27A - Reading Reflection No.3

For this assignment, I chose to read Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance. I really enjoyed this book as I got to see the life of famous entrepreneur Elon Musk unfold in front of me.

1. One surprising moment of the book was that Elon used to try calling high-level executives and hoped that one of them would pick up and talk to him about his ideas. The thing that I admire most about Elon is his determination to believe in the most bizarre ideas. From a young age, he wanted people to move to other planets to save mankind in the event that something terrible was to happen. People would never seem to take his ideas seriously, but he never gave up! The thing that I admire least about Elon is that he is too child-ish at times and does not act professionally, which could also be seen as a positive to some, but not exactly to me. There was a time when Elon had to choose between saving Tesla and saving SpaceX, even though both companies were dear to his heart. He chose to take some financial gambles and made some last-minute payments to somehow keep both companies afloat at the time. Now you can see how common the Tesla car brand is and also how SpaceX is launching plenty of manned and unmanned rockets each year.

2. He was a really hard worker and always believed that working hard was the only way to achieve your dreams. He thinks that traveling and taking breaks are for lazy people who have no real ambitions in life.

3. The part that confuses me the most is how people gave Elon a chance even with his crazy ideas. I feel as though if I were a businessman listening to a person saying their goal is to “colonize Mars”, I would be taken aback and feel as though the person is just wasting my time.

4. The first question I would ask him is “Would he permanently move to Mars himself?” Because I feel like a person with the vision, should be able to try the path for themselves. The second question I would ask him is “What do you think the young and inspired people of today should do to let their ideas heard by the top executives (such as himself)?” I would like to know if he would continue to do the same things he did when he was young, in today’s day and age.

5. As I mentioned earlier, Elon is a huge advocate for hard work and feels as though he got to where he is now due to his passion and hard work mindset. I definitely share that opinion as well, as I don’t know many successful people who got there without the pain of working hard.