Quotes from Elon Musk

We're running the most dangerous experiment in history right now, which is to see how much carbon dioxide the atmosphere can handle before there is an environmental catastrophe.

In the early days of aviation, there was a great deal of experimentation and a high death rate.

If humanity doesn't land on Mars in my lifetime, I would be very disappointed.

I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary.

Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up.

Physics is a good framework for thinking. ... Boil things down to their fundamental truths and reason up from there.

The first step is to establish that something is possible; then probability will occur.

My motivation for all my companies has been to be involved in something that I thought would have a significant impact on the world.

You shouldn't do things differently just because they're different. They need to be... better.

Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death.

I could either watch it happen or be a part of it.

Weighing too much on someone's talent and not someone's personality. I think it matters whether someone has a good heart.

You want to have a future where you're expecting things to be better, not one where you're expecting things to be worse.

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.

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?'

Don't be afraid of new arenas.

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.

I don't spend my time pontificating about high-concept things; I spend my time solving engineering and manufacturing problems.

As a child I would just question things.

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.

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.

My proceeds from the PayPal acquisition were $180 million. I put $100 million in SpaceX, $70m in Tesla, and $10m in Solar City. I had to borrow money for rent.

There have only been about a half dozen genuinely important events in the four-billion-year saga of life on Earth: single-celled life, multicelled life, differentiation into plants and animals, movement of animals from water to land, and the advent of mammals and consciousness.

Even if producing CO2 was good for the environment, given that we're going to run out of hydrocarbons, we need to find some sustainable means of operating.