I started SpaceX with the expectation of failure.

If you're trying to create a company, it's like baking a cake. You have to have all the ingredients in the right proportion.

The tough thing is figuring out what questions to ask, but […] once you do that, the rest is really easy.

I always invest my own money in the companies that I create. I don't believe in the whole thing of just using other people's money. I don't think that's right. I'm not going to ask other people to invest in something if I'm not prepared to do so myself.

People should pursue what they're passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else.

I think it matters whether someone has a good heart.

For me it was never about money, but solving problems for the future of humanity.