Character Limit

Reviews

“Riveting . . . Character Limit offers a treasure trove of answers regarding Elon Musk’s somewhat shadowy acquisition of [Twitter], both in terms of the financials and his motivation . . . Having focused on the exploits of Musk for over a decade, Conger and Mac draw on more than 150 hours’ worth of interviews conducted with a cadre of Musk’s confidants, rivals, employees and peers to paint an eye-opening picture of his tumultuous tenure as the controversial CEO of three of the world’s most talked-about companies . . . Alternating between delicious gossip and harrowing warnings about the power possessed by a worrisome few, Conger and Mac’s reconstruction of Musk’s time at Twitter often paints the billionaire as a tantrum-prone narcissist who always gets his way, whatever the costs . . . Character Limit offers a telling lesson in the cost of getting everything you want.” —The Washington Post

“How can you make a story compelling when each step along the way has already been so heavily covered? Conger and Mac’s answer to that is their astonishing ability to take the reader into almost every room that mattered during the contentious $44bn acquisition . . . there is no doubt that Conger and Mac enjoyed unmatched access to a range of characters from all sides. You couldn’t hope for a better ringside seat on the unfolding drama . . . As a retelling of exactly what happened and what it felt like to be there, it is a triumph.” —The Guardian
 
“If you’re at all interested in what went down, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s a well-written, deeply researched book with all sorts of details about the lead-up to the acquisition, the acquisition itself, and the aftermath of Elon owning Twitter. Even if you followed the story closely as it played out (as I did), the book is a worthwhile read . . . ” —Techdirt
 
“The book is masterful in how it paints a picture and puts you in the room with the famous entrepreneur . . . Character Limit is a page turner.” —Forbes

“Engrossing, precise . . . New York Times reporters Conger and Mac collaborate successfully on an ambitious narrative capturing how Musk engineered Twitter’s downfall, set against the vast financial stakes and dehumanizing aspects of the tech economy . . . Compelling fusion of business history and worrisome social narrative.” —Kirkus, starred review

“The definitive account of how the world’s richest man, in a fit of unbridled vanity and arrogance, took over and destroyed our digital town square.” —John Carreyrou, New York Times bestselling author of Bad Blood​
 
“I found Character Limit astonishing. Kate Conger and Ryan Mac’s meticulous, comprehensive reporting turns an opaque mess brutally transparent. Even leaving aside the ludicrous confederacy of financial instruments that made it possible for a single man to buy Twitter, this book, simply in terms of the sheer cringe and self-humiliation on display in every paragraph, adds up to one of the strongest arguments possible for why billionaires should not exist.” —Jia Tolentino, New York Times bestselling author of Trick Mirror
 
“Character Limit is the definitive business book of the 2020s—a meticulously reported tale of tech-industry hubris, narcissism, and egomania collapsing in on itself at the end of the ZIRP era. Alternately shocking, thrilling, tragic, and hilarious, it perfectly encapsulates the entrenched and warring cultures of Silicon Valley, the deceptively thorny problems of the social-media age, and the fine line between stupidity and genius straddled by a generation of tech entrepreneurs. This book will be read for decades to come, both as the definitive documentation of the end of an era, and as a how-not-to manual for future generations of managers and investors, not to mention M&A bankers and lawyers.” —Max Read, author of the newsletter Read Max
 
“Conger and Mac have written an engrossing and detailed history, not just of Elon Musk, but of how we got to a place where the world’s richest man wants to buy the world’s biggest megaphone. This is a story about power, yes, but it's also about how the corrosion of online life and the addictions of social media can come for us all, even the richest man in the world.” —Jay Caspian Kang, author of The Loneliest Americans
 
“Character Limit is a masterclass in investigative reporting. Mac and Conger’s meticulous research provides readers with an unflinching and intimate portrait of Musk’s chaotic decision making and high-stakes power plays, and the far-reaching impact of his reckless actions and ethical lapses on users and society at large. This gripping exposé reveals previously unreported insights into the acquisition, challenging the mainstream narrative of Musk as a visionary tech genius and revealing how he has upended one of the world's most influential social media platforms. With vivid prose, captivating narrative storytelling, and insightful analysis, Character Limit will be the tech book of the year, and is a must-read for anyone fascinated by the intersection of technology, business, and culture—and anyone who seeks to understand the true cost of innovation without accountability.” —Taylor Lorenz, author of Extremely Online
 
“A gripping, behind-the-scenes account of the chaos unleashed when the world's richest man bought one of its most influential social media platforms. Through fly-on-the-wall reporting, Character Limit takes readers inside Elon Musk's tumultuous Twitter takeover and the disruption of a company, an industry, and the online public square. What a wild ride.” —Bradley Hope, New York Times bestselling author of Billion Dollar Whale Expand reviews