In a much-anticipated biography set to hit bookshelves tomorrow, Walter Isaacson, former editor-in-chief of Time magazine and acclaimed biographer, delves deep into the life and mind of Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and tech billionaire. “Elon Musk,” a 600-page exploration of Musk’s life, provides new insights into his relentless drive for the colonization of Mars and a mysterious attribute known as “demon mode” that fuels his productivity.
Advance orders for the biography on Amazon soared, making it the site’s best-selling book in the United States even before its official release, according to AFP.
The biography starts with a glimpse into Musk’s tumultuous early life, including his strained relationship with his father, Errol Musk. It goes on to propose that Elon Musk is fueled by what Grimes, his former partner, describes as “demon mode.” This attribute, according to Isaacson, is a common trait among overachievers and significantly contributes to Musk’s remarkable productivity.
Isaacson, known for his biographies on Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, and Leonardo da Vinci, offers a unique perspective on Musk’s life by shadowing him in recent years. The book reveals intriguing anecdotes, including an incident where Musk allegedly denied Starlink internet access to the Ukrainian military during a planned operation in Crimea. Musk disputed this account on Twitter, asserting that Starlink access was not yet available in Crimea at the time.
Musk’s takeover of Twitter, which he renamed X, is also scrutinized in the biography. It portrays the billionaire as struggling to grasp that technology and sheer willpower cannot work miracles.
One recurring theme in Isaacson’s portrayal is Musk’s penchant for vengeance against doubters and critics. Following his acquisition of Twitter, Musk and his closest advisors reportedly combed through emails and social media, leading to the immediate dismissal of dozens of employees who had criticized him. Ultimately, two-thirds of the 7,500-strong staff would be let go.
In another episode, Musk’s cost-cutting measures led to a major outage when he moved critical servers out of a Sacramento data center. He also declined to collaborate with Bill Gates on charitable endeavors because Gates had bet against Tesla’s success on the stock market.
The biography also discloses that Musk, who frets about depopulation, is the father of 10 children, including a previously undisclosed child with his on-and-off-again partner, Grimes. He has also fathered twins as a sperm donor with Shivon Zilis, an executive at Musk-owned company Neuralink.
Reviews of “Elon Musk” have been mixed, with the Washington Post commending the reporting while expressing disappointment that Isaacson favored revealing anecdotes over a more critical analysis. Influential tech pundit Kara Swisher characterized the book as portraying a “sad and smart son slowly morphing into the mentally abusive father he abhors,” adding that Musk is often “right, sometimes wrong, and a petty jerk always.”
As the biography’s release date approaches, it promises to be a thought-provoking exploration of one of the most enigmatic figures in the tech industry, shedding light on the complexities that drive Elon Musk’s relentless pursuit of Mars colonization and his controversial leadership style.
