Gary Zhou 
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, announced via Twitter that he would be writing a book about the stories of the two companies. The long and tumultuous story of Musk’s endeavor of running an automaker and a space program at the same time will be told by the man who experienced it himself.
To date, with his permission, only one book has been written about Musk’s story: a biography composed by Ashlee Vance, published in 2015. The novel, entitled, “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future,” tells the story of the life of Musk from his youth, through the days of Zip2 and PayPal, and continues the entrepreneur’s early achievements and trials at Tesla and SpaceX.
Interestingly, before publishing, Musk sat down with Vance to discuss the novel. Vance said that he shared a meal with Musk to talk about what portions of Musk’s life would be included in the book. Ultimately, Vance wanted to write the story with no interruptions or gaps in space, and Musk allowed it.
Musk, however, has some information that many of us have probably never heard of. As he struggled to balance finances and ventures to make both businesses profitable, the early days of Tesla and SpaceX were likely the toughest of his life. In an interview with 60 Minutes, he said it was an undertaking that almost drove Musk to a “nervous breakdown.”
While several Musk interviews were transparent about the possibility of what he encountered during those days, it is difficult to come up with long interviews about his personal life and the trying times of 2008. Condensed versions of the story can be found in many places, but Musk himself is ready to detail it in his own book.
Additionally, Tesla and SpaceX have both grown significantly since the Vance biography was published in 2015. Tesla has launched two new mass-market vehicles, with Musk describing the early development days of the Model 3 as “production hell.” In addition, a range of new products and initiatives have been launched by SpaceX, such as Starlink, a global internet service that strives to be accessible for everyone on the planet.
The stories Musk will tell in his new book will likely be some of the most interesting the Tesla community has ever heard, and the world will likely read as well. Vance’s biography of Musk was declared one of the best books of 2015 by numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal and Amazon.com. It spent several months on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into 40 different languages.
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