Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance goes over the life of Elon Musk, a kid from segregated South Africa who tried his luck in the 2000’s dot-com bubble boom, and won. However, his aspirations did not limit him to just being a dot-com bubble millionaire but, a revolutionary figure in the world of innovation. Musk’s parents separated when he was young, he decided to stay with his father in South Africa, sympathizing with him, for being left lonely. But, as later described by Musk, his father played brutal mind games with him, and the situation at school did not make life easier for Musk. He was constantly bullied and beaten so badly that he had to get a nose job done. Musk spent his teens being a loner, indulging in books, computers, and coding. Before turning 18, Musk found his way out of South Africa to avoid Military Service. He landed in Canada and enrolled in Queen’s University, after two years he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania. He received two degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and attended Stanford University, to receive his doctorate. But only after two days, Elon dropped out because of finding the internet opportunity captivating. Elon starts a startup with his brother Kimbal, Zip2. Slowly, Zip2 started to gain popularity, and Elon Musk became a known name. But due to conflicts, Musk got ousted as CEO but got 22 million from Zip2 before it was sold. Musk’s next venture was in the online banking industry with X.com (which later became PayPal), where some events occurred as it had in Zip2. Musk once again got ousted as CEO, as he found out during his honeymoon to Australia. But remained the majority shareholder. Elon got 180 million when the company got sold to eBay. Elon took big risks putting the money from his past ventures into his next, as he did with Tesla and SpaceX, and his multiple other projects. There was a moment in Elon Musk’s life where he had to decide whether he can invest his money all in Tesla or SpaceX, if he were to pick one, the other would not survive. If he decided to split the money, both may die. Elon chose to split the money and hoped for the best. His risk paid off, SpaceX managed to win the NASA contract to supply equipment to the International Space Station (ISS), and Tesla managed to get rounds of funding but was barely surviving until Tesla Model S arrived. It was the biggest hit imaginable and helped Tesla and Elon Musk stay afloat. Elon Musk then took on new projects like the Boring Company and Neuralink that are still ongoing to this day.
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future is a pleasant read, but nothing special. The book highlights Musk’s struggles, personality, and his employees' perception of him. The book might manage to change your perception about Musk, from a lovable figure to an abusive boss, who abuses his employees, because he can not have him slow down, and his vision for humanity. Making his employees countless hours, and also supporting them when required. His personality can be most akin to that of Steve Jobs. Musk’s vision has now surpassed his company and extended into the future of humanity, he is taking up projects like the Boring Company, Neuralink, and of course Mars Colonization, which will be critical inventions for the future of humanity.
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance, is everything one would want from biography, the book does not underperform, nor is anything special. It speaks about the struggles of Elon Musk from his childhood because of bullies and his father, and during his early 20’s the too early ’40s as constantly finding ways to manage his multiple companies. Future readers who do not have much knowledge about Elon Musk will find the book very fascinating, but someone who has adequate knowledge about this figure will find it a satisfying read.
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