Quote collection
217 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"The lessons of history would suggest that civilisations move in cycles. You can track that back quite far - the Babylonians, the Sumerians, followed by the Egyptians, the Romans, China. We're obviously in a very upward cycle right now and hopefully that remains the case. But it may not."
"I think Tesla will most likely develop its own autopilot system for the car, as I think it should be camera-based, not Lidar-based. However, it is also possible that we do something jointly with Google."
"There's a real opportunity to have a vertical takeoff and landing electric supersonic jet."
"Any product that needs a manual to work is broken."
"The tough thing is figuring out what questions to ask, but […] once you do that, the rest is really easy."
"I think life on Earth must be about more than just solving problems... It's got to be something inspiring, even if it is vicarious."
"Even if there's a zombie apocalypse, you'll still be able to travel using the Tesla Supercharging system."
"We need to be super careful with AI. Potentially more dangerous than nukes."
"I always see what’s... wrong. Would you want that? When I see a car or a rocket or spacecraft, I only see what’s wrong. I never see what’s right. It’s not a recipe for happiness."
"You could warm Mars up, over time, with greenhouse gases."
"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."
"The problem is that at a lot of big companies, process becomes a substitute for thinking. You're encouraged to behave like a little gear in a complex machine. Frankly, it allows you to keep people who aren't that smart, who aren't that creative."
"What most people know but don't realize they know is that the world is almost entirely solar-powered already. If the sun wasn't there, we'd be a frozen ice ball at three degrees Kelvin, and the sun powers the entire system of precipitation. The whole ecosystem is solar-powered."
"I don't spend my time pontificating about high-concept things; I spend my time solving engineering and manufacturing problems."
"You could power the entire United States with about 150 to 200 square kilometers of solar panels, the entire United States. Take a corner of Utah... there's not much going on there, I've been there. There's not even radio stations."
"I don't create companies for the sake of creating companies, but to get things done."
"The future of humanity is going to bifurcate in two directions: Either it's going to become multiplanetary, or it's going to remain confined to one planet and eventually there's going to be an extinction event."
"You should be innovating so fast that you're invalidating your prior patents."
"I've actually not read any books on time management."
"I've always wanted to be part of something that would radically change the world. . . . People forget the power of inspiration. All of humanity went to the moon with the Apollo missions. The issue was cost. There was no chance to build a base and create frequent flights. That's the problem I would like to solve."