Founders #172 · · 6 books

Elon Musk (Early Days of SpaceX)

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This episode is cited on the Building through years of rejection reading path.

The book this episode covers

  1. Liftoff

    Eric Berger · Reading rank 53 · in 11 other episodes

    David praises the book as short and extremely readable, saying he tore through it because he found it engaging.

    Dedicated episode · Explicit praise · Founder theme

Books David recommends along the way

  1. Hard Drive

    James Wallace and Jim Erickson · Reading rank 6 · in 23 other episodes

    David calls Hard Drive one of his favorite books covered on the podcast and recommends it.

    Cross-episode reference · Explicit praise

  2. Les Schwab Pride in Performance

    Les Schwab · Reading rank 28 · in 10 other episodes

    David uses Les Schwab's profit-sharing model as an example of the power of incentives, connecting it to SpaceX's own stock-option incentives.

    Cross-episode reference · Founder theme

  3. Return to the Little Kingdom

    Michael Moritz · Reading rank 54 · in 14 other episodes

    David recommends the book, noting it captures Apple's earliest years.

    Cross-episode reference · Explicit praise

  4. The Space Barons

    Christian Davenport · Reading rank 101 · in 11 other episodes

    David explains the book contrasts Bezos' and Musk's different approaches to the same broad goal, a lesson he says extends beyond rocketry.

    Cross-episode reference · Founder theme

Also mentioned

  1. There's No Speed Limit

    Derek Sivers · Reading rank 206 · in 6 other episodes

    Cross-episode reference

Each note is a short paraphrase of why David brings the book up. Book pages show every piece of evidence and its review status. How ranking works