As controversial as he is innovative, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more well-known man than Elon Musk.
With a hand in seemingly every industry — electric vehicles, spacecraft, social media, and AI, to name a few — the billionaire business magnate is an ever-present newsfeed staple thanks to both his eyebrow-raising tweets on X (formerly Twitter) and the many technological advances his companies make on a regular basis.
If you want to go beyond the headlines, start with these books about Elon Musk that dive deep into the man behind some of this century’s most significant innovations (or setbacks, depending on your point of view). These biographies cover everything from his childhood in South Africa to his relentless quest to conquer space commercialization.
You’ll find that while he is revered by many and reviled by others, there is no denying that Musk is a fascinating figure with a radical vision for the future.
1. Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
Biographing the richest person in the world — particularly one who’s a lightning rod for controversy — is no easy task. “Dealing with his life is like trying to take notes while drinking from a fire hose,” says Isaacson (The Code Breaker, Steve Jobs).
This book about Elon Musk tracks the tech mogul’s turbulent childhood in South Africa, his fanatical commitment to innovation, and the evolution of Tesla, SpaceX, and X. Love him or hate him, Musk is undoubtedly worth learning more about.
2. Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance
Vance not only brings Musk’s story to life, but also those of the companies he’s founded and funded over the years. From making billions selling PayPal to creating ambitious companies like SpaceX and Tesla, Vance’s biography of Musk is essential reading for anyone curious about the ways tech — and the innovators behind it — shape the future.
Like Isaacson, Vance collaborated directly with Musk on this biography. It contains many interviews with Musk himself and those closest to him.
3. The Founders by Jimmy Soni
Tesla, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn — what do these companies have in common, beyond their revered status as powerhouse leaders in Silicon Valley?
The answer lies with their founders and funders, many of whom helped launch PayPal. Known as the PayPal Mafia, these innovative entrepreneurs are responsible for the success of the tech businesses that have become household names.
Declared the best book of 2022 by The New Yorker, The Founders chronicles the untold story of the birth of PayPal, its meteoric albeit turbulent rise to success, and the roles played by Elon Musk, Peter Theil, and Max Levchin.
4. Ludicrous by Edward Niedermeyer
To gain a more thorough understanding of Tesla Motors, who better to turn to than an auto industry journalist with years of experience covering Tesla? With a critical eye, Niedermeyer dives deep beneath the shiny veneer of the electric car company, with much of the focus fixed on Musk himself.
Ludicrous separates fact from flashy soundbites and investigates Musk’s overhyped promises that have enabled Tesla’s value to shoot sky high. Whether you’re a Tesla fanatic or, like Niedermeyer, a skeptic of Musk’s grandiose promises of a brighter future filled with supposedly zero-emission autonomous vehicles, this hard-hitting expose is worth a read.
5. Liftoff by Eric Berger
2021 launched the billionaire space race as Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos made history traveling to the edge of space within days of each other. But don’t count Elon Musk out of the race.
While Musk himself hasn’t personally reached space (yet), his company’s rockets certainly have. Liftoff takes readers on SpaceX’s dramatic journey from its shaky, outlandish origins to its emergence as a leader of the new tech generation’s quest to disrupt space transportation.
6. Rocket Billionaires by Tim Fernholz
SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic — there’s a new type of space race happening and it’s one driven almost entirely by privately funded companies as opposed to government-funded agencies like NASA. Fernholz takes readers on a fascinating journey into the hearts and minds of the world’s most ambitious billionaires as each races to conquer space commercialization.
Much of the book focuses on the technological advances each company has made, the politics of space exploration, and the rivalry between Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.
7. Elon Musk by Michael Vlismas
From the capital of South Africa to the very heart of America’s tech industry, no one can deny that Musk’s path has been a fascinating one. As the only biographer to grow up in the same community and attend the same school as Musk, Vlismas brings a unique perspective to the life of the famed billionaire.
Balancing Musk’s early years with his recent successes, Vlismas paints a vivid portrait of a bold and fearless man who will stop at nothing in his pursuit of progress.
8. Elon Musk by Anna Crowley Redding
Adults and young readers alike will benefit from this inspiring middle grade book about Elon Musk’s life and accomplishments. Redding emphasizes the challenges Musk faced early on in life as a misfit and how his perseverance and drive have continuously helped him accomplish amazing things, like pioneering space exploration to Mars.
