I was born in Africa. I came to California because it's really where new technologies can be brought to fruition, and I don't see a viable competitor.

The biggest mistake, in general, I've made, is to put too much of a weighting on someone's talent and not enough on their personality. And I've made that mistake several times. I think it actually matters whether somebody has a good heart, it really does. I've made the mistake of thinking that it's sometimes just about the brain.

I do think there is a lot of potential if you have a compelling product and people are willing to pay a premium for that. I think that is what Apple has shown. You can buy a much cheaper cell phone or laptop, but Apple's product is so much better than the alternative, and people are willing to pay that premium.

You want to do things you’re passionate about but also are useful to other people.

I'm glad to see that BMW is bringing an electric car to market. That's cool.

To our knowledge, life exists on only one planet, Earth. If something bad happens, it's gone. I think we should establish life on another planet-Mars in particular-but we 're not making very good progress. SpaceX is intended to make that happen.

I read books and talked to people. I mean that's kind of how one learns anything. There's lots of great books out there & lots of smart people.