Playing 'Dungeons and Dragons' brought out the 'incredibly patient' and 'beautiful' parts of Elon Musk's personality, his cousin says

• Elon Musk's cousin said Musk was a different person when playing "Dungeons and Dragons."
• Peter Rive said Musk had a "whole bunch of different demeanors and moods" even as a kid.

Elon Musk's cousin, Peter Rive, said in Musk's biography that the tabletop role-playing game "Dungeons and Dragons" brought out the best parts of Musk's personality.

"Even as a kid, Elon had a whole bunch of different demeanors and moods," Rive said in the Walter Isaacson-penned biography.

But Rive said Musk was a much different person when he was playing "Dungeons and Dragons." Rive said Musk usually played as the Dungeon Master, who basically serves as the lead storyteller and referee for each game.

"As a Dungeon Master, he was incredibly patient, which is not, in my experience, always his default personality, if you know what I mean," Rive said. "It happens sometimes, and it's so beautiful when it does."

Isaacson, who spent three years observing Musk as part of the writing process, said he thought Musk had multiple distinct personalities that came up in different situations.

"This is a person with multiple moods and modes and personalities, ranging from engineering mode to demon mode," Isaacson told The Atlantic in an interview published on Monday.

"At times, he can be reckless and even dangerous. And at times, he can do some pretty amazing things," Isaacson continued.

A representative for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.