The first step is to establish that something is possible; then probability will occur. Elon Musk More Quotes by Elon Musk More Quotes From Elon Musk Silicon Valley has evolved a critical mass of engineers and venture capitalists and all the support structure - the law firms, the real estate, all that - that are all actually geared toward being accepting of startups. Elon Musk supportreallaw Tesla Motors was created to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport. If we clear a path to the creation of compelling electric vehicles, but then lay intellectual property landmines behind us to inhibit others, we are acting in a manner contrary to that goal. Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology. Elon Musk electric-vehiclestechnologygoal There's nothing - I've bought everything I want. I don't like yachts or anything; you know, I'm not a yacht person, and I've got pretty much the nicest plane I'd want to have. Elon Musk yachtplaneswant Government isn't that good at rapid advancement of technology. It tends to be better at funding basic research. To have things take off, you've got to have commercial companies do it. Elon Musk advancementtechnologygovernment There's a fundamental difference, if you sort of look into the future, between a humanity that is a space-faring civilization, that's out there exploring the stars...compared with one where we are forever confined to Earth until some eventual extinction event. Elon Musk differencesspacestars The extension of life beyond Earth is the most important thing we can do as a species. Elon Musk importantmoonearth I do love email. Wherever possible I try to communicate asynchronously. I'm really good at email. Elon Musk emailtryinginspirational The path to the CEO's office should not be through the CFO's office, and it should not be through the marketing department. It needs to be through engineering and design. Elon Musk cfoengineeringinspirational I just want to retire before I go senile because if I don't retire before I go senile, then I'll do more damage than good at that point. Elon Musk damagewantinspirational I want to make rockets 100 times, if not 1,000 times better. The ultimate objective is to make humanity a multiplanet species. Thirty years from now, there'll be a base on the moon and on Mars, and people will be going back and forth on SpaceX rockets. Elon Musk futuremoonyears You need to live in a dome initially but over time you could terraform Mars to look like Earth and eventually walk around outside without anything on. ... So it's a fixer-upper of a planet. Elon Musk marslooksneeds I'm personally a moderate and a registered independent, so I'm not strongly Democratic or strongly Republican. Elon Musk democraticrepublicanindependent Physics is really figuring out how to discover new things that are counterintuitive, like quantum mechanics. It's really counterintuitive. Elon Musk mechanicquantumphysics What most people know but don't realize they know is that the world is almost entirely solar-powered already. If the sun wasn't there, we'd be a frozen ice ball at three degrees Kelvin, and the sun powers the entire system of precipitation. The whole ecosystem is solar-powered. Elon Musk ecosystemsicepeople No I don't ever give up. I would have to be dead or completely incapacitated Elon Musk dont-ever-give-upgiving-upgiving Actively seek out and listen carefully to negative feedback. Elon Musk negative-feedbackfeedbacknegative It would take six months to get to Mars if you go there slowly, with optimal energy cost. Then it would take eighteen months for the planets to realign. Then it would take six months to get back, though I can see getting the travel time down to three months pretty quickly if America has the will. Elon Musk threeenergyamerica I think life on Earth must be about more than just solving problems... It's got to be something inspiring, even if it is vicarious. Elon Musk earthinspirationalthinking Don't be afraid of new arenas. Elon Musk arenainspirational In almost any industry, if you're passionate about doing a great job and making people that buy your product or service as happy as possible, it's really fulfilling. Elon Musk great-jobpassionatepeople