Elon Musk is actually short for E l o n g a t e d M u s k r a t

 I read about Elon Musk in the book Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. As a tech enthusiast and avid computer geek I look up to Musk as a hero. He came from a troubled past and through grit, and innovation made himself what some call either iron man or a modern Bond villain.

1.      The thing that surprised me the most about Elon was how close he came to failure on his road way to becoming the man he is today. For one he almost died several times be it by bullying, or malaria, or even testicular impalement! As interesting as those sound, none compare to his uphill battle for his dreams. He came around the time of the Silicon Valley collapse and .com bubble rupture. Meaning many of his colleagues wanted to play it safe. Not Elon, he wanted to accomplish his dreams at whatever means necessary. To colonize multiple planets and end our reliance on fossil fuels. To this end he worked inhumane schedules to push himself to the limit. His strong adherence to accomplish his dreams is what I inspire the most in Elon, it doesn’t matter how many naysayers, or if the world and all the odds are against him, he bets on himself and pushes forward. The thing that I least admire about Elon is he sometimes puts the ends above the means. Meaning he expects everyone to do the same without second thought. Although putting your means before the ends accomplishes slower progress you don’t have to lose sleep thinking at what cost.

2.      A self-starter and outcasted child. He attended University for 5 years to get two undergrad degrees in Physics and Economics. These competencies combined with his entrepreneurial spirit led him to start his companies Zip2 and X.com to later evolve into the man behind SpaceX and Tesla motors among other ventures.

3.      One part of Elon’s life I don’t get is how he doesn’t have a house in Palo Alto because he has to crash on his friends couch some weeks when he works late.

4.      Two questions I would ask Musk:

a.      What can humanity do to avoid the singularity?

b.      Do you wonder what world the youth has inherited?

5.      I think the best answer is a quote: “One night he told me, ‘If there was a way that I could not eat, so I could work more, I would not eat. I wish there was a way to get nutrients without sitting down for a meal.’ ” Idk I like food.