Elon Musk Loves to Lose. Here’s Why That’s Awesome
Yep, I said it: Elon Musk is constantly losing. Back in ’99, he was ousted from his own company because his investors had zero faith that he could be CEO. Then, his next company was dubbed one of the worst business ideas ever — and he was pushed out again.
Next came a slew of failed (and explosive!) rocket launches, all while Tesla and SpaceX tiptoed on the edge of bankruptcy. His electric vehicles are always behind on production, he had to recall over 100,000 cars, and the BBB recently gave Tesla a big fat F.
In short, Musk has a list of failures as long as a trip to Mars — and that’s exactly why he’s one of the most successful people in the world.
At our company, we believe that failure is a necessary part of success. One of our mantras is WTF: Willing To Fail. This means we don’t shy away from the unknown and we reach for the impossible, even if we might fall. It encourages us to dream big and has lead to some of our biggest accomplishments: launching hundreds of small business owners, doubling our revenue last year, and even getting on Oprah.
Musk’s failures have been the catalyst to some major wins, too: the two companies that shunned him sold at top dollar, earning him millions. Earlier this year, he successfully launched Falcon Heavy (with 50/50 odds!) and Starman is currently cruising in his Roadster 17M miles away into outer space.
I’ve always been inspired by Musk’s ability to go all in without being constrained by risk or the fear of failure. He’s living proof that you can’t expect to land on the moon unless you’re (literally) willing to crash and burn a few times first.
Despite his failures — or perhaps because of them — Musk has risen to entrepreneurial infamy faster than a ride on Hyperloop. From transportation to energy to space exploration, he’s changing the world as we know it. Each of his failures have been stepping stones on the way to realizing his vision of a sustainable future. In the words of the Iron Man himself, “If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.”
So when everything is going wrong and you feel like you’ll never get ahead, just remember one thing: Elon Musk is a bigger failure than you’ll ever be.
