Elon Musk bet everything he had on Tesla

“Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century,” by Tim Higgins (Doubleday)

Space exploration, solar power, electric cars — the fortune Elon Musk had made for his role in creating PayPal, the online payment system, gave him the money to plunge into those arenas. “Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century” by Tim Higgins focuses on Tesla, the electric car concept that survived more near-death experiences than a Harrison Ford character.

In the author’s telling, Musk emerges as the quintessential American entrepreneur — driven, intelligent, focused and confident in his own abilities, vision and judgments.

“Power Play” is a business thriller for real. Multiple times in the journey to launch the Tesla, the effort teeters on the edge of technological and financial cliffs. The Great Recession alone should have rolled over Tesla, but with the cool resolve of a fighter pilot, Musk steers the company to success.

Musk declined to cooperate with Higgins on this book, which is unfortunate because Musk’s name now clearly belongs with Carnegie, Ford and Jobs in the hall of great American entrepreneurs.