Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

Name: Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
Rating: 4.527355670928955 (658 reviews)

Ashlee Vance

May 2015 · Harper Collins

4.5

658 reviews

Ebook

416

Pages

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A New York Times Bestseller

In the spirit of Steve Jobs and Moneyball, Elon Musk is both an illuminating and authorized look at the extraordinary life of one of Silicon Valley’s most exciting, unpredictable, and ambitious entrepreneurs—a real-life Tony Stark—and a fascinating exploration of the renewal of American invention and its new “makers.”

Elon Musk spotlights the technology and vision of Elon Musk, the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, who 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—one of the most unusual and striking figures in American business history—is a contemporary, visionary 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.

Thorough and insightful, Elon Musk brings to life a technology industry that is rapidly and dramatically changing by examining the life of one of its most powerful and influential titans.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

658 reviews

Adriano Marcoccia

June 14, 2015

I found this book to be inspirational, comical at times and a fantastic attempt at painting a perspective to understanding the kind of person Elon musk is and what type of ethos he seems to live by. I would highly recommend people to read this book, especially if you're someone who is driven and needs a bit of inspiration and also someone who may need a change in their own personal philosophy or whatever worldview you may have, and embrace an ethos that strives to achieve whatever may seem impossible.

2 people found this review helpful

Addison Phillips

January 30, 2016

This book is fascinating, inspiring, and hope-giving. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the bright, sustainable future we are heading toward and the man who is making it all possible. I really can't express how enthusiastic I am about Elon Musk and all that he is doing with Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity. I would have far less hope for the future of the world were it not for the genius, boldness, and persistent hard work of this man. The future we've dreamed of is on the horizon and Elon Musk is one of the key people responsible for getting us here.

40 people found this review helpful

Hasandi Patriawan

January 29, 2018

This book gave me insights how to run a company and solving real problems at the same time, which Elon did it passionately and it gives him a purpose to live. He thinks that life is short and he should be working hard. Book-wise, the author's words are light and he included helpful footnotes here and there. It is very exciting to read.

43 people found this review helpful

About the author

Ashlee Vance is the New York Times bestselling author of Elon Musk and a feature writer at Bloomberg Businessweek. He's also the host of Hello World, a travel show that centers on inventors and scientists all over the planet. Previously, he worked as a reporter for The New York Times, The Economist, and The Register.

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