There’s a tremendous bias against taking risks. Everyone is trying to optimize their *ss-covering.

When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.

I think it is possible for ordinary people to choose to be extraordinary

Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time. Sometimes it will be ahead, other times it will be behind. But brand is simply a collective impression some have about a product.

My proceeds from the PayPal acquisition were $180 million. I put $100 million in SpaceX, $70m in Tesla, and $10m in Solar City. I had to borrow money for rent.

Over time I think we will probably see a closer merger of biological intelligence and digital intelligence.

If something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor

You should take the approach that you’re wrong. Your goal is to be less wrong.

Patience is virtue, and I’m learning patience. It’s a tough lesson.

I’m a Silicon Valley guy. I just think people from Silicon Valley can do anything.

I would just question things… It would infuriate my parents… That I wouldn’t just believe them when they said something ’cause I’d ask them why. And then I’d consider whether that response made sense given everything else I knew.

You get paid in direct proportion to the difficulty of problems you solve.

If you had to buy a new plane every time you flew somewhere, it would be incredibly expensive.

Trying to build a company is like baking a cake, you have to have all the ingredients in the right proportion.

I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact.

There are some important differences between me and Tony Stark, like I have five kids, so I spend more time going to Disneyland than parties.

I think it would be great to be born on Earth and die on Mars. Just hopefully not at the point of impact.

I had so many people try to talk me out of starting a rocket company, it was crazy.

When Henry Ford made cheap, reliable cars people said: ‘Nah, what’s wrong with a horse?’ That was a huge bet he made, and it worked out.