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Rosh's Reviews > Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
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Think Elon Musk and the first few words that would come to mind would be brilliant, innovative, passionate, successful, rich, famous, and so on. But hardly anyone would think eccentric or rude or arrogant. "Elon Musk: SpaceX, Tesla and the Quest for a Fantastic Future" reveals the true Elon Musk like nothing else.
I've admired Elon Musk since a long time, for his brains and lateral ideas vis-à-vis his plans for Mars travel and electric cars. Thus it was not a difficult decision to go for this book. And what an enjoyable ride it has been! I'm more in awe of the man now, though I have also come to realise that I could never work under a boss such as him.
"Elon Musk: SpaceX, Tesla and the Quest for a Fantastic Future" covers the extraordinary life of this talented inventor-cum-businessman in great detail. From his childhood pains to his troubled marriages, from his early ventures to his plans for the future, from his tragedies to his triumphs, nothing has been left unturned. You get a complete inside picture into the story of a man who has achieved such tremendous success with a bit of luck and a whole lot of hard work & sacrifice, and with no compromise on his dreams and beliefs.
Ashlee Vance does a splendid job of uncovering the man behind the myth. As a true biographer should, he has made this book totally unbiased and thoroughly researched. A spade has been called a spade without any sycophantic attitude. And that's what takes this book even further up a notch.
For anyone who enjoys biographies, for anyone who loves business books, for anyone who admires lateral thinking, for anyone who wants to see the private battles fought by the publicly successful, and for anyone who is a fan of Elon Musk, this book is a must.
The only downside of the book has been this creation of a strangely unnatural craving in my heart to own a Tesla car. I have never ever been a car person but the way the Model S has been described in the book, oh my! Hope this idiotic desire dies soon. I really can't afford a Tesla! 😂😂
Disclaimer: In my defence, I read this in 2019, much before I discovered that Elon Musk is a nutcase. I still have good feelings for the book and author Ashlee Vance (I admire his lack of bias in this book even more now. He truly gauged Musk's autocratic behaviour well before the world did!), but all the positive adjectives next to Musk's name have flown away with the little Tweetie bird. Currently, he is just 'X' to me.
****
Join me on the Facebook group, " ", for more reviews and other book-related discussions and fun.
I've admired Elon Musk since a long time, for his brains and lateral ideas vis-à-vis his plans for Mars travel and electric cars. Thus it was not a difficult decision to go for this book. And what an enjoyable ride it has been! I'm more in awe of the man now, though I have also come to realise that I could never work under a boss such as him.
"Elon Musk: SpaceX, Tesla and the Quest for a Fantastic Future" covers the extraordinary life of this talented inventor-cum-businessman in great detail. From his childhood pains to his troubled marriages, from his early ventures to his plans for the future, from his tragedies to his triumphs, nothing has been left unturned. You get a complete inside picture into the story of a man who has achieved such tremendous success with a bit of luck and a whole lot of hard work & sacrifice, and with no compromise on his dreams and beliefs.
Ashlee Vance does a splendid job of uncovering the man behind the myth. As a true biographer should, he has made this book totally unbiased and thoroughly researched. A spade has been called a spade without any sycophantic attitude. And that's what takes this book even further up a notch.
For anyone who enjoys biographies, for anyone who loves business books, for anyone who admires lateral thinking, for anyone who wants to see the private battles fought by the publicly successful, and for anyone who is a fan of Elon Musk, this book is a must.
The only downside of the book has been this creation of a strangely unnatural craving in my heart to own a Tesla car. I have never ever been a car person but the way the Model S has been described in the book, oh my! Hope this idiotic desire dies soon. I really can't afford a Tesla! 😂😂
Disclaimer: In my defence, I read this in 2019, much before I discovered that Elon Musk is a nutcase. I still have good feelings for the book and author Ashlee Vance (I admire his lack of bias in this book even more now. He truly gauged Musk's autocratic behaviour well before the world did!), but all the positive adjectives next to Musk's name have flown away with the little Tweetie bird. Currently, he is just 'X' to me.
****
Join me on the Facebook group, " ", for more reviews and other book-related discussions and fun.
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Reading Progress
June 19, 2019
–
Started Reading
June 19, 2019
– Shelved
July 1, 2019
–
Finished Reading
September 28, 2020
– Shelved as:
4-75-stars
Comments Showing 1-29 of 29 (29 new)
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Lisa O
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rated it 5 stars
Nov 26, 2022 10:31AM
Great review, Rosh! I enjoyed this book as much as you did! And the last paragraph of your review made me laugh, I'm also currently experiencing an unnatural craving to own a Tesla despite my general ambivalence toward flashy cars 🤣
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Lisa wrote: "Great review, Rosh! I enjoyed this book as much as you did! And the last paragraph of your review made me laugh, I'm also currently experiencing an unnatural craving to own a Tesla despite my gener..."Thanks, Lisa! This is such an old review, and hasn't dated well. My feelings for Elon Musk's ambition and intelligence have changed so much in the last couple of years. 😬 But the book is still amazingly written, at least that hasn't changed. Glad you enjoyed it too. Going to read your review now. 💜
Wonderful review, Rosh! Our youngest daughter works at Twitter and so far as survived the purge. Prayers that she continues to do so. He is a very "interesting" man.
Never had this urge to read a non-fiction book!! Wonderful review, Rosh💖
Tweet, Rosh. He might give you a good discount. Give it a shot. :D And excellent review too. You could tweet this too.
Marialyce (absltmom, yaya) wrote: "Wonderful review, Rosh! Our youngest daughter works at Twitter and so far as survived the purge. Prayers that she continues to do so. He is a very "interesting" man."Thanks, Marialyce! Oh dear! These are such shaky times to be working at Twitter. I hope not just that her job is secure but that she doesn't suffer from needless stress due to Musk's ad-hoc policies. :/
Deeksha wrote: "Never had this urge to read a non-fiction book!! Wonderful review, Rosh💖"Thanks so much! I'll just say, read what makes you happy, Deeksha! �
Srivalli wrote: "Tweet, Rosh. He might give you a good discount. Give it a shot. :D And excellent review too. You could tweet this too."
Lol! I might just be banned from Twitter! Not that I am much active there after he took it over. It just feels like a creepy place with Big Boss watching over you. :P
Very old review re - one of my first ever reviews in CalR. :) My feelings about Musk have changed a lot. :D But the book was gold. One of the best biographies I have ever read! If only the author would upgrade it to include the new developments. (or release a sequel, maybe...)
Rosh wrote: "Lol! I might just be banned from Twitter! Not that I am mu..."Ah, old review. Twitter is always creepy. It was earlier too.
Maybe... that should be fun to read. :D
Srivalli wrote: "Twitter is always creepy. It was earlier too. "I joined Twitter only to get vaccine schedule updates! Never active there, and now, post vaccination, I don't know what I am doing there! 😂
Excellent review Rosh! He seems like an interesting person even tho he wouldnt be your kinda boss lol. Hahahah now you are craving a Tesla ? I am not a car person so much myself but I feel like I would develop the same kind of craving reading this. 😂
I have to admit at one time I found him as fascinating. Now with what he’s doing on Twitter, he repulses me…lol
Rosh wrote: "I joined Twitter only to get vaccine schedule updates! Never active there, and now, post vaccination, I don't know what I am doing there! 😂"😂😂
Haha! The last para! You swooning about the car makes me want to pick up the book and read those parts..
Jenny wrote: "Excellent review Rosh! He seems like an interesting person even tho he wouldnt be your kinda boss lol. Hahahah now you are craving a Tesla ? I am not a car person so much myself but I feel like I..."
Thanks, Jenny! He WAS an interesting person for sure! Now he is just crazy! :D
Whoever reads this book will want a Tesla. ;)
Jen wrote: "I have to admit at one time I found him as fascinating. Now with what he’s doing on Twitter, he repulses me…lol"Right with you, Jen! This is a review from 2019, and I am cringing at my opinion. He went bonkers after this. :D
The book is good though. It just needs an upgrade. I hope Ashlee Vance is listening!
Diane wrote: "Excellent review, Rosh! ;)"Thanks, Diane! :)
Veda wrote: "Haha! The last para! You swooning about the car makes me want to pick up the book and read those parts.."Lol! You just google a pic of the Tesla and its features and see for yourself, Veda! If I am swooning so much, actual car lovers would be totally infatuated at first sight! :D
“But hardly anyone would think eccentric or rude or arrogant.�This made me laugh so hard. Oh, how times have changed.
Great review, Rosh. Glad you enjoyed it :)
Thibault wrote: "“But hardly anyone would think eccentric or rude or arrogant.�This made me laugh so hard. Oh, how times have changed.
Great review, Rosh. Glad you enjoyed it :)"
Haha, all it took is three years. This review makes me cringe now. :D
Hi Rosh - just happened to come across your review and I don’t even know how I ended up here..?! Seriously, no clue! I don’t normally, usually, not ever, never get political on GR BUT, what the First Buddy did to Twitter looks like small potatoes compared to what he’s doing now to the U.S. I’m horrified! Great review!🩷
Terrie wrote: "Hi Rosh - just happened to come across your review and I don’t even know how I ended up here..?! Seriously, no clue! I don’t normally, usually, not ever, never get political on GR BUT, what the Fir..."Oh Terrie, the gushiness in this review truly embarasses me now. But I read the book in 2019, much before all his nonsense began. Ashlee Vance does a great job of showing Musk's autocratic tendencies even in this book, so I hope he can write an updated version.
Every day when I hear of something new that the current govt of the US is doing, I feel like I am living in some kind of dystopian universe. I hope the US can recover from this destructive closure of so many important federal agencies. I too don't like to get political on GR, but some topics compel us to break our silence.
Sending best wishes and hugs! This shall pass soon! (Fingers crossed he isn't able to edit the US Constitution to allow additional terms to presidents.)
Glad you enjoyed this one. Clearly he’s gotten to where he is by his lateral thinking. I guess it’s just deciding which trajectories actually merit further investigation�
Le sigh� my first, typo-laden response turned in to a real Musk rant. Suffice it to say, excellent review, awful subject. Maybe in a few years, I’ll chuckle at my raised blood pressure and anger that he has been given carte blange access to all levels of govt. I sure hope I’m overreacting! 😎
Christy wrote: "Glad you enjoyed this one. Clearly he’s gotten to where he is by his lateral thinking. I guess it’s just deciding which trajectories actually merit further investigation�"The thinking has turned from lateral to ridiculous, Christy. I can't believe a techie doesn't understand the basics of data and databases. He has messed up his entire reputation by everything that has happened since Jan 25th. 😑
Heidi wrote: "Le sigh� my first, typo-laden response turned in to a real Musk rant. Suffice it to say, excellent review, awful subject. Maybe in a few years, I’ll chuckle at my raised blood pressure and anger th..."I can understand, Heidi! Sending you big hugs from all the way here! Every day, I read some or the other ridiculous decree that has come from the US administration. I keep thinking that it cannot get worse, and surprise surprise, it gets worse every day! I can't believe the fellow who called Obama an outsider has no issues giving sensitive federal data to an actual unelected outsider. Kakistocracy + Plutocracy in action.
"be wary of placing our lives in the hands of a genius." a. einstein.
Alan wrote: ""be wary of placing our lives in the hands of a genius." a. einstein."Indeed! Then again, the other rich fellow he's working with is not a genius, but he is also making a global mess. So perhaps genius alone isn't to blame.
Were it not for my respect for Ashlee Vance's hard work, I would have downgraded my rating to 1 star.
