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in a recent CBS 60 Minutes interview
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Elon said that when something is
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important enough you do it even if the
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odds are not in your favor
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in his intimidable style
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Elon followed this guiding principle
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when creating SpaceX
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this past month
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SpaceX successfully launched the dragon
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space capital on top of its Falcon
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rocket
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and Dragons successfully docked at the
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International Space Station
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simultaneously launching a new era of
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commercial space flight
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as an inventor entrepreneur Visionary
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and Relentless Dreamer
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Elon has proven over and over
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that his dedication to advancing science
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and engineering is boundless
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known for the success of his many
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companies
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SpaceX
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Tesla Motors SolarCity
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and PayPal
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Elon is a renaissance man with a passion
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for learning
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and unleashing the human potential
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today we welcome Elon to Caltech as a
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friend
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a fellow engineer and a mentor to our
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students
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please join me in welcoming Mr Elon Musk
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[Applause]
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all right
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what
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I'd like to thank you for leaving crazy
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person out of the description
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so I I thought I was trying to think
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what what is the most useful thing that
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I could what could I say that could
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actually be helpful or useful to you in
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the future
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um
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and I thought perhaps tell the story of
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how I how I sort of came to be here how
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did some of these things happen and and
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maybe there's some lessons there um
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because I often find myself wondering
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how did this happen
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um so when I was young I I uh I didn't
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really know what I was going to do when
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I got older people kept asking me and
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and um but but then eventually I thought
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the idea of inventing things would be
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would be really cool
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and the reason I thought that was
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because
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um I I read a quote from auth C Clarke
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which said that a um efficiently
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advanced technology is indistinguishable
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from Magic
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and and that's really true
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um if you think if you go back say 300
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years the things that we take for
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granted today uh would be you'd be
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burned at the stake for
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um you know being able to fly
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um that's crazy uh being able to see
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over long distances being able to
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communicate having
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um effectively uh with with the internet
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a a group mind of sorts and having
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access to all the world's information
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instantly from almost anywhere in the
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Earth this is this is stuff that that
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really would be magic that would be
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considered magic in time has passed in
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fact I think it actually goes beyond
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that because there are many things that
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we take for granted today that weren't
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even imagined in in times past they
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weren't even in the realm of magic so it
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actually goes goes beyond that so I
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thought well
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you know if if I can do some of those
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things basically if I can advance
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technology then that that's like magic
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and that would be really cool and the
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the
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I always had sort of a slight
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existential crisis because I was trying
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to figure out what does it all mean like
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what's the purpose of things and
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um I came to the conclusion that if if
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we can advance the the knowledge of the
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world if we can do things that expand
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the scope and and scale of Consciousness
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then we're better able to ask the right
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questions and become more enlightened
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and and that's really the only way
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forward
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so uh
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so so I I studied physics and business
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because I figured in order to do a lot
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of these things you need to know how the
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universe works and you need to know how
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how the economy works
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um and you also need to be able to bring
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a lot of people together to work with
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you to create something because it's
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very difficult to do something as as an
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individual if it's if it's a significant
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technology
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so I uh I originally came out to to
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California to uh try to figure out how
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to improve the energy density of of um
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of electric vehicles basically to try to
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figure out if there was an advanced
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capacitor that that could serve as an
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alternative to batteries and um that was
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in 95 and
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uh that's also when the internet has
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started to happen and and it I I thought
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well I can either uh
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pursue this take this technology where
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success maybe may not be one of the
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possible outcomes which is always tricky
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um or uh participate in the internet and
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and be part of it so I decided to drop
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out and obviously you fortunately we're
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we're past graduation so I can't be
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accused of recommending that to you
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um
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and
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um
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so so did some internet stuff
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um
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you know they've done a few things here
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and there
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um what one of which was PayPal
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um
00:05:43
and and I think maybe it's helpful to
00:05:46
say one of the things that was important
00:05:48
then in the creation of PayPal was was
00:05:51
kind of how it started because initially
00:05:53
the initial I thought was with PayPal
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was to create an agglomeration of
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financial services so if you have one
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place where all of your financial
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services needs would be seamlessly
00:06:03
integrated and um and and work smoothly
00:06:07
and then we had like a little feature
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which was to do email payments
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um and whenever we'd show the system off
00:06:14
to someone we'd show the hard part which
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was the um the agglomeration of
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financial services which was quite
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difficult to put together nobody was
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interested
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um then we'd show people email payments
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which was actually quite easy and
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everybody was interested
00:06:28
um so this is uh I think it's important
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to to take feedback from your
00:06:33
environment
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um you know it's it you want to be as
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closed loop as possible
00:06:39
um
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and uh it's so we focus on email
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payments and really try to make that
00:06:44
work and and that's what really got
00:06:46
things to take off
00:06:48
um but if we hadn't if we hadn't
00:06:50
responded to what people said then we we
00:06:53
probably would not have been successful
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so it's important to look for things
00:06:57
like that and and focus on them when
00:06:59
when you when you see them and you're
00:07:00
correct your prior assumptions
00:07:03
and then
00:07:05
um the
00:07:07
going from PayPal
00:07:11
I thought well
00:07:13
what what are some of the the other
00:07:15
problems that are likely to most affect
00:07:18
the future of humanity
00:07:20
um it really wasn't from the perspective
00:07:22
of what what's the rank ordered best way
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to to make money
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um which which is which is okay but
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um
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it was really what I think is going to
00:07:32
most affect the future of humanity so
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the I think the the biggest terrestrial
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problem we've got is uh sustainable
00:07:40
energy but the production and
00:07:42
consumption of energy in a sustainable
00:07:43
manner if we don't solve that this the
00:07:45
sensory is the century we're we're in
00:07:47
deep trouble
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um and then the other one being the
00:07:51
extension of life beyond Earth to make
00:07:53
life multi-planetary
00:07:55
um so
00:07:56
uh that's that's That's the basis for
00:07:58
that the latter is the basis Force for
00:08:01
SpaceX and the former is the basis for
00:08:03
Tesla and SolarCity
00:08:07
um and when I started SpaceX um I it
00:08:10
actually initially I thought that well
00:08:15
there's no way one could possibly start
00:08:16
a rocket company I wasn't that crazy
00:08:19
um but but then
00:08:21
uh I thought well what is a way to
00:08:24
increase NASA's budget that was actually
00:08:27
my initial goal so I I thought well if
00:08:31
we can do a low-cost Mission to Mars
00:08:33
something called Mars Oasis which would
00:08:34
land seeds with with dehydrate with with
00:08:37
seeds and dehydrated nutrient gel and
00:08:39
you hydrate them upon landing and then
00:08:41
you'd have this great sort of money shot
00:08:43
of green plants on a red background and
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the
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the public tends to respond to um
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precedence and superlatives and this
00:08:55
would be the first life on Mars the
00:08:57
furthest that life's ever traveled as
00:08:58
far as we know and and I thought well
00:09:00
that that would get people really
00:09:01
excited and and therefore increase at
00:09:04
NASA's budget so so obviously the the
00:09:06
financial outcome from such a mission
00:09:08
would probably be zero
00:09:09
um so anything better than that was on
00:09:12
the upside
00:09:14
um so I actually went to I went to
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Russia three times to look at buying um
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a refurbished icvm
00:09:25
because that that was the best deal
00:09:30
and I can tell you it was very weird
00:09:32
going there in in 2000 late 2001 2002
00:09:35
going to the Russian rocket forces and
00:09:37
saying I'd like to buy two of your
00:09:39
biggest Rockets but you can keep the
00:09:42
nuke
00:09:45
that's a lot more
00:09:47
um
00:09:48
and uh it was that was 10 years ago I
00:09:50
guess so
00:09:52
um they
00:09:54
thought I was crazy but but I did have
00:09:56
money so that was
00:09:58
that was okay uh
00:10:01
um and after making several trips to to
00:10:04
Russia I came to inclusion that
00:10:07
that actually my initial impression was
00:10:10
was wrong about uh because my initial
00:10:14
thought was well that that there's not
00:10:16
enough will to explore and expand beyond
00:10:19
Earth and have a Mars base and that kind
00:10:21
of thing but I can't conclusion that
00:10:23
that was wrong
00:10:25
um in fact there's plenty of will
00:10:26
particularly in the United States
00:10:28
because the United States is a nation of
00:10:31
explorers the people who came here from
00:10:32
from other parts of the world I think
00:10:35
the United States really uh distillation
00:10:38
of the spirit of human exploration
00:10:40
so
00:10:42
um but but if people think it's
00:10:43
impossible then uh or it's going to
00:10:46
completely break the federal budget then
00:10:48
they're not going to do it
00:10:50
so after my third trip I said okay what
00:10:53
we really need to do here is try to
00:10:55
solve the space transport problem
00:10:58
and uh and started SpaceX
00:11:01
um and this this was against the advice
00:11:03
of pretty much everyone I talked to
00:11:07
um my one friend made me sit down and
00:11:09
watch a bunch of videos of rockets
00:11:10
blowing up
00:11:13
um let me tell you he wasn't far wrong
00:11:16
uh I think it was it was tough going
00:11:19
there in the beginning because I'd never
00:11:21
built anything physical I mean I built
00:11:23
like little model rockets as a kid and
00:11:25
that kind of thing but
00:11:26
um I never had a company that built any
00:11:28
physical except to figure out how to how
00:11:30
to do all these things and and bring
00:11:32
together the right team of people and
00:11:35
um
00:11:36
and and so we we did all that and and
00:11:39
then failed three times
00:11:41
um it it was tough tough going
00:11:44
um because think about a rocket is that
00:11:46
the the passing grade is 100 percent
00:11:49
uh
00:11:50
and uh
00:11:52
you you don't get to actually test the
00:11:55
rocket in the real environment that it's
00:11:57
going to be in
00:11:58
so I think so the best analogy for for
00:12:00
Rocket engineering is is like if you
00:12:02
want to create a really complicated bit
00:12:05
of software
00:12:06
um you could you can't run the software
00:12:08
as an integrated whole and you can't run
00:12:10
it on the computer it's intended to run
00:12:11
on but the first time you put it all
00:12:13
together and write it on that computer
00:12:14
it must run with no bugs
00:12:16
that's that's basically the essence of
00:12:18
it
00:12:19
um so so we missed the mark there
00:12:22
um at the first launch I was picking up
00:12:25
bits of Rocket near the launch site was
00:12:27
a bit sad
00:12:29
um and uh but we we learned with with
00:12:32
each successive flight and and we're
00:12:35
able to with uh eventually with the
00:12:37
fourth flight in 2008 uh reach orbit
00:12:41
um and that was also with the last bit
00:12:44
of money that we had
00:12:45
so um thank goodness that that happened
00:12:50
um I think the saying is fourth time's
00:12:51
the charm
00:12:54
um
00:12:55
so that so we got the Falcon one tool
00:12:57
but
00:12:59
and then
00:13:01
uh began to scale that up to to the
00:13:03
Falcon 9 which is about an order of
00:13:06
magnitude more a Thrust it's a around a
00:13:09
million pounds of thrust and
00:13:12
we managed to get that to orbit and then
00:13:14
uh developed a dragon spacecraft which
00:13:18
recently was able to Dock and return to
00:13:21
Earth from the space station
00:13:23
um that was uh
00:13:31
thanks
00:13:34
that was a white knuckled event
00:13:38
um so yeah it's a huge relief I still
00:13:42
can't quite believe it actually happened
00:13:44
um but but there's a lot more that that
00:13:46
that must happen Beyond this in order
00:13:48
for Humanity to become a space-faring
00:13:51
civilization ultimately a multi-planet
00:13:53
species and that's something I think
00:13:56
it's it's vitally important and and I
00:13:58
hope um that that some of you will will
00:14:00
participate in in that either at SpaceX
00:14:02
or at other companies because it's just
00:14:04
really one of the the most important
00:14:06
things for the preservation and
00:14:07
extension of consciousness
00:14:10
um I mean it's worth noting as I'm sure
00:14:12
people are aware that the Earth has been
00:14:15
around for four billion years and uh
00:14:18
civilization at least in terms of having
00:14:21
um
00:14:22
writing has been around for 10 000 years
00:14:24
and that's being generous
00:14:27
so it's it's really
00:14:30
sort of a tenuous existence that that is
00:14:34
civilization and and Consciousness as we
00:14:37
know it has been on Earth and I think um
00:14:40
I'm actually I'm actually fairly
00:14:41
optimistic about the future of Earth so
00:14:43
I don't want to I don't want to sort of
00:14:45
people to have the wrong impression that
00:14:47
I think we're all about to die
00:14:48
um
00:14:49
I think I think well I think things will
00:14:52
most likely be okay for a lot for a long
00:14:54
time on Earth but not not for sure but
00:14:56
most likely
00:14:57
um
00:14:59
but but even if it's if it's sort of 99
00:15:01
likely one a one percent chance it's
00:15:04
still it's still worth uh spending a
00:15:06
fair bit of effort to ensure that we
00:15:07
have um we've backed up the biosphere
00:15:09
you know planetary redundancy if you
00:15:11
will
00:15:13
um
00:15:14
and uh and so I think I think it's
00:15:16
really really quite important
00:15:18
um and in order to do that there's a
00:15:21
breakthrough that needs to occur which
00:15:22
is to create a rapidly and completely
00:15:24
reusable
00:15:26
um transport system to Mars
00:15:28
um which which is one of those things
00:15:30
that's right on the borderline of of him
00:15:32
of if impossible
00:15:36
um but that that's sort of the the thing
00:15:37
that we're we're going to try to achieve
00:15:39
that with with with SpaceX
00:15:42
um
00:15:43
and then on the on the on the Tesla
00:15:46
front uh the goal with Tesla which
00:15:48
really to try to show that what what
00:15:50
electric cars can do because people had
00:15:52
the wrong impression we had to
00:15:54
um change people's perception of an
00:15:56
electric vehicle because they used to
00:15:58
think of it as something that was slow
00:16:00
and ugly and had low range kind of like
00:16:02
a golf cart
00:16:04
um and and so that's why we created the
00:16:06
Tesla Roadster to show that you can be
00:16:07
fast
00:16:08
um attractive and and long range
00:16:11
um and it's amazing how even though you
00:16:14
can show that something works on paper
00:16:16
and you know and the calculations are
00:16:18
very clear until you actually have the
00:16:20
physical object and they can they can
00:16:22
drive it it doesn't really sink in for
00:16:23
people
00:16:25
um and so that that I think is is
00:16:26
something worth noting if you're going
00:16:28
to create a company the first thing you
00:16:29
try to do is create a working prototype
00:16:32
um you know everything everything looks
00:16:34
great on PowerPoint you can make
00:16:37
anything work on PowerPoint
00:16:39
um but if you have if you have an actual
00:16:41
demonstration article even if it's in
00:16:43
primitive form that's much much more
00:16:45
effective for convincing people
00:16:47
so
00:16:49
um so we made the Tesla Roadster and now
00:16:52
we're coming out soon with the model S
00:16:53
which is a four-door sedan
00:16:55
uh because after we made the Tesla
00:16:57
Roadster people said oh sure sure we
00:16:59
always knew you could make a car like
00:17:00
that it's an expensive car uh and it's
00:17:03
low volume and it's small and all that
00:17:04
but you couldn't make a real car I'm
00:17:06
like okay fine I gotta make that too
00:17:09
um so that that's coming out soon
00:17:13
um and um
00:17:14
yeah so that that's that that's that's
00:17:16
the I think the the the the where things
00:17:20
are and and and hopefully that there are
00:17:22
some lessons to be to be drawn there
00:17:25
um but um I I think the the overarching
00:17:29
point I want to make is that um you know
00:17:31
you guys are The Magicians of the 21st
00:17:34
century you know
00:17:36
um don't like anything hold you back uh
00:17:39
imagination is is the limit
00:17:42
um and um go out there and create some
00:17:44
magic thank you
00:17:50
oh
