10 Elon Musk Inspiring Quotes and Factoids
Elon Musk the entrepreneur, rocket company owner and Tesla CEO
Inspire and restore your hope in humanity with these Elon Musk inspirational quotes and factoids.
Elon Musk recently made headlines when he revealed his latest SpaceX spacesuits design. In case you are behind the curve and wondering who he is and why you should care, I have compiled a 10 inspiring quotes and factoids to help catch you up.
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These quotes were verified by BrainyQuotes, check out the full Elon Musk quote selection here.
Also, I highly recommend the book Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future.
#10 — “When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.”
Factoid #10 —Elon Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa.
According to Biography.com — “He spent his early childhood with his brother Kimbal and sister Tosca in South Africa, and at 10, the introverted Elon developed an interest in computers.
During this time, his parents divorced. He taught himself how to program, and when he was 12 he made his first software sale — of a game he created called Blastar. At age 17, in 1989, he moved to Canada to attend Queen’s University and avoid mandatory service in the South African military, but he left in 1992 to study business and physics at the University of Pennsylvania.” — read more here.
#9 — “Life is too short for long-term grudges.”
Factoid #9 — He was born on June 28, 1971.
According to Wikipedia — “During his childhood he was an avid reader. At age 10, he developed an interest in computing with the Commodore VIC-20. He taught himself computer programming at the age of 12, sold the code for a BASIC-based video game he created called Blastar, to a magazine called PC and Office Technology, for approximately $500. A web version of the game is available online.” — read more here.
#8 —“Patience is a virtue, and I’m learning patience. It’s a tough lesson.”
Factoid #8 — He was bullied as a child
According to Upriser — “Elon Musk’s mother, Maye shared that Elon was horrifically bullied in school. To comfort him, Maye assured her son that she, too, got picked on as a child and that her twin sister often shielded her from classmates’ barbs.
Elon was a quiet, introverted child. In fact, Maye said that Elon’s introversion led her to believe for some time that he might be deaf. Maye Musk told Esquire magazine writer Tom Junod that Elon was “the youngest and smallest guy in his school” and that he was picked on all the time. Musk’s brother, Kimbal, concurred by saying “Kids gave Elon a very hard time.” — read more here.
#7 — “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.”
Factoid #7 —Musk was once a guest on the popular TV show The Big Bang Theory.
According to Entrepreneur.com— “In November 2015, Musk made a cameo on the CBS show in an episode called “The Platonic Permutation.” The scene, which takes place in a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving, features Musk washing dishes.
“I was on the turkey line, but I got demoted for being too generous with the gravy,” Musk says. Howard, a character on the show, is starstruck by Musk but manages to score his email address. The scene ends with the two sharing a slice of partially eaten pumpkin pie.” — read more here.
#6 —“I think that’s the single best piece of advice: constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself.”
Factoid #6 —Elon Musk Real Time Net Worth — as of 8/24/17 is $20.9 Billion.
According to Forbes — “Elon Musk, a polymath entrepreneur who nearly went bankrupt launching Tesla Motors and rocket company SpaceX, is now worth more than $20 billion.
On Wednesday, Forbes unveiled its annual Richest In Tech list, which ranks the 100 wealthiest self-made tech billionaires. Musk placed 12th in the order, at $20.7 billion, ahead of high-profile names including Paul Allen ($20.5 billion) and Eric Schmidt ($12.4 billion).” — read more here.
#5 — “If something’s important enough, you should try. Even if you — the probable outcome is failure.”
Factoid #5 — His first company was called Zip2.
According to Biography.com — “After leaving Penn, Elon Musk headed to Stanford University in California to pursue a Ph.D in energy physics. However, his move was timed perfectly with the Internet boom, and he dropped out of Stanford after just two days to become a part of it, launching his first company, Zip2 Corporation.
An online city guide, Zip2 was soon providing content for the new websites of both The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune, and in 1999, a division of Compaq Computer Corporation bought Zip2 for $307 million in cash and $34 million in stock options.” — read more here.
#4 — “I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact.”
Factoid #4 — Elon Musk founded SpaceX in May, 2002.
According to Wikipedia — “Musk is chief executive officer (CEO) and chief technology officer (CTO) of the Hawthorne, California-based company. SpaceX develops and manufactures space launch vehicles with a focus on advancing the state of rocket technology. The company’s first two launch vehicles are the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets (a nod to Star Wars’ Millennium Falcon), and its first spacecraft is the Dragon (a nod to Puff the Magic Dragon).[67] In seven years, SpaceX designed the family of Falcon launch vehicles and the Dragon multipurpose spacecraft. In September 2008, SpaceX’s Falcon 1 rocket became the first privately funded liquid-fueled vehicle to put a satellite into Earth orbit.[38] On May 25, 2012, the SpaceX Dragon vehicle berthed with the ISS, making history as the first commercial company to launch and berth a vehicle to the International Space Station.” — read more here
#3 — “I think you should always bear in mind that entropy is not on your side.”
Factoid #3 —Musk helped his cousin start SolarCity Corp., in 2006.
According to Biography.com — “In August 2016, in Musk’s continuing effort to promote and advance sustainable energy and products for a wider consumer base, a $2.6 billion dollar deal was solidified to combine his electric car and solar energy companies. His Tesla Motors Inc. announced an all-stock deal purchase of SolarCity Corp., a company Musk had helped his cousins start in 2006. He is a majority shareholder in each entity. “Solar and storage are at their best when they’re combined. As one company, Tesla (storage) and SolarCity (solar) can create fully integrated residential, commercial and grid-scale products that improve the way that energy is generated, stored and consumed,” read a statement on Tesla’s website about the deal” — read more here.
#2 — “I think it matters whether someone has a good heart.”
Factoid #2 —He became a U.S Citizen in 2002.
According to Biography.com— “Musk, who became a U.S. citizen in 2002, has been married twice and has five sons. He married Justine Wilson in 2000. In 2002, their first son died at 10 weeks old from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). They would have five additional sons together, twins and triplets.
After their contentious divorce, Musk met actress Talulah Riley and they married in 2010. The couple split in 2012 but married each other again in 2013. Their relationship ultimately ended in divorce in 2016.” — read more here.
#1 — “To make an embarrassing admission, I like video games. That’s what got me into software engineering when I was a kid. I wanted to make money so I could buy a better computer to play better video games — nothing like saving the world.”
Factoid #1 — Musk’s goal is to reduce the current cost of human spaceflight by a factor of 10.
According to Wikipedia — “In a 2011 interview, he said he hopes to send humans to Mars’ surface within 10–20 years. In Ashlee Vance’s biography, Musk stated that he wants to establish a Mars colony by 2040, with a population of 80,000. Musk stated that, since Mars’ atmosphere lacks oxygen, all transportation would have to be electric (electric cars, electric trains, Hyperloop, electric aircraft).” — read more here.
