Elon Musk (Isaacson book)

2023 Elon Musk biography by Walter Isaacson

Elon Musk

First edition cover

Author| Walter Isaacson
Audio read by| Jeremy Bobb
Language| English
Subject| Elon Musk
Genre| Biography
Publisher| Simon & Schuster

Publication date

| September 12, 2023
Media type| Print (hardcover), e-book, audiobook
Pages| 688 pp.
ISBN| 978-1-982181-28-4

Elon Musk is an authorized biography of American business magnate and SpaceX/Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The book was written by Walter Isaacson, a former executive at CNN, TIME and the Aspen Institute who had previously written best-selling biographies of Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs and Leonardo da Vinci. The book was published on September 12, 2023, by Simon & Schuster.[1]

## Background[edit]

Elon Musk first announced that Isaacson was in the process of writing his biography in August 2021. He revealed that Isaacson had shadowed him "for several days so far".[2]

Isaacson followed Musk for the next two years, visiting his SpaceX and Tesla factories and attending board meetings. The book is the result of hours of interviews with Musk and his family, friends, colleagues and adversaries.[3] Isaacson was present when Musk decided to buy Twitter and to run his new AI company; Musk also shared messages from the Ukrainian minister Mykhailo Fedorov, and some were included in the book. Isaacson later said in an interview that "Elon is very mercurial, but he never told me not to put anything in the book."[4]

## Contents[edit]

Isaacson writes that Musk is "addicted to drama".[4]

### Crimean Starlink coverage deactivation claim[edit]

Further information: Starlink in the Russo-Ukrainian War § Crimean Starlink coverage request denial incident

Among the book's revelations was an account that Musk ordered Starlink to disable access to Ukrainian drones in 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, thwarting an attack on Russian warships in Crimea.[5] Musk denied the allegation, saying satellites in the region were not turned on, and that he chose not to activate them.[6][1][7] The biography claim prompted several allegations against Musk for deliberately disrupting the operation.[8] Isaacson later retracted his claim as a mistake, as Crimea had no Starlink coverage prior to the attack similarly to other Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.[9][10][11]

The Washington Post, which had published Isaacson's opinion piece, corrected that "after the publication of this adaptation, the author learned that his book mischaracterized the attempted attack by Ukrainian drones on the Russian fleet in Crimea. Musk had already disabled ("geofenced") coverage within 100 km of the Crimean coast before the attack began, and when the Ukrainians discovered this, they asked him to activate the coverage, and he refused."[11] The Guardian and CNN also added a footnote to correct the claim.[12][13]

Isaacson corrected his claim and clarified that Elon Musk said that the policy to not allow Starlink to be used for an attack on Crimea had been implemented earlier than the night of the Ukrainian attack, while Ukrainians did not know about it.[9][14] Ukrainian general Kyrylo Budanov declared being "not sure that Elon Musk operated some mythical buttons and stopped the movement of some devices. This is my personal opinion. The fact that the Starlink systems did not work for a certain time near the Crimea, I can absolutely confirm, because we also used a certain technique. We immediately realized that there is simply no coverage there".[15][16]

## Reception[edit]

Ahead of its publication, the book topped Amazon's bestseller list.[3] It debuted at number one on The New York Times nonfiction best-seller list for the week ending September 16, 2023.[17]

At the review aggregator website Book Marks, the book had an overall rating of "mixed", based on 15 book reviews from mainstream literary critics.[18]

The New York Times critic Jennifer Szalai wrote, "Isaacson [...] is a patient chronicler of obsession; in the case of Musk, he can occasionally seem too patient."[19]

Brian Merchant of the Los Angeles Times criticized Isaacson's "great man" biography format as extremely dated and took issue with his persistent framing of Musk as a "moody but brilliant world-mover", writing, "The author will unearth unflattering personal anecdotes and share stories about the subject's capacity to be cruel. In exchange, the subject's greatness will be treated as an assumption."[20]

In The Guardian, Gary Shteyngart called the book a "dull, insight-free doorstop", and criticized the author, writing, "I held Isaacson's judgment in low regard. Vaccine sceptic Joe Rogan is 'knowledgeable'. Musk's humour – he took the 'w' out of the Twitter sign in San Francisco because 'tit' is so inherently funny – has 'many levels'. Linda Yaccarino, Musk's almost comically bumbling CEO of X-nee-Twitter is 'wickedly smart'."[21]

Constance Grady of Vox also criticized the book. While writing that it is "strictly a book of reportage" and that "[Isaacson's] reporting is rigorous and dogged", the reviewer noted that the book "asks all the wrong questions".[22]

Jill Lepore of The New Yorker wrote that "Isaacson's new biography depicts a man who wields more power than almost any other person on the planet but seems estranged from humanity itself". The reviewer found the book's ending a "disconcerting thing to read":[23]

> "Sometimes great innovators are risk-seeking man-children who resist potty training," Isaacson concludes in the last lines of his life of Musk. "They can be reckless, cringeworthy, sometimes even toxic. They can also be crazy. Crazy enough to think they can change the world."

The Verge critic Elizabeth Lopatto criticized the book and Isaacson, writing that on the subject of the lack of sourcing for the allegations of Starlink being shut off, that more interviews could have been held but that "Isaacson chose not to" and "rolled over" on social media when Musk contested, while also stating that Isaacson did not dig deeper and left out details to "keep Musk's myth intact."[24]

## Film adaptation[edit]

On November 10, 2023, it was announced that A24 had purchased the film rights for an adaptation to be directed by Darren Aronofsky.[25][26][27]

## See also[edit]

* Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, 2015 biography of Musk
* Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors, 2019 nonfiction book about Musk's management of Tesla
* Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century, 2021 nonfiction book about Musk's management of Tesla

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Lyngaas, Sean (September 7, 2023). "'How am I in this war?': New Musk biography offers fresh details about the billionaire's Ukraine dilemma". CNN. Archived from the original on September 13, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
2. ^ Alamalhodaei, Aria (August 5, 2021). "Walter Isaacson is working on a biography of Elon Musk". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
3. ^ a b Tingley, Anna (September 7, 2023). "Elon Musk Biography Shoots to Top of Bestseller List Ahead of Release". Variety. Archived from the original on September 8, 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
4. ^ a b Tett, Gillian (September 11, 2023). "'He is driven by demons': biographer Walter Isaacson on Elon Musk". Financial Times. Archived from the original on September 12, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
5. ^ Borger, Julian (September 7, 2023). "Elon Musk ordered Starlink to be turned off during Ukraine offensive, book says". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 13, 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
6. ^ Malenko, Anastasiia (September 8, 2023). "Musk Says He Thwarted Attack on Russian Fleet in Ukraine's Crimea". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on September 8, 2023.
7. ^ "Ukraine: Musk defends Starlink decision on Crimea strike". Deutsche Welle. September 9, 2023. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
8. ^ "Ukrainska Pravda: Elon Musk shutting off Starlink communications disrupted Ukrainian attack on Russian navy". Yahoo News. January 1, 2024. Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
9. ^ a b Darcy, Oliver (September 12, 2023). "An explosive Elon Musk biography is just hitting shelves. But the book's acclaimed author is already walking back a major claim | CNN Business". CNN. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
10. ^ Capoot, Ashley (September 9, 2023). "Elon Musk biographer moves to 'clarify' details about Ukraine and Starlink after backlash". CNBC. Archived from the original on September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
11. ^ a b "Opinion | 'How am I in this war?': The untold story of Elon Musk's support for Ukraine". Washington Post. September 7, 2023. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
12. ^ Borger, Julian (September 7, 2023). "Elon Musk ordered Starlink to be turned off during Ukraine offensive, book says". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on September 13, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
13. ^ Lyngaas, Sean (September 7, 2023). "'How am I in this war?': New Musk biography offers fresh details about the billionaire's Ukraine dilemma | CNN Politics". CNN. Archived from the original on September 13, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
14. ^ Brodkin, Jon (September 7, 2023). "Musk refused Ukraine's request to enable Starlink for drone attack [Updated]". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
15. ^ "Буданов прокоментував скандал із відключенням Starlink для ЗСУ". Главком | Glavcom (in Ukrainian). September 10, 2023. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
16. ^ "Буданов прокоментував скандал з Маском та відключенням Starlink". www.unian.ua (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on September 11, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
17. ^ "Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction". The New York Times. October 1, 2023. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
18. ^ "Book Marks reviews of Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson". Book Marks. Archived from the original on November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
19. ^ Szalai, Jennifer (September 9, 2023). "Elon Musk Wants to Save Humanity. The Only Problem: People". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
20. ^ Merchant, Brian (September 11, 2023). "Let's put a stake in the 'great man' biography — starting with Isaacson's 'Elon Musk'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 11, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
21. ^ Shteyngart, Gary (September 13, 2023). "Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson review – arrested development". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
22. ^ Grady, Constance (September 13, 2023). "The big Elon Musk biography asks all the wrong questions". Vox. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
23. ^ Lepore, Jill (September 11, 2023). "How Elon Musk Went from Superhero to Supervillain". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on September 13, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
24. ^ Lopatto, Elizabeth (October 1, 2023). "How the Elon Musk biography exposes Walter Isaacson". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
25. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr (November 10, 2023). "Key To Successful Movies On Tech Moguls Elon Musk & Sam Bankman-Fried? Go Dark & Unauthorized". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
26. ^ Shafer, Ellise (November 10, 2023). "Elon Musk Biopic in the Works at A24 With Darren Aronofsky Set to Direct". Variety. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
27. ^ Vlessing, Etan (November 10, 2023). "Elon Musk Biopic in the Works at A24, Darren Aronofsky to Direct". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.

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