Jump to content

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

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century
The cover of the book, depicting red and black chess pieces adorned with various car logos, with Tesla being the largest. Text is stylized in all-caps and reads "Tesla, Elon Musk, and the bet of the century / Power Play / Tim Higgins / Wall Street Journal tech and auto reporter".
AuthorTim Higgins
LanguageEnglish
SubjectTesla, Inc., Elon Musk
GenreNon-fiction
PublisherDoubleday
Publication date
2021
ISBN978-0-385-54545-7

Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century is Tim Higgins's book about Tesla, Inc., published in 2021, that focuses on the company while under the management of Elon Musk. The book does not contain any interviews with Musk himself, but many anonymous current and former executives from Tesla.[1] In response to the book in general, Musk tweeted "Higgins managed to make his book both false *and* boring".[2]

Reception

[edit]

Star Tribune wrote that it "has done an outstanding job [and] performed a deep dive into the nuts and volts of Tesla."[3] The Los Angeles Times Tesla reporter Russ Mitchell reviewed the book and stated "I’ve covered Tesla as a reporter since 2016. When Higgins writes about facts and situations I’m familiar with, I can attest he’s right on the button, every time. If there’s any nonsense in “Power Play,” Higgins isn't the source of it."[4]

The Publishers Weekly review remarked that "Higgins takes an in-depth and well-balanced look at the interplay between Musk’s swashbuckling mindset of “building the airplane as [he] was heading down the runway” and the hardheadedness of Tesla's veteran engineers and leaders, who understood the rigors of making cars that could kill people if they malfunctioned."[5] NPR noted that "[t]he book pays scant attention to Full Self-Driving Autopilot, the controversial self-driving software Musk has long promised is on the verge of perfection" but states that it "is hardly boring".[6]

Tim Cook conversation controversy

[edit]

Following early coverage of the book, Elon Musk denied a featured anecdote where supposedly he and Tim Cook spoke about the possibility of Apple acquiring Tesla.[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Schleier, Curt (30 July 2021). "Review: 'Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century,' by Tim Higgins". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  2. ^ Musk, Elon [@elonmusk] (30 July 2021). "Higgins managed to make his book both false *and* boring 🤣🤣" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 August 2021 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ McFarland, Matt (11 May 2015). "The 22 most memorable quotes from the new Elon Musk book, ranked". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  4. ^ Mitchell, Russ (30 July 2021). "Review: A deep new history of Tesla takes the shine off Elon Musk". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century by Tim Higgins. Doubleday, $30 (400p) ISBN 978-0-385-54545-7". PublishersWeekly.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  6. ^ Domonoske, Camila (12 August 2021). "Tale Of Tesla, Elon Musk Is Inherently Dramatic And Compellingly Told In 'Power Play'". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  7. ^ Peters, Jay (30 July 2021). "Elon Musk and Apple deny wild story that he tried to replace Tim Cook". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.