Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson - my fastest read

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This book is written in such a style that it moves fast, small sub-chapters, each chapter focused on a topic from people to companies to technology to family to everything.

This blog post is just a few highlights from the book that I enjoyed and want to capture for eternity.


I will let everyone come to their own conclusions about his personality.

My fascination is for the products, companies and brands he has built. The book obviously is a non-fiction but reads like a fiction. Isaacson had a front-row seat to unfiltered information and interviews from almost anyone who had access to Elon, present and past, including Elon.

Elon doesn't sleep much, doesn't give importance to material things for himself, works seven days a week and amps things up to get things done or pushes things faster. His life reminded me of the movie 'Everything Everywhere All At Once". He creates multiple unique and disruptive companies, he has many relationships, many kids, makes decisions fast, and there is a huge part of his personal habits, behaviors, family, friends, and more. 

A few things I made note of, which can be applied to any industry, any business and any product. are below.

First Principles Approach:

The first principles approach, also known as "reasoning from first principles", is a method of problem-solving that involves breaking down complex issues into their most basic parts, and then creating new solutions from scratch. The idea is to ground yourself in the foundational truths and build up from there. 

This is his secret to his companies including SpaceX, Tesla, etc. 

Musk's Rules for Rocket Building:

  1. Question every cost
  2. Have a maniacal sense of urgency
  3. Learn by failing
  4. Improvise
Elon's Algorithm:
  1. Question every requirement
  2. Delete any part or process you can
  3. Simplify and optimize 
  4. Accelerate cycle time
  5. Automate 

Idiot Index:

How much more costly a finished product was than the cost of its basic materials. If the product had a high idiot index, its cost could be reduced significantly by devising more efficient manufacturing techniques. 

Yes, I was seated next to a "door plug"




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