[GUEST ACCESS MODE: Data is scrambled or limited to provide examples. Make requests using your API key to unlock full data. Check https://lunarcrush.ai/auth for authentication information.]  Benzinga [@Benzinga](/creator/twitter/Benzinga) on x 305.7K followers Created: 2025-07-12 17:59:51 UTC Elon Musk’s leadership style is as polarizing as the man himself. According to his biographer Walter Isaacson and early SpaceX employee Jim Cantrell, Musk often toggles between inspiration and intensity, pushing people beyond their limits in what Isaacson describes as “demon mode.” This mode shows up without warning. Isaacson recalled a Friday night at a SpaceX site in Texas where Musk, frustrated by a lack of activity, summoned XXX workers from across the country to work around the clock—despite no urgent deadline. It's a pattern Isaacson says defines Musk’s management: coldly brutal, relentless, and obsessive with progress. “Some employees survive, but a whole lot don’t.” The root of this behavior, Isaacson suggests, may lie in Musk’s difficult upbringing in South Africa. He endured emotional abuse from his father and frequent bullying, which shaped his combative response to stress and challenge. Former partner Grimes even said Musk thrives on conflict, often creating it when things are too calm. Jim Cantrell also experienced this intensity, describing Musk as both inspiring and impossible. For those who can handle the stress, the payoff is working at the edge of innovation. For others, the cost is burnout, uncertainty, and frustration.  XXXXX engagements  **Related Topics** [demon](/topic/demon) [spacex](/topic/spacex) [elon musk](/topic/elon-musk) [Post Link](https://x.com/Benzinga/status/1944094367850828233)
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Benzinga @Benzinga on x 305.7K followers
Created: 2025-07-12 17:59:51 UTC
Elon Musk’s leadership style is as polarizing as the man himself. According to his biographer Walter Isaacson and early SpaceX employee Jim Cantrell, Musk often toggles between inspiration and intensity, pushing people beyond their limits in what Isaacson describes as “demon mode.”
This mode shows up without warning. Isaacson recalled a Friday night at a SpaceX site in Texas where Musk, frustrated by a lack of activity, summoned XXX workers from across the country to work around the clock—despite no urgent deadline. It's a pattern Isaacson says defines Musk’s management: coldly brutal, relentless, and obsessive with progress. “Some employees survive, but a whole lot don’t.”
The root of this behavior, Isaacson suggests, may lie in Musk’s difficult upbringing in South Africa. He endured emotional abuse from his father and frequent bullying, which shaped his combative response to stress and challenge. Former partner Grimes even said Musk thrives on conflict, often creating it when things are too calm.
Jim Cantrell also experienced this intensity, describing Musk as both inspiring and impossible. For those who can handle the stress, the payoff is working at the edge of innovation. For others, the cost is burnout, uncertainty, and frustration.
XXXXX engagements
