University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Elon Musk
A review of

Elon Musk

How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is Shaping Our Future

Ashlee Vance • Virgin Books • 2015

Looking at Musk

by David Meyer

Ashlee Vance takes a long, perhaps too admiring look at Elon Musk, Paypal, Tesla and SpaceX. 

Bloomberg Businessweek reporter Ashlee Vance chronicles Elon Musk’s life and career – his youth, Paypal, Zip2, Tesla and SpaceX – and how public perceptions of Musk have shifted over time. Vance’s description illuminates how Musk’s singular personality and inventiveness could disrupt any industry – and most social contexts.

Family

Musk was born on June 28, 1971 in South Africa. From a young age, he read compulsively. When his parents’ marriage fell apart, Musk moved in with his father, an emotionally cold and controlling engineer. He made the lives of Elon, his brother Kimbal and their sister Tosca miserable.

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