Blanche’s Book Club: ‘Elon Musk.’

The following post contains affiliate links, which sends me a small percentage of any sales at no cost to you.

Earlier this week, I finished reading “Elon Musk” by Walter Isaacson.

Musk is such a polarizing person that I feel like people are probably already offended by this blog post—or perhaps they didn’t even click to read it (which is fine).

Early in my professional writing career, I had the opportunity to interview Isaacson when he came to speak at LSU. I remain grateful for it, and have followed his career ever since.

I have a majority of his books (some signed copies) and was able to attend a virtual event of his during the pandemic lockdown.

When I find a writer I like and respect, I support them fully!

Why read a book about a controversial figure?

I will admit that when I saw he was writing Elon Musk’s biography, I was a little turned off. But, why wouldn’t he be the one to write it? He’s researched and written about several inventors, including Einstein and Steve Jobs.

So, I asked for the book for Christmas; it was the only book I asked for! And, my mom gifted it to me.

My parents have always been supportive of liberal, free thinking, and this includes learning about all sorts of different people. Over the years, I’ve read books about Donald Trump and his various family memoirs, Barack and Michelle Obama, Sue Klebold, Cecile Richards, Bill and Hilary Clinton, Kurt Cobain, Eminem, Bob Knight, Pamela Anderson, Megan Rapinoe, Amy Winehouse, and the Golden State Killer, to name a few.

Adding Elon Musk to the collection seemed like no big deal.

Around the end of the year, a friend was at my apartment and saw the book on my shelf. “Why do you have that?” he asked.

What? I have always loved stories; especially people-driven ones.

Everyone has a story, and I want to consume as many of them as possible, whether I agree with them or not. Isn’t it important to know about different perspectives?

If you’re choosing to not even hear (or read) about other perspectives, you’re living in a vacuum. PERIOD.

So, although I shouldn’t have to defend reading a book, that’s my defense.

Let’s get into the actual contents of the book, shall we?

What’s covered in ‘Elon musk’

Before reading this book, the only things I knew about Elon Musk were that he created Tesla, owned Twitter, and said some offensive stuff on that platform.

The book covers the 1970s – April 2023. Within that time period, the reader learns about Musk’s parents, his childhood, and upbringing, all the way to the purchase of Twitter and the Starship launch.

Between all of that, the book goes in depth about all of Musk’s entrepreneurial pursuits including Zip2, X.com, SpaceX, Tesla, OpenAI, Tesla Energy, The Boring Company, Neuralink, and X.AI. Whew!

The book also covers his personal life and controversies, such as moving to America, his father (big yikes), life in Silicon Valley, his romantic life (including multiple marriages, and a relationship with Amber Heard), his children, his relationship with other moguls (including Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates) and politicians, challenges and failures at Tesla, Ukraine’s access to Neuralink, and decisions at Twitter (including specific Tweets).

There are, of course, many discussions about his outbursts, Asburger’s, and how it all affects his daily life.

Memorable ‘Elon Musk’ quotes

I’m a quote highlighter (only in the books I own, of course):

• “As they scrambled in the brutal Kwaj sun, they were watched by an abnormally large coconut crab that was close to three feet long. They named it Elon, and under its gaze, they were able to complete the repairs in the allotted five days. ‘It was unlike anything that the bloated companies in the aerospace industry could possibly have imagined,’ Buzza says. ‘Sometimes his insane deadlines make sense.'”
• “The islets of Kwajalein Atoll receded, looking like a strand of pearls in the turquoise sea. After two minutes, it was time for the stages to separate. The booster engine shut down, and this time there was a five-second delay before the second stage was unleashed, to prevent the bumping that had doomed the third launch. When the second stage slowly pulled away, Musk finally allowed himself to let out a whoop of joy.”
• “When hiring, look for people with the right attitude. Skills can be taught. Attitude changes require a brain transplant.”
• “It’s that fighting to survive keeps you going for quite a while. When you are no longer in a survive-or-die mode, it’s not that easy to get motivated every day.”
• “Sometimes great innovators are risk-seeking man-children who resist potty training. They can be reckless, cringeworthy, sometimes even toxic. They can also be crazy. Crazy enough to think they can change the world.”

Takeaways from the book

If you read my recent post about Morgan Wallen, you know I’ve done a lot of thinking about problematic people in society. How do we resolve their awful actions with the great ones?

Truthfully, there’s no one-size-fits all answer, and everyone is going to feel differently about it.

In this case, reading about Musk’s childhood gave me context to the person he is today. There was also much more to learn behind many of the headlines I’ve seen regarding him and his businesses over the years.

Of course, Isaacson could be lying I guess, but the book has 21 pages of notes and sources in the back. There’s also a note from Isaacson, explaining that he followed Musk for two years, during which Musk encouraged his friends, family, and staff to speak with Isaacson.

He also said Musk never read the contents nor had any control over them.

I think Isaacson sums up the way I feel with this paragraph:

“Do the audaciousness and hubris that drive him to attempt epic feats excuse his bad behavior, his callousness, his recklessness? The times he’s an asshole? The answer is no, of course not. One can admire a person’s good ones and decry the bad ones. But it’s also important to understand how the strands are woven together, sometimes tightly. It can be hard to remove the dark ones without unraveling the whole cloth.”

Do I feel like this book is worth reading? Absolutely, yes. I hope I never become someone who’s turned off by the stories of different people — how boring would that be?

I know I’ve done a lot of things in my life that I’m not proud of, and those are part of my “cloth,” too.

For more book recommendations, be sure to subscribe to the blog (look to the right) and follow me on Goodreads @thebitterlemon – where I share more of my book picks. Also, check out my printable bookmarks and Book Club Journal Pages in my Etsy Shop.