There’s no doubt that Elon Musk is one of the most influential and well-known entrepreneurs in the world. He has founded several successful businesses, including Tesla and SpaceX, and he is constantly sharing his insights on how to achieve success.
In this post, we’ll take a look at some of his best quotes on business and life. Whether you’re a fan of Musk or not, these quotes are sure to provide some valuable insights!
1. “When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” – Elon Musk
2. “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.” – Elon Musk
3. “What makes innovative thinking happen?… I think it’s really a mindset. You have to decide.” – Elon Musk
4. “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.” – Elon Musk
5. “I’ve actually not read any books on time management.” – Elon Musk
6. “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.” – Elon Musk
7. “It’s OK to have your eggs in one basket as long as you control what happens to that basket.” – Elon Musk
8. “The first step is to establish that something is possible; then probability will occur.” – Elon Musk
9. “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.” – Elon Musk
10. “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.” – Elon Musk
11. “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.” – Elon Musk
12. “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.” – Elon Musk
13. “I say something, and then it usually happens. Maybe not on schedule, but it usually happens.” – Elon Musk
14. “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.” – Elon Musk
15. “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.” – Elon Musk
16. “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.” – Elon Musk
17. “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
18. “Some people don’t like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is disaster.” – Elon Musk
19. “I don’t spend my time pontificating about high-concept things; I spend my time solving engineering and manufacturing problems.” – Elon Musk
20. “People should pursue what they’re passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else.” – Elon Musk
21. “As much as possible, avoid hiring MBAs. MBA programs don’t teach people how to create companies.” – Elon Musk
22. “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.” – Elon Musk
23. “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
24. “It’s very important to like the people you work with, otherwise life [and] your job is gonna be quite miserable.” – Elon Musk
25. “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.” – Elon Musk
26. “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.” – Elon Musk
27. “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
28. “Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up.” – Elon Musk
29. “I don’t create companies for the sake of creating companies, but to get things done.” – Elon Musk
30. “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.” – Elon Musk
31. “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
32. “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.” – Elon Musk
33. “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
34. “You have to say, ‘Well, why did it succeed where others did not?’” – Elon Musk
35. “There’s a tremendous bias against taking risks. Everyone is trying to optimize their ass-covering.” – Elon Musk
36. “Starting and growing a business is as much about the innovation, drive, and determination of the people behind it as the product they sell.” – Elon Musk
37. “I think we have a duty to maintain the light of consciousness to make sure it continues into the future.” – Elon Musk
38. “Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.” – Elon Musk
39. “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.” – Elon Musk
40. “Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death.” – Elon Musk
41. “Don’t delude yourself into thinking something’s working when it’s not, or you’re gonna get fixated on a bad solution.” – Elon Musk
42. “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.” – Elon Musk
43. “Really pay attention to negative feedback and solicit it, particularly from friends. … Hardly anyone does that, and it’s incredibly helpful.” – Elon Musk
44. “We have a strict ‘no-assholes policy’ at SpaceX.” – Elon Musk
45. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to plan to sell a company.” – Elon Musk
46. “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.” – Elon Musk
47. “You shouldn’t do things differently just because they’re different. They need to be… better.” – Elon Musk
48. “Don’t confuse schooling with education. I didn’t go to Harvard but the people that work for me did.” – Elon Musk
49. “Rockets are cool. There’s no getting around that.” – Elon Musk
50. “Failure is an option here. if things are not failing, you are not innovating.” – Elon Musk
The world is constantly changing and it can be difficult to keep up. That’s why it’s important to have a source of inspiration, someone who you can look up to and learn from. For entrepreneurs, that person is often Elon Musk.
He has faced more challenges than most people could imagine, yet he continues to persevere and achieve his goals. If you want to be successful in business, or anything else for that matter, study the life of Elon Musk and learn from his mistakes and successes.
What do you think is the most important lesson we can learn from him? Let us know in the comments below.