AGAINST ALL ODDS - Elon Musk (Motivational Video)

you know there are American Heroes who don't like this idea Neil Armstrong Jean cernon have both testified against commercial space flight in the way that you're developing it and I wonder what you think of that I was very sad to see that uh because those guys are yeah you know those guys are heroes of mine so it's really tough you know I I I wish they would come and visit and and see the hardware that would dring C and and I think that would change their mind they inspired you to do this didn't they yes

and to see them casting stones in your direction it's difficult did you expect them to cheer you on certainly hoping they would what are you trying to prove to them what I'm trying to do is is to make a significant difference in in space flight and and and help make space flight accessible to to almost anyone one of the most difficult choices I've ever faced uh in life was was in 2008 um and um I think I had uh like maybe $30 million left or 30 or $40 million left in 2008 I had two choices

I could put it all into one company and then the other company would definitely die um or split it between the two companies and but if I split it between two companies then both might die um and you when you put your Blood Sweat and Tears into creating something building something it's like a child and so it's like which one am I going to let one starve to death I couldn't ring myself to do it so I put I I split the money between the two fortunately thank goodness uh they both came through what was

your biggest failure and how did it change you well there's a ton of failures along the way that's for sure except as as I said for for SpaceX the first three launches failed and uh we're just barely able to scrape together enough parts and and money to do the the fourth launch that fourth launch and failed we would have been dead so multiple failures along the way um I I tried very hard to to get the right expertise in for for SpaceX I tried hard to to find a great uh chief engineer for the rocket

but it not the good Chief Engineers wouldn't join and the bad ones well there was no no point in hiring them so I ended up being chief engineer of the rocket um so if I could have found somebody better then we would have maybe had less than three failures that third failure in a row did you think I need to pack this in never why not I don't never give up so many people try to talk me out of starting a ro company it was it was crazy one good friend of mine collected a whole

series of videos of rockets blowing up and made me watch those he just didn't want me to lose all my money we're doing these things that uh seem unlikely to succeed and we've been fortunate and at least thus far they have succeeded now is the time to take risk you don't have kids as you get older your obligations increase and once you have a family you start taking risk not just for yourself but for your family as well it gets much harder to uh do things that might not work out um so now is the

time to do that uh before you before you have those obligations so would I would encourage you to take risks now do something bold um you won't regret it how did you figure you were going to start a car company and be successful at it well I I didn't really think Tesla would be successful I thought we would most likely fail but I thought that we at least could address the false perception that people had that an electric car had to be ugly and slow and and boring like a golf cart but you say you

didn't expect the company to be successful then why try if something's important enough you should try even if the probable outcome is failure or how do you think about making a decision when everyone tells you this is a crazy idea or where do you get the internal strength to do that well first of all I'd say I I actually think I I think I fear feel fear quite strongly um so it's not as though I just have the absence of fear I feel it quite strongly um but there are just times when something is important

enough you've believe it enough that you do it in spite of fear I I think about what what technology solution is necessary in order to achieve the particular goal and then try to make as much progress in that direction as possible I think the being a multiplan species and being out there Among the Stars is important for uh the long-term survival of humanity and uh that's one reason um but then the part that I find personally most motivating is that it creates a sense of adventure and it makes people excited about the future um if

you consider two Futures one where uh we are forever confined to Earth until eventually something terrible happens or another future where we are out there on many planets maybe even going beyond the solar system um I think that second version is incredibly exciting and inspiring and there need to be reasons to get up in the morning you know life can't just be about solving problems otherwise what's the point there's got to be things that people find inspiring U and make life worth living when my brother and I were starting our first company uh in instead

of getting an apartment we just rented a a small office and we slept on the couch um and we we showered at the the YMCA and uh we're we're so hot up we had one computer so the this the the website was up during the day uh and I was coding at night 7 days a week all the time um and I I uh s briefly had a go for in that period and in order to be with me she have to sleep in the office so I work hard like it I mean every waking

hour that's that's the the thing I would I would say if if you particularly if you're starting a company what whatever area that you get into um given that you know even if you're if you're the best the best there's always a chance of failure so I think it's important that you really like whatever you're doing um if you don't like it life is too short if you like what you're doing you think about it even when you're not working I mean it'll just it it's it's something that your mind is drawn to um and

and if you don't like it you just really can't make it work I [Music] think