_spaceport_drone_ship">autonomous spaceport drone ships</a>, an ocean-based recovery platform.<sup><a href="#cite_note-89">[87]</a></sup> In 2018, SpaceX launched the <a href="/wiki/Falcon_Heavy">Falcon Heavy</a>; the <a href="/wiki/Falcon_Heavy_Test_Flight">inaugural mission</a> carried Musk's personal <a href="/wiki/Elon_Musk%27s_Tesla_Roadster">Tesla Roadster</a> as a <a href="/wiki/Boilerplate_(spaceflight)">dummy payload</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-90">[88]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-91">[89]</a></sup> Since 2019,<sup><a href="#cite_note-92">[90]</a></sup> SpaceX has been developing <a href="/wiki/SpaceX_Starship">Starship</a>, a fully-<a href="/wiki/Reusable_launch_vehicle">reusable</a>, <a href="/wiki/Super-heavy-lift_launch_vehicle">super-heavy-lift launch vehicle</a> intended to replace the Falcon 9 and the Falcon Heavy.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Roulette-2022-93">[91]</a></sup> In 2020, SpaceX launched its first crewed flight, the <a href="/wiki/Crew_Dragon_Demo-2">Demo-2</a>, becoming the first private company to place astronauts into orbit and dock a crewed spacecraft with the ISS.<sup><a href="#cite_note-94">[92]</a></sup>
</p>
<h4>Starlink</h4>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Starlink_Mission_(47926144123).jpg"></a></p><div><p>50 Starlink satellites shortly before deployment to low Earth orbit, 2019</p></div></div>
<p>In 2015, SpaceX began development of the <a href="/wiki/Starlink">Starlink</a> constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites to provide <a href="/wiki/Satellite_Internet_access">satellite Internet access</a>,<sup><a href="#cite_note-95">[93]</a></sup> with the first two prototype satellites launched in February 2018. A second set of test satellites, and the first large deployment of a piece of the constellation, occurred in May 2019, when the first 60 operational satellites were launched.<sup><a href="#cite_note-NYT-20190601-96">[94]</a></sup> The total cost of the decade-long project to design, build, and deploy the constellation is estimated by SpaceX to be about $10 billion.<sup><a href="#cite_note-97">[95]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-100">[c]</a></sup> Some critics, including the <a href="/wiki/International_Astronomical_Union">International Astronomical Union</a>, have alleged that Starlink <a href="/wiki/Satellite_flare">blocks the view of the sky</a> and poses a collision threat to spacecraft.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Griffin_2021-101">[98]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-BBC_News_2021-102">[99]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-103">[100]</a></sup>
</p><p>During the <a href="/wiki/2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine">2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine</a>, Musk sent Starlink terminals to Ukraine to <a href="/wiki/Starlink_satellite_services_in_Ukraine">provide Internet access and communication</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-104">[101]</a></sup> However, Musk refused to block <a href="/wiki/Mass_media_in_Russia">Russian state media</a> on Starlink, declaring himself "a <a href="/wiki/Freedom_of_speech">free speech</a> absolutist".<sup><a href="#cite_note-105">[102]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-106">[103]</a></sup> In October 2022, Musk stated that about 20,000 satellite terminals had been donated to Ukraine, together with free data transfer subscriptions, which cost SpaceX $80 million. After asking the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Defense">United States Department of Defense</a> to pay for further units and future subscriptions on behalf of Ukraine,<sup><a href="#cite_note-ua22-107">[104]</a></sup> Musk publicly stated that SpaceX would continue to provide Starlink to Ukraine for free, at a yearly cost to itself of $400 million.<sup><a href="#cite_note-108">[105]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-109">[106]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-110">[107]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Tesla</h3>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Elon_Musk,_Tesla_Factory,_Fremont_(CA,_USA)_(8765031426).jpg"></a></p></div>
<p><a href="/wiki/Tesla,_Inc.">Tesla, Inc.</a>—originally Tesla Motors—was incorporated in 2003 by <a href="/wiki/Martin_Eberhard">Martin Eberhard</a> and <a href="/wiki/Marc_Tarpenning">Marc Tarpenning</a>, who financed the company until the <a href="/wiki/Series_A_round">Series A round</a> of funding. Both men played active roles in the company's early development prior to Musk's involvement.<sup><a href="#cite_note-timelinefacts-111">[108]</a></sup> Musk led the Series A round of investment in February 2004; he invested $6.5 million, became the majority shareholder, and joined Tesla's board of directors as chairman.<sup><a href="#cite_note-112">[109]</a></sup> Musk took an active role within the company and oversaw <a href="/wiki/Tesla_Roadster_(2008)">Roadster</a> product design but was not deeply involved in day-to-day business operations.<sup><a href="#cite_note-113">[110]</a></sup>
</p><p>Following a series of escalating conflicts in 2007, and the <a href="/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932008">financial crisis of 2007–2008</a>, Eberhard was ousted from the firm.<sup><a href="#cite_note-114">[111]</a></sup><sup>[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources">page needed</a></i>]</sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-115">[112]</a></sup> Musk assumed leadership of the company as CEO and product architect in 2008.<sup><a href="#cite_note-116">[113]</a></sup> A 2009 lawsuit settlement with Eberhard designated Musk as a Tesla co-founder, along with Tarpenning and two others.<sup><a href="#cite_note-CNET-117">[114]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-FastCompany-118">[115]</a></sup> As of 2019, Musk was the longest-tenured CEO of any automotive manufacturer globally.<sup><a href="#cite_note-auto6-119">[116]</a></sup> In 2021, Musk nominally changed his title to "Technoking" while retaining his position as CEO.<sup><a href="#cite_note-120">[117]</a></sup>
</p>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Elon_Musk_at_the_Tesla_Annual_Shareholder_Meeting_today_(14155033430).jpg"></a></p><div><p>Musk before a <a href="/wiki/Tesla_Model_X">Model X</a> at the 2014 Tesla Inc. annual shareholder meeting</p></div></div>
<p>Tesla first built an electric sports car, the Roadster, in 2008. With sales of about 2,500 vehicles, it was the first <a href="/wiki/Serial_production">serial production</a> all-electric car to use <a href="/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery">lithium-ion battery</a> cells.<sup><a href="#cite_note-121">[118]</a></sup> Tesla began delivery of its four-door <a href="/wiki/Tesla_Model_S">Model S</a> sedan in 2012.<sup><a href="#cite_note-122">[119]</a></sup> A cross-over, the <a href="/wiki/Tesla_Model_X">Model X</a> was launched in 2015.<sup><a href="#cite_note-123">[120]</a></sup> A mass-market sedan, the <a href="/wiki/Tesla_Model_3">Model 3</a>, was released in 2017.<sup><a href="#cite_note-124">[121]</a></sup> The Model 3 is the all-time bestselling plug-in electric car worldwide, and in June 2021 it became the first electric car to sell 1 million units globally.<sup><a href="#cite_note-1miModel3-125">[122]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-Model3TopEV-126">[123]</a></sup> A fifth vehicle, the <a href="/wiki/Tesla_Model_Y">Model Y</a> crossover, was launched in 2020.<sup><a href="#cite_note-127">[124]</a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Tesla_Cybertruck">Cybertruck</a>, an all-electric pickup truck, was unveiled in 2019.<sup><a href="#cite_note-128">[125]</a></sup> Under Musk, Tesla has also constructed multiple lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle factories, named <a href="/wiki/Gigafactory">Gigafactories</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-129">[126]</a></sup>
</p><p>Since its <a href="/wiki/Initial_public_offering">initial public offering</a> in 2010,<sup><a href="#cite_note-130">[127]</a></sup> Tesla stock has risen significantly; it became the most valuable carmaker in summer 2020,<sup><a href="#cite_note-131">[128]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-132">[129]</a></sup> and it entered the <a href="/wiki/S%26P_500">S&amp;P 500</a> later that year.<sup><a href="#cite_note-133">[130]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-134">[131]</a></sup> In October 2021, it reached a market capitalization of $1 trillion, the sixth company in U.S. history to do so.<sup><a href="#cite_note-135">[132]</a></sup> In November 2021, Musk proposed, on <a href="/wiki/Twitter">Twitter</a>, to sell 10% of his Tesla stock, since "much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance".<sup><a href="#cite_note-Haselton-2021-136">[133]</a></sup> After more than 3.5 million Twitter accounts supported the sale, Musk sold $6.9 billion of Tesla stock within a week,<sup><a href="#cite_note-Haselton-2021-136">[133]</a></sup> and a total of $16.4 billion by year end, reaching the 10% target.<sup><a href="#cite_note-137">[134]</a></sup> In February 2022, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Wall_Street_Journal">The Wall Street Journal</a></i> reported that both Elon and Kimbal Musk were under investigation by the SEC for possible insider trading related to the sale.<sup><a href="#cite_note-138">[135]</a></sup> In 2022, Musk unveiled a robot developed by Tesla, <a href="/wiki/Optimus_(robot)">Optimus</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-139">[136]</a></sup>
</p>
<h4>SEC and shareholder lawsuits regarding tweets</h4>
<p>In 2018, Musk was <a href="/wiki/Tesla,_Inc.#Lawsuits_and_controversies">sued</a> by the SEC for a <a href="/wiki/Tweeted">tweet</a> claiming that funding had been secured for potentially taking Tesla private.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Goldstein_27-9-18-140">[137]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-144">[d]</a></sup> The lawsuit characterized the tweet as false, misleading, and damaging to investors, and sought to bar Musk from serving as CEO of <a href="/wiki/Public_company">publicly traded companies</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Goldstein_27-9-18-140">[137]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-145">[141]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-OkaneLopatto18-146">[142]</a></sup> Two days later, Musk settled with the SEC, without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations. As a result, Musk and Tesla were fined $20 million each, and Musk was forced to step down for three years as Tesla chairman but was able to remain as CEO.<sup><a href="#cite_note-147">[143]</a></sup> Musk has stated in interviews that he does not regret posting the tweet that triggered the SEC investigation.<sup><a href="#cite_note-148">[144]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-149">[145]</a></sup> In April 2022, the shareholder who sued Musk over the tweet, along with several Tesla shareholders, said that a federal judge had ruled that the tweet was false, although the ruling in question has not been unsealed.<sup><a href="#cite_note-150">[146]</a></sup> In February 2023, the jury found Musk and Tesla not liable.<sup><a href="#cite_note-151">[147]</a></sup>
</p><p>In 2019, Musk stated in a tweet that Tesla would build half a million cars that year.<sup><a href="#cite_note-152">[148]</a></sup> The SEC reacted to Musk's tweet by filing in court, asking the court to hold him in contempt for violating the terms of a settlement agreement with such a tweet; the accusation was disputed by Musk. This was eventually settled by a joint agreement between Musk and the SEC clarifying the previous agreement details.<sup><a href="#cite_note-153">[149]</a></sup> The agreement included a list of topics that Musk would need preclearance before tweeting about.<sup><a href="#cite_note-154">[150]</a></sup> In 2020, a judge prevented a lawsuit from proceeding that claimed a tweet by Musk regarding Tesla stock price ("too high <a href="/wiki/IMO_(in_my_opinion)">imo</a>") violated the agreement.<sup><a href="#cite_note-155">[151]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-156">[152]</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Freedom_of_Information_Act_(United_States)">FOIA</a>-released records showed that the SEC itself concluded Musk has subsequently violated the agreement twice by tweeting regarding "Tesla's solar roof production volumes and its stock price".<sup><a href="#cite_note-157">[153]</a></sup>
</p>
<h4>SolarCity and Tesla Energy</h4>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Pair_of_2009_SolarCity_Dodge_Sprinters.JPG"></a></p><div><p>SolarCity solar-panel installation vans in 2009</p></div></div>
<p>Musk provided the initial concept and financial capital for <a href="/wiki/SolarCity">SolarCity</a>, which his cousins <a href="/wiki/Lyndon_Rive">Lyndon</a> and Peter Rive founded in 2006.<sup><a href="#cite_note-158">[154]</a></sup> By 2013, SolarCity was the second largest provider of solar power systems in the United States.<sup><a href="#cite_note-159">[155]</a></sup> In 2014, Musk promoted the idea of SolarCity building an advanced production facility in <a href="/wiki/Buffalo,_New_York">Buffalo</a>, New York, triple the size of the largest solar plant in the United States.<sup><a href="#cite_note-160">[156]</a></sup> Construction of the <a href="/wiki/Gigafactory_2">factory</a> started in 2014 and was completed in 2017. It operated as a joint venture with <a href="/wiki/Panasonic">Panasonic</a> until early 2020.<sup><a href="#cite_note-161">[157]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-162">[158]</a></sup>
</p><p>Tesla acquired SolarCity for over $2 billion in 2016 and merged it with its battery unit to create <a href="/wiki/Tesla_Energy">Tesla Energy</a>. The deal's announcement resulted in a more than 10% drop in Tesla's stock price. At the time, SolarCity was facing liquidity issues.<sup><a href="#cite_note-163">[159]</a></sup> Multiple shareholder groups filed a lawsuit against Musk and Tesla's directors, claiming that the purchase of SolarCity was done solely to benefit Musk and came at the expense of Tesla and its shareholders.<sup><a href="#cite_note-164">[160]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-165">[161]</a></sup> Tesla directors settled the lawsuit in January 2020, leaving Musk the sole remaining defendant.<sup><a href="#cite_note-166">[162]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-167">[163]</a></sup> Two years later, the court ruled in Musk's favor.<sup><a href="#cite_note-168">[164]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Neuralink</h3>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Elon_Musk_and_the_Neuralink_Future.jpg"></a></p><div><p>Musk discussing a Neuralink device during a live demonstration in 2020</p></div></div>
<p>In 2016, Musk co-founded <a href="/wiki/Neuralink">Neuralink</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Neurotechnology">neurotechnology</a> startup company, with an investment of $100 million.<sup><a href="#cite_note-sew-169">[165]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-neuraverge-170">[166]</a></sup> Neuralink aims to integrate the human brain with <a href="/wiki/Artificial_intelligence">artificial intelligence</a> (AI) by creating devices that are embedded in the brain to facilitate its merging with machines. Such technology could enhance memory or allow the devices to communicate with software.<sup><a href="#cite_note-neuraverge-170">[166]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-171">[167]</a></sup> The company also hopes to develop devices with which to treat neurological conditions such as <a href="/wiki/Alzheimer%27s_disease">Alzheimer's disease</a>, <a href="/wiki/Dementia">dementia</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Spinal_cord_injuries">spinal cord injuries</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-pig-172">[168]</a></sup>
</p><p>In 2019, Musk announced work on a device akin to a <a href="/wiki/Sewing_machine">sewing machine</a> that could embed threads into a human brain.<sup><a href="#cite_note-sew-169">[165]</a></sup> Musk is listed as the sole author of an October 2019 paper that details some of Neuralink's research,<sup><a href="#cite_note-173">[169]</a></sup> although Musk's being listed as such rankled the Neuralink team's researchers.<sup><a href="#cite_note-174">[170]</a></sup> At a 2020 live demonstration, Musk described one of their early devices as "a <a href="/wiki/Fitbit">Fitbit</a> in your skull" that could soon cure paralysis, deafness, blindness, and other disabilities. Many neuroscientists and publications criticized these claims,<sup><a href="#cite_note-mit-175">[171]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-176">[172]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-177">[173]</a></sup> with <i><a href="/wiki/MIT_Technology_Review">MIT Technology Review</a></i> describing them as "highly speculative" and "neuroscience theater".<sup><a href="#cite_note-mit-175">[171]</a></sup> During the demonstration, Musk revealed a pig with a Neuralink implant that tracked neural activity related to smell.<sup><a href="#cite_note-pig-172">[168]</a></sup> In 2022, Neuralink announced that clinical trials would begin by the end of the year.<sup><a href="#cite_note-178">[174]</a></sup> 
</p><p>Neuralink has conducted further <a href="/wiki/Animal_testing">animal testing</a> on <a href="/wiki/Macaque">macaque monkeys</a> at the <a href="/wiki/University_of_California,_Davis">University of California, Davis</a>' <a href="/wiki/California_National_Primate_Research_Center">Primate Research Center</a>. In 2021, the company released a video in which a Macaque played the video game <a href="/wiki/Pong">Pong</a> via a Neuralink implant. The company's animal trials—which have caused the deaths of some monkeys—have led to claims of <a href="/wiki/Animal_cruelty">animal cruelty</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Physicians_Committee_for_Responsible_Medicine">Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine</a> has alleged that Neuralink's animal trials have violated the <a href="/wiki/Animal_Welfare_Act_of_1966">Animal Welfare Act</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-179">[175]</a></sup> Employees have complained that pressure from Musk to accelerate development has led to botched experiments and unnecessary animal deaths. In 2022, a federal probe was launched into possible animal welfare violations by Neuralink.<sup><a href="#cite_note-botched_monkeys-180">[176]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>The Boring Company</h3>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Elon_Musk_Accelerates_the_Boring_(45716125474).jpg"></a></p></div>
<p>In 2017, Musk founded the Boring Company to construct tunnels and revealed plans for specialized, underground, high-occupancy vehicles that could travel up to 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) and thus circumvent above-ground traffic in major cities.<sup><a href="#cite_note-181">[177]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-cnndogecoin-182">[178]</a></sup> Early in 2017, the company began discussions with <a href="/wiki/Regulatory_agency">regulatory bodies</a> and initiated construction of a 30-foot (9.1 m) wide, 50-foot (15 m) long, and 15-foot (4.6 m) deep "test trench" on the premises of SpaceX's offices, as that required no permits.<sup><a href="#cite_note-boring-183">[179]</a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Boring_Test_Tunnel">Los Angeles tunnel</a>, less than two miles (3.2 km) in length, debuted to journalists in 2018. It used Tesla Model X's and was reported to be a rough ride while traveling at suboptimal speeds.<sup><a href="#cite_note-184">[180]</a></sup>
</p><p>Two tunnel projects announced in 2018, in Chicago and West Los Angeles, have been canceled.<sup><a href="#cite_note-185">[181]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-186">[182]</a></sup> However, a tunnel beneath the <a href="/wiki/Las_Vegas_Convention_Center">Las Vegas Convention Center</a> was completed in early 2021.<sup><a href="#cite_note-187">[183]</a></sup> Local officials have approved further expansions of the tunnel system.<sup><a href="#cite_note-188">[184]</a></sup> In 2021, tunnel construction was approved for <a href="/wiki/Fort_Lauderdale">Fort Lauderdale</a>, Florida.<sup><a href="#cite_note-189">[185]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Twitter</h3>
<p>Musk expressed interest in buying Twitter as early as 2017,<sup><a href="#cite_note-191">[187]</a></sup> and had previously questioned the platform's commitment to <a href="/wiki/Freedom_of_speech">freedom of speech</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-192">[188]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-193">[189]</a></sup> In January 2022, Musk started purchasing Twitter shares, reaching a 9.2% stake by April,<sup><a href="#cite_note-elder-194">[190]</a></sup> making him the largest shareholder.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Bloomberg4.14.22-195">[191]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-197">[e]</a></sup> When this was publicly disclosed, Twitter shares experienced the largest intraday price surge since the company's 2013 IPO.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Imbert-2022-198">[193]</a></sup> On April 4, Musk agreed to a deal that would appoint him to Twitter's board of directors and prohibit him from acquiring more than 14.9% of the company.<sup><a href="#cite_note-199">[194]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-200">[195]</a></sup> However, on April 13, Musk made a $43 billion offer to buy Twitter, launching a takeover bid to buy 100% of Twitter's stock at $54.20 per share.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Bloomberg4.14.22-195">[191]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-201">[196]</a></sup> In response, Twitter's board adopted a "poison pill" <a href="/wiki/Shareholder_rights_plan">shareholder rights plan</a> to make it more expensive for any single investor to own more than 15% of the company without board approval.<sup><a href="#cite_note-202">[197]</a></sup> Nevertheless, by the end of the month Musk had successfully concluded his bid for approximately $44 billion.<sup><a href="#cite_note-203">[198]</a></sup> This included about $12.5 billion in loans against his Tesla stock and $21 billion in equity financing.<sup><a href="#cite_note-204">[199]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-205">[200]</a></sup>
</p><p>Tesla's stock market value sank by over $100 billion the next day in reaction to the deal, causing Musk to lose around $30 billion of his net worth.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Tesla's_value_dropped_Tuesday-206">[201]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-207">[202]</a></sup> He subsequently tweeted criticism of Twitter executive <a href="/wiki/Vijaya_Gadde">Vijaya Gadde</a>'s policies to his 86 million followers, which led to some of them engaging in sexist and racist harassment against her.<sup><a href="#cite_note-208">[203]</a></sup> Exactly a month after announcing the takeover, Musk stated that the deal was "on hold" following a report that 5% of Twitter's daily active users were spam accounts,<sup><a href="#cite_note-209">[204]</a></sup> causing Twitter shares to drop more than 10 percent.<sup><a href="#cite_note-210">[205]</a></sup> Although he initially affirmed his commitment to the acquisition,<sup><a href="#cite_note-211">[206]</a></sup> he sent notification of his termination of the deal in July; Twitter's Board of Directors responded that they were committed to holding him to the transaction.<sup><a href="#cite_note-212">[207]</a></sup> On July 12, 2022, Twitter formally sued Musk in the <a href="/wiki/Chancery_Court_of_Delaware">Chancery Court of Delaware</a> for breaching a legally binding agreement to purchase Twitter.<sup><a href="#cite_note-213">[208]</a></sup> In October 2022, Musk reversed again, offering to purchase Twitter at $54.20 per share.<sup><a href="#cite_note-214">[209]</a></sup> The acquisition was officially completed on October 27.<sup><a href="#cite_note-deal_closed-215">[210]</a></sup>
</p><p>Immediately after the acquisition, Musk fired top Twitter executives like CEO <a href="/wiki/Parag_Agrawal">Parag Agrawal</a>,<sup><a href="#cite_note-deal_closed-215">[210]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-216">[211]</a></sup> whom he replaced.<sup><a href="#cite_note-217">[212]</a></sup> He instituted a $7.99 monthly subscription for a "<a href="/wiki/Twitter_verification">blue check</a>",<sup><a href="#cite_note-218">[213]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-219">[214]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-220">[215]</a></sup> and laid off a significant portion of the company's staff.<sup><a href="#cite_note-221">[216]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-222">[217]</a></sup> Musk lessened content moderation,<sup><a href="#cite_note-223">[218]</a></sup> and in December, Musk released <a href="/wiki/Twitter_Files">internal documents</a> relating to Twitter's moderation of <a href="/wiki/Hunter_Biden_laptop_controversy">Hunter Biden's laptop</a> in the leadup to the <a href="/wiki/2020_United_States_presidential_election">2020 presidential election</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-224">[219]</a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Southern_Poverty_Law_Center">Southern Poverty Law Center</a> noted that Twitter has verified numerous extremists.<sup><a href="#cite_note-225">[220]</a></sup> A study of millions of tweets following the acquisition indicated that hate speech on the platform has become "more visible" under Musk's leadership.<sup><a href="#cite_note-226">[221]</a></sup>
</p><p>Within the first weeks of ownership, Musk made a series of short-lived decisions and changes that he quickly reversed, including introducing a paid blue checkmark,<sup><a href="#cite_note-Yahoo_checkmark-227">[222]</a></sup> creating an "official" label<sup><a href="#cite_note-StreetInsider.com_2022-228">[223]</a></sup> and forbidding linking to one's profiles on other social media platforms.<sup><a href="#cite_note-DeGeurin_2022-229">[224]</a></sup> Under Musk's management, Twitter experienced several large scale outages.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Reuters_2023-230">[225]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-Newton_2023-231">[226]</a></sup>
</p><p>In April 2022, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Washington_Post">The Washington Post</a></i> reported that Musk privately claimed supposed censorship on the platform, including the banning of accounts such as <i><a href="/wiki/The_Babylon_Bee">The Babylon Bee</a></i>, had prompted him to begin the acquisition. Following the acquisition, he made reinstatement of accounts like the <i>Bee</i> an immediate priority.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Wapo-232">[227]</a></sup> The <i><a href="/wiki/New_York_Post">New York Post</a></i> revealed that Musk's ex-wife Talulah Riley had encouraged Musk to purchase Twitter, specifically citing the <i>Bee</i>'s ban.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Riley-233">[228]</a></sup>
</p><p>On December 18, Musk posted a poll to his Twitter account asking users to decide whether he should step down as the head of Twitter, with 57.5% out of the more than 17.5 million votes supporting that decision.<sup><a href="#cite_note-234">[229]</a></sup> Musk then announced that he would resign as CEO "as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job".<sup><a href="#cite_note-235">[230]</a></sup>
</p><p>On 12 May 2023, Musk announced that he would be stepping down from the CEO position and instead moving to "exec chair &amp; CTO, overseeing product, software &amp; sysops." He also announced the introduction of a new CEO, former <a href="/wiki/NBCUniversal">NBCUniversal</a> executive <a href="/wiki/Linda_Yaccarino">Linda Yaccarino</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-236">[231]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-237">[232]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Leadership style</h3>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Bolden_and_Musk_thanked_the_more_than_150_SpaceX_employees.jpg"></a></p><div><p>Musk giving a speech to SpaceX employees in 2012</p></div></div>
<p>Musk is often described as a <a href="/wiki/Micromanager">micromanager</a> and has called himself a "nano-manager".<sup><a href="#cite_note-cnbc_manage-238">[233]</a></sup> <i>The New York Times</i> has characterized his approach as <a href="/wiki/Autocracy">absolutist</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-wingsit-239">[234]</a></sup> Musk does not make formal <a href="/wiki/Business_plan">business plans</a>;<sup><a href="#cite_note-wingsit-239">[234]</a></sup> instead, he says he prefers to approach engineering problems<sup>[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify"><i>non sequitur</i></a></i>]</sup> with an "<a href="/wiki/Iterative_design">iterative design</a> methodology" and "tolerance for failures".<sup><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBerger202124–25-240">[235]</a></sup> He has forced employees to adopt the company's own jargon and launched ambitious, risky, and costly projects against his advisors' recommendations, such as removing front-facing radar from <a href="/wiki/Tesla_Autopilot">Tesla Autopilot</a>. His insistence on <a href="/wiki/Vertical_integration">vertical integration</a> causes his companies to move most production in-house. While this resulted in saved costs for SpaceX's rocket,<sup><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBerger202115-241">[236]</a></sup> vertical integration has caused many usability problems for Tesla's software.<sup><a href="#cite_note-cnbc_manage-238">[233]</a></sup>
</p><p>Musk's handling of employees—whom he communicates with directly through mass emails—has been characterized as "<a href="/wiki/Carrot_and_stick">carrot and stick</a>", rewarding those "who offer constructive criticism" while also being known to impulsively threaten, swear at, and fire his employees.<sup><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBerger202125-242">[237]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-243">[238]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-wired_life_inside-244">[239]</a></sup> Musk said he expects his employees to work for long hours, sometimes for 80 hours per week.<sup><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBerger202118-245">[240]</a></sup> He has his new employees sign strict <a href="/wiki/Non-disclosure_agreement">non-disclosure agreements</a> and often fires in sprees,<sup><a href="#cite_note-246">[241]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-spree-247">[242]</a></sup> such as during the Model 3 "production hell" in 2018.<sup><a href="#cite_note-spree-247">[242]</a></sup> In 2022, Musk revealed plans to fire 10 percent of Tesla's workforce, due to his concerns about the economy.<sup><a href="#cite_note-248">[243]</a></sup> That same month, he suspended <a href="/wiki/Remote_work">remote work</a> at SpaceX and Tesla and threatened to fire employees who do not work 40 hours per week in the office.<sup><a href="#cite_note-249">[244]</a></sup>
</p><p>Musk's leadership has been praised by some, who credit it with the success of Tesla and his other endeavors,<sup><a href="#cite_note-cnbc_manage-238">[233]</a></sup> and criticized by others, who see him as callous and his managerial decisions as "show[ing] a lack of human understanding."<sup><a href="#cite_note-wired_life_inside-244">[239]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-250">[245]</a></sup> The 2021 book <i><a href="/wiki/Power_Play_(book)">Power Play</a></i> contains anecdotes of Musk berating employees.<sup><a href="#cite_note-251">[246]</a></sup> <i>The Wall Street Journal</i> reported that, after Musk insisted on branding his vehicles as "self-driving", he faced criticism from his engineers for putting customer "lives at risk", with some employees resigning in consequence.<sup><a href="#cite_note-252">[247]</a></sup>
</p>
<h2>Other activities</h2>
<h3>Musk Foundation</h3>
<p>Musk is the president of the Musk Foundation,<sup><a href="#cite_note-253">[248]</a></sup> whose stated purpose is to provide solar-power energy systems in disaster areas; support research, development, and advocacy (for interests including human space exploration, pediatrics, renewable energy and "safe artificial intelligence"); and support science and engineering educational efforts.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Harris-2019-254">[249]</a></sup> From 2002 to 2018, the foundation gave $25 million directly to non-profit organizations, nearly half of which went to Musk's OpenAI,<sup><a href="#cite_note-vox-255">[250]</a></sup> which was then non-profit.<sup><a href="#cite_note-256">[251]</a></sup>
</p><p>Since 2002, the foundation has made over 350 donations. Around half were to scientific research or education nonprofits. Notable beneficiaries include the <a href="/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation">Wikimedia Foundation</a>, his alma mater the University of Pennsylvania, and his brother Kimbal's <a href="/wiki/Big_Green_(non-profit_company)">Big Green</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-charity-257">[252]</a></sup> In 2012, Musk took the <a href="/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge">Giving Pledge</a>, thereby committing to give the majority of <a href="#Wealth">his wealth</a> to charitable causes either during his lifetime or in his will.<sup><a href="#cite_note-258">[253]</a></sup> He has endowed prizes at the <a href="/wiki/X_Prize_Foundation">X Prize Foundation</a>, including $100 million to reward improved <a href="/wiki/Carbon_sequestration">carbon capture</a> technology.<sup><a href="#cite_note-259">[254]</a></sup>
</p><p><i><a href="/wiki/Vox_(website)">Vox</a></i> said "the Musk Foundation is almost entertaining in its simplicity and yet is strikingly opaque", noting that its website was only 33 words in plain-text.<sup><a href="#cite_note-vox-255">[250]</a></sup> The foundation has been criticized for the relatively small amount of wealth donated.<sup><a href="#cite_note-260">[255]</a></sup> In 2020, <i>Forbes</i> gave Musk a philanthropy score of 1, because he had given away less than 1% of his net worth.<sup><a href="#cite_note-charity-257">[252]</a></sup> In November 2021, Musk donated $5.7 billion of Tesla's shares to charity, according to regulatory filings;<sup><a href="#cite_note-261">[256]</a></sup> however, Bloomberg News noted that all of it went to his own foundation, bringing Musk Foundation's assets up to $9.4 billion at the end of 2021. The foundation disbursed $160 million to non-profits that year.<sup><a href="#cite_note-262">[257]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Hyperloop</h3>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Hyperloop_pod_competition_tube.jpg"></a></p><div><p>A tube part of the 2017 Hyperloop pod competition sponsored by SpaceX</p></div></div>
<p>In 2013, Musk announced plans for a version of a <a href="/wiki/Vactrain">vactrain</a>—a vacuum tube train—and assigned a dozen engineers from SpaceX and Tesla to establish the conceptual foundations and create initial designs.<sup><a href="#cite_note-263">[258]</a></sup> Later that year, Musk unveiled the concept, which he dubbed the <a href="/wiki/Hyperloop">hyperloop</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-264">[259]</a></sup> The alpha design for the system was published in a <a href="/wiki/Whitepaper">whitepaper</a> posted to the Tesla and SpaceX blogs.<sup><a href="#cite_note-265">[260]</a></sup> The document scoped out the technology and outlined a notional route where such a transport system could be built between the <a href="/wiki/Greater_Los_Angeles_Area">Greater Los Angeles Area</a> and the <a href="/wiki/San_Francisco_Bay_Area">San Francisco Bay Area</a>, at an estimated cost of $6 billion.<sup><a href="#cite_note-266">[261]</a></sup> The proposal, if technologically feasible at the costs cited, would make Hyperloop travel cheaper than any other <a href="/wiki/Mode_of_transport">mode of transport</a> for such long distances.<sup><a href="#cite_note-267">[262]</a></sup> 
</p><p>In 2015, Musk announced a <a href="/wiki/Incentive_prize_competition">design competition</a> for students and others to build Hyperloop pods, to operate on a SpaceX-sponsored mile-long track, for a 2015–2017 <a href="/wiki/Hyperloop_pod_competition">Hyperloop pod competition</a>. The track was used in January 2017, and Musk also announced that the company started a tunnel project, with <a href="/wiki/Hawthorne_Municipal_Airport_(California)">Hawthorne Municipal Airport</a> as its destination.<sup><a href="#cite_note-268">[263]</a></sup> In July 2017, Musk claimed that he had received "verbal government approval" to build a hyperloop from New York City to Washington, D.C., with stops in both <a href="/wiki/Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a> and <a href="/wiki/Baltimore">Baltimore</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-269">[264]</a></sup> Mention of the projected DC-to-Baltimore leg was removed from the Boring Company website in 2021.<sup><a href="#cite_note-270">[265]</a></sup> The tunnel project to Hawthorne was discontinued in 2022 and is cited to be converted into parking spots for SpaceX workers.<sup><a href="#cite_note-271">[266]</a></sup>
</p><p>Biographer <a href="/wiki/Ashlee_Vance">Ashlee Vance</a> has noted that Musk hoped Hyperloop would "make the public and legislators rethink the high-speed train" proposal current in California at the time and consider more "creative" ideas.<sup><a href="#cite_note-272">[267]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>OpenAI</h3>
<p>In 2015, Musk co-founded <a href="/wiki/OpenAI">OpenAI</a>, a not-for-profit <a href="/wiki/Artificial_intelligence">artificial intelligence</a> (AI) research company aiming to develop <a href="/wiki/Artificial_general_intelligence">artificial general intelligence</a> intended to be safe and beneficial to humanity.<sup><a href="#cite_note-NYT_AI-273">[268]</a></sup> A particular focus of the company is to democratize artificial <a href="/wiki/Superintelligence">superintelligence</a> systems, against governments and corporations.<sup><a href="#cite_note-rollingstone20171115-24">[23]</a></sup> In 2018, Musk left the OpenAI board to avoid possible future conflicts with his role as CEO of Tesla as the latter company increasingly became involved in AI through <a href="/wiki/Tesla_Autopilot">Tesla Autopilot</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-274">[269]</a></sup> Since then, OpenAI has made significant advances in machine learning, producing <a href="/wiki/Neural_network">neural networks</a> such as <a href="/wiki/GPT-3">GPT-3</a> (producing human-like text),<sup><a href="#cite_note-275">[270]</a></sup> and <a href="/wiki/DALL-E">DALL-E</a> (generating digital images from natural language descriptions).<sup><a href="#cite_note-276">[271]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Tham Luang cave rescue and defamation case</h3>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Rescue_equipment_in_Tham_Luang_entrance_chamber_(cropped).jpg"></a></p><div><p>During the Tham Luang cave rescue (pictured), Musk had proposed a mini-submarine to evacuate the children, which was rejected.</p></div></div>
<p>In July 2018, Musk arranged for his employees to build a mini-submarine to assist <a href="/wiki/Tham_Luang_cave_rescue">the rescue</a> of children trapped in a flooded cavern in Thailand.<sup><a href="#cite_note-ArsTechSubmarine-277">[272]</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Rick_Stanton">Richard Stanton</a>, leader of the international rescue diving team, urged Musk to facilitate the construction of the vehicle as a back-up, in case flooding worsened.<sup><a href="#cite_note-278">[273]</a></sup> Engineers at SpaceX and the Boring Company built the mini-submarine from a Falcon 9 liquid oxygen transfer tube in eight hours and personally delivered it to Thailand.<sup><a href="#cite_note-279">[274]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-auto5-280">[275]</a></sup> By this time, however, eight of the 12 children, had already been rescued, the rescuers employing full face masks, oxygen, and anesthesia; consequently, Thai authorities declined to use the submarine.<sup><a href="#cite_note-ArsTechSubmarine-277">[272]</a></sup> In March 2019, Musk was later one of the 187 people who received various honors conferred by the <a href="/wiki/Vajiralongkorn">King of Thailand</a> for involvement in the rescue effort.<sup><a href="#cite_note-281">[276]</a></sup>
</p><p>Soon after the rescue, Vernon Unsworth, a British recreational caver who had been exploring the cave for the previous six years and played a key advisory role in the operation, criticized the submarine on <a href="/wiki/CNN">CNN</a> as amounting to nothing more than a public relations effort with no chance of success, maintaining that Musk "had no conception of what the cave passage was like" and "can stick his submarine where it hurts". Musk asserted on Twitter that the device would have worked and referred to Unsworth as a "pedo guy".<sup><a href="#cite_note-Levin18-282">[277]</a></sup> He deleted the tweets,<sup><a href="#cite_note-Levin18-282">[277]</a></sup> and apologized,<sup><a href="#cite_note-283">[278]</a></sup> and he deleted his responses to critical tweets from <a href="/wiki/Cher_Scarlett">Cher Scarlett</a>, a software engineer, which had caused his followers to harass her.<sup><a href="#cite_note-284">[279]</a></sup> In an email to <i><a href="/wiki/BuzzFeed_News">BuzzFeed News</a></i>, Musk later called Unsworth a "child rapist" and said that he had married a child.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Smith-2022-285">[280]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-286">[281]</a></sup>
</p><p>In September, Unsworth filed a defamation suit in the <a href="/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Central_District_of_California">District Court for the Central District of California</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-287">[282]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-288">[283]</a></sup> In his defense, Musk argued that "'pedo guy' was a common insult used in South Africa when I was growing up ... synonymous with 'creepy old man' and is used to insult a person's appearance and demeanor".<sup><a href="#cite_note-slate20191204-30">[29]</a></sup> The defamation case began in December 2019, with Unsworth seeking $190 million in damages.<sup><a href="#cite_note-289">[284]</a></sup> During the trial Musk apologized to Unsworth again for the tweet. On December 6, the jury found in favor of Musk and ruled he was not liable.<sup><a href="#cite_note-290">[285]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-291">[286]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>2018 Joe Rogan podcast appearance</h3>
<p>In 2018, Musk appeared on <i><a href="/wiki/The_Joe_Rogan_Experience">The Joe Rogan Experience</a></i> podcast and discussed various topics for over two hours. During the interview, Musk sampled a puff from a cigar consisting, <a href="/wiki/Joe_Rogan">the host</a> claimed, of tobacco laced with cannabis. Tesla stock dropped after the incident, which coincided with the confirmation of the departure of Tesla's vice president of worldwide finance earlier that day.<sup><a href="#cite_note-292">[287]</a></sup> <i><a href="/wiki/Fortune_(magazine)">Fortune</a></i> wondered if the cannabis use could have ramifications for SpaceX contracts with the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Air_Force">United States Air Force</a>, though an Air Force spokesperson told <i><a href="/wiki/The_Verge">The Verge</a></i> that there was no investigation and that the Air Force was still determining the facts.<sup><a href="#cite_note-293">[288]</a></sup> In 2022, Musk claimed that he and other Space-X employees were subjected to random drug tests for about a year following the incident.<sup><a href="#cite_note-294">[289]</a></sup> In a <i><a href="/wiki/60_Minutes">60 Minutes</a></i> interview, Musk said of the incident: "I do not smoke pot. As anybody who watched that podcast could tell, I have no idea how to smoke pot."<sup><a href="#cite_note-295">[290]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Music</h3>
<p>In 2019, Musk, through Emo G Records, released a rap track, "RIP Harambe", on <a href="/wiki/SoundCloud">SoundCloud</a>. The track, which refers to the killing of <a href="/wiki/Harambe">Harambe</a> the gorilla and the subsequent <a href="/wiki/Viral_phenomenon">Internet sensationalism</a> surrounding the event, was performed by <a href="/wiki/Yung_Jake">Yung Jake</a>, written by Yung Jake and <a href="/wiki/Caroline_Polachek">Caroline Polachek</a>, and produced by <a href="/wiki/BloodPop">BloodPop</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-296">[291]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-Fitzgerald-297">[292]</a></sup> The following year, Musk released an <a href="/wiki/Electronic_dance_music">EDM</a> track, "Don't Doubt Ur Vibe", featuring his own lyrics and vocals.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Etherington-298">[293]</a></sup> While <i><a href="/wiki/The_Guardian">Guardian</a></i> critic <a href="/wiki/Alexis_Petridis">Alexi Petridis</a> described it as "indistinguishable... from umpteen competent but unthrilling bits of bedroom electronica posted elsewhere on Soundcloud",<sup><a href="#cite_note-299">[294]</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/TechCrunch">TechCrunch</a> said it was "not a bad representation of the genre".<sup><a href="#cite_note-Etherington-298">[293]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Private jet</h3>
<p>In 2003, Musk said his favorite plane he owned was an <a href="/wiki/Aero_L-39_Albatros">L-39 Albatros</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-300">[295]</a></sup> He uses a private jet owned by Falcon Landing LLC, a SpaceX-linked company, and acquired a second jet in August 2020.<sup><a href="#cite_note-flight-301">[296]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-302">[297]</a></sup> His heavy use of the jet—it flew over 150,000 miles in 2018—and the consequent <a href="/wiki/Fossil_fuels">fossil fuel</a> usage has received criticism.<sup><a href="#cite_note-flight-301">[296]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-303">[298]</a></sup> 
</p>
<h4>ElonJet account</h4>
<p>His flight usage is tracked on social media through <a href="/wiki/ElonJet">ElonJet</a>. The Twitter version of the account was blocked in December 2022, after Musk claimed that his son X AE A-XII had been harassed by a stalker after the account posted the airport at which his jet had landed.<sup><a href="#cite_note-304">[299]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-WP-305">[300]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-Sky-306">[301]</a></sup> This led to Musk banning the ElonJet account on Twitter, as well as the accounts of journalists that posted stories regarding the incident, including <a href="/wiki/Donie_O%27Sullivan_(journalist)">Donie O'Sullivan</a>, <a href="/wiki/Keith_Olbermann">Keith Olbermann</a>, and journalists from <i><a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times">The New York Times</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Washington_Post">The Washington Post</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/CNN">CNN</a></i>, and <i><a href="/wiki/The_Intercept">The Intercept</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Taylor-2022-307">[302]</a></sup></i> Musk equated the reporting to <a href="/wiki/Doxing">doxxing</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-308">[303]</a></sup> The police do not believe there is a link between the account and alleged stalker.<sup><a href="#cite_note-309">[304]</a></sup> Musk later took a Twitter poll on whether the journalists' accounts should be reinstated, which resulted in reinstating the accounts.<sup><a href="#cite_note-310">[305]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-Taylor-2022-307">[302]</a></sup>
</p>
<h2>Wealth</h2>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Elon_Musk_net_worth_graph.png"></a></p><div><p>Musk's net worth from 2013 to 2022 as estimated by <i><a href="/wiki/Forbes">Forbes</a></i> magazine</p></div></div>
<p>Musk made $175.8 million when PayPal was sold to eBay in 2002.<sup><a href="#cite_note-311">[306]</a></sup> He was first listed on the <a href="/wiki/The_World%27s_Billionaires"><i>Forbes</i> Billionaires List</a> in 2012, with a net worth of $2 billion.<sup><a href="#cite_note-312">[307]</a></sup>
</p><p>At the start of 2020, Musk had a net worth of $27 billion.<sup><a href="#cite_note-313">[308]</a></sup> By the end of the year his net worth had increased by $150 billion, mostly driven by his ownership of around 20% of Tesla stock.<sup><a href="#cite_note-tesla_stock-314">[309]</a></sup> During this period, Musk's net worth was often volatile. For example, it dropped $16.3 billion in September, the largest single-day plunge in <i><a href="/wiki/Bloomberg_Billionaires_Index">Bloomberg Billionaires Index</a>'s</i> history.<sup><a href="#cite_note-315">[310]</a></sup> In November of that year, Musk passed Facebook co-founder <a href="/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg">Mark Zuckerberg</a> to become the third-richest person in the world; a week later he passed <a href="/wiki/Microsoft">Microsoft</a> co-founder <a href="/wiki/Bill_Gates">Bill Gates</a> to become the second-richest.<sup><a href="#cite_note-gates-316">[311]</a></sup> 
</p><p>In January 2021, Musk, with a net worth of $185 billion, surpassed <a href="/wiki/Amazon_(company)">Amazon</a> founder <a href="/wiki/Jeff_Bezos">Jeff Bezos</a> to become the richest person in the world.<sup><a href="#cite_note-317">[312]</a></sup> Bezos reclaimed the top spot the following month.<sup><a href="#cite_note-318">[313]</a></sup> On September 27, 2021, after Tesla stock surged, Forbes announced that Musk had a net worth of over $200 billion, and was the richest person in the world.<sup><a href="#cite_note-319">[314]</a></sup> In November 2021, Musk became the first person worth over $300 billion.<sup><a href="#cite_note-320">[315]</a></sup> 
</p><p>On December 30, 2022, it was reported that Musk had lost $200 billion from his net worth due to declining stock values in Tesla, becoming the first person in history to lose such a large sum of money.<sup><a href="#cite_note-321">[316]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-322">[317]</a></sup> In January 2023, Musk was recognised by <a href="/wiki/Guinness_World_Records">Guinness World Records</a> for experiencing the "largest loss of personal fortune in history" with regards to his financial losses since November 2021, which Guinness quoted a Forbes estimate of $182 billion.<sup><a href="#cite_note-323">[318]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Sources of wealth</h3>
<p>Around 75% of Musk's wealth derived from Tesla stock in November 2020,<sup><a href="#cite_note-gates-316">[311]</a></sup> a proportion that fell to about 37% as of December 2022,<sup><a href="#cite_note-324">[f]</a></sup> after selling nearly $40 billion in company shares since late 2021.<sup><a href="#cite_note-325">[319]</a></sup> Musk does not receive a salary from Tesla; he agreed with the board in 2018 to a compensation plan that ties his personal earnings to Tesla's valuation and revenue.<sup><a href="#cite_note-tesla_stock-314">[309]</a></sup> The deal stipulated that Musk only receives the compensation if Tesla reaches certain market values.<sup><a href="#cite_note-payout2-326">[320]</a></sup> It was the largest such deal ever done between a CEO and a company board.<sup><a href="#cite_note-payout-327">[321]</a></sup> In the first award, given in May 2020, he was eligible to purchase 1.69 million Tesla shares (about 1% of the company) at below-market prices, which was worth about $800 million.<sup><a href="#cite_note-payout-327">[321]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-payout2-326">[320]</a></sup>
</p><p>Musk paid $455 million in taxes on $1.52 billion of income between 2014 and 2018.<sup><a href="#cite_note-CNBCTax-328">[322]</a></sup> According to <a href="/wiki/ProPublica">ProPublica</a>, Musk paid no federal income taxes in 2018.<sup><a href="#cite_note-329">[323]</a></sup> He claimed his 2021 tax bill was estimated at $12 billion based on his sale of $14 billion worth of Tesla stock.<sup><a href="#cite_note-CNBCTax-328">[322]</a></sup>
</p><p>Musk has repeatedly described himself as "<a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cash_poor">cash poor</a>",<sup><a href="#cite_note-cash-330">[324]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-wsj-331">[325]</a></sup> and has "professed to have little interest in the material trappings of wealth".<sup><a href="#cite_note-cash-330">[324]</a></sup> In May 2020, he pledged to sell almost all physical possessions.<sup><a href="#cite_note-wsj-331">[325]</a></sup> Musk has defended his wealth by saying he is accumulating resources for <a href="/wiki/Space_colonization">humanity's outward expansion to space</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-332">[326]</a></sup>
</p>
<h2>Personal views and Twitter usage</h2>
<p>Since joining Twitter in 2009,<sup><a href="#cite_note-333">[327]</a></sup> Musk has been an active user and has over 100 million followers as of June 2022.<sup><a href="#cite_note-334">[328]</a></sup> He posts <a href="/wiki/Internet_meme">memes</a>, promotes business interests, and comments on contemporary political and cultural issues.<sup><a href="#cite_note-335">[329]</a></sup> Musk's statements have provoked controversy, such as for mocking <a href="/wiki/Preferred_gender_pronouns">preferred gender pronouns</a>,<sup><a href="#cite_note-336">[330]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-337">[331]</a></sup> and comparing Canadian prime minister <a href="/wiki/Justin_Trudeau">Justin Trudeau</a> to <a href="/wiki/Adolf_Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-338">[332]</a></sup> <i>The New York Times</i> describes his contributions to international relations as "chaotic", and critics of Musk argue that there is a lack of separation between his opinions and his business interests.<sup><a href="#cite_note-339">[333]</a></sup> As CEO of Twitter, Musk has emerged as a source of misinformation, for example by suggesting online details about mass murderer <a href="/wiki/Mauricio_Garcia">Mauricio Garcia</a>'s apparent interest in Nazism could have been planted as part of a <a href="/wiki/Psychological_warfare">psyop</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-340">[334]</a></sup> He has been accused by the government of Israel<sup><a href="#cite_note-Selk_2023-341">[335]</a></sup> and several media outlets of <a href="/wiki/Antisemitism">antisemitism</a> due to him spreading <a href="/wiki/George_Soros_conspiracy_theories">George Soros conspiracy theories</a>,<sup><a href="#cite_note-Mawardi_2023-342">[336]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-Gilbert_2023-343">[337]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-Isidore_2023-344">[338]</a></sup> although some Israeli officials defended Musk.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Rubin_2023-345">[339]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Existential threats</h3>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Elon_Musk_at_MSC_2006.jpg"></a></p></div>
<p>Musk has been described as believing in <a href="/wiki/Longtermism">longtermism</a>, emphasizing the needs of future populations.<sup><a href="#cite_note-346">[340]</a></sup> Accordingly, Musk has stated that <a href="/wiki/Existential_risk_from_artificial_general_intelligence">artificial intelligence poses the greatest existential threat to humanity</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-guardianAI-347">[341]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-wp2015-348">[342]</a></sup> He has warned of a "<a href="/wiki/Terminator_(franchise)">Terminator</a>-like" AI apocalypse and suggested that the government should regulate its safe development.<sup><a href="#cite_note-349">[343]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-350">[344]</a></sup> In 2015, Musk was a cosignatory, along with <a href="/wiki/Stephen_Hawking">Stephen Hawking</a> and hundreds of others, of the <a href="/wiki/Open_Letter_on_Artificial_Intelligence">Open Letter on Artificial Intelligence</a>, which called for the ban of <a href="/wiki/Autonomous_weapons">autonomous weapons</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-351">[345]</a></sup> Musk's AI stances have been called alarmist and sensationalist by critics such as computer scientist <a href="/wiki/Yann_LeCun">Yann LeCun</a> and <a href="/wiki/Meta_Platforms">Meta</a> CEO <a href="/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg">Mark Zuckerberg</a>,<sup><a href="#cite_note-352">[346]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-353">[347]</a></sup> and led the think tank <a href="/wiki/Information_Technology_and_Innovation_Foundation">Information Technology and Innovation Foundation</a> to award Musk its Annual <a href="/wiki/Luddite#Modern_usage">Luddite</a> Award in 2016.<sup><a href="#cite_note-354">[348]</a></sup>
</p><p>Musk has described <a href="/wiki/Climate_change">climate change</a> as the greatest threat to humanity after AI,<sup><a href="#cite_note-355">[349]</a></sup> and has advocated for a <a href="/wiki/Carbon_tax">carbon tax</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-356">[350]</a></sup> Musk was a critic of President <a href="/wiki/Donald_Trump">Donald Trump</a>'s stance on climate change,<sup><a href="#cite_note-357">[351]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-358">[352]</a></sup> and resigned from two presidential business advisory councils following Trump's 2017 decision to <a href="/wiki/United_States_withdrawal_from_the_Paris_Agreement">withdraw the United States</a> from the <a href="/wiki/Paris_Agreement">Paris Agreement</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-359">[353]</a></sup>
</p><p>Musk has long promoted the <a href="/wiki/Colonization_of_Mars">colonization of Mars</a> and argues that humanity should become a "<a href="/wiki/Space_and_survival">multiplanetary species</a>".<sup><a href="#cite_note-360">[354]</a></sup> He has suggested the use of <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_weapons">nuclear weapons</a> to <a href="/wiki/Terraforming_of_Mars">terraform Mars</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-361">[355]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-362">[356]</a></sup> He envisioned establishing a <a href="/wiki/Direct_democracy">direct democracy</a> on Mars, with a system in which more votes would be required to create laws than remove them.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Grush-2020-363">[357]</a></sup> Musk has also voiced concerns about human <a href="/wiki/Population_decline">population decline</a>,<sup><a href="#cite_note-364">[358]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-365">[359]</a></sup> saying that "Mars has zero human population. We need a lot of people to become a multiplanet civilization."<sup><a href="#cite_note-366">[360]</a></sup> Speaking at <i>The Wall Street Journal</i>'s CEO Council session in 2021, Musk stated that a declining <a href="/wiki/Birth_rate">birth rate</a>, and consequent population decline, is one of the biggest <a href="/wiki/Potential_sources_of_global_catastrophic_risk">risks to human civilization</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-367">[361]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Politics</h3>
<div><div><p><a href="/wiki/File:From_NUMMI_to_Tesla_(5122119787).jpg"></a></p></div><div><p><a href="/wiki/File:Vice_President_Pence_at_the_Kennedy_Space_Center_(49946170631).jpg"></a></p></div></div>
<p>While often described as <a href="/wiki/Libertarianism_in_the_United_States">libertarian</a>, Musk has called himself "politically moderate" and was a registered <a href="/wiki/Independent_voter">independent voter</a> when he lived in California. <i>The New York Times</i> wrote that Musk "expresses views that don't fit neatly into [the American] binary, <a href="/wiki/Left-right_political_framework">left-right political framework</a>".<sup><a href="#cite_note-muskpolitics-368">[362]</a></sup> Historically, Musk has donated to both <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)">Democrats</a> and <a href="/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)">Republicans</a>,<sup><a href="#cite_note-huffingtonpost.com-369">[363]</a></sup> many of whom are in states in which he has a vested interest.<sup><a href="#cite_note-muskpolitics-368">[362]</a></sup> Beginning in the late 2010s, Musk's political contributions have shifted to almost entirely supporting Republicans.<sup><a href="#cite_note-370">[364]</a></sup>
</p><p>Musk voted for <a href="/wiki/Hillary_Clinton">Hillary Clinton</a> in the <a href="/wiki/2016_U.S._presidential_election">2016 U.S. presidential election</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-firstpost-371">[365]</a></sup> In the <a href="/wiki/2020_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries">2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries</a>, Musk endorsed candidate <a href="/wiki/Andrew_Yang">Andrew Yang</a> and expressed support for his proposed <a href="/wiki/Universal_basic_income">universal basic income</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-bloomberg.com-372">[366]</a></sup> He also endorsed <a href="/wiki/Kanye_West">Kanye West</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Kanye_West_2020_presidential_campaign">2020 presidential campaign</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-373">[367]</a></sup> He said he voted for <a href="/wiki/Joe_Biden">Joe Biden</a> in the <a href="/wiki/2020_U.S._presidential_election">2020 U.S. presidential election</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-firstpost-371">[365]</a></sup> In 2022, Musk said that he could "no longer support" the Democrats because they are the "party of division &amp; hate",<sup><a href="#cite_note-374">[368]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-375">[369]</a></sup> and wrote a tweet encouraging "independent-minded voters" to vote Republican in the <a href="/wiki/2022_U.S._elections">2022 U.S. elections</a>, which was an outlier among social media executives who typically avoid partisan political advocacy.<sup><a href="#cite_note-376">[370]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-377">[371]</a></sup> He also leaned towards supporting Republican <a href="/wiki/Ron_DeSantis">Ron DeSantis</a> in the <a href="/wiki/2024_U.S._presidential_election">2024 U.S. presidential election</a> if DeSantis were a candidate.<sup><a href="#cite_note-378">[372]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-379">[373]</a></sup> 
</p><p>Musk opposes a "<a href="/wiki/Wealth_tax">billionaire's tax</a>",<sup><a href="#cite_note-380">[374]</a></sup> and has argued on Twitter with more left-leaning Democratic politicians such as <a href="/wiki/Bernie_Sanders">Bernie Sanders</a>,<sup><a href="#cite_note-381">[375]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-382">[376]</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez</a>,<sup><a href="#cite_note-383">[377]</a></sup> and <a href="/wiki/Elizabeth_Warren">Elizabeth Warren</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-384">[378]</a></sup> He has raised questions about the <a href="/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter">Black Lives Matter</a> protests, partially based on the fact that the phrase "<a href="/wiki/Hands_up,_don%27t_shoot">Hands up, don't shoot</a>" was made up.<sup><a href="#cite_note-385">[379]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-386">[380]</a></sup> Musk also promoted a baseless theory relating to the <a href="/wiki/Attack_on_Paul_Pelosi">attack of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband</a>, but Musk deleted his tweet.<sup><a href="#cite_note-387">[381]</a></sup> 
</p><p>Musk has praised China and has been described as having a close relationship with the Chinese government, allowing access to its markets for Tesla.<sup><a href="#cite_note-388">[382]</a></sup> After <a href="/wiki/Gigafactory_Shanghai">Gigafactory Shanghai</a> produced its first batch of vehicles, Musk thanked the Chinese government and Chinese people while criticizing the United States and its people.<sup><a href="#cite_note-:9-389">[383]</a></sup><sup>: 207–208 </sup> In 2022, Musk wrote an article for <i>China Cyberspace</i>, the official publication of <a href="/wiki/Cyberspace_Administration_of_China">Cyberspace Administration of China</a>, which enforces <a href="/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_China">Internet censorship in China</a>. His writing the article was described as conflicting with his advocacy for free speech.<sup><a href="#cite_note-390">[384]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-391">[385]</a></sup> Musk later advocated for Taiwan to become a "<a href="/wiki/One_country,_two_systems">special administrative zone</a>" of China which drew cross-party criticism from Taiwanese lawmakers.<sup><a href="#cite_note-392">[386]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-393">[387]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-394">[388]</a></sup> In October 2022, Musk posted a Twitter poll and "peace plan" to resolve the <a href="/wiki/2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine">Russian invasion of Ukraine</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-395">[389]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-NPR-2022-396">[390]</a></sup> It was reported that Musk allegedly spoke with Russian President <a href="/wiki/Vladimir_Putin">Vladimir Putin</a> prior to the proposal, which Musk denied.<sup><a href="#cite_note-397">[391]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-398">[392]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-399">[393]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-400">[394]</a></sup> 
</p>
<h3>COVID-19</h3>
<div><p><a href="/wiki/File:SpaceX_Crew-2_Crew_Walkout_(NHQ202104230007).jpg"></a></p><div><p>Musk wears a bandana as a <a href="/wiki/Face_masks_during_the_COVID-19_pandemic">face mask</a> during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p></div></div>
<p>Musk was criticized for his public comments and conduct related to the <a href="/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic">COVID-19 pandemic</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Kolodny-2020-401">[395]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-Koren-2020-402">[396]</a></sup> He spread <a href="/wiki/COVID-19_misinformation">misinformation about the virus</a>, including promoting a widely discredited paper on the benefits of <a href="/wiki/List_of_unproven_methods_against_COVID-19#Use_of_existing_medications_unproven_against_COVID-19">chloroquine</a> and claiming that <a href="/wiki/COVID-19">COVID-19</a> death statistics were inflated.<sup><a href="#cite_note-403">[397]</a></sup>
</p><p>In March 2020, Musk stated, "The coronavirus panic is dumb."<sup><a href="#cite_note-404">[398]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-405">[399]</a></sup> In an email to Tesla employees, Musk referred to COVID-19 as a "specific form of the <a href="/wiki/Common_cold">common cold</a>" and predicted that confirmed COVID-19 cases would not exceed 0.1% of the U.S. population.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Kolodny-2020-401">[395]</a></sup> On March 19, 2020, Musk predicted that there would be "probably close to zero new cases in [the U.S.] by end of April".<sup><a href="#cite_note-Koren-2020-402">[396]</a></sup> <i><a href="/wiki/Politico">Politico</a></i> labeled this statement one of "the most audacious, confident, and spectacularly incorrect prognostications [of 2020]".<sup><a href="#cite_note-406">[400]</a></sup> Musk also claimed <a href="/wiki/Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_children">falsely</a> that children "are essentially immune" to COVID-19.<sup><a href="#cite_note-407">[401]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-408">[402]</a></sup>
</p><p>Musk condemned <a href="/wiki/COVID-19_lockdowns">COVID-19 lockdowns</a> and initially refused to close the <a href="/wiki/Tesla_Fremont_Factory">Tesla Fremont Factory</a> in March 2020, defying the local <a href="/wiki/Shelter-in-place">shelter-in-place</a> order.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Kolodny-2020-401">[395]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-409">[403]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-410">[404]</a></sup> In May 2020, he reopened the Tesla factory, defying the local <a href="/wiki/Stay-at-home_order">stay-at-home order</a>,<sup><a href="#cite_note-411">[405]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-guardian-pandemic-tesla-reopen-412">[406]</a></sup> and warned workers that they would be unpaid, and their <a href="/wiki/Pandemic_Unemployment_Assistance">unemployment benefits</a> might be jeopardized, if they did not report to work.<sup><a href="#cite_note-guardian-pandemic-tesla-reopen-412">[406]</a></sup> In December 2022, Musk called for prosecution of former <a href="/wiki/National_Institute_of_Allergy_and_Infectious_Diseases">NIAID</a> director <a href="/wiki/Anthony_Fauci">Anthony Fauci</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-413">[407]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-414">[408]</a></sup>
</p><p>In March 2020, Musk promised that Tesla would make <a href="/wiki/Ventilators">ventilators</a> for COVID-19 patients if there were a <a href="/wiki/Shortages_related_to_the_COVID-19_pandemic#Mechanical_ventilation">shortage</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-wapo_ventilators-415">[409]</a></sup> After figures like New York City mayor <a href="/wiki/Bill_de_Blasio">Bill de Blasio</a> responded to Musk's offer,<sup><a href="#cite_note-416">[410]</a></sup> Musk offered to donate ventilators which Tesla would build or buy from a third party.<sup><a href="#cite_note-wapo_ventilators-415">[409]</a></sup> However, Musk ended up buying and donating <a href="/wiki/Bi-level_positive_airway_pressure">BiPAP</a> and <a href="/wiki/CPAP_machines">CPAP machines</a>, which are non-invasive ventilators, rather than the much more expensive and sought-after invasive mechanical ventilator machines.<sup><a href="#cite_note-417">[411]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-418">[412]</a></sup>
</p><p>In September 2020, Musk stated that he would not get the <a href="/wiki/COVID-19_vaccine">COVID-19 vaccine</a>, because he and his children were "not at risk for COVID".<sup><a href="#cite_note-419">[413]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-420">[414]</a></sup> Two months later, Musk contracted COVID-19 and suggested his <a href="/wiki/COVID-19_rapid_antigen_test">COVID-19 rapid antigen test</a> results were dubious, after which the phrase "Space <a href="/wiki/Karen_(pejorative)">Karen</a>" <a href="/wiki/Twitter_trends">trended on Twitter</a>, in reference to Musk.<sup><a href="#cite_note-421">[415]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-422">[416]</a></sup> However, in December 2021, Musk revealed that he and his eligible children had received the vaccine.<sup><a href="#cite_note-423">[417]</a></sup> In January 2023, Musk stated that he experienced intense adverse reactions after his 2nd COVID-19 vaccine booster shot.<sup><a href="#cite_note-424">[418]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Finance</h3>
<p>Musk said that the U.S. government should not provide <a href="/wiki/Subsidies">subsidies</a> to companies, but impose a <a href="/wiki/Carbon_tax">carbon tax</a> to discourage poor behavior.<sup><a href="#cite_note-425">[419]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-426">[420]</a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Free_market">free market</a>, in his view, would achieve the best solution, and producing environmentally unfriendly vehicles should have consequences.<sup><a href="#cite_note-427">[421]</a></sup> Tesla has received billions of dollars in subsidies.<sup><a href="#cite_note-428">[422]</a></sup> In addition, Tesla made large sums from government-initiated systems of zero-emissions credits offered in <a href="/wiki/Clean_Vehicle_Rebate_Project">California</a> and at the <a href="/wiki/Plug-in_electric_vehicles_in_the_United_States#Government_support">United States federal level</a>, which facilitated initial consumer adoption of Tesla vehicles, as the <a href="/wiki/Tax_credit">tax credits</a> given by governments enabled Tesla's <a href="/wiki/Battery_electric_vehicle">battery electric vehicles</a> to be price-competitive, in comparison with existing lower-priced <a href="/wiki/Internal_combustion_engine">internal combustion engine</a> vehicles.<sup><a href="#cite_note-429">[423]</a></sup> Notably, Tesla generates some of its revenue from its sales of <a href="/wiki/Carbon_credit">carbon credits</a> granted to the company, by both the <a href="/wiki/European_Union_Emissions_Trading_System">European Union Emissions Trading System</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Chinese_national_carbon_trading_scheme">Chinese national carbon trading scheme</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-430">[424]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-431">[425]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-432">[426]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-433">[427]</a></sup> 
</p><p>Musk, a longtime opponent of <a href="/wiki/Short_(finance)">short-selling</a>, has repeatedly criticized the practice and argued it should be illegal.<sup><a href="#cite_note-434">[428]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-435">[429]</a></sup> <i>Wired</i> magazine speculated that Musk's opposition to short-selling stems from how short sellers have an incentive to find and promote unfavorable information about his companies.<sup><a href="#cite_note-436">[430]</a></sup> In early 2021, he encouraged the <a href="/wiki/GameStop_short_squeeze">GameStop short squeeze</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-437">[431]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-438">[432]</a></sup>
</p><p>In December 2022, Musk sold $3.6 billion of his stock in Tesla, equal to 22 million shares in the company,<sup><a href="#cite_note-439">[433]</a></sup> despite pledging earlier in the year that he would not sell any additional shares.<sup><a href="#cite_note-440">[434]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Technology</h3>
<p>Musk has promoted <a href="/wiki/Cryptocurrency">cryptocurrencies</a> and supports them over traditional <a href="/wiki/Fiat_money">government-issued fiat currencies</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-441">[435]</a></sup> Given the influence of Musk's tweets in moving cryptocurrency markets,<sup><a href="#cite_note-442">[436]</a></sup> his statements about cryptocurrencies have been viewed as <a href="/wiki/Market_manipulation">market manipulation</a> by some, such as economist <a href="/wiki/Nouriel_Roubini">Nouriel Roubini</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-443">[437]</a></sup> Musk's social media praising of <a href="/wiki/Bitcoin">Bitcoin</a> and <a href="/wiki/Dogecoin">Dogecoin</a> was credited for increasing their prices. Consequently, Tesla's 2021 announcement, against the backdrop of Musk's social media behavior, that it bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin, raised questions.<sup><a href="#cite_note-444">[438]</a></sup> Tesla's announcement that it would accept Bitcoin for payment was criticized by environmentalists and investors, due to the <a href="/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_cryptocurrencies">environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining</a>. A few months later, in response to the criticism, Musk announced on Twitter that Tesla would no longer accept payments in Bitcoin and would not engage in any <a href="/wiki/Bitcoin_network#Transactions">Bitcoin transactions</a> until the environmental issues are solved.<sup><a href="#cite_note-445">[439]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-446">[440]</a></sup>
</p><p>Despite the Boring Company's involvement in building mass transit infrastructure, Musk has criticized public transport and promoted individualized transport (private vehicles).<sup><a href="#cite_note-Wired:transit-447">[441]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-qz:transit-448">[442]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-guardian54-449">[443]</a></sup> His comments have been called "elitist" and have sparked widespread criticism from both transportation and <a href="/wiki/Urban_planning">urban planning</a> experts, who have pointed out that public transportation in dense <a href="/wiki/Urban_areas">urban areas</a> is more economical, more energy efficient, and requires much less space than private cars.<sup><a href="#cite_note-qz:transit-448">[442]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-450">[444]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-guardian54-449">[443]</a></sup>
</p>
<h2>Personal life</h2>
<p>From the early 2000s until late 2020, Musk resided in California, where both Tesla and SpaceX were founded.<sup><a href="#cite_note-bloomberg20201208-451">[445]</a></sup> In 2020, he moved to Texas, saying that California had become "complacent" about its economic success.<sup><a href="#cite_note-bloomberg20201208-451">[445]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-452">[446]</a></sup> While hosting <i><a href="/wiki/Saturday_Night_Live">Saturday Night Live</a></i> in May 2021, Musk said that he has <a href="/wiki/Asperger_syndrome">Asperger syndrome</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-453">[447]</a></sup>
</p><p>Musk met his first wife, Canadian <a href="/wiki/Justine_Wilson">Justine Wilson</a>, while attending Queen's University in <a href="/wiki/Ontario">Ontario</a>, Canada; and they married in 2000.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Streisand-2015-454">[448]</a></sup> In 2002, their first child died of <a href="/wiki/Sudden_infant_death_syndrome">sudden infant death syndrome</a> at the age of 10 weeks.<sup><a href="#cite_note-sids-455">[449]</a></sup> After his death, the couple decided to use <a href="/wiki/In_vitro_fertilisation">IVF</a> to continue their family.<sup><a href="#cite_note-holywoodlife2021-456">[450]</a></sup> They had twins in 2004 followed by triplets in 2006.<sup><a href="#cite_note-holywoodlife2021-456">[450]</a></sup> The couple divorced in 2008 and <a href="/wiki/Joint_custody_(United_States)">shared custody</a> of their children.<sup><a href="#cite_note-457">[451]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-458">[452]</a></sup> In 2022, one of the twins officially <a href="/wiki/Name_change">changed her name</a> to reflect her <a href="/wiki/Gender_identity">gender identity</a>, and to use Wilson as her last name because she no longer wished to be associated with Musk.<sup><a href="#cite_note-459">[453]</a></sup> Musk blamed the estrangement of his daughter on what the <i>Financial Times</i> characterized as "the supposed takeover of elite schools and universities by <a href="/wiki/Neo-Marxism">neo-Marxists</a>."<sup><a href="#cite_note-460">[454]</a></sup>
</p><p>In 2008, Musk began dating English actress <a href="/wiki/Talulah_Riley">Talulah Riley</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-461">[455]</a></sup> They married two years later at <a href="/wiki/Dornoch_Cathedral">Dornoch Cathedral</a> in Scotland.<sup><a href="#cite_note-marriage-462">[456]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-463">[457]</a></sup> In 2012, the couple divorced, before remarrying the following year.<sup><a href="#cite_note-talulah-464">[458]</a></sup> After briefly filing for divorce in 2014,<sup><a href="#cite_note-talulah-464">[458]</a></sup> Musk finalized a second divorce from Riley in 2016.<sup><a href="#cite_note-465">[459]</a></sup> Musk then dated <a href="/wiki/Amber_Heard">Amber Heard</a> for several months in 2017;<sup><a href="#cite_note-466">[460]</a></sup> he had reportedly been pursuing her since 2012.<sup><a href="#cite_note-hollywood-467">[461]</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Johnny_Depp">Johnny Depp</a> later accused Musk of having an affair with Heard while she was still married to Depp.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Holden-2020-468">[462]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-469">[463]</a></sup> Musk and Heard both denied the affair.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Holden-2020-468">[462]</a></sup>
</p><p>In 2018, Musk and Canadian musician <a href="/wiki/Grimes_(musician)">Grimes</a> revealed that they were dating.<sup><a href="#cite_note-470">[464]</a></sup> Grimes gave birth to their son in May 2020.<sup><a href="#cite_note-471">[465]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-472">[466]</a></sup> According to Musk and Grimes, his name was "X Æ A-12" (); however, the name would have violated California regulations as it contained characters that are not in the modern English alphabet,<sup><a href="#cite_note-473">[467]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-474">[468]</a></sup> and was then changed to "X Æ A-Xii". This drew more confusion, as <a href="/wiki/%C3%86">Æ</a> is not a letter in the modern English alphabet.<sup><a href="#cite_note-475">[469]</a></sup> The child was eventually named X AE A-XII Musk, with "X" as a first name, "AE A-XII" as a <a href="/wiki/Middle_name">middle name</a>, and "Musk" as surname.<sup><a href="#cite_note-xaea-xii.cnet-476">[470]</a></sup> In December 2021, Grimes and Musk had a second child, a daughter named Exa Dark Sideræl Musk (nicknamed "Y"), born via <a href="/wiki/Surrogacy">surrogacy</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-GrimesVanityFair2022-1">[1]</a></sup> Despite the pregnancy, Musk confirmed reports that the couple were "semi-separated" in September 2021; in an interview with <a href="/wiki/Time_(magazine)"><i>Time</i></a> in December 2021, he said he was single.<sup><a href="#cite_note-477">[471]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-478">[472]</a></sup> In March 2022, Grimes said of her relationship with Musk: "I would probably refer to him as my boyfriend, but we're very fluid."<sup><a href="#cite_note-GrimesVanityFair2022-1">[1]</a></sup> Later that month, Grimes tweeted that she and Musk had broken up again but remained on good terms.<sup><a href="#cite_note-479">[473]</a></sup>
</p><p>In July 2022, <i>Insider</i> published court documents revealing that Musk had had twins with <a href="/wiki/Shivon_Zilis">Shivon Zilis</a>, director of operations and special projects at Neuralink, in November 2021.<sup><a href="#cite_note-Times220707-4">[3]</a></sup> They were born weeks before Musk and Grimes had their second child via surrogate in December. The news "raise[d] questions about workplace ethics", given that Zilis directly reported to Musk.<sup><a href="#cite_note-480">[474]</a></sup> Also in July 2022, <i>The Wall Street Journal</i> reported that Musk allegedly had an affair with Nicole Shanahan, the wife of Google co-founder <a href="/wiki/Sergey_Brin">Sergey Brin</a>, in 2021, leading to their divorce the following year.<sup><a href="#cite_note-481">[475]</a></sup> Musk denied the report.<sup><a href="#cite_note-482">[476]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Legal matters</h3>
<p>As of September 2022, Musk is a defendant in 24 lawsuits.<sup><a href="#cite_note-483">[477]</a></sup> 
</p>
<h4>US Virgin Islands subpoena</h4>
<p>In April 2023, the government of the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Virgin_Islands">US Virgin Islands</a> sought to subpoena Musk for documents in a lawsuit alleging that <a href="/wiki/JPMorgan_Chase">JPMorgan Chase</a> profited from <a href="/wiki/Jeffrey_Epstein">Jeffrey Epstein</a>’s sex trafficking operation. In May, a judge granted the US Virgin Islands' request to serve Musk electronically through Tesla after the U.S. territory had difficulty locating him.<sup><a href="#cite_note-484">[478]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-485">[479]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-486">[480]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-487">[481]</a></sup> The efforts to subpoena Musk for documents do not implicate him in any wrongdoing and do not seek to have Musk testify under oath.<sup><a href="#cite_note-488">[482]</a></sup> 
</p>
<h4>Sexual misconduct allegations</h4>
<p>In May 2022, <i><a href="/wiki/Business_Insider">Business Insider</a></i> cited an anonymous friend of an unnamed SpaceX contract flight attendant, alleging that Musk engaged in sexual misconduct in 2016. The source stated that in November 2018, Musk, SpaceX, and the former flight attendant entered into a severance agreement granting the attendant a $250,000 payment in exchange for a promise not to sue over the claims.<sup><a href="#cite_note-489">[483]</a></sup> Musk responded, "If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light". He accused the article from <i>Business Insider</i> of being a "politically motivated hit piece".<sup><a href="#cite_note-490">[484]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-491">[485]</a></sup> After the release of the <i>Business Insider</i> article, Tesla's stock fell by more than 6%,<sup><a href="#cite_note-stocks_falling_post_article-492">[486]</a></sup> decreasing Musk's net worth by $10 billion.<sup><a href="#cite_note-fortune_fluctuation-493">[487]</a></sup> <i><a href="/wiki/Barron%27s_(newspaper)">Barron's</a></i> wrote "...some investors considered <a href="/wiki/Key_person_insurance">key-man risk</a> – the danger that a company could be badly hurt by the loss of one individual."<sup><a href="#cite_note-Barron's-494">[488]</a></sup>
</p>
<h2>Public perception</h2>
<p>Though Musk's ventures were influential within their own industries in the 2000s, Musk only became a public figure in the early 2010s. He is often described as an <a href="/wiki/Eccentricity_(behavior)">eccentric</a> who makes spontaneous and controversial statements, contrary to other billionaires who prefer reclusiveness to protect their businesses.<sup><a href="#cite_note-495">[489]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-496">[490]</a></sup> Celebrated by fans and hated by critics, Musk was described by Vance as having become very polarizing because of his "part philosopher, part <a href="/wiki/Internet_troll">troll</a>" role on Twitter.<sup><a href="#cite_note-497">[491]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Media appearances</h3>
<p>With <a href="/wiki/Steve_Jobs">Steve Jobs</a> and Donald Trump, Musk served as inspiration for the characterization of <a href="/wiki/Tony_Stark_(Marvel_Cinematic_Universe)">Tony Stark</a> in the Marvel film <i><a href="/wiki/Iron_Man_(2008_film)">Iron Man</a></i> (2008).<sup><a href="#cite_note-498">[492]</a></sup> Musk had a cameo appearance in the 2010 sequel, <i><a href="/wiki/Iron_Man_2">Iron Man 2</a></i>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-499">[493]</a></sup> Musk has made cameos and appearances in other films such as <i><a href="/wiki/Machete_Kills">Machete Kills</a></i> (2013),<sup><a href="#cite_note-500">[494]</a></sup> <i><a href="/wiki/Why_Him%3F">Why Him?</a></i> (2016),<sup><a href="#cite_note-501">[495]</a></sup> and <i><a href="/wiki/Men_in_Black:_International">Men in Black: International</a></i> (2019).<sup><a href="#cite_note-502">[496]</a></sup> Television series in which he has appeared include <i><a href="/wiki/The_Simpsons">The Simpsons</a></i> ("<a href="/wiki/The_Musk_Who_Fell_to_Earth">The Musk Who Fell to Earth</a>", 2015),<sup><a href="#cite_note-503">[497]</a></sup> <i><a href="/wiki/The_Big_Bang_Theory">The Big Bang Theory</a></i> ("<a href="/wiki/The_Platonic_Permutation">The Platonic Permutation</a>", 2015),<sup><a href="#cite_note-504">[498]</a></sup> <i><a href="/wiki/South_Park">South Park</a></i> ("<a href="/wiki/Members_Only_(South_Park)">Members Only</a>", 2016),<sup><a href="#cite_note-505">[499]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-506">[500]</a></sup> <i><a href="/wiki/Rick_and_Morty">Rick and Morty</a></i> ("<a href="/wiki/One_Crew_over_the_Crewcoo%27s_Morty">One Crew over the Crewcoo's Morty</a>", 2019),<sup><a href="#cite_note-507">[501]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-508">[502]</a></sup> <i><a href="/wiki/Young_Sheldon">Young Sheldon</a></i> ("<a href="/wiki/List_of_Young_Sheldon_episodes">A Patch, a Modem, and a Zantac®</a>", 2017),<sup><a href="#cite_note-509">[503]</a></sup> and <i>Saturday Night Live</i> (2021).<sup><a href="#cite_note-510">[504]</a></sup> He contributed interviews to the documentaries <i><a href="/wiki/Racing_Extinction">Racing Extinction</a></i> (2015) and the <a href="/wiki/Werner_Herzog">Werner Herzog</a>-directed <i><a href="/wiki/Lo_and_Behold,_Reveries_of_the_Connected_World">Lo and Behold</a></i> (2016).<sup><a href="#cite_note-511">[505]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-512">[506]</a></sup>
</p>
<h3>Recognition</h3>
<p>Musk was elected a <a href="/wiki/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society">Fellow of the Royal Society</a> (FRS) in 2018.<sup><a href="#cite_note-513">[507]</a></sup> In 2015, he received an honorary doctorate in engineering and technology from <a href="/wiki/Yale_University">Yale University</a><sup><a href="#cite_note-514">[508]</a></sup> and <a href="/wiki/IEEE_Honorary_Membership">IEEE Honorary Membership</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-515">[509]</a></sup> Awards for his contributions to the development of the Falcon rockets include the <a href="/wiki/American_Institute_of_Aeronautics_and_Astronautics">American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics</a> George Low Transportation Award in 2008,<sup><a href="#cite_note-516">[510]</a></sup> the <a href="/wiki/F%C3%A9d%C3%A9ration_A%C3%A9ronautique_Internationale">Fédération Aéronautique Internationale</a> Gold Space Medal in 2010,<sup><a href="#cite_note-517">[511]</a></sup> and the <a href="/wiki/Royal_Aeronautical_Society">Royal Aeronautical Society</a> Gold Medal in 2012.<sup><a href="#cite_note-518">[512]</a></sup> He was listed among <a href="/wiki/Time_100"><i>Time</i> magazine's 100 Most Influential People</a> in 2010,<sup><a href="#cite_note-519">[513]</a></sup> 2013,<sup><a href="#cite_note-520">[514]</a></sup> 2018,<sup><a href="#cite_note-521">[515]</a></sup> and 2021.<sup><a href="#cite_note-522">[516]</a></sup> Musk was selected as <i><a href="/wiki/Time_(magazine)">Time</a></i>'s "<a href="/wiki/Time_Person_of_the_Year">Person of the Year</a>" for 2021. <i>Time</i> editor-in-chief <a href="/wiki/Edward_Felsenthal">Edward Felsenthal</a> wrote that "Person of the Year is a marker of influence, and few individuals have had more influence than Musk on life on Earth, and potentially life off Earth too".<sup><a href="#cite_note-523">[517]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-524">[518]</a></sup> In 2022, Musk was elected as a member of the <a href="/wiki/National_Academy_of_Engineering">National Academy of Engineering</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-lat20141214-525">[519]</a></sup>
</p>
<h2>See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/wiki/Thud_(media_company)">Thud (media company)</a></li>
<li><a href="/wiki/List_of_richest_Americans_in_history">List of richest Americans in history</a></li></ul>
<h2>Notes</h2>
<div><ol>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b> One child is deceased.<sup><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBerger2021182-2">[2]</a></sup>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-69">^</a></b> Musk remained on the board and served as an advisor.<sup><a href="#cite_note-67">[66]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-vance89-68">[67]</a></sup>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-100">^</a></b> SpaceX received nearly $900 million in <a href="/wiki/Federal_Communications_Commission">Federal Communications Commission</a> subsidies for Starlink.<sup><a href="#cite_note-98">[96]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-99">[97]</a></sup>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-144">^</a></b> Musk stated he was considering taking Tesla private at a price of $420 a share, an alleged reference to <a href="/wiki/Cannabis_(drug)">marijuana</a>.<sup><a href="#cite_note-141">[138]</a></sup> Members of Tesla's board and rapper <a href="/wiki/Azealia_Banks">Azealia Banks</a> alleged that Musk may have been under the influence of recreational drugs when he wrote the tweet.<sup><a href="#cite_note-142">[139]</a></sup><sup><a href="#cite_note-143">[140]</a></sup>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-197">^</a></b> He did not file the necessary SEC paperwork within 10 days of his stake passing 5%, a violation of U.S. securities laws.<sup><a href="#cite_note-twitter_buy-196">[192]</a></sup>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-324">^</a></b> According to the <a href="/wiki/Wall_Street_Journal">Wall Street Journal</a>, he was worth $140 billion, with $52 billion of that attributable to his ownership of Tesla stock.
</li>
</ol></div>
<h2>References</h2>
<div><ol>
<li>^ <a href="#cite_ref-GrimesVanityFair2022_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-GrimesVanityFair2022_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-GrimesVanityFair2022_1-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <cite>Gordon, Devin (March 10, 2022). <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/03/grimes-cover-story-on-music-and-mars">""Infamy Is Kind Of Fun": Grimes on Music, Mars, and—Surprise!—Her Secret New Baby With Elon Musk"</a>. <i>Vanity Fair</i>. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220521235459/https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/03/grimes-cover-story-on-music-and-mars">Archived</a> from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBerger2021182_2-0">^</a></b> <a href="#CITEREFBerger2021">Berger (2021)</a>, pp. 182.
</li>
<li>^ <a href="#cite_ref-Times220707_4-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Times220707_4-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <cite>Southern, Keiran (July 7, 2022). Written at Los Angeles. <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/elon-musk-had-twins-with-one-of-his-executives-kzph2nrc5">"Elon Musk 'had twins with one of his executives'"</a>. <i>The Times</i>. London. <a href="https://archive.today/20220707002423/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/elon-musk-had-twins-with-one-of-his-executives-kzph2nrc5">Archived</a> from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b> <cite>Mohamed, Theron (December 15, 2022). <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/elon-musk-tesla-stock-sales-twitter-debt-inflation-recession-fed-2022-12">"Elon Musk just cashed in another $3.6 billion of Tesla stock as he wrestles with mounting interest payments at Twitter and a looming recession"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Business_Insider">Business Insider</a></i>.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/elon-r-musk/">"Elon Musk"</a>. <i>Bloomberg: Elon Musk net worth</i>.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/elon-r-musk/">"Bloomberg Billionaires Index"</a>. <a href="/wiki/Bloomberg_L.P.">Bloomberg L.P.</a></cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b> <cite><a href="https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/">"Real Time Billionaires"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Forbes">Forbes</a></i>.</cite>
</li>
<li>^ <a href="#cite_ref-Eligon-2022_9-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Eligon-2022_9-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <cite>Eligon, John; Chutel, Lynsey (May 5, 2022). <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/world/africa/elon-musk-south-africa.html">"Elon Musk Left a South Africa That Was Rife With Misinformation and White Privilege"</a>. <i>The New York Times</i>. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20221111015804/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/world/africa/elon-musk-south-africa.html">Archived</a> from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b> <a href="#Vance">Vance (2017)</a>, pp. 25, 31.
</li>
<li>^ <a href="#cite_ref-sjmn20140411_11-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-sjmn20140411_11-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <cite>Hall, Dana (April 11, 2014). <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_25541126/rocket-man-otherworldy-ambitions-elon-musk">"Rocket Man: The otherworldly ambitions of Elon Musk"</a>. <i>The Mercury News</i>. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140414070701/http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_25541126/rocket-man-otherworldy-ambitions-elon-musk">Archived</a> from the original on April 14, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b> <cite>Elliott, Hannah (March 26, 2012). <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/hannahelliott/2012/03/26/at-home-with-elon-musk-the-soon-to-be-bachelor-billionaire/">"At Home With Elon Musk: The (Soon-to-Be) Bachelor Billionaire"</a>. <i>Forbes</i>. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120527053447/http://www.forbes.com/sites/hannahelliott/2012/03/26/at-home-with-elon-musk-the-soon-to-be-bachelor-billionaire/">Archived</a> from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2015.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-Biog_13-0">^</a></b> <a href="https://twit.tv/shows/triangulation/episodes/203/">His biography author Ashlee Vance</a> interviewed on the TV show Triangulation on the <a href="/wiki/TWiT.tv">TWiT.tv</a> network, discussion of his family starts around the 15th minute
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b> <cite>Vargas, Chanel (March 6, 2018). <a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/a18205769/maye-musk-facts/">"11 Things to Know About Stunning 69-Year-Old Model Maye Musk"</a>. <i>Town &amp; Country</i>. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180307023138/https://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/a18205769/maye-musk-facts/">Archived</a> from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2020.</cite>
</li>
<li>^ <a href="#cite_ref-Usborne-2018_15-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Usborne-2018_15-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <cite>Usborne, Simon (February 21, 2018). <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2018/feb/21/meet-elon-musk-family">"Meet the Musks: who's who in Elon's extended family?"</a>. <i>The Guardian</i>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)">ISSN</a> <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0261-3077">0261-3077</a>. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200527001143/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2018/feb/21/meet-elon-musk-family">Archived</a> from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b> <cite>May, Dana Hull and Patrick. <a href="https://buffalonews.com/business/local/exploring-the-otherworldly-ambitions-of-elon-musk/article_2fc57479-93eb-5016-b724-016b48a4f4f3.html">"Exploring the otherworldly ambitions of Elon Musk"</a>. <i>The Buffalo News</i>. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220926055648/https://buffalonews.com/business/local/exploring-the-otherworldly-ambitions-of-elon-musk/article_2fc57479-93eb-5016-b724-016b48a4f4f3.html">Archived</a> from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2021.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b> <cite>Friend, Tad (August 17, 2009). <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/08/24/plugged-in">"Plugged In"</a>. <i>The New Yorker</i>. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220308155550/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/08/24/plugged-in">Archived</a> from the original on March 8, 2022.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a></b> <cite>Dolan, Kerry A. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2015/07/02/how-to-raise-a-billionaire-an-interview-with-elon-musks-father-errol-musk/">"How To Raise A Billionaire: An Interview With Elon Musk's Father, Errol Musk"</a>. <i>Forbes</i>. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150703011435/https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2015/07/02/how-to-raise-a-billionaire-an-interview-with-elon-musks-father-errol-musk/">Archived</a> from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2020.</cite>
</li>
<li>^ <a href="#cite_ref-Smith_19-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Smith_19-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <cite>Smith, Adam (June 28, 2021). <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/elon-musk-birthday-ceo-tesla-b1874017.html">"50 years of Elon Musk's huge wealth, from emeralds to SpaceX and Tesla"</a>. <i>The Independent</i>. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20211125034322/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/elon-musk-birthday-ceo-tesla-b1874017.html">Archived</a> from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021.</cite>
</li>
<li><b><a href="#cite_ref-20">^</a></b> <cite>Lieberman, Hallie. <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/tosca-musk-romance-passionflix/">"The Musk of Romance"</a>. <i>Wired</i>. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200902072608/https://www.wired.com/story/tosca-musk-romance-passionflix/">Archived</a> from the original on September 2, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.</cite>
</li>
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<h2>Bibliography</h2>
<ul><li><cite>Belfiore, Michael (2007). <i>Rocketeers</i>. New York: HarperCollins. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-06-114902-3"><bdi>978-0-06-114902-3</bdi></a>.</cite></li>
<li><cite>Berger, Eric (2021). <i>Liftoff</i>. William Morrow and Company. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-06-297997-1"><bdi>978-0-06-297997-1</bdi></a>.</cite></li>
<li><cite>Jackson, Erik (2004). <i>The PayPal Wars: Battles with eBay, the Media, the Mafia, and the Rest of Planet Earth</i>. Los Angeles: World Ahead Publishing. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-9746701-0-2"><bdi>978-0-9746701-0-2</bdi></a>.</cite></li>
<li><cite>Kidder, David; Hoffman, Reid (2013). <i>The Startup Playbook: Secrets of the Fastest Growing Start-Ups from the founding Entrepreneurs</i>. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4521-0504-8"><bdi>978-1-4521-0504-8</bdi></a>.</cite></li>
<li><cite>Vance, Ashlee (2017) [2015]. <i>Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future</i> (2nd ed.). New York: Ecco. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-06-230125-3"><bdi>978-0-06-230125-3</bdi></a>.</cite></li></ul>
<h2>External links</h2>
</div></div>||||I||||Jump to content
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 Contents

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 * (Top)
 * 1 Early life
 Toggle Early life subsection
 + 1.1 Childhood and family
 + 1.2 Education
 * 2 Business career
 Toggle Business career subsection
 + 2.1 Zip2
 + 2.2 X.com and PayPal
 + 2.3 SpaceX
 o 2.3.1 Starlink
 + 2.4 Tesla
 o 2.4.1 SEC and shareholder lawsuits regarding tweets
 o 2.4.2 SolarCity and Tesla Energy
 + 2.5 Neuralink
 + 2.6 The Boring Company
 + 2.7 Twitter
 + 2.8 Leadership style
 * 3 Other activities
 Toggle Other activities subsection
 + 3.1 Musk Foundation
 + 3.2 Hyperloop
 + 3.3 OpenAI
 + 3.4 Tham Luang cave rescue and defamation case
 + 3.5 2018 Joe Rogan podcast appearance
 + 3.6 Music
 + 3.7 Private jet
 o 3.7.1 ElonJet account
 * 4 Wealth
 Toggle Wealth subsection
 + 4.1 Sources of wealth
 * 5 Personal views and Twitter usage
 Toggle Personal views and Twitter usage subsection
 + 5.1 Existential threats
 + 5.2 Politics
 + 5.3 COVID-19
 + 5.4 Finance
 + 5.5 Technology
 * 6 Personal life
 Toggle Personal life subsection
 + 6.1 Legal matters
 o 6.1.1 US Virgin Islands subpoena
 o 6.1.2 Sexual misconduct allegations
 * 7 Public perception
 Toggle Public perception subsection
 + 7.1 Media appearances
 + 7.2 Recognition
 * 8 See also
 * 9 Notes
 * 10 References
 * 11 Bibliography
 * 12 External links
 Toggle the table of contents
 Toggle the table of contents

 Elon Musk

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 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 Elon Musk 
 FRS 
 Musk in 2018
 Elon Reeve Musk 
 Born June 28, 1971 (age 51) 
 Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa 
 Education University of Pennsylvania (BA, BS) 
 * Founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX 
 * CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc. 
 Title * Owner and CEO of Twitter 
 * President of the Musk Foundation 
 * Founder of the Boring Company, X Corp. and X.AI 
 * Co-founder of Neuralink, OpenAI, Zip2 and X.com (part of PayPal)
 * Justine Wilson 
 ​ 
 ​(m. 2000; div. 2008)​ 
 Spouses * Talulah Riley 
 ​ 
 ​(m. 2010; div. 2012)​ 
 ​ 
 ​(m. 2013; div. 2016)​ 
 Partner Grimes (2018–2021)[1] 
 Children 10[a][3] 
 Parents * Errol Musk (father) 
 * Maye Musk (mother) 
 Family Musk family 
 Awards List of honors and awards 
 Order of Defence Merit (Knight - Cavaleiro) 
 Signature 
 
 
 This article is part of 
 a series about 
 Elon Musk 
 
 * Awards and honors 
 * Views 
 * Filmography 
 Companies 
 * Zip2 
 * X.com 
 + PayPal 
 * SpaceX 
 + Starlink 
 * Tesla, Inc. 
 + criticism 
 + litigation 
 * OpenAI 
 * Neuralink 
 * The Boring Company 
 * Thud 
 * X Corp. 
 + Twitter 
 + acquisition 
 + tenure as CEO 
 In popular culture 
 * Elon Musk 
 * Ludicrous 
 * Power Play 
 * "Members Only" 
 * "The Platonic Permutation" 
 * "The Musk Who Fell to Earth" 
 * "One Crew over the Crewcoo's Morty"
 * Elon Musk's Crash Course 
 Related 
 * Boring Test Tunnel 
 * Hyperloop 
 * Musk family 
 * SolarCity 
 * Tesla Roadster in space 
 * TSLAQ 
 * Twitter Files 
 * 2022 Twitter suspensions 
 * v 
 * t 
 * e 
 

 Elon Reeve Musk FRS (/ ˈ iː l ɒ n / EE -lon; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of the Boring Company; co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI; and president of the philanthropic Musk Foundation. Musk is the second-wealthiest person in the world, according to both the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes 's Real Time Billionaires list as of May 2023 primarily from his ownership stakes in Tesla and SpaceX, with an estimated net worth of around $167 billion according to the Bloomberg and $176.2 billion according to the latter.[4][5][6][7]

 Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa, and briefly attended the University of Pretoria before moving to Canada at age 18, acquiring citizenship through his Canadian-born mother. Two years later, he matriculated at Queen's University and transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he received bachelor's degrees in economics and physics. He moved to California in 1995 to attend Stanford University. After two days, he dropped out and, with his brother Kimbal, co-founded the online city guide software company Zip2. In 1999, Zip2 was acquired by Compaq for $307 million and Musk co-founded X.com, a direct bank. X.com merged with Confinity in 2000 to form PayPal, which eBay acquired for $1.5 billion in 2002.

 With $175.8 million, Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, a spaceflight services company. In 2004, he was an early investor in the electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors, Inc. (now Tesla, Inc.). He became its chairman and product architect, assuming the position of CEO in 2008. In 2006, he helped create SolarCity, a solar energy company that was later acquired by Tesla and became Tesla Energy. In 2015, he co-founded OpenAI, a nonprofit artificial intelligence research company. The following year, he co-founded Neuralink—a neurotechnology company developing brain–computer interfaces—and the Boring Company, a tunnel construction company. Musk has also proposed a hyperloop high-speed vactrain transportation system. In 2022, his acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion was completed.

 Musk has expressed views that have made him a polarizing figure. He has been criticized for making unscientific and misleading statements, including spreading COVID-19 misinformation, and has been accused of antisemitism. In 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Musk for falsely tweeting that he had secured funding for a private takeover of Tesla. Musk stepped down as chairman of Tesla and paid a $20 million fine as part of a settlement agreement with the SEC.

 Early life

 Childhood and family

 Further information: Musk family

 Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, one of South Africa's capital cities.[8][9] Musk has British and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry.[10][11] His mother is Maye Musk (née Haldeman ), a model and dietitian born in Saskatchewan, Canada, and raised in South Africa.[12][13][14] His father, Errol Musk, is a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, sailor, consultant, and property developer, who partly owned a Zambian emerald mine near Lake Tanganyika.[15][16][17][18] Musk has a younger brother, Kimbal, and a younger sister, Tosca.[14][19]

 Musk's family was wealthy during his youth.[18] His father was elected to the Pretoria City Council as a representative of the anti-apartheid Progressive Party and has said that his children shared their father's dislike of apartheid.[8] His maternal grandfather, Joshua Haldeman, was an adventurous American-born Canadian who took his family on record-breaking journeys to Africa and Australia in a single-engine Bellanca airplane.[20][21][22] After his parents divorced in 1980, Musk chose to mostly live with his father.[10] Musk regretted his decision and has become estranged from his father.[23] He has a paternal half-sister and a half-brother.[20][24]

 Maye Musk has said of her son that he "was shy and awkward at school" and "didn't have many friends".[25] At age ten, he developed an interest in computing and video games, teaching himself how to program from the VIC-20 user manual.[26] At age twelve, he sold his BASIC-based game Blastar to PC and Office Technology magazine for approximately $500.[27][28]

 Education

 Musk graduated from Pretoria Boys High School in South Africa.

 Musk attended Waterkloof House Preparatory School, Bryanston High School, and Pretoria Boys High School, from which he graduated.[29] Musk applied for a Canadian passport through his Canadian-born mother,[30][31] knowing that it would be easier to immigrate to the United States this way.[32] While waiting for his application to be processed, he attended the University of Pretoria for five months.[33]

 Musk arrived in Canada in June 1989 and lived with a second cousin in Saskatchewan for a year,[34] working odd jobs at a farm and lumber mill.[35] In 1990, he entered Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.[36][37] Two years later, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), where he completed studies for a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics and a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the Wharton School.[38][39][40][41] Although Musk claims he earned the degrees in 1995, UPenn maintains it awarded them in 1997.[42] He reportedly hosted large, ticketed house parties to help pay for tuition, and wrote a business plan for an electronic book-scanning service similar to Google Books.[43]

 In 1994, Musk held two internships in Silicon Valley: one at the energy storage startup Pinnacle Research Institute, which investigated electrolytic ultracapacitors for energy storage, and another at the Palo Alto–based startup Rocket Science Games.[44][45] In 1995, he was accepted to a PhD program in materials science at Stanford University.[46][47] However, Musk decided to join the Internet boom, instead dropping out two days after being accepted and applied for a job at Netscape, to which he reportedly never received a response.[48][30]

 Business career

 Zip2

 Main article: Zip2
 External video  
 Musk speaks of his early business experience during a 2014 commencement speech at USC on YouTube
 

 In 1995, Musk, his brother Kimbal, and Greg Kouri founded Zip2.[49][50] Errol Musk provided them with $28,000 in funding.[51] The company developed an Internet city guide with maps, directions, and yellow pages, and marketed it to newspapers.[52] They worked at a small rented office in Palo Alto,[53] Musk coding the website every night.[53] Eventually, Zip2 obtained contracts with The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune.[43] The brothers persuaded the board of directors to abandon a merger with CitySearch;[54] however, Musk's attempts to become CEO were thwarted.[55] Compaq acquired Zip2 for $307 million in cash in February 1999,[56][57] and Musk received $22 million for his 7-percent share.[58]

 X.com and PayPal

 Main articles: X.com, PayPal, and PayPal Mafia

 Later in 1999, Musk co-founded X.com, an online financial services and e-mail payment company.[59] X.com was one of the first federally insured online banks, and over 200,000 customers joined in its initial months of operation.[60] Even though Musk founded the company, investors regarded him as inexperienced and replaced him with Intuit CEO Bill Harris by the end of the year.[61]

 In 2000, X.com merged with online bank Confinity to avoid competition,[53][61][62] as Confinity's money-transfer service PayPal was more popular than X.com's service.[63] Musk then returned as CEO of the merged company. His preference for Microsoft over Unix-based software caused a rift among the company's employees, and led Peter Thiel, Confinity's founder, to resign.[64] With the company suffering from compounding technological issues and the lack of a cohesive business model, the board ousted Musk and replaced him with Thiel in September 2000.[65][b] Under Thiel, the company focused on the money-transfer service and was renamed PayPal in 2001.[67][68]

 In 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in stock, of which Musk—the largest shareholder with 11.72% of shares—received $175.8 million.[69][70] In 2017, more than 15 years later, Musk purchased the X.com domain from PayPal for its sentimental value.[71][72] In 2022, Musk discussed a goal of creating "X, the everything app".[73]

 SpaceX

 Main article: SpaceX
 NASA Administrator Charles Bolden congratulates Musk in front of the SpaceX Dragon following its successful 2012 mission.

 In early 2001, Musk became involved with the nonprofit Mars Society and discussed funding plans to place a growth-chamber for plants on Mars.[74] In October of the same year, he traveled to Moscow with Jim Cantrell and Adeo Ressi to buy refurbished intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that could send the greenhouse payloads into space. He met with the companies NPO Lavochkin and Kosmotras; however, Musk was seen as a novice[75] and the group returned to the United States empty-handed. In February 2002, the group returned to Russia with Mike Griffin (president of In-Q-Tel) to look for three ICBMs. They had another meeting with Kosmotras and were offered one rocket for $8 million, which Musk rejected. He instead decided to start a company that could build affordable rockets.[75] With $100 million of his own money,[76] Musk founded SpaceX in May 2002 and became the company's CEO and Chief Engineer.[77][78]

 SpaceX attempted its first launch of the Falcon 1 rocket in 2006.[79] Though the rocket failed to reach Earth orbit, it was awarded a Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program contract from NASA Administrator (and former SpaceX consultant[80]) Mike Griffin later that year.[81][82] After two more failed attempts that nearly caused Musk and his companies to go bankrupt,[79] SpaceX succeeded in launching the Falcon 1 into orbit in 2008.[83] Later that year, SpaceX received a $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract from NASA for 12 flights of its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station, replacing the Space Shuttle after its 2011 retirement.[84] In 2012, the Dragon vehicle docked with the ISS, a first for a commercial spacecraft.[85]

 Musk examining F9R Dev1 debris in 2014

 Working towards its goal of reusable rockets, in 2015 SpaceX successfully landed the first stage of a Falcon 9 on an inland platform.[86] Later landings were achieved on autonomous spaceport drone ships, an ocean-based recovery platform.[87] In 2018, SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy; the inaugural mission carried Musk's personal Tesla Roadster as a dummy payload.[88][89] Since 2019,[90] SpaceX has been developing Starship, a fully-reusable, super-heavy-lift launch vehicle intended to replace the Falcon 9 and the Falcon Heavy.[91] In 2020, SpaceX launched its first crewed flight, the Demo-2, becoming the first private company to place astronauts into orbit and dock a crewed spacecraft with the ISS.[92]

 Starlink

 Main article: Starlink
 50 Starlink satellites shortly before deployment to low Earth orbit, 2019

 In 2015, SpaceX began development of the Starlink constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites to provide satellite Internet access,[93] with the first two prototype satellites launched in February 2018. A second set of test satellites, and the first large deployment of a piece of the constellation, occurred in May 2019, when the first 60 operational satellites were launched.[94] The total cost of the decade-long project to design, build, and deploy the constellation is estimated by SpaceX to be about $10 billion.[95][c] Some critics, including the International Astronomical Union, have alleged that Starlink blocks the view of the sky and poses a collision threat to spacecraft.[98][99][100]

 During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Musk sent Starlink terminals to Ukraine to provide Internet access and communication.[101] However, Musk refused to block Russian state media on Starlink, declaring himself "a free speech absolutist".[102][103] In October 2022, Musk stated that about 20,000 satellite terminals had been donated to Ukraine, together with free data transfer subscriptions, which cost SpaceX $80 million. After asking the United States Department of Defense to pay for further units and future subscriptions on behalf of Ukraine,[104] Musk publicly stated that SpaceX would continue to provide Starlink to Ukraine for free, at a yearly cost to itself of $400 million.[105][106][107]

 Tesla

 Main article: Tesla, Inc.
 Musk next to a Tesla Model S, 2011

 Tesla, Inc.—originally Tesla Motors—was incorporated in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, who financed the company until the Series A round of funding. Both men played active roles in the company's early development prior to Musk's involvement.[108] Musk led the Series A round of investment in February 2004; he invested $6.5 million, became the majority shareholder, and joined Tesla's board of directors as chairman.[109] Musk took an active role within the company and oversaw Roadster product design but was not deeply involved in day-to-day business operations.[110]

 Following a series of escalating conflicts in 2007, and the financial crisis of 2007–2008, Eberhard was ousted from the firm.[111][ page needed ][112] Musk assumed leadership of the company as CEO and product architect in 2008.[113] A 2009 lawsuit settlement with Eberhard designated Musk as a Tesla co-founder, along with Tarpenning and two others.[114][115] As of 2019, Musk was the longest-tenured CEO of any automotive manufacturer globally.[116] In 2021, Musk nominally changed his title to "Technoking" while retaining his position as CEO.[117]

 Musk before a Model X at the 2014 Tesla Inc. annual shareholder meeting

 Tesla first built an electric sports car, the Roadster, in 2008. With sales of about 2,500 vehicles, it was the first serial production all-electric car to use lithium-ion battery cells.[118] Tesla began delivery of its four-door Model S sedan in 2012.[119] A cross-over, the Model X was launched in 2015.[120] A mass-market sedan, the Model 3, was released in 2017.[121] The Model 3 is the all-time bestselling plug-in electric car worldwide, and in June 2021 it became the first electric car to sell 1 million units globally.[122][123] A fifth vehicle, the Model Y crossover, was launched in 2020.[124] The Cybertruck, an all-electric pickup truck, was unveiled in 2019.[125] Under Musk, Tesla has also constructed multiple lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle factories, named Gigafactories.[126]

 Since its initial public offering in 2010,[127] Tesla stock has risen significantly; it became the most valuable carmaker in summer 2020,[128][129] and it entered the S&P 500 later that year.[130][131] In October 2021, it reached a market capitalization of $1 trillion, the sixth company in U.S. history to do so.[132] In November 2021, Musk proposed, on Twitter, to sell 10% of his Tesla stock, since "much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance".[133] After more than 3.5 million Twitter accounts supported the sale, Musk sold $6.9 billion of Tesla stock within a week,[133] and a total of $16.4 billion by year end, reaching the 10% target.[134] In February 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that both Elon and Kimbal Musk were under investigation by the SEC for possible insider trading related to the sale.[135] In 2022, Musk unveiled a robot developed by Tesla, Optimus.[136]

 SEC and shareholder lawsuits regarding tweets

 In 2018, Musk was sued by the SEC for a tweet claiming that funding had been secured for potentially taking Tesla private.[137][d] The lawsuit characterized the tweet as false, misleading, and damaging to investors, and sought to bar Musk from serving as CEO of publicly traded companies.[137][141][142] Two days later, Musk settled with the SEC, without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations. As a result, Musk and Tesla were fined $20 million each, and Musk was forced to step down for three years as Tesla chairman but was able to remain as CEO.[143] Musk has stated in interviews that he does not regret posting the tweet that triggered the SEC investigation.[144][145] In April 2022, the shareholder who sued Musk over the tweet, along with several Tesla shareholders, said that a federal judge had ruled that the tweet was false, although the ruling in question has not been unsealed.[146] In February 2023, the jury found Musk and Tesla not liable.[147]

 In 2019, Musk stated in a tweet that Tesla would build half a million cars that year.[148] The SEC reacted to Musk's tweet by filing in court, asking the court to hold him in contempt for violating the terms of a settlement agreement with such a tweet; the accusation was disputed by Musk. This was eventually settled by a joint agreement between Musk and the SEC clarifying the previous agreement details.[149] The agreement included a list of topics that Musk would need preclearance before tweeting about.[150] In 2020, a judge prevented a lawsuit from proceeding that claimed a tweet by Musk regarding Tesla stock price ("too high imo") violated the agreement.[151][152] FOIA-released records showed that the SEC itself concluded Musk has subsequently violated the agreement twice by tweeting regarding "Tesla's solar roof production volumes and its stock price".[153]

 SolarCity and Tesla Energy

 Main articles: SolarCity and Tesla Energy
 SolarCity solar-panel installation vans in 2009

 Musk provided the initial concept and financial capital for SolarCity, which his cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive founded in 2006.[154] By 2013, SolarCity was the second largest provider of solar power systems in the United States.[155] In 2014, Musk promoted the idea of SolarCity building an advanced production facility in Buffalo, New York, triple the size of the largest solar plant in the United States.[156] Construction of the factory started in 2014 and was completed in 2017. It operated as a joint venture with Panasonic until early 2020.[157][158]

 Tesla acquired SolarCity for over $2 billion in 2016 and merged it with its battery unit to create Tesla Energy. The deal's announcement resulted in a more than 10% drop in Tesla's stock price. At the time, SolarCity was facing liquidity issues.[159] Multiple shareholder groups filed a lawsuit against Musk and Tesla's directors, claiming that the purchase of SolarCity was done solely to benefit Musk and came at the expense of Tesla and its shareholders.[160][161] Tesla directors settled the lawsuit in January 2020, leaving Musk the sole remaining defendant.[162][163] Two years later, the court ruled in Musk's favor.[164]

 Neuralink

 Main article: Neuralink
 Musk discussing a Neuralink device during a live demonstration in 2020

 In 2016, Musk co-founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology startup company, with an investment of $100 million.[165][166] Neuralink aims to integrate the human brain with artificial intelligence (AI) by creating devices that are embedded in the brain to facilitate its merging with machines. Such technology could enhance memory or allow the devices to communicate with software.[166][167] The company also hopes to develop devices with which to treat neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and spinal cord injuries.[168]

 In 2019, Musk announced work on a device akin to a sewing machine that could embed threads into a human brain.[165] Musk is listed as the sole author of an October 2019 paper that details some of Neuralink's research,[169] although Musk's being listed as such rankled the Neuralink team's researchers.[170] At a 2020 live demonstration, Musk described one of their early devices as "a Fitbit in your skull" that could soon cure paralysis, deafness, blindness, and other disabilities. Many neuroscientists and publications criticized these claims,[171][172][173] with MIT Technology Review describing them as "highly speculative" and "neuroscience theater".[171] During the demonstration, Musk revealed a pig with a Neuralink implant that tracked neural activity related to smell.[168] In 2022, Neuralink announced that clinical trials would begin by the end of the year.[174]

 Neuralink has conducted further animal testing on macaque monkeys at the University of California, Davis' Primate Research Center. In 2021, the company released a video in which a Macaque played the video game Pong via a Neuralink implant. The company's animal trials—which have caused the deaths of some monkeys—have led to claims of animal cruelty. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has alleged that Neuralink's animal trials have violated the Animal Welfare Act.[175] Employees have complained that pressure from Musk to accelerate development has led to botched experiments and unnecessary animal deaths. In 2022, a federal probe was launched into possible animal welfare violations by Neuralink.[176]

 The Boring Company

 Main article: The Boring Company
 Musk during the 2018 inauguration of the Boring Test Tunnel in Hawthorne, California

 In 2017, Musk founded the Boring Company to construct tunnels and revealed plans for specialized, underground, high-occupancy vehicles that could travel up to 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) and thus circumvent above-ground traffic in major cities.[177][178] Early in 2017, the company began discussions with regulatory bodies and initiated construction of a 30-foot (9.1 m) wide, 50-foot (15 m) long, and 15-foot (4.6 m) deep "test trench" on the premises of SpaceX's offices, as that required no permits.[179] The Los Angeles tunnel, less than two miles (3.2 km) in length, debuted to journalists in 2018. It used Tesla Model X's and was reported to be a rough ride while traveling at suboptimal speeds.[180]

 Two tunnel projects announced in 2018, in Chicago and West Los Angeles, have been canceled.[181][182] However, a tunnel beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center was completed in early 2021.[183] Local officials have approved further expansions of the tunnel system.[184] In 2021, tunnel construction was approved for Fort Lauderdale, Florida.[185]

 Twitter

 Further information: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk
 Elon Musk Twitter
 @elonmusk
 

 I made an offer
 https://sec.gov/Archives/edgar...

 April 14, 2022[186]

 Musk expressed interest in buying Twitter as early as 2017,[187] and had previously questioned the platform's commitment to freedom of speech.[188][189] In January 2022, Musk started purchasing Twitter shares, reaching a 9.2% stake by April,[190] making him the largest shareholder.[191][e] When this was publicly disclosed, Twitter shares experienced the largest intraday price surge since the company's 2013 IPO.[193] On April 4, Musk agreed to a deal that would appoint him to Twitter's board of directors and prohibit him from acquiring more than 14.9% of the company.[194][195] However, on April 13, Musk made a $43 billion offer to buy Twitter, launching a takeover bid to buy 100% of Twitter's stock at $54.20 per share.[191][196] In response, Twitter's board adopted a "poison pill" shareholder rights plan to make it more expensive for any single investor to own more than 15% of the company without board approval.[197] Nevertheless, by the end of the month Musk had successfully concluded his bid for approximately $44 billion.[198] This included about $12.5 billion in loans against his Tesla stock and $21 billion in equity financing.[199][200]

 Tesla's stock market value sank by over $100 billion the next day in reaction to the deal, causing Musk to lose around $30 billion of his net worth.[201][202] He subsequently tweeted criticism of Twitter executive Vijaya Gadde's policies to his 86 million followers, which led to some of them engaging in sexist and racist harassment against her.[203] Exactly a month after announcing the takeover, Musk stated that the deal was "on hold" following a report that 5% of Twitter's daily active users were spam accounts,[204] causing Twitter shares to drop more than 10 percent.[205] Although he initially affirmed his commitment to the acquisition,[206] he sent notification of his termination of the deal in July; Twitter's Board of Directors responded that they were committed to holding him to the transaction.[207] On July 12, 2022, Twitter formally sued Musk in the Chancery Court of Delaware for breaching a legally binding agreement to purchase Twitter.[208] In October 2022, Musk reversed again, offering to purchase Twitter at $54.20 per share.[209] The acquisition was officially completed on October 27.[210]

 Immediately after the acquisition, Musk fired top Twitter executives like CEO Parag Agrawal,[210][211] whom he replaced.[212] He instituted a $7.99 monthly subscription for a "blue check",[213][214][215] and laid off a significant portion of the company's staff.[216][217] Musk lessened content moderation,[218] and in December, Musk released internal documents relating to Twitter's moderation of Hunter Biden's laptop in the leadup to the 2020 presidential election.[219] The Southern Poverty Law Center noted that Twitter has verified numerous extremists.[220] A study of millions of tweets following the acquisition indicated that hate speech on the platform has become "more visible" under Musk's leadership.[221]

 Within the first weeks of ownership, Musk made a series of short-lived decisions and changes that he quickly reversed, including introducing a paid blue checkmark,[222] creating an "official" label[223] and forbidding linking to one's profiles on other social media platforms.[224] Under Musk's management, Twitter experienced several large scale outages.[225][226]

 In April 2022, The Washington Post reported that Musk privately claimed supposed censorship on the platform, including the banning of accounts such as The Babylon Bee, had prompted him to begin the acquisition. Following the acquisition, he made reinstatement of accounts like the Bee an immediate priority.[227] The New York Post revealed that Musk's ex-wife Talulah Riley had encouraged Musk to purchase Twitter, specifically citing the Bee ' s ban.[228]

 On December 18, Musk posted a poll to his Twitter account asking users to decide whether he should step down as the head of Twitter, with 57.5% out of the more than 17.5 million votes supporting that decision.[229] Musk then announced that he would resign as CEO "as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job".[230]

 On 12 May 2023, Musk announced that he would be stepping down from the CEO position and instead moving to "exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops." He also announced the introduction of a new CEO, former NBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarino.[231][232]

 Leadership style

 Musk giving a speech to SpaceX employees in 2012

 Musk is often described as a micromanager and has called himself a "nano-manager".[233] The New York Times has characterized his approach as absolutist.[234] Musk does not make formal business plans;[234] instead, he says he prefers to approach engineering problems[non sequitur] with an "iterative design methodology" and "tolerance for failures".[235] He has forced employees to adopt the company's own jargon and launched ambitious, risky, and costly projects against his advisors' recommendations, such as removing front-facing radar from Tesla Autopilot. His insistence on vertical integration causes his companies to move most production in-house. While this resulted in saved costs for SpaceX's rocket,[236] vertical integration has caused many usability problems for Tesla's software.[233]

 Musk's handling of employees—whom he communicates with directly through mass emails—has been characterized as "carrot and stick", rewarding those "who offer constructive criticism" while also being known to impulsively threaten, swear at, and fire his employees.[237][238][239] Musk said he expects his employees to work for long hours, sometimes for 80 hours per week.[240] He has his new employees sign strict non-disclosure agreements and often fires in sprees,[241][242] such as during the Model 3 "production hell" in 2018.[242] In 2022, Musk revealed plans to fire 10 percent of Tesla's workforce, due to his concerns about the economy.[243] That same month, he suspended remote work at SpaceX and Tesla and threatened to fire employees who do not work 40 hours per week in the office.[244]

 Musk's leadership has been praised by some, who credit it with the success of Tesla and his other endeavors,[233] and criticized by others, who see him as callous and his managerial decisions as "show[ing] a lack of human understanding."[239][245] The 2021 book Power Play contains anecdotes of Musk berating employees.[246] The Wall Street Journal reported that, after Musk insisted on branding his vehicles as "self-driving", he faced criticism from his engineers for putting customer "lives at risk", with some employees resigning in consequence.[247]

 Other activities

 Musk Foundation

 Musk is the president of the Musk Foundation,[248] whose stated purpose is to provide solar-power energy systems in disaster areas; support research, development, and advocacy (for interests including human space exploration, pediatrics, renewable energy and "safe artificial intelligence"); and support science and engineering educational efforts.[249] From 2002 to 2018, the foundation gave $25 million directly to non-profit organizations, nearly half of which went to Musk's OpenAI,[250] which was then non-profit.[251]

 Since 2002, the foundation has made over 350 donations. Around half were to scientific research or education nonprofits. Notable beneficiaries include the Wikimedia Foundation, his alma mater the University of Pennsylvania, and his brother Kimbal's Big Green.[252] In 2012, Musk took the Giving Pledge, thereby committing to give the majority of his wealth to charitable causes either during his lifetime or in his will.[253] He has endowed prizes at the X Prize Foundation, including $100 million to reward improved carbon capture technology.[254]

 Vox said "the Musk Foundation is almost entertaining in its simplicity and yet is strikingly opaque", noting that its website was only 33 words in plain-text.[250] The foundation has been criticized for the relatively small amount of wealth donated.[255] In 2020, Forbes gave Musk a philanthropy score of 1, because he had given away less than 1% of his net worth.[252] In November 2021, Musk donated $5.7 billion of Tesla's shares to charity, according to regulatory filings;[256] however, Bloomberg News noted that all of it went to his own foundation, bringing Musk Foundation's assets up to $9.4 billion at the end of 2021. The foundation disbursed $160 million to non-profits that year.[257]

 Hyperloop

 Main articles: Hyperloop and Hyperloop pod competition
 A tube part of the 2017 Hyperloop pod competition sponsored by SpaceX

 In 2013, Musk announced plans for a version of a vactrain—a vacuum tube train—and assigned a dozen engineers from SpaceX and Tesla to establish the conceptual foundations and create initial designs.[258] Later that year, Musk unveiled the concept, which he dubbed the hyperloop.[259] The alpha design for the system was published in a whitepaper posted to the Tesla and SpaceX blogs.[260] The document scoped out the technology and outlined a notional route where such a transport system could be built between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area, at an estimated cost of $6 billion.[261] The proposal, if technologically feasible at the costs cited, would make Hyperloop travel cheaper than any other mode of transport for such long distances.[262]

 In 2015, Musk announced a design competition for students and others to build Hyperloop pods, to operate on a SpaceX-sponsored mile-long track, for a 2015–2017 Hyperloop pod competition. The track was used in January 2017, and Musk also announced that the company started a tunnel project, with Hawthorne Municipal Airport as its destination.[263] In July 2017, Musk claimed that he had received "verbal government approval" to build a hyperloop from New York City to Washington, D.C., with stops in both Philadelphia and Baltimore.[264] Mention of the projected DC-to-Baltimore leg was removed from the Boring Company website in 2021.[265] The tunnel project to Hawthorne was discontinued in 2022 and is cited to be converted into parking spots for SpaceX workers.[266]

 Biographer Ashlee Vance has noted that Musk hoped Hyperloop would "make the public and legislators rethink the high-speed train" proposal current in California at the time and consider more "creative" ideas.[267]

 OpenAI

 Main article: OpenAI

 In 2015, Musk co-founded OpenAI, a not-for-profit artificial intelligence (AI) research company aiming to develop artificial general intelligence intended to be safe and beneficial to humanity.[268] A particular focus of the company is to democratize artificial superintelligence systems, against governments and corporations.[23] In 2018, Musk left the OpenAI board to avoid possible future conflicts with his role as CEO of Tesla as the latter company increasingly became involved in AI through Tesla Autopilot.[269] Since then, OpenAI has made significant advances in machine learning, producing neural networks such as GPT-3 (producing human-like text),[270] and DALL-E (generating digital images from natural language descriptions).[271]

 Tham Luang cave rescue and defamation case

 Further information: Tham Luang cave rescue
 During the Tham Luang cave rescue (pictured), Musk had proposed a mini-submarine to evacuate the children, which was rejected.

 In July 2018, Musk arranged for his employees to build a mini-submarine to assist the rescue of children trapped in a flooded cavern in Thailand.[272] Richard Stanton, leader of the international rescue diving team, urged Musk to facilitate the construction of the vehicle as a back-up, in case flooding worsened.[273] Engineers at SpaceX and the Boring Company built the mini-submarine from a Falcon 9 liquid oxygen transfer tube in eight hours and personally delivered it to Thailand.[274][275] By this time, however, eight of the 12 children, had already been rescued, the rescuers employing full face masks, oxygen, and anesthesia; consequently, Thai authorities declined to use the submarine.[272] In March 2019, Musk was later one of the 187 people who received various honors conferred by the King of Thailand for involvement in the rescue effort.[276]

 Soon after the rescue, Vernon Unsworth, a British recreational caver who had been exploring the cave for the previous six years and played a key advisory role in the operation, criticized the submarine on CNN as amounting to nothing more than a public relations effort with no chance of success, maintaining that Musk "had no conception of what the cave passage was like" and "can stick his submarine where it hurts". Musk asserted on Twitter that the device would have worked and referred to Unsworth as a "pedo guy".[277] He deleted the tweets,[277] and apologized,[278] and he deleted his responses to critical tweets from Cher Scarlett, a software engineer, which had caused his followers to harass her.[279] In an email to BuzzFeed News, Musk later called Unsworth a "child rapist" and said that he had married a child.[280][281]

 In September, Unsworth filed a defamation suit in the District Court for the Central District of California.[282][283] In his defense, Musk argued that " 'pedo guy' was a common insult used in South Africa when I was growing up ... synonymous with 'creepy old man' and is used to insult a person's appearance and demeanor".[29] The defamation case began in December 2019, with Unsworth seeking $190 million in damages.[284] During the trial Musk apologized to Unsworth again for the tweet. On December 6, the jury found in favor of Musk and ruled he was not liable.[285][286]

 2018 Joe Rogan podcast appearance

 In 2018, Musk appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and discussed various topics for over two hours. During the interview, Musk sampled a puff from a cigar consisting, the host claimed, of tobacco laced with cannabis. Tesla stock dropped after the incident, which coincided with the confirmation of the departure of Tesla's vice president of worldwide finance earlier that day.[287] Fortune wondered if the cannabis use could have ramifications for SpaceX contracts with the United States Air Force, though an Air Force spokesperson told The Verge that there was no investigation and that the Air Force was still determining the facts.[288] In 2022, Musk claimed that he and other Space-X employees were subjected to random drug tests for about a year following the incident.[289] In a 60 Minutes interview, Musk said of the incident: "I do not smoke pot. As anybody who watched that podcast could tell, I have no idea how to smoke pot."[290]

 Music

 In 2019, Musk, through Emo G Records, released a rap track, "RIP Harambe", on SoundCloud. The track, which refers to the killing of Harambe the gorilla and the subsequent Internet sensationalism surrounding the event, was performed by Yung Jake, written by Yung Jake and Caroline Polachek, and produced by BloodPop.[291][292] The following year, Musk released an EDM track, "Don't Doubt Ur Vibe", featuring his own lyrics and vocals.[293] While Guardian critic Alexi Petridis described it as "indistinguishable... from umpteen competent but unthrilling bits of bedroom electronica posted elsewhere on Soundcloud",[294] TechCrunch said it was "not a bad representation of the genre".[293]

 Private jet

 In 2003, Musk said his favorite plane he owned was an L-39 Albatros.[295] He uses a private jet owned by Falcon Landing LLC, a SpaceX-linked company, and acquired a second jet in August 2020.[296][297] His heavy use of the jet—it flew over 150,000 miles in 2018—and the consequent fossil fuel usage has received criticism.[296][298]

 ElonJet account

 Main articles: ElonJet and 2022 Twitter suspensions

 His flight usage is tracked on social media through ElonJet. The Twitter version of the account was blocked in December 2022, after Musk claimed that his son X AE A-XII had been harassed by a stalker after the account posted the airport at which his jet had landed.[299][300][301] This led to Musk banning the ElonJet account on Twitter, as well as the accounts of journalists that posted stories regarding the incident, including Donie O'Sullivan, Keith Olbermann, and journalists from The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and The Intercept.[302] Musk equated the reporting to doxxing.[303] The police do not believe there is a link between the account and alleged stalker.[304] Musk later took a Twitter poll on whether the journalists' accounts should be reinstated, which resulted in reinstating the accounts.[305][302]

 Wealth

 Musk's net worth from 2013 to 2022 as estimated by Forbes magazine

 Musk made $175.8 million when PayPal was sold to eBay in 2002.[306] He was first listed on the Forbes Billionaires List in 2012, with a net worth of $2 billion.[307]

 At the start of 2020, Musk had a net worth of $27 billion.[308] By the end of the year his net worth had increased by $150 billion, mostly driven by his ownership of around 20% of Tesla stock.[309] During this period, Musk's net worth was often volatile. For example, it dropped $16.3 billion in September, the largest single-day plunge in Bloomberg Billionaires Index ' s history.[310] In November of that year, Musk passed Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg to become the third-richest person in the world; a week later he passed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to become the second-richest.[311]

 In January 2021, Musk, with a net worth of $185 billion, surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to become the richest person in the world.[312] Bezos reclaimed the top spot the following month.[313] On September 27, 2021, after Tesla stock surged, Forbes announced that Musk had a net worth of over $200 billion, and was the richest person in the world.[314] In November 2021, Musk became the first person worth over $300 billion.[315]

 On December 30, 2022, it was reported that Musk had lost $200 billion from his net worth due to declining stock values in Tesla, becoming the first person in history to lose such a large sum of money.[316][317] In January 2023, Musk was recognised by Guinness World Records for experiencing the "largest loss of personal fortune in history" with regards to his financial losses since November 2021, which Guinness quoted a Forbes estimate of $182 billion.[318]

 Sources of wealth

 Around 75% of Musk's wealth derived from Tesla stock in November 2020,[311] a proportion that fell to about 37% as of December 2022,[f] after selling nearly $40 billion in company shares since late 2021.[319] Musk does not receive a salary from Tesla; he agreed with the board in 2018 to a compensation plan that ties his personal earnings to Tesla's valuation and revenue.[309] The deal stipulated that Musk only receives the compensation if Tesla reaches certain market values.[320] It was the largest such deal ever done between a CEO and a company board.[321] In the first award, given in May 2020, he was eligible to purchase 1.69 million Tesla shares (about 1% of the company) at below-market prices, which was worth about $800 million.[321][320]

 Musk paid $455 million in taxes on $1.52 billion of income between 2014 and 2018.[322] According to ProPublica, Musk paid no federal income taxes in 2018.[323] He claimed his 2021 tax bill was estimated at $12 billion based on his sale of $14 billion worth of Tesla stock.[322]

 Musk has repeatedly described himself as "cash poor",[324][325] and has "professed to have little interest in the material trappings of wealth".[324] In May 2020, he pledged to sell almost all physical possessions.[325] Musk has defended his wealth by saying he is accumulating resources for humanity's outward expansion to space.[326]

 Personal views and Twitter usage

 Main article: Views of Elon Musk

 Since joining Twitter in 2009,[327] Musk has been an active user and has over 100 million followers as of June 2022.[328] He posts memes, promotes business interests, and comments on contemporary political and cultural issues.[329] Musk's statements have provoked controversy, such as for mocking preferred gender pronouns,[330][331] and comparing Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler.[332] The New York Times describes his contributions to international relations as "chaotic", and critics of Musk argue that there is a lack of separation between his opinions and his business interests.[333] As CEO of Twitter, Musk has emerged as a source of misinformation, for example by suggesting online details about mass murderer Mauricio Garcia's apparent interest in Nazism could have been planted as part of a psyop.[334] He has been accused by the government of Israel[335] and several media outlets of antisemitism due to him spreading George Soros conspiracy theories,[336][337][338] although some Israeli officials defended Musk.[339]

 Existential threats

 Musk giving details about Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft at the 2006 Mars Society Conference

 Musk has been described as believing in longtermism, emphasizing the needs of future populations.[340] Accordingly, Musk has stated that artificial intelligence poses the greatest existential threat to humanity.[341][342] He has warned of a "Terminator-like" AI apocalypse and suggested that the government should regulate its safe development.[343][344] In 2015, Musk was a cosignatory, along with Stephen Hawking and hundreds of others, of the Open Letter on Artificial Intelligence, which called for the ban of autonomous weapons.[345] Musk's AI stances have been called alarmist and sensationalist by critics such as computer scientist Yann LeCun and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg,[346][347] and led the think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation to award Musk its Annual Luddite Award in 2016.[348]

 Musk has described climate change as the greatest threat to humanity after AI,[349] and has advocated for a carbon tax.[350] Musk was a critic of President Donald Trump's stance on climate change,[351][352] and resigned from two presidential business advisory councils following Trump's 2017 decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement.[353]

 Musk has long promoted the colonization of Mars and argues that humanity should become a "multiplanetary species".[354] He has suggested the use of nuclear weapons to terraform Mars.[355][356] He envisioned establishing a direct democracy on Mars, with a system in which more votes would be required to create laws than remove them.[357] Musk has also voiced concerns about human population decline,[358][359] saying that "Mars has zero human population. We need a lot of people to become a multiplanet civilization."[360] Speaking at The Wall Street Journal ' s CEO Council session in 2021, Musk stated that a declining birth rate, and consequent population decline, is one of the biggest risks to human civilization.[361]

 Politics

 Musk with Senator Dianne Feinstein at the opening of the Tesla Fremont Factory (2010), and with Vice President Mike Pence at the Kennedy Space Center before SpaceX's Crew Dragon Demo-2 launch (2020)

 While often described as libertarian, Musk has called himself "politically moderate" and was a registered independent voter when he lived in California. The New York Times wrote that Musk "expresses views that don't fit neatly into [the American] binary, left-right political framework".[362] Historically, Musk has donated to both Democrats and Republicans,[363] many of whom are in states in which he has a vested interest.[362] Beginning in the late 2010s, Musk's political contributions have shifted to almost entirely supporting Republicans.[364]

 Musk voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[365] In the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Musk endorsed candidate Andrew Yang and expressed support for his proposed universal basic income.[366] He also endorsed Kanye West's 2020 presidential campaign.[367] He said he voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.[365] In 2022, Musk said that he could "no longer support" the Democrats because they are the "party of division & hate",[368][369] and wrote a tweet encouraging "independent-minded voters" to vote Republican in the 2022 U.S. elections, which was an outlier among social media executives who typically avoid partisan political advocacy.[370][371] He also leaned towards supporting Republican Ron DeSantis in the 2024 U.S. presidential election if DeSantis were a candidate.[372][373]

 Musk opposes a "billionaire's tax",[374] and has argued on Twitter with more left-leaning Democratic politicians such as Bernie Sanders,[375][376] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,[377] and Elizabeth Warren.[378] He has raised questions about the Black Lives Matter protests, partially based on the fact that the phrase "Hands up, don't shoot" was made up.[379][380] Musk also promoted a baseless theory relating to the attack of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, but Musk deleted his tweet.[381]

 Musk has praised China and has been described as having a close relationship with the Chinese government, allowing access to its markets for Tesla.[382] After Gigafactory Shanghai produced its first batch of vehicles, Musk thanked the Chinese government and Chinese people while criticizing the United States and its people.[383] : 207–208 In 2022, Musk wrote an article for China Cyberspace, the official publication of Cyberspace Administration of China, which enforces Internet censorship in China. His writing the article was described as conflicting with his advocacy for free speech.[384][385] Musk later advocated for Taiwan to become a "special administrative zone" of China which drew cross-party criticism from Taiwanese lawmakers.[386][387][388] In October 2022, Musk posted a Twitter poll and "peace plan" to resolve the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[389][390] It was reported that Musk allegedly spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin prior to the proposal, which Musk denied.[391][392][393][394]

 COVID-19

 Musk wears a bandana as a face mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Musk was criticized for his public comments and conduct related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[395][396] He spread misinformation about the virus, including promoting a widely discredited paper on the benefits of chloroquine and claiming that COVID-19 death statistics were inflated.[397]

 In March 2020, Musk stated, "The coronavirus panic is dumb."[398][399] In an email to Tesla employees, Musk referred to COVID-19 as a "specific form of the common cold" and predicted that confirmed COVID-19 cases would not exceed 0.1% of the U.S. population.[395] On March 19, 2020, Musk predicted that there would be "probably close to zero new cases in [the U.S.] by end of April".[396] Politico labeled this statement one of "the most audacious, confident, and spectacularly incorrect prognostications [of 2020]".[400] Musk also claimed falsely that children "are essentially immune" to COVID-19.[401][402]

 Musk condemned COVID-19 lockdowns and initially refused to close the Tesla Fremont Factory in March 2020, defying the local shelter-in-place order.[395][403][404] In May 2020, he reopened the Tesla factory, defying the local stay-at-home order,[405][406] and warned workers that they would be unpaid, and their unemployment benefits might be jeopardized, if they did not report to work.[406] In December 2022, Musk called for prosecution of former NIAID director Anthony Fauci.[407][408]

 In March 2020, Musk promised that Tesla would make ventilators for COVID-19 patients if there were a shortage.[409] After figures like New York City mayor Bill de Blasio responded to Musk's offer,[410] Musk offered to donate ventilators which Tesla would build or buy from a third party.[409] However, Musk ended up buying and donating BiPAP and CPAP machines, which are non-invasive ventilators, rather than the much more expensive and sought-after invasive mechanical ventilator machines.[411][412]

 In September 2020, Musk stated that he would not get the COVID-19 vaccine, because he and his children were "not at risk for COVID".[413][414] Two months later, Musk contracted COVID-19 and suggested his COVID-19 rapid antigen test results were dubious, after which the phrase "Space Karen" trended on Twitter, in reference to Musk.[415][416] However, in December 2021, Musk revealed that he and his eligible children had received the vaccine.[417] In January 2023, Musk stated that he experienced intense adverse reactions after his 2nd COVID-19 vaccine booster shot.[418]

 Finance

 Musk said that the U.S. government should not provide subsidies to companies, but impose a carbon tax to discourage poor behavior.[419][420] The free market, in his view, would achieve the best solution, and producing environmentally unfriendly vehicles should have consequences.[421] Tesla has received billions of dollars in subsidies.[422] In addition, Tesla made large sums from government-initiated systems of zero-emissions credits offered in California and at the United States federal level, which facilitated initial consumer adoption of Tesla vehicles, as the tax credits given by governments enabled Tesla's battery electric vehicles to be price-competitive, in comparison with existing lower-priced internal combustion engine vehicles.[423] Notably, Tesla generates some of its revenue from its sales of carbon credits granted to the company, by both the European Union Emissions Trading System and the Chinese national carbon trading scheme.[424][425][426][427]

 Musk, a longtime opponent of short-selling, has repeatedly criticized the practice and argued it should be illegal.[428][429] Wired magazine speculated that Musk's opposition to short-selling stems from how short sellers have an incentive to find and promote unfavorable information about his companies.[430] In early 2021, he encouraged the GameStop short squeeze.[431][432]

 In December 2022, Musk sold $3.6 billion of his stock in Tesla, equal to 22 million shares in the company,[433] despite pledging earlier in the year that he would not sell any additional shares.[434]

 Technology

 Musk has promoted cryptocurrencies and supports them over traditional government-issued fiat currencies.[435] Given the influence of Musk's tweets in moving cryptocurrency markets,[436] his statements about cryptocurrencies have been viewed as market manipulation by some, such as economist Nouriel Roubini.[437] Musk's social media praising of Bitcoin and Dogecoin was credited for increasing their prices. Consequently, Tesla's 2021 announcement, against the backdrop of Musk's social media behavior, that it bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin, raised questions.[438] Tesla's announcement that it would accept Bitcoin for payment was criticized by environmentalists and investors, due to the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining. A few months later, in response to the criticism, Musk announced on Twitter that Tesla would no longer accept payments in Bitcoin and would not engage in any Bitcoin transactions until the environmental issues are solved.[439][440]

 Despite the Boring Company's involvement in building mass transit infrastructure, Musk has criticized public transport and promoted individualized transport (private vehicles).[441][442][443] His comments have been called "elitist" and have sparked widespread criticism from both transportation and urban planning experts, who have pointed out that public transportation in dense urban areas is more economical, more energy efficient, and requires much less space than private cars.[442][444][443]

 Personal life

 From the early 2000s until late 2020, Musk resided in California, where both Tesla and SpaceX were founded.[445] In 2020, he moved to Texas, saying that California had become "complacent" about its economic success.[445][446] While hosting Saturday Night Live in May 2021, Musk said that he has Asperger syndrome.[447]

 Musk met his first wife, Canadian Justine Wilson, while attending Queen's University in Ontario, Canada; and they married in 2000.[448] In 2002, their first child died of sudden infant death syndrome at the age of 10 weeks.[449] After his death, the couple decided to use IVF to continue their family.[450] They had twins in 2004 followed by triplets in 2006.[450] The couple divorced in 2008 and shared custody of their children.[451][452] In 2022, one of the twins officially changed her name to reflect her gender identity, and to use Wilson as her last name because she no longer wished to be associated with Musk.[453] Musk blamed the estrangement of his daughter on what the Financial Times characterized as "the supposed takeover of elite schools and universities by neo-Marxists."[454]

 In 2008, Musk began dating English actress Talulah Riley.[455] They married two years later at Dornoch Cathedral in Scotland.[456][457] In 2012, the couple divorced, before remarrying the following year.[458] After briefly filing for divorce in 2014,[458] Musk finalized a second divorce from Riley in 2016.[459] Musk then dated Amber Heard for several months in 2017;[460] he had reportedly been pursuing her since 2012.[461] Johnny Depp later accused Musk of having an affair with Heard while she was still married to Depp.[462][463] Musk and Heard both denied the affair.[462]

 In 2018, Musk and Canadian musician Grimes revealed that they were dating.[464] Grimes gave birth to their son in May 2020.[465][466] According to Musk and Grimes, his name was "X Æ A-12" (/ ɛ k s æ ʃ eɪ ˈ t w ɛ l v /); however, the name would have violated California regulations as it contained characters that are not in the modern English alphabet,[467][468] and was then changed to "X Æ A-Xii" . This drew more confusion, as Æ is not a letter in the modern English alphabet.[469] The child was eventually named X AE A-XII Musk, with "X" as a first name, "AE A-XII" as a middle name, and "Musk" as surname.[470] In December 2021, Grimes and Musk had a second child, a daughter named Exa Dark Sideræl Musk (nicknamed "Y"), born via surrogacy.[1] Despite the pregnancy, Musk confirmed reports that the couple were "semi-separated" in September 2021; in an interview with Time in December 2021, he said he was single.[471][472] In March 2022, Grimes said of her relationship with Musk: "I would probably refer to him as my boyfriend, but we're very fluid."[1] Later that month, Grimes tweeted that she and Musk had broken up again but remained on good terms.[473]

 In July 2022, Insider published court documents revealing that Musk had had twins with Shivon Zilis, director of operations and special projects at Neuralink, in November 2021.[3] They were born weeks before Musk and Grimes had their second child via surrogate in December. The news "raise[d] questions about workplace ethics", given that Zilis directly reported to Musk.[474] Also in July 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk allegedly had an affair with Nicole Shanahan, the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, in 2021, leading to their divorce the following year.[475] Musk denied the report.[476]

 Legal matters

 Main articles: List of lawsuits involving Tesla, Inc. and Criticism of Tesla, Inc.

 As of September 2022, Musk is a defendant in 24 lawsuits.[477]

 US Virgin Islands subpoena

 In April 2023, the government of the US Virgin Islands sought to subpoena Musk for documents in a lawsuit alleging that JPMorgan Chase profited from Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. In May, a judge granted the US Virgin Islands' request to serve Musk electronically through Tesla after the U.S. territory had difficulty locating him.[478][479][480][481] The efforts to subpoena Musk for documents do not implicate him in any wrongdoing and do not seek to have Musk testify under oath.[482]

 Sexual misconduct allegations

 In May 2022, Business Insider cited an anonymous friend of an unnamed SpaceX contract flight attendant, alleging that Musk engaged in sexual misconduct in 2016. The source stated that in November 2018, Musk, SpaceX, and the former flight attendant entered into a severance agreement granting the attendant a $250,000 payment in exchange for a promise not to sue over the claims.[483] Musk responded, "If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light". He accused the article from Business Insider of being a "politically motivated hit piece".[484][485] After the release of the Business Insider article, Tesla's stock fell by more than 6%,[486] decreasing Musk's net worth by $10 billion.[487] Barron ' s wrote "...some investors considered key-man risk – the danger that a company could be badly hurt by the loss of one individual."[488]

 Public perception

 Though Musk's ventures were influential within their own industries in the 2000s, Musk only became a public figure in the early 2010s. He is often described as an eccentric who makes spontaneous and controversial statements, contrary to other billionaires who prefer reclusiveness to protect their businesses.[489][490] Celebrated by fans and hated by critics, Musk was described by Vance as having become very polarizing because of his "part philosopher, part troll" role on Twitter.[491]

 Media appearances

 See also: Elon Musk filmography

 With Steve Jobs and Donald Trump, Musk served as inspiration for the characterization of Tony Stark in the Marvel film Iron Man (2008).[492] Musk had a cameo appearance in the 2010 sequel, Iron Man 2.[493] Musk has made cameos and appearances in other films such as Machete Kills (2013),[494] Why Him? (2016),[495] and Men in Black: International (2019).[496] Television series in which he has appeared include The Simpsons ("The Musk Who Fell to Earth", 2015),[497] The Big Bang Theory ("The Platonic Permutation", 2015),[498] South Park ("Members Only", 2016),[499][500] Rick and Morty ("One Crew over the Crewcoo's Morty", 2019),[501][502] Young Sheldon ("A Patch, a Modem, and a Zantac®", 2017),[503] and Saturday Night Live (2021).[504] He contributed interviews to the documentaries Racing Extinction (2015) and the Werner Herzog-directed Lo and Behold (2016).[505][506]

 Recognition

 Main article: List of awards and honors received by Elon Musk

 Musk was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2018.[507] In 2015, he received an honorary doctorate in engineering and technology from Yale University[508] and IEEE Honorary Membership.[509] Awards for his contributions to the development of the Falcon rockets include the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics George Low Transportation Award in 2008,[510] the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Gold Space Medal in 2010,[511] and the Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal in 2012.[512] He was listed among Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2010,[513] 2013,[514] 2018,[515] and 2021.[516] Musk was selected as Time ' s "Person of the Year" for 2021. Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal wrote that "Person of the Year is a marker of influence, and few individuals have had more influence than Musk on life on Earth, and potentially life off Earth too".[517][518] In 2022, Musk was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering.[519]

 See also

 * Thud (media company)
 * List of richest Americans in history

 Notes

 1. ^ One child is deceased. [2]
 2. ^ Musk remained on the board and served as an advisor. [66][67]
 3. ^ SpaceX received nearly $900 million in Federal Communications Commission subsidies for Starlink. [96][97]
 4. ^ Musk stated he was considering taking Tesla private at a price of $420 a share, an alleged reference to marijuana . [138] Members of Tesla's board and rapper Azealia Banks alleged that Musk may have been under the influence of recreational drugs when he wrote the tweet. [139][140]
 5. ^ He did not file the necessary SEC paperwork within 10 days of his stake passing 5%, a violation of U.S. securities laws. [192]
 6. ^ According to the Wall Street Journal , he was worth $140 billion, with $52 billion of that attributable to his ownership of Tesla stock.

 References

 1. ^ a b c Gordon, Devin (March 10, 2022). ""Infamy Is Kind Of Fun": Grimes on Music, Mars, and—Surprise!—Her Secret New Baby With Elon Musk". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022 . Retrieved March 10, 2022 .
 2. ^ Berger (2021) , pp. 182.
 3. ^ a b Southern, Keiran (July 7, 2022). Written at Los Angeles. "Elon Musk 'had twins with one of his executives'". The Times. London. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022 . Retrieved July 7, 2022 .
 4. ^ Mohamed, Theron (December 15, 2022). "Elon Musk just cashed in another $3.6 billion of Tesla stock as he wrestles with mounting interest payments at Twitter and a looming recession". Business Insider.
 5. ^ "Elon Musk". Bloomberg: Elon Musk net worth.
 6. ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index". Bloomberg L.P.
 7. ^ "Real Time Billionaires". Forbes.
 8. ^ a b Eligon, John; Chutel, Lynsey (May 5, 2022). "Elon Musk Left a South Africa That Was Rife With Misinformation and White Privilege". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022 . Retrieved May 5, 2022 .
 9. ^ Vance (2017) , pp. 25, 31.
 10. ^ a b Hall, Dana (April 11, 2014). "Rocket Man: The otherworldly ambitions of Elon Musk". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on April 14, 2014 . Retrieved April 14, 2014 .
 11. ^ Elliott, Hannah (March 26, 2012). "At Home With Elon Musk: The (Soon-to-Be) Bachelor Billionaire". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012 . Retrieved May 30, 2015 .
 12. ^ His biography author Ashlee Vance interviewed on the TV show Triangulation on the TWiT.tv network, discussion of his family starts around the 15th minute
 13. ^ Vargas, Chanel (March 6, 2018). "11 Things to Know About Stunning 69-Year-Old Model Maye Musk". Town & Country. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018 . Retrieved March 25, 2020 .
 14. ^ a b Usborne, Simon (February 21, 2018). "Meet the Musks: who's who in Elon's extended family?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020 . Retrieved March 25, 2020 .
 15. ^ May, Dana Hull and Patrick. "Exploring the otherworldly ambitions of Elon Musk". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on September 26, 2022 . Retrieved October 24, 2021 .
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 497. ^ Cain, Sian (April 26, 2022). "From The Simpsons to Iron Man: Elon Musk's Twitter takeover is just his latest desperate bid for celebrity". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022 . Retrieved June 26, 2022 .
 498. ^ "Tesla CEO Elon Musk To Appear on Upcoming Episode of the Big Bang Theory". CBS. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018 . Retrieved December 4, 2015 .
 499. ^ Hansen, Louis (November 25, 2016). "Elon Musk uses 'South Park' to fire back at trolls". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019 . Retrieved August 29, 2020 .
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 504. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (May 9, 2021). "Elon Musk Hosts a Mother's Day Episode of 'Saturday Night Live'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021 . Retrieved May 27, 2021 .
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 508. ^ "SEAS Celebrates Class of 2015, Honors Innovators Elon Musk and Dean Kamen". Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science. May 18, 2015. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015.
 509. ^ "IEEE Honorary Membership Recipients" (PDF) . Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 29, 2011.
 510. ^ "George M. Low Space Transportation Award". American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021 . Retrieved August 14, 2021 .
 511. ^ "Barron Hilton and Elon Musk honoured with the highest FAI awards". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. December 16, 2010. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015.
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 519. ^ "For breakthroughs in the design, engineering, manufacturing, and operation of reusable launch vehicles and sustainable transportation and energy systems". National Academy of Engineering. February 9, 2022. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022 . Retrieved March 25, 2022 .

 Bibliography

 * Belfiore, Michael (2007). Rocketeers. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-114902-3.
 * Berger, Eric (2021). Liftoff. William Morrow and Company. ISBN 978-0-06-297997-1.
 * Jackson, Erik (2004). The PayPal Wars: Battles with eBay, the Media, the Mafia, and the Rest of Planet Earth. Los Angeles: World Ahead Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9746701-0-2.
 * Kidder, David; Hoffman, Reid (2013). The Startup Playbook: Secrets of the Fastest Growing Start-Ups from the founding Entrepreneurs. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-1-4521-0504-8.
 * Vance, Ashlee (2017) [2015]. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future (2nd ed.). New York: Ecco. ISBN 978-0-06-230125-3.

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Elon Musk    FRS         Musk in 2018    Born  Elon Reeve Musk June 28, 1971 (age 51) Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa    Education  University of Pennsylvania (BA, BS)   Title  
 Founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX 
CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc. 
Owner and CEO of Twitter 
President of the Musk Foundation 
Founder of the Boring Company, X Corp. and X.AI 
Co-founder of Neuralink, OpenAI, Zip2 and X.com (part of PayPal) 
    Spouses    
   Justine Wilson  
 ​ ​ (m. 2000; div. 2008) ​   
   Talulah Riley  
 ​ ​ (m. 2010; div. 2012) ​  
​
 ​ (m. 2013; div. 2016) ​        Partner  Grimes (2018–2021) [1]     Children 10 [a]   [3]     Parents     Errol Musk (father)  Maye Musk (mother)      Family  Musk family    Awards  List of honors and awards    Order of Defence Merit (Knight - Cavaleiro)   Signature         
 Elon Reeve Musk FRS (  EE-lon ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of the Boring Company; co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI; and president of the philanthropic Musk Foundation. Musk is the second-wealthiest person in the world, according to both the  Bloomberg Billionaires Index  and  Forbes 's Real Time Billionaires list as of May 2023 primarily from his ownership stakes in Tesla and SpaceX, with an estimated net worth of around $167 billion according to the Bloomberg and $176.2 billion according to the latter. [4]   [5]   [6]   [7] 
 Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa, and briefly attended the University of Pretoria before moving to Canada at age 18, acquiring citizenship through his Canadian-born mother. Two years later, he matriculated at Queen's University and transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where he received bachelor's degrees in economics and physics. He moved to California in 1995 to attend Stanford University. After two days, he dropped out and, with his brother Kimbal, co-founded the online city guide software company Zip2. In 1999, Zip2 was acquired by Compaq for $307 million and Musk co-founded X.com, a direct bank. X.com merged with Confinity in 2000 to form PayPal, which eBay acquired for $1.5 billion in 2002.
 With $175.8 million, Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, a spaceflight services company. In 2004, he was an early investor in the electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors, Inc. (now Tesla, Inc.). He became its chairman and product architect, assuming the position of CEO in 2008. In 2006, he helped create SolarCity, a solar energy company that was later acquired by Tesla and became Tesla Energy. In 2015, he co-founded OpenAI, a nonprofit artificial intelligence research company. The following year, he co-founded Neuralink—a neurotechnology company developing brain–computer interfaces—and the Boring Company, a tunnel construction company. Musk has also proposed a hyperloop high-speed vactrain transportation system. In 2022, his acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion was completed. 
 Musk has expressed views that have made him a polarizing figure. He has been criticized for making unscientific and misleading statements, including spreading COVID-19 misinformation, and has been accused of antisemitism. In 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Musk for falsely tweeting that he had secured funding for a private takeover of Tesla. Musk stepped down as chairman of Tesla and paid a $20 million fine as part of a settlement agreement with the SEC.
Early life
Childhood and family
Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, one of South Africa's capital cities. [8]   [9]  Musk has British and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. [10]   [11]  His mother is Maye Musk (née Haldeman), a model and dietitian born in Saskatchewan, Canada, and raised in South Africa. [12]   [13]   [14]  His father, Errol Musk, is a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, sailor, consultant, and property developer, who partly owned a Zambian emerald mine near Lake Tanganyika. [15]   [16]   [17]   [18]  Musk has a younger brother, Kimbal, and a younger sister, Tosca. [14]   [19] 
 Musk's family was wealthy during his youth. [18]  His father was elected to the Pretoria City Council as a representative of the anti-apartheid Progressive Party and has said that his children shared their father's dislike of apartheid. [8]  His maternal grandfather, Joshua Haldeman, was an adventurous American-born Canadian who took his family on record-breaking journeys to Africa and Australia in a single-engine Bellanca airplane. [20]   [21]   [22]  After his parents divorced in 1980, Musk chose to mostly live with his father. [10]  Musk regretted his decision and has become estranged from his father. [23]  He has a paternal half-sister and a half-brother. [20]   [24] 
 Maye Musk has said of her son that he "was shy and awkward at school" and "didn't have many friends". [25]  At age ten, he developed an interest in computing and video games, teaching himself how to program from the VIC-20 user manual. [26]  At age twelve, he sold his BASIC-based game Blastar to PC and Office Technology magazine for approximately $500. [27]   [28] 
Education
     
Musk attended Waterkloof House Preparatory School, Bryanston High School, and Pretoria Boys High School, from which he graduated. [29]  Musk applied for a Canadian passport through his Canadian-born mother, [30]   [31]  knowing that it would be easier to immigrate to the United States this way. [32]  While waiting for his application to be processed, he attended the University of Pretoria for five months. [33] 
 Musk arrived in Canada in June 1989 and lived with a second cousin in Saskatchewan for a year, [34]  working odd jobs at a farm and lumber mill. [35]  In 1990, he entered Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. [36]   [37]  Two years later, he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), where he completed studies for a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics and a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the Wharton School. [38]   [39]   [40]   [41]  Although Musk claims he earned the degrees in 1995, UPenn maintains it awarded them in 1997. [42]  He reportedly hosted large, ticketed house parties to help pay for tuition, and wrote a business plan for an electronic book-scanning service similar to Google Books. [43] 
 In 1994, Musk held two internships in Silicon Valley: one at the energy storage startup Pinnacle Research Institute, which investigated electrolytic ultracapacitors for energy storage, and another at the Palo Alto–based startup Rocket Science Games. [44]   [45]  In 1995, he was accepted to a PhD program in materials science at Stanford University. [46]   [47]  However, Musk decided to join the Internet boom, instead dropping out two days after being accepted and applied for a job at Netscape, to which he reportedly never received a response. [48]   [30] 
Business career
Zip2
Main article: Zip2 
   External video    Musk speaks of his early business experience during a 2014 commencement speech at USC on YouTube   
In 1995, Musk, his brother Kimbal, and Greg Kouri founded Zip2. [49]   [50]  Errol Musk provided them with $28,000 in funding. [51]  The company developed an Internet city guide with maps, directions, and yellow pages, and marketed it to newspapers. [52]  They worked at a small rented office in Palo Alto, [53]  Musk coding the website every night. [53]  Eventually, Zip2 obtained contracts with  The New York Times  and the  Chicago Tribune . [43]  The brothers persuaded the board of directors to abandon a merger with CitySearch; [54]  however, Musk's attempts to become CEO were thwarted. [55]  Compaq acquired Zip2 for $307 million in cash in February 1999, [56]   [57]  and Musk received $22 million for his 7-percent share. [58] 
X.com and PayPal
Later in 1999, Musk co-founded X.com, an online financial services and e-mail payment company. [59]  X.com was one of the first federally insured online banks, and over 200,000 customers joined in its initial months of operation. [60]  Even though Musk founded the company, investors regarded him as inexperienced and replaced him with Intuit CEO Bill Harris by the end of the year. [61] 
 In 2000, X.com merged with online bank Confinity to avoid competition, [53]   [61]   [62]  as Confinity's money-transfer service PayPal was more popular than X.com's service. [63]  Musk then returned as CEO of the merged company. His preference for Microsoft over Unix-based software caused a rift among the company's employees, and led Peter Thiel, Confinity's founder, to resign. [64]  With the company suffering from compounding technological issues and the lack of a cohesive business model, the board ousted Musk and replaced him with Thiel in September 2000. [65]   [b]  Under Thiel, the company focused on the money-transfer service and was renamed PayPal in 2001. [67]   [68] 
 In 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in stock, of which Musk—the largest shareholder with 11.72% of shares—received $175.8 million. [69]   [70]  In 2017, more than 15 years later, Musk purchased the X.com domain from PayPal for its sentimental value. [71]   [72]  In 2022, Musk discussed a goal of creating "X, the everything app". [73] 
SpaceX
     
In early 2001, Musk became involved with the nonprofit Mars Society and discussed funding plans to place a growth-chamber for plants on Mars. [74]  In October of the same year, he traveled to Moscow with Jim Cantrell and Adeo Ressi to buy refurbished intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that could send the greenhouse payloads into space. He met with the companies NPO Lavochkin and Kosmotras; however, Musk was seen as a novice [75]  and the group returned to the United States empty-handed. In February 2002, the group returned to Russia with Mike Griffin (president of In-Q-Tel) to look for three ICBMs. They had another meeting with Kosmotras and were offered one rocket for $8 million, which Musk rejected. He instead decided to start a company that could build affordable rockets. [75]  With $100 million of his own money, [76]  Musk founded SpaceX in May 2002 and became the company's CEO and Chief Engineer. [77]   [78] 
 SpaceX attempted its first launch of the Falcon 1 rocket in 2006. [79]  Though the rocket failed to reach Earth orbit, it was awarded a Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program contract from NASA Administrator (and former SpaceX consultant [80] ) Mike Griffin later that year. [81]   [82]  After two more failed attempts that nearly caused Musk and his companies to go bankrupt, [79]  SpaceX succeeded in launching the Falcon 1 into orbit in 2008. [83]  Later that year, SpaceX received a $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract from NASA for 12 flights of its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station, replacing the Space Shuttle after its 2011 retirement. [84]  In 2012, the Dragon vehicle docked with the ISS, a first for a commercial spacecraft. [85] 
     
Working towards its goal of reusable rockets, in 2015 SpaceX successfully landed the first stage of a Falcon 9 on an inland platform. [86]  Later landings were achieved on autonomous spaceport drone ships, an ocean-based recovery platform. [87]  In 2018, SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy; the inaugural mission carried Musk's personal Tesla Roadster as a dummy payload. [88]   [89]  Since 2019, [90]  SpaceX has been developing Starship, a fully-reusable, super-heavy-lift launch vehicle intended to replace the Falcon 9 and the Falcon Heavy. [91]  In 2020, SpaceX launched its first crewed flight, the Demo-2, becoming the first private company to place astronauts into orbit and dock a crewed spacecraft with the ISS. [92] 
Starlink
      50 Starlink satellites shortly before deployment to low Earth orbit, 2019  
In 2015, SpaceX began development of the Starlink constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites to provide satellite Internet access, [93]  with the first two prototype satellites launched in February 2018. A second set of test satellites, and the first large deployment of a piece of the constellation, occurred in May 2019, when the first 60 operational satellites were launched. [94]  The total cost of the decade-long project to design, build, and deploy the constellation is estimated by SpaceX to be about $10 billion. [95]   [c]  Some critics, including the International Astronomical Union, have alleged that Starlink blocks the view of the sky and poses a collision threat to spacecraft. [98]   [99]   [100] 
 During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Musk sent Starlink terminals to Ukraine to provide Internet access and communication. [101]  However, Musk refused to block Russian state media on Starlink, declaring himself "a free speech absolutist". [102]   [103]  In October 2022, Musk stated that about 20,000 satellite terminals had been donated to Ukraine, together with free data transfer subscriptions, which cost SpaceX $80 million. After asking the United States Department of Defense to pay for further units and future subscriptions on behalf of Ukraine, [104]  Musk publicly stated that SpaceX would continue to provide Starlink to Ukraine for free, at a yearly cost to itself of $400 million. [105]   [106]   [107] 
Tesla
     
 Tesla, Inc.—originally Tesla Motors—was incorporated in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, who financed the company until the Series A round of funding. Both men played active roles in the company's early development prior to Musk's involvement. [108]  Musk led the Series A round of investment in February 2004; he invested $6.5 million, became the majority shareholder, and joined Tesla's board of directors as chairman. [109]  Musk took an active role within the company and oversaw Roadster product design but was not deeply involved in day-to-day business operations. [110] 
 Following a series of escalating conflicts in 2007, and the financial crisis of 2007–2008, Eberhard was ousted from the firm. [111]  [ page needed ]  [112]  Musk assumed leadership of the company as CEO and product architect in 2008. [113]  A 2009 lawsuit settlement with Eberhard designated Musk as a Tesla co-founder, along with Tarpenning and two others. [114]   [115]  As of 2019, Musk was the longest-tenured CEO of any automotive manufacturer globally. [116]  In 2021, Musk nominally changed his title to "Technoking" while retaining his position as CEO. [117] 
      Musk before a Model X at the 2014 Tesla Inc. annual shareholder meeting  
Tesla first built an electric sports car, the Roadster, in 2008. With sales of about 2,500 vehicles, it was the first serial production all-electric car to use lithium-ion battery cells. [118]  Tesla began delivery of its four-door Model S sedan in 2012. [119]  A cross-over, the Model X was launched in 2015. [120]  A mass-market sedan, the Model 3, was released in 2017. [121]  The Model 3 is the all-time bestselling plug-in electric car worldwide, and in June 2021 it became the first electric car to sell 1 million units globally. [122]   [123]  A fifth vehicle, the Model Y crossover, was launched in 2020. [124]  The Cybertruck, an all-electric pickup truck, was unveiled in 2019. [125]  Under Musk, Tesla has also constructed multiple lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle factories, named Gigafactories. [126] 
 Since its initial public offering in 2010, [127]  Tesla stock has risen significantly; it became the most valuable carmaker in summer 2020, [128]   [129]  and it entered the S&amp;P 500 later that year. [130]   [131]  In October 2021, it reached a market capitalization of $1 trillion, the sixth company in U.S. history to do so. [132]  In November 2021, Musk proposed, on Twitter, to sell 10% of his Tesla stock, since "much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance". [133]  After more than 3.5 million Twitter accounts supported the sale, Musk sold $6.9 billion of Tesla stock within a week, [133]  and a total of $16.4 billion by year end, reaching the 10% target. [134]  In February 2022,  The Wall Street Journal  reported that both Elon and Kimbal Musk were under investigation by the SEC for possible insider trading related to the sale. [135]  In 2022, Musk unveiled a robot developed by Tesla, Optimus. [136] 
SEC and shareholder lawsuits regarding tweets
In 2018, Musk was sued by the SEC for a tweet claiming that funding had been secured for potentially taking Tesla private. [137]   [d]  The lawsuit characterized the tweet as false, misleading, and damaging to investors, and sought to bar Musk from serving as CEO of publicly traded companies. [137]   [141]   [142]  Two days later, Musk settled with the SEC, without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations. As a result, Musk and Tesla were fined $20 million each, and Musk was forced to step down for three years as Tesla chairman but was able to remain as CEO. [143]  Musk has stated in interviews that he does not regret posting the tweet that triggered the SEC investigation. [144]   [145]  In April 2022, the shareholder who sued Musk over the tweet, along with several Tesla shareholders, said that a federal judge had ruled that the tweet was false, although the ruling in question has not been unsealed. [146]  In February 2023, the jury found Musk and Tesla not liable. [147] 
 In 2019, Musk stated in a tweet that Tesla would build half a million cars that year. [148]  The SEC reacted to Musk's tweet by filing in court, asking the court to hold him in contempt for violating the terms of a settlement agreement with such a tweet; the accusation was disputed by Musk. This was eventually settled by a joint agreement between Musk and the SEC clarifying the previous agreement details. [149]  The agreement included a list of topics that Musk would need preclearance before tweeting about. [150]  In 2020, a judge prevented a lawsuit from proceeding that claimed a tweet by Musk regarding Tesla stock price ("too high imo") violated the agreement. [151]   [152]  FOIA-released records showed that the SEC itself concluded Musk has subsequently violated the agreement twice by tweeting regarding "Tesla's solar roof production volumes and its stock price". [153] 
SolarCity and Tesla Energy
      SolarCity solar-panel installation vans in 2009  
Musk provided the initial concept and financial capital for SolarCity, which his cousins Lyndon and Peter Rive founded in 2006. [154]  By 2013, SolarCity was the second largest provider of solar power systems in the United States. [155]  In 2014, Musk promoted the idea of SolarCity building an advanced production facility in Buffalo, New York, triple the size of the largest solar plant in the United States. [156]  Construction of the factory started in 2014 and was completed in 2017. It operated as a joint venture with Panasonic until early 2020. [157]   [158] 
 Tesla acquired SolarCity for over $2 billion in 2016 and merged it with its battery unit to create Tesla Energy. The deal's announcement resulted in a more than 10% drop in Tesla's stock price. At the time, SolarCity was facing liquidity issues. [159]  Multiple shareholder groups filed a lawsuit against Musk and Tesla's directors, claiming that the purchase of SolarCity was done solely to benefit Musk and came at the expense of Tesla and its shareholders. [160]   [161]  Tesla directors settled the lawsuit in January 2020, leaving Musk the sole remaining defendant. [162]   [163]  Two years later, the court ruled in Musk's favor. [164] 
Neuralink
      Musk discussing a Neuralink device during a live demonstration in 2020  
In 2016, Musk co-founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology startup company, with an investment of $100 million. [165]   [166]  Neuralink aims to integrate the human brain with artificial intelligence (AI) by creating devices that are embedded in the brain to facilitate its merging with machines. Such technology could enhance memory or allow the devices to communicate with software. [166]   [167]  The company also hopes to develop devices with which to treat neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and spinal cord injuries. [168] 
 In 2019, Musk announced work on a device akin to a sewing machine that could embed threads into a human brain. [165]  Musk is listed as the sole author of an October 2019 paper that details some of Neuralink's research, [169]  although Musk's being listed as such rankled the Neuralink team's researchers. [170]  At a 2020 live demonstration, Musk described one of their early devices as "a Fitbit in your skull" that could soon cure paralysis, deafness, blindness, and other disabilities. Many neuroscientists and publications criticized these claims, [171]   [172]   [173]  with  MIT Technology Review  describing them as "highly speculative" and "neuroscience theater". [171]  During the demonstration, Musk revealed a pig with a Neuralink implant that tracked neural activity related to smell. [168]  In 2022, Neuralink announced that clinical trials would begin by the end of the year. [174]  
 Neuralink has conducted further animal testing on macaque monkeys at the University of California, Davis' Primate Research Center. In 2021, the company released a video in which a Macaque played the video game Pong via a Neuralink implant. The company's animal trials—which have caused the deaths of some monkeys—have led to claims of animal cruelty. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has alleged that Neuralink's animal trials have violated the Animal Welfare Act. [175]  Employees have complained that pressure from Musk to accelerate development has led to botched experiments and unnecessary animal deaths. In 2022, a federal probe was launched into possible animal welfare violations by Neuralink. [176] 
The Boring Company
     
In 2017, Musk founded the Boring Company to construct tunnels and revealed plans for specialized, underground, high-occupancy vehicles that could travel up to 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) and thus circumvent above-ground traffic in major cities. [177]   [178]  Early in 2017, the company began discussions with regulatory bodies and initiated construction of a 30-foot (9.1 m) wide, 50-foot (15 m) long, and 15-foot (4.6 m) deep "test trench" on the premises of SpaceX's offices, as that required no permits. [179]  The Los Angeles tunnel, less than two miles (3.2 km) in length, debuted to journalists in 2018. It used Tesla Model X's and was reported to be a rough ride while traveling at suboptimal speeds. [180] 
 Two tunnel projects announced in 2018, in Chicago and West Los Angeles, have been canceled. [181]   [182]  However, a tunnel beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center was completed in early 2021. [183]  Local officials have approved further expansions of the tunnel system. [184]  In 2021, tunnel construction was approved for Fort Lauderdale, Florida. [185] 
Twitter
Musk expressed interest in buying Twitter as early as 2017, [187]  and had previously questioned the platform's commitment to freedom of speech. [188]   [189]  In January 2022, Musk started purchasing Twitter shares, reaching a 9.2% stake by April, [190]  making him the largest shareholder. [191]   [e]  When this was publicly disclosed, Twitter shares experienced the largest intraday price surge since the company's 2013 IPO. [193]  On April 4, Musk agreed to a deal that would appoint him to Twitter's board of directors and prohibit him from acquiring more than 14.9% of the company. [194]   [195]  However, on April 13, Musk made a $43 billion offer to buy Twitter, launching a takeover bid to buy 100% of Twitter's stock at $54.20 per share. [191]   [196]  In response, Twitter's board adopted a "poison pill" shareholder rights plan to make it more expensive for any single investor to own more than 15% of the company without board approval. [197]  Nevertheless, by the end of the month Musk had successfully concluded his bid for approximately $44 billion. [198]  This included about $12.5 billion in loans against his Tesla stock and $21 billion in equity financing. [199]   [200] 
 Tesla's stock market value sank by over $100 billion the next day in reaction to the deal, causing Musk to lose around $30 billion of his net worth. [201]   [202]  He subsequently tweeted criticism of Twitter executive Vijaya Gadde's policies to his 86 million followers, which led to some of them engaging in sexist and racist harassment against her. [203]  Exactly a month after announcing the takeover, Musk stated that the deal was "on hold" following a report that 5% of Twitter's daily active users were spam accounts, [204]  causing Twitter shares to drop more than 10 percent. [205]  Although he initially affirmed his commitment to the acquisition, [206]  he sent notification of his termination of the deal in July; Twitter's Board of Directors responded that they were committed to holding him to the transaction. [207]  On July 12, 2022, Twitter formally sued Musk in the Chancery Court of Delaware for breaching a legally binding agreement to purchase Twitter. [208]  In October 2022, Musk reversed again, offering to purchase Twitter at $54.20 per share. [209]  The acquisition was officially completed on October 27. [210] 
 Immediately after the acquisition, Musk fired top Twitter executives like CEO Parag Agrawal, [210]   [211]  whom he replaced. [212]  He instituted a $7.99 monthly subscription for a "blue check", [213]   [214]   [215]  and laid off a significant portion of the company's staff. [216]   [217]  Musk lessened content moderation, [218]  and in December, Musk released internal documents relating to Twitter's moderation of Hunter Biden's laptop in the leadup to the 2020 presidential election. [219]  The Southern Poverty Law Center noted that Twitter has verified numerous extremists. [220]  A study of millions of tweets following the acquisition indicated that hate speech on the platform has become "more visible" under Musk's leadership. [221] 
 Within the first weeks of ownership, Musk made a series of short-lived decisions and changes that he quickly reversed, including introducing a paid blue checkmark, [222]  creating an "official" label [223]  and forbidding linking to one's profiles on other social media platforms. [224]  Under Musk's management, Twitter experienced several large scale outages. [225]   [226] 
 In April 2022,  The Washington Post  reported that Musk privately claimed supposed censorship on the platform, including the banning of accounts such as  The Babylon Bee , had prompted him to begin the acquisition. Following the acquisition, he made reinstatement of accounts like the Bee an immediate priority. [227]  The  New York Post  revealed that Musk's ex-wife Talulah Riley had encouraged Musk to purchase Twitter, specifically citing the Bee's ban. [228] 
 On December 18, Musk posted a poll to his Twitter account asking users to decide whether he should step down as the head of Twitter, with 57.5% out of the more than 17.5 million votes supporting that decision. [229]  Musk then announced that he would resign as CEO "as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job". [230] 
 On 12 May 2023, Musk announced that he would be stepping down from the CEO position and instead moving to "exec chair &amp; CTO, overseeing product, software &amp; sysops." He also announced the introduction of a new CEO, former NBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarino. [231]   [232] 
Leadership style
      Musk giving a speech to SpaceX employees in 2012  
Musk is often described as a micromanager and has called himself a "nano-manager". [233]  The New York Times has characterized his approach as absolutist. [234]  Musk does not make formal business plans; [234]  instead, he says he prefers to approach engineering problems[  non sequitur  ] with an "iterative design methodology" and "tolerance for failures". [235]  He has forced employees to adopt the company's own jargon and launched ambitious, risky, and costly projects against his advisors' recommendations, such as removing front-facing radar from Tesla Autopilot. His insistence on vertical integration causes his companies to move most production in-house. While this resulted in saved costs for SpaceX's rocket, [236]  vertical integration has caused many usability problems for Tesla's software. [233] 
 Musk's handling of employees—whom he communicates with directly through mass emails—has been characterized as "carrot and stick", rewarding those "who offer constructive criticism" while also being known to impulsively threaten, swear at, and fire his employees. [237]   [238]   [239]  Musk said he expects his employees to work for long hours, sometimes for 80 hours per week. [240]  He has his new employees sign strict non-disclosure agreements and often fires in sprees, [241]   [242]  such as during the Model 3 "production hell" in 2018. [242]  In 2022, Musk revealed plans to fire 10 percent of Tesla's workforce, due to his concerns about the economy. [243]  That same month, he suspended remote work at SpaceX and Tesla and threatened to fire employees who do not work 40 hours per week in the office. [244] 
 Musk's leadership has been praised by some, who credit it with the success of Tesla and his other endeavors, [233]  and criticized by others, who see him as callous and his managerial decisions as "show[ing] a lack of human understanding." [239]   [245]  The 2021 book  Power Play  contains anecdotes of Musk berating employees. [246]  The Wall Street Journal reported that, after Musk insisted on branding his vehicles as "self-driving", he faced criticism from his engineers for putting customer "lives at risk", with some employees resigning in consequence. [247] 
Other activities
Musk Foundation
Musk is the president of the Musk Foundation, [248]  whose stated purpose is to provide solar-power energy systems in disaster areas; support research, development, and advocacy (for interests including human space exploration, pediatrics, renewable energy and "safe artificial intelligence"); and support science and engineering educational efforts. [249]  From 2002 to 2018, the foundation gave $25 million directly to non-profit organizations, nearly half of which went to Musk's OpenAI, [250]  which was then non-profit. [251] 
 Since 2002, the foundation has made over 350 donations. Around half were to scientific research or education nonprofits. Notable beneficiaries include the Wikimedia Foundation, his alma mater the University of Pennsylvania, and his brother Kimbal's Big Green. [252]  In 2012, Musk took the Giving Pledge, thereby committing to give the majority of his wealth to charitable causes either during his lifetime or in his will. [253]  He has endowed prizes at the X Prize Foundation, including $100 million to reward improved carbon capture technology. [254] 
   Vox  said "the Musk Foundation is almost entertaining in its simplicity and yet is strikingly opaque", noting that its website was only 33 words in plain-text. [250]  The foundation has been criticized for the relatively small amount of wealth donated. [255]  In 2020, Forbes gave Musk a philanthropy score of 1, because he had given away less than 1% of his net worth. [252]  In November 2021, Musk donated $5.7 billion of Tesla's shares to charity, according to regulatory filings; [256]  however, Bloomberg News noted that all of it went to his own foundation, bringing Musk Foundation's assets up to $9.4 billion at the end of 2021. The foundation disbursed $160 million to non-profits that year. [257] 
Hyperloop
      A tube part of the 2017 Hyperloop pod competition sponsored by SpaceX  
In 2013, Musk announced plans for a version of a vactrain—a vacuum tube train—and assigned a dozen engineers from SpaceX and Tesla to establish the conceptual foundations and create initial designs. [258]  Later that year, Musk unveiled the concept, which he dubbed the hyperloop. [259]  The alpha design for the system was published in a whitepaper posted to the Tesla and SpaceX blogs. [260]  The document scoped out the technology and outlined a notional route where such a transport system could be built between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area, at an estimated cost of $6 billion. [261]  The proposal, if technologically feasible at the costs cited, would make Hyperloop travel cheaper than any other mode of transport for such long distances. [262]  
 In 2015, Musk announced a design competition for students and others to build Hyperloop pods, to operate on a SpaceX-sponsored mile-long track, for a 2015–2017 Hyperloop pod competition. The track was used in January 2017, and Musk also announced that the company started a tunnel project, with Hawthorne Municipal Airport as its destination. [263]  In July 2017, Musk claimed that he had received "verbal government approval" to build a hyperloop from New York City to Washington, D.C., with stops in both Philadelphia and Baltimore. [264]  Mention of the projected DC-to-Baltimore leg was removed from the Boring Company website in 2021. [265]  The tunnel project to Hawthorne was discontinued in 2022 and is cited to be converted into parking spots for SpaceX workers. [266] 
 Biographer Ashlee Vance has noted that Musk hoped Hyperloop would "make the public and legislators rethink the high-speed train" proposal current in California at the time and consider more "creative" ideas. [267] 
OpenAI
In 2015, Musk co-founded OpenAI, a not-for-profit artificial intelligence (AI) research company aiming to develop artificial general intelligence intended to be safe and beneficial to humanity. [268]  A particular focus of the company is to democratize artificial superintelligence systems, against governments and corporations. [23]  In 2018, Musk left the OpenAI board to avoid possible future conflicts with his role as CEO of Tesla as the latter company increasingly became involved in AI through Tesla Autopilot. [269]  Since then, OpenAI has made significant advances in machine learning, producing neural networks such as GPT-3 (producing human-like text), [270]  and DALL-E (generating digital images from natural language descriptions). [271] 
Tham Luang cave rescue and defamation case
      During the Tham Luang cave rescue (pictured), Musk had proposed a mini-submarine to evacuate the children, which was rejected.  
In July 2018, Musk arranged for his employees to build a mini-submarine to assist the rescue of children trapped in a flooded cavern in Thailand. [272]  Richard Stanton, leader of the international rescue diving team, urged Musk to facilitate the construction of the vehicle as a back-up, in case flooding worsened. [273]  Engineers at SpaceX and the Boring Company built the mini-submarine from a Falcon 9 liquid oxygen transfer tube in eight hours and personally delivered it to Thailand. [274]   [275]  By this time, however, eight of the 12 children, had already been rescued, the rescuers employing full face masks, oxygen, and anesthesia; consequently, Thai authorities declined to use the submarine. [272]  In March 2019, Musk was later one of the 187 people who received various honors conferred by the King of Thailand for involvement in the rescue effort. [276] 
 Soon after the rescue, Vernon Unsworth, a British recreational caver who had been exploring the cave for the previous six years and played a key advisory role in the operation, criticized the submarine on CNN as amounting to nothing more than a public relations effort with no chance of success, maintaining that Musk "had no conception of what the cave passage was like" and "can stick his submarine where it hurts". Musk asserted on Twitter that the device would have worked and referred to Unsworth as a "pedo guy". [277]  He deleted the tweets, [277]  and apologized, [278]  and he deleted his responses to critical tweets from Cher Scarlett, a software engineer, which had caused his followers to harass her. [279]  In an email to  BuzzFeed News , Musk later called Unsworth a "child rapist" and said that he had married a child. [280]   [281] 
 In September, Unsworth filed a defamation suit in the District Court for the Central District of California. [282]   [283]  In his defense, Musk argued that "'pedo guy' was a common insult used in South Africa when I was growing up ... synonymous with 'creepy old man' and is used to insult a person's appearance and demeanor". [29]  The defamation case began in December 2019, with Unsworth seeking $190 million in damages. [284]  During the trial Musk apologized to Unsworth again for the tweet. On December 6, the jury found in favor of Musk and ruled he was not liable. [285]   [286] 
2018 Joe Rogan podcast appearance
In 2018, Musk appeared on  The Joe Rogan Experience  podcast and discussed various topics for over two hours. During the interview, Musk sampled a puff from a cigar consisting, the host claimed, of tobacco laced with cannabis. Tesla stock dropped after the incident, which coincided with the confirmation of the departure of Tesla's vice president of worldwide finance earlier that day. [287]   Fortune  wondered if the cannabis use could have ramifications for SpaceX contracts with the United States Air Force, though an Air Force spokesperson told  The Verge  that there was no investigation and that the Air Force was still determining the facts. [288]  In 2022, Musk claimed that he and other Space-X employees were subjected to random drug tests for about a year following the incident. [289]  In a  60 Minutes  interview, Musk said of the incident: "I do not smoke pot. As anybody who watched that podcast could tell, I have no idea how to smoke pot." [290] 
Music
In 2019, Musk, through Emo G Records, released a rap track, "RIP Harambe", on SoundCloud. The track, which refers to the killing of Harambe the gorilla and the subsequent Internet sensationalism surrounding the event, was performed by Yung Jake, written by Yung Jake and Caroline Polachek, and produced by BloodPop. [291]   [292]  The following year, Musk released an EDM track, "Don't Doubt Ur Vibe", featuring his own lyrics and vocals. [293]  While  Guardian  critic Alexi Petridis described it as "indistinguishable... from umpteen competent but unthrilling bits of bedroom electronica posted elsewhere on Soundcloud", [294]  TechCrunch said it was "not a bad representation of the genre". [293] 
Private jet
In 2003, Musk said his favorite plane he owned was an L-39 Albatros. [295]  He uses a private jet owned by Falcon Landing LLC, a SpaceX-linked company, and acquired a second jet in August 2020. [296]   [297]  His heavy use of the jet—it flew over 150,000 miles in 2018—and the consequent fossil fuel usage has received criticism. [296]   [298]  
ElonJet account
His flight usage is tracked on social media through ElonJet. The Twitter version of the account was blocked in December 2022, after Musk claimed that his son X AE A-XII had been harassed by a stalker after the account posted the airport at which his jet had landed. [299]   [300]   [301]  This led to Musk banning the ElonJet account on Twitter, as well as the accounts of journalists that posted stories regarding the incident, including Donie O'Sullivan, Keith Olbermann, and journalists from  The New York Times ,  The Washington Post ,  CNN , and  The Intercept. [302]   Musk equated the reporting to doxxing. [303]  The police do not believe there is a link between the account and alleged stalker. [304]  Musk later took a Twitter poll on whether the journalists' accounts should be reinstated, which resulted in reinstating the accounts. [305]   [302] 
Wealth
      Musk's net worth from 2013 to 2022 as estimated by  Forbes  magazine  
Musk made $175.8 million when PayPal was sold to eBay in 2002. [306]  He was first listed on the  Forbes Billionaires List in 2012, with a net worth of $2 billion. [307] 
 At the start of 2020, Musk had a net worth of $27 billion. [308]  By the end of the year his net worth had increased by $150 billion, mostly driven by his ownership of around 20% of Tesla stock. [309]  During this period, Musk's net worth was often volatile. For example, it dropped $16.3 billion in September, the largest single-day plunge in  Bloomberg Billionaires Index's history. [310]  In November of that year, Musk passed Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg to become the third-richest person in the world; a week later he passed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to become the second-richest. [311]  
 In January 2021, Musk, with a net worth of $185 billion, surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to become the richest person in the world. [312]  Bezos reclaimed the top spot the following month. [313]  On September 27, 2021, after Tesla stock surged, Forbes announced that Musk had a net worth of over $200 billion, and was the richest person in the world. [314]  In November 2021, Musk became the first person worth over $300 billion. [315]  
 On December 30, 2022, it was reported that Musk had lost $200 billion from his net worth due to declining stock values in Tesla, becoming the first person in history to lose such a large sum of money. [316]   [317]  In January 2023, Musk was recognised by Guinness World Records for experiencing the "largest loss of personal fortune in history" with regards to his financial losses since November 2021, which Guinness quoted a Forbes estimate of $182 billion. [318] 
Sources of wealth
Around 75% of Musk's wealth derived from Tesla stock in November 2020, [311]  a proportion that fell to about 37% as of December 2022, [f]  after selling nearly $40 billion in company shares since late 2021. [319]  Musk does not receive a salary from Tesla; he agreed with the board in 2018 to a compensation plan that ties his personal earnings to Tesla's valuation and revenue. [309]  The deal stipulated that Musk only receives the compensation if Tesla reaches certain market values. [320]  It was the largest such deal ever done between a CEO and a company board. [321]  In the first award, given in May 2020, he was eligible to purchase 1.69 million Tesla shares (about 1% of the company) at below-market prices, which was worth about $800 million. [321]   [320] 
 Musk paid $455 million in taxes on $1.52 billion of income between 2014 and 2018. [322]  According to ProPublica, Musk paid no federal income taxes in 2018. [323]  He claimed his 2021 tax bill was estimated at $12 billion based on his sale of $14 billion worth of Tesla stock. [322] 
 Musk has repeatedly described himself as "cash poor", [324]   [325]  and has "professed to have little interest in the material trappings of wealth". [324]  In May 2020, he pledged to sell almost all physical possessions. [325]  Musk has defended his wealth by saying he is accumulating resources for humanity's outward expansion to space. [326] 
Personal views and Twitter usage
Since joining Twitter in 2009, [327]  Musk has been an active user and has over 100 million followers as of June 2022. [328]  He posts memes, promotes business interests, and comments on contemporary political and cultural issues. [329]  Musk's statements have provoked controversy, such as for mocking preferred gender pronouns, [330]   [331]  and comparing Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler. [332]  The New York Times describes his contributions to international relations as "chaotic", and critics of Musk argue that there is a lack of separation between his opinions and his business interests. [333]  As CEO of Twitter, Musk has emerged as a source of misinformation, for example by suggesting online details about mass murderer Mauricio Garcia's apparent interest in Nazism could have been planted as part of a psyop. [334]  He has been accused by the government of Israel [335]  and several media outlets of antisemitism due to him spreading George Soros conspiracy theories, [336]   [337]   [338]  although some Israeli officials defended Musk. [339] 
Existential threats
     
Musk has been described as believing in longtermism, emphasizing the needs of future populations. [340]  Accordingly, Musk has stated that artificial intelligence poses the greatest existential threat to humanity. [341]   [342]  He has warned of a "Terminator-like" AI apocalypse and suggested that the government should regulate its safe development. [343]   [344]  In 2015, Musk was a cosignatory, along with Stephen Hawking and hundreds of others, of the Open Letter on Artificial Intelligence, which called for the ban of autonomous weapons. [345]  Musk's AI stances have been called alarmist and sensationalist by critics such as computer scientist Yann LeCun and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, [346]   [347]  and led the think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation to award Musk its Annual Luddite Award in 2016. [348] 
 Musk has described climate change as the greatest threat to humanity after AI, [349]  and has advocated for a carbon tax. [350]  Musk was a critic of President Donald Trump's stance on climate change, [351]   [352]  and resigned from two presidential business advisory councils following Trump's 2017 decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. [353] 
 Musk has long promoted the colonization of Mars and argues that humanity should become a "multiplanetary species". [354]  He has suggested the use of nuclear weapons to terraform Mars. [355]   [356]  He envisioned establishing a direct democracy on Mars, with a system in which more votes would be required to create laws than remove them. [357]  Musk has also voiced concerns about human population decline, [358]   [359]  saying that "Mars has zero human population. We need a lot of people to become a multiplanet civilization." [360]  Speaking at The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council session in 2021, Musk stated that a declining birth rate, and consequent population decline, is one of the biggest risks to human civilization. [361] 
Politics
             
While often described as libertarian, Musk has called himself "politically moderate" and was a registered independent voter when he lived in California. The New York Times wrote that Musk "expresses views that don't fit neatly into [the American] binary, left-right political framework". [362]  Historically, Musk has donated to both Democrats and Republicans, [363]  many of whom are in states in which he has a vested interest. [362]  Beginning in the late 2010s, Musk's political contributions have shifted to almost entirely supporting Republicans. [364] 
 Musk voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. [365]  In the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Musk endorsed candidate Andrew Yang and expressed support for his proposed universal basic income. [366]  He also endorsed Kanye West's 2020 presidential campaign. [367]  He said he voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. [365]  In 2022, Musk said that he could "no longer support" the Democrats because they are the "party of division &amp; hate", [368]   [369]  and wrote a tweet encouraging "independent-minded voters" to vote Republican in the 2022 U.S. elections, which was an outlier among social media executives who typically avoid partisan political advocacy. [370]   [371]  He also leaned towards supporting Republican Ron DeSantis in the 2024 U.S. presidential election if DeSantis were a candidate. [372]   [373]  
 Musk opposes a "billionaire's tax", [374]  and has argued on Twitter with more left-leaning Democratic politicians such as Bernie Sanders, [375]   [376]  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, [377]  and Elizabeth Warren. [378]  He has raised questions about the Black Lives Matter protests, partially based on the fact that the phrase "Hands up, don't shoot" was made up. [379]   [380]  Musk also promoted a baseless theory relating to the attack of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, but Musk deleted his tweet. [381]  
 Musk has praised China and has been described as having a close relationship with the Chinese government, allowing access to its markets for Tesla. [382]  After Gigafactory Shanghai produced its first batch of vehicles, Musk thanked the Chinese government and Chinese people while criticizing the United States and its people. [383]  : 207–208  In 2022, Musk wrote an article for China Cyberspace, the official publication of Cyberspace Administration of China, which enforces Internet censorship in China. His writing the article was described as conflicting with his advocacy for free speech. [384]   [385]  Musk later advocated for Taiwan to become a "special administrative zone" of China which drew cross-party criticism from Taiwanese lawmakers. [386]   [387]   [388]  In October 2022, Musk posted a Twitter poll and "peace plan" to resolve the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [389]   [390]  It was reported that Musk allegedly spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin prior to the proposal, which Musk denied. [391]   [392]   [393]   [394]  
COVID-19
      Musk wears a bandana as a face mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.  
Musk was criticized for his public comments and conduct related to the COVID-19 pandemic. [395]   [396]  He spread misinformation about the virus, including promoting a widely discredited paper on the benefits of chloroquine and claiming that COVID-19 death statistics were inflated. [397] 
 In March 2020, Musk stated, "The coronavirus panic is dumb." [398]   [399]  In an email to Tesla employees, Musk referred to COVID-19 as a "specific form of the common cold" and predicted that confirmed COVID-19 cases would not exceed 0.1% of the U.S. population. [395]  On March 19, 2020, Musk predicted that there would be "probably close to zero new cases in [the U.S.] by end of April". [396]   Politico  labeled this statement one of "the most audacious, confident, and spectacularly incorrect prognostications [of 2020]". [400]  Musk also claimed falsely that children "are essentially immune" to COVID-19. [401]   [402] 
 Musk condemned COVID-19 lockdowns and initially refused to close the Tesla Fremont Factory in March 2020, defying the local shelter-in-place order. [395]   [403]   [404]  In May 2020, he reopened the Tesla factory, defying the local stay-at-home order, [405]   [406]  and warned workers that they would be unpaid, and their unemployment benefits might be jeopardized, if they did not report to work. [406]  In December 2022, Musk called for prosecution of former NIAID director Anthony Fauci. [407]   [408] 
 In March 2020, Musk promised that Tesla would make ventilators for COVID-19 patients if there were a shortage. [409]  After figures like New York City mayor Bill de Blasio responded to Musk's offer, [410]  Musk offered to donate ventilators which Tesla would build or buy from a third party. [409]  However, Musk ended up buying and donating BiPAP and CPAP machines, which are non-invasive ventilators, rather than the much more expensive and sought-after invasive mechanical ventilator machines. [411]   [412] 
 In September 2020, Musk stated that he would not get the COVID-19 vaccine, because he and his children were "not at risk for COVID". [413]   [414]  Two months later, Musk contracted COVID-19 and suggested his COVID-19 rapid antigen test results were dubious, after which the phrase "Space Karen" trended on Twitter, in reference to Musk. [415]   [416]  However, in December 2021, Musk revealed that he and his eligible children had received the vaccine. [417]  In January 2023, Musk stated that he experienced intense adverse reactions after his 2nd COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. [418] 
Finance
Musk said that the U.S. government should not provide subsidies to companies, but impose a carbon tax to discourage poor behavior. [419]   [420]  The free market, in his view, would achieve the best solution, and producing environmentally unfriendly vehicles should have consequences. [421]  Tesla has received billions of dollars in subsidies. [422]  In addition, Tesla made large sums from government-initiated systems of zero-emissions credits offered in California and at the United States federal level, which facilitated initial consumer adoption of Tesla vehicles, as the tax credits given by governments enabled Tesla's battery electric vehicles to be price-competitive, in comparison with existing lower-priced internal combustion engine vehicles. [423]  Notably, Tesla generates some of its revenue from its sales of carbon credits granted to the company, by both the European Union Emissions Trading System and the Chinese national carbon trading scheme. [424]   [425]   [426]   [427]  
 Musk, a longtime opponent of short-selling, has repeatedly criticized the practice and argued it should be illegal. [428]   [429]  Wired magazine speculated that Musk's opposition to short-selling stems from how short sellers have an incentive to find and promote unfavorable information about his companies. [430]  In early 2021, he encouraged the GameStop short squeeze. [431]   [432] 
 In December 2022, Musk sold $3.6 billion of his stock in Tesla, equal to 22 million shares in the company, [433]  despite pledging earlier in the year that he would not sell any additional shares. [434] 
Technology
Musk has promoted cryptocurrencies and supports them over traditional government-issued fiat currencies. [435]  Given the influence of Musk's tweets in moving cryptocurrency markets, [436]  his statements about cryptocurrencies have been viewed as market manipulation by some, such as economist Nouriel Roubini. [437]  Musk's social media praising of Bitcoin and Dogecoin was credited for increasing their prices. Consequently, Tesla's 2021 announcement, against the backdrop of Musk's social media behavior, that it bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin, raised questions. [438]  Tesla's announcement that it would accept Bitcoin for payment was criticized by environmentalists and investors, due to the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining. A few months later, in response to the criticism, Musk announced on Twitter that Tesla would no longer accept payments in Bitcoin and would not engage in any Bitcoin transactions until the environmental issues are solved. [439]   [440] 
 Despite the Boring Company's involvement in building mass transit infrastructure, Musk has criticized public transport and promoted individualized transport (private vehicles). [441]   [442]   [443]  His comments have been called "elitist" and have sparked widespread criticism from both transportation and urban planning experts, who have pointed out that public transportation in dense urban areas is more economical, more energy efficient, and requires much less space than private cars. [442]   [444]   [443] 
Personal life
From the early 2000s until late 2020, Musk resided in California, where both Tesla and SpaceX were founded. [445]  In 2020, he moved to Texas, saying that California had become "complacent" about its economic success. [445]   [446]  While hosting  Saturday Night Live  in May 2021, Musk said that he has Asperger syndrome. [447] 
 Musk met his first wife, Canadian Justine Wilson, while attending Queen's University in Ontario, Canada; and they married in 2000. [448]  In 2002, their first child died of sudden infant death syndrome at the age of 10 weeks. [449]  After his death, the couple decided to use IVF to continue their family. [450]  They had twins in 2004 followed by triplets in 2006. [450]  The couple divorced in 2008 and shared custody of their children. [451]   [452]  In 2022, one of the twins officially changed her name to reflect her gender identity, and to use Wilson as her last name because she no longer wished to be associated with Musk. [453]  Musk blamed the estrangement of his daughter on what the Financial Times characterized as "the supposed takeover of elite schools and universities by neo-Marxists." [454] 
 In 2008, Musk began dating English actress Talulah Riley. [455]  They married two years later at Dornoch Cathedral in Scotland. [456]   [457]  In 2012, the couple divorced, before remarrying the following year. [458]  After briefly filing for divorce in 2014, [458]  Musk finalized a second divorce from Riley in 2016. [459]  Musk then dated Amber Heard for several months in 2017; [460]  he had reportedly been pursuing her since 2012. [461]  Johnny Depp later accused Musk of having an affair with Heard while she was still married to Depp. [462]   [463]  Musk and Heard both denied the affair. [462] 
 In 2018, Musk and Canadian musician Grimes revealed that they were dating. [464]  Grimes gave birth to their son in May 2020. [465]   [466]  According to Musk and Grimes, his name was "X Æ A-12" (); however, the name would have violated California regulations as it contained characters that are not in the modern English alphabet, [467]   [468]  and was then changed to "X Æ A-Xii". This drew more confusion, as Æ is not a letter in the modern English alphabet. [469]  The child was eventually named X AE A-XII Musk, with "X" as a first name, "AE A-XII" as a middle name, and "Musk" as surname. [470]  In December 2021, Grimes and Musk had a second child, a daughter named Exa Dark Sideræl Musk (nicknamed "Y"), born via surrogacy. [1]  Despite the pregnancy, Musk confirmed reports that the couple were "semi-separated" in September 2021; in an interview with  Time  in December 2021, he said he was single. [471]   [472]  In March 2022, Grimes said of her relationship with Musk: "I would probably refer to him as my boyfriend, but we're very fluid." [1]  Later that month, Grimes tweeted that she and Musk had broken up again but remained on good terms. [473] 
 In July 2022, Insider published court documents revealing that Musk had had twins with Shivon Zilis, director of operations and special projects at Neuralink, in November 2021. [3]  They were born weeks before Musk and Grimes had their second child via surrogate in December. The news "raise[d] questions about workplace ethics", given that Zilis directly reported to Musk. [474]  Also in July 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk allegedly had an affair with Nicole Shanahan, the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, in 2021, leading to their divorce the following year. [475]  Musk denied the report. [476] 
Legal matters
As of September 2022, Musk is a defendant in 24 lawsuits. [477]  
US Virgin Islands subpoena
In April 2023, the government of the US Virgin Islands sought to subpoena Musk for documents in a lawsuit alleging that JPMorgan Chase profited from Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. In May, a judge granted the US Virgin Islands' request to serve Musk electronically through Tesla after the U.S. territory had difficulty locating him. [478]   [479]   [480]   [481]  The efforts to subpoena Musk for documents do not implicate him in any wrongdoing and do not seek to have Musk testify under oath. [482]  
Sexual misconduct allegations
In May 2022,  Business Insider  cited an anonymous friend of an unnamed SpaceX contract flight attendant, alleging that Musk engaged in sexual misconduct in 2016. The source stated that in November 2018, Musk, SpaceX, and the former flight attendant entered into a severance agreement granting the attendant a $250,000 payment in exchange for a promise not to sue over the claims. [483]  Musk responded, "If I were inclined to engage in sexual harassment, this is unlikely to be the first time in my entire 30-year career that it comes to light". He accused the article from Business Insider of being a "politically motivated hit piece". [484]   [485]  After the release of the Business Insider article, Tesla's stock fell by more than 6%, [486]  decreasing Musk's net worth by $10 billion. [487]   Barron's  wrote "...some investors considered key-man risk – the danger that a company could be badly hurt by the loss of one individual." [488] 
Public perception
Though Musk's ventures were influential within their own industries in the 2000s, Musk only became a public figure in the early 2010s. He is often described as an eccentric who makes spontaneous and controversial statements, contrary to other billionaires who prefer reclusiveness to protect their businesses. [489]   [490]  Celebrated by fans and hated by critics, Musk was described by Vance as having become very polarizing because of his "part philosopher, part troll" role on Twitter. [491] 
Media appearances
With Steve Jobs and Donald Trump, Musk served as inspiration for the characterization of Tony Stark in the Marvel film  Iron Man  (2008). [492]  Musk had a cameo appearance in the 2010 sequel,  Iron Man 2 . [493]  Musk has made cameos and appearances in other films such as  Machete Kills  (2013), [494]   Why Him?  (2016), [495]  and  Men in Black: International  (2019). [496]  Television series in which he has appeared include  The Simpsons  ("The Musk Who Fell to Earth", 2015), [497]   The Big Bang Theory  ("The Platonic Permutation", 2015), [498]   South Park  ("Members Only", 2016), [499]   [500]   Rick and Morty  ("One Crew over the Crewcoo's Morty", 2019), [501]   [502]   Young Sheldon  ("A Patch, a Modem, and a Zantac®", 2017), [503]  and Saturday Night Live (2021). [504]  He contributed interviews to the documentaries  Racing Extinction  (2015) and the Werner Herzog-directed  Lo and Behold  (2016). [505]   [506] 
Recognition
Musk was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2018. [507]  In 2015, he received an honorary doctorate in engineering and technology from Yale University  [508]  and IEEE Honorary Membership. [509]  Awards for his contributions to the development of the Falcon rockets include the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics George Low Transportation Award in 2008, [510]  the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Gold Space Medal in 2010, [511]  and the Royal Aeronautical Society Gold Medal in 2012. [512]  He was listed among  Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2010, [513]  2013, [514]  2018, [515]  and 2021. [516]  Musk was selected as  Time 's "Person of the Year" for 2021. Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal wrote that "Person of the Year is a marker of influence, and few individuals have had more influence than Musk on life on Earth, and potentially life off Earth too". [517]   [518]  In 2022, Musk was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering. [519] 
See also
  Thud (media company) 
 List of richest Americans in history  
Notes
 
  ^  One child is deceased. [2] 
  ^  Musk remained on the board and served as an advisor. [66]   [67] 
  ^  SpaceX received nearly $900 million in Federal Communications Commission subsidies for Starlink. [96]   [97] 
  ^  Musk stated he was considering taking Tesla private at a price of $420 a share, an alleged reference to marijuana. [138]  Members of Tesla's board and rapper Azealia Banks alleged that Musk may have been under the influence of recreational drugs when he wrote the tweet. [139]   [140] 
  ^  He did not file the necessary SEC paperwork within 10 days of his stake passing 5%, a violation of U.S. securities laws. [192] 
  ^  According to the Wall Street Journal, he was worth $140 billion, with $52 billion of that attributable to his ownership of Tesla stock.
 
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External links
Elon Musk - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk