Elon Musk
Ratings30
Average rating4.5
15
Ratings30
Average rating4.5
Dall'autore di Steve Jobs e altre biografie di successo, il ritratto sorprendentemente intimo dell'innovatore più affascinante e controverso della nostra epoca: un visionario che ha infranto le regole e portato il mondo in un'era di veicoli elettrici, missioni spaziali private e intelligenza artificiale. E ha anche acquistato Twitter. Quando Elon Musk era ragazzino, in Sud Africa, veniva picchiato regolarmente dai bulli. Un giorno un gruppo lo spinse giù per una scalinata di cemento e lo prese a calci fino a ridurgli la faccia gonfia come un pallone. Elon rimase in ospedale per una settimana. Ma le cicatrici fisiche non furono paragonabili a quelle emotive inflitte poi dal padre - ingegnere, disonesto e carismatico. L'influenza del padre sarebbe durata a lungo. Musk è diventato un uomo-bambino duro e vulnerabile al tempo stesso, incline a bruschi sbalzi d'umore alla dottor Jekyll e mister Hyde, con un'elevata propensione al rischio e un senso epico per le missioni che intraprende e porta avanti con intensità maniacale e talvolta distruttiva. Agli inizi del 2022 - dopo un anno segnato da trentun razzi lanciati in orbita dalla sua azienda, SpaceX, dalla vendita di quasi un milione di auto da parte di Tesla, e dalla sua ascesa come uomo più ricco della Terra - Musk ha parlato con amarezza della sua inclinazione a suscitare drammi. «Devo allontanare la mia mentalità dalla modalità di crisi, in cui si trova da circa quattordici anni, o forse da quasi tutta la vita» ha detto. Era un commento malinconico, non un proposito per l'anno nuovo. Ma già mentre faceva questa promessa, comprava in gran segreto quote di Twitter, il parco giochi per definizione. Nel corso degli anni, ogni volta che si è trovato in un momento buio, è tornato agli orrori di quando veniva bullizzato al parco giochi. Lo stesso che ora ha la possibilità di possedere. Per due anni, Isaacson ha seguito Musk, partecipando alle sue riunioni, l'ha accompagnato nelle sue aziende, e ha passato ore a intervistare lui, la sua famiglia, gli amici, i colleghi e gli avversari. Il risultato è una storia intima, colma di racconti straordinari di trionfi e turbolenze, che risponde alla domanda: i demoni che spingono Musk sono anche ciò che serve per guidare l'innovazione e il progresso?
Reviews with the most likes.
The temptation with a character like Musk would be to color the man by recent actions, and this is just what Isaacson avoids. Musk's mad dash from left to right, from empathic to near sociopathic, leaves many flummoxed. Heraclitus said that character is destiny, and while I have problems with this particular philosophy (I would argue that action is destiny and than a person can — as many have — overcome character to act well and in accords with greatness), this idea does seem to be playing out right on course for Musk. Upon finishing the book I thought I had an understanding of why Musk does the things he does, and this is about the best cover copy a biography could want. None of this is to say that I agree with Musk's principles or the conclusions he reaches as a result of holding those principles — it simply means that I believe Musk is in fact a man living out his principles. He is a flawed human. Of course. Some of us are more flawed than others and Musk is pretty high on that chart most days. The problem with a society that imbues individuals with this much money, unchecked, is that the wealth comes with commensurate power. As such, Musk's flaws and mistakes are magnified many times over. I've often thought that this was what money actually was: a magnifier. A charitable poor person will be, upon becoming rich, a more charitable person. A poor miser will make an even more miserly rich person. Anger, humility, creativity, loving kindness, sociopathy, saintliness — all of these things become magnified through the lens of an increased bank account. Musk has achieved a wealth to rival entire nation states and so his foibles and his gifts are on display, equally magnified, playing out before us in real time. I don't know how his story is eventually going to play out. Neither do you. I am curious to find out. All or most of Isaacson's subjects are dead by the time he writes their stories, so I'm left to wonder if the author won't be doing a follow up as Musk's game moves into extra innings. What is obvious is that the final chapter has not been written, and that whether it's Isaacson that writes it or someone else, I would not feel confident judging Musk as a net positive or net negative force for human affairs and history based solely on this necessarily incomplete history of the man. What I can say is that Musk will likely continue to be a force acting out and acting upon us all in some form or fashion for the foreseeable future.
Apart from Twitter part dragging out for far too long, I absolutely adored this audiobook. Interesting and engaging all throughout. Truly gives you an insight into a mind of this genius. My favorite work of Isaacson so far (Elon > Jobs > Einstein > da Vinci).
Elon is often perceived as an asshole, lacks empathy (he does have Asperger's), and exhibits somewhat of a multiple personality disorder. He continues to grapple with the scars of his childhood, largely shaped by the abusive behavior of his father, whose behavior he's known to portray. He has an addiction to taking risks and frequently acts on impulse, a habit that often leads him to inadvertently sabotage himself (Twitter, anyone?). However, I can't help but admire him for everything he has accomplished and has yet to achieve.
Would he accomplish all of this if he was any different? Probably not.
“As Shakespeare teaches us, all heroes have flaws, some tragic, some conquered, and those we cast as villains can be complex. Even the best people, he wrote, are ‘molded out of faults.' ”
