Book · 2023 · Economic history
Elon Musk
#120 of 16,668 books, ranked by how many different people bring it up on podcasts
- mentions
- 22
- people
- 18
- podcasts
- 14
- episodes
- 20
- recommendations
- 6
It's a must-read for everybody regardless of what discipline or pursuit you're in.
What they say about it
- Reading it currently“reading his biography right now”5

The best things said about it
Um I uh late to but just finished the Musk book which was phenomenal. I thought um the biography the one. Yeah, I know I'm late, but it was great.
If you're not familiar with this, you can read like Elon's the the the the book that Walter Isaacson wrote on Elon cuz it kind of goes through a lot of the crises he ran into in both SpaceX and Tesla.
Ben Horowitz The Ben & Marc Show · May 2024 I thought the Walter Isaacson book, it got a mixed reception, but I thought if you want to study the Elon method a bit, it was actually pretty useful for that, the recent biography.
John Collison Cheeky Pint · Oct 2025 If you read the Walter Isaacson book on Elon Musk his poker strategy is literally going all in every hand until he runs out of money or wins it all.
Nate Silver Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova · Aug 2024 And you've just described the entire theme of the Elon Musk book, which is darkness and lightness woven together, each coming from the same place, sometimes driving people crazy, sometimes driving them to do things they didn't think they'd be able to do.
I've been reading the uh Walter Isaacs and Elon Musk book which is uh in their assembly line built it and then realized that a lot of the automation they had created actually was slowing things down.
Tommy Vietor Pod Save America · Sep 2023 Where and when it comes up
Mentions per year
How it comes up
18 people who brought it up
Lex Fridman2 mentions · 1 rec- Steven Bartlett2 mentions · 1 rec
Ben Horowitz1 mention · 1 rec- Joumana Khatib1 mention · 1 rec
Patrick Bet-David1 mention · 1 rec- Phil Deutsch1 mention · 1 rec
- Gilbert Cruz2 mentions
- Craig Clemens1 mention
- Ellie Yerman1 mention
- Emily Jashinsky1 mention
Joe Rogan1 mention
John Collison1 mention
Why people recommend it
Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson is a comprehensive biography that chronicles the tumultuous life, intense work ethic, and complex personality of the high-profile entrepreneur behind companies like SpaceX, Tesla, and X. The book has drawn significant attention across various podcasts. Phil Deutsch described the biography as phenomenal on All-In, while Joumana Khatib introduced it on The Book Review as one of the major non-fiction releases of the season. Ben Horowitz recommended the work on The Ben & Marc Show to help founders understand the severe crises, manufacturing hurdles, and fundraising challenges that hardware startup CEOs frequently face. Steven Bartlett praised the book on The Diary Of A CEO for its unmatched narrative depth and insight, calling it a mandatory read for anyone regardless of their professional discipline. Patrick Bet-David and Lex Fridman also strongly recommended the biography to their audiences. Conversely, the book has faced critical scrutiny; Ellie Yerman discussed it on Behind the Bastards to counter public narratives surrounding family dynamics. Additionally, John Collison mentioned the biography on Cheeky Pint as a useful resource for studying modern management techniques. Across these discussions, commentators highlighted the book's thorough examination of relentless innovation alongside the intense personal costs of extreme ambition.
Every mention
Lex Fridman I highly recommend people read his new book on Elon. 2
“Walter Isaacson, in his new biography of you, wrote about your difficult childhood. Will you ever find forgiveness in your heart for everything that has happened to you during that period of your life?”
“I highly recommend people read his new book on Elon.”
Steven Bartlett There'll probably never be a a book ever that comes close to the detail and depth of insight and understand… 2
“And you've just described the entire theme of the Elon Musk book, which is darkness and lightness woven together, each coming from the same place, sometimes driving people crazy, sometimes driving them to do things they didn't think they'd be able to do.”
“There'll probably never be a a book ever that comes close to the detail and depth of insight and understanding and storytelling which is so unbelievably as this one that's written on Elon Musk. So it's it's a must-read for everybody regardless of what discipline or pursuit you're in.”
Ben Horowitz If you're not familiar with this, you can read like Elon's the the the the book that Walter Isaacson wrote… 1
“If you're not familiar with this, you can read like Elon's the the the the book that Walter Isaacson wrote on Elon cuz it kind of goes through a lot of the crises he ran into in both SpaceX and Tesla.”
Joumana Khatib the next book is one of the biggest non-fiction releases of the entire season yes this is a hotly anticipat… 1
“the next book is one of the biggest non-fiction releases of the entire season yes this is a hotly anticipated biography of Elon Musk by Walter isacon”
Patrick Bet-David Last night, I'm really challenging one of my kids hardcore right now, and my wife and I are having a conver… 1
“Last night, I'm really challenging one of my kids hardcore right now, and my wife and I are having a conversation 'cause we're reading Musk's new book, phenomenal book by the way. I don't know if you've gone through it yet.”
Phil Deutsch um I uh late to but just finished the Musk book which was phenomenal. I thought um the biography the one. Y… 1
“um I uh late to but just finished the Musk book which was phenomenal. I thought um the biography the one. Yeah, I know I'm late, but it was great.”
Gilbert Cruz and I read big chunks of this very large nude biography of Elon Musk by Walter isacson we are not going to… 2
“and I read big chunks of this very large nude biography of Elon Musk by Walter isacson we are not going to have Elon Musk in a future episode”
“the cover photograph of the Elon Musk book is essentially the same angle the same Fronton angle with a black backgrounds to have a white background as the Steve Jobs book”
Craig Clemens Right now, I'm reading Elon Musk's biography; it's great. That's why I just told you about that, Sean. 1
“Right now, I'm reading Elon Musk's biography; it's great. That's why I just told you about that, Sean.”
Ellie Yerman Well, and especially to like counter the narrative of her life that's been driven by Walter Isacson's 2023… 1
“Well, and especially to like counter the narrative of her life that's been driven by Walter Isacson's 2023 biography, which is like so hostile and and to have like a prominent a like a prominent biography like that, like trying to make a narrative out of out of your existence”
Emily Jashinsky and I do think that that I'm reading his biography right now uh the Walter isacon one 1
“and I do think that that I'm reading his biography right now uh the Walter isacon one”
Joe Rogan I just read that Elon Musk book; I thought it was pretty interesting. The Walter Isaacson? No, didn't. 1
“I just read that Elon Musk book; I thought it was pretty interesting. The Walter Isaacson? No, didn't.”
John Collison And, by the way, I thought the Walter Isaacson book, it got a mixed reception, but I thought if you want to… 1
“And, by the way, I thought the Walter Isaacson book, it got a mixed reception, but I thought if you want to study the Elon method a bit, it was actually pretty useful for that, the recent biography.”
Krystal Ball I've been reading Walter Walter isaacson's biography on Elon one thing you really get is how he has persona… 1
“I've been reading Walter Walter isaacson's biography on Elon one thing you really get is how he has personally cast himself as the savior of humanity”
Nate Silver if you read the Walter isacson book on Elon Musk his poker strategy is literally going all in every hand un… 1
“if you read the Walter isacson book on Elon Musk his poker strategy is literally going all in every hand until he runs out of money or wins it all”
Robert Evans Some of these were longshot bets and Walter Isacson's biography of Musk documents he thought he'd be ruined… 1
“Some of these were longshot bets and Walter Isacson's biography of Musk documents he thought he'd be ruined if there had been one more failed SpaceX launch.”
Shaan Puri do you have you read the have you read the Elon Musk biography I'm reading right now I'm like 200 pages in… 1
“do you have you read the have you read the Elon Musk biography I'm reading right now I'm like 200 pages in I haven't started it yet”
Sunny Madra I think that this was in the Walther Isaac uh book about Elon where frons or whatever you know it's a big i… 1
“I think that this was in the Walther Isaac uh book about Elon where frons or whatever you know it's a big internal debate and I think Elon went with the kind of burn the boats”
Tommy Vietor I've been reading the uh Walter Isaacs and Elon Musk book which is uh in their assembly line built it and t… 1
“I've been reading the uh Walter Isaacs and Elon Musk book which is uh in their assembly line built it and then realized that a lot of the automation they had created actually was slowing things down”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker1
“isaacson's book on Elon coming out in a couple of weeks which should be interesting”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (5: passing, ad reads, own books)
“You may know that name because he's the one that wrote the biography, was it a year or two ago, about Elon.”
“And if you read, you know, I read Elon Musk’s autobiography from last year, this is what he does I mean he—the reason why we know who Elon Musk is is because he's taken this approach to every company he's ever worked at to great success”
“that was my conversation with jenzel our non-fiction book critic about Elon Musk by Walter isacson doppelganger a trip into the mirror World by naomy kin and the rigger of Angels by William eggington”
“And then this concept of yourself, you know, there’s a book coming out by Walter Isaacson that’s going to talk about his early life but it was, his father was quite brutal to him.”
“I got a couple of nice gifts too; someone brought me 'Into the Wild' by Jon Krakauer, which I really appreciate. Another person gave me a book on Elon Musk.”





