Rob, The “I’m a fan of the channel” made me smile also. I grinned more when I saw your response to that recognition! You’ve worked hard to earn that respect. Thank you for your effort!
He definitely did say to bring Dave Lee, but was also open to others being there. I personally vote that the interview also have James Douma and Jordan Giesige for their added areas of expertise while both knowing how to be respectful of sharing the space and time in such a valuable interaction.
It’s amazing how jaded some people can be and always looking for the negative side of things. Personally I would hate to go through life like that. “The wife/girlfriend is 20 minutes late coming home from work and she’s probably having a affair.”
Walter on your channel? Wild applause! His book peeled back some of the Musk mystery. Everything he revealed reinforces my view of Elon as an elite engineer, visionary, and capital allocator. And he's stubborn. And he's ridden by demons. Right. A biography is not a how-to manual, and none of us bear Elon's burdens, or wield his talents. Thanks your reporting, Rob, and thanks to Walter for his valuable and objective work.
Great interview Rob! The fact that you got this interview is a testament to the driving force you are and your impeccable reputation. You are held in a very high regard by everyone who is objective and knows of your work. Thank you for all you are doing to make the world, and the universe, a better place!
Wow. By far the best interview I’ve seen so far on this. It’s amazing to see the news ask the same questions over and over again. Rob came correct with some really great questions and that yielded some great answers. Top notch work from everyone and cool to hear Walter is a listener!
I'm gratified by his comments on the Elon's understanding of the engineering details. It pisses me off when some say things like "he just bought the company" or "he's not an engineer" or "the others do all the work". Sandy Munro said much the same. Sandy was astonished by Elon's understanding of the engineering details and his ability to cover a huge range of subjects and give intense attention to so many of them. The flip side was the bit about management style. Part of me wishes I could work for him, but most of me realizes that I could not, because I don't have the ability (or the desire) to be that hardcore.
Rob I watch you everyday. Your channel and its content is a MUST WATCH!. What a coup that you had Walter Isaacson on today. Congrats......great interview. Thanks for all your coverage.
Bravo, Rob! This is the best conversation about the new book that I've seen. You've got more journalistic chops that just about anyone in MSM (Fox, MSNBC, CNN, etc...) You get a better sense of what Walter is trying to say in his book than any of those people.
I have seen 2 other interviews with Walter Isaacson. This is by far the best interview! Excellent, excellent, excellent. Thanks Rob. Plus if my guess is right, we may see you on other venues soon of the TV variety, not just Cramer. I think you should celebrate with a PBR, at least that's what we did in college in Missouri. THanks again.
Great interview. Not surprise that Rob came to the interview after he read all 700 pages, just to find that Walter is a subscriber to Tesla Daily. I love to see that I have great sources and they are converging. I recommend people to read the book and to listen to Lex interview too.
Great great interview Rob, and I'm just in awe of the massive effort that Walter has made to get this amazing story down on paper. I've been an obsessive Musk/Tesla/SpaceX follower for a decade, and I'm about halfway through the book and finding it an enthralling page-turner that fills in a lot of gaps, including the horrible periods that we would rather forget.
Absolutely marvelous! Great interview, deep and serious and entertaining at the same time. Well deserved praise for Rob's work. Now I wonder: what ever happened to that interview Elon Musk promised with Rob and Dave Lee about a year ago????
Wonderful interview with Mr. Isaacson! Elon Musk is such an odd mix of... personality traits, it was a joy to hear Walter's Point of View about Elon. Well done, Rob.
My copy arrived on Tuesday and reading it I'm still in the pre-Tesla era, which I knew a fair about from Jimmy Soni's great book, "The Founders of PayPal" and other books. I would advise anyone who doesn't get what Musk is about should NOT skip to the later stuff. Musk's childhood shaped him and you will understand the vision and indeed demons that drive him. Also, others get their say and influence him, like brother Kimbal. I've had little time to read so far, but once I pick up the book I find it very difficult to put down. So far, very much recommended. 👍
Psychological safety doesn’t mean you can’t do business or can’t be urgent though. It just means that everyone in the team can be open and share concerns, feedback and comments without being judged. Actually very important to innovation.
I have avoided several interviews of Isaacson due to not wanting to see the focus put on things that aren't engineering related. I was pleased to have the chance to see an interview with Walter by an outlet that has the background and appreciation for what Tesla, SpaceX, and FSD have achieved. I ended up buying three of Isaacson's books while watching this interview.
Great job, Rob. I have seen a number of interviews with Mr. Isaacson over the last few days and this was easily the best. Mr. Isaacson knew your knowledge of Elon is vast and he was more open and willing to go into details with you. Thank you.
Great interview. Rob did an amazing job, asked really insightful questions that Isaacson answered. I can't remember any interview this good in quite a while (and of course Isaacson is a good interviewer.) I remember Isaacson's Steve Job's book. You could tell that he was holding back a bit, but he was still able to capture who Steve Jobs was. Elon Musk of course is much less guarded, and I don't think Isaacson wants to be liked, I think he can't wait to share more information and insight. I can't wait to read the book. I love the Steve Jobs bit at the end. In 2016 I was on an education panel in Japan. A high school principal said he wanted "students to be more open, more adventuresome, more like Americans, more like Steve Jobs." I then realized something, "Most people in American think they're like Steve Jobs, and obviously most of them are wrong." And I confess failing to admit having had the same notion myself.
The question of "Is Elon a good person?" I have worked for a few South African , highly technical managers. They are focussed on their work, the project and the final goals, they are not focussed on the well being of the people working for them. They push their staff, motivate by pressure and if their workers break, they are not good enough, get rid of them from the team and move on. They get so much done, but at a high human cost. Some people thrive on this and they work out how to work within the rules. I think it is a cultural upbringing that they have.
Wow, wow, wow Rob!!! What a well deserved honor to have Walter as a guest. Excellent interview and discussion. Facinating, objective, and illuminating. I am so happy for you to get this interview.
Rob, thanks for doing this interview! I look forward to more of this kind of thing now and again from the Tesla Daily platform. You are a great part of our Tesla lives.
Anyone notice that the comments relate more about Rob landing this interview rather than whatever Isaacson had to say? The community is behind you Rob!
By talking about Elon, Isaacson made me realize how kind, nice and smart he is. I am going to ask him to write his bio! The only remark is the use of "demon mode" referred to Elon. I am sure that it will be exploited by haters.
Low Walter Isaacson’s take on life and his open and honest take on his own learnings and failings - his reflection of leading CNN - also great that it is a balanced view of Musk and the reader can interpret as whether that is good / bad… one persons bad is another persons good :)
Exciting and fun tonight with you and Walter, he really appreciates your channel like we all do and shed light on the details of Elon’s ability to get the unbelievable accomplished. ❤
Congratulations for getting Walter Isaaacson on the podcast! Big thanks to him also for giving his time to our still not so big community. Also loved your style of interviewing him, great pace and great questions
Thanks Rob and Walter for this insightful episode. No other Walter interview came close. Congrats Rob for finishing the book. I use any spare second to read but aren’t even halfway through.
