Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, recently revealed his latest reading choice—The Persian Expedition: The March of the Ten Thousand (or Anabasis) by Xenophon. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk also shared an image of the iconic book, sparking curiosity among his 219 million followers.
Written in the 4th century BC, The Persian Expedition: The March of the Ten Thousand or Anabasis chronicles the journey of 10,000 Greek mercenaries who found themselves stranded deep in Persia after their leader, Cyrus the Younger, was killed in battle. Led by Xenophon himself, the Greeks undertook a harrowing retreat back to safety, showcasing resilience, leadership, and tactical prowess. Facing betrayal, relentless enemies, and internal strife, the book portrays the soldiers’ resilience and courage under Xenophon’s leadership.
Elon Musk’s book recommendations
Musk often delves into books that explore human endurance, leadership, and strategic thinking. In 2024, he shared a list of 11 audiobooks, saying that these recommendations are for “those who think about Rome every day”. “Some audiobook recommendations,” wrote Elon Musk on X. The list then included The Story of Civilization by Durant, Iliad (Penguin Edition), The Road to Serfdom by Hayek, American Caesar by Manchester, Masters of Doom by Kushner, The Wages of Destruction by Tooze, The Storm of Steel by Junger, The Guns of August by Tuchman, The Gallic Wars by Caesar, Twelve Against the Gods by Bolitho and Genghis Khan by Weatherford.
When a user asked whether he prefers to listen to books over reading, he replied by saying, “Reading is way faster, but audiobooks are great for falling asleep to.”
In another news, Elon Musk appears to be frustrated with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following his public clash with former US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. The Tesla CEO shared his thoughts in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter).
“Zelensky destroyed himself in the eyes of the American people,” Musk wrote. He further added, “Time to find out what really happened to the hundreds of billions of dollars sent to Ukraine …”