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Ashlee Vance

Elon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is Shaping our Future Paperback – 10 Mar. 2016

by Ashlee Vance (Author)

5,641 ratings

in Computer Scientist Biographies

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South African born Elon Musk is the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. Musk wants to save our planet; he wants to send citizens into space, to form a colony on Mars; he wants to make money while doing these things; and he wants us all to know about it. He is the real-life inspiration for the Iron Man series of films starring Robert Downey Junior.

The personal tale of Musk’s life comes with all the trappings one associates with a great, drama-filled story. He was a freakishly bright kid who was bullied brutally at school, and abused by his father. In the midst of these rough conditions, and the violence of apartheid South Africa, Musk still thrived academically and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he paid his own way through school by turning his house into a club and throwing massive parties.

He started a pair of huge dot-com successes, including PayPal, which eBay acquired for $1.5 billion in 2002. Musk was forced out as CEO and so began his lost years in which he decided to go it alone and baffled friends by investing his fortune in rockets and electric cars. Meanwhile Musk’s marriage disintegrated as his technological obsessions took over his life ...

Elon Musk is the Steve Jobs of the present and the future, and for the past twelve months, he has been shadowed by tech reporter, Ashlee Vance. Elon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of Spacex and Tesla is Shaping our Future is an important, exciting and intelligent account of the real-life Iron Man.

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Product details

Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Virgin Books (10 Mar. 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780753555644
ISBN-13: 978-0753555644
ASIN: 0753555646
Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 2.7 x 19.8 cm
Customer reviews: 5,641 customer ratings
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Computer Scientist Biographies
- #8 in Entrepreneurship (Books)
- #6 in Starting a Small Business

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Review

Is Elon Musk the new Steve Jobs? This is one of many questions this excellent biography poses, GQ

For anyone interested in technology, entrepreneurship or the price of greatness, Ashlee Vance's new book is a tremendous look into arguably the world's most important entrepreneur. Vance paints an unforgettable picture of Musk's unique personality, insatiable drive and ability to thrive through hardship. The book bursts with telling anecdotes and quotes that illuminate who Musk is, The Washington Post

Exhaustively reported . . . this work will likely serve as the definitive account of a man whom so far we've seen mostly through caricature. By the final pages, too, any reader will sense the need to put comparisons to Steve Jobs aside. Give Musk credit. There is no one like him, New York Times

A book that is smart, light on its feet and possesses a crunchy thoroughness. . . . Mr Vance delivers a well-calibrated portrait of Mr Musk, so that we comprehend both his friends and his enemies. It's a book with many ancillary pleasures. 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. The best thing Mr Vance does in this book, though, is tell Mr Musk's story simply and well, The New York Times

Ashlee Vance’s stellar biography captures Musk’s remarkable life story and irrepressible spirit, Richard Branson

About the Author

Ashlee Vance is one of the most prominent writers on technology today. After spending several years reporting on Silicon Valley and technology for the New York Times, Vance went to Bloomberg Businessweek, where he has written dozens of cover and feature stories for the magazine on topics ranging from cyber espionage to DNA sequencing and space exploration.

From the Publisher

Elon Musk : How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is Shaping our Future

Elon Musk is the Steve Jobs of the present and the future, and for the past twelve months, he has been shadowed by tech reporter, Ashlee Vance. Elon Musk : How the Billionaire CEO of Spacex and Tesla is Shaping our Future is an important, exciting and intelligent account of the real-life Iron Man.

South African born Elon Musk is the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. Musk wants to save our planet; he wants to send citizens into space, to form a colony on Mars; he wants to make money while doing these things; and he wants us all to know about it. He is the real-life inspiration for the Iron Man series of films starring Robert Downey Junior.

Musk was forced out as CEO and so began his lost years in which he decided to go it alone and baffled friends by investing his fortune in rockets and electric cars. Meanwhile Musk’s marriage disintegrated as his technological obsessions took over his life.

About the author

Ashlee Vance is one of the most prominent writers on technology today. After spending several years reporting on Silicon Valley and technology for the New York Times, Vance went to Bloomberg Businessweek, where he has written dozens of cover and feature stories for the magazine on topics ranging from cyber espionage to DNA sequencing and space exploration.

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Customer reviews

5 star		79%
4 star		16%
3 star		3%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

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The Tech Reviewer

Interesting and insightful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 May 2019

Verified Purchase

Excellent book which covers musk's life from an early age right up to the present
insightful stories and details about his companies and the struggles to get them off the ground
very inspiring and great book
Highly recommend to any Elon fan

19 people found this helpful

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A. T.

I liked learning about how Musk’s companies came to be

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 May 2018

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[NOTE: I received a copy of this book through NetGalley.]

An interesting read for me, considering I never went in depth into what Musk has accomplished (to be fair, I came to this book because I find Tesla cars sexy and thought ‘well, why not read this, at least I’ll know more about the man’).

I’m kind of sitting on the fence about this book. I liked learning about how Musk’s companies came to be, the problems encountered along the way, how things were at times one inch from just failing, but worked out in the end, out of both luck and determination. In a way, it’s a positive ‘lesson’: that sometimes things fail, but it shouldn’t prevent you from fighting for them and taking risks, because they just may succeed as well.

I also appreciated that the author interviewed other people, employees, ex-employees, friends, ex-partners, etc., and that he made them part of the whole: people without whom Tesla Motors or SpaceX wOuld’ve never been able to take off, engineers and mechanics and designers whose role was absolutely not negligible. Since a large part of the book was focused on these companies, acknowledging more than just one actor was a good thing to do.

I would’ve d liked it to go more in depth about how exactly things worked out, when it comes to the science/engineering part. Elon Musk seems like he knows his stuff, too, and has learnt over the years what he didn’t know and made him shoot for impossible deadlines at first (now I guess they’re just improbable, hah), and… I don’t know, I expected something more detailed in that regard. Maybe less of the business aspect, and more about the engineering the way Elon Musk himself goes about it?

Also, for a biography, I think it didn’t go to the bottom of things either when it comes to the man, and lacks a certain detachment. Musk doesn’t come off as a very empathetic person, to say the least, and while objectively I understand his drive, humanely the way he treats his employees is, well, not great at all. So I would’ve been interested in seeing more reflecting about this: coming from him, but also coming from the biographer. There -is- something wrong in the way all these visionary projects have come to be, and it was pretty much glossed over. (In short, was the harshness really needed, does innovation has to come to such a price, and would things have tanked with just a bit more empathy?)

This was instructive, and I kind of liked it, so 3 stars… But while I know more about Tesla Motors, SolarCity and SpaceX, I don’t feel like I know -that- much more about Musk himself now.

22 people found this helpful

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J Gabriel

Great book and a pleasure to read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 September 2017

Verified Purchase

After reading just the first chapter of Ashlee Vance's 'Elon Musk', I couldn't put the book down. From the outset this is an engaging insight into the enigma who is Musk.

Prior to reading the book, I thought that my knowledge of Musk was pretty good. However, I still found there was a new surprise on every page.Vance has done well to capture a story of the billionaire's background, from bullied schoolboy to minimum wage worker, right through to him becoming one of the most pioneering minds of a generation.

It is an honest and fair portrayal of both his family and business life, a pleasure to read and delves just enough into the areas of interest in the subject's life.

Anyone looking for some inspiration should definitely buy this book!

11 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

A view of what tomorrow might bring

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 November 2017

Verified Purchase

If you have an interest in what our children may have to deal with in the years to come then the Life of Elon Musk must hold interest for you .
Insight in to not only a gifted brain but the ability of Musk to see the advantage of bringing together the greatest brains and putting every penny of his fortune to the betterment of mankind through science and simple logic if you have the foresight of brilliance.
Elon if ever proof was needed this book is proof that he is a gift to Humanity. May his God Bless him.☺

7 people found this helpful

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James

A magnificent look inside one of the biggest proponents of change alive.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 January 2018

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I am a massive fan of what Elon Musk is doing. I don't think that there are many people alive that have such a wide spectrum of interests and that are doing so much to further the survival of humanity as a race.

But then no one is perfect. This book is brilliant at going through his life up to a few years ago, warts and all. It's not a sycophantic false look and holding him on a pedestal. More it explains who he is, for the good and bad.

A very very strong recommendation.

5 people found this helpful

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Mike

Great read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 February 2018

Verified Purchase

I feel that Vance had done an amazing job of researching and writing this book. The book is set out in such a way that you are able to follow the progression of Elon’s childhood, early years and progression to the powerhouse CEO that is making headline shows across the globe.
There were moments when I wouldn’t shove a page or a quote in front of the closest person and get them to read it to highlight the genius that is Elon Musk.
The book was published a few years ago, so don’t expect the most recent falcon heavy launch to appear in there!!

4 people found this helpful

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Amit sarawagi

Elon Musk - Unstoppable force

Reviewed in India on 3 November 2017

Verified Purchase

I just finished reading Elon Musk’s biography. Musk has always been my hero and this book sure did justice. One quality that I really admire in him is his ability to set clear vision. Once he sets the vision, Elon gives his blood, sweat and tears to make it a reality. People laughed at him when he first announced his vision on inter-planetary life. Since then he demonstrated significant enhancements in rocket technology and was able to produce a re-usable rocket. The analogy he gives is that of commercial plane, imagine after every flight between London and LA you throw away the plane how expensive will be your air ticket. Elon says his reusable rockets will make space travel 100 times cheaper. His reusability concept is brought to life with Falcon 9’s successful landing back on earth. Recently Elon presented how he plans to take humans to Mars in 2022 and build a city. SpaceX’s BFR project will carry 100 crew members along with equipment needed to set up a colony. He is not our typical Silicon Valley techie who wants to create a multi-million dollar corporation and cash out. His goals are bigger than money and fame. He wants to make a significant impact on humanity and make this world or even world beyond us a better place to live. His commitment and drive is unparalleled, he is ready to solve issues 3 in the morning on Sunday, and he works 7 days a week and doesn’t shy away from getting his hands dirty. He is hard to work with and does set tough goals for his people. Do you need to be tough to achieve success like SpaceX and Tesla? Can we taste the similar success with a little softer management style? What makes great entrepreneur? Do we need to be relentless like Elon? Or a management style of Richard Branson is equally productive where you place trust with people and they deliver?

253 people found this helpful

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Vijay Sood

Experience revolution here

Reviewed in India on 19 September 2018

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Before reading this book, I had always learnt about the great revolutions in the history books. But, After reading it, I realised that we are part of this great revolution created by individuals like gates, jobs, Bezos and Musk. Personally, I am more addicted to Musk now, may be because of his great vision. After reading about his journey to create the Tesla, SpaceX and Solar City, I understood that how visionaries actually think. And, specially his vision is for the betterment of human race. He is making every damn possible effort to lessen our dependence on fossil fuels and ultimately reducing the global warming. This books provides a great opportunity to dive into the mind of musk. He is a different individual for sure. Making all things possible. He has beaten not only big car manufacturers from US, Europe, China and Japan but also Big organisations like NASA. I recommend this book to everyone!

76 people found this helpful

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Ujjwal Biswas

Five Stars

Reviewed in India on 3 May 2018

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So good to have this book, if u wanna buy go for it

86 people found this helpful

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Anand

Loved it!!!!

Reviewed in India on 30 September 2018

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This fascinating biography, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance, lights up the resilient American spirit in its portrayal of an ambitious visionary, an inspiring dreamer, and a persistent doer and innovator. Elon Musk, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur (to say the least), has the indomitable will to carry off what most others deem impossible while at the same time receiving negative bashings in the media – through failures and successes. Musk, born in South Africa, is a personality that was destined to thrive in America. He created a uniquely American story like nothing else.

elon-musk-coverMusk’s family history is generation after generation of adventurous, risk-taking and highly intelligent people. As a child, he devoured all books in sight and resorted to reading through two sets of encyclopedias as well. “Vacuuming books into his brain,” he was considered a “fact factory,” with a “photographic memory.” Author Vance notes that not all of Musk’s childhood acquaintances appreciated his gifted mind, and some saw him as a target for bullying. As a teen, Musk left South Africa without his parents; first moving to Canada and then to his ultimate destination – the United States.

In the United States, one of his first business developments included an early internet mapping & directory system which Compaq purchased and merged into their AltaVista web-search engine. With cash-in-hand, Musk next envisioned online banking in an internet world where people still feared such a thing. That dream became PayPal which soon developed the methods used for fighting online fraud, and formed the basis of software used by the world’s largest banks, the CIA and the FBI. The young innovators making this possible later became known as the “PayPal Mafia” and “Silicon Valley Royalty” with Musk its “most famous and successful member.”

spacex_defaultIn the years to come, Musk developed, invested in, and expanded SpaceX, Tesla Motors, SolarCity and more. The author delves into the very interesting histories of each of these companies, including the plunges that almost led to bankruptcies. Musk’s companies re-imaged business and what could be accomplished. The aerospace industry/government contractors with their cumbersome, bureaucratic, and wasteful spending models have felt the quakes brought about by Musk’s paradigm shift. His efficiency has enabled Space-X to drastically reduce the cost of launching experiments and satellites into orbit, making Space-X became the first private company to dock with the International Space Station (ISS).

Tesla Motors is also discussed at length in this biography, but I find the SpaceX portions really reflect Musk’s innovative spirit. There were many years of failed rocket-launch attempts, but there was always the push forward through adversity. The launches into space and missions to the ISS are the beginning phases with the ultimate goal of colonizing Mars! When I worked on the ISS program, ideas like that seemed very overreaching, audacious and even laughable to me, but reading this biography, if anyone can get that started, it would be Musk. The wild promises, one by one, keep unfolding into reality. Musk does not see a depressed, dystopian future for humans he imagines us as a multi-planetary species. Instead, his vision is of saving mankind, not simply creating another product for consumption. Yes, it is far out there, but it is always the big thinkers that push the boundaries.

This is such an inspirational book that I recommended it to my husband and son so they are starting on it. I know my son is interested that many consider Musk the real-life embodiment of Iron-Man’s Tony Stark. To me, one of the great sides to America is that boundaries get pushed and success breaks through in spite of outside interference that tries to tamp it down. The accomplishments of Elon Musk and the teams he pulls together to make things happen truly seem unreal and almost science fiction. I highly recommend this very readable and enjoyable book!

14 people found this helpful

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CrAzy ReViEwER

Five Stars

Reviewed in India on 24 August 2017

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Good

26 people found this helpful

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Elon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is Shaping our Future Paperback – 10 Mar. 2016

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