Elon Musk

Engineering South African-Canadian-American 1971 280 quotes

A visionary engineer and entrepreneur who founded SpaceX, co-founded Tesla, Inc., and has made significant contributions to electric vehicles and space exploration.

Most quoted

"If you go back a few hundred years, what we take for granted today would be considered magic—being able to talk to people instantly across vast distances, to see pictures and hear sounds from anywhere, to fly, to access immense amounts of information from a small device. These are things that would have been considered magic a short time ago."

— from TED Talk, 2017

"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."

— from TED Talk

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

— from Interview with Kevin Rose, 2013

All quotes by Elon Musk (280)

If you're not making mistakes, you're not trying hard enough.

Speech at Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit 2015

The only way to win is to innovate.

Speech at Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit 2015

I think it's important to be optimistic.

TED Talk 2017

The future is not something that just happens. It's something that you create.

TED Talk 2017

The biggest risk is not taking any risk.

Speech at Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit 2015

I'm not a fan of the word 'impossible.'

Interview with Kevin Rose 2013

The factory is where the magic happens.

Speech at Gigafactory 1 opening 2016

The future is going to be a lot more interesting than the past.

TED Talk 2017

I'm trying to do useful things.

Interview with Kevin Rose 2013

The most important thing is to make sure that we are on a path to a good future.

TED Talk 2017

Work like hell. I mean you just have to put in 80 to 100 hour weeks every week.

Interview 2010

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

Speech 2008

Life is too short for long-term grudges.

Tweet 2015

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

Tweet 2016

If you wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be better, it is a bright day. Otherwise, it's not.

Interview 2017

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.

Essay 2011

Patience is a virtue, and I'm learning patience. It's a tough lesson.

Interview 2018

People should become the stories they want to live.

Tweet 2019

Boil things down to the most fundamental truths and say, 'What are we sure is true?' ... and then reason up from there.

Interview 2013

I always invest my own money in the companies that I create. I don't believe in the whole 'angel investor' concept.

Interview 2009