Walter Isaacson is widely known as an acclaimed biographer who has delved into the lives of historical figures such as Alfred Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, and Steve Jobs, among others. However, his recent 670-page biography of Elon Musk has raised concerns about his accuracy and fairness as a journalist, as pointed out by Elizabeth Lopatto at the Verge. Lopatto provides several examples where Isaacson seems to have gotten the facts wrong or disregarded criticism of Musk and his companies, while promoting the image of a genius. One notable example, highlighted in an excerpt summarized by CNN, involves Isaacson recounting how Musk allegedly instructed his engineers to disable Starlink’s internet coverage of the Crimean coast last year in order to prevent a secret attack by Ukraine on the Russian naval fleet in Sevastopol. Musk quickly refuted this account, stating that “government authorities” had made an “emergency request” to activate the Starlink service, which was not actually operational in Crimea. According to Musk, complying with the request would have implicated SpaceX in an act of war and escalated the conflict. Isaacson promptly acknowledged his error, admitting that his understanding was incorrect and based on conversations with Musk. He assured that future editions of the biography would be updated accordingly. Lopatto found this mistake troubling, particularly because it couldn’t be explained by the sources listed by the author. Additionally, Lopatto highlights instances where Isaacson chose not to interview other sources and instead accepted Musk’s claims, despite his tendency to exaggerate or even lie. Isaacson mentions a summer camp attended by Musk, where supposedly a child died every few years, but the source for this claim is assumed to be a member of the Musk family. Isaacson also suggests that the inspiration for Neuralink came from science fiction, failing to mention that human brain-machine interfaces had been in existence for a decade before the company’s founding. Moreover, allegations of animal abuse at Neuralink and sexual and racial harassment at Tesla are not addressed. While Isaacson does acknowledge the “quirky conservative populist views” of Musk’s maternal grandfather, he conveniently omits the fact that the grandfather chaired the national council of Canada’s openly antisemitic Social Credit Party. Lopatto asserts that Isaacson overlooks details that portray Musk in a negative light, which poses a challenge for a biographer attempting to write a comprehensive account of a great figure. (Read more Walter Isaacson stories.)
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