50 Elon Musk Quotes On Success & The Future of Space
Our latest collection of insightful Elon Musk quotes that will inspire you to live with power.
Elon Musk’s massive success has spanned products, online payment systems, electric cars, energy production and now space adventure.
Musk is an icon for start-up success and is paving the way for a new innovative future for social entrepreneurs.
We have had a great time searching the web for some of our favorite Elon Musk quotes and wanted to provide a wide range of insights from one of the worlds most influential billionaires.
Elon is defiantly Living with Power!
A Few of Elon’s Accomplishments
Elon Musk is an entrepreneur with a massive edge.
At 23, he founded Zip2, his first company and sold it for $300,000,000.
From the sale of Zip2, he used $10 000 000 to fund, create and launch Paypal.
SolarCity was the next company he created for the purpose of making solar energy more affordable.
Besides, Elon is the founder of SpaceX and co-founder of Tesla Motors, who are driven to make inexpensive (relatively inexpensive, of course) electric cars.
To inspire your success and happiness, below is our collection of inspirational, wise, and thought-provoking Elon Musk quotes and sayings, collected from a variety of sources over the years.
Also read these motivational innovation quotes that will inspire you to create.
If you like this article, we suggest you explore our most popular quotes article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily encouragement.
Look through our complete collection of inspirational quotes here.
Elon Musk Quotes and Life Lessons About Impact, Innovation and Success
1. “Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.” – Elon Musk
Elon is defiantly not afraid to fail. With his companies almost going bankrupt in the past, it has caused him to re-evaluate, re-launch and come back 10X stronger.
2. “If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it.” – Elon Musk
Don’t focus on the odds, focus on what gives you and your life some meaning. Odds are meant to be defied.
3. “Patience is a virtue, and I’m learning patience. It’s a tough lesson.” – Elon Musk
4. “Really, the only thing that makes sense is to strive for greater collective enlightenment.” – Elon Musk
5. “The first step is to establish that something is possible; then – probability will occur.” – Elon Musk
Whether it’s through science, logic or imagination – decide it’s possible. Once you do that, you’ve already increased the odds of the desired outcome.
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of logic quotes about the power of decision making.
6. “For me it was never about money, but solving problems for the future of humanity.” – 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
Yes it might be scary, but if you want something great to happen you have to go ALL IN! In our gut, we know when we are fully committed and when we are not. Don’t just focus on the result, focus on aligning your actions so that each task completed moves you one step closer, even if it’s a baby step.
8. “Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up.” – Elon Musk
Many times we quit just before we are about to have a breakthrough, make a new connection or have given appropriate time for the desired results. Be committed for the long haul.
9. “Life is too short for long-term grudges.” – Elon Musk
10. “I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary.” – Elon Musk
Elon Musk quotes about being driven
11. “You have to be pretty driven to make it happen. Otherwise, you will just make yourself miserable.” – Elon Musk
12. “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
13. “(Physics is) a good framework for thinking. … Boil things down to their fundamental truths and reason up from there.” – Elon Musk
Start with the basics and build from there. You can’t master something by overlooking the fundamentals.
14. “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.” – Elon Musk
15. “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
16. “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
Focus on who you are and what your creating. Your brand will follow.
17. “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.” – Elon Musk
Real friends who have your best interest at heart are not giving you negative feedback to crush your dream. Use it to correct the flaws and come back stronger.
Elon Musk quotes about impacting the world
18. “When I was in college, I wanted to be involved in things that would change the world. Now I am.” – Elon Musk
19. “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
20. “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
21. “My motivation for all my companies has been to be involved in something that I thought would have a significant impact on the world.” – Elon Musk
22. “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
Many times the hard skills, such as there skills that are needed for the job are much easier to teach and learn than the soft skills needed for teamwork, leadership and influence. Skills can be learned, but intention comes from within. You can’t teach or train heart.
23. “You shouldn’t do things differently just because they’re different. They need to be… better.” – Elon Musk
24. “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.” – Elon Musk
25. “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.” – Elon Musk
A Conversation with Elon Musk
Elon Musk quotes about vision and the future
26. “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?” – Elon Musk
27. “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
28. “Why do you want to live? What’s the point? What inspires you? What do you love about the future? And if the future’s not including being out there among the stars and being a multi-planet species, it’s incredibly depressing if that’s not the future we’re going to have.” – Elon Musk
29. “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
30. “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
31. “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
Motivational Elon Musk quotes
32. “Some people don’t like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is disaster.” – Elon Musk
33. “There’s a tremendous bias against taking risks. Everyone is trying to optimize their ass-covering.” – Elon Musk
34. “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.” – Elon Musk
35. “You want to have a future where you’re expecting things to be better, not one where you’re expecting things to be worse.” – Elon Musk
Creating a personal and professional culture of optimism and vision is essential for any dynamic and innovative organization.
36. “I think that’s the single best piece of advice: constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself.” – Elon Musk
37. “Don’t be afraid of new arenas.” – Elon Musk
38. “I could either watch it happen or be a part of it.” – Elon Musk
39. “Work like hell. I mean you just have to put in 80 to 100 hour weeks every week. [This] improves the odds of success.” – Elon Musk
40. “As much as possible, avoid hiring MBAs. MBA programs don’t teach people how to create companies.” – Elon Musk
More Elon Musk quotes and sayings
41. “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
42. “When you struggle with a problem, that’s when you understand it.” –Elon Musk
43. “I say something, and then it usually happens. Maybe not on schedule, but it usually happens.” – Elon Musk
44. “If something’s important enough, you should try. Even if the probable outcome is failure.” – Elon Musk
45. “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
46. “My mentality is that of a samurai. I would rather commit seppuku than fail.” – Elon Musk
47. “You have to say, ‘Well, why did it succeed where others did not?’” – Elon Musk
48. “And we need things in life that are exciting and inspiring. It can’t just be about solving some awful problem. There have to be reasons to get up in the morning.” – Elon Musk
49. “I think we have a duty to maintain the light of consciousness to make sure it continues into the future.” – Elon Musk
50. “The tough thing is figuring out what questions to ask, but […] once you do that, the rest is really easy.” – Elon Musk
Which Elon Musk quote is your favorite?
At age 12, Elon Musk programmed a computer game and sold it for $500.
Since then, he’s founded multiple successful companies and established himself as one of the most brilliant entrepreneurs the world has ever seen.
Through his courage to take great risks to achieve success and bring innovation, Elon has made a massive impact on the universe.
Hopefully, these Elon Musk quotes have motivated you to think outside the box.
Did you enjoy these Elon Musk quotes?
Which of the quotes was your favorite?
Tell us in the comment section below.
