Image: OnInnovation/Flickr
If you're a regular reader of Motherboard, you've probably noticed that we've ramped up our coverage of Elon Musk and SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity in recent weeks. Quite simply, there's no one else who has their hands in so many of the topics we regularly cover.With Tesla, Musk is seeking to revolutionize transportation and, maybe, energy storage. With SolarCity, he's trying to revolutionize the energy industry. And then there's SpaceX. In the near term, Musk has the potential to seriously change the economics of spaceflight. In the long term, he wants to make humans a multi planetary species, which is certainly a noble goal.
To learn more about the man making all this happen, I spoke with Ashlee Vance, the author of a fantastic new biography about Elon Musk. Vance and I spoke about trying to track down one of the world's busiest people (we even try to give him a call), Musk's management style, and ultimately, how all of his companies fit together.Perhaps most interestingly, Musk seems to be able to break into new industries almost by accident. In creating the world's best electric car, he's incidentally been able to break into the energy storage industry. In creating affordable access to space, he's created an infrastructure that may be able to disrupt the telecom industry, by launching an array of space satellites? What's next?Our podcast is sponsored by Casper Mattresses. One perfect mattress that you can try risk free for 100 days. It comes in an impossibly small box, and you can return it if you don't like it. Use code VICE for $50 off any order.