Review: Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance

Who is Ashlee Vance?

Ashlee Vance is a prominent reporter in the Technology space, both in Silicon Valley and the East Coast. Due to his reputation as a reporter, he was granted exclusive access to Elon Musk’s inner-circle. This account describes Musk’s life and his ascent to greatness. If you want to understand the path to success, you need to study Elon Musk. From his childhood in South Africa to his ventures in Paypal, Tesla, and SpaceX, this book highlights how Musk beat the odds to reach super-stardom. In our review of Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance, we will talk about how Elon Musk is willing to sacrifice his reputation, personal wealth, time, and energy to build the future he wants to see.

Review Of What You’ll Learn From Elon Musk

  1. An up-close and personal understanding of how the brain of Elon Musk works.

“’I would like to die thinking that humanity has a bright future’, he said. ‘If we can solve sustainable energy and be well on our way to becoming a multi-planetary species with a self-sustaining civilization on another planet-to cope with a worst-case scenario happening and extinguishing human consciousness—then,’ and here he paused for a moment, ‘I think that would be really good.’” (Vance, 5) 

Both his desire and willingness to tackle some of the biggest problems facing mankind have turned Musk into something of a “deity” in Silicon Valley and amongst other influential CEOs.

  1. Risk and sacrifice are both necessary and essential to success

The amount of personal risk that Elon endured in order to pursue the ventures he believed would succeed is remarkable. The following quote by him has been widely used as an example of the risk one takes when pursuing their own company:

“My proceeds from Paypal were $180M. I put $100M into SpaceX, $70M into Tesla, and $10M into Solar City.”

  1. You’re not doing enough until you seem obsessed to observers.

“I’m more convinced than ever that Musk is, and has always been, a man on a quest, and that his brand of quest is far more fantastic and consuming than anything most of us will ever experience.” (Vance, 363)

Elon Musk decided what his life’s purpose was and has been fighting for it ever since. While he has become a polarizing figure in mainstream media, he is revered amongst his contemporaries due to his relentlessness, focus, and perseverance to reaching his goals. The road to extraordinary results will seem out of the ordinary to those around you, embrace the judgment, and move forward.

Final Verdict: 8.2/10

We should all thank Ashlee Vance for his commitment to great reporting because this account was masterful. He was granted special access to one of the world’s most influential entrepreneurs and we all have a better understanding of what it takes to get there because of it. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Elon Musk and his ventures, anyone who wants to solve the world’s biggest problems, and to anyone who is facing an uphill climb to where they want to be in life. Use this book as motivation and as proof that it’s possible. You can purchase Elon Musk, by Ashlee Vance on Amazon.

Also, if you enjoyed this, you’ll love my review of The 10X Rule, by Grant Cardone.