Elon Musk

More than a decade ago, my wife and I were traveling in New York. While waiting to cross the street at a crosswalk, a sleek car I’d never seen before glided past us. It was a Model S with a Tesla “T” logo on the back. I remember thinking, “Ah, so that’s the Tesla I’ve heard about on the news,” and I stared at it like it was some futuristic gadget. That sense of wonder has since become part of everyday life. Tesla electric vehicles are now a common sight, and Tesla is reportedly one of the most popular U.S. stocks among Korean investors. Naturally, my curiosity about the man behind the company—Elon Musk—grew. So when I heard that Walter Isaacson was publishing a new biography titled Elon Musk, I knew I had to read it.

While I was intrigued by Elon Musk as a figure, my expectations were even higher because of the author, Walter Isaacson. I first encountered his work years ago through Steve Jobs. Even before that, Isaacson had established a reputation for deeply researched biographies like Einstein and Leonardo da Vinci, skillfully uncovering the personal stories behind public figures through interviews and detailed investigation. His mastery is on full display once again in Elon Musk.

Elon Musk’s life is a relentless series of bold ventures. It began with the success of Zip2, a service providing online maps and business directories. He then shook up the digital payments industry with PayPal. Using the wealth from those successes, he joined Tesla, a then-fledgling company, and led a revolution in electric vehicles. At the same time, he was pushing the boundaries of space exploration with SpaceX. And that’s not all—he’s launched ventures like SolarCity in solar energy and The Boring Company in tunnel construction. More recently, he founded Neuralink, aiming to connect the human brain to computers.

Most recently, amid much controversy, Musk acquired Twitter and rebranded it as X. Many interpret this as the realization of his long-standing ambition to merge finance and social networking—an idea that originated with X.com, his project before PayPal. Building one successful company is no small feat, yet Musk has repeatedly founded companies that chase what seem like impossible goals. In this sense, he resembles more of an explorer than a conventional entrepreneur.

One of the most striking aspects of the book is how similar Elon Musk is to Steve Jobs, another of Isaacson’s biographical subjects. Both share a ruthless drive for simplicity—removing unnecessary elements to an extreme degree. Whether it’s SpaceX rockets or Tesla cars, Musk’s obsessive minimalism strongly echoes Jobs’s design philosophy at Apple. They also both exhibit unwavering belief in their vision and a refusal to compromise.

That said, there are notable differences. Jobs, influenced by the counterculture and hippie movement, placed heavy emphasis on inspiration and intuition. Musk, by contrast, approaches innovation through the lens of physics and rigorous experimentation, giving his work a more analytical and systematic feel.

One pattern stood out to me as I read this book. The basic and recurring narrative structure can be summed up as: “Musk gives an order, and employees follow.” Those who oppose his directives are, with few exceptions, either fired or eventually leave the company.

This made me reflect on the essence of human labor in the age of artificial intelligence. As AI increasingly takes over various tasks, what remains fundamentally human may be the capacity to set a vision and direction, to take responsibility, and to make decisive calls. In that light, Musk’s role as the visionary and decision-maker may symbolize the final, indispensable function left to humans in the AI era.

Walter Isaacson’s Elon Musk is essential reading for anyone curious about the vision and direction behind companies like SpaceX and Tesla. It’s also a rewarding read for those who have wanted to understand Musk beyond media gossip and fragmented YouTube content. Above all, the book offers a compelling portrait of someone who relentlessly pursues his vision—even through intense failures and successes, and sometimes in a fractured mental state. It’s a powerful invitation to reconsider what true entrepreneurial spirit looks like in today’s world.