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Sunday, December 24, 2017

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

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
Elon Musk is a polarizing figure. His efforts at making fundamental changes to the way humanity approaches space travel, transportation, and energy are having a profound impact on our world. He’s the closest thing to an Ayn Randian hero that I’ve ever seen in real life. As I write this, the recent Falcon launch above Los Angeles is the subject of numerous Facebook posts, and the talk of the new Tesla’s phenomenal acceleration abilities is probably the most interesting thing to happen with cars in a long time. He has also recently offered to help Puerto Rico rebuild a new type of power grid, and announced a fleet of Tesla trucks to take on the economics of the modern long haul trucking industry.

This biography was inspiring. Musk’s life is interesting, atypical, and filled with a drive to transform the world in positive ways at almost any cost which make him nearly a literary hero in my mind. In a time when “the best lack all conviction”, this book paints a portrait of one who does not.

Vance attempts to be neutral, though it seems clear that he too has succumbed to some level of Elon worship. The guy is full of faults; he’s not very tolerant of failure and probably pretty hard to be married to. His efforts to craft himself in the image of Tony Stark could come across as silly hubris, except…. It’s working.

This man and the teams of engineers and marketers he has surrounded himself with are transforming the world.

An inspiring book, and a good reminder: “There are no laws or rules other than physics that you must adhere to.”

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