
Power Play
Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century
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Narrated by:
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Will Damron
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By:
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Tim Higgins
About this listen
A WALL STREET JOURNAL BUSINESS BESTSELLER • The riveting inside story of Elon Musk and Tesla's bid to build the world's greatest car—from award-winning Wall Street Journal tech and auto reporter Tim Higgins.
“A deeply reported and business-savvy chronicle of Tesla's wild ride.” —Walter Isaacson, New York Times Book Review
Tesla is the envy of the automotive world. Born at the start of the millennium, it was the first car company to be valued at $1 trillion. Its CEO, the mercurial, charismatic Elon Musk has become not just a celebrity but the richest man in the world.
But Tesla’s success was far from guaranteed. Founded in the 2000s, the company was built on an audacious vision. Musk and a small band of Silicon Valley engineers set out to make a car that was quicker, sexier, smoother, and cleaner than any gas-guzzler on the road. Tesla would undergo a hellish fifteen years, beset by rivals—pressured by investors, hobbled by whistleblowers. Musk often found himself in the public’s crosshairs, threatening to bring down the company he had helped build.
Wall Street Journal tech and auto reporter Tim Higgins had a front-row seat for the drama: the pileups, breakdowns, and the unlikeliest outcome of all, success. A story of impossible wagers and unlikely triumphs, Power Play is an exhilarating look at how a team of innovators beat the odds—and changed the future.
©2021 Tim Higgins (P)2021 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"[A] sweeping history of the electric-car juggernaut.... 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.” (Los Angeles Times)
"Tim Higgins’ compelling and deeply reported history of Tesla addresses the essential question of how this upstart automaker came from nowhere to become one of the most valuable companies on Earth.... An exceptional work of business journalism." (Washington Post)
“Tense, detailed and well-crafted...Power Play is a business thriller for real.... A clear, deeply reported and engaging account of how Musk launched a truly transformational car.” (Associated Press)
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By: Eric Berger
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The Innovators
- How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Following his blockbuster biography of Steve Jobs, The Innovators is Walter Isaacson’s revealing story of the people who created the computer and the Internet. It is destined to be the standard history of the digital revolution and an indispensable guide to how innovation really happens. What were the talents that allowed certain inventors and entrepreneurs to turn their visionary ideas into disruptive realities? What led to their creative leaps? Why did some succeed and others fail?
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A History of the Ancient Geeks
- By Mark on 10-21-14
By: Walter Isaacson
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Steve Jobs
- By: Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Dylan Baker
- Length: 25 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on more than 40 interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.
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Good Biography, Fine narrator
- By Chris on 10-27-11
By: Walter Isaacson
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The Nvidia Way
- Jensen Huang and the Making of a Tech Giant
- By: Tae Kim
- Narrated by: Michael Braun
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Nvidia is the darling of the age of artificial intelligence: the company’s chips are powering the generative-AI revolution, and demand is insatiable. For all the current interest and attention, however, Nvidia is not of our time. Founded more than three decades ago in a Denny’s in East San Jose, for years it was known primarily in the then-niche world of computer gaming. In fact, the company’s leather-jacketed leader, Jensen Huang, is the longest-serving CEO in an industry marked by near constant turmoil and failure.
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Don’t Buy This Book Be Forewarned
- By Susan Hess on 12-25-24
By: Tae Kim
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- Zach
- 02-26-23
Awesome detailing of a crazy startup story
A deep dive into Tesla, not just Elon, which is incredibly inspiring and entertaining. Highly recommend.
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- Eric
- 04-02-22
If you know nothing of Tesla
Highly recommended book that goes into the company’s wild ride.
It does go into a lot of the dark side of Tesla:
-Battle with Labor Unions (personally I side with Tesla, as Unions are useless to society)
-Relentless drive to be the best, produce the highest quality cars at scale and affordable as well.
-At times Elon Musk would have a temper as he would get angry at things he didn’t want to hear.
However, given what Tesla has accomplished and contributed to the world, that is also important and everyone that starts at this point in Tesla.
Be forewarned, if you are not ready for the hardest but most rewarding career at Tesla, then Get Lost!!
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- Chenner
- 05-04-23
How did we get here? Question answered
Good layout and explanation of how events progressed so far. A good read if you care about Musk and TLSA, although this should not be the only book on the subject.
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- abzrae
- 09-02-21
Detailed story of Tesla’s development, but not all that interesting
I don’t really feel I learned a whole lot that I didn’t know. Let’s just say I’m glad I listened at 1.5x speed.
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3 people found this helpful
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- GMK
- 10-28-21
Insightful
Love him or hate him Musk is a doer. Higgins does a good job explaining the challenges of creating my the Tesla - new technology and a tyrant genius.
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- LJ
- 09-15-21
Riveting, entertaining, informative
Having not read the other Musk biography, most of this was new information to me. I was loosely aware of Tesla’s history and the fact that Elon was not one of the original founders, but the documented history of all of Tesla’s struggles to get a vehicle to market, the many times they avoided bankruptcy at the last minute, and the many roadblocks thrown up to prevent the success of the company all along the way were things I hadn’t realized and made for an extremely fascinating listen. Highly recommend.
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- ShoppersRUs
- 03-10-23
Fascinating and entertaining
A well presented and engrossing history of Tesla. Elon Musk comes across as the erratic driven genius that he is. In summary, this is a fascinating account of what it takes to revolutionize an industry.
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- James Howrey
- 09-16-21
proofread
The end of chapter 20 uses incorrect wording. Solar system, not universe... sort of irritating
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- SAS
- 07-14-23
Great story about the evolution of Tesla
I mostly enjoyed the start of the book about the development of the battery and the vision that made Tesla at its start. Overall I really enjoyed the book and how it chronicled the inception of Tesla and Elons role. It’s kinda newsy so if you don’t have an interest in the auto or manufacturing industry may be hard to follow.
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- Sinustrunz
- 06-09-22
Tesla Haters & Fans should read
This is a pretty good comprehensive story about all the inner workings of Tesla motor Corp. which then became Tesla. It talks about all the dynamics involved and it is pretty amazing to read how Elon musk was able to group together so many people from different backgrounds and motivate them to meet ridiculous deadlines.
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