Elon Musk is not a very nice person and did not treat people well, says Ex-Tesla CEO

Elon Musk's leadership style has often been talked about, even questioned, in the past. Musk revealed to the public in 2019 that he has Asperger's syndrome, a condition that makes it hard for him to make eye contact with people. Those having Asperger's are known to have difficulty with social interactions, but have normal or above normal intelligence. And in his recently-released biography, penned by Walter Isaacson, Musk's Asperger's is widely discussed. His mother told the author that even though the Tesla co-founder wasn't diagnosed with Asperger's as a child, he surely has it. The book also says that Asperger's made it hard for Musk to feel empathy towards others.

The book traces Musk's journey from his childhood in South Africa, to making his first million and eventually becoming the CEO of companies like SpaceX and Tesla. The book also has quotes from people who Musk grew up with and worked with initially. And one of these people is former Tesla CEO Michael Marks, who was hired by Musk when Tesla's then-CEO, Martin Eberhard, was ousted from his position. While speaking to Walter, Marks said that Musk is 'not a very nice person' and didn't treat his people well.

Ex-Tesla CEO on Elon Musk

The book quotes Marks as saying, "Elon is not a very nice person and didn't treat people well." He adds that he was "appalled" to know that the Tesla chief had not read the novels penned by his first wife, Justine.

Marks further added that he told Musk that people won't be telling him the trusth because they were scared of him. "He could be a bully and brutal," he said about his coworker.

Marks, as per the book, was brought in as Tesla's interim CEO when its former CEO, Martin Eberhard, had been ousted by the board. Eberhard, along with Marc Tarpenning, had started the company back in 2003.

Circling back to Mark, he also added that Musk seemed to have no connection with people at all and his lack of empathy might even be beneficial in some ways where the "mission was more important than individual sensitivities."

Musk, on the other hand, advised Mark that if he tries to be a friend to all, it will lead him to care too much about other people's emotions rather than being concerned about the company's success.

Elon Musk while working at Zip2

The book also talks about Musk's first company, Zip2. When Musk and his brother Kimbal were building Zip2, he (Musk) was a ‘demanding’ manager who didn’t really believe in having a work-life balance. He worked day and night, without breaks, and expected others to follow suit. Isaacson also wrote in his book that when the engineers working on Zip2 left for the day, Musk would sometimes rewrite the code that they were working on. He had no realisation that fixing the engineer’s code wouldn’t really make them like him.

The book also talks about how Kimbal and Musk would often get into physical fights while working together at Zip2. And since the office didn’t have any closed rooms, everyone would be watching the Musk brothers fight. Kimbal, in the same book, also said that even though he loves his brother a lot, working with him was quite difficult.