Elon Musk Education and Biography

Only a lazy person would ignore one of the most outstanding achievers in modern technology. Elon Musk is a man of extraordinary talent. His quotes have become colorful expressions, his incredible dreams have come true and his achievements are doing a world of good.

What kind of education do you think he had? Quite often people think only about his university background. Elon Musk’s education began much earlier. As a young child, he asked: “Where does the world start and end?” It’s certainly not every child that has such questions on their mind.

Elon Musk’s education background is rich. When he was 8 years old, once he had read all the books in the local library, he started reading the Encyclopaedia Britannica – a wide-ranging English-language encyclopaedia. It is difficult to imagine how one could concentrate on reading for 10 hours a day, but it was Elon’s favorite hobby. And thanks to his awesome photographic memory he retained all that new information. Elon Musk’s homeschool education curriculum was full of books on many different aspects of life.

After his parents’ divorce, Elon stayed with his father. He spent his early years in South Africa. He was a reserved boy. For example, he pretended to be deaf although he was not. He was bullied at school and did not stand up for himself. Once, some boys broke his nose kicking him down the stairs. His relationships with his peers were not good. Probably, it was the after-effects of the divorce, that led to him immersing himself in his hobby and disliking communication.

He was presented with his first computer, a Commodore VIC-20 when he was 10 years old. Elon used it for programming. The BASIC course he took was designed to last 6 months, but he completed it in 3 days. His habit of needing to understand everything new thoroughly was invaluable. Perhaps, it was the reason he wrote the game Blaster at the age of 12, which he later sold for $500.

He was overcome by an existential crisis when he was 14 years old. He read “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and decided, that his mission would be world salvation. Elon emigrated to Canada with his brother in order to avoid military conscription in South Africa.

With no-one waiting for him there, he spent his first year job-hunting. He worked on sawmill for a salary – $18 per hour. He worked in a narrow tunnel removing hot coals, sand and mud. It was impossible to move aside. By the end of the first week only 3 of the original 30 workers remained, including Elon. He tested himself in many different occupations, even those not related to his interests. So, Elon Musk’s skills and characteristics are quite diverse.

Elon Musk’s Educational Background

Elon studied physics at Pretoria University in his last six months in South Africa. His passion for knowledge did not abate. He decided to study at King’s University when he was in Canada. After that, when he went to the US he was admitted to the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated with an undergraduate degree in economics and physics. He applied to Stanford University later, where he planned to pursue a PhD, but dropped out after a few days. He decided that the future would depend on the Internet not on academic degrees.

Elon Musk’s education quotes are quite profound. For example: “My background educationally is physics and economics, and I grew up in sort of an engineering environment – my father is an electromechanical engineer. And so there were lots of engineery things around me.” Many of his quotes are truly inspiring. For example, “I think we have a duty to maintain the light of consciousness to make sure it continues into the future.”

He has proven that anyone’s dreams can come true. They are much deeper than we can imagine. You have to agree that his biography, education is pretty interesting and inspiring. Here are some more of his quotes:

“I think it matters whether someone has a good heart” and “I think that’s the single best piece of advice: constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself.”

It is fascinating to get to know the story of how Elon Musk started to realize his ideas. He is living proof that if you want to change the world, start with yourself. So, Elon Musk’s timeline can be summed up in the following words: “Did you know that by 2040 Mars could be colonised, by us, with a city?”

He has destroyed stereotypes and made massive technological breakthroughs. Follow Elon Musk’s Twitter @elonmusk to learn about his latest news and get inspired by his ideas.