Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk hasn’t gotten stellar opinions, however The Verge’s actually will get to the guts of what is flawed with it: Musk (and cronies) had been Isaacson’s key sources and he trusted them fully, however they do not care what’s true or not. In consequence, Isaacson was doomed to finish up doing precisely what he did: publicly retracting one thing Musk informed him as soon as Musk determined it made him look unhealthy. Elizabeth Lopatto writes that Musk “loves to inform hilarious lies” and Isaacson merely did not care to search for any context about them past what Musk supplied.
The biographer has swallowed Musk’s hype right here wholesale. However I bear in mind the times of the “alien dreadnought,” the guarantees for swappable batteries that by no means materialized, and the numerous different issues Musk mentioned that turned out to be, at finest, exaggeration. In 10 years, the large revelation that Musk switched off the Ukrainian web entry throughout a battle will not be probably the most embarrassing factor Isaacson has dedicated to the web page. Isaacson wraps up the e book by ponderously questioning if Musk’s achievements are doable with out his unhealthy conduct:
“Would a restrained Musk accomplish as a lot as a Musk unbound? Is being unfiltered and untethered integral to who he’s? Might you get the rockets to orbit or the transition to electrical autos with out accepting all facets of him, hinged and unhinged? Typically nice innovators are risk-seeking man-children who resist potty coaching.”
This appears to me to be the flawed set of questions. Listed below are another ones: If Musk had been extra receptive to criticism, would his corporations be in higher form?
It is as if Isaacson is a creature of the floating world, a spot the place highly effective, beguiling, perfectly-formed tales are all that issues. Some commented that he debased himself in publicly recanting the Ukraine Starlink stuff within the e book. Some commented that his repeated altering of the story uncovered himself as complicit in an ongoing means of laundering no matter Musk tells him to say. What it’s important to perceive, although, is that the purpose of being within the floating world is that it would not matter what anybody exterior it thinks.
