Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Sunday, Aug 02, 2026

Elon Musk biography by Walter Isaacson said to be nearing completion

Elon Musk biography by Walter Isaacson said to be nearing completion

Isaacson describes his bio of Musk as, 'the best story in America….a straight narrative'

Best-selling author Walter Isaacson, who has penned biographies on business and historical figures, is said to be moving toward finishing his book on Elon Musk, sources with direct knowledge of the matter tell Fox Business.

One person with direct knowledge of the matter said Isaacson is close to concluding a rough "sketched out" draft of his tome about the erratic and iconic billionaire, though there could be further revisions that delays the process.

"He’s looking to put a bow on it," the person with knowledge of the matter described Isaacson’s task at hand. "He’s about two chapters away."

Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during a press conference at SpaceX's Starbase facility near Boca Chica Village in South Texas on February 10, 2022. - Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk delivered an eagerly-awaited update on SpaceX's Starship, a prot

Fox Business has learned Isaacson expects the book will be finished by the fall, but his biggest hurdle is figuring out how to end it because Musk is constantly making news, and his various ventures, whether it’s Tesla, or his latest big move, his $44 billion purchase of Twitter, remain in constant flux. It’s unclear if his publisher, Simon & Schuster will release the book in 2023 or 2024.

The sweeping biography will span most of Musk’s life and business accomplishments, from running Tesla, the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, SpaceX that seeks to explore the universe, to his contentious acquisition of Twitter that closed last fall.

Isaacson declined to comment. He has described his Musk bio as "the best story in America….a straight narrative" and that he went into the writing of it "without any bias," according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

In July 2021, Fox Business was first to report that Isaacson was in talks with Musk to write a biography on the person who was then the world’s richest man as Tesla became one of the market’s hottest stocks. Musk agreed to give Isaacson access, including interviews and observing him while at work.

Musk, known for his enormous wealth, and irreverent style as he developed cutting-edge businesses, seemed like a perfect subject for Isaacson, who wrote a best-selling biography on Steve Jobs, the creative genius behind another transformational business, Apple.

Walter Isaacson, the world's preeminent biographer, is penning the final touches to a biography on Elon Musk.


But much has happened since Isaacson began following Musk and putting pen to paper. When Isaacson started reporting on Musk, the Tesla CEO was regarded with Jobs-like admiration among investors and the media for advancing a potentially revolutionary business and becoming the world’s richest man in the process.

Musk is no longer the world’s richest man. That distinction now goes to LVMH co-founder Bernard Arnault, and his Musk’s precipitous decline in wealth ($200 billion in about a year) can be directly attributed to some high-profile business missteps.

What looked like an electric vehicle revolution has stalled. Tesla’s shares have been in a free fall for much of the past year. Musk’s on-again, off-again, on-again pursuit of Twitter ended with him wildly overpaying for a platform that often loses money. He was forced to sell his Tesla stock into its own downdraft to finance the acquisition.

He is now being confronted by angry Tesla shareholders, who have seen the value of their stock decline more than 50% over the past year compared to a nearly 2% decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Tesla, meanwhile, remains the biggest store of his enormous wealth, now estimated at $159 billion.

Walter Isaacson's biggest problem: figuring out where to end the book given the constant flux of Elon Musk's business ventures including the acquisition of Twitter and a possible successor at Tesla.


While Musk has won praise for opening up Twitter to more conservative voices after the social-media company was accused of censorship, his erratic management style has depressed morale at the platform. He initially fired workers and was forced to hire some back. Musk has said that reviving Twitter’s business might not happen, and he has spoken about the possibility of placing the company in bankruptcy.

Regulators are circling as well; Tesla faces numerous government probes, and Musk on Monday was giving testimony in a federal class-action lawsuit over his infamous 2018 tweet that claimed he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private at a significant premium to where it was trading.

The funding never materialized; regulators charged Musk with civil securities fraud. He settled without admitting or denying wrongdoing, but paid a $40 million fine, resigned as Tesla chairman, and agreed to have his tweets monitored, which he continues to flout.

How Isaacson concludes a story that may never conclude could force more re-write and delays, people with knowledge of the matter say. "The problem for Walter is that Elon keeps making news," one person close to the author told Fox Business.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
Over 24 Hours in the Air: Qantas Airbus Completes Record-Breaking Test Flight
Arrest Warrant Issued in Lebanon for Tycoon Spotted Meeting Netanyahu in Washington
Trump says Israel ‘would not survive’ without US
Nvidia Reportedly Takes Vast Texas Data-Centre Lease to Underwrite AI Expansion
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Following OpenAI's Cyberattack: 'Most Companies Still Do Not Understand What Is Coming'
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
Miliband Sets Climate and International Law at Centre of UK Diplomacy
Pentagon Discloses Nearly 100 US Troop Injuries During Renewed Iran Fighting
Trump Readies New Tariffs as Temporary Global Levy Nears Expiry
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Trump Draws Boos and Podium Scrutiny at Spain’s World Cup Triumph
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Turkey Explores S-400 Transfer to UAE in Bid to Rejoin F-35 Program
US Retaliates Against Iran After Two American Troops Killed in Jordan
Proposed U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Pact Could Permit Limited Uranium Enrichment Under International Safeguards
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken Became KFC—and Why the False Explanations Persist
Iran Claims It Destroyed Bahrain’s Main Artificial Intelligence Center in Missile and Drone Strike
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
Reported CIA Mission Helped Clear the UAE’s Path to Advanced US AI Chips
Artificial Intelligence Capital Fuels Markets While Governments and Regulators Face Mounting Strategic Tests
China’s Moonshot’s Kimi K3 Narrows the Gap With Anthropic Through Scale, Openness and Lower Cost
The Ledger Will Not Trust on Faith
Passenger Bound for Germany Refused to Sit Beside a Woman on a Plane — Then Slapped a Flight Attendant
Ukraine’s Leadership Rift Spills Into the Streets as Protesters Target Army Chief
The Ten World Cup Finals That Defined Football History
Smartphones Are Getting More Expensive, Sales Are Collapsing, and Even Apple Admits: "Prices Will Rise"
Leadership Change and Strategic Rivalry Redraw the Political Map
The AI Race Enters Its Infrastructure Era
Britain Nationalises British Steel to Protect Scunthorpe Production and Strategic Supply
Thomas Tuchel Faces Fierce Backlash After Tactical Retreat Costs England World Cup Final Berth
A Quiet Bastille Day: France Grapples with World Cup Heartbreak and Leftover Fireworks
Spain in Ecstasy: "We Feel Unbeatable, We Taught the Whole World a Lesson"
Harvard Astrophysicist to Lead U.S. Scientific Advisory on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena
Emergency Sirens Activated Across Bahrain as Interior Ministry Issues Shelter Directives
World Cup Visitors Turn American Big-Box Stores Into Souvenir Stops
Netflix Weighs Always-On Channels, Bundles and Short-Form Video
The AI Invoice Shock: Layoffs Didn't Save Managers Money — They Cost Them More
Concern: Sexually Transmitted Bacterium Among Men Develops Antibiotic Resistance
Passenger Partially Pulled Out of Ryanair Jet After Cabin Window Fails Mid-Flight
Severe Heatwave Drives Dangerous Ground-Level Ozone Pollution Across Two Thirds of European Union
The Physical and Electronic Barriers Disrupting Domestic Wireless Networks
France and Morocco Open World Cup Quarter-Finals as Collina Defends Refereeing
Tech Pulse: The Future of AI and Screen Culture
Global News Briefing: Escalating Geopolitical Tensions and Corporate Shakeups
Global News Brief: Escalating Conflicts, Public Health Crises, and World Cup Drama
Europe's Growing Struggle with Extreme Heat and Air Conditioning
×