How Elon Musk became successful: key stages
The book’s presentation by Walter Isaacson, whose only character is the businessman Elon Musk, took place in January 2024. The author explores the secret of the success of Musk’s eccentric personality, analysing his life from childhood to the present day. This is not Isaacson’s first celebrity biography. He has written books on Steve Jobs, George Washington and Henry Kissinger.
The businessman’s first steps to success
According to the author, Elon realised early on that to be successful, you have to choose a direction and stick to it. While studying at the University of Pennsylvania, the young man identified three promising areas. At the time, he believed they had great potential for development:
– the Internet
– the renewable energy sector;
– space travel.
These were the areas on which the businessman focused his efforts, and he was not wrong.
Elon’s first successful project was the PayPal payment system in 2000. Musk merged his start-up with Peter Thiel and Max Levchin’s project. After 2 years, they sold the company to eBay for 1.5 billion dollars.
In 2003, the businessman invested in an innovative project – the production of electric cars. This is how Musk created the Tesla Corporation, with a market capitalisation of more than US$1 trillion. This makes it the most expensive car manufacturer in the world.
Almost simultaneously with Tesla, Musk founded SpaceX as an alternative to government agencies. The company specialises in building spacecraft and providing various types of aeronautical services. In the future, SpaceX plans to offer trips to the Earth’s orbit and Mars.
In this way, the entrepreneur has achieved the goals he set in his youth. His companies are leaders in the most promising sectors of the market.
Philosophy of the entrepreneur
It is safe to say that Elon Musk is a complex personality with extraordinary views on life. He actively supports freedom of speech and against any form of censorship. The businessman acquired the social network Twitter (X) to make people aware of different points of view. The new owner immediately began making significant changes to the platform, which affected its shares. However, Musk is not worried. He sees enormous potential for the platform’s development.
Elon is also an active supporter of technological progress in all its forms. In his view, the future of humanity will inevitably have to do with the development of artificial intelligence. The businessman funds AI-based developments, and his start-up company, Neuralink, is involved in biotechnology research. The company develops and tests neural implants implanted in the brain. They should become a link between the brain and the computer and help treat diseases.
“Demon mode”
Claire Boucher, the mother of Musk’s three children, coined and described “demon mode”. According to her, a businessman enters this state when immersed in a task. It manifests as a terrifying concentration on a particular activity. At the same time, the people around him feel Elon’s distance and coldness. In such moments, he can say unpleasant things to his opponent but will not even remember it.
This “demon mode” helped the entrepreneur deal with the problems that arose at Tesla in 2018. Musk had to apply for a loan and sign an agreement with Daimler. However, he managed to overcome the difficulties, and in 2020, the company became the most expensive in its sector.
According to the latest estimates, Elon Musk’s fortune is almost US$231 billion.
