This feels more like PR than an accurate biography. It conveniently leaves out the more unflattering parts of Musk and paints an overly positive picture of him as a genius visionary who also happens to be rude. Isaacson does mention his mistakes, but only in passing—almost as if he just wants to acknowledge that Musk makes mistakes, without really examining them.
The entire Twitter acquisition was a complete disaster—an incredibly stupid decision on Musk’s part—yet the book dedicates only a few chapters to it, treating it like an entertaining detour rather than a critical moment in his career.
Do biographers not have a moral responsibility to tell the truth as it is? Or was Isaacson just afraid of Musk’s retaliation? After all, Musk did exactly that to Yoel Roth, who quit Twitter—falsely accusing him in a tweet of promoting pedophilia.
I did enjoy reading this, but I can’t deny that as I learned more about Musk—not just from descriptions, but from his actions—it became clear that this is a highly biased biography. I still recommend the book, but go in knowing it presents a rosy picture that doesn’t quite match reality. If you want a fuller view, including the uglier parts, read Character Limit by Ryan Mac and Kate Conger
This feels more like PR than an accurate biography. It conveniently leaves out the more unflattering parts of Musk and paints an overly positive picture of him as a genius visionary who also happens to be rude. Isaacson does mention his mistakes, but only in passing—almost as if he just wants to acknowledge that Musk makes mistakes, without really examining them.
The entire Twitter acquisition was a complete disaster—an incredibly stupid decision on Musk’s part—yet the book dedicates only a few chapters to it, treating it like an entertaining detour rather than a critical moment in his career.
Do biographers not have a moral responsibility to tell the truth as it is? Or was Isaacson just afraid of Musk’s retaliation? After all, Musk did exactly that to Yoel Roth, who quit Twitter—falsely accusing him in a tweet of promoting pedophilia.
I did enjoy reading this, but I can’t deny that as I learned more about Musk—not just from descriptions, but from his actions—it became clear that this is a highly biased biography. I still recommend the book, but go in knowing it presents a rosy picture that doesn’t quite match reality. If you want a fuller view, including the uglier parts, read Character Limit by Ryan Mac and Kate Conger
