Ashlee Vance | |
|---|---|
 Ashlee Vance, at a signing for Elon Musk. | |
| Born | 1977 (age 45–46) South Africa |
| Education | Pomona College |
| Subjects | Technology, business |
| Notable work | Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future |
| Website | |
| www | |
Ashlee Vance (born 1977) is an American reporter, author and filmmaker. His biography of Elon Musk, titled Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, was released on May 19, 2015.
Vance was born in 1977 in South Africa. He attended Pomona College, graduating in 2000.[1]
Vance wrote for The Register from March 2003[2] to August 2008.[3] He moved to The New York Times in September 2008[4] and then to Bloomberg Businessweek in January 2011.[5]
During his time at The Register, Vance covered companies such as IBM, HP, Intel, and Dell, and also wrote about a wide range of technology topics, including robots, Segway scooters, and the R programming language.[6] In 2007, Vance wrote a book, called Geek Silicon Valley, on the history of Silicon Valley.[7] His writing often also appeared in such publications as The Economist, Chicago Tribune, CNN.com, The Globe and Mail, the International Herald Tribune, and CNET.
Vance hosted an audio podcast called Semi-Coherent Computing from 2007–2008,[8] in which he discussed enterprise computing topics such as Datacenter cooling and blade servers, and interviewed guests including chip pioneer David Ditzel of Transmeta, Sun Microsystems, and Bell Labs.[9]
In 2015, Vance started writing, producing and hosting the "Hello World" video series for Bloomberg, focusing on the tech scene in various countries.[10][11] The show was nominated for an Emmy in 2016.[12] In 2015, Vance published his biography about Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and other tech companies. The book became an immediate best-seller.[13]
In May of 2023, Vance published When The Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing To Put Space Within Reach about the rise of commercial space. The book focused on Planet Labs, Rocket Lab, Astra Space and Firefly. It also became an immediate best-seller.[14]
Vance is currently working on a TV series based on his Elon Musk book for HBO[15] and a documentary for HBO based on his latest book.[16]
He lives with his wife Melinda and their two children Bowie and Tucker.[17]
