Elon Musk on Crypto:
"I do think that cryptocurrency is an interesting and probably valuable bulwark against a centralized control. Crypto helps with individual freedom."
Elon Musk on Crypto:
"I do think that cryptocurrency is an interesting and probably valuable bulwark against a centralized control. Crypto helps with individual freedom."
Elon Musk explains his idea generation process in 2 minutes:
"I tend to think of things from a physics standpoint, from a first principles standpoint. What would be the best way to accomplish something? And then pursue that."
Elon explains how this reveals hidden opportunities:
"That's also a good way to determine if something is far from its optimum. On rockets, for example, you could reason by analogy and say the rocket's gonna cost a certain amount because that's what prior rockets have cost. Or you can say: What is a rocket made of? What are the material constituents? What do they weigh? What's the cost per unit mass? That sets the limit asymptotically for what a rocket can be. So if you can figure out some creative way to rearrange those elements into a rocket shape, you can achieve a much better outcome."
He shares a second source of ideas:
"Combining ideas from different industries is really helpful for innovation. What have people discovered in one industry that can be applied to other industries? That's a great source of ideas."
Elon also explains why he started with software:
"The great thing about software or anything which just involves intellectual capital is that you and a few friends can just do it. That's why doing some sort of internet thing is great as an initial company. That's why Zip2 and PayPal gave me the capital to attempt more capital-intensive activities."
He concludes:
"Usually you just struggle on a solution. You try a bunch of things. Most of them don't work. Occasionally one does."