7 Takeaways From Walter Isaacson’s New Biography of Elon Musk

The book peers into the tycoon’s private life and his leadership style at Tesla, SpaceX and X, formerly known as Twitter By Alexa Corse, Rebecca Elliott, Micah Maidenberg and Tim Higgins Sept. 15, 2023 Tap story

Walter Isaacson’s new biography of Elon Musk went on sale Tuesday, offering a behind-the-curtain look into the businesses and lifestyle of the world’s richest man. Isaacson shadowed Musk for two years. Ariel Zambelich/The Wall Street Journal { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

Running more than 600 pages, “Elon Musk” is the latest in a series of biographies by Isaacson, a Tulane University history professor and former editor of Time magazine. Here are seven takeaways. Ariel Zambelich/The Wall Street Journal { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

Private Life The book explores Musk’s difficult childhood and dives into his troubled relationship with his father. It describes how the billionaire and his on-again, off-again girlfriend Grimes secretly had a third child—bringing the total number of his known, living children to 10. Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Huffington Post { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

Leadership Style The book describes examples of Musk’s “hardcore” management style. At SpaceX, for example: “Musk has a rule about responsibility: every part, every process and every specification needs to have a name attached. He can be quick to personalize blame when something goes wrong.” SpaceX’s Starship launch in April ended with an explosion a few minutes into the flight. Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

This browser does not support the video element. Isaacson puts forth the idea of “demon mode” to explain the temperamental impulses behind some of Musk’s successes—and setbacks. Grimes coined the term in an interview with Isaacson. “Demon mode is when he goes dark and retreats inside the storm in his brain,” Boucher said in the book. “Demon mode,” she added, “causes a lot of chaos but it also gets s— done.” Tap speaker icon for sound { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

Isaacson said that Musk’s demons stem from his childhood and a psychologically abusive father. Musk’s father, Errol Musk, pictured, disputed the suggestion that he exposed his son to psychological abuse and took issue with the “demon mode” characterization of his son’s behavior. Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

“The Algorithm” Musk has five commandments for how he wants problems solved by his workers, a framework he calls “the algorithm.” In short, Musk urges his employees to: question every requirement; delete any part or process you can; simplify and optimize; accelerate cycle time; and automate. Michael Reynolds/EPA/Shutterstock { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

In the book, Musk acknowledges he talks about the approach often. “I became a broken record on the algorithm,” Musk is quoted as saying. “But I think it’s helpful to say it to an annoying degree.”

Taking Over Twitter Musk told his team to root out employees of Twitter who were untrustworthy. Musk’s lieutenants scoured Slack messages and social-media posts looking for disgruntled employees, searching for keywords including “Elon.” Dozens were fired. Workers in July install a sign atop the San Francisco headquarters of X. Photo: Noah Berger/AP { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

Musk’s behavior after taking over Twitter was damaging enough to Tesla’s brand that board members intervened. “The giant elephant in the room was that he was acting like a f—ing idiot,” said his brother, Kimbal Musk, according to Isaacson. Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg News { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

Driving Tesla The book goes deep on a handful of initiatives, including new products. Isaacson writes that Tesla plans to make a robotaxi with a “Cybertruck futuristic feel.” Musk has been all-in on the idea, and adamant that the vehicle not have mirrors, pedals or a steering wheel. Musk with a Cybertruck. Photo: Angela Piazza/Caller-Times/USA Today Network/Reuters { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

Guiding SpaceX The book shows an intense cost focus embedded in SpaceX from its earliest days. It also spotlights moments where Musk pushes out employees or icily demands information and is furious when they don’t deliver. And it reinforces Musk’s dedication to launching a mission to Mars, a flight that he plans to attempt using SpaceX’s Starship rocket. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

Artificial Intelligence Musk has given three major objectives to his newest company, the artificial-intelligence venture called xAI: Make an AI bot that can code; produce a chatbot to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT; and, in a grander goal, develop a form of AI that would want to preserve humanity and “care about understanding the universe.” Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty { "selector": ".wsj--ani-text-fade", "duration": "2s", "easing": "ease-out", "keyframes": [ {"opacity": "0"}, { "opacity": "1"} ] }

Cover photo: Julia Nikhinson/Reuters Produced by Brian Patrick Byrne Read more