In the past, Elon Musk has repeatedly expressed his skeptical attitude towards normal educational paths. The Tesla CEO has now followed suit at the Satellite 2020 Conference in Washington, D.C. “Colleges are basically just for fun and to prove that you can do your job – but not to learn something,” he said this week in front of an audience of satellite manufacturers, military, politicians, and enthusiasts at Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
A woman from the audience had asked Musk how industry could help give students from all walks of life access to good colleges. After all, SpaceX would also expect bachelor’s or even master’s degrees from its applicants. “You don’t need college to learn,” Musk replied. “You can learn anything you want online for free.” Universities would have a value in identifying people who can work hard on something – people who can also master tedious tasks. “You can also hang out with people your own age before you have to join the working society,” added the Tesla boss.
Tesla boss canceled his doctoral thesis
Musk has expressed this view of the value of formal education several times in the past. In an interview with Autobild.tv back in 2014, when asked which college or university you should attend to work at Tesla, he said: “You don’t even need a college degree. Not even a school leaving certificate. ” If someone has a degree from a good university, it is at most an indication that he or she is able to achieve great things. More meaningful is a demonstrable series of extraordinary results in solving real problems.
Musk himself has a university degree: a bachelor’s degree in economics and physics from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in the USA. In 1995, he was admitted to Stanford University for a doctorate in physics, but after just two days decided to drop it and start Zip2, an internet directory service company. In 1999, it was acquired by computer maker Compaq for $ 307 million – the cornerstone of a fortune that Musk later invested in SpaceX and Tesla.
–
