Power Play
Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century
(Sprache: Englisch)
"Inside the outrageous, come-from-behind story of Elon Musk and Tesla's bid to build the perfect car Elon Musk is among the most controversial titans of Silicon Valley. To some he's a genius and a visionary; to others he's a mercurial con artist. Billions...
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"Inside the outrageous, come-from-behind story of Elon Musk and Tesla's bid to build the perfect car Elon Musk is among the most controversial titans of Silicon Valley. To some he's a genius and a visionary; to others he's a mercurial con artist. Billions of dollars have been gained and lost on his tweets; his personal exploits are the stuff of tabloids. But for all his outrageous talk of mind-uploading and space travel, his most audacious vision is the one closest to the ground: the electric car. When Tesla was founded in the mid 2000s, electric cars were novelties, trotted out and thrown on the scrapheap by carmakers for more than a century. But where most onlookers saw only failure, a small band of Silicon Valley engineers and entrepreneurs saw potential. The gas-guzzling car was in need of disruption; the world was ready for Car 2.0. So they pitted themselves against the biggest, fiercest business rivals in the world, setting out to make a car that was faster, sexier, smoother, cleaner than the competition. But as the saying goes, to make a small fortune in cars, start with a big fortune. Tesla would undergo a truly hellish fifteen years, beset by rivals, pressured by creditors, hobbled by whistleblowers, buoyed by its loyal supporters. Musk himself would often prove Tesla's worst enemy--his antics more than once took the company he had funded largely with his own money to the brink of collapse. Was he an underdog, an antihero, a conman, or some combination of the three? Wall Street Journal tech and auto reporter Tim Higgins had a front-row seat for the drama: the pileups, wrestling for control, meltdowns, and the unlikeliest outcome of all: success. A story of power, recklessness, struggle, and triumph, Power Play is an exhilarating look at how a team of eccentrics and innovators beat the odds--and changed the future"--
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Chapter 1This Time Could Be Different
The idea for an electric car kept JB Straubel up late one summer night in 2003. His tiny, rented house in Los Angeles brimmed that evening with members of Stanford University s solar car team, who had just finished a race from Chicago. The biennial event was part of a growing movement to stoke interest among young engineers in developing alternatives to gas-powered vehicles. Straubel had offered to play host to his alma mater s team, and the grueling run left many sleeping on his floor.
Intensely focused on his own projects, Straubel had never joined the team himself during his six years at the Stanford engineering school. But his interests aligned with those of his guests: He too was obsessed by the idea of powering cars with electricity an interest he had held since his childhood in Wisconsin. After graduating, he had floated between LA and Silicon Valley, struggling to find his place. Straubel didn t look like a mad scientist intent on changing the world; he had a quietness about him and the bland good looks of a midwestern frat boy. But inside, he had a gnawing desire to do more than take a job with friends at a startup like Google or join the bureaucracy of a Boeing or General Motors. He wanted to create something that changed everything, whether it was in a car or an airplane; he wanted to chase a dream.
Stanford s team, like its competitors, had designed a car that ran on energy it collected from the sun using solar panels. Small batteries stored some of that energy for use at night, or else when the sun was obscured by clouds. It being a solar race, however, organizers placed limits on how batteries could be used.
Straubel thought this prohibition was misguided. Battery technology had improved dramatically in recent years, with the rise of personal electronics. He wanted to think beyond the arbitrary rules defined by competition organizers. Better batteries meant a car could run longer without relying
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so much on finicky solar panels and the whims of the weather. Why not emphasize battery power, whatever the source, instead of fixating on the sun?
He d been studying a promising new type of battery that used lithium ion, first made popular by Sony in its camcorders a decade earlier before it spread to laptops and other consumer electronics. Lithium-ion cells were lighter weight and packed more energy than most of the rechargeable batteries then on the market. Straubel knew the challenges posed by older batteries those lead-acid, brick-shaped containers were heavy, and they held comparatively little energy. He might get twenty miles of driving range out of a car before needing to find a place to recharge. With the rise of lithium-ion batteries, however, he saw the potential for something more.
And he wasn t alone: Among those who stayed awake with him that night was one of the Stanford team s younger members, Gene Berdichevsky, who shared an interest in batteries. As they chatted, he grew excited about Straubel s idea. For hours they batted ideas back and forth. If they strung thousands of small lithium-ion batteries together to create enough energy to power a car, would they need to harvest the sun s energy at all? They did the math to figure out how many batteries they d need to power a car on a single charge to go from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. They sketched out a torpedo-shaped vehicle designed for aerodynamics. With half a ton of batteries and a lightweight driver, they figured their electric car might get a range of 2,500 miles. Just imagine the attention that would get it was precisely the kind of stunt that could spark worldwide interest in electric cars. Animated by their conversations, Straubel suggested the team shift gears from solar power to a long-range electric car. They
He d been studying a promising new type of battery that used lithium ion, first made popular by Sony in its camcorders a decade earlier before it spread to laptops and other consumer electronics. Lithium-ion cells were lighter weight and packed more energy than most of the rechargeable batteries then on the market. Straubel knew the challenges posed by older batteries those lead-acid, brick-shaped containers were heavy, and they held comparatively little energy. He might get twenty miles of driving range out of a car before needing to find a place to recharge. With the rise of lithium-ion batteries, however, he saw the potential for something more.
And he wasn t alone: Among those who stayed awake with him that night was one of the Stanford team s younger members, Gene Berdichevsky, who shared an interest in batteries. As they chatted, he grew excited about Straubel s idea. For hours they batted ideas back and forth. If they strung thousands of small lithium-ion batteries together to create enough energy to power a car, would they need to harvest the sun s energy at all? They did the math to figure out how many batteries they d need to power a car on a single charge to go from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. They sketched out a torpedo-shaped vehicle designed for aerodynamics. With half a ton of batteries and a lightweight driver, they figured their electric car might get a range of 2,500 miles. Just imagine the attention that would get it was precisely the kind of stunt that could spark worldwide interest in electric cars. Animated by their conversations, Straubel suggested the team shift gears from solar power to a long-range electric car. They
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Autoren-Porträt von Tim Higgins
Tim Higgins
Bibliographische Angaben
- Autor: Tim Higgins
- 2022, 400 Seiten, Maße: 13 x 20,2 cm, Kartoniert (TB), Englisch
- Verlag: ANCHOR
- ISBN-10: 1984898248
- ISBN-13: 9781984898241
- Erscheinungsdatum: 24.08.2022
Sprache:
Englisch
Pressezitat
[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 s 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
Higgins, who covers technology and autos for the Wall Street Journal, has done an outstanding job. He's performed a deep dive into the nuts and volts of Tesla. His book is extensively researched, including interviews with (unfortunately but understandably) anonymous current and former execs.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Richly detailed Higgins manages to deliver an evenhanded account that brings us up to date from Ashlee Vance s 2015 biography of Musk the prior definitive Tesla account and has a more urgent feel, given everything that has happened the past few years.
The Information
[Power Play] eschews sensationalism for a high-resolution portrait of how exactly an unusual man and an unusual company managed a meteoric rise . The tale of Tesla's ascent is inherently dramatic and compellingly told.
NPR.org
"Eminently readable A must-read for any fan or critic."
Business Insider
Higgins has written entertainingly about the financial Bet of the Century [He] is exemplary in describing many of these extraordinary machinations. He has interviewed hundreds of people associated with Tesla, both past and present. He knows the financial story like the back of his hand.
The Times (UK)
"A
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masterclass in narrative journalism, telling the extraordinary story of Tesla's rise to become one of the most fascinating companies of the 21st century, with inside-the-room detail and color that give it a cinematic feel."
Bradley Hope, New York Times bestselling co-author of Billion Dollar Whale
"Tim Higgins s electric narrative takes us through Tesla s every hairpin turn.... This case study on the thin line between madness and genius is set against a monumental backdrop: the rivalry between Silicon Valley and Detroit to develop and popularize the electric car. Having covered the industry from both locales, Higgins is uniquely equipped to lucidly and colorfully explain why the former triumphed and how it is that an impossible person can ultimately will an improbable success."
John Helyar, #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of Barbarians at the Gate
"No matter how you slice it, the story of Elon Musk and Tesla is a riveting one. In Power Play, Tim Higgins also makes the tale of Musk and Tesla compulsively readable, to say nothing of lively, fun and insightful!
William D. Cohan, New York Times bestselling author of House of Cards
Tim Higgins's portrait of Tesla in Power Play is simultaneously inspirational and troubling, revealing Elon Musk's risky scrambles to invent the future he's constantly promising to deliver. Through the tales of Tesla's frequent near-death experiences and executive firings, readers benefit from Higgins's depth of reporting in both Silicon Valley and Detroit.
Sarah Frier, award-winning author of No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram
Effectively combines [Higgins s] well-honed journalistic skills with revealing perspectives from industry observers, frustrated Tesla staff, futuristic engineers, and Musk himself, creating a spirited report on a company consistently embroiled in a swirl of melodrama and controversy....Readers fascinated by the hype of Tesla history will find a gold mine of facts and foibles in this immersive analysis.
Kirkus Reviews
In-depth and well-balanced...A sometimes appalling, occasionally inspiring, and always entertaining saga.
Publishers Weekly
"A well-documented and comprehensive look at Tesla, Elon Musk, and the people involved with its creation and successes."
Library Journal
"A riveting saga...Power Play reads like a novel."
The Free Lance Star
Bradley Hope, New York Times bestselling co-author of Billion Dollar Whale
"Tim Higgins s electric narrative takes us through Tesla s every hairpin turn.... This case study on the thin line between madness and genius is set against a monumental backdrop: the rivalry between Silicon Valley and Detroit to develop and popularize the electric car. Having covered the industry from both locales, Higgins is uniquely equipped to lucidly and colorfully explain why the former triumphed and how it is that an impossible person can ultimately will an improbable success."
John Helyar, #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of Barbarians at the Gate
"No matter how you slice it, the story of Elon Musk and Tesla is a riveting one. In Power Play, Tim Higgins also makes the tale of Musk and Tesla compulsively readable, to say nothing of lively, fun and insightful!
William D. Cohan, New York Times bestselling author of House of Cards
Tim Higgins's portrait of Tesla in Power Play is simultaneously inspirational and troubling, revealing Elon Musk's risky scrambles to invent the future he's constantly promising to deliver. Through the tales of Tesla's frequent near-death experiences and executive firings, readers benefit from Higgins's depth of reporting in both Silicon Valley and Detroit.
Sarah Frier, award-winning author of No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram
Effectively combines [Higgins s] well-honed journalistic skills with revealing perspectives from industry observers, frustrated Tesla staff, futuristic engineers, and Musk himself, creating a spirited report on a company consistently embroiled in a swirl of melodrama and controversy....Readers fascinated by the hype of Tesla history will find a gold mine of facts and foibles in this immersive analysis.
Kirkus Reviews
In-depth and well-balanced...A sometimes appalling, occasionally inspiring, and always entertaining saga.
Publishers Weekly
"A well-documented and comprehensive look at Tesla, Elon Musk, and the people involved with its creation and successes."
Library Journal
"A riveting saga...Power Play reads like a novel."
The Free Lance Star
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