An unvarnished, critical graphic biography of the tech innovator and presidential confidant by the author/illustrator of Putin’s Russia: The Rise of a Dictator and Billionaires: The Lives of the Rich and Powerful.
Darryl Cunningham’s new graphic biography of Elon Musk is a riveting deep-dive into the audacious mind and tumultuous journey of the world’s richest man. Using his signature pictographic style—clean lines, vivid colors, and lean panel compositions—Cunningham peels back the layers of myth around Musk to deliver a timely portrait that is provocative and informative.
Spanning several generations, the book traces Musk’s journey from his family roots in apartheid South Africa and his grandfather’s role in the Technocracy Movement to his current position at the apex of tech power and far-right politics. From Musk’s early education and influences, the creation of PayPal, and the meteoric rise of Tesla and SpaceX thanks to millions in government handouts, to his ascension as a “dark MAGA” influencer and kingmaker, Elon Musk: American Oligarch captures the tension, tumult, and chaos in which oligarchs thrive today.
Cunningham’s award-winning clarity and style sparkle as he presents freewheeling financial and engineering concepts used by startups and tech companies. This fast-paced biography reveals the complex interactions of visionary ideas, relentless drive, and unyielding ambition. Elon Musk: American Oligarch offers a fresh, unvarnished look at Musk’s rise, aggressive leadership style, and appetite for risk-taking that have propelled him into a unique position as an unelected private business owner with unprecedented access to political power.
Praise for Billionaires by Darryl Cunningham:
"Extensively researched. . . a good choice for students interested in economics and public policy." ―School Library Journal
Announcing ELON MUSK: AMERICAN OLIGARCH by Darryl Cunningham
Seven Stories Press announces the Fall 2025 publication of Darryl Cunningham’s graphic novel ELON MUSK: AMERICAN OLIGARCH, an unvarnished, critical graphic biography of the tech innovator and presidential confidant.
NEW YORK, NY, and London, UK, March 24, 2025 —
Seven Stories announces the world English acquisition of Darryl Cunningham’s new graphic biography of Elon Musk, a deep dive into the tumultuous life of the world’s richest man. Cunningham uses his signature pictographic style — clean lines, vivid colors, and lean panel compositions—to peel back the layers of myth around Musk, delivering a timely portrait that is provocative and informative. Spanning several generations, the book traces Musk’s journey from his family roots in South Africa and his grandfather’s role in the Technocracy Movement to his current position at the apex of tech power and far-right politics. From Musk’s early education and influences, the rise of PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX, to his ascension as a “dark MAGA” influencer and kingmaker, the book reveals Musk’s personal management style that has translated into unprecedented wealth for him individually, while at the same time weakening the public square and the common good that might have benefited from these innovations.Acquiring editor Greg Ruggiero comments, “A critical biography of Musk—the billionaire who is in the process of slashing government spending so corporations and the rich can pay fewer taxes—is absolutely what we need in this moment of oligarchic power and excess. I’m a parent of four smart teens, and I don’t want them to live in the America Musk is trying to create.”
ELON MUSK: AMERICAN OLIGARCH
By Darryl Cunningham
$24.95 | Paperback original | 202 pages | 6-3/8 x 9”
September 23, 2025 US September 25, 2025 SSP-UK
9781911710271
DARRYL CUNNINGHAM is the award-winning author of Supercrash: How to Hijack the Global Economy (a New York Times bestseller), Graphic Science; The Age of Selfishness: Ayn Rand, Morality, and the Financial Crisis; Putin’s Russia: The Rise of a Dictator; and Billionaires, which won the Best Graphic Nonfiction category in the Broken Frontier Awards 2019. In 2015, he was one of thirty world-renowned photographers, painters, sculptors, writers, filmmakers, and musicians invited to contribute to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Art of Saving a Life project to promote vaccination in the developing world. In 2018, he was awarded an Honorary Degree of Master of Arts from Leeds Arts University. He lives in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
DARRYL CUNNINGHAM is the cartoonist/writer of Psychiatric Tales, Science Tales, Supercrash, Billionaires: The Lives of the Rich and Powerful, and Putin: The rise of a Dictator. All factual based books that explore subjects as diverse as mental health, science, economics and politics. Before becoming a full time cartoonist he worked in mental health for many years. In 2018 he was awarded an Honorary MA from Leeds Arts University, UK. He lives in Yorkshire, England.