Love him or hate him, Elon Musk is, without a doubt, one of the most important figures in the technology industry today, and the enigmatic leader of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and SpaceX promises to be at the forefront of the tech world’s most exciting innovations for years to come.
Ever since his days as a founder of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) , Musk has carried himself with the perfect combination of confidence and craziness that creates a tech pioneer. His predictions often seem far-fetched to some, like his “best case scenario” of reaching Mars by 2021, but Musk’s ability to think boldly about the future is what makes him unique (also read: 4 of Elon Musk's Boldest Predictions).
As we begin to watch the once-distant technologies of autonomous driving and artificial intelligence become a reality, our beliefs about what the future holds are evolving at a rapid pace. It’s an exciting time to be alive, but there are plenty of things to be anxious about too.
With that said, let’s take a look at a few of Elon Musk’s most poignant quotes about the future to see if this seasoned tech veteran can reveal anything about what we should expect:
1. “You want to have a future where you’re expecting things to be better, not one where you’re expecting things to be worse.”
In today’s tense political climate, and with concerns about the damaging effects of global climate change on all of our minds, Musk’s words remind us that we should be optimistic about the future. In many ways, the point of stuff like self-driving cars and AI is to make the world a better place for everyone. If we can stay focused on that positive, non-discriminatory aspect of technology, it can help us ground our innovations in the belief that things can be “better.”
2. “Going from PayPal, I thought: ‘Well, what are some of the other problems that are likely to most affect the future of humanity?’ Not from the perspective, ‘What’s the best way to make money?”
This bit of insight into Musk’s business strategy is refreshing for those who have become disenfranchised by corporate greed and dishonesty. For the average person, it is easy to assume that the mega-rich CEOs of the world are motivated by money, but Musk lets us know that, at least in some cases, they are concerned about the future of humanity. There’s something comforting about that, especially coming from someone with as much power as Musk.
3. “Why do you want to live? What’s the point? What inspires you? What do you love about the future? And if the future’s not including being out there among the stars and being a multi-planet species, it’s incredibly depressing if that’s not the future we’re going to have.”
In a recent futuristic TED Talk, Musk revealed some of his personal hopes for the future. It’s no secret that the man in charge of SpaceX as his eyes set on a future beyond our own clouds, but here we get a more specific sense of what Musk foresees. And with fears about the state of our own planet rising, perhaps becoming a “multi-planet” species is the best option for humanity.
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