内容简介

　　著名传记作家艾萨克森以近距离的观察视角，揭开了如今全球引人注目、富有争议性的创新企业家的神秘面纱：他善于突破常规，引领全球进入电动汽车时代、私人太空探索时代和人工智能时代，还将推特收入囊中。

　　埃隆·马斯克小时候在南非生活，那时他经常遭受校园欺凌，但同父亲给他造成的情感创伤相比，这些伤痛都微不足道。他的童年浸透了人性，这将他塑造为一个坚强而又脆弱的男孩，他对风险的容忍度极高，渴望营造出富有戏剧性的生活，让人类文明成为星际文明是他的宏大目标。

　　2008年，SpaceX的火箭在前三次发射过程中接连爆炸，特斯拉也即将破产，这是他生命中地狱般的至暗时期。在飓风来临时，他是最兴奋的人之一。动荡的环境和剧烈的冲突对他有着莫大的吸引力，有时他甚至渴望这些东西，无论是在工作中，还是在他努力维持却未能持久的恋爱关系中。每当面临艰巨的挑战，紧张感常常让他夜不能寐，甚至呕吐不止，但这些都是他赖以为生的养分。

　　2022年年初，也就是在SpaceX成功发射了31颗卫星、特斯拉卖出了近100万辆汽车、埃隆成为地球上最富有的人一年后，对于自己一再挑起戏剧性冲突的背后动机，他略带感伤地谈起了他的反思。他说：“我需要改变我的思维模式，不能一直处于危机战备状态，我这种状态已经持续了大概14年，或者说我人生的大部分时间。”这更像是一个自怨自艾的评价，而不是在表达新年新气象的决心。他一边做出了这些反思和保证，一边还在秘密买入推特的股票。

　　两年来，艾萨克森形影不离地跟访马斯克，参加他大大小小的会议，与他一起走访工厂，深度采访了他本人，以及他的家人、朋友、同事、前妻和对手。艾萨克森揭开了马斯克内幕故事的面纱，其中有荡气回肠的胜利，也有跌宕起伏的乱局，令人拍案称奇。这些故事回答了这样一个问题：那个在马斯克心底驱使着他的恶魔，是不是也是推动创新与进步所必需的呢？

　　作者简介

　　[美]沃尔特·艾萨克森（Walter Isaacson）

　　著名传记作家，毕业于哈佛大学，杜兰大学历史系教授，历任美国阿斯彭研究所首席执行官，曾任美国《时代》杂志总编和美国有线电视新闻网董事长。畅销书《史蒂夫·乔布斯传》《富兰克林传》《爱因斯坦传》《创新者》《列奥那多·达·芬奇传》作者。2023年他被授予美国国家人文奖章。

Content introduction

Isaacson, a renowned biographer, takes a close-up look at one of the world's most compelling and controversial innovative entrepreneurs today: the man who broke the rules, led the world into the age of electric cars, private space exploration, artificial intelligence, and took Twitter into his own hands.

When Elon Musk was a child in South Africa, he was often bullied at school, but these injuries are nothing compared to the emotional trauma inflicted on him by his father. His childhood was steeped in humanity, which shaped him into a strong but vulnerable boy with a high tolerance for risk, a desire to create a dramatic life, and a grand goal of making human civilization an interstellar civilization.

In 2008, SpaceX's rockets exploded during the first three launches, and Tesla was about to go bankrupt, which was the darkest period of his life. He was one of the most excited people when the hurricane came. Turbulent environments and intense conflict are so appealing to him that he sometimes craves them, whether at work or in the relationships he struggles to maintain but doesn't last. Whenever faced with a difficult challenge, the tension often keeps him up at night and even vomits, but these are the nutrients he relies on for a living.

In early 2022, a year after SpaceX had successfully launched 31 satellites, Tesla had sold nearly a million cars, and Elon had become the richest man on the planet, he offered a slightly sentimental reflection on the motivation behind his repeated dramatic confrontations. "I needed to change my mindset from being in a constant state of crisis readiness, which I had been in for about 14 years, or most of my life," he said. It was more of a self-pitying comment than a New Year's resolution. He made these reflections and reassurances while secretly buying shares of Twitter.

For two years, Isaacson has been a constant companion to Musk, attending his meetings, visiting factories with him and interviewing him in depth, as well as his family, friends, colleagues, ex-wives and rivals. Isaacson unveils the inside story of Musk, which ranges from dramatic triumphs to stunning twists and turns. These stories answer the question of whether the demons that drive Musk are also necessary to drive innovation and progress.

About the author

By Walter Isaacson

Famous biographer, graduated from Harvard University, Tulane University history professor, former chief executive officer of the Aspen Institute, former editor-in-chief of Time magazine and chairman of CNN. Bestselling author of Steve Jobs, Franklin, Einstein, The Innovator and Leonardo Da Vinci. In 2023, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal.