Power Play: Elon Musk, Tesla, and the Bet of the Century

Tesla has become a phenomenal success in a relatively short time and has recast what electric cars can be - this is a very readable and well written account of the history of Tesla with plenty of details of the various ups and downs

OK this is going to be a difficult review to write because although I found the book gripping and felt as though I'd learned a lot, it felt as though I knew less at the end than the beginning. Let me try to explain. Overall I got the impression that Tesla has succeeded almost despite Elon Musk, rather than because of him. Not just through his management style but by his own admission, his blind spots over eg the Model X design and Model 3 production plan. And this is the problem. In a seemingly relentless series of challenges and own goals there is so little to praise, and the innovative technologies literally unmentioned (the Octabottle, the giga presses, the heat pumps, Dojo etc) that such things become noticeable by their absence. The book might have benefitted from a chapter on engineering innovations. And sure, people who were fired will have (justified) reason to complain. But it would have been interesting to have some positive insights. Glad I read it, but equally glad to have had info from other perspectives, such as Herbert Diess of VW saying that Tesla can make a car in about a third the time, and inviting Elon to their 'crisis meeting', or Sandy Munro talking about some of the best engineering on the planet. We may still talk about Elon time with FSD and the Cybertruck etc, but I feel that a lot of the issues raised on the book have been or are being addressed. So overall, some balance needed, and it feels like journalism rather than insightful and in-depth authorship.

Easy to read and a very interesting book. Be aware that this is a Tesla oriented book (it says so on the cover :) so it presents the story of Musk’s Tesla more than anything else.

Really enjoyed this book. Great insight into the history of Tesla and into the mind of Elon Musk.Would definitely recommend

Page turning albeit a little biased.

Bought as a Christmas present so cannot comment on the book itself, but it was great value, arrived on time and in perfect condition.

I liked his childhood

Makes you want to go all-in on $TSLA 🤣

Good info on how the EV thing got started, what they discovered about Lithium Ion batteries, and when Elon got involved.

Facil de leer y con datos precisos, muy interesante

Ok, ok. All this fuss about the truthfulness of the book is that, Elon Musk doesn't like this book and he openly objected to the truthfulness of the book. Other than the private life gossip, the book is calling out that Tesla's problem for 'building airplanes as they take off' --everything is running in crushing deadlines, with over-engineering just for glamor, and expedient solution to big problems. I don't know if that's true or not, but I do remember a friend of mine got his Tesla 3 and couldn't close the door properly due to a slight misfit with the frame --a problem we watched with disbelief as we idolized the martian, the ironman, and we absolutely refuse to believe how could he pump out a flimsy product like that. The book gave me some context.But on the private life gossip, I thought those are not necessarily important to the main theme of the book and the author could've done without (and perhaps preserved the reputation of the book better).Other than that, I think this is a valuable business case book for anyone who aspires to build a new company or wishes to survive in a hectic start-up. The book detail all the problems arise from naïve planning, in suppliers negotiation, fund-raisings, lobbying, PRs, and even salesmen not closing sales. And the good part of the book is, there is also detail in how each of these problems is tackled the Elon Musk way and resolved, either by skills or by luck.The book also points out the problems caused by Mr. Musk himself, who for marketing effect always shoot for engineering glamor and leave the nitty-gritty detail to his engineers and work their butt off without leniency in deadlines. But hey, from Elon's point the market and wall street are not going to be lenient with him as well. So I guess that's the harsh reality Elon, with his reputation on the line, transcends to his company.The most valuable business lessons come from what didn’t work. Tesla had many ideas, and a good amount of them didn't work out. How the good ideas were bet, and bad ideas were discarded, and how the people were shuffled to make those ideas happen, is where I think the “Power play” and the “Bet of the century” were really meant to be.All in all, I recommend aspiring entrepreneurs or start-up executives to read this book.

His personal thinking , perception of the world, how he got the inspiration every morning at his first day gave me a lot to think ,not only about money but the all human beings , who gonna suffer after all the fights and wars for self-Center attitude. Insightful book.

Interesante libro que cuenta tanto los pros como los contras de Tesla