## Metadata - Author: [[Evan Armstrong]] - Full Title:: Oh No, I Kinda Want to Work for Elon - Category:: #🗞️Articles - Document Tags:: [[Psychology]], - URL:: https://every.to/napkin-math/oh-no-i-kinda-want-to-work-for-elon - Read date:: [[2023-09-25]] ## Highlights > The only difference is that these quotes are not from Elon Musk—they’re from murderous cult leader [Charles Manson](https://metro.co.uk/2017/11/20/10-chilling-charles-manson-quotes-which-showcase-the-cult-leaders-evil-magnetism-7092350/) ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hb5w10r88rzs4nfft95ee1vx)) > Musk’s terrible, wonderful magic is that he makes you want to go all in. Even me, a person who very much enjoys not working for Elon Musk, finished the book and thought, “Hmm, I kinda want to work for that guy.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hb5w1cjaz3sbnh7tfajr4kem)) > Musk is demonstrably, unequivocally an asshole. When I started the book I stuck a Post-It note on the page every time I thought he acted reprehensibly. I soon realized that for the 615-page book, I would need 615 Post-It notes ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hb5w1pxmap9pjwazt9a4sb4s)) > If he succeeds in just 75% of his ambition, he could be one of the most important people in human history. However, that success results in huge costs to him personally, to his employees, and to society at large. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hb5w729ttnsccwnq8bxxn04r)) > Isaacson uses anecdotes from Musk’s life to force the reader to confront a [central tension of greatness](https://every.to/napkin-math/the-cost-of-greatness): **would a saner person who is less of an asshole be capable of similar feats?** > If you had asked me this question 10 years ago, I would’ve wholeheartedly agreed. It is a better world if our most prominent people are moral exemplars with happy family lives. However, after a decade of meeting billionaires, reading biographies of highly successful people, and building products myself, I’ve come to accept that the opposite is probably true. The highest level of success requires wholly unreasonable people. Musk is a top .01% of entrepreneurs—of course he is a dick. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hb5w98fjt3fbmc1egqbfhs6h)) ^8dad10 > when you have years of access to the world’s most mercurial billionaire and you don’t use that time to investigate some of his most troubling behavior, I question the analytical rigor of the work ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hb5wcd0fvnmyhqtyxm5vpv8s))