Who is Elon Musk, and what does it take to become one of the greatest entrepreneurs of the 21st century? Among the entrepreneurs who have come and gone, Musk is arguably the most mercurial. Walter Isaacson, acclaimed as the ‘king of biographers,’ was granted exclusive access to Musk and spent two years following him to craft his biography.

Isaacson noted that prolific entrepreneurs are shaped during their formative years, often through hardship and adversity. Musk, in particular, encountered numerous challenges in his childhood. Isaacson revealed that Musk was a scrawny, autistic kid—a misfit—who was regularly subjected to bullying and beatings at school.

Musk also experienced a challenging relationship with his father. Isaacson sheds light on his observations while accompanying the founder of SpaceX and Tesla in a captivating interview with the YouTube channel “Diary of A CEO.”