Pride, prejudices, and the nine lives of Musk

Elon Musk's life and business shenanigans make for highly readable books.

- PROSENJIT DATTA

Apart from becoming staggeringly rich—and at one point the world's richest man—he is eccentric, utterly arrogant, super confident in his own abilities, extremely inconsistent and, finally, given to impulsive decisions. He has built a legion of followers who swear by him and are willing to go to war against his perceived enemies after a single post by him on X (earlier Twitter). His personal life and beliefs are even more colorful. And the number of mistakes he has made and wrong gambles he has taken should have made him bankrupt many times over.

Often overlooked is his ability to take the rashest of decisions—and still come out ahead. This has happened far too many times in his career. If this is luck, then he would be one of the luckiest people on earth (and maybe eventually on Mars if he manages to turn it into a habitable colony for billionaires as is his stated ambition). More likely, despite his eccentricities and hubris, he hides a shrewd business brain and the ability to manipulate public officials, investors, and even customers. He can sell outrageous dreams and make a large number of people believe only he can fulfill them.

He has been the subject of many books. The book under review is Hubris Maximus, but in the past year, this reviewer had the pleasure of reading The Founders: The Inside Story of PayPal