Startup Archive@StartupArchive_
Elon Musk: “Anyone who wants to make more than they take has my respect”
Elon is asked for his advice for entrepreneurs, to which he responds:
“I’m a big fan of anyone who wants to build. Anyone who wants to make more than they take has my respect. That’s the main thing you should aim for: to make more than you take and be a net contributor to society.”
He compares it to the pursuit of happiness:
“If you want to create something valuable financially, you don’t pursue that. It’s best to pursue providing useful products and services. If you do that, money will come as a natural consequence of that rather than pursuing money directly. You can’t pursue happiness directly. You pursue things that lead to happiness — fulfilling work, study, friends, loved ones.”
Elon continues:
“It sounds very obvious, but generally if somebody is trying to make a company work, they should expect to grind super hard and accept that there’s a meaningful chance of failure. Then just focus on having the output be worth more than the input. Are you a value creator? That’s what really matters: making more than you take.”
Video source: @nikhilkamathcio (2025)
