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Elon Musk interview reveals whether he prefers Nikola Tesla to Thomas Edison
In 2008, Elon Musk explained which of history's tech geniuses was his role model.
- In 2008, Elon Musk told an interviewer about his role models.
- His father had less of an influence than has been reported.
- Musk was a fan of both Edison and Tesla but preferred Edison.
Who was the greater genius — Thomas Edison or Nikola Tesla? As the founder of Tesla Motors, you'd expect Elon Musk to be on the side of Tesla, but you wouldn't be fully right.
As he explains in a 2008 interview, Elon Musk saw both Edison and Tesla as role models. He read books about both and found both of the visionaries inspiring.
Edison (1847–1931), of course, was probably America's most illustrious inventor, being credited with important contributions such as the phonograph, an early motion picture camera, and a long-lasting light bulb. Overall, the impact of his ideas on how we generate electricity, make sound and film recordings, or communicate are hard to overestimate.
Edison, holder of 1,093 patents, is also credited with creating the world's first industrial-scale research laboratory.
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), who once worked for Edison, was often a rival of the more-famous inventor. While he died in relative obscurity and financial ruin, Tesla's reputation has grown over time to perhaps eclipse Edison's in the popular imagination. After all, Tesla came up with the alternative current — the electrical supply system that was adopted more widely worldwide than Edison's.
Tesla is also responsible for a variety of ahead-of-their-time inventions that have stoked the public's fancy. We are talking about wireless technology, including wireless transmission of electricity, early cellphones, self-driving and flying vehicles, as well as thought machines and death rays.
As you would expect, Elon Musk explains that he did name the car company Tesla after the inventor because it uses AC induction motors "which is an architecture Tesla developed." According to Musk, Tesla deserves "a little more play than he gets in current society."
But "on balance," says Musk, "I'm a bigger fan of Edison than Tesla." Why? Because "Edison brought his stuff to market and made those inventions accessible to the world." The shunned Serbian-Croatian inventor Tesla "didn't really do that," points out Musk.
Musk also names some other influences on his thinking – great "technologists" such as Apple's Steve Jobs and Microsoft's Bill Gates. Even Disney was a great "innovator," in Musk's eyes.
Interestingly, in the same interview Musk debunks another rumor. His father was often credited as being the inspiration behind the young Musk's interest in technology. But the SpaceX founder shares that his father was actually a "luddite". He was an engineer but not really a techie. In fact, Musk's dad refused to buy him a computer and thought such machines wouldn't amount to anything. Elon had to save up his allowance in order to buy his first computer.
Check out the full interview below – the question about role models comes in at 35:18:
The world and workforce need wisdom. Why don’t universities teach it?
Universities claim to prepare students for the world. How many actually do it?
- Many university mission statements do not live up to their promise, writes Ben Nelson, founder of Minerva, a university designed to develop intellect over content memorization.
- The core competencies that students need for success—critical thinking, communication, problem solving, and cross-cultural understanding, for example—should be intentionally taught, not left to chance.
- These competencies can be summed up with one word: wisdom. True wisdom is the ability to apply one's knowledge appropriately when faced with novel situations.
What the world will look like in the year 250,002,018
This is what the world will look like, 250 million years from now
To us humans, the shape and location of oceans and continents seems fixed. But that's only because our lives are so short.
From zero to hero in 18 years: How SpaceX became a nation-state
SpaceX's momentous Crew Dragon launch is a sign of things to come for the space industry, and humanity's future.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk celebrates after the successful launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the manned Crew Dragon spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center on May 30, 2020 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Earlier in the day NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley lifted off an inaugural flight and will be the first people since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011 to be launched into space from the United States.
- SpaceX was founded in 2002 and was an industry joke for many years. Eighteen years later, it is the first private company to launch astronauts to the International Space Station.
- Today, SpaceX's Crew Dragon launched NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the ISS. The journey will take about 19 hours.
- Dylan Taylor, chairman and CEO of Voyager Space Holdings, looks at SpaceX's journey from startup to a commercial space company with the operating power of a nation-state.
Six-month-olds recognize (and like) when they’re being imitated
A new study may help us better understand how children build social cognition through caregiver interaction.
New study connects cardiovascular exercise with improved memory
Researchers at UT Southwestern noted a 47 percent increase in blood flow to regions associated with memory.
