“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.”
“Don’t delude yourself into thinking something’s working when it’s not, or you’re gonna get fixated on a bad solution.”
“It’s very important to like the people you work with, otherwise life and your job is gonna be quite miserable.”
“You have to say, ‘Well, why did it succeed where others did not?”
“You shouldn’t do things differently just because they’re different. They need to be better.”
“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.”
“Starting and growing a business is as much about the innovation, drive, and determination of the people behind it as the product they sell.”
“My biggest mistake is probably weighing too much on someone’s talent and not someone’s personality. I think it matters whether someone has a good heart.”
“We have a strict ‘no-assholes policy’ at SpaceX.”
“Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death.”
“People should pursue what they’re passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else.”
“What makes innovative thinking happen?… I think it’s really a mindset. You have to decide.”
“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.”
“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.”
“Really pay attention to negative feedback and solicit it, particularly from friends… Hardly anyone does that, and it’s incredibly helpful.”
“I don’t create companies for the sake of creating companies, but to get things done.”
“There’s a tremendous bias against taking risks. Everyone is trying to optimize their ass-covering.”
“I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better.”
“Persistence is very important. You should not give up unless you are forced to give up.”
“Some people don’t like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is disaster.”