How to Build a Reputation Like Elon Musk

People respect Elon Musk for his work on rockets and electric cars and for starting PayPal and SolarCity. His ability to turn seemingly random ideas into successful businesses is another reason people like and respect him.

Despite this, the most astonishing thing about Elon is not his technical brilliance but rather his ability to cultivate devoted followers.

Elon sold $10 million worth of flamethrowers before he started drilling in order to pay for it. Additionally, he secured at least ten million dollars worth of deposits on new Teslas that have not yet been manufactured.

Elon Musk’s companies work to build rockets or cars on the ridiculous schedules set by their CEO, while other companies struggle to get any funding at all. During this period, other companies struggle to get funding. When Elon Musk is in charge of a company, getting sales is not even a concern.

Elon isn’t merely a rocket scientist who trained himself on his own. In addition to this, he is a social prodigy who, despite having Asperger’s syndrome, created the model for how a business should interact with its customers.

Elon Musk’s Formula for Building an Audience

The lecture given by Elon Musk titled “The Future We’re Building — and Boring” is widely considered to be among the most popular TED speeches of all time. People can’t help but connect with Elon Musk, which is why this presentation has more than 24 million views.

His speech is not especially magical; rather, the subject matter that he discusses and the manner in which he communicates his work are what set him apart.

This TED presentation is an excellent example of how to interact with others in order to win their favor and earn their trust. After reading over all of these vital keys to look for, I think it would be beneficial for you to watch it.

Create a universe of your imagination.

The solution that Elon provides to the first question, which is “Why are you boring?”, is not an evasive one in which he talks about how he wants to serve everyone in Los Angeles.

The response that Musk provided was a depiction of the world that he hopes will exist in the foreseeable future. Although this may not be something that applies to everyone, it does a good job of fostering lasting friendships among those who believe similarly.

On a related point, Elon Musk has founded each of his businesses based on a mental picture he has of the world in the not-too-distant future. They are neither foolish methods for getting money nor pointless BTB software.

Elon Musk’s vision for a high-tech, future civilization includes the creation of companies such as Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink, amongst others. I would assume that Elon’s primary purpose in developing these firms is to create a fantastic future that he wants to see. He doesn’t care one iota about the money, and that’s why he’s doing it.

People are attracted to this degree of devotion because of its intensity. Musk envisions a certain future for himself, and he has devoted his whole life to making that world a reality.

Show compassion and a sense of humanity.

Elon Musk engages with people in another manner by saying that his company, The Boring Company, would improve traffic and that he, like most people, despises traffic.

People may be forgiven for thinking of Elon Musk as a robot from the far future who plans to build a city on the moon and fly automobiles in the near future. They don’t have a connection with him as a person due to the fact that he is so unique and has objectives that are on a whole other level.

People are able to connect with Elon’s humanity and his seeming frailty when he says things like “It’s dreadful” about traffic. Even though he doesn’t have to worry about the mortgage anymore, he still gets stressed out by the traffic in Los Angeles.

If you want to establish a fan base like Elon’s, you have to walk the line between being a faultless visionary and an ordinary guy. Elon has managed to do this well. He has (barely) been successful in maintaining everyone’s interest in both what he is doing and who he is as a person. Both of these things are important to him.

Take note that Elon does not behave in the manner of a typical buddy you might meet on the street. He never loses his self-assurance or his air of superiority, two traits that serve him quite well in life.

In spite of this, he does not put on an act that he is immune to frailty, which is how he convinces others to participate in his ludicrous ideas.

Don’t be a dummy around other people.

Elon’s use of jargon particular to the sector in which he operates at the ideal frequency is one of the most notable aspects of his presentation.

He doesn’t want to use too much, since then it would seem like he’s demonstrating his skills or instructing others. In addition to this, he does not want to utilize any since doing so would give the impression that he is clueless about what he is doing.

It is probably simpler to avoid using an excessive number of technical phrases, but it is far more difficult to avoid using an inadequate amount of such terms.

The strategy that Elon employs, which consists of explaining things on a high level and adding a few details here and there, is the key to success. He doesn’t go into great detail about everything that he’s doing; rather, he outlines the overall plan and highlights a few essential components.

People who listen to Musk’s presentations and speeches are not only able to recognize that he is a genius, but they also have the ability to comprehend the strategy that he is attempting to explain.

Learn the facts by doing your research.

When Elon is speaking, he will often inject seemingly unrelated information into the conversation. These details provide an indication of how well Elon understands the topic at hand.

It may be anything as simple as noting the precise amount of time he could save out of a procedure or the price of a certain gadget he’s using. Because he conducts his studies more thoroughly than anybody else, Elon is the only one who is aware of these facts.

People are surprised by these types of things because they believe they are understanding what he is talking about, but then he goes and adds in these ridiculous minutiae that nobody is going to remember.

Again, this is just another way for Elon to say, “It’s very clear that I’m a genius. Give me the responsibility of altering the world. Just make sure you’re standing behind me.” By the time he’s through spewing a few intriguing facts that nobody has a right to know, people have already unconsciously grasped the meaning of this message.

Make statements that are (at least somewhat) contentious.

One of the ways that Elon weeds out his disloyal followers is by stating controversial things that are sure to cause people to disagree with each other.

For instance, Elon’s views on autonomous vehicles are far more progressive than those of the average person. He believes that within a very short amount of time, we will have automobiles that are capable of driving themselves to various locations.

The sad truth is that full autonomy was supposed to be reached years ago, but progress has stopped. Elon thinks that there shouldn’t be as many rules about cars and that even broken ones should be able to drive on public roads.

Elon will face opposition from those who disagree with the undeniable health and safety risks posed by this paradigm; on the other hand, enthusiastic fans of Elon will include those who are eager to see the future sooner.

This is a strategy that Donald Trump has mastered to cultivate a devoted audience, and it works regardless of whether or not you like him. In fact, Trump relied solely on this strategy during his campaign for president.

It goes without saying that you don’t have to go quite that far, but if you’re someone who takes the middle ground on every subject, you won’t get many supporters and you won’t have any die-hard superfans.

Put some reality behind your hopes and goals.

During Elon Musk’s most recent appearance on TED, he discussed the development of rockets that can be used more than once.

It was obvious that for someone who had no previous expertise in spaceflights using reusable technology, it was an insane thing to attempt to undertake. Musk put his words into action by developing the precise rockets he was discussing in his address.

The other suggestions are helpful, but there is nothing that will generate a fanbase as devoted as someone who has the ability to speak about insane things and then really makes them happen.

Elon didn’t simply go out and build a regular rocket like everyone else. He designed one that had a thrust that was four times more than the previous record-holder for the largest rocket ever built.

Nobody would care if Elon Musk just tweeted about his new ideas since they aren’t groundbreaking. People are drawn to him in ways that have never been seen before due to the fact that he not only realizes his aspirations but also surpasses them.

Take responsibility for everything Elon behaves as if his life’s work from the moment he was born has been to transform mankind into a civilization capable of surviving on several planets. In each and every interview that he does, without fail, he repeats that sentence verbatim.

Why on earth would anybody want to challenge themselves with something that (a) seems to be difficult and (b) is so ridiculously simple to make fun of? Elon views it as a chance for him to make a difference in the world. It’s his destiny to do this.

It is exactly how he describes it in the TED talk:

“Those who believe technological progress occurs in a linear fashion are misguided,” the speaker said.

There must be individuals who take in the state of the world and accept the challenge of bettering it as their own duty. Elon is one of those guys, and he is the king of a very tiny group of people who are motivated by an unquenchable desire to do great things.

The rest of the passengers are only along for the ride in Elon Musk’s new Model Y, which comes equipped with two electric motors that were created by the guy himself.

The One Thing That Is Above All Else
All of those things are essential, but if you can master Elon’s number one key, everything else will fall into place more or less automatically:

Develop an obsession with your objective to the point that you no longer care about your followers.

Elon behaves as if he is going to accomplish everything by himself, despite the fact that it is evident that he needs the assistance of other people in order to manufacture rockets and test new automobile designs.

He endears himself to them by demonstrating that he is capable of doing absurd things despite the fact that others may or may not assist him in doing so.

There is nothing that endears a person to other people more than seeing them pursue a goal that they have. Because of this, Steve Jobs was successful in making a large number of people like Apple goods. Because of this, Michael Jordan was able to inspire his colleagues to put forth effort comparable to his own.

According to what Elon said in his address,

“There has to be a reason why you wake up when the sun comes up and you desire to live… Where is the value in that? “What is it that motivates you?”

If you can answer these questions in a convincing way, you will set yourself up for a lot of success. People will gravitate around you because of the important role you will play in shaping the future.