Ludicrous

This book about Tesla is interesting. Interesting from the learning use of it (I found that is has so.e emotional background). If you focus on the story of the company, it's leaders, how things were invented and innovated and why, you can really learn a lot about how brands are built, products developed and what it takes for an innovative startup to survive. The challenging part is to survive in general. Even if you have funding, it doesn't mean you are sorted. You have to work hard and chase your dream hard. The finding part can make your path more complicated. Very interesting book to have a deep dive in the world of startups and big money.

Having read and enjoyed Ashlee Vance’s biography of Elon Musk, and frankly being a little in awe of the effect Musk has had on the industries he has worked within, I was looking forward to a more in-depth look at Tesla.

I know that Musk himself is a little eccentric, and lacks some interpersonal and empathy skills, but the world sometimes needs ruthless ambition to advance mankind. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe that he can be given a ticket to do whatever he wants, but his ability to achieve goals is exemplary. Well that was at least my opinion before reading this book.

Needless to say, my opinion already started to change in the ‘Note To Readers’ which gives a brief insight into the lengths the company would go to, in order to maintain the reverent image it was portraying to the world. From there on out, as the Tesla world is portrayed as a battle between fantasist and realists my opinions definitely started leaning towards those that see Tesla as a pioneer and solely responsible for the acceleration of the industries adoption of EV’s, but also one that is inherently flawed, that has blatantly manipulated markets, environmentalism, and consumers naivety alike, and is likely to be left behind going forward.

I do wonder how Tesla still has such a strong stock price, and whether a fall back down to reality is imminent (and surely it is). Is this what this book is trying to portray? Is this some short investment advice? I personally hope and believe this book depicts a neutral perspective (even though the author openly divulges his personal interactions with Tesla).

This was definitely an informative read, not only within Tesla itself, but also in automotive manufacturing and the principles that have guided the market over the last century or so.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a lifelong car enthusiast, I was intrigued to read this book. However this is not strictly about cars, or even about the character that is Elon Musk. It is about start-ups, modern manufacturing, management and the principles that have guide the market.

It is a very informative read, not just about Tesla but automotive manufacturing in general. The author has done an excellent job in sorting out the details from the hype, news and social media stories, and then presenting them in a readable context.