Elon Musk – Isaacson Walter (2024)

Walter Isaacson charts Elon Musk’s journey from humble beginnings to becoming one of the wealthiest people on the planet. Is Musk a genius or a jerk? This intimate biography presents the rule-breaking visionary who helped lead the world into the era of electric vehicles, private space exploration and artificial intelligence, while also taking over Twitter. Isaacson explores Musk’s difficult childhood in South Africa, the lasting impact of his father, and the tough yet vulnerable personality shaped by risk, drama, an epic sense of mission and relentless intensity. The book follows Musk during a period marked by SpaceX launches, Tesla’s rapid growth and his rise to become the richest man on Earth. For two years, Isaacson had unprecedented access to Musk, shadowing him, attending meetings, visiting factories and interviewing his family, friends, colleagues and adversaries. The result is a revealing account of triumphs and turmoil that asks whether the demons driving Musk are also what drive innovation and progress. It includes more than 100 integrated black-and-white images.