I asked Sorkin if it was true that Musk, in the words of another associate, wanted to see his picture on the cover of Rolling Stone. For Elon that's what general visibility meant. At the time, both companies were in the dangerous position of competing with Microsoft's Sidewalk city guide service, then generally believed to be the behemoth that would crush any small players. A merger was seen as a major coup in a war in which no one expected more than one or two big survivors. The merger was approved by the two companies' boards of directors, press releases were sent out and there were congratulations all around.
Problem is, it never happened.
At the last minute, Musk says, he had a conversation with Charles Conn, the chief executive of Citysearch, and decided he didn't trust him. In theory, the terms of the merger had Musk staying on as an executive vice president. In practice, says Musk, after talking with Conn he felt that the Citysearch CEO would force him out in a matter of months. Musk and his brother withdrew their approval. The boards of the two companies met in Santa Fe, N.M., and called the whole thing off.