Elon Musk: Tesla,

SpaceX, and the

Quest for a
Fantastic Future
by Ashlee Vance
MADE BY BLYSTSIV OSTAP
“If the rules are such that you
can’t make progress, then you
have to fight the rules.”

— ELON MUSK (FROM ELON MUSK: TESLA, SPACEX, AND

THE QUEST FOR A FANTASTIC FUTURE BY ASHLEE VANCE)
 Ashlee Vance is an award winning
Ashlee Vance feature writer for Bloomberg
Businessweek magazine. Vance is also
(born 1977) is an American
the host of the "Hello World" TV show.
business columnist and author. Previously, he worked for The New York
Times and The Register.
His biography of Elon Musk, entitled
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the
Quest for a Fantastic Future, was
released on May 19, 2015. Vance
interviewed nearly three hundred
people and spent more than 50 hours
talking to Mask to be the first to talk
about the secrets of life and success of
such a famous man.
Elon Musk
He is the founder, CEO and Chief
Engineer at SpaceX; early-stage
investor, CEO and Product Architect of
(born June 28, 1971) is a Canadian
investor, businessman, inventor, and Tesla, Inc.; founder of The Boring
engineer
Company; co-founder of Neuralink and
OpenAI. With an estimated net worth of
nearly US$300 billion, Musk is the
richest person in the world as of
November 2021.
Musk is the man behind big
companies, each of which has sent
shock waves throughout American
business and industry.
THE BOOK
“Elon Musk” is the first official
biography of the creator of SolarCity,
SpaceX and Tesla, based on over 50
hours of conversation time between
author Ashlee Vance and Musk himself,
highlighting his complicated childhood,
the way he makes decisions and
navigates the world, and how he
managed to disrupt multiple industries,
all with the goal of saving humanity.
Childhood
Elon’s difficult childhood shaped the man we see today.
Growing up in South Africa, Elon had very few friends. On top
of this, he had a complicated relationship with his father, Errol.
After his parents separated, Elon decided to live with his
father. However, this decision led to a problematic young life
for Elon. As well as a difficult life at home, Elon was also
bullied by his classmates because he was more intelligent than
most of them.
Even in high school, he already had strong opinions on
solar power, moving to other planets, paperless banking, and
space rockets. On top of this, during this time, Elon started to
learn more about entrepreneurship. He created his own video
game, Blastar, which he sold for $500 when he was just 12
years old.
College

Elon enrolled at Queen’s University. Rather than just focusing

on studying, Elon also engaged with public speaking contests
and met Justine Wilson. She would later become his first wife
and the mother of his six sons.
Elon realized his dream of moving to America when he
transferred to the University of Pennsylvania after two years at
Queen’s. This is where his small project took place. He and his
friends had parties and charged $ 5 each for admission. The
biggest party covered his rent.
First Start-Up
Elon created his first company in 1995, straight out of
college. He and his brother founded the Global Link
Information Network. This company would later be
renamed Zip2. The USP of this company was that they
guided businesses that are struggling to understand how to
set up and use the internet. Although this idea would
eventually make Elon and his brother millions of dollars,
they were not immediately successful. As the internet was
a completely new concept.
Zip2 saw a considerable growth opportunity when, in
February 1999, PC-maker Compaq Computer offered
$307 million in cash for the company.
PayPal
After selling Zip2 for such a large sum, Elon had started
to develop a strong reputation. Hence, he was able to partner
with Barclays for his next business venture, X.com.
X.com was around before Paypal. Musk was now in
charge of a company where most of his employees wanted the
company’s PayPal side to be advanced. In contrast, Elon
wanted to focus more on X.com. These internal rifts led to
computer systems failing and their website crashing on a
weekly basis. X.com’s executives asked the company board to
demote Musk. Subsequently, the company’s name was also
changed from X.com to PayPal. The company excelled after
this, though. In July 2002, the company was sold to eBay for
$1.5 billion. From this, Musk received $250 million.
SpaceX

Musk has always had a passion for space travel. Just

before PayPal was sold, Elon moved from near Silicon
Valley to Los Angeles.
In June 2002, Elon started Space Exploration
Technologies, also known as SpaceX. SpaceX had the
mission of becoming the South-West Airlines of Space.
SpaceX launched its first rocket just four years after the
company was founded.
Elon still has big plans for space travel, and his
determination eventually made SpaceX a success.
Tesla
Not many people know that Elon was not actually the
founder of Tesla. Instead, Martin Eberhard and Marc
Tarpenning founded Tesla Motors in 2003. However, no
venture capitalists were willing to invest due to the
unattractive style of the car. Despite this, Elon saw the
potential in this company. Therefore, he chose to invest
$6.5 million and become the sole shareholder and
chairman.
Tesla had slow growth at first but has now become
one of the world’s most successful companies. Tesla’s
Model S is the most influential of Tesla’s cars, with its
release in 2012 changing the way we interact with cars.
SolarCity

SolarCity is a venture that Musk had been passionate

about for many years before starting the company. It is a
company of selecting the best solar panels, purchasing
them for individuals/companies, and installing them.
Elon helped his cousins, who would also be involved
in the business, to develop the business plan for SolarCity.
Plus, he became the chairman and largest shareholder. By
the time Ashlee Vance was writing this book, SolarCity
had become the largest installer of solar panels in the US
and was worth $7 billion.
 Elon Musk is an innovator and
somebody who has always been
Conclusion thinking above-and-beyond what is
realistic. As well as a new venture,
Musk also has big plans for his other
companies.
All his life and achievements are
collected in this book, which became a
bestseller, which is not surprising.
Thanks to Elon Max, the future can be
innovative and environmentally
friendly.
Thank you for your attention!