Ashley Vance

Ashlee Vance is an American technology journalist, author, and broadcaster, widely regarded as one of the most influential chroniclers of Silicon Valley. After studying at Pomona College, he began his career at the technology news site The Register, and later wrote for The Economist and The New York Times. He spent more than a decade at Bloomberg Businessweek, where he became known for sharp profiles of tech figures and for creating the acclaimed video series "Hello World."

Vance's best-known work is "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future" (2015), an intimate biography based on extensive interviews with Musk as well as his family, friends, and colleagues. The book became an international bestseller, translated into dozens of languages and credited with shaping public understanding of Musk's ambitions.

His other notable works include "Geek Silicon Valley" (2007), a guide to the history and culture of Silicon Valley, and "When the Heavens Went on Sale" (2023), a highly praised account of the new commercial space race, following startups such as Planet Labs, Rocket Lab, and Firefly Aerospace. Today, Vance publishes the newsletter Core Memory and continues his journalism and video work on technology and space exploration.