The Books Elon Musk Says Most Influenced His Life

By Joelle Renstrom
| Published 1 hour ago

Elon Musk is now one of the most famous and successful people in the history of the human race. He’s become a real-life Tony Stark, but he didn’t get that way overnight. It took a lot of work and a lot of reading.

These are the books that he says most influenced his life.

Elon Musk’s Nonfiction Book Recommendations

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel.

Musk met Thiel when Thiel was running PayPal and Musk was running a rival payment company. Musk wholeheartedly believes Thiel knows how to create and run “breakthrough” companies.

Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants by John D. Clark

It doesn’t sound like beach reading, but apparently it’s “really fun.” Clark’s account of the history of rocket fuel draws on his background as a chemist and also explains the science and the politics behind the industry.

Structures: Or Why Things Don’t Fall Down by J.E. Gordon

Another book Elon read to familiarize himself with rocketry and structural engineering.

Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson

It’s probably unsurprising that Musk cited the book Einstein: His Life and Universe as a formative read. Like Musk, Einstein overcame some difficult personal circumstances to become one of the most renowned scientists of all time. Isaacson’s biography of Benjamin Franklin was also formative for Musk, not just because Franklin was a scientist, but because he was an entrepreneur. He calls Franklin “one of his heroes.”

Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by. Nick Bostrom

I’m happy to see Nick Bostrom’s Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies on the list. The book influenced Musk’s thinking about the dangers of AI, which is something all scientists and engineers need to keep in mind.

Elon Musk’s Favorite Fiction

Musk reportedly had a rough early childhood in South Africa. He was runty and too smart for his own good, and kids called him “Muskrat.” So he’d do what a lot of people with rough childhoods (and adulthoods) do: he escaped into fantasy and science fiction.

Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Musk is a big Asimov fan and calls Foundation “one of the all-time best.”

The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings was one of the books Musk sought refuge in during childhood.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Musk infamously loves The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which helped him cope with what he calls an “existential crisis” during his early teenage years. Where Nietzsche and Schopenhauer failed to guide Musk through that time, Adams’ ridiculous romp succeeded.

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

Lastly, Musk was a huge fan of Robert Heinlein, specifically The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress and Stranger in a Strange Land, even though according to Musk, the latter “kind of goes off the rails at the end.” True. However, he named his AI Grok after a term used by Heinlein in Stranger in a Strange Land.