Insane Mode

Maury Klein in The Power Makers. "If nothing else, it made good copy."

Edison failed to mention that his bulbs at that point could burn for only a few hours and that the electrical infrastructure needed for them to work at scale was as yet undeveloped. It took another two years for him to discover that a carbonized bamboo filament could burn for more than a thousand hours. What mattered most for the promise, however, was the story.

Today, Musk makes wild claims about a radically advanced future. Electric vehicles will replace all other cars on the road, he says. The sun will provide most of the world's power. By 2060, there could be a million people living on Mars, which would in turn create a "strong economic forcing function" to improve space travel, leading almost certainly to the colonization of the rest of the solar system. Musk's conception of the future is like something out of an Isaac Asimov novel. However, now that his companies have made reusable rockets that can land themselves on the launch pad and have created award-winning electric sedans that can outperform million-dollar supercars, the papers take him seriously. If nothing else, it makes good copy.

Like Edison, too, Musk is willing to combat opponents who would undermine his vision. During a public relations crusade to discredit alternating current, a form of electric power that posed a commercial threat to his preferred direct current, Edison went so far as to support the use of the electric chair for executing criminals who had been sentenced to death, paying an engineer to use alternating current for the task. Musk's arguments against competing technologies have been less ruthless, but he has nev

chapters of Insane Mode might have you thinking, I know this already, but you should keep going.
--GeekWire

Insane Mode is a gripping account of how Elon Musk has used genius and tenacity to overcome a mind-boggling array of obstacles and transform the auto industry. Hamish McKenzie is uniquely qualified to present this compelling and comprehensive look at Tesla and the companies from California to China that are following its lead. For everyone from entrepreneurs to educators, this book is indispensable.  
--Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
 
"Destined to be the classic business book about how great entrepreneurs can overcome challenges and beat back naysayers to change entire industries. McKenzie tells the riveting tale of how Elon Musk beat better capitalized incumbents, but McKenzie goes further and shows the rivals coming from China who were just like Musk a decade ago. McKenzie shows how Chinese entrepreneurs-- ambitious, backed by the Chinese state, and full of crazy dreams of innovation--are starting to rival Tesla in innovation in the electric and autonomous driving space. If there is one business book to read this year, McKenzie's Insane Mode is the one!"
--Shaun Rein, author of The War for China's Wallet and founder of the China Market Research Group 
 
Hamish McKenzie paints a compelling picture of Tesla s wild ride with nuance, context, and deep research not always found in today s news headlines. Insane Mode is a must-read for anyone interested in the profound, disruptive changes happening to the global automotive and energy industries.
--Erin Griffith, technology journalist 
 
"Filled with fascinating stories and intriguing insights, the book paints a portrait of a brilliant, combative, relentless man who will not stop until America s roads are populated with electric cars and humans have colonized Mars."
--Adam Penenberg, New York University journalism professor, author of Tragic Indifference and Viral Loop

"Anyone fascinated with electric vehicles in general, and the Tesla story in particular, will enjoy Insane Mode. For those curious about how dominant practices get supplanted by new technologies, Insane Mode may provide useful lessons that can be applied outside of transportation."
--Insider Higher Ed