20<\/div>SHARES<\/span><\/div>

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Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerburg\u2019s \u2063potential cage match<\/a> \u2063was\u200b the talk of\u2064 the summer, and \u200bit \u2062was easy to \u200ddismiss it as\u2063 idle threats made by \u2062two unathletic billionaires. After reading \u201cElon Musk,\u201d <\/a>the new biography by Walter Isaacson, I\u2019m not so sure.<\/p>\n

When\u2064 Max Levchin \u2062wanted PayPal to use Unix rather \u2062than Musk\u2019s preferred option, Windows, Musk challenged him to \u200darm-wrestle to settle the dispute. Musk won the match and, eventually, \u200bthe\u200c software \u200ddebate. <\/p>\n

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At his \u2062first start-up, he would regularly get into fights with his co-founder\u2062 and brother \u2063Kimbal. The worst one ended with Kimbal biting off a hunk\u2062 of Elon\u2019s hand, sending him to the emergency room for stitches\u200d and a tetanus shot. At a Gilbert and Sullivan\u2013<\/em>themed\u2064 42nd birthday party, Musk\u200c successfully threw a 350-pound sumo champion, but blew \u2063out a disc at the base of his neck in the process. Professionally \u2062and physically, Musk seeks the thrill of danger.<\/p>\n

Musk has made a career out of navigating crises and\u200d questioning authority, and he combines \u2064that with a sci-fi-inflected concern for the fate of humanity. The problems that captivate Musk are world-altering and\u200c mind-bogglingly numerous: \u2062multi-planetary civilization, infinite energy, human-machine implants, humanoid robots, free speech, democracy,\u2062 and the declining birth\u2064 rate. He has sired 11 children by three women so far.<\/p>\n

Yet he \u2064remains slightly \u2064detached \u2014 seemingly a product of his Asperger\u2019s \u2014 fixating on physics, engineering, and programming rather than human interactions. As one SpaceX employee put it, \u201cElon cares a lot about humanity, but humanity in more of a very\u200b macro sense.\u201d At times, this can make him a flat, robotic main character. <\/p>\n

While\u200d his rockets \u200cand cars\u2064 iterate\u2062 and improve, personally, he has difficulty growing. At a Christmas family gathering in 2022, he said, \u200b\u201cMy main regret is how often\u2062 I stab myself\u2062 in the thigh with a fork, how often I shoot my own feet and stab\u200c myself in the eye.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A Man Well-Acquainted With \u200dViolence<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n
Musk grew up in apartheid South Africa, where violence was \u200bcommon. \u2063He was not \u2062coddled. \u2064At age 12, he was sent to a wilderness survival camp in South \u200bAfrica, called a\u200c veldskool<\/em>, which he \u2062described as a \u201cparamilitary Lord of \u200bthe Flies.<\/em>\u201d Kids were \u2063given small rations and encouraged to fight over them. Bullying was a virtue. <\/p>\n
Near the end of the first week, the boys were divided into two groups, then\u200b told to \u2064attack \u200deach other. Musk, small and emotionally unintelligent,\u200c was beaten \u2063up often and ended up losing 10 pounds.<\/p>\n
Every few years, \u2062one of the kids would die. Rather than responding with candlelit vigils and calls for safety, the counselors would advise, \u201cDon\u2019t be stupid \u200dlike that \u2062dumb f\u2014 who died last year. Don\u2019t be the weak dumb f\u2014.\u201d<\/p>\n
Likewise, \u200cElon was an easy target at school. One altercation led to a group\u200d of boys shoving him down a set of concrete \u2063stairs, then, as his brother Kimbal describes, \u200d\u201cThey sat on him and just \u200dkept beating the s\u2014 out of him and kicking him in the head. When they got finished, I couldn\u2019t even recognize\u200d his face. It was such a swollen ball of flesh that you could barely see his eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
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When Elon got home from the hospital, \u2063his father, Errol Musk, \u200byelled at him for an hour, calling him \u201can idiot\u201d \u200cand \u201cworthless.\u201d Errol felt Elon deserved the\u2062 beating because he\u2019d called the antagonist \u201cstupid\u201d after the boy\u2019s father had just committed suicide. <\/p>\n
As Errol told Isaacson, \u201cTheir experiences with me would have made veldskool<\/em> quite \u200ctame.\u201d \u2064Looking back,\u200c Elon says, \u201cIf you have\u200b never been punched in the nose, you have no idea how it affects\u200d you the rest of your life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Hardcore<\/strong>\u2018<\/h2>\n
Musk is drawn to military metaphors. His philosophy or \u201calgorithm\u201d for business includes principles like, \u201cAll technical managers must have hands-on experience \u2026 Otherwise, they are like\u2062 a calvary\u200b leader who can\u2019t ride \u2064a horse or\u200c a general who can\u2019t use a \u200csword.\u201d \u200cAnd, \u201cNever ask your troops to\u2062 do something you\u2019re not willing\u2064 to do.\u201d <\/p>\n
But unlike an army, where discipline and \u200crule-following\u2062 are paramount, Musk discourages comradery because \u200c\u201cit\u2063 makes it hard for people to challenge each other\u2019s work.\u201d \u2064And the work comes \u200cfirst.<\/p>\n
Musk has always disdained work-life balance. In the late\u2063 \u201990s, working at his internet start-up Zip2,\u2063 he spent six months sleeping on a futon at his office and showering\u200b at\u2063 the YMCA. After a few months, he rented an unfurnished apartment, which, according to his sister, never had more than just \u201ctwo mattresses and lots of Cocoa Puffs boxes.\u201d <\/p>\n
Even \u200dthen, Elon often\u2063 slept at the office after a coding binge, without a pillow or \u2062sleeping bag. Less than \u2062four years later, Elon and \u200chis brother Kimbal sold the company for $307 million in\u2062 cash, and Elon walked away with \u200c$22 million.<\/p>\n
After PayPal, Musk took big risks \u2062with SpaceX\u2062 and Tesla, often teetering on the brink of ruin. His management\u2064 style relies on \u201cpeppering\u201d engineers with technical questions and calling for \u201csurges\u201d \u2064to lend a \u201cmaniacal sense of urgency\u201d to a given project. He often demands what seems impossible and does not take no for an answer. <\/p>\n
The result, as \u2062one SpaceX engineer put it: \u201cEven though we failed to meet most schedules\u200d or cost targets that Elon laid out, \u200cwe still beat all of our peers. We developed \u2064the lowest-cost, most \u2063awesome rockets in history.\u201d \u200dIn \u2062the words \u200cof Grimes, a.k.a. Claire Boucher, the mother of three of Elon\u2019s \u2064children, Musk\u2019s \u201cdemon mode causes a lot\u2062 of chaos, but it also gets \u2063sh-t done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Observing demon mode from a safe distance is \u2062one\u200d of the\u200b chief pleasures of the \u200cbook. When working on rockets for SpaceX, Musk\u2062 developed a \u200cconcept called \u201cthe idiot index,\u201d\u2062 which was a ratio\u2064 comparing the total cost of a component to the cost of the raw materials. A part that costs $1,000 \u200bwhen its aluminum only costs $100 would have a high idiot index. Hoping to bring down \u200cthe engine cost on the Raptor rocket from $2 million to $200,000, he met with a financial analyst named Lucas Hughes:<\/p>\n
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Musk:<\/strong> What are the best parts in Raptor as judged by the idiot index?<\/p>\n
Hughes:<\/strong> I\u2019m not sure. \u2063I \u2064will find\u200b out.<\/p>\n
Musk:<\/strong> (speaking\u200c with monotone)\u200b You better \u200cbe f\u2014ing sure in the future \u2064you know these things off the top of your head.\u2062 If you ever come into a meeting and do\u200c not \u2062know what\u2062 are the\u2063 idiot parts, then your resignation will be accepted immediately. How can you f\u2014ing not know what the best and worst parts are?<\/p>\n
Hughes:<\/strong> I know the cost chart down\u200b to the smallest part. I just don\u2019t know\u200b the cost of the raw materials of \u2064those parts.<\/p>\n
Musk:<\/strong> What are the \u200bworst five parts?<\/p>\n
(Hughes looks to \u200chis computer screen)<\/p>\n
Musk:<\/strong> NO! Don\u2019t look at your screen. Just name one. You should know the problematic parts.<\/p>\n
Hughes:<\/strong> (tentatively) There\u2019s the\u2064 half nozzle jacket. I think\u200b it \u200bcosts \u2063thirteen\u2063 thousand dollars.<\/p>\n
Musk:<\/strong> It\u2019s made of a single\u2063 piece of steel. How much does\u200c that material cost?<\/p>\n
Hughes:<\/strong> I think\u200d a few thousand dollars.<\/p>\n
Musk: <\/strong>No. It\u2019s just steel. It\u2019s about two\u2064 hundred bucks. You have very badly failed. If you don\u2019t improve, your resignation\u2064 will\u2062 be accepted. This meeting \u2062is over. Done.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
When Isaacson asked Musk later that day whether he thought he\u2019d been too harsh \u200bwith Hughes, Musk replied, \u201cI give people hardcore feedback, mostly accurate, and I try not\u200d to do\u2063 it in a way \u200dthat\u2019s ad hominem \u2026 Physics \u2064does not \u200dcare about hurt feelings. It cares about whether you got the rocket right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Physics does not care \u200babout hurt feelings, and it also does not care about DEI standards. \u2063Musk\u2019s\u200d hiring policy is as simple as it \u2064is effective: \u201cI believe\u200c in \u2064a strict meritocracy. \u2062Whoever is doing great work, they\u2062 get more responsibility. And that\u2019s \u200cthat.\u201d\u200b <\/p>\n
He worries that unchecked, \u201cthe woke-mind virus<\/a>, which is fundamentally antiscience, antimerit, and antihuman in general,\u201d could lead to civilizational decay and AI domination\u2062 of the human race. In his words, which\u2063 apply to the regulators and the critics, \u201cEvery year there are more referees and fewer doers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Musk is\u2064 not perfect, and there are plenty of decisions to criticize, whether his\u2063 bizarre family life<\/a>, his \u2062Starlink refusal<\/a>, or his sophomoric \u2063 tokes<\/a> and jokes<\/a>. But perhaps, as Elon deadpanned<\/a> on \u201cSaturday Night Live,\u201d \u2062it might be too much to expect that a man single-handedly transforming society<\/a> would also be a \u201cchill, normal dude.\u201d If we end up on Mars, \u200dwe\u2019ll know \u2064who to thank.<\/p>\n
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rnrn <\/p>\n
How \u200cdid\u2063 Elon Musk’s upbringing in apartheid \u200dSouth Africa shape his complex\u200b personality?<\/h2>\n
Elon Musk:\u200c A Complex Character Shaped by Violence and\u200d Ambition<\/p>\n
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg’s potential cage match<\/a> was\u2062 the subject of much speculation \u200cthis summer. Many dismissed \u200cit\u200c as idle \u200cthreats made \u2064by two unathletic billionaires. However, after reading “Elon Musk,” a\u200c new biography by Walter Isaacson, it seems that \u2064there may be some truth behind the \u200cintensity of Musk’s\u200b personality.<\/p>\n
One story that stands out is\u2063 when Max Levchin wanted PayPal to use Unix instead of Musk’s preferred\u200b option, Windows.\u2064 Musk challenged him to an arm-wrestling match to settle the dispute. Musk emerged victorious, both in the match and in the ensuing software debate.<\/p>\n
But Musk’s appetite for competition is not limited\u2062 to the business world. In his first\u2062 start-up, he frequently got into fights with his co-founder and brother, Kimbal. One particularly bad\u200b altercation resulted in Kimbal\u2063 biting off a chunk of \u200dElon’s \u2062hand, sending him to the emergency room for stitches and a tetanus shot. Musk’s competitive nature \u200dalso led\u200d to a disc injury when he\u2064 successfully \u200cthrew a \u200d350-pound\u200b sumo champion at \u200ca Gilbert and Sullivan-themed 42nd \u200cbirthday party.<\/p>\n
Musk’s career has \u2064been marked \u200cby navigating crises and questioning authority. He\u200d possesses a sci-fi-inflected\u2064 concern for the fate\u200d of humanity \u200band is drawn to world-altering problems such as multi-planetary civilization, infinite energy, human-machine implants, humanoid\u200c robots, free speech, democracy, and the declining birth rate<\/a>. It should come as no surprise, then, that\u2062 he has \u200bfathered 11 children by three women.<\/p>\n
Yet, \u200cdespite his grand ambitions, Musk remains slightly detached\u2063 from\u2062 human interactions, possibly a product of his Asperger’s. He \u200bfixates \u2063on\u2063 physics, engineering, and programming rather than personal connections. As one SpaceX employee \u2063puts it, “Elon cares a lot about humanity, but humanity in more of a very macro sense.” This can make\u200d him\u200c come across as a flat, robotic protagonist at \u2063times.<\/p>\n
While his rockets and cars continually improve, there seems to \u200bbe a struggle\u200d for personal growth. Musk has been open about his challenges,\u2062 stating, “My main\u200c regret is how often I stab myself in the thigh with a fork, how often I shoot \u200dmy own\u2063 feet and \u200dstab myself in the eye.” This remark highlights\u2062 his tendency to self-sabotage and the difficulties he faces in personal development.<\/p>\n
To \u2064understand Musk’s complex personality, it is\u200b crucial\u200c to explore his upbringing. He \u200cgrew up in apartheid South Africa, \u200ca place where violence was prevalent. Musk was not sheltered from this reality. At the \u2063age of 12, \u2062he was sent to a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg’s rumored showdown captivated the summer, dismissed as mere banter between two non-athletic billionaires. However, Walter Isaacson’s biography “Elon Musk” made me reconsider. It revealed a different side, making me question if the clash was truly idle threats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1418,"featured_media":2049065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2049064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2049064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2049064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2049064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2049065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2049064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2049064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2049064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

How \u200cdid\u2063 Elon Musk’s upbringing in apartheid \u200dSouth Africa shape his complex\u200b personality?<\/h2>\n Elon Musk:\u200c A Complex Character Shaped by Violence and\u200d Ambition<\/p>\n