Billionaire Elon Musk Credits His Success To These 8 Books

1/13/2021 Billionaire Elon Musk credits his success to these 8 books
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Billionaire Elon Musk credits his success to these 8

books
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Elon Musk, chairman and chief executive officer of Tesla Motors Inc. Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty
Images
On Sunday, Elon Musk’s SpaceX made history, successfully completing the first
commercial rocket launch from the NASA launch pad that also sent astronauts to
the moon.
The win comes after multiple failures for the SpaceX and Tesla CEO, who wants to
change the way people travel and send humans to Mars.
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Since his childhood, books have played a crucial role in fueling Musk’s ambitions. It’s
said that he read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica at age nine and would pore
through science fiction novels for more than 10 hours a day.
When asked how he learned about rockets, Musk reportedly said, “I read books.” His
voracious reading habit was essential to launching his history-making career.
Here are eight books that shaped the revolutionary entrepreneur:
1. “Structures: Or Why Things Don’t Fall Down” by J.E. Gordon
When Musk decided he wanted to learn rocket science, he studied textbooks on

astrophysics and engineering. While reading advanced texts on physics may not be
for everyone, this book offers a lighter take on the science behind SpaceX.
“It is really, really good if you want a primer on structural design,” Musk says in an
interview with KCRW.
2. “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life” by Walter Isaacson
Ben Franklin, author, inventor, scientist and diplomat, is one of Musk’s heroes.
“You can see how [Franklin] was an entrepreneur,” Musk says in an interview with
Foundation’s Kevin Rose. “He was an entrepreneur. He started from nothing. He was
just a runaway kid.”
3. “Einstein: His Life and Universe” by Walter Isaacson
Musk tells Rose he was influenced by the biography of theoretical physicist Albert
Einstein, and it’s clear why.
Some of Einstein’s most famous quotes, like “The important thing is not to stop
questioning,” and “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything
new,” speak directly to Musk’s vision for his companies.
4. “Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies” by Nick Bostrom
Though Musk is a futurist and deeply interested in artificial intelligence, he has

shared his worries about potential dangers and ethical concerns associated with the
technology.
Bostrom’s book, which deals with the potential challenges presented should
computational intelligence surpass human intelligence, is “worth reading” Musk
tweeted in 2014.
5. “Merchants of Doubt” by Erik M. Conway and Naomi Oreskes
Musk recommends this argument by two historians who believe that scientists with
political and corporate connections have purposefully muddied the facts around
many public health issues, such as the negative effects of smoking. He posted his
recommendation on Twitter in 2013.
6. “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding
This classic novel on survival, competition and greed left its mark on the tech
entrepreneur.
“The heroes of the books I read always felt a duty to save the world,” he tells the
New Yorker.
7. “Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future” by Peter Thiel
The book, based on notes from a popular class Thiel taught at Stanford University in
2012, focuses on the need for unique thinking among would-be startup founders.
Musk says that his Paypal co-founder’s book offers an interesting exploration of the
process of building super successful companies.
8. The “Foundation” trilogy by Isaac Asimov
In a 2013 interview with The Guardian, Musk says Asimov’s books taught him that
“civilizations move in cycles,” a lesson that encouraged the entrepreneur to pursue
his radical ambitions.
“Given that this is the first time in 4.5 billion years where it’s been possible for
humanity to extend life beyond Earth,” he says, “it seems like we’d be wise to act
while the window was open and not count on the fact it will be open a long time.”
Check out how Elon Musk got his start.
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1/13/2021 Billionaire Elon Musk credits his success to these 8 books

Billionaire Elon Musk credits his success to these 8

Here are eight books that shaped the revolutionary entrepreneur:

1. “Structures: Or Why Things Don’t Fall Down” by J.E. Gordon

When Musk decided he wanted to learn rocket science, he studied textbooks on

2. “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life” by Walter Isaacson

3. “Einstein: His Life and Universe” by Walter Isaacson

4. “Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies” by Nick Bostrom

Though Musk is a futurist and deeply interested in artificial intelligence, he has

5. “Merchants of Doubt” by Erik M. Conway and Naomi Oreskes

6. “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding

8. The “Foundation” trilogy by Isaac Asimov

Check out how Elon Musk got his start.

1 Kevin O’Leary on why he won’t invest in bitcoin: It’s a ‘giant nothing-burger’

5 Women accounted for 100% of jobs lost in December, according to new

Stay in the loop

Privacy Policy | Do Not Sell My Personal Information

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