Reading Habits of Elon Musk
Elon Musk is a distinguished entrepreneur, investor and engineer. His multidisciplinary approach to life has earned him a degree of acclaim.
Musk’s curiosity and fascination for topics beyond what he was taught in school is well-known. He has attributed it to reading voraciously from a young age, saying he used to read “the entire encyclopedia”.
Musk continues to read in order to stay informed and continue to gain knowledge about the topics he is passionate about. Recently, speculative reports about what books he reads drew attention, and we have compiled some of the books Musk is purported to have read.
The most popular of Musk’s books are reported to be the works of exposé journalist Michael Crichton. Musk reportedly consumed the works “Jurassic Park,” “The Andromeda Strain,” “Rising Sun,” and “Sphere” – Crichton’s science fiction works that explore the ethical ramifications of scientific breakthroughs.
Additionally, Musk reportedly reads Nietzsche’s “Thus Spake Zarathustra” – a 19th century book that explores Nietzsche’s philosophy of the “Übermensch,” or Überperson – a perfect human being. Musk has said he believes this philosophy to be true.
Musk reportedly is also a fan of Isaac Asimov’s science-fiction stories. In particular, “Foundation and Empire,” “Foundation’s Edge,” and “Foundation and Earth” – stories about a galaxy-wide empire – are reportedly included in Musk’s library.
Life and Career of Elon Musk
Musk is an American business magnet, investor, engineer and inventor. He is best known for founding the aerospace manufacturer and space exploration technologies company, “SpaceX” and the electric car company, Tesla, Inc. He co-founded and served as the CEO of Tesla, as well as Chairman, CEO and product architect of Space Exploration Technologies Corporation.
Musk began his career by developing Zip2, an online city guide. In 1999, he sold Zip2 for $307 million dollars and invested the proceeds into X.com, an online banking service. He renamed the company PayPal and served as the CEO until it was sold to eBay in 2002. Afterward, Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX. In 2015, Musk set out to create a high-speed train system called, “Hyperloop” and an open-source project for electric vehicles.
Tesla Motors, an American electric vehicle and clean energy company, was founded by Elon in 2003. Tesla Motors initially focused on electric vehicles, but it has broadened its scope to include energy storage, electric powertrains, and solar roof tiles. Musk has served as the CEO and Chairman of Tesla Motors since its founding and has become one of the most popular faces of the electric car industry.
Musk is one of the co-founders of SolarCity, a solar energy services company. He first proposed the project in 2006 and the company is now one of the largest solar energy services providers in the United States.
Philosophical Influence
Musk has been heavily influenced by renowned philosophers and is known to be a fan of the works of Arthur Schopenhauer, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Jiddu Krishnamurti.
Schopenhauer, who Musk has called “the most important philosopher ever”, is a German philosopher known for his views on the power of will, the task of philosophy and his notion of ‘the world as Will’. Musk often sites Schopenhauer’s definition of genius, which defines it as “the capacity to feel what others think.”
He characterizes Nietzsche as his favorite philosopher and believes that Nietzsche’s philosophy of the ‘Übermensch’ has had a major influence on his life. His calmness and reliance on principles of self-reliance and self-expression also draw inspiration from Nietzsche.
Jiddu Krishnamurti is a 20th century philosopher and author of ‘Freedom from the Known’ whom Musk considers his philosophical guru. He has said that reading Krisnamurti is what originally motivated him to pursue a life in technology, recognizing the potential of his ideas.
Musks also suggests reading essential scientific books such as Max Tegmark’s ‘Our Mathematical Universe.’ This book particularly focuses on the implications of a universe that can be understood through mathematics and explores how our human minds interact with the mathematical universe.
Visions for the Future
Musk’s goal is to reduce global warming through sustainable energy production and consumption, and understand the future implications of artificial intelligence. He aims to improve the human condition through technological advancement, spurred on by his eagerness to find solutions to the world’s biggest problems.
In order to make his visions a reality, Musk is relentlessly researching and learning about various areas. He believes that becoming an expert in any topic requires a deep understanding of the related subjects. To provide a roadmap to his journey, he rereads his favorite books over and over, quoting extensively from the books during interviews and lectures.
Musk is open to learning from anyone. He believes that expertise can be gained from reading the works of great inventors, mathematicians, business leaders, economists, physicists, and even from foreign writers, bureaucrats and religious leaders. Musk is also open to experimentation, where he tests his ideas against reality.
Tesla and SpaceX
Musk founded Tesla Motors and SpaceX both to significantly advance the human race’s presence and capabilities in space exploration and technology. In both of these ventures, Musk has been pursuing the ultimate dream – to create a self-sustaining civilization on Mars.
SpaceX was founded in 2002 to develop and manufacture rockets and spacecraft for the purpose of exploring and colonizing space. Musk regards SpaceX as his most important work, and aims to revolutionize space travel through the development of reusable rockets. These would reduce the cost of space transportation, making a human mission to Mars a more realistic goal.
Tesla, on the other hand, is a pioneering electric vehicle manufacturer. Musk’s vision was to create an electric car that looks good, drives well, is easy to use and is affordable. Tesla has achieved all of that, and is now leading the electric vehicle industry in terms of sales, innovation and customer satisfaction.
Musk’s ambition and determination for seeing his vision becoming reality is made visible by both Tesla and SpaceX. He is actively involved in the progress of both, and both contribute to his goal of furthering the frontier of technology and ultimately, space exploration.
Conclusion
Elon Musk is a visionary entrepreneur and engineer whose ambition and vision have enabled him to found SpaceX and Tesla Motors. Musk is an avid reader and believes that wisdom comes from applicable knowledge, learning from the ideas and works of great inventors, mathematicians, business leaders, economists, physicists, foreign writers and religious leaders.
He has developed a unique and multidisciplinary approach to life, believing that progress and innovation come from pushing boundaries and learning from both the successes and failures of our past. Reading voraciously from a young age and regaining knowledge from the books he most enjoyed is what he believes enabled him to reach success.
