Elon Musk isn’t afraid to fire people, he once called Donald Trump “one of the world’s best bullshitters,” and he craves drama.
That’s according to the 2023 biography, “Elon Musk,” written by the journalist Walter Isaacson. Musk allowed Isaacson to shadow him for two years and took part in “scores of interviews and late-night conversations,” Isaacson wrote. The billionaire Tesla CEO also urged his colleagues, family members and ex-wives to speak to his biographer.
Isaacson’s portrait of the world’s richest person includes intimate details of Musk’s personal life, including how he was bullied as a kid and about the death of his firstborn child, likely from sudden infant death syndrome. The biography also portrays Musk as a hard-charging boss who can be ruthless in his drive for efficiency.
Musk’s character and management style are now directly relevant to a broad swath of workers beyond those who work in his private companies. With Musk preparing to take the helm of President-elect Donald Trump’s new “Department of Government Efficiency” aimed at slashing the size of the federal bureaucracy, he now stands to sway the incoming administration on everything from slashing regulations to firing government employees.
