Elon Musk
American Oligarch
The life and career of a prominent business and political figure is depicted in the graphic biography Elon Musk: American Oligarch.
Elon Musk was born in South Africa, where his father and mother, Errol and Maye, had a relationship marked by Errol’s physical and verbal abuse. Brilliant and entrepreneurial, Musk attended college, but left academic studies for the business world. An early venture with his brother yielded a lucrative sale, and he received an additional $250 million payout after being kicked out of PayPal. Ever ambitious, Musk rolled his fortune into investments in electric cars (Tesla) and rockets and space exploration (SpaceX). He also became more involved in politics, resulting in a prominent role under the second Trump administration.
The book draws from a bevy of published books, reports, and interviews about Musk and other featured characters. It renders Musk as an enigmatic figure, his motivations unclear and his statements contradictory. Through his past actions and quotations, a compelling, cohesive, and often critical narrative is formed, illuminating the personal life, business ventures, and politics of a person with an outsized influence on the contemporary world.
The art is simple and effective, using panels to convey not just personal interactions, but also maps and informational graphics. Metaphors make dry subjects more interesting: a failed business merger is illustrated as two jigsaw puzzle pieces being forced together. Visual humor lightens the book, seen in a panel that shows a Lord of the Rings-loving business partner in Middle-Earth garb.
Elon Musk: American Oligarch is a fascinating graphic biography of a controversial man.
Reviewed by
Peter Dabbene
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
