Really pay attention to negative feedback and solicit it, particularly from friends. … Hardly anyone does that, and it’s incredibly helpful.

I, as school kid, was a member of the Civil Guard, something like today's NCC. We had to salute our officers who went round in jeeps. So I thought one day I will also ride in a jeep and somebody else will salute me.

It [further education] is most essential, otherwise I would not have educated my sons. I learnt the hard way. Maybe if I had some education my success and growth would have been quicker.

The success of the young entrepreneur will be the key to India's transformation in the new millennium.

We must always go for the best. Do not compromise on quality. Reject if it is not the best - not only the best in India, but globally.

One must have ambition and one must understand the minds ... of men.

You shouldn’t do things differently just because they’re different. They need to be… better.

Talent is extremely important. It’s like a sports team, the team that has the best individual player will often win, but then there’s a multiplier from how those players work together and the strategy they employ.

We have a strict ‘no-assholes policy’ at SpaceX.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to plan to sell a company.

If you’re co-founder or CEO, you have to do all kinds of tasks you might not want to do… If you don’t do your chores, the company won’t succeed… No task is too menial.

Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death.

Don’t delude yourself into thinking something’s working when it’s not, or you’re gonna get fixated on a bad solution.

Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.

I always invest my own money in the companies that I create. I don’t believe in the whole thing of just using other people’s money. I don’t think that’s right. I’m not going to ask other people to invest in something if I’m not prepared to do so myself.