Tesla CEO Elon Musk: Key Quotes, Volume 1

There is no doubt that Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk is a fascinating individual. At the age of 12, he had already sold his first product -- a video game. Fast forward to the present and you'll find Musk at the forefront of the world's most innovative auto company... Tesla Motors. Consider his prior breakthroughs at Paypal, his side gigs as CEO of SpaceX and Chairman of SolarCity, and it becomes clear that this is only the beginning for Elon Musk, the iconic still-under-50 business maverick.

Have a look at some of our favorite Elon Musk quotes and how they might be able to help shape and inspire your own personal outlook.

"If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it."

Musk has seen his fair share of ups and downs, for sure. His first few attempts at launching a rocket into space at SpaceX failed. Eventually, he succeeded. And during the early days of Tesla, a chorus of naysayers cheered every setback. But, Musk felt so strongly about SpaceX and Tesla Motors that he invested all of his own money into the companies just to keep them alive. Not only did it keep his companies alive, but, it helped them thrive and grow. 

"Great companies are build on great products."

Tesla Motors is the ultimate "proof point" here. The Tesla Model S broke the Consumer Reports ratings scale, scoring a 103 out of 100. As if that wasn't enough, this past week, news broke about a Tesla Model S software update that included Autopilot beating Google to market delivering self-driving features into the real world. Evidently, Tesla's small team (12,000 employees) had the engineering prowess to help propel this innovation forward -- even compared to Google (57,000 employees) who also is in the race to develop a real-world self-driving vehicle. 

"Constantly think about how you could be doing things better and keep questioning yourself."

Elon Musk shows no signs of slowing down in his quest to improve transportation... and it even extends beyond cars and rockets. His vision for the Hyperloop in California serves as an example -- bringing a state-of-the-art transportation system between L.A. to San Francisco. Already, a small team is making big strides forward to make Elon Musk's vision become reality.

And, for more recent Elon wisdom, check out Musk's fascinating discussion at Vanity Fair's New Establishment Summit with Sam Altman (Y Combinator) and Adam Sorkin (CNBC). Musk discusses a wide array of topics including the Tesla Model X, sustainable energy, and artificial intelligence.

Keep an eye out for more Elon Musk quotes that can help you sharpen your own approach to innovation. But... if you can't wait to learn more about Elon Musk, we recommend you check out his fantastic biography, just click the button below.

Elon Musk Biography