Elon Musk

He is the "Real Ironman" of our time: Elon Musk! In the biography of the same name by Ashlee Vance, we learn how it all started for Elon Musk. We get to know his first career steps and learn more about Elon Musk as a person. To do this, Ashlee Vance accompanied him for years and conducted numerous interviews with him and the people around him.

Admittedly, as an Elon Musk fanboy, I didn’t approach this book entirely without bias. I already knew many of the insights, but there was still some new background information I hadn’t known (keyword: Russian rockets).

In this review, you’ll find out why this book is an absolute must for everyone who wants to be crazy and change the world.

Basically, the book "Elon Musk" is a biography, but honestly: it reads like a gripping sci-fi novel! With all the different companies and ventures, you inevitably ask yourself: What drives Elon Musk? Is he doing all this just for the money? NO! He wants to solve humanity’s biggest challenges out of deep conviction. It’s never about the money for him. That is probably the most important insight you take away from the book. His methods and the way he treats the people around him and his employees can rightly be criticized at times. I thought it was good and important that his sometimes rough methods were also openly discussed and criticized.

Still: we need visionaries and crazy people like Elon Musk. It’s the extreme personalities who push and redefine boundaries. How pragmatic and solution-oriented he is and how he motivates his teams makes for an incredibly exciting read.

The book is especially recommended for those who admire Elon Musk as an entrepreneur.

But I would also recommend it to people who stubbornly claim that Elon Musk’s companies are only about money for him. You need the personal information from the book to get rid of this prejudice.

But every entrepreneur can take something away from the book, too: the pragmatic approach to solving problems. Whether technical, administrative or organizational. For every area, the book gives examples from Elon Musk’s companies and how he solved them. A whole new and motivating perspective on the slogan: "Get shit done!"

Actually, I wanted to take the book along as reading for the whole vacation, but it only took me three evenings to finish it – that’s how exciting it was. A rocket explodes? No problem: drive to the nearest hardware store and try a different part. Our sales numbers are off? No matter what your background is, get on the phone and sell.

It’s these pragmatic approaches to solving problems that excited and inspired me. No long back and forth – just get this problem done. I found it incredibly exciting to learn what drives Elon Musk and what motivates him to tackle humanity’s biggest problems.

At the same time, I was also surprised in some places by how ruthless he can be and how impersonal he can be toward employees. Still, this side is part of him too, so I think it’s good that the book also reports on these sides.