Elon Musk was born (June 28, 1971) in South Africa is a Canadian American investor, businessman, engineer, and inventor. He is best known for his companies PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, Hyperloop, SolarCity with an estimated net worth of US$ 20.8 billion (Oct. 2017). He believes in changing the world and humanity through his companies. He emphasis on sustainable energy to reduce global warming and making life multi-planetary. Enjoy this inspirational Elon Musk quotes about success and innovation.
Best Elon Musk Quotes
- “The path to the CEO’s office should not be through the CFO’s office, and it should not be through the marketing department. It needs to be through engineering and design.”
- “I think life on Earth must be about more than just solving problems… It’s got to be something inspiring, even if it is vicarious.”
- “The idea of lying on a beach as my main thing just sounds like the worst. It sounds horrible to me. I would go bonkers. I would have to be on serious drugs. I’d be super-duper bored. I like high intensity.”
- “We have essentially no patents in SpaceX. Our primary long-term competition is in China. If we published patents, it would be farcical, because the Chinese would just use them as a recipe book.”
- “[Physics is] a good framework for thinking. … Boil things down to their fundamental truths and reason up from there.”
- “Going from PayPal, I thought: ‘Well, what are some of the other problems that are likely to most affect the future of humanity?’ Not from the perspective, ‘What’s the best way to make money?’”
-
“[As a child] I would just question things…”
- “On whether humans exist in another civilization’s video game: “I’ve had so many simulation discussions it’s crazy. In fact, it got to the point where basically every conversation was the AI-slash-simulation conversation, and my brother and I finally agreed that we’d ban any such conversations if we’re ever in a hot tub. Because that really kills the magic.”
- “The things that’s worth doing is trying to improve our understanding of the world and gain a better appreciation of the universe and not to worry too much about there being no meaning. And, you know, try and enjoy yourself. Because actually, life’s pretty good . It really is.”
- “Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time. Sometimes it will be ahead, other times it will be behind. But brand is simply a collective impression some have about a product.”
- “I don’t think it’s a good idea to plan to sell a company.”
- “It is a mistake to hire huge numbers of people to get a complicated job done. Numbers will never compensate for talent in getting the right answer (two people who don’t know something are no better than one), will tend to slow down progress, and will make the task incredibly expensive.”
- “A company is a group organized to create a product or service, and it is only as good as its people and how excited they are about creating. I do want to recognize a ton of super-talented people. I just happen to be the face of the companies.”
- “People work better when they know what the goal is and why. It is important that people look forward to coming to work in the morning and enjoy working.”
-
“I say something, and then it usually happens. Maybe not on schedule, but it usually happens.”
- “If you’re co-founder or CEO, you have to do all kinds of tasks you might not want to do… If you don’t do your chores, the company won’t succeed… No task is too menial.”
- “I always invest my own money in the companies that I create. I don’t believe in the whole thing of just using other people’s money. I don’t think that’s right. I’m not going to ask other people to invest in something if I’m not prepared to do so myself.”
- “Don’t delude yourself into thinking something’s working when it’s not, or you’re gonna get fixated on a bad solution.”
- “If something has to be designed and invented, and you have to figure out how to ensure that the value of the thing you create is greater than the cost of the inputs, then that is probably my core skill.”
- “I don’t believe in process. In fact, when I interview a potential employee and he or she says that ‘it’s all about the process,’ I see that as a bad sign. The problem is that at a lot of big companies, process becomes a substitute for thinking. You’re encouraged to behave like a little gear in a complex machine. Frankly, it allows you to keep people who aren’t that smart, who aren’t that creative.” ,Elon Musk quotes process
- “Starting and growing a business is as much about the innovation, drive, and determination of the people behind it as the product they sell.”
-
“Never. I don’t ever give up. I’d have to be dead or completely incapacitated.”
- “I don’t spend my time pontificating about high-concept things; I spend my time solving engineering and manufacturing problems.”
- “There are really two things that have to occur in order for a new technology to be affordable to the mass market. One is you need economies of scale. The other is you need to iterate on the design. You need to go through a few versions.”
- “If you want to grow a giant redwood, you need to make sure the seeds are OK, nurture the sapling and work out what might potentially stop it from growing all the way along. Anything that breaks it at any point stops that growth.”
- “It’s OK to have your eggs in one basket as long as you control what happens to that basket.”
- “Talent is extremely important. It’s like a sports team, the team that has the best individual player will often win, but then there’s a multiplier from how those players work together and the strategy they employ.”
- “I do think there is a lot of potential if you have a compelling product and people are willing to pay a premium for that. I think that is what Apple has shown. You can buy a much cheaper cell phone or laptop, but Apple’s product is so much better than the alternative, and people are willing to pay that premium.”
- “Work like hell. I mean you just have to put in 80 to 100 hour weeks every week. This improves the odds of success. If other people are putting in 40 hour workweeks and you’re putting in 100 hour workweeks, then even if you’re doing the same thing, you know that you will achieve in four months what it takes them a year to achieve.” , Elon Musk quotes on work
-
“I’ve actually not read any books on time management.”
- “There’s a tremendous bias against taking risks. Everyone is trying to optimize their ass-covering.”
- Elon Musk quotes images
- “I wouldn’t say I have a lack of fear. In fact, I’d like my fear emotion to be less because it’s very distracting and fries my nervous system.”
- “If you’re trying to create a company, it’s like baking a cake. You have to have all the ingredients in the right proportion.”
- “You want to be extra rigorous about making the best possible thing you can. Find everything that’s wrong with it and fix it. Seek negative feedback, particularly from friends.”
- “I’m interested in things that change the world or that affect the future and wondrous, new technology where you see it, and you’re like, ‘Wow, how did that even happen? How is that possible?’” ,Elon Musk quotes technology
- “People should pursue what they’re passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else.”
-
“Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death.”
- “I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better.”
- “I think most of the important stuff on the Internet has been built. There will be continued innovation, for sure, but the great problems of the Internet have essentially been solved.”
- “I think we have a duty to maintain the light of consciousness to make sure it continues into the future.”
- “When Henry Ford made cheap, reliable cars, people said, ‘Nah, what’s wrong with a horse?’ That was a huge bet he made, and it worked.”
- “When somebody has a breakthrough innovation, it is rarely one little thing. Very rarely, is it one little thing. It’s usually a whole bunch of things that collectively amount to a huge innovation.” , Elon Musk quotes about innovation
- “Whatever you do, whatever area that you get into, even if you’re the best of the best, there’s always a chance of failure. So I think it’s important that you really like whatever you’re doing. If you don’t like it, life’s too short. If you like what you’re doing, you think about it even when you’re not working. It’s something that your mind is drawn to, and if you don’t like it, you just can’t make it work.”
- “So many people tried to talk me out of starting a rocket company. One good friend of mine, collected a whole series of videos of rockets blowing up, and made me watch those. He didn’t want me to lose my money.”
-
“You shouldn’t do things differently just because they’re different. They need to be… better.”
- “You have to say, ‘Well, why did it succeed where others did not?”
- “I would just question things… It would infuriate my parents… That I wouldn’t just believe them when they said something ’cause I’d ask them why. And then I’d consider whether that response made sense given everything else I knew.”
- “We have a strict ‘no-assholes policy’ at SpaceX.” , Elon Musk quotes spacex
- “I think the best way to attract venture capital is to try and come up with a demonstration of whatever product or service it is and ideally take that as far as you can. Just see if you can sell that to real customers and start generating some momentum. The further along you can get with that, the more likely you are to get funding.”
- “Disruptive technology where you really have a big technology discontinuity… tends to come from new companies.” , Elon Musk quotes about technology
- “If you get up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day. Otherwise, it’s not.”
-
“What makes innovative thinking happen?… I think it’s really a mindset. You have to decide.”
- “As much as possible, avoid hiring MBAs. MBA programs don’t teach people how to create companies.”
- “I always have optimism, but I’m realistic. It was not with the expectation of great success that I started Tesla or SpaceX… It’s just that I thought they were important enough to do anyway.” , Elon Musk quotes about success
- “My biggest mistake is probably weighing too much on someone’s talent and not someone’s personality. I think it matters whether someone has a good heart.”
- “I don’t create companies for the sake of creating companies, but to get things done.”
Famous Elon Musk Quotes
- “Really pay attention to negative feedback and solicit it, particularly from friends. … Hardly anyone does that, and it’s incredibly helpful.”
- “Optimism, pessimism, f*** that – we’re going to make it happen. As God is my bloody witness, I’m hell-bent on making it work.” , Elon Musk quotes on hard work
- “AI is much more advanced than people realize. … Humanity’s position on this planet depends on its intelligence so if our intelligence is exceeded, it’s unlikely that we will remain in charge of the planet.”
- “Don’t be afraid of new arenas.” , Elon Musk quotes motivation
- “You want to have a future where you’re expecting things to be better, not one where you’re expecting things to be worse.”
- “You want to be extra rigorous about making the best possible thing you can. Find everything that’s wrong with it and fix it. Seek negative feedback, particularly from friends.”
- “If nothing else, we are committed to failing in a new way.”
- “Well, I have tried to learn as much as possible from prior attempts.”
- “If you go back a few hundred years, what we take for granted today would seem like magic – being able to talk to people over long distances, to transmit images, flying, accessing vast amounts of data like an oracle. These are all things that would have been considered magic a few hundred years ago.”
-
“I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary.”
- “It would be an incredible adventure. And life needs to be more than just solving everyday problems. You need to wake up and be excited about the future.” , Elon Musk quotes about the future
- “Sooner or later, we must expand life beyond our little blue mud ball–or go extinct.” , Elon Musk quotes on life
- “We need to figure out how to have the things we love, and not destroy the world.”
- “Since our primary competitors [in space launch] are national governments, the enforceability of patents is questionable.”
- “Everything works in PowerPoint; but if you have the physical item or some demonstration software, that’s much more convincing to people than a PowerPoint presentation or a business plan.”
- “The heroes of the books I read, The Lord of the Rings and the Foundation series, always felt a duty to save the world.”
- “They [Apple] have hired people we’ve fired. We always jokingly call Apple the “Tesla Graveyard.” If you don’t make it at Tesla, you go work at Apple. I’m not kidding. … cars are very complex compared to phones or smartwatches. You can’t just go to a supplier like Foxconn and say: Build me a car. But for Apple, the car is the next logical thing to finally offer a significant innovation. A new pencil or a bigger iPad alone were not relevant enough.”
- “I didn’t really expect to make any money. If I could make enough to cover the rent and buy some food that would be fine. As it turns out, it turned out to be quite valuable in the end.”
- “Tuition costs are outrageous. Fortunately, they gave me a scholarship…so I only had to cover living expenses, books, etc., by working.”
- “One was the Internet, one was clean energy and one was space.” , Elon Musk quotes energy
- “I could either watch it happen, or be part of it.”
- “If you’re trying to create a company, it’s like baking a cake. You have to have all the ingredients in the right proportion.”
-
“This is the chance to fulfill a dream.”
- “Imagine creating a huge software program that can only be tested in little pieces on a computer that is slightly different from what it is supposed to run on. However, when you do run it as a whole on the actual computer for the first time, it must run almost flawlessly without a single significant bug. When is the last time you saw a software program do that?”
- “When thinking about starting a business, I think it’s actually better to start in a trough and come to market in a peak, than the other way around. Frankly, if anything does, and it’s almost cliché, space has a long-term future.”
- “I want to be able to make sure that we have enough capital to survive at least three consecutive failures. If you want to make a small fortune in the launch vehicle business, start with a large one.”
- “The long term ultimate objective – the holy grail – is we would like to help make life multi-planetary.”
- “I like to be involved in things that change the world. The Internet did, and space will probably be more responsible for changing the world than anything else. If humanity can expand beyond the Earth, obviously that’s where the future is.”
- “Starting and growing a business is as much about the innovation, drive and determination of the people who do it as it is about the product they sell.” , Elon Musk quotes on business
-
“It is remarkable how many things you can explode. I’m lucky I have all my fingers.”
- “On why we should be nervous about the future if it turns out we’re not living in a simulation: “Arguably we should hope that that’s true, because otherwise if civilization stops advancing, that may be due to some calamitous event that erases civilization. So maybe we should be hopeful that this is a simulation, because otherwise… We are either going to create simulations indistinguishable from reality or civilization ceases to exist.”
- “Everybody around here has slides in their lobbies. I’m actually wondering about putting in a roller coaster-like a functional roller coaster at the factory in Fremont. You’d get in, and it would take you around [the] factory but also up and down. Who else has a roller coaster? … It would probably be really expensive, but I like the idea of it.”
- “Going from PayPal, I thought: ‘Well, what are some of the other problems that are likely to most affect the future of humanity?’ Not from the perspective, ‘What’s the best way to make money?”
- “When I was in college, I wanted to be involved in things that would change the world. Now I am.”
- “On how to warm Mars up to make it hospitable for humans: “The fast way is to drop thermonuclear weapons over the poles.”
- “On Egyptians and aliens: Seems like an opportune moment to bring up the Fermi Paradox, aka ‘where are the aliens?’ Really odd that we see no sign of them. Btw, please don’t mention the pyramids. Stacking stone blocks is not evidence of an advanced civilization. The rumor that I’m building a spaceship to get back to my home planet Mars is totally untrue. The ancient Egyptians were amazing, but if aliens built the pyramids, they would’ve left behind a computer or something.”
-
“I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact.”
- “In the distant future, people may outlaw driving cars because it’s too dangerous. You can’t have a person driving a two-ton death machine.”
- “On flying cars: “I’ve thought about it quite a lot … We could definitely make a flying car – but that’s not the hard part … The hard part is, how do you make a flying car that’s super safe and quiet? Because if it’s a howler, you’re going to make people very unhappy.”
- “Hyperloop: “Short of figuring out real teleportation, which would of course be awesome (someone please do this), the only option for super-fast travel is to build a tube over or under the ground that contains a special environment.”
- “You have to be pretty driven to make it happen. Otherwise, you will just make yourself miserable.”
- “Patience is a virtue, and I’m learning patience. It’s a tough lesson.”
- “I came to the conclusion that we should aspire to increase the scope and scale of human consciousness in order to better understand what questions to ask. Really, the only thing that makes sense is to strive for greater collective enlightenment.”
- “I wouldn’t say I have a lack of fear. In fact, I’d like my fear emotion to be less because it’s very distracting and fries my nervous system.”
- “If something’s important enough, you should try. Even if you – the probable outcome is a failure.”
-
“Life is too short for long-term grudges.”
- “You shouldn’t do things differently just because they’re different. They need to be… better.”
- “Some people don’t like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is a disaster.”
- “Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”
- “We focused on signal over noise. A lot of companies get confused, they spend money on things that don’t make the product better. For example, at Tesla, we never spent any money on advertising.” , Elon Musk quotes tesla
Interesting facts about Elon Musk:-
- Musk’s official annual salary is $1 for Tesla Motors
- Musk started learning programming at 12 and created a video game Blastar which was sold for $500
- In 1997, Zip2 his first company sold for $307million
- He co-founded PayPal which was acquired by eBay for $1.5billion in stock out of which $165million went to Musk
- Musk is said to reduce the cost of International Space Station by 90%, from $1billion to $60million permission
- Musk has been married three times [twice with British actress Talulah Riley] and has five sons
- For SpaceX, Tesla Motors, and SolarCity Musk was named Fortune’s “Businessperson of the Year” in 2013
