Elon Musk Quotes

It's a fixer-upper of a planet but we could make it work.

There's a silly notion that failure's not an option at NASA. Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.

Some people don't like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is disaster.

Physics is a good framework for thinking ... Boil things down to their fundamental truths and reason up from there.

If humanity doesn't land on Mars in my lifetime, I would be very disappointed.

The goal of Tesla is to accelerate sustainable energy, so we're going to take a step back and think about what's most likely to achieve that goal.

Great companies are built on great products.

There's a tremendous bias against taking risks. Everyone is trying to optimize their ass-covering.

I had so many people try to talk me out of starting a rocket company, it was crazy.

Winning 'Motor Trend' Car of the year is probably the closest thing to winning the Oscar or Emmy of the car industry.

Selling an electric sports car creates an opportunity to fundamentally change the way America drives.

You need to be in the position where it is the cost of the fuel that actually matters and not the cost of building the rocket in the first place.

Really, the only thing that makes sense is to strive for greater collective enlightenment.

Don't be afraid of new arenas.

I'm extremely confident that solar will be at least a plurality of power, and most likely a majority ... in less than 20 years.

The key test for an acronym is to ask whether it helps or hurts communication.

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.

Nobody wants to buy a $60,000 electric Civic. But people will pay $90,000 for an electric sports car.

Even if there's a zombie apocalypse, you'll still be able to travel using the Tesla Supercharging system.

Physics is really figuring out how to discover new things that are counterintuitive, like quantum mechanics. It's really counterintuitive.

If you think back to the beginning of cell phones, laptops or really any new technology, it's always expensive.

I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary.

I think you should always be seeking negative feedback.

I don't think it's a good idea to plan to sell a company.

In the early days of aviation, there was a great deal of experimentation and a high death rate.

You have to be pretty driven to make it happen. Otherwise, you will just make yourself miserable.

I think that's the single best piece of advice: constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself.

If we drive down the cost of transportation in space, we can do great things.

Entrepreneurship is like eating glass and walking on hot coals at the same time

There's a real opportunity to have a vertical takeoff and landing electric supersonic jet.

We have this handy fusion reactor in the sky called the sun, you don't have to do anything, it just works. It shows up every day.

If you had to buy a new plane every time you flew somewhere, it would be incredibly expensive.

I think we are at the dawn of a new era in commercial space exploration.

Humans need to be a multiplanet species.

Constantly seek criticism. A well thought out critique of what you're doing is as valuable as gold

Land on Mars, a round-trip ticket - half a million dollars. It can be done.

You want to be extra rigorous about making the best possible thing you can. Find everything that's wrong with it and fix it.

I'm trying to construct a world that maximises the probability that SpaceX continues its mission without me.

People should pursue what they're passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else.

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.

Engineering is the closest thing to magic that exists in the world.

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.

Some companies out there quote a start of production that is substantially in advance of when customers get their cars.

Here in the West, people often don't like listening to their leaders, even if they are right.

I realized that a methane-oxygen rocket engine could achieve a specific impulse greater than 380.

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.

I've actually not read any books on time management.

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.

Most people can learn a lot more than they think they can. They sell themselves short without trying.

The primary means of energy generation is going to solar. It will at least be a plurality, and probably be a slight majority in the long term.

I do love email. Wherever possible I try to communicate asynchronously. I'm really good at email.

I'm glad to see that BMW is bringing an electric car to market. That's cool.

Actively seek out and listen carefully to negative feedback.

Really pay attention to negative feedback and solicit it, particularly from friends. ... Hardly anyone does that, and it's incredibly helpful.

What I'm trying to do is to maximise the probability of the future being better.

The tough thing is figuring out what questions to ask, but [ ... ] once you do that, the rest is really easy.

I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact.

Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up.

I could either watch it happen or be a part of it.

The United States is definitely ahead in culture of innovation. If someone wants to accomplish great things, there is no better place than the U.S.

I think there are too many smart people pursuing internet stuff, finance, and law. That is part of the reason why we haven't seen as much innovation.

A Prius is not a true hybrid, really. The current Prius is, like, 2 percent electric. It's a gasoline car with slightly better mileage.

Stationary storage will be as big as the car business long term. The growth rate will probably be several times what it is for the car business.

I was born in Africa. I came to California because it's really where new technologies can be brought to fruition, and I don't see a viable competitor.

My motivation for all my companies has been to be involved in something that I thought would have a significant impact on the world.

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.

We need to figure out how to have the things we love, and not destroy the world.

Rockets are cool. There's no getting around that.

I hate writing about personal stuff. I don't have a Facebook page. I don't use my Twitter account. I am familiar with both, but I don't use them.

Biofuels such as ethanol require enormous amounts of cropland and end up displacing either food crops or natural wilderness, neither of which is good.

For my part, I will never give up, and I mean never.

You want to have a future where you're expecting things to be better, not one where you're expecting things to be worse.

I'm not trying to be anyone's savior. I'm just trying to think about the future and not be sad.

In order to have your voice be heard in Washington, you have to make some little contribution.

I think it matters whether someone has a good heart.

Life is too short for long-term grudges.

Many things are improbable, only a few are impossible.

I don't think very highly of Henrik Fisker. [ ... H]e thinks the reason we don't have electric cars is for lack of styling

We polled Tesla owners, do you want autopilot disabled or not. Not one person wanted it disabled. That's pretty telling.

If something's important enough, you should try. Even if you - the probable outcome is failure.

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.

We need to be super careful with AI. Potentially more dangerous than nukes,

That's my lesson for taking a vacation: vacation will kill you.

The extension of life beyond Earth is the most important thing we can do as a species.

What I'm trying to do is, is to make a significant difference in space flight. And help make space flight accessible to almost anyone.

For me it was never about money, but solving problems for the future of humanity.

My mentality is that of a samurai. I would rather commit seppuku than fail.

It's OK to have your eggs in one basket as long as you control what happens to that basket.

I think we have a duty to maintain the light of consciousness to make sure it continues into the future.

I started SpaceX with the expectation of failure.

I think long term you can see Tesla establishing factories in Europe, in other parts of the U.S. and in Asia.

Silicon Valley has some of the smartest engineers and technology business people in the world.

In order for us to have a future that's exciting and inspiring, it has to be one where we're a space-bearing civilization.

I'm a Silicon Valley guy. I just think people from Silicon Valley can do anything.

With artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon.

I'm nauseatingly pro-American. I would have come here from any country. The U.S. is where great things are possible.

I don't spend my time pontificating about high-concept things; I spend my time solving engineering and manufacturing problems.

I'd like to dial it back 5% or 10% and try to have a vacation that's not just e-mail with a view.

My family fears that the Russians will assassinate me.

As a child I would just question things ...