Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I do love email. Wherever possible I try to communicate asynchronously. I'm really good at email.
I'd like to dial it back 5% or 10% and try to have a vacation that's not just e-mail with a view.
Self-driving cars are the natural extension of active safety and obviously something we should do.
I wish we could be private with Tesla. It actually makes us less efficient to be a public company.
I usually describe myself as an engineer; that's basically what I've been doing since I was a kid.
Mars is the only place in the solar system where it's possible for life to become multi-planetarian.
Selling an electric sports car creates an opportunity to fundamentally change the way America drives.
Nobody wants to buy a $60,000 electric Civic. But people will pay $90,000 for an electric sports car.
I think we have a duty to maintain the light of consciousness to make sure it continues into the future.
It's very important to like the people you work with. Otherwise, your job is going to be quite miserable.
Facebook is quite entrenched and has a network effect. It's hard to break into a network once it's formed.
Over time I think we will probably see a closer merger of biological intelligence and digital intelligence.
I'm trying to construct a world that maximises the probability that SpaceX continues its mission without me.
I think long term you can see Tesla establishing factories in Europe, in other parts of the U.S. and in Asia.
I think there should be regulations on social media to the degree that it negatively affects the public good.
Man has the power to act as his own destroyer - and that is the way he has acted through most of his history.
I'm personally a moderate and a registered independent, so I'm not strongly Democratic or strongly Republican.
People should pursue what they're passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else.
If you think back to the beginning of cell phones, laptops or really any new technology, it's always expensive.
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.
The reason we should do a carbon tax is because it's the right thing to do. It's economics 101, elementary stuff.
Starting a business is not for everyone. Starting a business - I'd say, number one is have a high pain threshold.
I'm reasonably optimistic about the future, especially the future of the United States - for the century, at least.
Winning 'Motor Trend' Car of the year is probably the closest thing to winning the Oscar or Emmy of the car industry.
Some companies out there quote a start of production that is substantially in advance of when customers get their cars.
The fuel cell is just a fundamentally inferior way of delivering electrical energy to an electric motor than batteries.
We polled Tesla owners, do you want autopilot disabled or not. Not one person wanted it disabled. That's pretty telling.
In order for us to have a future that's exciting and inspiring, it has to be one where we're a space-bearing civilization.
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.
You want to be extra rigorous about making the best possible thing you can. Find everything that's wrong with it and fix it.
I don't spend my time pontificating about high-concept things; I spend my time solving engineering and manufacturing problems.
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.
I tend to approach things from a physics framework. And physics teaches you to reason from first principles rather than by analogy.
When Henry Ford made cheap, reliable cars people said, 'Nah, what's wrong with a horse?' That was a huge bet he made, and it worked.
I think that's the single best piece of advice: constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself.
What I'm trying to do is, is to make a significant difference in space flight. And help make space flight accessible to almost anyone.
A Prius is not a true hybrid, really. The current Prius is, like, 2 percent electric. It's a gasoline car with slightly better mileage.
I just want to retire before I go senile because if I don't retire before I go senile, then I'll do more damage than good at that point.
Physics is really figuring out how to discover new things that are counterintuitive, like quantum mechanics. It's really counterintuitive.
It is true that SpaceX is partially a government contractor, but it would be unfair to say that SpaceX is entirely a government contractor.
I care very deeply about the people at Tesla. I feel like I have a great debt to the people of Tesla who are making the company successful.
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.
There are some important differences between me and Tony Stark, like I have five kids, so I spend more time going to Disneyland than parties.
If we're going to have any chance of sending stuff to other star systems, we need to be laser-focused on becoming a multi-planet civilisation.
Stationary storage will be as big as the car business long term. The growth rate will probably be several times what it is for the car business.
You need to be in the position where it is the cost of the fuel that actually matters and not the cost of building the rocket in the first place.
I hate writing about personal stuff. I don't have a Facebook page. I don't use my Twitter account. I am familiar with both, but I don't use them.
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.
The goal of Tesla is to accelerate sustainable energy, so we're going to take a step back and think about what's most likely to achieve that goal.
I think whenever something is - whenever there's something that affects the public good, then there does need to be some form of public oversight.