George Ilian - Elon Musk: 50 Life and Business Lessons from Elon Musk

Table of Contents

50 Life and Business Lessons from

Elon Musk

Written by: George Ilian

Cover Illustration: Iren Flowers

Copyright 2015

All Rights Reserved

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Warning-Disclaimer

The purpose of this book is to educate and entertain. The author or publisher does not guarantee that anyone following the techniques, suggestions, tips, ideas, or strategies will become successful. The author and publisher shall have neither liability or responsibility to anyone with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.

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Introduction

Whatever skeptics have said cant be done, Elon has gone out and made real. Remember in the 1990s, when we would call strangers and give them our credit-card numbers? Elon dreamed up a little thing called PayPal. His Tesla Motors and SolarCity companies are making a clean, renewable-energy future a realityhis SpaceX [is] reopening space for explorationits a paradox that Elon is working to improve our planet at the same time hes building spacecraft to help us leave it.

Richard Branson

It wouldnt be too much of a stretch to describe Elon Musk - one of the most imaginative entrepreneurs of the 21st century - as a living legend. Richard Branson has espoused his virtues, he has been favourably compared to visionary American industrialists such Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller, and when Jon Favreau, the producer of Iron Man , was making the film, he even sent Robert Downey, Jr. to spend time with Musk in the SpaceX factory so that he could get some inspiration for his character.

But for Musk, at least, it is not all about him. The estimated $12.9 billion he has made in business are almost a side show: he is bored of journalists taking an interest in him, and wants to talk far more about his work, his companies, and what they are doing to change the world. In order to get under the skin of his success (and, one hopes, to be able to replicate it), you need to be able to understand two things: WHY Musk is doing what he is doing; and HOW he is able to do these things. He thinks, and does, things differently to everyone else, and thats why studying his lessons is invaluable.

This book - part biography, part self-help tool - is intended to inform you about the life, ideas, approach and work of Elon Musk to date. There is, after all, likely to be much more to come from this extraordinarily innovative entrepreneur. We have endeavoured to analyse his actions, strengths and weaknesses, and to summarise them into 50 short, memorable lessons that you can action in your own personal and commercial life. We cant guarantee that you will be as successful as Musk, but you will gain a level of insight. The book is designed to be easily digestible by a layman reader, but also to have sufficient detail that those with a specific interest in one or more of Musks business, or in his unique style of leadership, will also be able to take away something of value.

The first section of this book examines Musks family background and education. This is to help you understand where the man is coming from, what it is that makes him the man he is. There are certainly a few indications of his early precocity and, indeed, virtuosity, and you will recognise the names of several key characters who have remained with him into adulthood, contributing notably to his success.

Lesson 1: Success is not about an individual. It is also about the team that has got them into the position where they can succeed.

We then look at Musks business endeavours in turn, starting with Zip2 and x.com (later PayPal), the two internet start-ups that catapulted Musk from being an ordinary geek in Silicon Valley to being a multi millionaire who everyone else wanted to work with. There is substantial coverage of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, probably the two most exciting and groundbreaking of Musks enterprises, but also of SolarCity and the Hyperloop, an idea that seems to have had its origins in the science fiction obsession of Musks early childhood.

In the final section of the book we examine the rewards and accolades that Musk has received, his politics and beliefs, and his private life. Although the public persona is one of great confidence and success, Musk has known pain and tragedy too. His personal relationships have been scrutinised by the press, and have at a times fallen victim to his complete addiction to his work, to his wealth, and to his ego. Musk has his challenges in that regard, and so here the lessons you can learn might well be about what not to do, rather than simply emulating his behaviour.

Background and Education

Born on 28 June, 1971, Elon Musk is one of the youngest, and most dynamic, of the worlds self-made billionaires. He is of mixed ancestry - his father, though born in South Africa, is of British and Pennsylvania Dutch origin, and his mother is a Canadian - and he was born in Pretoria, South Africa, the eldest of three children. His siblings are his brother, fellow entrepreneur Kimbal Musk, and a sister, Tosca Musk. Their parents, Errol and Maye Musk, divorced in 1980, after which Musk lived mostly with his father.