Elon Musk’s actions, often riddled with his “craziness” and “impulsiveness,” have raised eyebrows, but author Walter Isaacson delved deeper and revealed the crucial role these traits play in his remarkable success story.
What Happened: In the podcast interview with Lex Fridman, Isaacson pointed out that Musk’s eccentricities serve as a sort of “relief valve” for the tech mogul.
He said the tech billionaire can seamlessly transition between various modes, including “dark demon mode” when he’s intensely focused or upset and the lighter, more whimsical side where he engages in silliness and humor.
Isaacson didn’t shy away from acknowledging Musk’s occasional bouts of craziness. He stated, “Musk is crazy at times,” and continued, “Let’s figure out… where that craziness works.” One illustrative example was Musk’s behavior surrounding the launch of Starship, a pivotal event for SpaceX.
“Between an aborted countdown and the shoot-off, he goes to Miami to an ad sales conference and meets Linda Yaccarino for the first time, makes her the CEO. There’s a very impulsiveness to him,” adding, “Then he flies back, they launch Starship.”
The biographer said that while Musk’s craziness might be bewildering at times, it’s an integral part of his creative process.
He said, “You sometimes want to pull those out… take away his phone so he doesn’t tweet at 3 am, but then you realize there’s a wonderful line of Shakespeare from Measure for Measure at the very end he says, ‘even the best are molded out of faults.'”
“So you take the faults of Musk, for example, which includes a craziness that can be endearing but also craziness that’s just like effing crazy as well as this drive and Demon mode,” Isaacson said, adding, “I don’t know that you can take that strand out of the fabric and the fabric remains whole.”
Watch the complete podcast here:
Why It’s Important: Last week, it was reported that Musk’s tumultuous tenure as the head of Twitter, now rebranded as X, was marked by a barrage of constant demands that left staff concerned about his forgetfulness.
The tech billionaire’s penchant for rapid-fire decisions and frequent demands left the platform’s workforce in constant vigilance.
Photo courtesy: Thomas Hawk on Flickr
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