The limits of myth-making are apparent in Walter Isaacson’s new biography. | Illustration by William Joel / The Verge
The trouble began days before the biography was even published.
CNN had a story summarizing an excerpt of Walter Isaacson’s Elon Musk that claimed Musk had shut down SpaceX’s satellite network, Starlink, to prevent a “Ukrainian sneak attack” on the Russian navy. The Washington Post followed it up, publishing the excerpt where Isaacson claimed Musk had essentially shut down a military offensive on a personal whim.
This reporting did not pass the smell test to me, and I said so at the time; I wondered about the sourcing. One of the things that anyone covering Elon Musk for long enough has to reckon with is that he loves to tell hilarious lies. For instance:
“Funding secured.” Remember when Elon Musk pretended he was going to take Tesla…
