Elon Musk: The higher purpose of Tesla

With Tesla, Elon Musk set out to accelerate the advent of sustainable energy. With solar, battery storage, and electric cars, Musk is looking (deeply) at practical clean energy solutions for the planet. He's even opened the company's patents to expedite EV adoption by others in the auto industry. 

Above: While in Oslo supervising the European Model 3 launch, Musk ran into a Tesla fan (Twitter: Helia Albuquerque)

According to a recent article in CNBC Make It, Musk admitted that, "The fundamental goodness of Tesla ... so like the 'why' of Tesla, the relevance, what's the point of Tesla, comes down to two things: acceleration of sustainable energy and autonomy."

"The acceleration of sustainable energy is absolutely fundamental, because this is the next potential risk for humanity," Musk said. "So obviously, that is, by far and away, the most important thing."

Furthermore, it's reported that, "Between 2035 and 2045, autonomous vehicles could save 585,000 lives 'conservatively,' according to a 2017 report released by Intel." Musk concurs — noting that self-driving cars are poised to "save millions of lives."

Above: A look at Tesla's Model 3 (Image: Tesla)

And it's not just the feel-good aspect of improving driver safety either. Musk adds, "if you're on the road, you can spend time doing things that you enjoy instead of [sitting] in terrible traffic. So it's extremely important."

Other luminaries have lauded the Tesla CEO for his relentless pursuit of the company's mission — along with his breathtaking ambition at SpaceX. In the UK last year, Musk was honored among 50 eminent scientists, researchers and engineers and named as a Fellow of the Royal Society. Renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has gone so far as to say that Elon Musk will "transform civilization as we know it."

And it's not just scientists and environmentalists that feel this way. Billionaire business icons also seem to agree. Richard Branson. Mark Cuban. Larry Ellison. Ron Baron. Larry Page. Why? A fascinating Bloomberg documentary, produced a few years back, helps provide insight into why so many revere the Iron Man. 

Above: Bloomberg's 'Risk Takers' documentary examines the drive, ambition, and success of Elon Musk (Youtube: Bloomberg)

Perhaps Ashlee Vance, Elon Musk's biographer, sums it up best: "He’s the possessed genius on the grandest quest anyone has ever concocted. He’s less a C.E.O. chasing riches than a general marshaling troops to secure victory. Where Mark Zuckerberg wants to help you share baby photos, Musk wants to ... well ... save the human race from self-imposed or accidental annihilation"

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Source: CNBC Make It, Bloomberg