This interviewer keeps asking negative questions of Musk, and yet Isaacson keeps answering as neutral as possible while also complimenting Musk (and Jobs too) and giving credit where credit is due to them. Makes me appreciate Isaacson much more now, I definitely support his positive judgement of Musk after spending so much time so close to him.

Just watched this after watching the same interview on Lex Fridman’s podcast. There’s a stark difference in the interviewing styles. Some observations: 1. Lex gives it to us uncut. This seems as though there are segments that have been cut. 2. Lex’s approach seems non-judgmental and positive. WSJ’s seems negative/biased/agenda driven. 3. Lex makes it personal by giving anecdotes from his own life and asks deep and interesting questions about Walter’s life. WSJ strips the humanity out of the narrative by rapid firing through questions on Elon’s morality and sanity without asking questions about his achievements and the impact his companies have had/ will have on society. Hats off to Lex. I really appreciate his approach. Can highly recommend him to anyone who hasn’t heard of him!

wsj gets in demon mode whenever they hear the name elon musk

I read Walter Isaacson’s biography on Einstein and Ben Franklin, and found him to be one of the greatest biographers.

What's the name of the interviewer? He got dribbled by Isaacson. The interviewer was trying to dig up dirt on Musk and negativity, but Isaacson never took the bait. Good one Walter Isaacson

Brutality honest. Enjoyed this book review.

The greatest lesson that I was able to take away from his story is that your failures will be your greatest attribute and to NEVER give up. Elon’s story is truly inspiring.

Walter is an outstanding interviewer and biographer. He is intelligent, honest and empathetic. Well done, Walter!😊

Its ok to be wrong, as long as you are not confident and wrong" - Elon Musk, giving one of his rules of thumb

I'm half way through the interview and I've heard only questions around the personality, demon mode and potential bad sides of someone that is making our history. I find this annoying and a waste of time

Not "demon" but deeply traumatized as a child. This is so sad. I've been working many years in the IT industry and I can tell you, I would never ever work for such people again

“Demon mode” = clinical psychotic episode

The WSJ would vilify Steve Jobs daily if he were alive and working and pushing Apple (uncomfortably, as always) to new heights still today. Their adoration for him here is ridiculous.

I read most of previous Walter Isaacson books (Franklin, Jobs, DaVinci, Einstein and Innovators) and they are brilliant. Now 1/3 read from this one and so far excellent book again. This guy has a skill to make topics like the history of computer science a interesting story you just can't stop reading.

This interviewer is probably the most thoughtful and tactfuI I have ever seen. Outstanding.

"No one becomes insanely wealthy without some kind of personality defect"

I am not sure Elon Musk cares about what people think of him. I sense his sincerity in all his projects.

Really appreciate WSJ including the dad's perspective in the end there.

Why is Elon's move to the right part of a move to the dark side?

It’s quite something to cultivate a reputation that allows the author into his subject’s lives to write books about them. After listening to Isaacson talk it’s easy to see why. He is so incredibly good at what he does and is very careful in the way he talks about it. I read the Jobs book and I will definitely be reading this one.

Wow, what a fantastic interview. I was on the fence about buying this book prior to seeing this interview. Now, is a musk-buy!

First class interview: balanced, respectful and thoughtful.

Walter Isaacson is an incredible author and speaker. Amazing interview I’m buying this book asap

I think the interviewer focused on the negative attributes of Elon too much, and the Author did a great job at trying to stop that being the focus of discussion. The whole thing felt like trying to make him look bad, without the balance of things that Elon does well, and has taught himself to do better. It was as if your enemy is trying to find out and share horrible things about you.

After listening to only half of this video I can honestly say that this man is the perfect biographer. Kudos to the interviewer for the great questions as well.

Growing up in Pretoria in the 1980s was much more complex than people generally think. There was a war going on. There were sanctions. There were many bomb threats. Sometimes bombs did go off. There was a lot of bullying going on. Once a week high school boys had to wear military uniforms and take part in military drills. All young men had to join the army after finishing high school or university. Elon was therefore exposed to high levels of discipline in school, but luckily avoided being drafted into the army when he left for Canada after finishing high school. Army conscription then stopped around 1991 anyway. The school system on the other hand looked out for smart, Aspergers kids to help solve future problems. Kids with Aspergers were seen as gifted, not disabled and encouraged to attend extra and advanced classes. There were many bursaries available for smart, hard-working kids to attend universities. Errol Musk might have been negative as many higher level jobs and opportunities were reserved for members of the (Afrikaans speaking) Broederbond, a type of Illuminati. Hy possibly just didn’t want Elon to have unrealistic expectations. The South African economy at that time consisted mainly of a few very large companies and small companies had to have the right contacts to get business. Sanctions limited scope to create the type of companies that Elon wanted to create. Canada and the US opened up possibilities.

It's interesting to note the biographer insinuates the childhood experience lasts as long as we live. I cannot agree enough with his comment. Whether genius, villan, or ordinary persons, we all have some negative childhood memories, the dark side. How we deal with it changes our life in the adulthood. In the same token, the importance of upbringing is undeniable and affects not only the individual but also the society.

Walter seems a very down to earth and humble guy, with no ulterior motives to write anything he doesn't want to. Being impartial at this level certainly makes the book very interesting and probably a must read for a lot of people who know very little about Elon and yet elevate him into a pedestal like a God.

Now he has 11 children that will grow up with their own trauma due to having a mostly absent father.

The key line, don't try to be like Elon Musk. Be yourself!! Their is a huge sacrifice people on this level make... We all make sacrifices you just need to own what you do and how you do it. Everyone thinks you are crazy until you are right. Mistakes are done by people doing stuff, make no mistakes, likely your are not doing anything. I love the algorithm method... First principals... Question requirements. Love it

As a person with Aspbergers, being Bi-polar and having a personality disorder I can for sure tell you this is the case with Elon, we share so many traits after hearing this man talking about Elon. It was like he was talking about me at times.

Your book is great Walter - mine got here yesterday and I read it cover to cover overnight...

Thank You. I also read the book. I do admire his writing skills and his humble spirit to share people's life and their lives in non- invasive ways. He has something of great value to people that he writes about..it is called unconditional respectful. He was very respectful of him; Elon Musk and his Families. Great work.♥️ proud of both! And it wasn't an easy thing. But. A Good Thing. Thank you to the interviews.

Wow, one of the very best interviews I've ever heard. Well done!

I love the mature setup of this interview piece, no jazzy intros or irritating buzz, just 2 people talking sense.

So, a "mode" that requires progress, motivation, initiative and accountability is now "demonic." You've got to be kidding me. Let's go over a short list where "demon mode" is required (so that civilization doesn't crumble and people don't die by thousands). 1) Airline pilot 2) Ship captain 3) Military 4) Police 5) Firefighter 6) Power & water plant management 7) train engineer & semi driver 8) agriculture 9) construction 10) pretty much anything or everything else that advances or maintains the infrastructure of civilization & the social contract.

Walter Isaacson wrote a great book. I enjoyed it immensely!

i also struggle with cptsd. i overcame the worst of the effects by my mid-30's out of necessity. i still tend to "fawn" as my default. i still struggle with identity. all of this infuses my work, and each album i make reflects my...progress, for lack of a better term ~

I haven’t met a perfect person yet…. What I like and appreciate about Elon is he has made tens thousands of people millionaires AND he has made his employees some of the best paid and technically advanced in the world… When I was in the Navy, the best Captains and C XO’s used demon mode to get things done these men and women could whip everyone into a battle winning team and that’s what winning leaders do…. Every single “nice guy” I know gets torn apart by the elite media and Ivy League graduates

Great exchange on the Demon mode topic. Thanks to Walter, for being a good friend to Elon Musk and being honest. I had worked for two bosses who got into very intense mode a lot. I didn’t endure that kind of work relationship but some of my coworkers did just fine, and they still do. I’m still friend to both people and I often appreciate my experience with them, though I still don’t like to be pushed around😅, think that’s partly my problem.

I’m here for Walter. He’s an amazingly nuanced writer who can make anything/anyone interesting.

Good interview! Well prepared with good questions

I love this biographer but clarification, Steve Jobs did not invent the Macintosh, Steve Wozniak did. Steve Jobs was a brilliant man, salesman, inventor and motivator. Waz was the brilliant innovator..

Always be kind. My computer tech friends and husband in pressure situations gave that advice early on, 1980s. High energy excitement.

The end card with Errol Musk’s reply says it all. Elon as characterised by WI and other accounts IMO is almost a prototypical Gen Xer, and Errol-Elon as a publicly visible instance of intergenerational trauma. Hope many of the Millennial, Gen Z generation will choose in themselves to begin to break up this cycle and not continue passing on this terrible legacy and debt previous generations have failed to address.

Excellent interview! I’m 1/3 through the book; absolutely love it.

I found the focus of this interview to be excessively negative. Every person has demons. Fewer people have the virtues of Elon Musk.

From my experience the old school mentality of "demon mode" might work in the short term, but not in the long term.

I read the book and Mr. Isaacson did a phenomenal job writing it. The whole time I was reading it I wanted out of there, and I wanted to be done with the book because it was oppressive. For an author to capture that nuance there is some exceptional talent there.

Overall a quite foreboding depiction of the man. They picked up Grimes use of the phrase "demon mode" and used it liberally to describe Musk's behaviour - to make it stick. Big focus on his temper where, apparently, he doesn't yell or lose control or get violent. That's a bad temper? Seems to me that's a guy who is the CEO of multiple companies and has to get stuff done. This interview kind of cracked me up. Their characterizations are a bit silly.

It's a miracle the guy is alive. Anyone that can overcome what Elon has overcome does not live in fear. He is truely free. I love him. Nobody is perfect.

Awesome interviewer. Real professional no small talk. Kudos

The description of ‘demon mode’ is an example of a dissociated state.

Demon Mode = Vision Mode, Creative Mode, Drive mode

This interview is 99% negative. I don’t see how these questions from the interviews are not biased.

Describing that Demon mode or Dark mode was the key highlight....thanks Walter for the book

Interesting to watch this. Book arrives in my mail today. Looking forward to reading it.

What a nice and wellspoken man sir Isaac is

Great interview. Very well done.

Just started reading the book 3 hours ago, can’t put it down

Great interview!!

The interviewer seems threatened by intelligence. Seems belittled by it. Comes with a lot of prejudice. The Author is very elegant in his responses as he is in his books.

Reading the book . Very interesting. A great insight into Elons mind and what makes him what he is to this day . Hope there will be a follow up . ❤️❤️👌

Excellent interview. Thank you!

I'm definitely gonna read the book.

The media sure likes to focus on the negative.

Very similar to Steve Jobs in that he snaps into this dark mode and then barely remembers it after

So what have we gathered from that interview? My self, I’ve learned that Elon Musk is human and has flaws like everybody else. The only difference is, he’s willing to share it and expose it with a biographer following him around on his tail for years. How many other people would do that? It seems to me Elon is heavy in selfself-awareness, which is sorely lacking in society today.

One does not get to be a captain of industry by being Mr Rogers. Musk has earned the right to be however he wants. Any idiot can criticize, but only a few can actually get things done.

No Sh#$... I can see his narcissism 500 miles away.

A very enjoyable interview where the journalist has done his homework brilliantly and Isaacson was providing thoughtful responses in such a composed way. Can’t say that I become a fan of Musk, but I do have great admiration for Isaacson.

48 laws of power: Law 41 avoid stepping into a great man's shoes. (His father wasn't great nor a business innovator) Elon is a real life hero. I remember one passage though. 'You may believe that you have separated yourself from the predecessor or father figure, but as you grow older you must be eternally vigilant lest you become the father you had rebelled against.' Really hope he achieves his goals because our future generations truly depend on his missions. Sterkte Elon. P.S Bill Gates, is a egocentric hypocrite.

Does the author not grasp the reasoning behind the switch in FSD? I noticed he made zero attempt to explain Elon's logic in choosing to more away from code based FSD toward AI learning based FSD, other than to say that Elon loves disruption. What a disappointing and shallow interpretation of Elon's motives. Sigh.

I grew up seemingly with the exact same parents as Elon.. the father sounds exactly like mine and his mother reminds me EXACLY of mine, its like watching my own mother, its eerie. For this reason I dont for a second think that that neurotic woman didnt add to the strife in that home.

Listening between the lines reveals that the WJ still wants to take down EM

fantastic interview, well done

WSJ just can't have a normal interview about people they don't actually like, the way Walter described Elon musk's "demon mode" and the direction in which the interviewer was trying to take it were different. At some point, Walter mentions that Elon also has other modes "Engineer, Inspirational" and then the interview just redirects him to "demon mode" 😅

No mention of Boring Company or Neuralink? Great interview.

In Gestalt "demon mode" is the shadow side; most push it in the subconscious because it scares them. Elon Musk has the strength and courage to bring it to the forefront to push through it and emerge on the other side of creativity.

I'm getting a sense of envy from folks discussing Elon Musk. I like this biographer, didn't think I would .

Elon Musk, probably the most intelligent person i have ever seen. I hope he knows how many people are backing him!

Generally a good interview, but maybe skewed too much towards Elon's shortcomings vs his achievements. I suspect he will not get the credit he deserves until long after he is dead, which is sad

ordered the book. Great interview too

Excellent interview, that's why subscribe to their weekend edition paper and have for years.

Did anyone stand up to Elon Musk and if so, did they get fired?

I really think at some point you just cant blame your childhood, once your 30+ years old you have the knowledge by then to forgive, move on and start and live your own life and change it to be the way you want it and quit letting childhood damage ruin you

A good fabric needs strength in the warp and the weft, so there is that balance between the two.

His disruption is a measured action, it’s deliberate, so that people’s brains have to do a quick change. It’s helpful for the desired outcome

I rather watch Steve and Elon have a beer together!

Gratitude. Very insightful book.

To me, the interviewer of this author is overall too critical. He appears to be biased and vilify Mr. Musk from the beginning and so continues to go on about it. Yes, we should ask questions about leaders. However, anyone who operates a successful business must challenge themselves the most, and then their employees so that they can achieve new goals. This is because most people do not want to do things outside their comfort zone. However, if people do so, and should they succeed, its incredibly rewarding in life for all of them. People in our society used to understand this all very well but its somewhat lost over the past number of years. Think of the sacrifice that this is on an entrepreneur who is undoubtedly human and who has feelings as well.

Can't wait to read this book, although after this interview I have a hard time standing this man.

Beautiful interview, As we lessons to what drives Elon Musk to be great, We need to understand that childhood trauma's does has a damning effect on a child , that carries onto the future of ones life. With all that , Elon obviously from a child ,to a teenager , was destined to be great , one of the most admired engineer, Physicist , innovative inventor , and businessman etc, on this time. Elon Musk the most loved man of this era, like his partner Grimes said his demon mode will gets things done, Love his awesome works for humanity. Keep doing great things ,Elon Musk.❤💯

Really loved the interview, have read most of the book and really appreciate Elon musk. I also love my tesla!

I can play both role at same time, shall we break this method like how i used to before 2021

Elon in demon mode = manic episode in bipolar disorder for the rest of us

best modern biographer

If he could handle bad news from people, he wouldn't be in the trouble spot he's in. He did a lot of damage to his reputation

Decent interview with just enough tidbits to entice one to read the book.

I also remember the time when my mom called me stupid. It was even more traumatic for me that my dad’s yelling, or floggings.