Musk Bio Bombshells: Secret Child Techno Mechanicus And Rocky Romantic Relationships Among These Explosive Revelations
Top line
Walter Isaacson's new biography of Elon Musk was published Tuesday, and the book contains a number of little-known, embarrassing and surprising curiosities that shed new light on perhaps the world's richest man.
Key Aspects
One of the book's biggest revelations is that Musk and his ex-wife Claire Boucher, popularly known as Grimes, secretly had a third child, whom they named Techno Mechanicus Musk, or Tau for short, according to a report on the book by Pitchfork. book
This child brings to 11 the number of children known to the public as Musk's father, consistent with Musk's belief that human civilization is heading toward demographic collapse and people should have as many children as possible to avoid it.
Two of the children were born to Neuralink CEO Siobhan Zillis, who gave birth to twins that Musk conceived via IVF around the time the surrogate was pregnant with Musk and Grimes' second child, a fact that was kept secret from Grimes. was furious" when he finally found out many years later, Isaacson wrote, according to a review of the book in The New Yorker .
In 2015, Musk wanted to use Tesla's not-yet-fully functional self-driving capabilities to travel to SpaceX's Southern California headquarters, but traffic on the 405 Freeway was too dark, so a group of Musk's employees convinced a government employee. repainting it specifically for Musk in exchange for a SpaceX tour, according to a report in a Los Angeles Times book.
The book also chronicles his feud with fellow billionaire engineer Gates, whom he called "crazy" and went on a rampage after admitting he was short Tesla shares, which Musk called "false hypocrisy," according to CNBC and the article LA Times "Why Make Money on This?" A renewable energy car company has failed, he said (Musk tweeted a photo of Gates with his stomach bloated with anger).
Musk also told Isaacson that he was buying Twitter, which he later renamed, according to the New York Times . Yorker Review (elsewhere in his book he jokes that he bought Twitter because “How else are we going to elect Trump in 2024?”).
Tangent
According to The Guardian , while the book focuses on Musk, it also mentions another celebrity, Rudy Giuliani. While Musk was working with digital financial company PayPal, Musk and his team were reportedly considering hiring Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and then Donald Trump's personal lawyer, to help with management and regulatory matters to turn the company into a full-fledged banking system . . company. When they met him, they were disappointed with what they found. This was announced by investor and partner of Musk Michal Moritz. “It was like a mafia scene, with Giuliani’s team described as “dumb proxies” who “don’t know about Silicon Valley” but “want to team up.” in your pockets." When Giuliani asked for a 10% stake in the company in exchange for his advice, Musk and his team refused.
Definition of citation
The book details many of Musk's strange interactions with his romantic partners, including an incident at his wedding to first wife Justine Wilson when he whispered something in her ear during their first dance; "I'm the alpha in this relationship." Los Angeles Times .
Amazing fact
One of the book's most talked about revelations is the chapter explaining Musk's involvement in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. CNN and other media outlets obtained the first copies of the book last week and described a chapter in which SpaceX CEO Musk denied Ukrainian troops access to Starlink, his company's satellite internet system that Ukraine uses around the world. during an attempted underwater drone attack on Russia during the war, fearing that the attack would provoke Russian retaliation and lead to a nuclear conflict. After speaking with senior Russian officials, he reportedly expressed concern that the ship would look like a "mini Pearl Harbor." Isaacson wrote on Friday: "Ukrainians think the lights are on on the way to Crimea, but that's not the case," he wrote in his post. “They asked Musk to turn it on for a drone attack on the Russian fleet. Musk wouldn't allow it. This chapter explores Musk's discomfort with his involvement in the conflict. “How should I deal with this war?” Musk is quoted in the book. “Starlink has no intention of participating in war. The goal is for people to be able to watch Netflix, relax, go to school online, and do good deeds peacefully without being attacked by drones.
Basic background
The book also delves into Musk's childhood in South Africa. Musk's grandfather, J.N. Haldeman moved to South Africa from Canada in 1950, shortly after apartheid was declared and the country began recruiting white settlers from North America with the promise that they could live like princes, the New Yorker writes. Haldeman wrote a political article blaming Jewish financiers for World Wars I and II and was the leader of a technocratic political movement that sought to place scientists and engineers in charge of society. Isaacson's book barely mentions apartheid and describes Musk's poor childhood. The book also examines long-standing claims that Musk was able to start a billion-dollar business with seed money his father made from an apartheid-era emerald mine. Isaacson said Musk's father, Errol Musk, did not own the emerald mines, as critics often claim, but made black market deals to acquire and cut emeralds from three mines in Zambia, the LA Times reported. He reportedly made $210,000 from the mine, but Isaacson called it a "myth" that Elon Musk took the money with him after he left South Africa for Canada and then California in 1989. Isaacson says Musk only received a $2,000 travel voucher from his father after the move;
further reading
The Biggest Ideas and Significant Outrages in Walter Isaacson's Biography of Elon Musk (The Los Angeles Times)
How Elon Musk went from superhero to supervillain (The New Yorker)
Elon Musk blocked Starlink's access to Ukraine after drone strike, according to his biographer (Forbes)
Will Musk be able to prevent Ukraine from attacking Russia? Starlink controversy explained (Forbes)
A large-scale biography of Elon Musk will appear tomorrow. Here's what the critics think (Forbes)
