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When Elon Musk was a 20-something entrepreneur pushing his first startup, he claimed to a potential investor that he couldn't possibly fail at business because he was the reincarnation of one of the greatest warriors in all of human history, according to a new book.
Washington Post reporter Faiz Siddiqui recounted the exchange between Musk and venture capitalist Derek Proudian in "Hubris Maximus," out this week.
Musk reportedly told the investor that his fledgling company, Zip2, which promised to put the Yellow Pages online, was “going to be the biggest company ever.”
When Proudian tried to change the subject, Musk retorted, “No—you don’t understand. I’m the reincarnation of the spirit of Alexander the Great," the book said.
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Proudian, who "brushed off Musk's words" in the 1990s, is now worried after seeing what Musk has become, The Daily Beast reported.
“I am really concerned because I know how smart this guy is and I know how much money he has and I know how ruthless he is, and it’s playing out in front of my own eyes,” Proudian said.
In another example of Musk's "arrogance," a former Tesla investor told Siddiqui that "Musk cannot stand being told what to do—even by the Securities and Exchange Commission," adding, “He just basically has a complete disdain for any authority period."
A former Tesla software engineer is quoted as saying, "We saw with definitive proof his true colors,” over subjects like racial justice during the George Floyd protests. “I don’t know if he doesn’t want to empathize or if he feels he’s just too busy to empathize.”
The Daily Beast article stated that Siddiqui "has long covered Musk’s antics at Tesla and Twitter for the Post," and that when asked for comment, Musk would often quip, “Give my regards to your puppetmaster,” referring to fellow multibillionaire Jeff Bezos.
Musk did not comment for the Daily Beast article, according to its author.
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