Elon became so successful because of his obsessive-compulsive personality.
When he was 11, he taught himself coding. This took time and effort and lots of perseverance. I believe this insane feat is often overlooked - I have tried to code (being taught) and I gave up after a few days. I'm 16.
Throughout his childhood, he read avidly and in abnormal quantities. In my experience, this does not take perseverance - reading is fun and highly rewarding - but it takes a certain type to read most waking moments of the day.
When he was at University, he took masses of subjects - Two Masters and progressing to Stanford for a PhD. This takes hundred of intense and dedicated hours of work.
He had control. While his housemate was the personification of the party, he stayed sober. And because of this, made a killing at the door selling tickets, paying for his rent, his college fees and many more - ultimately funding Zip2. This is often overlooked, because at this point, had he drunk excessively, he would not likely have had the money to persuade his father to invest in his first startup. Sobriety is the key to success…
Look at the lil guy! :Y
When he met his first wife of 8+ years, Justine, he was confident enough and stubborn enough to keep flirting until she went out with him. He asked her multiple times, and when she finally said yes, he forgot/had no time to meet her! He recovered his entire relationship by running out and grabbing two ice creams for them anyway! Without his beautiful sidekick, he A) wouldn't have been cool enough to be the legend he is now (people would have seen him as a nerdy, overly-ambitious student - but this has actually supported the fact that he has pulled off a multitude of impossibilities and thus investors should invest in Tesla, etc.) B) would never have had his kids which arguably added to his drive, and C) wouldn't have been able to satisfy his sexual drive - WHICH (although apparently very strange to an audience unfamiliar with Napoleon Hill) is actually the most critical part of what drives most leaders, even if they do not know it. (A story for another time) ;)
While often rather reserved, Musk knows to have fun. Fun for a man like Musk requires increasingly spontaneous impulsions to satisfy personalities like Musk. His fun life makes him the envy of many - the reason why he has reached celebrity stardom. He has been spotted with Cara Delavigne, Kendall Jenner, Orlando Bloom, Zendaya, Clooney and Serena Williams for a start - calling for a personality that can detach from saving humanity to what must seem like inferior speech!
Similarly, he also started Zip2 the day after arriving at Stanford because he was surprised at the lack of innovation. Had he slunk into the shadows, he'd have lost his potential. This takes confidence and impulsiveness.
When working for Zip2, he would code until he slept. Then he'd make his colleagues kick his beanbag when arriving in the morning - blinking and shaking his head awake, he'd find where he left off and continue.
This characteristic is why Gates and Torvalds became so successful - coding marathons to create a truly unique or upgraded product.
His confidence drove him to sinking every bit of what he made back into his livelihood. He bought a McLaren F1, sure. But this has been noted as a strategic step for his later businesses. In the documentary by CNN, he is literally glowing with confidence and potential and quirks.
Luck was on his side. http://X.com joined with the rival company at the perfect time, somewhat locking in place his stakehold in what would become a billion-dollar enterprise. PayPal sold just before the 2000–2001 financial crash - by that point, he had started both Tesla and SpaceX and was unhindered when the whole operation as PayPal lost its momentum, he just transferred across his diversified portfolio of ideas.
I could go on about the psychology of his public speaking, the approach, the optimism, the humour, Amber freaking Heard, Tallulah freaking Riley, Grimes, the friends and family he has made successful business partners of - But the truth is, Musk has always had a strong sense of what's right and wrong. At uni, he wrote down the big industries that were going to change humanity - Genetics, Space, Transport, Energy and The Internet. He ended up disrupting 3 and 1/2 of these mega-industures. Pretty awesome.
Thanks you die hard Muscovians. 640 followers on this question?! - P.S. All of this is off the top of my head, so perhaps he wiped the sleep out of his eyes rather than shook his head awake. It’s more or less accurate :D
