For him it is always whether success would matter to the world; there are easier ways to make money than a rocket or car company.
"does it matter to the world"
How do you think about doing good?
Q2913 answers2007-2026
Short answer
It's very hard to give money away for the reality of goodness rather than its appearance.
All 13 answers, oldest to newest
Tesla's mission is to transition the world to electric cars. Most of the good it will accomplish is by cutting a path through the jungle to show what can be done, so the rest of the industry follows.
"most of the good that Tesla will accomplish is by um sort of cutting a path through the jungle"
Tesla open-sourced its patents so any car company can use the technology free; the point is more electric cars, not fighting competitors.
"we actually open sourced all of our patents"
Put money and attention into making a product people love so sales grow by word of mouth; Tesla spends nothing on ads, and he pays full retail for his own cars.
"i actually even pay full retail price for my own cars"
If you care about the reality of goodness instead of the perception of it, philanthropy is extremely difficult. SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink and The Boring Company are philanthropy.
"the reality of goodness"
He cares about the reality of goodness, not looking good.
"what I care about is the reality of goodness not the perception of it"
He advises people simply to try to be useful, which is very difficult.
"I think just try to be useful is my advice. It's very difficult to be useful,"
He says he respects anyone who works hard and builds things for their fellow humans.
"I just have a lot of respect for anyone who works hard and builds things, provides products and services to their fellow humans"
He grew up in South Africa but his morality was informed by America — comic books, Dungeons & Dragons, American TV — and wanting to be on the side of good.
"my morality was informed by America"
It's very hard to give money away for the reality of goodness rather than its appearance.
"It is very difficult to give money away for the reality of goodness"
He thanked the people of SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink and Boring Company, saying anything he has done would have been impossible without them.
"Thank you on behalf of the amazing people of SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink and Boring Company, without whom anything I have done would have been impossible"
Replying to Maye Musk on Tesla's early 'Safety First' culture, he said safety has always been priority 1 at Tesla and SpaceX.
"Your safety has always been priority 1 at Tesla and SpaceX"
He confirmed Tesla is offering free Supercharging in hurricane-affected areas after Ron DeSantis thanked Tesla.
"Of course"