Inspirational Quotes
Words to motivate, inspire, and guide you.
Elon Musk Quotes
Technology Threats If you look at our current technology level, something strange has to happen to civilisations, and I mean strange in a bad way. And it could be that there are a whole lot of dead, one-planet civilisations.
PurposeInspirationFutureSpace ExplorationHumanity There have to be reasons that you get up in the morning and you want to live. Why do you want to live? What's the point? What inspires you? What do you love about the future? If the future does not include being out there among the stars and being a multi-planet species, I find that incredibly depressing.
Space ExplorationAmbitionAchievability Land on Mars, a round-trip ticket - half a million dollars. It can be done.
Silicon ValleyStartupsEntrepreneurshipEcosystem Silicon Valley has evolved a critical mass of engineers and venture capitalists and all the support structure - the law firms, the real estate, all that - that are all actually geared toward being accepting of startups.
AppearancesHappinessRealityIllusionSocial Media Particularly Instagram, people look like they have a much better life than they really do. People basically seem like they are way better-looking than they really are, and they are way happier-seeming than they really are.
EducationBackgroundEngineeringPhysicsEconomics My background educationally is physics and economics, and I grew up in sort of an engineering environment - my father is an electromechanical engineer. And so there were lots of engineery things around me.
AutopilotTechnologyPartnership I think Tesla will most likely develop its own autopilot system for the car, as I think it should be camera-based, not Lidar-based. However, it is also possible that we do something jointly with Google.
Energy StorageChemistrySafetyInnovationEngineering A battery by definition is a collection of cells. So the cell is a little can of chemicals. And the challenge is taking a very high-energy cell, and a large number of them, and combining them safely into a large battery.
GrowthNurturingPotentialResilienceFoundation 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.
TechnologyInnovationEfficiencyPerformance The fuel cell is just a fundamentally inferior way of delivering electrical energy to an electric motor than batteries.
LonelinessCompanionship When I was a child, there's one thing I said: 'I never want to be alone.' That's what I would say. I don't want to be alone.
InnovationChangeOpportunitySustainabilityRevolution Selling an electric sports car creates an opportunity to fundamentally change the way America drives.
BusinessStartupsStrategy 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.
Social MediaRegulationPublic Good I think there should be regulations on social media to the degree that it negatively affects the public good.
AmbitionImpactWorld Change When I was in college, I wanted to be involved in things that would change the world.
LeadershipCareer PathCareer Development 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.
LeadershipDisagreementTruth Here in the West, people often don't like listening to their leaders, even if they are right.
EvolutionComplexityKey Moments In HistoryTurning PointsIntelligence There have only been about a half dozen genuinely important events in the four-billion-year saga of life on Earth: single-celled life, multicelled life, differentiation into plants and animals, movement of animals from water to land, and the advent of mammals and consciousness.
Government ContractingSpaceXBusiness It is true that SpaceX is partially a government contractor, but it would be unfair to say that SpaceX is entirely a government contractor.
Clean EnergyInnovationSustainabilityCollaborationProgress I really do encourage other manufacturers to bring electric cars to market. It's a good thing, and they need to bring it to market and keep iterating and improving and make better and better electric cars, and that's what going to result in humanity achieving a sustainable transport future. I wish it was growing faster than it is.
ResilienceCommitment Starting a business is not for everyone. Starting a business - I'd say, number one is have a high pain threshold.
CommunicationWork Efficiency I do love email. Wherever possible I try to communicate asynchronously. I'm really good at email.
Climate ChangeEnergy PolicyPolitical DebateBelief Systems I think there are more politicians in favor of electric cars than against. There are still some that are against, and I think the reasoning for that varies depending on the person, but in some cases, they just don't believe in climate change - they think oil will last forever.
TechnologyInnovationFutureImpact 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?'
Space ExplorationPlayfulnessInnovationHumor On one of the SpaceX flights, we had a secret payload: a wheel of cheese. We flew to orbit and brought it back, so it was the world's first 'space cheese.' It was, in part, a tribute to Monty Python.
RetirementSenilitySelf-awarenessTimingHumor I just want to retire before I go senile because if I don't retire before I go senile, then I'll do more damage than good at that point.
Customer ExperienceNegotiationCar Buying The problem with car dealerships is you've already decided what you want to buy before you even go there, and you're really just going there to talk through some annoying negotiation.
Passion People should pursue what they're passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else.
Space ExplorationSurvivalUrgencyInnovationResponsibility It's important that we attempt to extend life beyond Earth now. It is the first time in the four billion-year history of Earth that it's been possible, and that window could be open for a long time - hopefully it is - or it could be open for a short time. We should err on the side of caution and do something now.
Natural SystemsEcosystem SustainabilityHuman Interconnection with NatureSolar Energy Dependence What most people know but don't realize they know is that the world is almost entirely solar-powered already. If the sun wasn't there, we'd be a frozen ice ball at three degrees Kelvin, and the sun powers the entire system of precipitation. The whole ecosystem is solar-powered.
Social MediaMeme CultureConflictDefenseCompetition Generally, the view that I've had on Twitter is if you're on Twitter, you're in, like, the meme - you're in meme war land. If you're on Twitter, you're in the arena. And so, essentially, if you attack me, it is therefore OK for me to attack back.
ExplorationAmbitionFuture GoalsSpace If humanity doesn't land on Mars in my lifetime, I would be very disappointed.
InnovationSpace ExplorationCommercializationEmerging TechnologiesProgress I think we are at the dawn of a new era in commercial space exploration.
ProgressInfrastructureDevelopmentAmbition If we could do high-speed rail in California just half a notch above what they've done on the Shanghai line in China, and if we had a straight path from L.A. to San Francisco, as well as the milk run, at least that would be progress.
LoveRelationshipHappiness If I'm not in love, if I'm not with a long-term companion, I cannot be happy.
CollaborationSupportProgressFoundations I feel very strongly that SpaceX would not have been able to get started, nor would we have made the progress that we have, without the help of NASA.
PerseveranceCourageImportance of PurposeDeterminationOvercoming Adversity When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.
Perseverance If something's important enough, you should try. Even if - the probable outcome is failure.
Family There are some important differences between me and Tony Stark, like I have five kids, so I spend more time going to Disneyland than parties.
DNA SequencingGene ExpressionTechnology InnovationDisease Cure With DNA, you have to be able to tell which genes are turned on or off. Current DNA sequencing cannot do that. The next generation of DNA sequencing needs to be able to do this. If somebody invents this, then we can start to very precisely identify cures for diseases.
Premium ProductsCustomer ValueBusiness Strategy 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.
AutomationControlSafetyTechnologyTravel I like the word 'autopilot' more than I like the word 'self-driving.' 'Self-driving' sounds like it's going to do something you don't want it to do. 'Autopilot' is a good thing to have in planes, and we should have it in cars.
Space Exploration You need to live in a dome initially, but over time you could terraform Mars to look like Earth and eventually walk around outside without anything on... So it's a fixer-upper of a planet.
ConsciousnessResponsibilityFutureLightAwareness I think we have a duty to maintain the light of consciousness to make sure it continues into the future.