Elon Musk: Crashing sports cars, shooting rockets, and changing the world

Elon Musk once crashed the world’s fastest car with Peter Thiel in the passenger seat. This indifference to risk allows him to shoot rockets into space and declare war on woke mind virus. Here are my notes on Elon’s risk addiction (and love language) from the new biography:

Elon was told Twitter servers couldn’t be moved from a rented place (costing him $100 mil a year) to twitter warehouses in less than 9 months. Elon illegally entered the server rooms, used his bodyguard’s pocket knife to unhook a server, and his cousins moved them ALL in 3 days.

One night, to avoid him from tweeting, Elon’s friend took his phone away, put it in a hotel safe, and punched in a password that Elon didn’t know. At 3 AM, Elon called hotel security and got them to open the safe. Then he started tweeting. Bangers too, I’m sure…

As teens, Elon and his brothers entered a Dragons and Dungeons competition as the youngest team and won so quickly & decisively that they were denounced as cheats. Elon has defeated the creator of Polytopia, at Polytopia. “I’m wired for war.” Play to win no matter the simulation

Issacson says Elon Musk won’t ever retire: “He would hate to retire. He can’t live without the pressure, the drama, the all-in feeling.” His life is “nonstop pain” but he likes the pressure of pulling rabbits out of his hat all the time. He thrives on “survive-or-die” mode.

Normal cars have hundreds of parts with “gaps and leaks” that need to be welded or riveted. Teslas have unified body frames. No gaps, no welding. Elon had the idea after looking at a TOY CAR. His engineers said it’s impossible but it wasnt. Process became “crazy cheap and fast”

IDIOT INDEX: this is the ratio between the raw materials cost and final price. If the ratio is too high, then idiots are designing and manufacturing the product. There is opportunity for radical cost reduction. This has helped Musk slash costs from cars to rockets to batteries.

First date with Talulah: Breakfast. After, Elon said: “I’d really like to see you for lunch.” After lunch: “Now I’d like to see you for dinner.” Engaged 2 weeks after meeting. Married, divorced, kissed at divorce hearing, remarried, divorced again. Elon’s love language: intensity

Musk once tore into an analyst for not knowing his numbers. The analyst on working for Elon: "You definitely realize that you’re a tool being used to achieve this larger objective, and that’s great. But sometimes, tools get worn down and he feels he can just replace that tool."

Elon Musk’s metaphor for his life: “I’ve been burning the candle at both ends with a flamethrower for a very long time. It has taken its toll.” Elon is tough on people but toughest on himself. Skin, bones, and sanity in the game. Beyond contentment and consensus lies glory.