Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk

by Faiz Siddiqui

An examination of Elon Musk during the most consequential period of his life, from the height of his power as the richest man on Earth to the potential beginnings of his downfall.

What happened to Elon Musk? In six years, he turned Tesla into the world’s most valuable automaker and cast himself as a savior of humanity, an altruist whose fortune would stop climate change and colonize Mars. How did this modern-day Edison, once an undisputed genius, devolve into a polarizing and perpetually distracted CEO and the biggest bag-fumbler in human history? He didn’t suddenly lose his mind, or morph into a tool of foreign agents. Elon Musk torched his reputation and put his entire empire at risk simply by being Elon Musk.

Hubris Maximus provides a gripping, detailed portrait of the billionaire’s rapid ascent, the chaos of his empire, and his spectacular public implosion. Washington Post reporter Faiz Siddiqui methodically deconstructs the making of the self-anointed Techno King, arguing that the warning signs were always visible to anyone willing to look. Musk’s audacity and erratic behavior drove his success from the start, and he relished in his increasing power; at every turn, he spurned regulators and whistleblowers, and replaced those who dared question him with loyalists. Now he is in a unique position to sabotage it all, and there is no one left to save him from himself.

This remarkable case study in the pitfalls of unyielding loyalty to one man and the fecklessness of a gridlocked government is ultimately a cautionary in a world that can’t turn away from its screens, competence is no match for the power of influence and sustained attention.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Politics, Audiobook, Business, Technology, History

336 pages, Hardcover

Published April 22, 2025

About the author

Faiz Siddiqui is a technology journalist who writes for the Washington Post and has covered companies such as Tesla, Uber and Twitter (now X) for the Business Desk. His reporting has focused on transportation, social media and government transformation, among other issues. His work has been recognized by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing and he has earned multiple Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence and Hearst Journalism awards. His writing has also appeared in the Boston Globe and NPR.

Reviews

[Jillian B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This work of business journalism is equal parts juicy and deeply researched, making it an absolute page-turner. It recounts Elon Musk’s business foibles at Tesla and Twitter/X. The scariest part for me was reading about how dangerous and frankly half-assed Tesla’s Autodrive system is, and how carelessly the company rolled updates out without sufficient testing. You’re not going to find many details of Musk’s complicated personal life in these pages, nor will you find the inside scoop on DOGE (due to the long lead time of trad publishing, this book was written before the Trump inauguration). But if you’re someone who’s fascinated by poor business decisions, this is a super interesting read!

[Dona's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished Reading
DNF @ p64

"There is a large graveyard filled with my enemies." —Elon Musk. p8

Pre-Read notes

Yikes. Look at that opening quotation and tell me it doesn't make you feel something. For me, it instills wariness and distrust. Who talks about their enemies like this except for people who are completely preoccupied with their enemies? I refuse to play armchair psychologist here, but being obsessed with real or perceived enemies is disordered thinking.

I had to read this for the same reason I read about the current species die-offs, pollution, wars and conflict, climate change and natural disasters, and pretty much everything else we manage to politicize in the U.S.-- books are the only delivery systems of such misery that I can tolerate. So here we go. I'm about to read about the man who is dismantling this country's social services and already making it extremely hard for me to get treatment and medication. (I'm disabled, which is one of the most politicized existences one can possess.) I don't expect this to be a pleasant read. *edit It wasn't.

Final Review

I have long admired Faiz Siddiqui's journalism so I was really excited to read this one. Musk is an interesting figure still, despite being polarizing. I had requested the book before he started working in the government in January, so I now have little tolerance for this subject, due to the fact that he is impossible to escape.

After reading as much of this book as I have, I'm worried some 💩head will dox me. But I still want to share what I've gained from just the little bit that I read. For sure, Musk's thinking is completely disordered in so many of the stories included here. My guess? He needs some sleep. But until he gets some, his absurd wealth will protect him from ever having to act like he's not the only person living here.

So if I can leave you with anything, it's this: Elon Musk is tripping.

I recommend this book to fans or critics of Elon Musk, or fans or critics of long form journalism.

Review summary and recommendations

Reading Notes

Two things I loved:

1. The promise felt big: Tesla’s mission is “to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” Wasn’t that more important than a few pesky societal norms? p11 No, it's not, because people who deride the rules don't recognize the importance of the public good. They are driven only by their own selfish whims. Speaking once about the nearly four-hundred-foot SpaceX rocket he hopes will take humans to Mars, he said: “I can’t say for sure that Starship will reach escape velocity, but my hubris certainly has.” p14 I mean here he expresses his lack of concern for astronauts' survival in service to his self-proclaimed hubris. This is one unpredictable dude.

2. I have liked Siddiqui's journalism for a long time, used to watch him on CNN. This book contains the professionalism I've come to expect from him. He has a lot of not nice things to say about his subject, but he isn't bashing or even insulting him.

Three quibbles:

1. By the time he was pulling public stunts like erecting a giant, pulsing X logo in the middle of San Francisco to signify Twitter’s rebrand— directing “rave levels of brightness,” as one person put it to me, into residential high-rises (including an apartment complex of senior and low-income residents and people with disabilities)—no one expected him to face any real consequences. p151
This is section is basically going to be a huge collection of evidence that Musk doesn't give a 💩 about anyone or anything.

2. Among Washington officials, Cummings’s story is a cautionary tale of what can happen when one dares to mention Tesla or Musk, whose legions of online fans are extremely sensitive to the slightest hint of criticism. Musk’s tweets to those groups serve to fan the flames, providing a set of marching orders . Today, so many with strong opinions on Musk refrain from expressing them outright for fear of disturbing the hornet’s nest and inviting an online swarm of vitriol turbocharged by Musk’s megaphone. p33 Elon Musk only cares about Elon Musk.

3. Tesla was effectively handcuffing its future to one man, turning a publicly traded company into an automotive fiefdom. p38 Elon Musk cares only about his own pocket.

Notes

1. Siddiqui was so brave to take on this project, honestly. I have the utmost respect for him.

Rating: 💰💰💰💰 /5 men above the law
Recommend? yes, if you're more patient than I am
Finished: May 3, '25
Format: accessible digital arc, Netgalley

Thank you to the author Faiz Siddiqui, publishers St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of HUBRIS MAXIMUS. All views are mine.
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[Mateusz Płocha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pośród tych wszystkich wazeliniarskich biografii Elona ta książka jest jak łyk świeżej wody na pustyni.

Wreszcie ktoś mówi wprost jakiego rodzaju człowiekiem jest Musk i jakie są jego prawdziwe ambicje.

[Ula Tardigrade · Rating 3 out of 5]

The timing of this release couldn't be better: over the past few months, seemingly everyone is trying to understand what happened to that brilliant genius, Elon Musk, who became famous for his sleek cars and bold dreams. If you haven't followed his path closely, this book will give you plenty of insight, recalling many horrible stories from his career and showing how he has always been the man so many people now hate. Since I am interested in technology, I know most of them and the narrative structure was a bit too chaotic for me, but if you want to learn everything about recent years of Musk’s doings from scratch, this will be a great choice.

Thanks to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

[Faye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. This is a really important and timely deep-dive into the past 7 years of Musk’s roller coaster of a career. I highly recommend it, especially if you've been wondering if there's a method to all the madness.

More on my blog: https://worldliteratour.com/book-revi...

I received an advance ebook copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration.

[Jazmine Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

this felt like gossiping with a journalist i love it

[britt_brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a pretty avid nonfiction reader, and politically opinionated American, it’s my personal duty to read such examinations. Although the writing is mediocre and repetitive, it’s a decent companion to the Walter Isaacson biography, if you’re willing to dive fully in. Erratic, chaotic, narcissistic, and dangerously influential. I’m obvs no Musk fan.

[Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant, limited focus biography about Elon Musk in the late 2010s and early 2020s. My only complaint is I wish there was a cradle-to-the-grave edition, perhaps a volume II is in order. In any case, the most important news book released this year, along with ORIGINAL SIN.

[MxLouie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very informative and relevant read! Siddiqui did an incredible job laying out Elon's rise and fall of fame, fumbles, controversies, and neurotic narcissism. There is a lot of information in this book but the explanations were always concise. Siddiqui has a wonderful literary voice, leaving the reader with a good balance of information mixed with humor. It's truly wild to see all of Elon's controversies laid out like this. This book is great for anyone looking to read over Elon's doings for the past 20 years.

As someone who has been very involved in the technology and environmental spaces, it's truly disheartening to see all of the lies we were fed under the guise of advancing tech. Like many, there was a time where I wanted to trust Elon's ideas. But it's obvious now that only a select type of person would benefit from his power.

At the end of the day, life is random. We can try to study and predict every outcome, automate the entire universe, but chaos will always exist. We cannot solve all dangers with machines. But, what else can we expect from someone who refuses to accept fundamental scientific understandings and genuinely thinks they can change the laws of the universe?

ARC provided for an honest review.

[Lamadia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book focuses on the time period where Elon Musk let his crazy out. Having started with an excellent reputation, somewhere around 2017, he started letting people see the person behind the image. It's really interesting, but the organization is hard to follow. It seems disjointed and jumping around when reading it. There are even passages that repeats the same information, so it seems like it was maybe put together from shorter writings or needs a different editor. Perhaps it is simply a symptom of the writer used to the shorter form of journalism. The information and sources are amazing and impeccable, but it was hard to keep interest in reading it.

Also, the book was finished at the end of 2024, in the middle of Musk becoming even more of an impact. I can only assume that the publisher wanted a book about him to sell during the top of interest in him, but it's the middle of the story. It feels like just the beginning of the story.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

From what I can tell there is no new reporting in this book which is a bummer. Given the title I expected some bombastic revelations but mostly it seems to exist solely for the author to reframe some well worn stories to fit his preferred narrative. Because of the short length, you’re expected to know relevant details that the author either glosses over or skips altogether.

It’s a disappointing effort with seemingly no reason to exist. It really adds nothing to the existing Musk corpus.

[Barrie Cameron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t finish as I found it boring

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is simply a Washington Post hit piece. Now we have a firm grasp of the obvious.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I didn't love the writing itself (also not the author's fault, but I did not love the audiobook reader) the content is enlightening about the mental crumbling of a terminally online man with outsized power. More honest than Isaacson's starstruck rendering of Musk.

[David Wasley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is mainly about Musk's self-driving vehicles and acquistion of Twitter (now X). There is nothing about his personal life or controversial political involvement. No photographs, charts or media reproductions. It's a bit dull.

[Chris Boutté · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure, I’m extremely biased because I despise Elon Musk. I enjoyed this book way too much because it documents all of Elon Musk’s screw ups and lies over the years. This is how every biography should be written about that guy because he’s not the genius people think he is, and the mask is slowly coming off.

As mentioned, the book is sort of a biography, but it goes through all of Elon’s controversies, and it was interesting learning about ones I was unaware of and details I didn’t know. It talks about the various Tesla crashes and how Elon’s just too rich to have any consequences, and then it goes into the purchase of Twitter. That’s kind of where it ends, so I’m sure there could be an entire other book written about how he became the head of DOGE and screwed up our country. And now that I think about it, it’s interesting because this book didn’t cover his crypto pumping at all.

Great book if you dislike Musk or if you love Musk and want to understand why people like me dislike him so much.

[SD · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting but super frustrating at the same time .

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exhaustively researched collection of context behind the headlines from the last handful of years of Elon news. It wisely sticks to digging into the churn of Business Elon's questionable decisions instead of laying into the deep weirdness of Celebrity Elon (although I would have loved a chapter about his SNL episode). A great primer to the continued news stream of Musk-caused pitfalls both ongoing and sure to follow.

Excellent book from this young upstart!! can't wait to continue reading his reporting in the Post!

[Danee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good. I wish it provided even small things that we can do to hold Elon accountable
This book affirms my pure dislike and disdain for Musk

[Issyd23 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too dry and boring for me 1📡

Siddiqui focuses on his businesses, SEC investigations, lawsuits etc - but I prefer memoirs/bios/autobios that give us the tea from one’s personal live: give me the excessive drug use that makes him piss himself, the baby mamas feuding on Twitter and all the weird freaky shit he did in front of Azealia Banks (allegedly).

[Colin Loberg]

I wanted to learn more about Faiz’s gaming laptop

[Siren · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting overview of Musk going from being hailed as the Technoking of Tesla to becoming somewhat of a lolcow. The book itself is very bare bones, throwing stats and numbers. While it manages to paint the picture that it wants, it was admittedly quite boring to read.

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

In Hubris Maximus, journalist Faiz Siddiqui unpacks Elon Musk's behavior as a business leader and person, illuminating persistant problematic patterns in his actions. While I appreciate the premise of this book and Siddiqui's journalistic rigor, I found the book to be lacking in the following ways:
- Hubris Maximus only covers a brief portion of Elon Musk's life (mainly from the height of his power at Tesla to the 2024 Presidential election). I wish Siddiqui spent more time on his early days to understand if these patterns stretch back further
- The book is circular, with the same events repeating in multiple chapters. I believe this book could have been better organized to improve readability and persuasion
-In many ways, it felt like an extended long form article instead of a book which pushed the story/thesis further. I appreciate Siddiqui's note that many of his sources only felt comfortable speaking on background, but I did not find any of the evidence presented in the book to be "ground breaking" to my understanding of Elon Musk

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced copy (ARC).

[Ryan Tabek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting a little more from this with a title like this. This looks into the madness that is the person of Elon Musk through some of his business practices. It gives specific examples of his disregard for safety or rules. It paints the path to why he became so involved in Trump’s bid for a second term, not to mention why he targeted the departments and workers he did. IT gets into how he weaponized Twitter with his fanboys. I was not a fan of the writing, probably because it was written by a journalist and thus very dry and matter of fact in presentation. Likewise, the author kept making sure to point out times Musk refused interviews and only made a comment about telling the author’s boss (Bezos) off/ accusing the reporter of just being to try and take him down because of the competitive nature of their space companies. 

Rating (6.6)

[Stephanie Goodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for a look at Musk’s early life and rise to prominence, but there are only few brief references to those years. And I was confused by a reference to an early Musk who didn’t have two nickels because I thought his family was wealthy. There’s almost nothing about Space X or even his early years at Tesla. This book focuses primarily on Musk’s dealings with federal regulators and his Twitter purchase. It’s based heavily on court documents and doesn’t break any new ground, but it provides a deep dive on those two topics. If you’re hoping for some clue into the origins of his success, personality, or beliefs, you’ll be disappointed.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 A snapshot-in-time book more like a longform journalism article than a book. If you’re looking for something about Musk’s rise, DOGE, or even his odd populating practice with multiple women, you’ll be disappointed. Instead this book basically covers a very small period of time, focusing primarily on the Tesla self-driving difficulties over the last 7 years or so and his purchase of Twitter. On the latter topic, Character Limit is a more comprehensive book, leaving a cursory treatment of Tesla during that brief period.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m somewhat new to politics, only getting involved since the last election cycle.
I’ve seen plenty of Elon Musk on the news today, but not so much of his past.
This was a very interesting read on his past business dealing with Tesla, and acquisition of Twitter. The author gives you a clear view of Musk’s modus operandi. If you are on the left, you will appreciate the book’s insights. If you are on the right, well, I doubt you will enjoy it.

[Gianluca Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really demonstrates the damage that can come from that special mixture of Randian exceptionalism, ego and a belief that one's projects are key to humanity's survival. I appreciate the parts of the book that tried to empathise with Elon's thought process and talk about the social factors that created his worldview - thus elevating the book from a debunking of a myth that has been thoroughly demolished for the majority.

[Jennifer Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fine as far as it goes, but it reads like a compilation of already widely available reporting. Character Limit by Kate Conger and Ryan Mac felt much more in depth and behind- the-scenes.

[Andy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book as I am no fan of Mr Musk but it is such a slog, full of usual platitudes, and new, revelatory information quite minimal. sorry, not for me.