I wanted to comment on the presentation of this biography by Walter Issacson as I found it to be exemplary, along with the other biographies that he as written. It is meticulously researched and his own private commentary is revealing as well.
It has become startingly clear to me now what drives Elon Musk, which is both his genius and his demons. While I certainly applaud the breathtaking scope of his relentless drive, I am also equally concerned at the detritus of failed and lost friendships and relationships that he has left behind him.
Does the end justify the means? Does his bullying and seemingly impervious attitude to the lives and feelings of his employees justify his tyranny? I don't believe it does. You can't espouse freedom of expression as a high value on a platform like X and yet curtail those freedoms in others who are driving your success. He would be nothing without those that have worked so tirelessly for him, and yet he feels nothing for them when it is expedient to fire them once they have served their usefulness.
I don't take anything away from him, but at the end of the day, he alone is responsible for his behavior. He needs to move on from the bullying he faced both as a child in the playground and from his father if he is truly to succeed at becoming an authentic, compassionate and caring human being.
But maybe he doesn't want to change. Some of the world's most wealthy people are the most miserable. There is no correlation between material wealth and happiness, at all. On the contrary, we find that those who hold power and accrue wealth at the expense of another are often the most tormented.
At the end of the day, he ultimately hurts only one person with his unkindness and darkness. Himself. Perhaps it is self-hatred that causes him to lash out at others which gives him a predictable response in return. Perhaps, in his heart, he does not feel worthy.
And yet, I root for him, with both fondness and compassion, and feel that his future success depends solely on his own ability to quell and dislodge the demons that he willingly allows to consume him.
It has become startingly clear to me now what drives Elon Musk, which is both his genius and his demons. While I certainly applaud the breathtaking scope of his relentless drive, I am also equally concerned at the detritus of failed and lost friendships and relationships that he has left behind him.
Does the end justify the means? Does his bullying and seemingly impervious attitude to the lives and feelings of his employees justify his tyranny? I don't believe it does. You can't espouse freedom of expression as a high value on a platform like X and yet curtail those freedoms in others who are driving your success. He would be nothing without those that have worked so tirelessly for him, and yet he feels nothing for them when it is expedient to fire them once they have served their usefulness.
I don't take anything away from him, but at the end of the day, he alone is responsible for his behavior. He needs to move on from the bullying he faced both as a child in the playground and from his father if he is truly to succeed at becoming an authentic, compassionate and caring human being.
But maybe he doesn't want to change. Some of the world's most wealthy people are the most miserable. There is no correlation between material wealth and happiness, at all. On the contrary, we find that those who hold power and accrue wealth at the expense of another are often the most tormented.
At the end of the day, he ultimately hurts only one person with his unkindness and darkness. Himself. Perhaps it is self-hatred that causes him to lash out at others which gives him a predictable response in return. Perhaps, in his heart, he does not feel worthy.
And yet, I root for him, with both fondness and compassion, and feel that his future success depends solely on his own ability to quell and dislodge the demons that he willingly allows to consume him.