"My mentality is that of a samurai," Elon Musk told a potential investor according to a new biography, adding, "I would rather commit seppuku than fail.”
But some things are too good to be true, and although Elon Musk may seem certifiably crazy to many, the technology guru and thought leader is no samurai, and now denies the claim that he would call himself one.
More substantially, the biography titled Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future from Bloomberg technology reporter Ashlee Vance also registers another claim that Musk is calling "BS."
“That is no excuse," the biography asserts that Musk wrote to an employee who had asked to leave work for the birth of his child. "I am extremely disappointed. You need to figure out where your priorities are. We’re changing the world and changing history, and you either commit or you don’t." We said we'd be sure to update you when Musk cried foul, and now he has.
"It is total BS & hurtful to claim that I told a guy to miss his child's birth just to attend a company meeting. I would never do that." Musk wrote on Twitter. But that said, in another tweet he implies that many other quotes in the book are accurate.
Of 22 Quotes from http://t.co/VA2KQ03NNR, 2 need correcting:
1. I strongly support pregnancy leave
2. I've never called myself a samurai
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 12, 2015
According to the Washington Post, one of those would be the claim that Musk told an employee who said Musk was working his team too hard that "I would tell those people they will get to see their families a lot when we go bankrupt.”
Also, Musk wants to clear something up about the new film Ex Machina:
Worth watching @ExMachinaMovie. The AI would be in the network, not the robot, but otherwise good.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 27, 2015
Glad that's settled.
Previously: New Biography Says Elon Musk Thinks Male Employees Should Miss Their Children's Births