Reading Reflection No. 1

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance

1) I was most surprised that Elon Musk was not born in America! I have known that he was the CEO of Tesla for awhile now and I always assumed he was born here in America since Tesla has such a high success rate here. I most admire that he always persevered and didn't give up on his goals, even when it came to things unrelated to his business model, such as how he won over his wife. She ditched him for an ice cream date and instead of just accepting rejection he brought the ice cream to her, a prime example of his character. I don't admire however how his parents treated him and that his childhood was the main catalyst for his determination and drive. Musk experienced adversity in his career because he was able to sell his businesses to create new businesses and grow his brand.

2) Musk's competencies are that he has a photographic memory and he is really good at asking the right questions. At such a young age Musk was reading encyclopedia's and memorized information about space and travel, the two markets he is currently invested in today. He also always said that it's not about the answers to specific questions it's about asking the right questions. Musk knew how to create products for the unmet needs of society.

3) I felt that the start of the book was confusing to me because I always thought of Elon Musk having the most elite upbringing because he is one of the richest men in the world today. Much of the reason I chose to read this book was based off of his fame, and it is really interesting that he came from nothing but abuse.

4) I would ask Elon Musk....

Once you became successful did you parents ever reach out to apologize/ gain some of your fame?

How do you know when you have asked the right question?

5) I think that Elon Musk was the epitome of hard work after reading his biography. I am amazed by his journey and how he got to where he is with little support from family. I think that most people would share this opinion because people are amazed by the technology associated with SpaceX and Tesla, since they are very relevant products in today's market.