Resist chasing money directly, become net contributor to society: Musk to Indian entrepreneurs

New Delhi, Dec 1 Resist chasing money directly, rather indulge in genuine value creation, said billionaire Elon Musk in his message to Indian entrepreneurs on investor and entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath’s People of WTF podcast.

Calling himself a “big fan of anyone who wants to build”, the Tesla chief compared money to the impossibility of chasing happiness itself.

“If you want to create something valuable financially, you don’t pursue that. You pursue providing useful products and services, and money will come as a natural consequence,” Musk said.

Just as happiness emerges from meaningful work, relationships, and purpose, financial outcomes, he argues, emerge from genuine value creation.

He urged entrepreneurs to create value and contribute to society.

“I think anyone who wants to make more than they take has my respect. Aim to make more than you take. Be a net contributor to society,” Musk said.

Musk also grounds his advice in realism: “expect to grind super hard” and accept that “there’s some meaningful chance of failure. Make more than you take".

The billionaire also advised founders to avoid politics.

“Founders don’t need politics to build something great until their company becomes too large to avoid it,” Musk said.

“Not everything needs politics. Once you get to a certain scale, politics finds you. It’s quite unpleasant,” he added.

On his experience of being in politics, he said, “I’ve generally found that when I get involved in politics, it ends up badly.”

“Politics is a blood sport. You enter politics, they’re going to go for the jugular. So best to avoid politics where possible,” Musk said, adding that the political arena is fundamentally hostile.

The SpaceX founder also spoke on Starlink’s and its physics-defined future in India.

“SpaceX is doing great work with the Starlink programme, providing low-cost, reliable internet throughout the world. We'd love to be operating in India,” Musk said.

On Kamath’s query on Starlink’s urban potential in India’s connectivity landscape, Musk clarified that Starlink isn’t designed to replace urban networks but instead offers a transformative solution for remote regions, providing media a lens to explore technology, policy, and social impact.

“It's not physically possible for Starlink to serve densely populated cities… maybe 1 per cent or 2 per cent, but it can be much more effective in rural areas.”

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