The average semi-informed business reader would probably have zero trouble naming three outrageous things Elon Musk has said or posted in a given week. But ask them arguably the biggest question out there about Musk—is he a good businessperson?—and you would be hard-pressed to get a very informed or consistent answer.
Though he’s ubiquitous, Musk’s bigger-than-life persona and penchant for wild exaggeration make it hard to comprehend what he’s actually building and where his larger aims may lie. So Fortune set out to investigate the six companies that make up Musk’s world, connecting the trusted lieutenants he relies on to run things, the management principles he adheres to (which certainly didn’t come from any business school), and his unorthodox means of propelling innovations and ideas. Our investigation into his holdings revealed an unusual mix of true technological breakthroughs in some corners, dashed hopes at projects that no longer hold his attention, and corporate cultures that one employee said resembles a “fire drill every day.”
In this 10-part package Fortune broke new ground showing:
Taken together, Inside Elon’s Universe is a groundbreaking, unauthorized investigation —told through interviews, stories, charts and maps—into how the world’s richest man runs an unprecedented empire of corporations that are endlessly controversial, wildly unconventional, and poised to shape our lives for decades to come.
